Freebodnik
25-12-2004, 04:26
A Note: Gentle reader, as you peruse this small text, please try to do but one small favour for me. Please, for just one moment, let go of your cynicism, of your hate, of your pessimism and your doubt. Cast off your world-weary, life-hardened shell for just one moment, and let your soul once again be that of a child, able to soar free and high like a bird into the endless blue sky, till you touch the silver bosoms of the very clouds themselves. Let your passion fly wild and wondrous, let your optimism soar into the sky, let your breast be filled with love and idealism and hope for the future. Abandon all the selfishness, cynicism, and pessimism that you have acquired, and, for just a short time, gentle reader, just let yourself feel that "YES! It IS possible! I DO believe that it can happen! It IS just beyond our reach! YES!". That is what I ask, gentle readers, only a mild suspension of all your coldness and hardness for a short time, in exchange for beauty and passion and, yes, even hope. Thank you.
It was a bright, sunny day on the peaceful island of Glee, and all over the little green dot of land, afloat in the endless calm blue of the Pacific Ocean, it smelled the sweet fragrances of women's hair, laughing children, clean sea air and fresh, rich soil; it smelled of utopia!
Imaleen Assadi put a kettle to boil on the stove, and soon puffs of white smoke were whistling merrily from the thing, in conjunction with other homey sounds as she bustled through the small kitchen of her cottage. Dark-haired, with rich, coppery skin, Imaleen's parents had been of the original settlers who came to Glee upon three converted cargo-ships, to found the nation of Freebodnik, with high hopes and purest idealism. She had been born in the seaside commune of Seaside, in a hospital perched upon a rocky promontory, overlooking the crash and pound of clear, blue waves fifty-three metres below. It was called, in the sensible Freebodnik way, Overlook.
Living there her entire life, twenty-five year old Imaleen Assadi had found a place in her community of twelve hundred, as the local Ecologist; with a wide-eyed fascination at the fecundity and beauty of nature ever since she was a little girl, she was well-known (and highly sought after) for her extensive knowledge of 'how things tended to work' in nature. Even now, Ashai could feel the ripple as the open, blue sea breeze played and danced through the tall reeds and grasses that grew luxuriantly around, the humdrum world of the dung beetle as he made his way along a tiny dirt path through the liana bush near her doorstep, the hectic buzz of the bumblebee's toil and the clear-eyed, wide-chested song of the thrushes in the stand of black pines towards the edge of the village. It was a rare, wondrous talent that she had, which Inez, the titular medicine Woman of the village ( by popular accord only, of course, for there was no hierarchy in Freebodnik society ), had deemed earthsense, an innate know-how about how living things functioned together.
Imaleen poured the kettle of hot water into a pot, filled with fragrant herbal leaves, and sat down, listening to the quiet, glimmering music of earthsong pitter-patter, rustle, chirp, and hum through the open window, where the quiet whoooosh of fresh salt air made the clean, white linens flap and curl gently with the breeze.
At that moment, the door opened ( Freebodniks, as a rule, did not knock, for theirs was an open society, with no fear of crime ), and in came the wan, slender form of Eulalia O'Shaughnessy. Inseparable as children, the Persian and the Irish girls had maintained their friendship through adulthood, though their interests had differed - where Imaleen studied science, Eulalia pursued civics, and when she had turned sixteen, come time for the monthly elections, had been appointed Community Speaker for several years. Still, Eulalia would come by every now and then, and catch up on the local news, for these days, she had been enrolled in something of an islandwide project which consumed the majority of her time.
"Eulalia!"
"Imaleen!"
They hugged briefly and Eulalia sat down at the other end of the small table.
"So, what's the news?" she piped cheerily, her left hand diving instinctively for a sugarcookie from the cookie jar.
"Oh, you know. Tummteetumm, ho-hum, humdrum. Not all that much. Nikolai and Aki are bringing in the season's first strawberries - they're delicious!"
"Mmm, yes! I saw them on the way here when I walked through market today - they look irresisitable!"
Bemusedly, Imaleen said, "Watch the cookies, Eulalia! Soon you'll be as big as Frank!"
Eulalia giggled. "Oh stop, Imaleen! Politics takes a lot out of you, you know. If I didn't eat this much, I'd wither away into nothing!"
The two women chuckled merrily for a moment, then Eulalia began in a slightly more serious, less gushy tone.
"Actually I came to tell you about the Big Project. We're almost done with the first prototype."
"Really?"
"Yes, it was published in today's Bulletin."
"Oh, I'm afraid I don't check the Technology section much."
