Collateral Damage

I woke up to an announcement on my display this morning. Let me tell you about my apartment first though. I have three rooms, a bedroom, a living room, and a kitchen. In my living room there is my beautiful 40” display which is where I get caught up on the latest happenings in the country or listen to music on AirMusic, which the Ministry decided to begin providing to everyone last year. Like all apartments there are hidden speakers throughout so that we can listen to music in any of our rooms. Our display is also how we access the intranet, which may take some explaining.

The intranet is the service that the Committee of Public Learning set up so that we have a public space within our country’s borders online. There is a connection to the rest of the world, but it is a service that a person needs to purchase with their extra credits. The Intranet is generally sufficient though and only the exporters and importers in our economy will actually pay for access to the outside, which is actually a fairly dangerous place. Those on the outside don’t have the Societal Norms that we practice and it can inspire violence and aggression, which brings me back to the announcement I received this morning.

A group of terrorists only known as the Masked Consortium somehow built bombs and destroyed one of our water treatment plants. The story goes that they filled a small truck with these explosives and drove into the water heating tower, which provides hot water to the citizens of the town that it is in, and the bomb went off. It completely collapsed the tower and destroyed parts of the No. 6 treatment plant nearby. Thankfully only the men in the vehicle were killed, although it is suspected that they never intended to let the bomb kill them and it is a terrible thing that people have died today, but that is why the Ministry doesn’t condone the use of explosives.

The collateral damage caused by this act of hatred is one that strikes fear in the heart of the North’s society. Also, the announcement mentioned that water would need to be pumped from the other neighboring cities to the citizens of Heig, the city affected, until the tower could be reconstructed and the water lines repaired. The timeline mentioned was of course only a week or so, but it must be terrible to be in that city at this time.

As a public educator I am expected to show support, and of course I did, only the most sociopathic citizens would need to feign sympathy for our fellow citizenry. What makes the North strong is our collective support for one another. When one person in society is hurt all of his comrades, out of natural concern and care, rush to help him or her. These are things the Masked Consortium wouldn’t understand.

After a quick breakfast I left my apartment so that I could head to my first lecture of the day. It has been days since my last lecture because most of my lectures from previous years have been recorded and students can access these from their home displays. That doesn’t mean I am not kept busy because I still have to look at their papers and answer questions, which translates into more actual hours of work, but time spent well nonetheless. Today, however, I scheduled an in-person lecture so that we could take time out of our day to discuss the events of the morning. When I made my way to the office I found an email from the Committee reading :

Jack Liedmann,

We know it was a shock to wake up to the events of this morning, but we would like to use every avenue to show the public that the Ministry is working to bring swift justice to those perpetrating rebellion against what we all have agreed to as societal normality. Therefore, if you wouldn’t mind using a small portion of your lecture for this morning as a reassurance, the Committee believes it will help to strengthen the solidarity in our response to the terrorists.

In addition, there will be a “Call to Unity” tonight at Unity Auditorium tonight at 1900. If you wouldn’t mind preparing a short speech, we at the Committee would appreciate it.

Andria Terrace

Committee Chairwoman

It was a nice note and a good reminder that the Committee is essential to the strength of our societal fabric. In fact, it reminds me of the old days when there were the dissenters, those who opposed the unification and creation of a singular nation. Of course we still hold the old boundaries of Minnesota, and much of the culture, but through the efforts of the Committee and the leadership of the Ministry, we have formed what the former United States claimed to form, “a more perfect union”. We are a completely unified people in thought and action. I am not embarrassed to admit that I wake up refreshed and alive because of the security of being a part of such a great experiment such as that which we have formed in the North.

My lecture hall was full. I scheduled a lecture in the Socrates Hall, which was named for its Greek-style design. The hall is, like the rest of the school, made from stone, but it is all unadorned stone, very simple. The stone seating has one exception to the undressed nature of the room, they all have fairly stiff cushions so that the students won’t be uncomfortable. It is also the only lecture hall without a smart projector, which means the students have to take notes for themselves. Today, of course, I didn’t have them take any notes.

