Microstory 2487: Skilldome

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I don’t want to speak for you, but I’m guessing that your life is pretty easy. Everything you need is handed to you, along with a few things that you might just want. There are those who spend their whole lives holed up in their modules, connected to VR or the network. Dayfruit growers provide them with food. Drones deliver their feedstock. Their electricity and water is piped in, and their waste is shipped out. Their personal robot does all their work. I’m not criticising people who live like this. This is just a preamble so you’ll understand what purpose Skilldome serves. So many things that you may or may not take for granted were either not cheap for our ancestors, hardly available, or outright didn’t exist. Obviously, different time periods came with different limitations, and over the years, there are skills that we’ve lost to automation, and engineered simplicity. I’m not saying that you’ll become a better person if you learn how to drive a car with your hands and feet. I’m just telling you that the skill is something that this dome offers. You can also learn how to churn butter, command an animal to plow a field, or write something down with a pencil and paper. It’s hard to describe what these activities are, since there’s such a broad range, but it’s basically everything that people used to have to do to be productive that we don’t anymore. To be sure, there are some things that still hold some merit in our world. You might not have access to a medpod or healing nanites, even today, so knowing how to perform first aid is one of those skills that some people have maintained anyway. But for those of us whose minds it didn’t cross to do it before, if you’re on Castlebourne, come on down and take a class. As far as skills that are less practical in the synthetic era go, like stuffing mail in envelopes, or coding a program in an obsolete computer language called C++, you can do it just for fun, or to have a greater appreciation for modern living. Or come up with your own reasons. There are no requirements on what you have to do when you come here, but if you do come, and you do choose a particular skill, it is asked of you to use the tools you are given, and not “cheat”. If you’re taking a math test, only use one of those old basic calculators that they will provide you with. Don’t just ask an AI to do it for you. That defeats the purpose. I actually saw a guy do this, which was so stupid, because no one was making him take this otherwise pointless test. What you get out of coming here is entirely up to you. Ain’t nobody gonna hold your hand. Nor should they have to.

The Advancement of Mateo Matic: July 13, 2398

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Miller Dennard didn’t understand when Leona called the weapon that one of the other helicopters dropped down in the gulf an atom bomb. She didn’t even have any clue what that could mean, or make any connection between the term, and the sunboxes of lore. Apparently, the a in a-bomb stood for addle, for its function of spoiling life within the blast radius. She’s not a scientist, so she couldn’t detail how it worked, but she assured the team that international war laws prevented the military from using such weapons against humans. They’re only ever deployed to disrupt an enemy’s agricultural capacity. Taba, Egypt relies heavily on marine life in the gulf to support their economy, particularly in selling fishing licenses for tourists. This is going to severely damage their budget, but as she put it, they should have thought about that before they collectively decided against helping a small group of lost wanderers. Heath is shocked that she was able to secure approval for such a hostile act. The three time travelers are valuable, and he knows that, but now it seems that others are starting to agree. People are going to great lengths to both protect them, and get them on a certain side.

The transport helicopter and its escorts landed in Frankfurt, then got them into first class on a direct flight back to Kansas City. A driver came for the fake Amir, and then another came to deliver the rest to the condo, which is when they discovered that the other three members of their group were not there. Angela left a coded note, explaining that they were going off on a rescue mission. That was days ago, though, and they should have beat them back here with The Olimpia. Something else happened, and they needed to know what. They weren’t able to get ahold of them by phone, so they confronted Winona Honeycutt for answers. She claimed that they were aware of the rescue attempt by the Dead Sea, but lost track of the other half of the team after that. No one appeared to have detected them teleporting away, but that’s what the Honeycutts figured went down. She said that she had been searching for them ever since, and have come up with no leads. It’s hard to tell when she’s lying, but it could be true.

Finally, after days of stressing out about it, Leona received a call from an unfamiliar number late at night. Mateo wasn’t able to talk for very long; not long enough for Leona to arouse the others to listen in on the whole conversation, but he was able to report that the three of them were okay, and were making their way home. Communication was difficult, though, so she shouldn’t expect to hear from them frequently. No word on where they were, or what they were doing, but it was a relief just to make contact. Their communications may be compromised in more ways than one, so they’ll wait to debrief each other in person. They sure have a lot to divulge themselves.