"Yes, I know!" Eulalia smiled. Imaleen was always slightly envious of Eulalia's smile, which was broad and sparkly - with shining, rosy cheeks, glittering green eyes, and bright white teeth. Her own demure, Mona Lisa smile always felt rather pale in comparison to her friend's ebullient glow. "That's why I came. It's coming to a referendum soon, and I'd like to know how you might vote. You know the basics, I hope?"
"I'm a bit fuzzy. I 'commune with the trees', remember?" Imaleen laughed, remembering Eulalia's statement from years ago, when they attended college together.
"It's because we're worried about Freebodnik's population. As the island grows more populated, our infrastructure systems are going to get less efficient. Distribution is easy to do by hand when you've got only a few thousand people, but, well, with millions... It gets wasteful. Basically we're going to seed the island with nano-machines that we're developing, and put them under the control of an AI - the EconNet. It'll handle all recyclomanoefacturing and automate resource distribution."
"Oh, right, I remember. Right."
Imaleen's voice faded, and a patchwork of visions flew through her mind, taken from a spectrum of old sci-fi films of technology run amok. She turned her eyes away from her friend and looked out of the window at the plants and trees growing luxuriantly about.
"Honestly, Eulalia, I don't really know."
"Okay."
Eulalia put her hand on Imaleen's shoulder. Her touch was warm and gentle.
"Imaleen, I'm an empath. Found out the other day when I took the test. Now I know why I have all these intuitions about people. And... when I read you... This isn't like science fiction, you know. You needn't be afraid."
Imaleen felt the rustle and whisper of earthspeech.
"It's just, just- I'm afraid, Eulalia. You civics seem very excited and optimistic about the new machines, the new technologies, the new sciences that will propel us into the stars, and I'm happy for you, but... I am concerned that you are moving too far away from nature. Remember the words of Gerard the Herbalist? Never forget that we sprang forth from the bosom of Mother Earth, and in the eyes of Earth, we are all earthchildren, equal. Never, in your hubris, deafen yourself to the earthsong, or blind yourself to the earthvision. Never in your struggling, neglect to also help your earthbrothers and earthsisters, for we are all earthchildren, equal."
"I know. But what other way is there?"
Eulalia held Imaleen's hand for a while, and they listened to the nature sounds coming through the window, and a yellow butterfly drifted lazily across, wafting like an erstwhile fairy from flower to flower.
Eulalia stood.
"Well, I guess I ought to be going now. Please, Imaleen-sister, think about what we propose to do. At least consider it. Good-bye!"
"Good-bye!"
Eulalia paused at the door for a brief moment, and gave Imaleen a hopeful smile, and slipped away.
Imaleen sat there, pondering. And wondering. And listening, all her mind, spirit and body stretching out to the invisible green webs of life around her, searching restlessly for Nature's answer to a human problem.
She would find it.
It was a bright, sunny day on the peaceful island of Glee, and all over the little green dot of land, afloat in the endless calm blue of the Pacific Ocean, it smelled the sweet fragrances of women's hair, laughing children, clean sea air and fresh, rich soil; it smelled of utopia!
Imaleen Assadi put a kettle to boil on the stove, and soon puffs of white smoke were whistling merrily from the thing, in conjunction with other homey sounds as she bustled through the small kitchen of her cottage. Dark-haired, with rich, coppery skin, Imaleen's parents had been of the original settlers who came to Glee upon three converted cargo-ships, to found the nation of Freebodnik, with high hopes and purest idealism. She had been born in the seaside commune of Seaside, in a hospital perched upon a rocky promontory, overlooking the crash and pound of clear, blue waves fifty-three metres below. It was called, in the sensible Freebodnik way, Overlook.
Living there her entire life, twenty-five year old Imaleen Assadi had found a place in her community of twelve hundred, as the local Ecologist; with a wide-eyed fascination at the fecundity and beauty of nature ever since she was a little girl, she was well-known (and highly sought after) for her extensive knowledge of 'how things tended to work' in nature. Even now, Ashai could feel the ripple as the open, blue sea breeze played and danced through the tall reeds and grasses that grew luxuriantly around, the humdrum world of the dung beetle as he made his way along a tiny dirt path through the liana bush near her doorstep, the hectic buzz of the bumblebee's toil and the clear-eyed, wide-chested song of the thrushes in the stand of black pines towards the edge of the village. It was a rare, wondrous talent that she had, which Inez, the titular medicine Woman of the village ( by popular accord only, of course, for there was no hierarchy in Freebodnik society ), had deemed earthsense, an innate know-how about how living things functioned together.