When I walked in, there was a low murmur, I remember it well because the room was a mix of 20-somethings all in hushed tones talking about the bombing. I remember forcing a smile too, something I don’t often need to do, but they all looked so fear-stricken. It is a reaction that I didn’t expect. I mean, sure, it was a rather fearful event, maybe even terrifying for a moment or two, but to think that it could really do any serious damage to our nation? Even now, after some thought, I wonder if the youth of today aren’t a little too attached to the things that they possess, insubstantial objects. They seem so focused on the objects and not life itself, which is one of the end-goals of our great social experiment, to help us realize that the goods and services are not things to be in want of, but rather things that may help us achieve more social unity and more fulfillment of life. Objects are not the achievement, they are the simply the structure that helps us measure that which we have achieved. So perhaps that is what motivated the lecture I gave.

Me (the introduction to my lecture): Good morning! I called this lecture not to present you with new material for study, but rather simply to answer any questions you might have and to open up a discussion with each of you so that you can put your concerns out in the open. But before we begin our discussion I would like to say a few things.

They all had quieted and now I remember still seeing fear in their eyes. I sometimes wonder if I lack that certain sort of presence that Chairwoman Terrace possesses. She rarely has to say anything to quiet fear and concern.

Me: I know the attack this morning gives each of us great pause, and yes, it is terrifying when we look at it as a momentous event, but try, if you will, to see it in the grander scheme. This was an act by terrorists who wish to dismantle our very societal norm, but what they don’t understand is that we do not rely solely upon the physical structures that we surround ourselves with. As was demonstrated by the Ministry reaction to the attack, the community that was harmed in the attack was almost immediately compensated by the surrounding communities. The social will triumphed easily over the powers that tried to challenge it. It was the individuals involved, let’s not give too much credit to the Ministry because, of course, without the people involved in our unified society each member’s pain would be theirs to bear alone, but when we are all unified the pain can be lessened greatly, even completely extinguished and prevented. So let us consider these things in our discussion. We are a great society with a unified strength of will that can overcome any trial facing us.

I don’t remember any of the students’ actual words, but the discussion was much calmer than I had expected. I would like to think it was because of my words concerning the subject, but perhaps not, perhaps their will-power was truly stronger than I had assumed. Many of the students mentioned visiting the Ministry to volunteer to help with the rebuilding of the water heating plant and treatment center. I thought it was a brilliant idea and offered to make a few calls to see if I could arrange a meeting for them. Their will was great, very great.

After my lecture I received a notification that my friend Aele, was waiting for me in my office. Not a surprise because he said that he would be tested today on the manual. It is one of the few tests prescribed by the Ministry that was a pass/fail test. They usually had a chance to judge a person’s aptitude by how they perform throughout life, therefore eliminating testing, but since Aele was new to our national identity, and so the Ministry really had nothing to base his placement on.

He was sitting in one of the arm-chairs at the center of my office. My desk was along a wall, so there was nothing between me and my guests. I had requested it be arranged that way so that there is no threat of authority. The Committee liked my idea enough that they made it an option for future Committee lecturers. As I entered the room, Aele rose and gave me an unexpected hug.

Aele: It’s good to see you! I just finished the test and passed. But it wasn’t just a pass! The administrator of the test told me that I would need to wait a few days because I scored well enough to be considered for a few other jobs. One would be in the Ministry itself! I have to say that it is a hell of a lot easier to find good employment here than in the South. You know what I did there? I worked a farm. A farm! And now I’m being considered for an administrative position in the Ministry!

Me: Wow! That’s really great news Aele! But I don’t really understand. They don’t just make you an administrator. You have to be voted in by your peers. You have to follow the rules of Societal Transition.

Aele: Well, they were all very grim and didn’t talk much, so I don’t know exactly what they are thinking here, but I know for sure that the lady watching me take the test did say the word administrative. Oh and are you going to that “uniform” meeting tonight?