“What else did he say?” Kivi asks, having only heard the tail end of the conversation.

Leona frowns, and stares into empty space. “They won’t be back for days, if that.”

“I’m sorry.” Marie and Heath only heard Mateo say goodbye, and then hang up.

Leona straightens herself out. “You’re in charge while I’m gone.”

“Where are you going?” Heath asks her.

“I’m going to wherever they are.” Amidst confused protests, Leona goes back to her room to get dressed, and gather a few essentials. She orders the others to remain here, and not follow her. Then she drives down to their lab.

Microstory 1726: Southern Crown

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I am a member of the royal court for the Southern Crown. There are two kingdoms in our world. One holds domain over the entire Northern hemisphere, and we rule over the South. We are a fair and just regime, and while not technically democratic, we do listen to our people and recognize their needs. We do not condemn those who would criticize us, and we do our best to make everyone happy. It was a long road that took us to this point, and no one here would welcome the opportunity to endure it again. We used to be broken into hundreds of independent nations, and though the majority of them were indeed run by democracies, they were full of corruption and selfishness. It was quite easy to get elected when you had the money, knew what to say to your voters, and had the right people backing you. That didn’t mean you would act in the best interests of your people, and it didn’t mean that you were peaceful. Now that there are only two separate states, things are much better for everyone. We don’t pay much attention to the goingson of the North, but according to our intelligence, they feel the same as we do. We have always met each other in peace, but not warmly. We are not allies, and we are not friends. Each kingdom can provide for itself, so we are not even trading partners. For the most part, we leave each other alone. But things have now changed. The threat we face threatens us all equally, which means there is no one to help us but our collective selves. We all have to do our part, and we all have to agree about what that means. A dragon has been on the attack for decades, even before the two kingdoms were formed. Some believe in the dragon, and others do not. Some believe, but are still not worried about it. To them, the dragon is always either far away in time, or in space.

The dragon is invisible, you see. Like the wind, we detect its impact on the world. We see the fires, and the smoke. We feel the heat as the water boils around us. We suffer the great storms that ravage our lands. We know that it’s there; we just can’t prove it, and without proof, stopping it from destroying everything may be impossible. Some of us have taken measures to slay this dragon, but it is too heavy a task for us, the brave few. Everyone must first admit that it is real, and help with the effort, if only in their own way. I am one of the more vocal proponents of fighting against the dragon, but there are not many who feel the same. The others, they laugh at me, or simply dismiss my concerns as not much of a priority. This region needs to send food to this other region, because they are not getting enough rain for their crops. This other region has had a bad fishing season. These are the issues that must be prioritized, according to the rest of the royals. I try to tell them that it is the dragon that is burning the crops, and it is the dragon that is poisoning the fish. They will not hear of it. It couldn’t be. No way could a dragon do so much worldwide. And if I make any attempt to convince them that we were the ones who released the dragon in the first place, they will surely have my head! No man could birth a dragon, and if he did, it would be easy to maintain, so that cannot be the problem. But no man birthed the dragon. We summoned it. Together. We summoned it when we did not take care of this world. It has come in response to our neglect, and the only way we’ll be able to kill it is if this becomes the accepted truth. I fear this cannot happen until the right person places that Southern Crown atop their head. And if it must be me, then it will be me. I cannot let the dragon consume us all.

Microstory 1320: Team Dynamics

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Food and Health Department Head: Thank you for coming in one more time. I know it’s been a long process.

Communications Major: It has, but it’s okay. I only a few days ago gave my current employer my two weeks’ notice. Though, to be honest, I’m a little worried. I was told unofficially that I had a position here already. Should I...contact my boss again?

F&H Head: Oh no, definitely not. You have a position here. We just need to find you a good fit. That’s what this final step is for. It’s a suitability interview.

Comms Major: I’m not a hundred percent sure what that means.

F&H Head: We presently have four teams you could be placed with. You might be working in the Agriculture section, or with the Biomedical section, because of your scientific background.

Comms Major: I wouldn’t say I had a scientific background. I took a few science classes in college.

F&H Head: Did you take any engineering or robotics?

Comms Major: No.

F&H Head: Then F&H it is. Did the other interviewers tell you a little bit about how we do things here?

