1964 lines
82 KiB
Plaintext
1964 lines
82 KiB
Plaintext
******************** DREAM SCHOOL **********************
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CHAPTER ONE: Early Years
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A. First Choices
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Jon was three now, so it was time to find the best possible
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pre-kindergarten for him. His parents, Eldon and Marie, were both very well
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educated, successful, and brilliant. They insisted on the best for Jon's
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education.
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The Montesorri school downtown was the logical choice, so they started
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there. A friendly young woman interviewed them, and gave them the usual sales
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pitch. After only a few dozen questions and a large down payment, they
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enrolled him for the fall semester. As an afterthought, the young woman told
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his parents about a new school just outside the city.
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"It's called the Dream School, and it really is an entirely new type of
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school. It doesn't compete directly with the Montesorri-type schools, either
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in schedule or subject matter. The hours are entirely at night, one night a
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week, all night long. The subject matter is the lessons of life, or what we
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can learn from our interactions with other living things"
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The format fascinated them, so the new school was their next stop. It
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was located in a sedate neighborhood, mostly older homes with a few quiet
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businesses here and there. Nothing really stood out about the new school,
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visually. It was in a rather plain office building, with no signs or other
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outward indicator that it was a school.
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B. First Contact
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They were greeted at the door and taken into a small interview room by
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Marla, a professionally dressed young woman. She gave Jon some toys to occupy
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him in one corner, while the adults talked.
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"Dream School was founded in September of 2513, almost a year ago" she
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began. "My husband Aaron and I started it, with the help of some colleagues
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from City University. We did experiments on our basic concept over the past
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ten years, so we thought it was time to put it all together and see if it
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would fly. To shorten a long story, it does. Now, what would you like to know
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first?"
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"Why the odd hours, and how does it work?" asked Jon.
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"The hours are for secrecy, actually. For reasons which I will explain
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shortly, we don't want the children to be aware of their presence in our
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school. To achieve that, we ask the parents to wait until the children have
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fallen asleep naturally, and then spray a mild sedative into their nostrils.
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After a few minutes, the child can safely be brought here without waking him
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or her."
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"We then administer a neuro-relaxer, which keeps the child in a state
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similar to hypnosis. Neither completely asleep nor awake, he will be in an
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in-between state where his awareness is in the region commonly called the
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sub-conscious mind. The child will remain in this state for about six hours,
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depending on his age and physical condition. During this time he will
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actively engage in our learning process. After that, he will be sedated again
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and return home. Since he won't get his normal REM and deep sleep that night,
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we limit his dream school to one night a week."
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"Your second question will require a bit more detail to answer. Our
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concept begins with safety, first, and foremost. We constantly monitor all
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his vital signs, both by machine and live personnel. The room in which he
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will experience our process is completely child-proof, as far as is possible
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to make it. All walls and floors are padded, as well as other fixtures and
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furniture. There will be qualified medical personnel and facilities always
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present. "
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"Of course, these are standard procedures for such a process as ours,
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but we don't stop there. We also monitor his emotional state electronically,
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and stop any inter-action which is excessively stressful."
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"And that brings us to the heart of the matter, our process. As you have
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heard, we teach the same lessons everyone learns in life by dealing with
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pain, stress, pleasure, guilt, and the whole range of emotions. Here he will
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learn not only how to handle emotions and to interact with other living
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things, but also about himself. So why, you may ask, does he need a school to
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learn the lessons of life? He doesn't need it to learn the lessons. He needs
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it to learn the lessons sooner, and safer."
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"Wouldn't it be wonderful, for example, to know that he had learned not
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to run into a busy street without any risk while learning? That he had
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learned not to pick up a poisonous reptile, without having to risk a fatal
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bite? And in addition to safety issues, how about social skills? Suppose he
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learned not to hit smaller children, without getting the reputation of a
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bully? Or not to lie to everyone, without making a permanent habit of it? And
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suppose he learned to respect that people are different from but not inferior
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to him, without first becoming a racist? And last, suppose he learns why he
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has annoying, counter- productive habits that make him unpopular, before he
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becomes an outcast?"
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"Now you have the basic concept for our school. All that remains is to
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explain the process by which we achieve our concept. This is where it gets a
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little technical, but with your backgrounds I think you can keep up."
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"The neuro-relaxer we use does not interfere with the normal senses of
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the brain. What it does, instead, is allow us to add to the normal senses an
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extra perception of objects and living creatures that our computer creates.
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These extra-sensory sensations enter the consciousness of the student through
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microscopic receivers, surgically placed under his scalp. The computer
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transmits radio-wave signals to these devices. They then send small
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electrical pulses to the appropriate brain area for that sensory input. In
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effect, the student sees, hears, smells, and feels the imaginary objects and
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living creatures created by our computer."
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"Our computer has memories not only of millions of objects and people,
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but also billions of reactions to specific actions the student might take.
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For example suppose your son was talking to a computer-generated friend (a
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composite of thousands of real children whose reactions were on record). And
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then suppose for no reason other than curiosity he hit this friend."
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"The computer would instantly choose the reaction which was most
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appropriate to the situation. So, the imaginary child might cry and run away,
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or it might knock your son on his backside. The blow to your child's face
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would be imaginary, and do no physical harm. He would perceive it as real,
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however, and fall on his behind on the padded floor. And the pain would be
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real, but temporary."
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"Do you follow me so far?"
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Two heads nodded up and down in unison.
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"There is really no way to predict how your son will react to his
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encounters here, just as there is no way to predict his reactions in real
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life. And, as in real life, some people just learn faster and better than
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others. And some will use these experiences to become more kind and just to
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other living creatures. Others will use them to learn how to gain advantage
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over their fellow life-forms, and to seek out all available pleasures."
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"In that respect, what we mainly do is to accelerate the process by
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which the child becomes what the child has the potential to become. However,
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for any parents who desire help, we have a behaviour modification program
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which is Skinnerian in design. In close consultation with the parents, we can
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program the computer to stimulate discomfort centers of the brain when the
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child acts inappropriately, and comfort centers when a reward is indicated.
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We'll keep you fully informed of his actions and reactions in our sessions,
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and we encourage you to take whatever corrective measures at home which you
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feel appropriate. Just connect your corrections to his real life actions,
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because he won't recall any events from our sessions while he is in his
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normal conscious state."
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C. First Questions
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"So you offer intervention or non-intervention. What data do you have
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on the results of your process so far?" Marie inquired.
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"The best data we have is the parents opinions. Our subject matter,
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quite frankly, is still the subject of much debate in the academic community.
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We'll open our books to you and you can interview whomever you care to."
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"How many students do you have?" inquired Eldon.
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"Currently, we have seven hundred. Seventy-five percent are from the
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city, and twenty percent are from your area. You could start interviewing
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from that list if you wish. My only request is that you maintain the
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confidentiality principle when you are around their children."
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"Understood. How do you get so many students into this building?"
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"It might be easier to show you. Would you care to take the short tour?"
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"O.K."
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"We have eleven floors in this building. The first floor is
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administrative and technical support area. All the other floors are
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identical. Pick a number from two to eleven."
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"Six."
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"Follow me"
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D. First Sight
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The elevator door opened on the sixth floor to reveal a long hallway,
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with hallways leading off to the right and left.
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"Straight ahead, please."
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The hallway then led to a circular room with ten doors arranged evenly
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around the curved walls. Each door had a large window with one-way glass. In
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the center of the room there was a three sided console with a small desk area
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and a monitor on each side. At the front edge of each desk stood a small
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microphone on a flexible stalk. Each desk had a comfortable-looking office
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chair under it.
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This is our monitoring room for the floor. Each door is an emergency
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entrance and visual monitoring gate to a room. We always have three people
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here when students are present, and they are qualified in emergency medical
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procedures. The desks are electronic monitoring stations, and each desk
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monitors all ten rooms. The programs for the students run from the first
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floor main computer, and that is also where our resident physician is
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stationed."
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"Each room is accessible from the outside of the circle. The child is
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brought in through the door from the outside hallway, and the inside door
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remains closed except for emergencies. As you can see the rooms are quite
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drab, to give the extra-sensory images less competition."
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"So you have ten floors with ten rooms each" said Marie. That's one
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hundred times seven nights or seven hundred. So you are full now, right?"
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"Right. And there is a waiting list. But the list moves fairly quickly,
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and I think we would be able to enroll Jon in a month or two."
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"Why does the list move quickly?" Eldon inquired.
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"For financial reasons, mostly."
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"What financial reasons?" asked Eldon, with mild apprehension.
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"We try to be fair about our tuition, but we do have a very expensive
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process here. Our solution is to ask for a percentage of the gross income of
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the parents. The rate is indexed to your income, and increases to a maximum
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of five percent for the highest bracket. Which bracket are you in?"
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"Ten million a year, combined." replied Eldon.
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"The rate for your level is two percent. So, that would be sixteen
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thousand, six hundred and sixty-six dollars and sixty-six cents per month of
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attendance," Marla informed them, without breaking eye contact. "Is that too
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steep for you?"
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"Not if you can do what you say you can," replied Eldon.
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"We'll do some interviews with the parents on your list for our area,
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and get back to you" said Marie.
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"Fine" replied Marla. "And we can put Jon on the list as a tentative
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entrant, with no obligation to you except to have an answer for us when his
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name comes up."
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"Thanks, that sounds fine" said Eldon. E. First Research
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Three weeks later, Eldon and Marie had interviewed fifteen couples in
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their neighborhood about the new school. Twelve had nothing but praise, two
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were noncommittal, and one wanted their money back. Eldon tried to explain
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that he had no connection to the management of Dream School. The elderly
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couple was adamant, however, that he should do something about their
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complaint. He promised that he would look into it.
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Two more weeks passed before the call came from Dream School.
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"What have you decided?"
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"Oh, we want to enroll Jon right away, in the intervention program"
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replied Marie. "And Eldon has a question for you."
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Eldon was assured that the elderly couple had not been promised that
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their granddaughter would make better grades in kindergarten because of Dream
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School.
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Everything was in place now for Jon to begin on Friday. New students
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were started on Friday or Saturday until their reaction to sleep deprivation
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was evaluated, Marla told them.