Me: It’s the Call to Unity, and yes. We should all go. It is sort of a vigil for the community that was attacked.

Aele: Oh yeah, I guess so. Do we dress up or something? Will there be food?

Me (and yes, I chuckled): Yes Aele, there will be food, and no, wear whatever you like.

This is another thing that is a little different from the other nations in North America, in the North we don’t exactly have the “Sunday Clothes” that the South has. As per our societal shift, so shifted our collective taste in clothing. It isn’t like one of those old-world tyrannical countries where they all wear uniforms and no one is different. I wouldn’t want my readers to think that we as a people aren’t incredibly diverse. In fact, I would say that we are more diverse and individualistic than any of our neighboring countries. However, there is a certain North-ness in the way we all dress. We don’t hold to the old religions of ancient times, so no day is in itself holy, therefore we don’t have a special sort of dress needed for a singular day every week. Appropriate attire is simply dressing in whichever style makes you happy, of course it is expected that a person won’t show up for a professional meeting or ceremony in their sleeping clothes.

Aele: Well then, what are you wearing? Can I ride with you?

Me: Aele, it’s within walking distance. Besides, I don’t have any sort of vehicle by which to transport us.

Aele: Oh right, well, okay. It is odd not having my truck. I drove it here, but they wouldn’t permit it at the border because its emissions were too great, otherwise we could ride there in style!

Me: Okay okay Aele, just meet me 1830 at my apartment and we’ll go from there.

Here is another thing that is different about the North; and I don’t mean to be condescending to my beloved reader, but I think I should assume this is not an ordinary thing for you in whichever country to belong to. In the North, we do not have petroleum based fuel, at least not in any amount that is note-worthy. All of our vehicles are electrically powered and tap into a grid of wirelessly transmitted power. Shortly before the fall of the United States, a team of Italian engineers discovered two pieces of technology that have allowed the North to make such a smooth transition to becoming independent of any oppressive force.

The first piece of technology was the improved power output of Cold Fusion that allows us to generate large amounts of power with an extremely small amount of waste. The second piece of technology was wireless transmission of power through microwaves. At first it was thought to be dangerous and inefficient over long distances, but the Italian engineering team refined the technology so that it was 94% efficient and now none of our cities have the power lines and substations of old. Now we receive all of our power through the invisible waves in the air. Now, we no longer worry about dying batteries and the like because that simply won’t happen. Everything still has a battery in case the transmitters need repair or updating, but that never takes more than a few hours. I won’t explain the whole thing because you can find an excellent book by a colleague of mine named Torin Salvis called Invisible Power in just about any of the e-bookstores.

Alright, so now I have to get ready for the Call to Unity, so I will sign off now. I’ll write tomorrow to tell you about the meeting which you will probably have already heard about on the news, but perhaps I’ll have some insight that you might find interesting.

Until then, cheers!

Jack

The Architect

Good morning to you outside of the Northern borders! I write to you from the First District of the North. I finally gained access to a license to access the broader internet and publish on it, so hopefully you will all be interested enough to humor my rantings and ravings for the next few months. So, as I know that many of you are not familiar with the inner workings of the Northern society, let's start from the beginning in the Great Crash of 2021. But first, a little blurb about the Committee that I work for.

There is a certain amount of illusion necessary for the safety of the state. We must generate this illusion so that the world will work the way it should. The Committee for Public Learning first dabbled in public architecture about 15 years ago, a revolutionary time. We redesigned a city and knocked down most of its structures, both public and private. A few historic houses and offices remain to remind the public that what we at the CPL do is really for the greater advancement of society. The masses, I am convinced, need this reminder, and they need the leadership of not just our committee, but of the entire Ministry for Betterment. That is why we build. We build for the future of our society. It is as “lies breathed through silver” that we brighten the future of society and help to shape it for a better tomorrow. Through those “lies” we were able to tear down the old, destructive forces and build new, productive forces to help beckon the new era, one that starts today and pushes on so that there can be a tomorrow.