Comms Major: Only a little. I understand you operate in small teams, each of which is always the same size?

F&H Head: That’s right. There’s a reason why the few science classes you took are relevant. We want you to be able to communicate effectively with the rest of your team. You don’t have to be a field expert, but you have to have some idea what the others are talking about when you’re discussing the topics. Each team is composed of a Leader, a Researcher, a Communicator—that will be you—a Mediator, and a Writer.

Comms Major: Oh, okay. Interesting.

F&H Head: They did studies, and found that the best teams are based on diversity of skill. There are five skills, so each of them plays to the strengths of each team member. If you were particularly good at researching new topics, but also a really great leader, you might not do well in this organization, because we’re designed for permanent placement. There aren’t a whole lot of promotions going on here, because everyone is assigned to contribute in a particular way. I believe you went over that in the other interviews?

Comms Major: They did. I found that quite intriguing. It sounds like you have a robust merit increase program, but people aren’t meant to move up the ranks.

F&H Head: This is true. I was hired externally, as is most of the other higher level leadership. Some people don’t really care for that. They’re ambitious, and they think, if they’re good enough, they should be able to move up. But all you should truly care about is the success of the magazine, the positive impact we have on our readers, and the money you make that allows you to be happy in your personal life. It’s a radical stance, but it’s been working for us for the last three years.

Comms Major: Yeah, I love this magazine, but I had no idea it was organized so differently. Can you tell me more about how the teams work?

F&H Head: Well, obviously the Researcher and Writer are responsible for laying out the content in each article. They’re the ones who have to be field experts. The Communicator and Mediator have similar duties to each other, but we think you’re better suited to round up all the experts your team will have to talk to, while someone else handles the discussions themselves. We’re not opposed to you and the Mediator trading responsibilities now and then, though, or blending them together a little. It all depends on which team you’re on, and who you’re working with. This is all about group cohesion. Like I was saying about those studies, teams aren’t successful as long as everybody is smart, or even qualified. The most successful teams are the ones where everybody is good at something the others are not. Does that make sense?

Comms Major: It does. So, how do we decide which team I would be able to help the most?

F&H Head: We have to go meet them. Follow me.

Microstory 1295: The Birds and the Seeds

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An eclectic colony of birds was once hopping about the ground, pecking at the seeds that lay in the soil. This was a great place for them to live, for there was always plenty of food around, and the humans who tended the crops did not pay them any mind. They just kept hopping joyfully, and partaking in the seeds. “Careful,” said one of the birds to the others. She was a raven, which meant she was a little bit smarter than all the others. “Those brown ones there; those are hemp seeds. Be sure to pick up every single one, or you will be sorry later.” When they asked her why it was so important they take all of those particular seeds, she replied, “hemp is a very important plant for the humans. They make many things out of them, but what we’re most worried about are the nets. Other humans will use these nets to catch the birds.” The other birds heeded the raven’s warning, and did not leave one single hemp seed on the ground. Months later, however, the birds found themselves being swept up in a hemp net. They asked for the raven to explain, but she did not understand. “The humans should not have been able to make any hemp ropes without the seeds to grow the plants,” she said. “This shouldn’t be possible.”

The crow was even smarter than the raven; so much so that she did not get caught in the net at all. She landed next to the poor birds, and said one thing before she flew away. “These are not the only hemp plants in the world. Danger lurks everywhere.”

This story was inspired by, and revised from, an Aesop Fable called The Swallow and the Other Birds.

Microstory 1271: The Independent Woman and Her Milk

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After the cows were milked, and the market was soon to open, the farmer sent his young daughter into town to sell their milk. As she walked, she fantasized about what she and her family could do with the money they would get. After today, they should have saved up enough to buy a new cow, which will increase their yield, and make them even more money. With that, they could buy chickens, and fix the fence, and do all sorts of things to make their farm better and better. If they could make enough, she might even be able to afford the books she’ll need to go to school. As her mind was wandering, thinking about the amazing job she might get from having become educated, the pail slipped from her hand, and fell to the ground. All of the milk was wasted. When she returned home to confess to her parents what she had done, her father was saddened. He was not upset about the milk, but he realized how difficult this life must have been for his children. The next day, he sold the farmland, and all of its assets. He moved his family to a small apartment in the city, only a few blocks from the nearest school. His children received a great education, and even went on to college. The daughter chose to study agriculture, and ultimately became the founder of a vertical farming company, revolutionizing the way farmers tended to their crops. She eventually forgot about that fateful day when she foolishly spilled the milk. Her head was too full of interesting thoughts about how to make the world a better place.

