The Containment Wars and the Creation of the Sanctuaries (Part I)

The first violent conflicts between humans and independent ANAD swarms occurred in 2097, in and around Nairobi, Jerusalem and Cairo.  In some ways, perhaps, the conflict was inevitable.  ANAD systems had been growing in acceptance across the globe. 

ANAD systems and poorly regulated fabs based on ANAD technology had become widespread, around the world, in every city and village and on every farm or commune.  Fabs (fabricators) based on ANAD could create almost anything inorganic that human beings could imagine.  Cars, furniture, clothing, sex toys, homes, electronic devices, guns, etc could all be fabricated from atom-scale feedstock.  All you needed was the fab, the core with its software drivers and the requisite feedstock.  Organic structures, especially living systems (strictly forbidden in most places) were still difficult, expensive and generally not worth the effort.  Otherwise, the sky was the limit.

More importantly, robotic nanoscale systems based on the original ANAD design (from the 2050s and Northgate University, Dr Irwin Frost) were widely recognized to be a parallel sentience and life form, both a companion and competitor to Man on this planet, even though the devices were created by Man.  The swarming nature of ANAD bots and the complexity of their swarm formations had given rise to the belief and understanding that ANAD swarms were worthy of being called a new life form. 

Moreover, the spread of ANAD technology had been so explosive, and the swarms so compelling in their sophistication and behavior that the term angels entered popular use as a way of describing such swarms, with all that implies.  Angels (now a generic term for ANAD swarms that configure to resemble humans) were originally defined as messengers from God, spiritual beings and protectors and guides for humans in their relationship with God.  Angels as ANAD-style swarm entities were companions, love mates, partners, and all other things, even pseudo-religious beings to many people on Earth today.  Some people even developed swarm analogs of themselves, so that when they died, the swarm version remained behind…a strange form of immortality.

In this environment, conflict between Man and ANAD became inevitable.

The First Containment War

The first engagements occurred in sporadic clashes around the Mediterranean and east Africa.  Initially, the attacks were uncoordinated, seemingly random assaults on humans and human settlements, almost like ancient plagues of locusts or birds.  Incidents occurred in Thessalonika, Greece, in the Gulf of Gabes off the Tunisian coast and around Lake Turkana on the Kenya-Ethiopia borderland. 

Gradually these incidents provoked stronger reactions from the Humans and over the course of several months, these reactions became more and more coordinated and more severe, as a way of punishing the swarms.  UNIFORCE, the enforcement arm of the United Nations, developed a strategy called ‘draining the swamps,’ in which large formations of troops would systematically enter and destroy known swarm hotspots and sanctuaries.  It was during this period of sanitizing swarm nodes and sanctuaries that the idea of an actual protected region, a real sanctuary, for swarm entities, began to surface and enter public discussion.  When some media personalities compared the sanctuaries to concentration camps, UNIFORCE did little to dispel the comparison.

But before this could come into being, more assaults and conflict had to occur. 

The First Containment War was not called by this name until some years later.  The end of the primary conflict phase came about during the vacuum bombing and nearly complete decimation of a suspected swarm hideout along the shores of Lake Turkana, by UNIFORCE troops.  When Human offers of a truce and a peace treaty were proffered, the swarms in this area indicated that they were amenable to discussions.

The discussions were held between Human and swarm representatives in Alexandria, Egypt.  Talks began in spring 2098, and continued for months.  When the final Truce of Alexandria was signed, the first violent conflicts between Man and ANAD came to an uneasy end. 

More importantly, the Truce effected several changes in relations between Humans and ANAD.  It brought a formal end to the conflict, the assaults and counter-assaults around the perimeter of the Mediterranean.  The Truce also established the swarm sanctuaries as we know them today: sanctuary zones in the Amazon basin, in east Africa and in the southwest Pacific.  In these sanctuaries, ANAD style swarms would have legal sovereignty.  The functional nature of the new Sanctuaries was codified in a set of laws and bills known collectively as the Containment Laws.

A growing symbiotic (some would say parasitic) relationship had developed between Man and ANAD.  Because of the growth and spread of independent swarms, quasi-official recognition of their status was formally granted by the UN and by most other political entities.  In other words, ANAD swarms now had rights, fully defined by law.  Not only did they have rights, ANAD swarms could have independent lifestyles and could reside (if they chose) in protected sanctuaries, which were almost like nation-states.  During Johnny Winger and the Golden Horde, ANAD swarms (angels) were given political representation in the UN.

The Truce of Alexandria also gave rise to the United Nations Sanctuary Patrol, a quasi-military, enforcement agency, whose mission and purpose was to patrol the boundaries of Human-ANAD space (i.e., the Sanctuaries) and ensure that all Containment laws and mandates were enforced.

Here’s an org chart, showing the basics of how UNSP is set up.  Like Quantum Corps, UNSP reports directly to UNSAC (the UN Security Affairs Commissioner) and to the Secretary-General, through the structure of UNIFORCE.

Sanctuary Patrol is organized in a manner similar to Quantum Corps.  The Detachment is the primary operational unit.  Below, is a chart showing how a typical Sanctuary Patrol detachment is set up.

Typical SP Detachment Ratings and Specialties

Unit Code	Specialty	Senior Rating	Junior Rating	Typical Duties
CC	Command and Control	CC1	CC2	Command group; Lieutenant and senior NCO
OPS	Interface and Operations Control	IC1	IC2	ANAD controllers and programmers (i.e. “code and stick” men and women)
CEC	Containment and Environmental Service and Support	CEC1	CEC2	Service and support for containment systems; ANAD maintenance in containment
TSP	Transport/Supply/Provisioning	TSP1	TSP2	Control and operations of lifters and supply drones; all field provisions and replicators*
CQE	Communications and Quantum Engineering	CQE1	CQE2	Comms and data links; computer setup; hypersuit PM
DPS	Defense and Protective Systems	DPS1	DPS2	Non-ANAD weapons: coilguns, EM mortars, beam weapons, HERF guns, mag(netic) weapons

 *Due to Detachment extended field operations along Sanctuary borders, a rating to handle the Detachment’s supply and provisioning needs was added.  Otherwise, Detachment setup is similar to a typical UNQC ANAD Detachment.

 The Truce of Alexandria lasted only two years.  Then, war between Man and ANAD came again.

The next post to Quantum Corps Times will cover what happened next, known today as the Second Containment War.  I hope everyone has a nice Labor Day holiday.  Look for the next post in the first half of September 2015.