There was a period of peaceful revolution when the national economic markets of the United States completely bottomed out, making the great crash of 2008 and the collapse of 1929 look like a day in the park. An overused comparison was to the Weimar Republic, but it was true. The dollar, which was the currency then, was purely worthless and all that people had was what they could produce. The federal government collapsed since -- in simple terms -- they relied on the ability to take on debt to function properly. The great and wondrous Phoenix burst into flames, but out of the ashes came something much more beautiful. We, the people of the North rallied and built a new nation. In fact, many of the original states combined their productive forces and many nations formed from the ashes. Of course outside interests came in and took control of some of the most prominent sectors of the nation, but we in the North resisted and formed a collective, a cooperative. Instead of the old style of government, we formed a collective body not of cities and districts, but of people. I won’t bore you with all of the details, but in about a generation we arose to become a cooperative known only as the Northern Co-op, or as we refer to ourselves, the North.

I have a position in the Committee for Public Learning. As any of my fellow citizens may and should already know, it isn't like a job or a place to slave away like in the old days when we all had jobs and worked grueling 8 hour days 5-6 days a week so that we could get a little food on the table. No, we have positions in society. We all have a role to play in the North. I have a very prestigious position as a public educator. People come to hear my lectures and participate in my discussions from all over the North. I've even had a few people attend my lectures from the neighboring Middle West. I also write many of the books used in our education platform. This will take a little bit of explaining so bear with me.

The Education Platform is unlike the schools of old. There are no involuntary lecture rooms designed with graveyard style seating. Instead we have an open platform educational system by which students learn at their own pace, and learn only what they and their guardians wish them to learn. By this method we eliminated years ago the system of failure. In fact there are no failing grades in our program. You would need to read my book about this if you want to know the details, but just suffice it to say that students may choose any course to take and eventually lead up to a degree in one field or another. There are no grade schools and high schools, simply education. At the end of a set of courses the student will receive a degree in whatever field they have chosen. That allows the Ministry to choose them for a variety of positions in society. For instance, if a person completes their coursework and proves their ability in technical and creative writing, then the Ministry will offer them the available positions in the different literature societies, or perhaps a position writing manuals. Regardless, the student is able to choose from a variety of positions in society based on what fulfills their life goals the most. And of course we at the Ministry provide guidance for every decision be it big or small.

So enough about the history of our great society. Let me tell you something that happened to me today. It is a great moment in our history.

I woke up today like any day, in my apartment complex just north of the Minneapolis city center. I live in this complex with almost a 100 other occupants. I headed down to the dining hall after my usual routine of showering and dressing. On the way down, Aele, my friend from the South met me in the elevator. He moved to the region about a month ago after the Mexican Federation attacked his country’s capital. He was one of fewer than a 100 refugees who were allowed into our country. You see, the Ministry only refuses entry to a few types of people, and the Southern people are generally less than qualified to gain entry into our country for more than a visit. But Aele knows the North’s second primary language and is not one of the unsavory personal weapons activists. Most of those in the South are huge advocates of owning tools of violence, which is not condoned by the Ministry. So anyway, he met me in the elevator.

Aele: Hey Jack, I finally got my citizenship and will be moving into your complex soon.

Me: Really? How did you manage that? This complex is reserved for Ministry comrades only. Surely they haven’t found a position for you in the Ministry?

Aele: As a matter of fact, I took one of their tests and will be appointed to the position of Book Editor starting tomorrow. I’m still getting used to the no money thing. I don’t really understand how I can work for free, but who cares right? Book Editor! I could do that! They gave me this huge manual to read over before I get there, but I’m sure it isn't much more than my style manual from college.

Me: Aele, you understand what your role is, correct? You are not just editing for grammar errors. You have to help edit out inappropriacies and things that disrupt societal norms! This is a big job! You need to come to my place tonight and I’ll help you study for this job. I think you may be a little behind on our standards here.