This story was inspired by, and revised from, an Aesop Fable called The Milkmaid and Her Pail.

Microstory 1109: Dardan Lusha

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Horace Reaver was a salmon, born with the pattern of going back to his younger body, and living every day a second time. At first, he didn’t realize other people weren’t like him. He called the first time he experienced a day the practice, and assumed everyone around him went through the same thing. One day, he accidentally killed his friend, Dardan Lusha on the playground. This didn’t bother him much, because he knew he would be able to prevent it from happening after the day reset to its beginning, as it always had. This was when he first learned normal people were not like him at all, and did not perceive time the same way. Dardan lived through that day, totally unawares of what had happened before, and went on to continue living long after that, but his relationship with his only friend was forever changed. While the trauma was completely erased from Dardan’s memories, Horace could remember vividly, and could not get past the fact that he was alone. Dardan would always remind him of that, and he just couldn’t have it, so he purposefully cut ties with him. Though Reaver would go on to become quite the prolific killer, there was no reason to suspect he felt any animosity towards Dardan. In all likelihood, he had all but completely forgotten about the incident. Still, Reaver’s daughter, Meliora didn’t want to take any chances. When Dardan was a young adult, she took him off Earth, and made him the first tenant of Sanctuary, which she built on a planet that would eventually come to be known as Dardius. Then the timeline changed. A traveler went back, and altered history enough to create a new reality, and a new Dardan. She came to realize that this would never stop happening. She couldn’t just rescue people who had been negatively affected by time, then leave their alternates to their own devices. Some people, in these new realities, will have escaped their terrible fates, and that was fine, but someone at constant risk, like Dardan, would have to be saved no matter what. Over the years, she continued to save him from the potential of her father’s wrath. Every once in awhile, a new Dardan will take up residence on the planet named for him. The most recent one was elected Agriculture Administrator, and was responsible for feeding billions of people, including the world’s enemies. And no one beyond Meliora knew why he had been saved, not even Dardan himself.

Microstory 970: Seasons

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Seasons are probably more important than you think, and you likely don’t consciously realize what good the seasonal cycle has done for humanity. Seasons are caused by the Earth’s tilt, and the gravitational pull of the moon, both of which were believed to be caused by the same major impact event during the planet’s relative infancy. Lots of people know that the reason our world supports life is because it’s located within a habitability zone. Our perfect distance from the sun makes this place neither too hot, nor too cold. But this is not the only reason, because if it were, life—or at least more evident life—should easily exist on Mars and Venus as well. The gas giants also protected us from incurring too many impact events, which is yet another example of a happy medium. Scientists believe our solar system’s distance from the center of the galaxy may have contributed to habitability as well, though that is still up for debate. I tell you all this so you appreciate how impossible it is that we even exist, and how close we were to not. It may seem like winter is just an inconvenience, or detrimental to life, but that’s not the case. Many crops, including wheat, cannot grow without a cool environment, which would be bad, because a lack of winter would also prevent the advancement of technology beyond small agricultural pockets in only certain regions. But even then, life would be difficult. Just because there’s no winter, doesn’t mean there’s no cold. We would be relegated to tropical regions near the equator, which would be inundated by unchecked pathogens, and their rampant carrier pests. Rain and other weather would constantly beat down any settlements, forcing populations that survived those diseases to at least be partially nomadic. Every civilization began by founding a permanent home, and died out when that home was threatened. An interesting other side effect of winter is technological progress. As the saying goes, necessity is the mother of invention. If we didn’t need to find ways to keep warm, we wouldn’t have come up with the most basic forms of energy production, so it wouldn’t have even occurred to us to try to invent computers. It’s okay that there are parts of the world untouched by most seasons, but for the most part, the world needs its tilt, and the people on it should be grateful. Today, our home is being threatened by climate change, which at the most optimistic estimates, won’t be fixed until the middle of this century; that is assuming we immediately cease all pollution overnight. I would tell you to #votethemout if you want something done about climate change, but in all honesty, I know of few politicians and political candidates who are even willing take the necessary action to alleviate this situation. Let’s hope that changes. I may not love you, winter, but I need you, so please...stay frosty.