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Jon fell asleep early Friday night.
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CHAPTER 2: First Awakenings
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A. First Suspicions
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Jon was twelve now, and doing just fine in the sixth grade. He had a
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friend named Eric, and they did almost everything together.
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And so it was that one bright winter morning the two boys walked to
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school together.
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"Aaa-chooo!" went Eric.
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"Couldn't be allergies this time of year" said Jon. "You must have the
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yellow death, or something."
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"Yea, I guess so. Mom sprayed something in my nose last night, but I
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guess it wasn't enough."
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"Mom sprays my nose sometimes, too. I don't know what's in it for sure,
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but it puts me right to sleep if I'm awake."
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"I asked Mom about it once, and she said it was to keep me from having
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bad dreams. But I still have them, anyway."
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"Really? My mom said it was to keep little bugs out of my nose while I
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sleep. But I think that was like the tooth fairy story, or maybe it's just
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not the same stuff you get."
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"Maybe not. Why don't you see if you can find it, and bring it to
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school? I saw the little bottle mine comes in, and I can tell if it's the
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same."
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"You bring yours, too. If they are the same, somebody at school might
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know what it is."
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"O.K.."
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On the way to school the next morning, two identical bottles are
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produced from two little pockets.
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"Hey, these are the same!" said Jon. "They can't be for both bugs and
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bad dreams. Somebody has been pulling our chains!"
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"Yeah. Let's take them to the nurse and ask her about them. She'd know,
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for sure!"
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"Well, let's see now" said Nurse Roydon. "It says in the fine print
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here, return to DS Corporation if found. It has a phone number, and a post
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office box number. That's about all I can make out on it, that makes any
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sense. Just where did you boys get this, anyway?"
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Two little heads went blank. If they said they found it, the nurse would
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call the phone number. If they said it belonged to one of their parents,
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she'd want to know why they had brought it to her.
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"It's my allergy medicine" said Eric, after a pause. "I just wondered if
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you could tell us what was in it."
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"Why in the world would you want to know that?"
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Eric's eyes stared into space, his mouth partly open.
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"It's for a science project" declared Jon. "We're supposed to find out
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about chemicals we come in contact with every day. Then we're supposed to do
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a report on each one."
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"Yeah" said Eric.
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Nurse Roydon stared at them for a moment, like a skeptical buyer at a
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horse auction.
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"Whose science class are you two in?"
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Total silence.
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"You don't know?"
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Total silence, with heads dropped.
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"Let's go talk to Principal Newcomb."
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"Good morning, Miss Roydon" said the tall, menacing figure in the main
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office.
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"Good morning, sir. I have two mutes here, and a very mysterious little
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bottle."
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"Traumatic loss of voice, I suppose" said the tall man as he stared
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down at the two silent boys.
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"Yes sir, I think so" replied the nurse with a little grin. "And here is
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the mystery bottle they brought me."
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"Not much information on it" remarked the principal. "What is this,
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boys?"
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"Allergy medicine, sir" replied Eric in a subdued voice.
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"Well, that seems plausible. What's wrong with this picture, Miss
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Roydon?"
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"It's the cock and bull story that goes with it, sir. It seems that they
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have a science project that involves this bottle. But they can't remember who
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their science teacher is."
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"Well, now, that's easy enough. These two aren't taking science this
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year."
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Two little heads drooped even lower.
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"I'll bet their parents could help us straighten this out real quick"
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said the tall man.
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"We're not supposed to have it" declared Jon, softly.
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"And you're not supposed to tell whoppers, either" added Nurse Roydon.
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And so ended their first attempt to solve the mystery of the little
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bottles. Their curiosity would not be held at bay for long, though. They had
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already discovered that their mothers had given them conflicting information
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about the bottles. And that genie couldn't be put back in the bottle.
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B. Second Suspicions
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"Mom, Eric's mom uses the same spray on him, and she says it's to
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prevent nightmares" said Jon. "How can it do that and keep bugs out, too?"
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"Two ingredients, maybe?"
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"Oh."
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That seemed to satisfy him for a few minutes. Then another doubt plagued
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him.
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"Why doesn't it have the name of the medicine on it, like other medicine
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bottles?"
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"For privacy, Jon. You don't want other people to know that you have
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nightmares, do you?"
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"I guess not."
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Jon was learning the art of ad-lib from the master. He would accept her
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revised explanation for a few more months. .C.Third Suspicions
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Then came summer, and Jon and Eric were off to camp.
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"Hey Eric, I hear there are a lot of bugs around here. Did you bring
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that spray bottle?"
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"No, mom didn't pack it. How about you?"
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"Nope. I guess I'll be too busy for nightmares here."
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"Oh, here's some insect stuff. I guess this is supposed to do the same
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thing" said Eric.
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"You going to spray that stuff up your nose?" asked Jon.
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"Nah, this stuff is in a rub-on stick. I wonder why Mom doesn't use this
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stuff at home?"
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"Beats me. I wonder why Mom didn't think I'd have any nightmares here?"
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"Did you ever hear of that DS Corporation anywhere?"
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"Nope. Maybe we ought to call that phone number on the bottles and see
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what it is."
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"Here's a dollar. You dial, and I'll talk."
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"Good morning, this is the DS Corporation. If you have found one of our
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medicine bottles, please press one. If you need information, press two."
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"Beep."
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"This is Chris, how may I help you?"
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"What kind of place is this?"
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"It's a medicine factory. We make nasal sprays with all kinds of
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medications in them. Your doctor tells us what to put in it for you, and we
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send it to him. Would you like to order some nasal sprays?"
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"No, thanks. I was just curious."
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"Click."
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Eric relayed the conversation to Jon, and they sifted through the
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details.
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"I still think they are shucking us!" said Jon. "It just doesn't add
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up."
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"Yeah, I know, but how are we going to get some answers? There's no way
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for us to find out what's really in those bottles without our folks finding
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out first!"
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"Maybe there is. Suppose that medicine in those little bottles was
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replaced by just plain water. Then, whatever it was supposed to do, wouldn't
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happen. If I started to have a bunch of nightmares, or you got bugs in your
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nose, we'd know they were telling us the truth. If something else happened,
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then we'd know what it was really for!"
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"Excellent plan, Jon. When are you going to do it?"
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"We're both going to do it, Eric, just as soon as we get home."
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And so, the great plan was carried out.
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D. The Great Plan
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Fifteen minutes after his nose was sprayed with water, Jon heard voices.
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"Is it time?"
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"Yes, it's been fifteen minutes. There comes the transport now."
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Jon did his best sleeping imitation.
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Upon his arrival at Dream School, he was given the usual neuro-relaxer
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spray. Jon went off to dreamland.
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"What happened to you?" Eric asked Jon. "You look like you've seen a
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ghost!"
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Jon carefully related all the details of his abduction the previous
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night. Right up to ten minutes after his second nasal spray, at which time
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his memory stopped.
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"What about you?" asked Jon.
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"Nah, I usually get mine tomorrow night. I'll let you know."
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"Try to notice where you are. I lost track, and I think they had the
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windows covered. If you can, memorize the turns you make."
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|
||
"What am I going to do if they give me a squirt in the nose at that
|
||
place, like they did you?"
|
||
|
||
"You'll go to sleep, I believe."
|
||
|
||
Sure enough, when the boys compared notes two days later, their
|
||
experiences had been identical. But Eric had managed to memorize the turns,
|
||
starts, and stops of his trip.
|
||
|
||
The following Saturday, the boys set out to find their tormentors.
|
||
|
||
They found the neighborhood all right, but then they were stumped. There
|
||
was no DS Corporation in sight, and they had neglected to get a street
|
||
address.
|
||
|
||
"Now what?" queried Eric.
|
||
|
||
"Simple" replied Jon. "What time do you have to be home?"
|
||
|
||
"Midnight. I told them I was going to a concert."
|
||
|
||
"Excellent. Here's the plan. We know what the transports look like,
|
||
right? So we hang out here a few hours, and wait for one of them to come
|
||
along."
|
||
|
||
"Then we follow it, right?"
|
||
|
||
"Brilliant!"
|
||
|
||
Actually, it was a fairly good plan. And it worked. By half past ten,
|
||
the boys were at the DS building.
|
||
|
||
"How are we going to get in?" asked a slightly nervous Eric.
|
||
|
||
"We're not, at least not yet. Look for a dumpster."
|
||
|
||
"What for?"
|
||
|
||
"My Dad says: You are known by your trash."
|
||
|
||
"What's that mean?"
|
||
|
||
"Didn't you ever watch a detective show? That's how they catch a lot of
|
||
bad guys. They search through their trash to find out what they've been up
|
||
to. Then they use it in court as evidence."
|
||
|
||
After an hour of searching through old business papers, lunch scraps,
|
||
and dirty paper towels, they gave up. As they left the dumpster, Jon noticed
|
||
a small plastic bottle. Since they were close to curfew, he stuffed it in his
|
||
pocket for later inspection.
|
||
|
||
Riding home on the bus, the young adventurers examined their discovery.
|
||
|
||
"This little bottle has a label!" said Eric, excitedly.
|
||
|
||
"Yes, but it's empty. And we can't even pronounce the words on this
|
||
label, much less know what it's for."
|
||
|
||
"Well I'm sure not going to take it to school, that's for certain!" said
|
||
Eric, with determination.
|
||
|
||
"Right," said Jon, with a little grin. "This time we're going to be a
|
||
little more careful. Who do we know that we can trust?"
|
||
|
||
"I have a cousin who takes graduate courses in chemistry."
|
||
|
||
"Perfect."