Aele: Sure sure, I’ll come by. Just like old times, right Jack? Like when we were in college all those years ago!

We ate breakfast together and discussed the possibilities for the upcoming appointments. Aele of course thought that it was odd that we really didn't have any politicians or government. You see, the way we do things is to gather every year in our respective districts (yes, it’s required of all citizens) and elect, by popular vote, our officials. They remain our officials for 2 months to make appropriate changes to our common law. But their main objective is to settle disputes between individuals. They also appoint Ministry officials if any are needed. The people themselves elect and depose as needed the officials of the Ministry throughout each year irrespective of the day, or in some cases the time. It is a generally stable system of government. No one is allowed to run campaigns or even ask for votes. It is all very confusing to the outsider, but Aele will learn eventually how it works and why it is so efficient. Our government is basically government by society.

After breakfast, Aele went to a cafe down the street to begin reading his instruction manual and I went off to the Committee to get some work done. There is no set amount of hours that need to be filled every week like before. It is all about what work needs to be finished before the end of each day, which isn't very difficult. I generally finish in about 5 hours each day and only work about 3-4 days per week. It was about 0900 when I jumped on the No. 23 bus to the Committee building.

It is a large stone building comparatively. 2 stories high, with a basement level. It stretches about 2 city blocks north and south and 1 block east and west. Its dimensions are about .5 kilometers by .25 kilometers since every block is .25 kilometers on each side. There is a full bus station in the basement of the Committee building. It houses 4 buses at all times, but has a capacity for 8, which is nice for visitors’ day.

So I arrived around 0915; unlike the old days, traffic is never bad since most people use public transit for their morning commute.  Like usual, I took the stairs up to the second floor, where my office is located, and began reading my notes for the morning briefing. You see, yesterday was the end of the financial quarter for the Ministry Co-op. The Ministry Co-op is basically what runs the economics of our country. Here’s how it works in a nutshell. Every citizen in the country is a co-owner of the country, and therefore has a say in how the resources are distributed for the entire country. Every newborn child receives a share in the the Co-op which they can redeem at the age of 20. At that point they gain one vote and also the ability to make their voice heard. Until then they simply benefit from the Co-op, but thus far are not given a say in the goings on in the Ministry. This is how we of the North accomplished a viable Collectivist Cooperative form of government where there really are no laws, just societal expectations. Of course, a person could separate themselves from the Co-op and try to operate merely on our credits-based economic system, but that would be very difficult to do since very few markets will actually actively accept credits; that is to say that people are very invested in the betterment of society as a whole. This is where my department of writing for the masses comes into play.

The last quarter, I learned, had an 18% growth in productivity. Our production figures only take into account what we produce that we don’t need for our citizenry; meaning, production is what we produce that we don’t need as a society. An 18% growth means that we can export 18% more to our neighboring countries. This is great because in return we can import a lot of things… well, that’s really up to the Economics branch of the Ministry.

The end of quarter meeting was held in the public meeting area outside of the Committee building. Since it was a nice day we could hold it in the Amphitheater just outside of our building. The whole place was designed like the ancient Grecian theatrical style and there were plays held there at least 3-4 times a week. But today we had scheduled it for a quarterly earnings session open to all. We would also hold public debates about how to best use the resources that we produced and so on. Everyone has a voice since we all are equal shareholders in our society. And so it began with a full Amphitheater and even some standing on the outside. Most people would probably have their apartment or house displays on our public channel because today was a very big day for the North and the Ministry. We had never in history had such a huge amount of productivity in a single quarter. I sat in the front row, as was reserved for those who may be called upon for public questioning, but I usually don’t get many questions since I generally stay out of the Economics sector of writing. Chairman Stacey Hoffman of the Economics Committee was the primary speaker, and I remember her words very easily.