Microstory 962: Futurology

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In the same way that people study history, there are those of us who study the future. Obviously this endeavor is a lot more difficult, and prone to tons of mistakes, because while history research is about gathering facts, it’s impossible to know for sure what is yet to happen. The more you understand about how we got here, and where we stand today, though, the more accurate the predictions you can make. I first stumbled into the field as recently as 2015. The Advancement of Leona Matic is about a woman who jumps forward one year every day, so her environment is constantly changing, especially nearer the beginning of her journey. In order to tell a realistic tale, I had to figure how technology would progress over time—usually by consulting FutureTimeline.net—which is a problem most speculative writers don’t have to worry about. Most of their stories are set in a single time period, so all they have to do is make their best guess about what life is like at that point. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that’s easy, but this does come with avoidable issues. For instance, in the first Star Trek series, people communicate using handheld devices, and pull a lever to operate the turbolift. Characters in the next show, which is set decades later, use pins attached to their uniforms, and voice activated turbolifts. Lemme tell ya, if we crack faster-than-light communication and travel, we won’t be using no cell phones and elevator controls. There’s no technological barrier happening. Stargate did the same thing when it suggested it would take millions of years to invent an artificial wormhole generator capable of reaching billions of lightyears in a matter of seconds that didn’t need to rotate. But this is all okay, because they’re just stories. Most futurologists are working at solving problems, not by simply predicting the future, but by driving it. I fell in love with the subject, because I’m obsessed with knowing what’s going to happen. I hate surprises, and I hate surprises. It’s really important that you understand how much I hate surprises, including “good” ones. A lot of people would claim they don’t want a surprise party, but secretly do. That’s not me, I legit hate being surprised ambushed. But this isn’t about me, it’s about the people who use their predictions to change the world. Humanity could survive if we never progressed past basic agriculture. We could have enough food, and naturally regulate our population, but who wants that? Every invention you use today, and all that came before it, was first thought of by someone who wasn’t happy with the status quo. We need futurists, or nothing would get better. I’m proud to be slightly less removed from future studies than most people, and will continue to expand my knowledge...in the name of advancement.

Microstory 795: Honor Spotter

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The Bicker Institute formed in the 19th century out of fear that some great cataclysm could fall upon the Earth, and destroy civilization. Wanting to insulate the human species from complete annihilation, they start monitoring genetically diverse individuals in secret. Should the need arise, they were to be taken to hidden bunkers to protect them from whatever would happen to the rest of the world. They would not be alone in these bunkers, because who knows what they would do if left to their own devices? So certain peoples are recruited before the theoretical end, according to their education and experience. They need a leader, someone who is a true believer in the cause, and understands exactly what it is they’re fighting for. Of course, they need a doctor to tend to residents’ medical issues; an engineer, a mechanic, and an electrician, to maintain the facility itself; a gardner to care for the microponics equipment; and a logistician to keep track of their inventory. But the genetically select inheritors, and the management team are not the only two groups to be protected. They want the people to be able to choose for themselves; to developed policies and procedures that they feel are best. But inheritors are chosen when they’re children, long before they know what they want to do with their lives. Theoretically, every one of them could grow up to be a clown, for all anyone knows. And so seven people extra people from each of the three qualifying generations are chosen as supplementary bunker residents. These are known as...the wild cards, but are sometimes referred to as the honor residents.

Wild cards are destined to be breeders, and represent a fraction of their population that the Institute knows little about, medically speaking. This is done to better simulate the real world, which is based on more natural genetic inheritance. No algorithm can effectively control for every possible scionic outcome, nor should they strive for one. The fourteen wild cards are there to make it as random as possible. They are chosen, however, based on their education and experience, much like the management staff. Not all bunkers are alike, but the roughly have the same variety of backgrounds. There will likely be two military veterans; one of high ranking, and one of low ranking. There will be four law enforcement officers; one in a command position, one rookie, one experienced detective, and one new detective. There might be one registered nurse, a licensed practical nurse, a paramedic, an EMT, a midwife, and a doula. Lastly, it might be nice to have someone with culinary chops, and someone who is a natural born leader; perhaps an uncorrupted politician (if you can find one) or a company executive. Youngest generation wild cards are chosen by proximity to a bunker. While inheritors are closely protected by sentinels, wild card honor residents are only loosely kept track of by a group of headhunters known as the Honor Spotters. They keep a list of everyone they deem worthy of being taken to the bunkers, but add or remove honors, as new information suggests adjustment. Some in the Institute oppose these tactic, thinking that they would just be asking for something to go wrong when there are so many people they don’t know much about. Their worst resident, though, turned out to not be a wild card at all, but one of their most promising inheritors. And it would be up to the honor residents, and their honor spotter, to deal with him.