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
CHAPTER 3: The Big Discovery
|
||
|
||
A. The Accomplice
|
||
|
||
"Hey, Rasheed!"
|
||
|
||
"How ya doin', cuz?"
|
||
|
||
"Great! Are you still majoring in chemistry?"
|
||
|
||
"Biochemistry, actually. I'm working on a graduate degree in biochemical
|
||
engineering. Why?"
|
||
|
||
"I thought maybe you could tell me what was in this bottle" said Eric,
|
||
as he handed Rasheed the small plastic discovery from the dumpster.
|
||
|
||
Rasheed quickly produced a magnifying glass from his pocket, and
|
||
examined the object.
|
||
|
||
"Where did you get this?" asked Rasheed, in a demanding voice.
|
||
|
||
Momentarily, Eric thought he was back in Nurse Roydon's office.
|
||
|
||
"We found it" he managed to say.
|
||
|
||
"Who's `we', and where did you find it?"
|
||
|
||
"Me and Jon, uh, that is Jon and me..."
|
||
|
||
"Jon and I."
|
||
|
||
"Yeah. Anyway we found it in a dumpster behind a place they call D.S.
|
||
Corporation."
|
||
|
||
"Oh yeah, I've heard of that place. What were you doing there?"
|
||
|
||
"Some kid we know goes there, we think. We were just wondering what they
|
||
gave him to keep him from remembering what happens to him."
|
||
|
||
"This could be it, all right. It's a powerful drug, which can put you
|
||
into a semi-hypnotic state. You wouldn't recall anything that happened while
|
||
you were under."
|
||
|
||
"So what could this kid do about it, say, if he didn't like what they
|
||
were doing to him?"
|
||
|
||
"Well, he could stay awake one time, I guess. That way he could see for
|
||
himself what was going on."
|
||
|
||
"But how? You said yourself, that's powerful stuff!"
|
||
|
||
"Yea, that's true. But everything has it's antidote, even if it hasn't
|
||
been found yet. For this particular drug there is a well known antidote,
|
||
commonly available by prescription."
|
||
|
||
"How am I going to get some of that?"
|
||
|
||
"You're not, probably. But tell me something, squirt. What is this
|
||
friend's name?"
|
||
|
||
A very informative silence followed.
|
||
|
||
"Would it be Jon or Eric?"
|
||
|
||
Eric figured he had nothing to lose, since he could go no further by
|
||
himself.
|
||
|
||
"Yeah, both" he confessed.
|
||
|
||
"I thought so. I suppose I really should ask your parents before going
|
||
any further with this."
|
||
|
||
"Yeah, that's what everybody else does" said Eric, with a sigh.
|
||
|
||
"Hey, they're pretty neat people" said Rasheed. "I think they will give
|
||
you a fair shake."
|
||
|
||
"Couldn't we just drop the whole thing?"
|
||
|
||
"Sure, no harm done so far. But what would you do about the great
|
||
mystery? Hey, I'd like to know myself!"
|
||
|
||
"You're right. One way or another, I've got to know."
|
||
|
||
"So, let's go and talk to your parents." B. The Confrontation
|
||
|
||
Eric's parents, Max and Jinny, were calm about the whole thing. They
|
||
suggested that they all go and see Jon and his parents. The four of them
|
||
proceeded to Eldon and Marie's house.
|
||
|
||
"It looks like the jig is up" Jinny said to Marie. "What do we do now?"
|
||
|
||
"Let's call Marla at the school" Eldon suggested.
|
||
|
||
Marla did not seem surprised that it had happened. "We have already had
|
||
some of the older children catch on" she told them. "Why don't all of you
|
||
come down, and we'll talk about your options."
|
||
|
||
So everyone, except Rasheed, proceeded to Dream School. "We'll fill you
|
||
in later," they assured him.
|
||
|
||
C. The Big Secret Revealed
|
||
At the school, Marla proceeded to give Jon and Eric the same history,
|
||
purpose, and procedure lecture she had given Eldon and Marie years earlier.
|
||
Then they all toured a floor together.
|
||
|
||
"Wow!" was all Jon and Eric could say.
|
||
|
||
Marla even demonstrated the imaging and other extra-sensory projection
|
||
functions of the rooms to Jon and Eric, fully awake.
|
||
|
||
"Awesome!" remarked Eric, as Jon nodded his head.
|
||
|
||
"Now that you understand what has happened to you here, there is no
|
||
further use for pretense" Marla told them. "But there are now some new
|
||
possibilities. During the past eight years we have developed what we refer to
|
||
as a post-awareness curriculum. It will be up to your parents, and you,
|
||
whether you want to try it."
|
||
|
||
"What's it about?" asked Max.
|
||
|
||
D. New Directions
|
||
|
||
"It's about some specific things that happen to teenagers and young
|
||
adults quite commonly. It can cover such subjects as drugs, violence, various
|
||
criminal activities, gambling, and even sex. It might not be quite equal to
|
||
pre-awareness courses in it's impact on his life, simply because he knows
|
||
it's a simulation. But if he will listen to our explanation of our research,
|
||
he will see that our simulations are as real as possible."
|
||
|
||
"Suppose we grant the realism of your simulations" said Eldon. "What I
|
||
would like to know is what our sons would experience in your sessions on
|
||
drugs and sex!"
|
||
|
||
"Yes!" echoed Jinny, emphatically.
|
||
|
||
"The simulation on drugs do have to include drug-like euphoria, to be
|
||
realistic. They will not induce real tolerance -- or addiction, as you know
|
||
it. And they will also include our simulations of crashing, or drug
|
||
hangovers, and overdosing. They will also simulate the effects of addiction,
|
||
including withdrawal. And no simulation would be complete without some
|
||
episodes of loss of friends, failure at school, even loss of family. And
|
||
last, but not least, we have a simulation of drug-injection diseases."
|
||
|
||
"Now for the tough one, sex. Of course, all these courses are optional,
|
||
and you can pick any combination you like. Now, how do we teach S-E-X? Well,
|
||
quite frankly there is no other way than to simulate the real thing. It is
|
||
just as safe as abstinence, physically. But if you don't want him to be
|
||
exposed to carnal knowledge just yet, this course isn't for him."
|
||
|
||
" We simulate all types of sexual encounters; from dating with gradual
|
||
increases in intimacy, to sleazy encounters with whores and whore-hoppers.
|
||
There are lessons to be learned from each, we believe. And then, of course,
|
||
there are a whole range of consequences to deal with: pregnancy, disease,
|
||
social ostracism, violent jealousy, and so on. What do you think so far?"
|
||
|
||
"Sounds great!" said Jon.
|
||
|
||
"Not so fast!" said his mother, Marie.
|
||
|
||
"I believe this will require some discussion at home, in private" said
|
||
Max.
|
||
|
||
"Of course" said Marla. "Here are some brochures. Take your time."
|
||
|
||
"By the way" said Jinny, "how did you collect your data for the
|
||
simulations in these courses? I mean, don't you have to wire people up while
|
||
they are engaged in the pertinent activity?"
|
||
|
||
"Yes, you are correct. Realism can only be achieved by recording the
|
||
actual impressions as they happen. Ethical questions arose in the development
|
||
of these courses, for obvious reasons. In most cases, we simply wired
|
||
volunteer subjects and recorded all their impressions over a period of time.
|
||
This is somewhat clumsy, however, since receiving and recording equipment
|
||
must be within one hundred meters of the subject to function."
|
||
|
||
"One solution to that was to wire all the members of a number of gangs
|
||
of teenage hoodlums and station the equipment in their hideouts. We managed
|
||
to get some of them to carry tiny receiver-recorders on their persons when
|
||
they left the premises. In other cases, we went to other countries to get the
|
||
data. In no case did we encourage or suggest any behavior at all. We simply
|
||
paid people to allow us to record all their activities, and kept it up long
|
||
enough to get all we needed."
|
||
|
||
"So what you're saying is that our kids will be going through the same
|
||
experiences as hoodlums, vagrants, and criminals" said Marie.
|
||
|
||
"Yes, that's right. Your average, well-behaved teenager would have had
|
||
to be tracked for years to have given us the necessary data. These kids were
|
||
making mistakes at a very fast rate, so we used them."
|
||
|
||
"What did they get for their trouble?" asked Jon.
|
||
|
||
"Money, of course. And in a few cases, we actually saved their lives by
|
||
alerting the authorities when they were close to death. They were satisfied
|
||
with the deal."
|
||
|
||
"Well, that's quite a lot to think about" said Max. "We'd better go home
|
||
and get started."
|
||
|
||
The discussions were long and emotional. In the end, realism won out
|
||
over the urge to protect one's child from exposure to reality. Both boys were
|
||
signed up for the courses, except that Eric wasn't allowed to take the sex or
|
||
drug courses.
|
||
|
||
E. Growing Up Fast
|
||
|
||
The hours were changed to weekends, days and evenings, for their new
|
||
courses. The boys became very excited about their experiences there, both
|
||
past and future. It was the anticipation of future experiences that drove
|
||
their little imaginations wild.
|
||
|
||
Soon, however, the exhilaration of new thrills began to give way to the
|
||
cold, hard realities of the consequences of their actions.
|
||
|
||
"I thought I was a gonner" became a frequent refrain for both boys in
|
||
describing their course experiences. The fact that they knew it was all a
|
||
simulation somehow got lost in the heat of the moment.
|
||
|
||
Eventually, however, they became somewhat blas<61> about the simulations.
|
||
Excitement dwindled, anticipation evaporated, and it all became
|
||
matter-of-fact. Their parents were quite satisfied with the results of the
|
||
courses, which was that the boys hadn't gotten into any serious trouble. But
|
||
both parents and children thought it was time to examine their options again.
|
||
|
||
F. Passing It On
|
||
|
||
"We are at present working on courses for young adults" Marla told them.
|
||
"But since they are not ready yet, I have another option for you. What would
|
||
you think about these two boys gathering data for us? They are in the right
|
||
age range, and they are already wired for reception. We could very easily
|
||
change their wiring to transmission-type, and provide you with receivers and
|
||
recorders. We would pay you for your trouble. Then, if you and the boys
|
||
decided to, they could go to the courses they helped to create - free of
|
||
charge."
|
||
|
||
"But our boys aren't delinquents or hoodlums!" Jinny strongly objected.
|
||
|
||
"That's a good point" Marla agreed. "But for these courses, we've
|
||
decided on a different approach. We think that the volatility of the teenage
|
||
years gives way to a different set of problems for the young adult. Rather
|
||
that exploring all the wild temptations, we think that their main focus will
|
||
be on beginning to build a life. Most will think of how to set out on their
|
||
own, to start doing things their way."
|
||
|
||
"For those reasons, and others, we want to focus this course on the
|
||
average young adult. We think that is the way to get the most relevant data
|
||
for the typical student these courses are being designed for."
|
||
|
||
"So, what sort of courses will they be?" asked Max.
|
||
|
||
"They will cover some of the typical crossroads-type decisions young
|
||
adults must make. We think marriage, job-seeking, home-seeking, adult
|
||
friend-making, and having kids of their own fall into this category. We are
|
||
adding others as the data comes in, and probably will continue to add them as
|
||
long as we receive data. We have data from about a dozen young adults over a
|
||
three-year span now, and we plan to gather it for five more years before
|
||
starting the courses. So what do you think?"
|
||
|
||
"It sounds very interesting, and I think we will give it a lot of
|
||
thought" Eldon commented. "Is there anything else we need to know?"
|
||
|
||
"Perhaps you'd be interested to know that just as in our teenage
|
||
studies, the vital signs of our subjects will be constantly monitored. Of
|
||
course, the subjects must carry their recorders with them when they leave
|
||
home, for the monitoring to be effective. The portable recorders do more than
|
||
record; they have an emergency transmitter which sends a distress signal when
|
||
vital signs indicate an emergency."
|
||
|
||
"Very thorough!" said Max. "We'll have an equally thorough discussion,
|
||
and let you know!"