Ms Hoffman: Welcome fellow citizens of the North. I have very exciting news to announce about the end of the 4th quarter. But first I’d like to thank you all for your hard work. We have proven to the world and to our neighbors in the North American Alliance that we have one of the most stable and efficient systems of self-governance the world over! There really is no other nation that can say that their citizens enjoy more freedom, economic stability, and safety from all threats internal and external, than we do as citizens of the North State! I congratulate you all on your own personal achievements! So I would like to announce that this quarter together we have delivered a total of 18% more productivity than last quarter. That is a higher number than the past 3 quarters combined! With that in mind I would also like to announce that the produce of your labor will be distributed evenly across the nation so that each district of the North State will be allowed to do with this increase what they think is best. And of course the resources of the Ministry will be at your disposal as needed.

She went on to allow for questions and give further statements, but this increase meant a lot for each district because although each district operated independently of one another, they each also operated collectively for the higher goals. Each district was required by the Social Standard -- which I myself had a hand in writing -- to share with each other resources as needed so that no one district would have more than another. In practice it was more fluid and scale-able than even the best of us at the Ministry could have hoped for.

After the announcement, the regular patrons of my office came up to me to talk about the ramifications of the announcement, as was usual with any mass earnings report.

Arni Skodsheim: Jack! What great news! Tell me you didn't hold this news from me!

Me: You know me Arni, even if I had known I wouldn't tell anyone. I don’t like to ruin things like this.

Arni was a writer for the North Star newspaper and blog.

Arni: Well, what do you think the Co-op will do with this increase in wealth? Maybe start importing some new tech from the West?

Although the Co-op as a whole can’t force all members to do a singular move, our society generally voted to allow the Ministry (or collective power for the Co-op) to do with an increase like this what they think will be best for the whole North. It was a good Societal Standard that helped alleviate a lot of district fighting that used to take place in the early days of the Co-op.

Me: You know as well as I do that we don’t generally do business with the West. They are much too militant.

Arni: Well, I would like a little bit more than the random updates that they push out to us. I feel like we’re going to lose our edge if we don’t invest more in the cutting edge.

Me: I don’t disagree, but you know we may just invest in our own technological development institute. We already have the Institute for Learning in the 11th District (the greater area around the Helena area of Montana). Who’s to say that the Ministry won’t see fit to build a factory for building our own devices and developing our own software? I’m not saying that they will, I’m just saying that I would vote yes for that in any case.

Arni: Well whatever is in the works I’m ready to basically take a trip out to the West and buy my own hardware. I haven’t had an updated machine for almost 3 years.

Jason, a minutes keeper for the Committee, entered the conversation at this point.

Jason: You know, that’s not a bad idea. We could bring the idea to the Ministry after all the districts vote to allow the Ministry to use the 18% increase. I could talk to Benjamin Davis at the Economics department.

Me: Jason, you know you need at least 1000 backers before the idea can be presented.

Jason: Sure, but that won’t be difficult. I know at least 100 people who would love to see some updated pieces of tech get into our living quarters. I’ll be willing to bet that they each know 10 or 12 and so on. It’ll be a cinch.

Me: Well I don’t know about you guys, but I need to get off to my office. I have a lot of writing to do. You know the Educational Quarterly is coming up soon. I have to get a few articles written and ready for publishing.

Arni: Fine fine, say “hi” to Jenny for me!

Arni is always trying to have me set him up on dates with various people in my department. A job which I refuse every time.

Me: Why don’t you come with me and say “hi” yourself?

So that was the announcement. My conversations are always with what those in my office call Societal Dreamers; or, people who like to complain and dream a lot about what could be, but who rarely do much about it. I always seem to attract those kinds of people, but to be honest I prefer to be alone most of the time. You would think that solitude isn’t the best example to set from the writer of my last book, Architecture of Societal Normality. But in truth, I love to see other people enjoy each other’s company rather than engage in it myself. That’s not to say that I don’t have friends, in fact after I’m finished with this little blog post, I will be off to help Aele with his studies in the Editor’s Manual. It’s the 2nd edition, in which I wrote 11 chapters of the 48. I’ll sign on later to give you, my dear readers an update!

Until then, cheers!

Jack