Microstory 794: Racetrack

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To say that the Amadesins are despicable people would be the understatement of the aeon. After the Old Worlds fell, the survivors of the religion—which had been increasingly losing followers for centuries—realized that their time was running out. They had one, maybe two, generations to go before their numbers were so thin, they would be considered a true alternative cult. In order to protect their traditions, they decided to hide themselves away in a higher dimension. They were obsessed with growing their army, and had had enough of trying to convince preexisting people of what they believed to be holy truths. They would just make their own people, and brainwash them right from the beginning of their short lives. Armed with technology they stole from others, they figured out how to grow humans, rather than gestate them in living mothers, which could only be done one or two at a time. Their human fields were vast, and had to be separated across new dimensions in their domain, which were collectively known as Thuriama. You could stand on a tall mountain and not see the end of it. In decades, their population rivaled some smaller galactic civilizations. Decades later, they were the largest in the universe. This had the side effect, however, of causing their lives to be incredibly dull. The old ways required a lot of work to go out and proselytize to the people. Without these jobs, they had nothing to do with their lives. They ended up concocting all sorts of untoward means of entertainment, often involving forcing their minions to humiliate themselves. But this grew boring as well, because there was no resistance. The people they had harvested felt no humiliation, for they knew no better than the cards life had dealt them. So the Thuriamen elite grew bold, and started seeking amusement beyond their dimensional home. One particular pastime involved kidnapping people, and coercing their loved ones to participate in a great transdimensional race. It was dangerous and deadly on its own, but racers who failed to win would be killed anyway, and their families would remain as slaves. Winners would also be killed, because they had zero leverage against their oppressors, and needed to  be silenced. Unfortunately for Thuriama, they made a big mistake when they abducted members of Zoey Attar and Amber Fossward’s team. This would be the last race in history, and marked a major milestone in the ultimate and final destruction of the twisted Amedesin megacult.

Microstory 743: Credos, Convention Thirteen: Compromise, Chapter Two

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Now that the kingdoms have converged into one nation, they were powerful and significant enough to enter the global market. Their technologies advanced enough for them to reach other lands, and people were taking notice. Time continued, and they began to solidify themselves as a major player in the grander economy. They had become incredibly self-sufficient, but the time for that was nearing its end. There were things that they needed from others, and as luck would have it, there were things others needed that only they could supply. One of their more popular exports was a special type of hybrid crop that provided consumers with nutritional value surpassed by no other. So many people wanted this crop that they didn’t have enough to go around. This was causing some problems with their allied nations, for everyone felt they had some entitlement to exclusive, or near-exclusive, pick of the crop. To the leaders of the kingdom nation, they had three choices. They could trade the crops with their most powerful allies; ones that could benefit their own need of certain imports the most, but this threatened war with those who lost out on the opportunities. They could try and spread the wealth across all trading partners, but that would leave everyone in wanting, and no one would be truly content. Their last, and most terrible option, was to simply keep the crops for themselves, and try to deal in only other exports. But a descendant of the queen who first brought all five kingdoms together had another idea. She decided that, instead of simply exporting the crops to the consumers, they should provide the seeds, and teach them the best way to plant them. This came out a far lower price, and they lost their indispensability amongst the other nations, but it had far-reaching implications for the future. They became the most powerful nation in the world, not because they had something others needed, but because they were seen to be trusted. Their willingness to compromise their control over the market actually acted to sustain that control through policy and mediation of global negotiations.