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
CHAPTER 4: Leaving The Nest
|
||
|
||
A. High Education
|
||
|
||
Jon and Eric were reluctant research subjects at first. They resented
|
||
the intrusion on their privacy, and the little portable recorder-transmitter
|
||
devices were clumsy. Both boys left home without them several times
|
||
(sometimes intentionally and sometimes not).
|
||
|
||
That soon ceased, however, when they learned that they would not be paid
|
||
for the days they left them at home. And their privacy concerns were greatly
|
||
relieved when Marla told them that the data had no name tags on it. It was
|
||
encoded in its' raw form, she said, and when downloaded over the phone lines
|
||
it became anonymous.
|
||
|
||
Soon they were taking it for granted -- as nothing more than an easy way
|
||
to make a few bucks. The fact that their parents let them keep it all made it
|
||
more palatable, too.
|
||
|
||
They entered the local university at the same time, but with different
|
||
goals. Jon was interested in pure science, and wanted to pursue biophysics.
|
||
Eric liked sports, girls, fast cars, and beer, in that order. He wanted to
|
||
major in phys-ed and campusology.
|
||
|
||
At the end of five years, Jon had his advanced degree in biophysics and
|
||
hot job prospects. Eric had a social disease, a four-year degree in secondary
|
||
education, and a try-out with a major-league soccer club. And the data bank
|
||
at Dream School was full enough to begin the young adult courses.
|
||
|
||
Neither Jon nor Eric wanted to interrupt their careers to take the new
|
||
courses, even for free. And both felt that they had already learned the
|
||
lessons likely to be in it. Dream School administrators were sympathetic, and
|
||
allowed them to postpone their eligibility indefinitely.
|
||
|
||
B. Look Out World, Here They Come
|
||
|
||
Jon took a position with a robotics manufacturer in another state. Eric
|
||
got a position on a professional soccer team, but was injured in his first
|
||
season. He came back from his injury a bit too soon, and crippled himself. He
|
||
could still walk and run, thanks to his prosthesis, but he wasn't good enough
|
||
to stay on the team. He came home and sulked.
|
||
|
||
While Jon learned the robotics racket, Eric was at home feeling sorry
|
||
for himself and sinking deeper into substance abuse. His parents finally
|
||
despaired of trying to help him, and evicted him. It was now sink or swim for
|
||
Eric.
|
||
|
||
At the local homeless shelter, Eric hit bottom. With no money for drugs,
|
||
he had to dry out. With no drugs, he had to take a hard look at himself. He
|
||
didn't like what he saw.
|
||
|
||
Eric decided to clean up his act. Since the shelter had a resident
|
||
religious guidance counselor, he decided to give religion a try.
|
||
|
||
Religion agreed with Eric. Soon he found a structure in it that allowed
|
||
him to set goals and impose self-discipline. He reconciled with his parents,
|
||
and moved back in with them. He got a job as a coach for a high school soccer
|
||
team. His team did well, and he found someone to spend time with. He bought a
|
||
house, and settled down.
|
||
|
||
C. Jon Returns To Dream School
|
||
|
||
Jon found robot-making exciting at first, but it soon lost its' luster.
|
||
The challenges were always there, but the goals never seemed to vary much. He
|
||
longed for something with a higher set of purposes than making widgets more
|
||
efficiently. Then he began to think about Dream School.
|
||
|
||
Yes, they could use a man with his skills and talent. The pay wouldn't
|
||
be quite the same, but the challenges and goals would be much loftier. And
|
||
besides, he'd always liked Marla.
|
||
|
||
Jon was surprised at how much older Marla looked. She wore her age well,
|
||
actually, but Jon hadn't seen her since high school.
|
||
|
||
"Jon, this is my husband, Aaron. Aaron, you remember Jonathan Haynes,
|
||
don't you?"
|
||
|
||
"Our star pupil? Of course I do! How are things, Jon?"
|
||
|
||
"Not bad, sir, and looking better all the time!"
|
||
|
||
Aaron quickly looked around the room, then back at Jon. "Oh, you're
|
||
calling me sir! I thought there was someone else in the room!" he said.
|
||
|
||
"Anyway, welcome aboard!" Marla said with the same little grin Jon
|
||
remembered from years before.
|
||
|
||
"Thanks. Where do I start?"
|
||
|
||
"How about another ten-cent tour?" Marla suggested.
|
||
|
||
"Lead on!"
|
||
|
||
This time Marla began with the first floor support systems. There was
|
||
data reception, analysis, storage, and transmission to the rooms. There was
|
||
even a system to receive data from the students as they encountered the
|
||
computer simulations of the various courses. And there was room for 3-D
|
||
projection of any data from any source, for analysis by human beings.
|
||
|
||
"We can re-create any interaction here that takes place in any of our
|
||
rooms" explained Aaron, "since we have both the data to create the
|
||
simulation and the student's data."
|
||
|
||
"This is all new since you were here" observed Marla. "We have always
|
||
had statistical analysis of the data by our computer programs. What we felt
|
||
we were lacking was human observation of atypical interactions. This fills
|
||
that void."
|
||
|
||
"So now you are gathering data from all your students while here. How
|
||
about away from here?"
|
||
|
||
"Yes, since they are wired for both reception and transmission, most of
|
||
them have recorders at home. We even have some who carry portables, like you
|
||
did." replied Aaron.
|
||
|
||
"And that brings us to the second floor" said Marla. "We are now so
|
||
overcome with data that we had to take the second floor for storage and
|
||
processing. And we added a new ten-story building behind this one for the
|
||
increased student load."
|
||
|
||
"Any big changes in the rooms?"
|
||
|
||
"No, they're just the way you left them" said Aaron.
|
||
|
||
"So what's my part in all this?"
|
||
|
||
"First, you've got to do what all new employees have to do" Marla said.
|
||
"You've got to take any courses you haven't had yet."
|
||
|
||
For the next six weeks, Jon spent eight hours a day, five days a week in
|
||
the young adult courses. He enjoyed them, and felt that he had learned a few
|
||
things in the process. He even thought he recognized some his own old data.
|
||
|
||
"O.K., what's next, boss?" Jon asked Marla.
|
||
|
||
"Debriefing" she replied. "You'll spend two weeks with our staff
|
||
discussing what you thought about the courses, and how you think they can be
|
||
improved."
|
||
|
||
"Oh, it won't take that long to tell you everything I know!"
|
||
|
||
Two weeks later, Jon still had opinions to offer. His bosses, however,
|
||
had other agendas. His technical skills were needed now to improve the
|
||
hardware.
|
||
|
||
D. Eric On The Rebound
|
||
|
||
Eric was going through his own changes. He was now married to Elissa,
|
||
and they were expecting a little girl. He had drifted away from his past
|
||
religious fervor, and was looking for something to replace it. He looked into
|
||
the occult, the supernatural, and the extra-terrestrial. He read theologies
|
||
from a to z, and some that just had a number. He read atheist and agnostic
|
||
literature. He read all the philosophers, great and small. Everything he read
|
||
had a grain of truth in it, but nothing was quite satisfactory. Agnosticism,
|
||
however, expressed his lack of conviction quite well.
|
||
|
||
Eric and Jon met occasionally in the old neighborhood. On one of those
|
||
occasions, Jon reminded Eric that he still had his eligibility for the young
|
||
adult courses at Dream School. And he gave him a bit of a sales pitch, from
|
||
his own experiences.
|
||
|
||
That was enough to get Eric started again at Dream School. Going once or
|
||
twice a week for a few hours, he finished the course in six months.
|
||
|
||
"I sure wish I'd have taken this thing sooner!" he told Jon. "Maybe I
|
||
wouldn't have screwed my life up so badly!"
|
||
|
||
"Maybe not. But look -- you seem to have learned the lessons on your
|
||
own."
|
||
|
||
"And look what it cost me! I could've learned them here without ending
|
||
my life."
|
||
|
||
"Probably" Jon agreed. "At least you wouldn't have been living on the
|
||
edge."
|
||
|
||
"Yeah, that edge is a bitch! Only a weak, irregular heartbeat away from
|
||
cashing in."
|
||
|
||
"And no monitors."
|
||
|
||
E. Eric Comes Home
|
||
|
||
Jon talked Marla and Aaron into adding Eric to the board of advisors for
|
||
course development. Eric brought with him the authenticity of experience for
|
||
many of the things the courses taught.
|
||
|
||
Eric continued his search for a light to guide by. He and Jon often
|
||
discussed religion and philosophy. Jon never had formed any convictions, so
|
||
he was agnostic as well. They both found it easier to say why they didn't
|
||
believe in a particular thing than what they did believe.
|
||
|
||
This state of affairs persisted for many years. They both continued to
|
||
investigate new doctrines and points of view, but without finding anything
|
||
worthwhile. For a time they dabbled in politics, but found it wanting. They
|
||
were interested in art and anthropology, but found no profound meaning in
|
||
either.