Imaleen poured the kettle of hot water into a pot, filled with fragrant herbal leaves, and sat down, listening to the quiet, glimmering music of earthsong pitter-patter, rustle, chirp, and hum through the open window, where the quiet whoooosh of fresh salt air made the clean, white linens flap and curl gently with the breeze.
At that moment, the door opened ( Freebodniks, as a rule, did not knock, for theirs was an open society, with no fear of crime ), and in came the wan, slender form of Eulalia O'Shaughnessy. Inseparable as children, the Persian and the Irish girls had maintained their friendship through adulthood, though their interests had differed - where Imaleen studied science, Eulalia pursued civics, and when she had turned sixteen, come time for the monthly elections, had been appointed Community Speaker for several years. Still, Eulalia would come by every now and then, and catch up on the local news, for these days, she had been enrolled in something of an islandwide project which consumed the majority of her time.
"Eulalia!"
"Imaleen!"
They hugged briefly and Eulalia sat down at the other end of the small table.
"So, what's the news?" she piped cheerily, her left hand diving instinctively for a sugarcookie from the cookie jar.
"Oh, you know. Tummteetumm, ho-hum, humdrum. Not all that much. Nikolai and Aki are bringing in the season's first strawberries - they're delicious!"
"Mmm, yes! I saw them on the way here when I walked through market today - they look irresisitable!"
Bemusedly, Imaleen said, "Watch the cookies, Eulalia! Soon you'll be as big as Frank!"
Eulalia giggled. "Oh stop, Imaleen! Politics takes a lot out of you, you know. If I didn't eat this much, I'd wither away into nothing!"
The two women chuckled merrily for a moment, then Eulalia began in a slightly more serious, less gushy tone.
"Actually I came to tell you about the Big Project. We're almost done with the first prototype."
"Really?"
"Yes, it was published in today's Bulletin."
"Oh, I'm afraid I don't check the Technology section much."
"Yes, I know!" Eulalia smiled. Imaleen was always slightly envious of Eulalia's smile, which was broad and sparkly - with shining, rosy cheeks, glittering green eyes, and bright white teeth. Her own demure, Mona Lisa smile always felt rather pale in comparison to her friend's ebullient glow. "That's why I came. It's coming to a referendum soon, and I'd like to know how you might vote. You know the basics, I hope?"
"I'm a bit fuzzy. I 'commune with the trees', remember?" Imaleen laughed, remembering Eulalia's statement from years ago, when they attended college together.
"It's because we're worried about Freebodnik's population. As the island grows more populated, our infrastructure systems are going to get less efficient. Distribution is easy to do by hand when you've got only a few thousand people, but, well, with millions... It gets wasteful. Basically we're going to seed the island with nano-machines that we're developing, and put them under the control of an AI - the EconNet. It'll handle all recyclomanoefacturing and automate resource distribution."
"Oh, right, I remember. Right."
Imaleen's voice faded, and a patchwork of visions flew through her mind, taken from a spectrum of old sci-fi films of technology run amok. She turned her eyes away from her friend and looked out of the window at the plants and trees growing luxuriantly about.
"Honestly, Eulalia, I don't really know."
"Okay."
Eulalia put her hand on Imaleen's shoulder. Her touch was warm and gentle.
"Imaleen, I'm an empath. Found out the other day when I took the test. Now I know why I have all these intuitions about people. And... when I read you... This isn't like science fiction, you know. You needn't be afraid."
Imaleen felt the rustle and whisper of earthspeech.
"It's just, just- I'm afraid, Eulalia. You civics seem very excited and optimistic about the new machines, the new technologies, the new sciences that will propel us into the stars, and I'm happy for you, but... I am concerned that you are moving too far away from nature. Remember the words of Gerard the Herbalist? Never forget that we sprang forth from the bosom of Mother Earth, and in the eyes of Earth, we are all earthchildren, equal. Never, in your hubris, deafen yourself to the earthsong, or blind yourself to the earthvision. Never in your struggling, neglect to also help your earthbrothers and earthsisters, for we are all earthchildren, equal."
"I know. But what other way is there?"
Eulalia held Imaleen's hand for a while, and they listened to the nature sounds coming through the window, and a yellow butterfly drifted lazily across, wafting like an erstwhile fairy from flower to flower.
Eulalia stood.
"Well, I guess I ought to be going now. Please, Imaleen-sister, think about what we propose to do. At least consider it. Good-bye!"
"Good-bye!"
Eulalia paused at the door for a brief moment, and gave Imaleen a hopeful smile, and slipped away.
Imaleen sat there, pondering. And wondering. And listening, all her mind, spirit and body stretching out to the invisible green webs of life around her, searching restlessly for Nature's answer to a human problem.
She would find it.