Microstory 742: Credos, Convention Thirteen: Compromise, Chapter One

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Many years ago, before anyone in the galaxy was flying to the stars, there was group of kingdoms that held lands not far from each other, and they each had something that the another needed. One had the best soil for farming, but no water to irrigate it. One had access to a great river of freshwater, but no decent way to transport this water anywhere else. One had developed advanced forms of transportation, but did not have enough fuel to power them. One was sitting on top of a grand reservoir of chemicals that could be processed into fuel, but no way to dig into the soil. The last had the tools to access underground resources, but few crops and other food, so the highly trained workers were hungry, and unable to work. From the outside, there may seem to be a perfect solution to all of their problems. Kingdom One can give its crops the the workers of Kingdom Five. Kingdom Five can dig for the chemicals under Kingdom Four’s lands. Kingdom Four can provide fuel for the transportational vehicles of Kingdom Three. Kingdom Three can deploy vehicles to transport Kingdom Two’s water to Kingdom One. This seems easy enough to do, until you place yourself in each Kingdom’s respective perspective. No one is interested in trading with anyone else, for they are too close to the issues to see what the entire system looks like. Why would Kingdom One give any crops to Kingdom Five when they cannot get anything in return? They cannot see the whole cycle, and how it will ultimately come back around to them. Even if they could, who can start the cycle in the first place? The only way for anyone to give what they have is to first get what they need from someone else. Fortunately, there was a workable solution to this, but the whole process depended on everyone working together. Though there was no easy way to transport the water from Kingdom Two to Kingdom One, there were still much harder ways. Everyone in the five kingdoms had to band together, and get that water to the crops. The queen from Kingdom Four understood this, and she organized the labor force into something no one had ever seen before. The first batch of crops was sent to the trained diggers, and the cycle was able to begin. Eventually, this worked so well, that they ended up with a single unifying economy, and the kingdoms merged into a single nation, living in prosperity for decades.

Microstory 652: Feeding Starving Thralls

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The last taikon was not the only one involving thralls today. On the other side of the galaxy, a land vehicle was rolling along the road of a negative civilization planet. A negative civilization, or civil-minus, culture is one that chooses to reject many forms of technological advancements. They are nearly exclusively isolates, leaving themselves outside the interstellar economy. They generally have no problem with the way people who are different than them live, but also do not interact with them. This particular world was aptly named Pastoralis, and consisted primarily of farms and their farmers. They trade with other settlements in the area, sometimes spreading across the planet, but mostly keeping to themselves. Other civil-minus worlds do not even possess any thralls, because of their separation from the galactic markets. Pastoralis is relatively new, however, and was founded by someone who had worked his way into the position of jarl, which awarded him his arkeizen myriad. It is a well-known fact that arkeizens don’t need to eat as much as humans. Afterall, they are significantly smaller than us. Still, somehow Pastoralis managed to run so low on their own closed resources that they were forced to make sacrifices. In order to protect the lives of the humans, rations were passed down to the thralls last; sometimes not even at all. On this day, however, of all days, the Pastorales were feeling exceptionally charitable. A produce transport tipped over on an uneven road, just as the boils began forming on the slavedrivers at the convention. Though this food could have been cleaned and made like new, the people of Pastoralis agreed to spoil the lot on their ledgers, and let the nearby thralls have them instead. It was a small gesture, even with the food shortage, but it was significant enough to fulfill the requirements for the prediction of the fruit of kindness, which is really all we care about.

Microstory 560: Child Pulls God Down From Sky

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When our people first woke up on this world, we were astounded. Endless lands and seas lay before us, seemingly only so that we could find peace and love. But the road to this peace has not come without its problems. Countless wars, disease, and other grief have riddled our history, and death is one obstacle we may never overcome. We still do not fully understand what we have found, but we know it to be the closest approximation of God, and for the moment, that remains our position. Throughout time, even amongst the tragedy, we have also made progress. We went from living in trees, to in caves, to building shelters for ourselves, to building shelters for others. Yes, we learned to specialize our skills so that, while those best at building structures were busy doing what they do, others could plant our crops. This was the spark of civilization. We advanced even further, constructing vessels capable of crossing to the middle of lakes to hunt for the kinds of fish who choose to stay away from the shore. We made these vessels even larger, and were able to sail them up and down the coast, trading with each other, and sharing our knowledge. Eventually, the ships became so magnificent and sturdy that they could survive trips away from the coastline, across the vast ocean, and to other continents. It was in these continents that we found new friends; some more advanced than us, and some less. We did not always get along, but most of us knew that we were headed towards greatness.