|
||
|
||
"Opinions, opinions, the world is full of opinions!" Jon would sometimes
|
||
remark. "Yes, but what is our opinion?" Eric would reply. Jon usually didn't
|
||
answer, except to throw up his hands in despair.
|
||
|
||
F. The First Big Clue
|
||
|
||
It was during this period of uncertainty that Jon and Eric read about a
|
||
new discovery in biophysics. It was reported that investigators had succeeded
|
||
in replicating every single molecule of a certain bacterium. They had placed
|
||
their synthetic life form in the appropriate medium, with all conditions
|
||
right for maximum survival chances. They even gave it a tiny electrical
|
||
stimulus to start it off. As they watched it, all the data was correct except
|
||
for one thing. It never showed any signs of life.
|
||
|
||
"What was missing?" read the caption below the picture of the synthetic
|
||
germ. "It had all the equipment, all the conditions, and all the stimulus.
|
||
What else does it take?"
|
||
|
||
"Let's reason this out" suggested Jon. "Their data is undeniable. They
|
||
repeated the experiment five times before giving up! What else could be
|
||
necessary?" G. Basic Questions
|
||
|
||
"What defines life, Jon?" asked Eric.
|
||
|
||
"Well, there is where you get into opinion again. The basic criterion is
|
||
that it must process food, grow, and reproduce itself. That leaves out
|
||
viruses, and certain semi-organic synthetic molecules which can do some but
|
||
not all of those things."
|
||
|
||
"O.K., but how do you determine instantly what is alive and what is
|
||
not?"
|
||
|
||
"All life has some delicate electrical activity going on in its' body at
|
||
all times. And all life responds to stimulus according to its' genetic
|
||
programming."
|
||
|
||
H . Pain, The Common Denominator
|
||
|
||
"We respond to a lot of different stimuli ourselves" observed Eric. "We
|
||
respond most reliably to pain, though, don't we?"
|
||
|
||
"Yes, all life forms do."
|
||
|
||
"So you're saying all life feels pain?"
|
||
|
||
"That's my opinion, and it's shared by many others in the field. It's
|
||
not been subject to verification yet, but all indications point to that
|
||
conclusion."
|
||
|
||
"So what do the scientists put into the synthetic bacterium that feels
|
||
the pain?" asked Eric.
|
||
|
||
"What do you mean?"
|
||
|
||
"Do you think a molecule feels pain?"
|
||
|
||
"Probably not."
|
||
|
||
"Then how can a collection of them feel pain?"
|
||
|
||
I. The Spark Theory
|
||
|
||
"I don't know, but isn't that what we all are, just a collection of
|
||
molecules?"
|
||
|
||
"I don't know. But we all come from some living thing, instead of a cold
|
||
test tube. Maybe there is some kind of spark that must be passed on, in order
|
||
for life to exist."
|
||
|
||
"Woah! you're getting pretty deep for a washed-up jock with plastic
|
||
knees. However, you do seem to have a point. How do you suppose that this
|
||
spark gets there, and what it is?"
|
||
|
||
"And where does it go when you die?"
|
||
|
||
"Yeah, that too."
|
||
|
||
"I don't have answers, Jon, just questions. You're the expert here."
|
||
|
||
J. Eric's Spark Metaphysics
|
||
|
||
"Maybe we are more in your field here than mine. This spark thing is not
|
||
ordinary physics, I can assure you. Have you run across any good theories in
|
||
your many journeys into the great minds of the human race?"
|
||
|
||
"Lots of them. And they all involve the concept of the soul. According
|
||
to some religions, we all posses an immortal soul. Some also accord that
|
||
privilege to animals. Some go so far as to say all living creatures. One even
|
||
says that all rocks, and everything else in the world is alive. Whatever the
|
||
case, it seems the logical candidate to be the spark that can feel pain."
|
||
|
||
"Makes as much sense as anything else. So, according to religious
|
||
consensus, is the soul passed from mother to child, or does it come out of
|
||
the air?"
|
||
|
||
"None that I know of claim that the mother gives her child a soul. But
|
||
they don't say exactly where it does come from, either. Still, if you accept
|
||
the view that all living things have a soul, it gives you a mechanism for
|
||
sensing pain. And therefore, why it is alive!"
|
||
|
||
"O.K., suppose we accept that hypothesis. What can we deduce from that
|
||
premise?"
|
||
|
||
K. Recycled Souls
|
||
|
||
"Not much, really" said Eric. "Some religions postulate that our souls
|
||
are recyclable, and go through many life experiences in many different life
|
||
forms. Reincarnation is also a part of some philosophical disciplines."
|
||
|
||
"It makes sense, really, to recycle. Otherwise, you might die the day
|
||
you were born, and have no life at all. And by recycling in different forms,
|
||
we'd certainly get a much wider range of experiences."
|
||
|
||
"That view would certainly please the animal rights advocates! Or would
|
||
it? How would they like the idea that their lawn had a right not to be mowed?
|
||
That trees had a right not to be cut down for esthetic reasons?"
|
||
|
||
"Ah, but we digress" said Jon.
|
||
|
||
"Yes, isn't that what we're supposed to be doing?"
|
||
|
||
L. The Great Parallel Of Life
|
||
|
||
"To sum up, we have concluded that we probably do have an immortal soul,
|
||
and that it probably does recycle. It may even recycle to other forms of
|
||
life. And that soul is what feels pain, and makes us alive and responsive to
|
||
pain and other stimuli. So what does that lead us to?"
|
||
|
||
"Is it just me, or is there something vaguely familiar about this
|
||
scenario? Here we are, our souls safe from harm by any physical means. And
|
||
we're going through experiences which we can learn from, but we won't
|
||
consciously remember the lessons in our next life. Perhaps they will be with
|
||
us in our subconscious mind, or some other level. Doesn't all this sound
|
||
vaguely familiar?"
|
||
|
||
"Now that you mention it, it sounds like a giant version of early Dream
|
||
School!"
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
CHAPTER 5: Putting It All Together
|
||
|
||
A. Nature Takes Its Course
|
||
|
||
Jon and Eric didn't discuss philosophy much, for many months after
|
||
that. Maybe the whole idea of life being just like Dream School was too
|
||
strange, or maybe they were just bored with philosophy.
|
||
|
||
Jon turned his attention to a part of his life that was too long
|
||
neglected -- his social life. He began dating a young woman named Catrina (a
|
||
data-processor at Dream School) and generally enjoyed what life had to offer.
|
||
He and Eric double-dated sometimes, and the foursome got on quite famously.
|
||
|
||
Jon and Catrina had a number of interests in common, as Catrina was
|
||
more intellectual than most women Jon had met. She was good at chess, trivia
|
||
games, and an absolute whiz at logic puzzles. That fascinated Jon, since he
|
||
had never met an attractive female who was his intellectual equal. At times,
|
||
he was forced to admit, she was a bit more than his equal.
|
||
|
||
Catrina and Elissa were a bit awkward at first, as they struggled to
|
||
find common ground between them. Elissa came from a blue-collar background,
|
||
and had spent most of her life learning survival skills. She was witty,
|
||
urbane, and a quick study; but she had never had time to pursue academics
|
||
beyond her four year degree. Part-time work after classes didn't leave much
|
||
time for it.
|
||
|
||
Both of them recognized that the other was genuinely searching for
|
||
that common ground, however, and that kept friction to a minimum. Finally,
|
||
they realized that what they had in common was that they each knew things
|
||
that the other wanted to know. Catrina taught Elissa how to modify
|
||
data-processing software, and Elissa taught Catrina how to cook.
|
||
|
||
The boys, meanwhile, were learning to enjoy life, full-time.
|
||
Neighborhood soccer games were frequent on weekends, as well as picnics and
|
||
boating excursions with the girls. There seemed to be energy for whatever
|
||
whim that crossed their minds to do, and no end in sight.
|
||
|
||
Around Thanksgiving, Jon invited Catrina to move into his place. She
|
||
was already packed, she said, and wanted to know what had taken him so long
|
||
to ask.
|
||
|
||
B. The Clash Of The Worlds
|
||
|
||
New Year's Day, 2540, found both couples at Jon and Catrina's to
|
||
watch the soccer world championships. They feasted on chili made with
|
||
black-eyed peas, and had a few home-brews to cool down the chili and jalepe<70>o
|
||
peppers.
|
||
|
||
After the game, they all did a little area cleanup, then sank down in
|
||
the cushions to relax. It was about that time, of course, that the doorbell
|
||
rang.
|
||
|
||
"We are with the Armageddon Watchers Association" the two women
|
||
announced. "The end of time as we know it is at hand, and we have come to
|
||
warn you."
|
||
|
||
"Is it coming before sundown?" Jon asked, tongue-in-cheek.
|
||
|
||
"Where are your manners, Jon Haynes?" Catrina asked, before the women
|
||
had a chance to consider their answer. "Invite them in before they freeze to
|
||
death!"
|
||
|
||
Everyone found a seat in the living room in front of a roaring
|
||
fire-simulation in the fake fireplace. Warm beverages were passed around, and
|
||
the serious conversation began.
|
||
|
||
"Now, what was it that you came to tell us?" Catrina asked. (Jon
|
||
wondered if she was being serious or just condescending. The truth was about
|
||
half-way between.)
|
||
"We believe that the endtime is upon us" the older of the two
|
||
replied. "Unless we repent of our sins immediately, we are doomed to spend an
|
||
eternity in hell."
|
||
|
||
"That's a long time" Eric noted, somewhat mockingly.
|
||
|
||
"Yes, it is." replied the younger of the two. "And you're headed
|
||
straight there with that attitude!"
|
||
|
||
"You may be right about Eric's attitude" replied Jon. but what
|
||
exactly defines what is sin and what is not?"
|
||
|
||
"It's what you feel in your heart that matters" said the older woman.
|
||
"Nothing else matters but that!"
|
||
|
||
"O.K., but which feelings are sins?" asked Jon.
|
||
|
||
"We have a list of the feelings that are considered evil and sinful"
|
||
the younger woman replied. "It is taken directly from the modern-day
|
||
revelations as given to our Eternal Saint Fatima two hundred and fifty years
|
||
ago."
|
||
|
||
"O.K., but that is based on the authority that you personally give to
|
||
your eternal saint" said Eric. "What I would like to know is what do you
|
||
think a sinful feeling is?"
|
||
|
||
"We have no authority to say anything differently from what is in our
|
||
scriptures" replied the older woman, before the younger one could speak.
|
||
|
||
"But yet you do have the authority to say what historical figure knew
|
||
the truth!" argued Eric. "So, if you can say with certainty which person knew
|
||
the truth, are you able to recognize the truth or just the reputation of the
|
||
person?"
|
||
|
||
"I don't understand your question, sir." replied the older woman.
|
||
|
||
"I do!" said the younger woman. "He is trying, in his sarcastic way,
|
||
to question the roots of our faith. And for me, sir, the answer is my faith
|
||
is based on the love that I read in the writings of our Eternal Saint, and
|
||
that I feel in the community of believers!"
|
||
|
||
"Very well spoken" observed Elissa. "I believe that you are saying
|
||
that you are able to recognize love and that you believe that truth must come
|
||
from love. Is that right?"
|
||
|
||
"Yes!" replied the young woman.
|
||
|
||
"My father loved me dearly" observed Catrina. "And he always said and
|
||
did the things that he thought best for me. But you know, as hard as he
|
||
tried, he didn't always tell me the truth every time. The best he could do
|
||
was to tell me what he believed was true. That's all anyone can be expected
|
||
to do, you know, and I loved him dearly for that. Yet, he was wrong
|
||
sometimes, in spite of all his love."
|
||
|
||
"So what other way is there to know what is true?" asked the older
|
||
woman.
|
||
|
||
"An excellent question!" injected Eric.
|
||
|
||
"This is your field, Eric!" said Jon. "Now's the time to reveal it to
|
||
us!"
|
||
|
||
"That's just it, Jon, I can't reveal it to you. No one can reveal it
|
||
to anyone else; each person must reveal it to themselves, if that makes
|
||
sense" replied Eric. No matter how much or how little intelligence a person
|
||
has, that person still has to be the sole judge of what is truth and what is
|
||
otherwise."
|
||
|
||
"You mean that we are expected to pass judgment on the truthfulness
|
||
of the Holy Scriptures?" asked the young woman, incredulously.
|
||
|
||
"You already have, haven't you?" replied Eric. "Haven't you already
|
||
proclaimed them all true?"
|
||
|
||
"Yes, you're quite right" said the older woman with the first smile
|
||
either of them had shown. "I suppose we do judge the truth of what we read."
|
||
|
||
"And do you disagree with anything in these writings?" asked Eric.
|
||
|
||
"Why no," replied the older woman, "certainly not."
|
||
|
||
"Not even the part which says that no woman should be allowed to
|
||
speak out in Church?" asked Eric. "And that if she has a question she should
|
||
wait until she gets home and ask her husband?"
|
||
|
||
"I've never read that!" proclaimed the younger woman.
|
||
|
||
"Then you haven't read it all!" replied Eric.
|
||
|
||
"Yes, he's right" observed the older woman. "That is in the New
|
||
Testament. We have many stops to make, may we leave some literature with
|
||
you?"
|
||
|
||
"Of course" said Catrina, with a soft smile. "And thank you for your
|
||
visit."
|
||
|
||
"You're very welcome" they both replied, as they made their way out
|
||
into the cold January wind.
|
||
|
||
C. Eric Explains It All
|
||
|
||
"Well Eric, you ran them off, now tell us the true meaning of life"
|
||
said Elissa.
|
||
|
||
"One tiny step at a time, my child!" said Eric, with a pious smile.
|
||
|
||
"O.K., I'll bite" said Jon. "What's the first step?"
|
||
|
||
1. Good And Bad
|
||
|
||
"The first step, my unbelieving friend, is to define what is good and
|
||
what is bad" Eric pontificated.
|
||
|
||
"I'm up for that!" said Catrina. "Let's hear it!"
|
||
|
||
"Well it's not a list, if that's what you're expecting."
|
||
|
||
"What, then?"
|
||
|
||
"It's really quite simple" Eric began. "Everything that feels good,
|
||
comfortable, and calming to us is what we consider `good.' Everything that
|
||
feels bad, uncomfortable, and unsettling to us we consider `bad.' That
|
||
includes ideas, people, activities, even inanimate objects! Have you got it
|
||
now?"
|
||
|
||
"That sounds too simple" observed Jon.
|
||
|
||
"It is" replied Eric. "But it's true. Think about it!"
|
||
|
||
"So if I think someone is evil, it's because that person makes me
|
||
fell bad, uncomfortable, or unsettled, right?" asked Catrina.
|
||
|
||
"Every time" replied Eric.
|
||
|
||
"You had to ask, didn't you Jon?" chided Elissa.
|
||
|
||
"I take it that you've heard this before?" Catrina asked her.
|
||
|
||
"Oh yes, and he's just getting started" she replied.
|
||
|
||
"I think he's got something there" said Jon. "But I'm not sure I want
|
||
to catch it. Are you saying that's how things are, or how they ought to be,
|
||
Eric?"
|
||
|
||
"An excellent question" he replied. "I'm saying that's how things are
|
||
now and always have been. Each person decides for themselves what is right
|
||
and what is wrong, usually by the method I just described. I agree that
|
||
everyone has an equally valid opinion about right and wrong, even if no two
|
||
of them agree exactly. So, right and wrong is real, and is in the mind of
|
||
each individual. What I disagree with is the idea of a universal standard by
|
||
which we can judge people, or a supernatural force called evil which causes
|
||
us to sin. But I'm really not in a position to say how things should be."
|
||
|
||
"I agree" said Catrina. "What's next, Eric?"
|
||
|
||
"The next step is to learn that altruism is an illusion" he said.
|
||
"That practically everything we do, and think, is done and thought to seek
|
||
our own pleasure, or avoid our own pain. To see this, we must understand that
|
||
we are defining pleasure as every good feeling we have: satisfaction,
|
||
contentment, agreement, gratification, relief, and any other feeling that is
|
||
on the positive side of the pleasure-pain scale. Pain, on the other hand, is
|
||
every negative feeling, the precise opposite of the feelings just mentioned.
|
||
So, when we help a needy person, it is because we want a happy conscience
|
||
(which feels better); not because we are noble. Yes, we do feel sympathy for
|
||
that person's plight, but we mainly act because it feels good and
|
||
comfortable to us when we help a person in need. So it's more selfish than
|
||
altruistic when we help others."
|
||
|
||
2. The Pleasure Principle
|
||
|
||
"In other words, if it feels good, we are already doing it!" observed
|
||
Catrina.
|
||
|
||
"Well put!" replied Eric. "And you might add that if it feels bad, we
|
||
are already trying to avoid it!"
|
||
|
||
"Yes, I can see that you are probably right" said Jon. I can't think
|
||
of anything that I do just because it feels bad. I do some things that feel
|
||
bad, but I do them to avoid a greater pain later."
|
||
|
||
"An insightful observation!" said Eric.
|
||
|
||
"So what's next, oh great teacher?" asked Catrina, with just a little
|
||
mocking tone.
|
||
|
||
3. Reincarnation
|
||
|
||
"The next step, my child, is to understand re-incarnation. You see,
|
||
without re-incarnation, many lives make no sense at all. Those that are very
|
||
short, spent in solitude, spent in constant pain, for example. But if we
|
||
include the possibility of re-incarnation, no life is without sense because
|
||
it is only a random, small part of a much larger continuum. That means, of
|
||
course, that we must concede the existence of an eternal aspect of our
|
||
being."
|
||
|
||
"You mean that spark thing, a soul" said Jon.
|
||
|
||
"Correct-a-mundo!"
|
||
|
||
4. The Perfect Universe
|
||
|
||
"So what's next?" Catrina inquired.
|
||
|
||
"The next step is to put the elements we have together and try to
|
||
make some collective sense of them. We have done away with the concepts of
|
||
good and evil, and replaced them with the concept of a pleasure-pain driven
|
||
universe. We have stipulated that this universe contains immortal beings
|
||
which have mortal bodies. Furthermore, we have given credence to the idea
|
||
that these immortal beings recycle endlessly, from life form to life form.
|
||
What picture do these colors paint?"
|
||
|
||
"The picture I see" said Jon, "is a universe where pain and pleasure
|
||
are of utmost importance, and time is almost meaningless."
|
||
|
||
"And if that is so," Catrina added, "then the process of life in this
|
||
universe is quite universal. I mean that it is pretty well equally valid for
|
||
everyone, everywhere; since everyone feels pain and is tempted by pleasure.
|
||
And it is clear that no evangelists or teacher of any kind is needed to
|
||
explain it to anyone."
|
||
|
||
5. The Purpose Of Life
|
||
|
||
"But don't we need some kind of purpose for all this pleasure and
|
||
pain?" asked Jon.
|
||
|
||
"Indeed we do" replied Eric. "You know the old saying, that which
|
||
does not kill us, teaches us?"
|
||
|
||
"That seems a bit too simple" Jon remarked.
|
||
|
||
"I will agree that it is simple" replied Eric. "But if you will
|
||
examine human history, you will note that the failure to grasp the simple
|
||
truths is our greatest collective weakness. We do not see the forest for the
|
||
trees in our way."
|
||
|
||
"So then the whole purpose of leaving our peaceful state of spiritual
|
||
bliss in the immortal beyond is to come here and learn lessons from the pain
|
||
and pleasure?" asked Catrina.
|
||
|
||
"Yes, that is the logical conclusion of the tenants we have
|
||
incorporated into our view of the universe these past few minutes. It leads
|
||
one to suspect that as purely spiritual beings, we probably don't experience
|
||
pain and pleasure as we do here."
|
||
|
||
6. The Limits Of Knowledge
|
||
|
||
"And to what end, or goal, do these lessons point?" asked Jon.
|
||
|
||
"Now you have progressed beyond my ability to speculate" replied
|
||
Eric. "Perhaps it is to become more enlightened beings, or perhaps it is just
|
||
to become what we have the potential to become. I really can't look at the
|
||
human race and see any direction in its' development. It does not seem to me
|
||
that people have learned anything at all in the six million years of their
|
||
existence."