Then one day, the crew of one of these ships found themselves in the middle of a terrible storm. The sky darkened, the waters became wretched...they could not navigate. Soon, they were not able to control their movements at all; forced to surrender to the whims of God. They were fearful and uncertain, but as it turned out, God was not punishing them. She was directing them even closer to her so that we could catch a glimpse of her glory. After the storm had passed, the sunlight broke through and showed them what has now become the greatest discovery in our history. It is hard to explain to those who have never experienced it. It could only be seen at certain angles, at certain times of day, and only by those with excellent vision. It was this fleeting wave of sparkling light, hovering over the ocean. Our best philosophers could not explain it, and so we began to worship it as a window to heaven. Word spread, and people all over the world came to witness its majesty, and make their attempts to draw nearer. We built yet larger vessels, trying to get high enough to reach the God window, but were always unsuccessful. We simply do not have the resources or understanding to build something that high in that location. Most believe this to be a sign that we are not worthy, and this may be true. But this did not stop a young girl named Jiredia.

Jiredia was born as the runt of the family, much sooner than her mother should have delivered her. Her parents kept her close and safe, for her body has always been frail, and unsuited for the rambunctious life of a normal child. Somehow, this young girl became the miracle that has brought God closer than ever to us. Her size and lightness was perfect, for only she could accomplish what many have tried many times before. Instead of building something tall enough to reach the window, she simply flew up to it. She and her two older brothers caught and trained a Great Silverbird that had taken nest not far from their village. People have tried to tame Silverbirds in the past, though to no avail, but it was because they lacked what Jiredia and her brothers had in spades. They were patient. And caring. They treated the bird, named Villo, like royalty; feeding it, playing with it, and even letting it free to hunt on its own, knowing that it would eventually return to its new home.

After months of slow progression, they began to train Villo to carry passengers. Though Great Silverbirds are the largest bird species in the world, they are not generally strong enough to carry people on their backs...unless they happen to be Jiredia, who was now both old enough to take care of herself, but small and light enough to not burden the Silverbird. They transported Villo to the location of the God window, placed Jiredia on him, and let him loose. They flew around for awhile, amazing all visitors present, but then they headed straight for the floating ball of light, and took it down. Once her hand touched the God window, it became completely visible as a metallic sphere. After all this time, we had finally reached our goal, but this was not the end of God’s tests. As Jiredia held her prize over her head, showing the cheering witnesses her accomplishment, the sphere turned red, and burned her hand. The pain grew to be too much, and she dropped it in the water. Our journey is not yet over. While before we had to find a way to reach great heights, we now must learn to reach the depths. But now we know something we didn’t before...that we can do it. We will one day learn God’s secrets.

Microstory 326: Civilization

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Love

I’ve spoken on this subject before with my Safety from Chaos story, but that was more in terms of being free from libertarians who want to murder you because it’s more convenient, or because there’s a market for it. In retrospect, I might have been better off putting this before that one, but I guess I’m going to have to resign myself to the fact that even I am not going to be happy with the order I’ve chosen. I’ve defined civilization as “any group of people that combine their resources in a deliberate and mutually beneficial way in order to support the common good and propagate healthy living” though that may be too broad, because that would include tribes. Tribes have hunters and gatherers, and when food becomes scarce in one location, they must move on to the next. The first civil society sprung from the ability of these tribes to grow agriculture. Suddenly tribes could delegate certain responsibilities to certain people, leaving the rest to develop further both technologically and culturally. We started to create art, study the sciences, and plan for the future. It was through this that nations were born. Tribes built villages, villages came together as cities, and these cities became a collective inside of a country. But civilization did not stop there. Humans have a drive to make things ever better. Countries trade with each other, form alliances, and share ideas. The world is not without its enemies, and patriotism can get in the way of peace, but people tend to like each other. The majority of us have empathy, and do not enjoy the pain of others. We want to be protected from threats, and independent nations give us that security, but they also allow us to see the value in protecting others, regardless of what it has to do with us. Libertarians would have us lose our civility and become savages. I charge you to not let them.

Sewage