|
||
|
||
"I see your point" said Catrina. "But there are still some things
|
||
about this picture I like. For one thing it does not lose its logic in the
|
||
face of wars and natural disasters, as some religions do. That is to say, you
|
||
don't have to ask why God allows such things to happen if you say that such
|
||
horrors are a part of the scheme, and happen at random. If we accept that the
|
||
effects of physical pain disappear with physical death, then nothing that
|
||
happens to us physically in any particular life will affect us in the next."
|
||
|
||
"O.K., but if we don't remember our past lives, how do we benefit
|
||
from the lessons we learned in it?" asked Jon.
|
||
|
||
"A good question" replied Eric. "I wish I had an easy answer to it,
|
||
but I don't. Perhaps these lessons remain in our subconscious mind, or
|
||
perhaps we remember them only when we are in our spiritual state, between
|
||
lives. It's very difficult to say, because of the nature verses nurture
|
||
question."
|
||
|
||
"You mean that we can't tell whether a person was born mean or was
|
||
made mean by mistreatment" said Jon. "But in this case, isn't the real
|
||
question that if he was born mean, was it because of his genetic inheritance,
|
||
his enviornment, or because of a past life experience?"
|
||
|
||
"Yes, you're right, that's what I should have said" replied Eric. "So
|
||
with this view, we have three variables which could make a person mean, or
|
||
kind, or whatever. And we have no way to tell what source is responsible for
|
||
what percent of their personality. Therefore, it's impossible to determine if
|
||
a person is evolving in a particular direction, or just dealing with his
|
||
parents' genes and/or their child-raising abilities. So we should leave the
|
||
unknown also unspoken."
|
||
|
||
7. The Uncertainty Principle
|
||
|
||
"Sounds pretty random, if you ask me" said Catrina.
|
||
|
||
"An excellent point!" said Eric. "If you accept the universe we have
|
||
described so far, then natural randomness and uncertainty is perfectly
|
||
adequate to explain the ups and downs of life. No longer do we need to seek
|
||
moral explanations for what happens to us, because no explanation is needed!
|
||
We are simply here, and things happen! It doesn't matter what happens,
|
||
because we can learn from it all! None of it can hurt us, because death will
|
||
take away all the stings! Don't you see how perfect it all is? Am I getting
|
||
too excited?"
|
||
|
||
"No dear, this is just about normal for you" said Elissa.
|
||
|
||
"Eric, have you by any chance ever hear of Heisenberg's uncertainty
|
||
principle?" asked Catrina.
|
||
|
||
"No, is he a philosopher, preacher, or philanderer?"
|
||
|
||
"He was a physicist, and in 1927 a paper of his was published in a
|
||
physics journal called Zeitschrift f<>r Physik. At the end of his paper he
|
||
concluded that we cannot know, as a matter of principle, the present in all
|
||
its details. He was speaking directly about matter on the atomic level, of
|
||
course, but the implications are enormous. Sir Isaac Newton once postulated
|
||
that it would be possible to predict the entire course of the future if only
|
||
we knew the position and momentum of every particle in the universe. Today,
|
||
the idea of such perfect prediction is meaningless, since we cannot know the
|
||
position and momentum of even one particle.* So we live in a universe that
|
||
is by its' very nature unpredictable and uncertain."
|
||
|
||
"Very interesting, but what is your point?"
|
||
|
||
"My point is that the unpredictability built into our universe makes
|
||
it impossible for any of us to accurately predict or precisely alter the
|
||
future. Since we cannot do either, we cannot avoid pain in our lives, no
|
||
matter how carefully we plan and execute our plans. That is what makes pain,
|
||
our universal teacher, so unavoidable and universal."
|
||
|
||
"I'm glad we only have these discussions once a year" said Eric.
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
CHAPTER 6: The Final Years
|
||
|
||
A. The Birth Of A Cult
|
||
|
||
Jon and Catrina found their living arrangement very advantageous,
|
||
tax-wise. They saved about ten percent on their income taxes by not being
|
||
married. The only disadvantage was that they had to maintain separate health
|
||
insurance policies. Of course, the subject of children was a touchy one, with
|
||
all the legal and social angles to be considered.
|
||
|
||
The young adult's course at Dream School was well received, and quite
|
||
popular among those who could afford it. Some of Eric's ideas had seeped into
|
||
them, as if by osmosis. Some of the students even formed a discussion group
|
||
of their own after they had finished the course. They asked Eric to drop in,
|
||
and he was only too happy to oblige.
|
||
|
||
As the months and years wore on, Eric's ideas gained more and more
|
||
admirers. The discussion group was too large to use borrowed space, so they
|
||
pooled their resources and rented a building of their own. Eric was now a
|
||
Guru.
|
||
|
||
Eric stayed aloof from the everyday details of the group, so the
|
||
group organized itself into officers and committees. Eric was given an
|
||
honorary title of `spiritual leader'.
|
||
|
||
All this was a bit much for Elissa, but she tolerated it because it
|
||
enhanced their social life. And it was she, not any of the `followers', who
|
||
brought Eric back down to earth when his ego floated above his head.
|
||
|
||
Eric obtained a minister's permit to perform weddings, and the group
|
||
got a few tax advantages, too. It was now officially a church, and
|
||
unofficially a business. The "Church of New Awareness" (CONA for short) was
|
||
now a part of the local scenery.
|
||
|
||
His new duties left Eric short of time. This was remedied by an
|
||
indefinite leave of absence from Dream School. That left him short of money.
|
||
That was remedied by a percentage of the CONA 's income being earmarked for
|
||
the minister. That left CONA a bit short on money to pay the bills. And that
|
||
was remedied by asking the members to cough up more.
|
||
|
||
Finally, Eric began to question whether it was all worth the effort.
|
||
So he asked the members if they thought the group was headed in the right
|
||
direction, or was lost.
|
||
|
||
B. Growing Pains
|
||
|
||
The members were not bashful about expressing themselves. Yes, they
|
||
said, they thought the direction was O.K., but they missed the informality of
|
||
the old group. They felt that the church was too big to be comfortable. They
|
||
were glad to have Eric full time, but they wished there was another way to do
|
||
it.
|
||
|
||
"So why not split up?" Eric asked. "We have enough members to form
|
||
half a dozen small congregations around town. These could meet once or twice
|
||
a week, and we could rent a place for a meeting of all of us at the beginning
|
||
of each season. If you stager your weekly meetings, I can attend most of
|
||
them."
|
||
|
||
And so it was done. Eric became a circuit minister, and almost
|
||
everyone was happy with having their own neighborhood meeting place. But
|
||
then, the individual congregations began to draw members away from other
|
||
churches in the area. The congregations became what they had sought to escape
|
||
-- large. And the other churches in the area didn't take the loss of members
|
||
lying down, either. CONA was regularly denounced as "devil-worshipers," and
|
||
worse.
|
||
|
||
Under great political pressure, the local government became involved
|
||
in the controversy. Millions of dollars of public funds were secretly spent
|
||
to investigate Eric and his followers. When nothing of substance was found,
|
||
they manufactured it. Eric was accused of everything from child-molestation
|
||
to plots to overthrow the government.
|
||
|
||
Nothing was ever brought to trial, since they knew they couldn't
|
||
prove any of their lies. They simply leaked their accusations to the press in
|
||
the guise of Grand Jury investigations. But the damage was done. C. Moving
|
||
West
|
||
|
||
Eric and Elissa had had enough. The took their children, Jenifer and
|
||
Mark, and moved out into the wide open spaces of the great plains.
|
||
|
||
To their surprise, many of the CONA members followed them. They
|
||
formed a small agricultural and manufacturing community in the middle of the
|
||
tall grass. They were now a `cult.'
|
||
|
||
And they continued to come to the new town, in ever greater numbers.
|
||
Not just ordinary folks, actually, but the intellectual cream of society.
|
||
When their numbers became a strain on the local ecology, they invented
|
||
technology to compensate. When that wasn't possible, they just spread out
|
||
further into the prairie. Soon they had a political majority in two states.
|
||
Finally, they felt safe.
|
||
|
||
Jon and Catrina simply could not resist, and moved west to be with
|
||
them. To ease the pain of leaving Dream School, they opened a branch campus
|
||
on the prairie. And to celebrate their tenth anniversary of co-habitation,
|
||
they had Eric tie the knot for them, in a simple little ceremony among the
|
||
spring flowers.
|
||
|
||
D. The Meaning Of Group Living
|
||
|
||
"What does this all mean, Eric?" Jon asked him one fine summer
|
||
morning. "I mean the towns, the people, the factories, the churches--what's
|
||
it all for? Are we in some way improving life on earth, or even for these
|
||
folks?"
|
||
|
||
"I don't really know, Jon. If we are right about what we are saying,
|
||
then none of this is necessary at all. The universe we are describing was
|
||
perfect on the day it was made, and needs no help from us or any supernatural
|
||
being to accomplish its' purpose. In ancient times, that belief was
|
||
classified as Deism, as opposed to Theism. Theism says that God, or the Gods,
|
||
do intervene from time to time because they didn't get it quite right when
|
||
they made the universe."
|
||
|
||
"So if this pleasure/pain, lesson-teaching universe runs just fine
|
||
without anyone around to explain it, or guide it, what are we doing here?"
|
||
|
||
"Just killing time the way we want to, I guess. It helps me to focus
|
||
on the idea that we are here to learn spiritual lessons. That way I realize
|
||
how unimportant all these other trappings really are, and I don't get caught
|
||
up in them. Sure, it's a part of life that we have to take care of all the
|
||
mundane details of existence like food, shelter, transportation, etc. But we
|
||
don't need to focus on any of them over what we need for a basic existence,
|
||
as defined by our place in society."
|
||
|
||
E. Worldly Goods
|
||
|
||
"So it keeps you from trying to be rich, famous, powerful, or good
|
||
looking?"
|
||
|
||
"Right"
|
||
|
||
"But you are all of those things!"
|
||
|
||
"But not because I tried to be! Don't you see, none of those things
|
||
are my doings."
|
||
|
||
"And you'd be just as well off without them?"
|
||
|
||
"Better, probably. There sure would be a lot less temptation, and you
|
||
know how weak I am in that area."
|
||
|
||
F. Stoicism, Revisionist Style
|
||
|
||
"Some critics say that we are just modern-day Stoics, and that we
|
||
have nothing new to offer. How do you respond to that?"
|
||
|
||
"I pretty much agree with that! We differ from the ancient Stoics
|
||
only in our justification for our Stoic beliefs. Of course, it takes longer
|
||
to teach our brand of Stoicism, because our justification is fairly
|
||
complicated. But in the end, we do arrive at the same conclusion as the
|
||
ancients about what is important."
|
||
|
||
"Personal ethics is first, and everything else is a very distant
|
||
second."
|
||
|
||
"Precisely. So I don't feel bad when someone says that we offer
|
||
nothing new. I think our approach is new, and helpful to explain why we think
|
||
Stoicism is the right attitude. But I don't think it is important at all to
|
||
come to a new conclusion about what is important in this life. People have
|
||
known that for a long, long time. Truth never changes."
|
||
|
||
"That's a hard sell to people looking for a new thrill, an easy
|
||
answer to all their problems."
|
||
|
||
"It's an impossible sell to them, Jon. I don't even try. Only when
|
||
they have begun to recognize that their quest for pleasure is their animal
|
||
nature can they begin to learn about their other, spiritual nature. Some
|
||
reach that point early in life, some late, and some never. Maybe they have to
|
||
wait for their next life to gain any wisdom. Or maybe it works some way I
|
||
don't understand at all."
|
||
|
||
G. Limitations Revisited
|
||
|
||
"So does any of our wisdom accumulate from one life to the next?"
|
||
|
||
"Who knows, Jon? Certainly not me. Trying to speculate on things like
|
||
that is simply an exercise in egotistical self-massage. The only true
|
||
knowledge we have is about what is right here, right now. And all we know
|
||
about that is what our senses seem to be telling us. I think that the
|
||
builders of this universe gave us what we need to live a Stoic life here. I
|
||
base that on my observations of the here and now. And I don't think we need
|
||
any other knowledge."
|
||
|
||
H. Mom And Apple Pie
|
||
|
||
"You know, Eric, we don't fit in very with the American ideals of
|
||
high achievement and competitiveness. That's like mom and apple pie with some
|
||
people."
|
||
|
||
"Yes, and so was slavery and hoola-hoops."
|
||
|
||
"So how about all the various reform movements? How can you just
|
||
dismiss the idea of correcting so many inequities and injustices? Some of the
|
||
movements are dealing with questions of quality of life for the foreseeable
|
||
future, and some with life or death questions. Doesn't any of that seem at
|
||
all important to you?"
|
||
|
||
"All of it has only a very distant, secondary importance, Jon. If a
|
||
person is so agitated by a situation that he cannot focus on anything else,
|
||
then he might as well act upon it. But in the end, nothing we do here
|
||
physically is either permanent or important. All that really matters is our
|
||
own spirituality."
|
||
|
||
I. The Other Cheek
|
||
|
||
"How about self-defense? That is a question we may have to face here,
|
||
very soon. There is a group called the Sahara Club that is harassing our
|
||
members, and some property destruction has taken place."
|
||
|
||
"That is a question each person must answer for themselves. I do not
|
||
have any rule or position on self-defense, because each provocation and each
|
||
individual is different. Personally, I don't see any advantage in turning the
|
||
other cheek to someone who has just slapped one of yours without any
|
||
provocation. On the other hand, I don't see any advantage to resisting or
|
||
prosecuting anyone who is stealing a little food from you when you have
|
||
plenty and he is starving. People are strange, and some would rather steal
|
||
from you than humble themselves to beg. In between those two extremes lie at
|
||
lot of fine distinctions about self-defense, and I must confess that I cannot
|
||
generalize much more about them."
|
||
|
||
J. Kicking Butts
|
||
|
||
"But what about CONA and the Sahara Club?"
|
||
|
||
"You're our secular leader now, Jon, what do you want to do?"
|
||
|
||
"Gather a few good men and go kick their collective butts!"
|
||
|
||
"Sound reasonable to me. But first, hand out our walkie-talkies to
|
||
all households and businesses, and wait for their next provocation. Then they
|
||
will know what the butt-kicking is all about."
|
||
|
||
They didn't have to wait long. Early the next morning, several
|
||
witless skin-headed Saharans tried to torch a gas station belonging to a CONA
|
||
member. First they got gasoline on one of their own, and accidentally set him
|
||
on fire. Then they tried to use him as a human torch to set the storage tanks
|
||
off. He objected, and shot three other Saharans before collapsing from the
|
||
heat. All the commotion brought out several CONA members, and a fierce gun
|
||
battle was on.
|
||
|
||
The "battle" only lasted ten minutes. The first thing the skinheads
|
||
did was to shoot out all the street lights around them. Big mistake. As they
|
||
sprayed the neighborhood with their big automatic rifles, one of the CONA
|
||
members arrived with a night-vision scope on his rifle. The skinned heads
|
||
showed up very brightly in the scope.
|
||
|
||
After that night, skin-heads and weirdoes came from all over the
|
||
country to try to avenge the "murder" of their comrades. They might have
|
||
succeeded, too, if it had not have been for Amal.
|
||
|
||
K. Amal And The Night Visitors
|
||
|
||
Amal was born in Iraq. Or in Lebanon. Or in Jordan. Wherever he was
|
||
born, he was trouble from the earliest days of his life. He had killed one
|
||
man for each of his years by his tenth birthday, and after that no one could
|
||
keep count. By his thirtieth birthday, he was the top military officer of the
|
||
combined Iraqi-Syrian Republic. By his fortieth birthday, he was the military
|
||
dictator of all of the middle east. He wore a blue turban wherever he went,
|
||
and Europe was where he went. "Remember the suffering of our Moslem martyrs
|
||
in Bosnia" was his battle cry. He conquered Europe after a long, bloody
|
||
war. He gained control of multitudes of nuclear weapons in the process, and
|
||
then he turned his attention to the "Devil of all Devils".
|
||
|
||
Amal told his people that the night was too dark in the United
|
||
States, and that it was their sacred duty to light it up for them. They did.
|
||
For ten nights in a row, Amal sent his night visitors to all the major cities
|
||
of the lower forty-eight.
|
||
|
||
The Americans tried to respond, but they had no targets to shoot at.
|
||
All of Amal's armies were in Europe by now, and nuclear weapons would kill
|
||
more European than Amalites. They could send them to the middle east, of
|
||
course, and some did. But that did little to slow down Amal, and it may have
|
||
even increased his resolve. Soon he was ready to load his men into transport
|
||
ships for the transatlantic crossing.
|
||
|
||
Fortunately for the CONA group, they occupied no major cities, or
|
||
even lived close to any. The self-sustaining nature of their communities was
|
||
their greatest asset now. The ten nights of Amal had left the county in a
|
||
complete shambles, and only those who needed no commerce could survive.
|
||
|
||
That group did not include skin-heads, weirdoes, or radicals of most
|
||
kinds. They scattered with the winds, and soon became dust.
|
||
|
||
L. The Survivors
|
||
|
||
The survivalists, of course, were the radicals who did survive. They
|
||
trusted only in God, and "all others keep your distance". That tactic worked
|
||
very well for them for several years. But then their supplies ran out, and
|
||
they couldn't grow or find more without encountering other people. They also
|
||
didn't hear, or didn't believe, that the war was over after ten long years.
|
||
Not many of them were alive by then, and the ones that still were didn't
|
||
trust anyone else.
|
||
|
||
M. The Bitter End
|
||
|
||
Amal, meanwhile, was defeated and killed somewhere in the Atlantic.
|
||
His crusade had been thwarted by a sudden attack from the rear by a newly
|
||
revived Mongolian Horde. It seems they wanted to relive the glories of the
|
||
Khans.
|
||
|
||
Not much was left of the northern hemisphere when the wars were all
|
||
over. Direct war damage, plus nuclear fallout made life very difficult there.
|
||
|
||
Many tried to go south, but that was full of difficulties also. The
|
||
fallout had reached there, and small wars raged in many southern hemisphere
|
||
areas.
|
||
|
||
The CONAns were, as usual, of several different opinions. Many wanted
|
||
to stay there and die whatever natural death awaited them. Some wanted to
|
||
help nature along a little. Some migrated to South America. And some managed
|
||
to find ways to live a little longer where they were.
|
||
|
||
When asked for advice on their present predicament, Eric was his
|
||
usual direct self. "Choose your own poison" he told them. "There isn't much
|
||
left that isn't poisoned, so you have plenty to choose from."
|
||
|
||
"But what about you, Eric, what will you do?" they asked him.
|
||
|
||
"Die right here, probably" he replied. "I prefer a dignified, natural
|
||
death, but if the pain gets too bad who knows what I'll do. I'm hoping to
|
||
come back as a peaceful, beautiful plant in some remote mountain meadow, in
|
||
my next life. But of course the bugs will eat me alive if I do."
|
||
|
||
And with that sparkling gem of wisdom, Eric tripped and fell off the
|
||
edge of a high bluff, into oblivion.
|
||
|
||
His family and his remaining followers lived on a while longer, then
|
||
radiation poisoning killed them all.
|
||
|
||
All except Jon, that is. Jon and his family had been vacationing in
|
||
Caracas when the ten nights arrived in North America. They stayed on there,
|
||
since they couldn't get any transportation home. By the time they could get
|
||
transportation, they decided they didn't want to go.
|
||
|
||
They became known locally as the strange gringos with the funny
|
||
religion. They were tolerated, mostly because Jon could fix things that broke
|
||
down. And a lot of things broke down.
|
||
|
||
They lived many years after that, until they died in a pandemic of a
|
||
"new" disease. No one knew any cure for it, or even what to call it. All they
|
||
knew was that it caused a person to break out all over with tiny red spots,
|
||
and develop a very high fever.
|
||
|
||
One person said the small spots looked like a pox.
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
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The end.
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{PAGE|56}
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