1<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n\tOmicron\nBlue gazed across cold, rippled waters… slowly flashing to life. \nThe ascending orb of unrelenting Light… inexorably, implacably\ninflamed soft dark pillows floating supremely above. Luxuriating in\nthe chill of the last weeks of winter, the boy stood dripping with\nmoisture, poised on a bluff surveying a panorama of Light and sound. \nThe boy stood erect, exquisitely proportioned as Grecian statuary, a\nblending selected from an array of the best his species in its\nvariety had to offer. The dark, red-brown hair rode the shoulders of\nthis eighteen year old… as a primitive. There was power from the\nAfrican, linearity from the Arabian, and a glint in his eye from the\nUrals…as well as the melange of genes acquired from Europe\nembellished by assaults from north and east from the Germanic and\nSlav. A flowing one-piece garment trimmed in gold fell to below the\nknee. The lips of the youth parted, a white smile appeared in his\nhandsome face, expanding into a yell, which rushed down the slopes to\nthe hills covered with clusters below, where the families lived in\nthe embrace of Love Song Band. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\tThe\nyear… 2081 A.D., or 10 A.C. (After the Change). The soft hairs on\nthe boy’s arms and face were in early maturation. Instinctively, the\nboy knew, somehow, that changes he could soon undergo, promised to\nsurpass mere physical transformation. A shout resounded throughout\nthe grass-covered mounts from the village below. It was his mother’s\nwarning to hurry for school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\t‘Oh,\nthe gloom, the despair of an age, an age convulsed in tears. An age\nof blackness and futility. All that is seen, heard, and said, the\nperceptions and utterances of the condemned, reconciled to an\ninevitable disappointment. Each flicker of hope and happiness a\nmomentary diversion from a curse from the past. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\t‘We\nwere not always of this complexion. Once sunshine and daffodils were\nconsumed and savored as secretions and children of a universe of\nenergy… manifestations and proof of the forces, the movement, the\ninfinite possibility, and yea, even the hope, inherent in Nature,…\nall symbolized by the Light. Is not the sun yet commanding\nimperiously, confidently from above? Is this not clue enough that\nthis ubiquitous cloak with which we are encumbered is more a shroud\nof the mind, than of matter itself? \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\t‘If\nmind did indeed create this sepulcher of a death-life sadness, then\nmay not the mind be able to lead us thence from this shadow, into the\ndazzling brilliance, hope, and exuberance of which the universe is\nactually imbued. To reclaim and reestablish into their lives and age\nthis hope, this joy,… this Light… now must be man and woman’s\nparamount endeavor.’<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\t\nSilvia would blink up from the faded yellow scraps into the blinding\nspot above the horizon. Characteristically, she would have been\nreading for an hour when the hulking forms of hills around the\ncluster could finally be seen dimly through the one-way transparent\nmembrane. Another half hour and she would not need the artificial\nlight from the panels in the soft, rounded walls, which arched to\nbecome the ceiling. Silvia was a ‘lark,’ that is, one whose\nbiorhythms favored early morning cerebral work. ‘Owls’ arose around\nnoon to commence their labor. The most intense creative work for\nboth was done in the evening and the night, respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\t\nGolden Sun Tribe, of the Jupiter Nation… was dedicated to\nphilosophical kinds of endeavors. Because of this, its members had\nvoted to take on names and the dress of classical Greece and Rome,\nand its theology for males was based on that of ancient\nEgypt….well, upon the precepts of a faux version of that history\nthat had emerged during the Renaissance…which had spawned many\nversions of what were to be called the Arcana…the best version of\nwhich the Tribe had selected from thousands that had been rendered. \nMany females in the tribe possessed their own theology based upon\nprinciples derived from a mystical shamanic past. Many of the\ntribes in the country were experimenting with new ways of doing\nthings. Consequently, many were conceiving of new theologies that\nmight be consistent with this new life. Golden Sun Tribe was\nfortunate to have many creative and extraordinarily intelligent\npeople, like Steven Blue, who were coming up with extraordinary new\nideas for how bands and tribes could be run and the theologies they\nmight observe. The main theologies for males and females that Golden\nSun Tribe had developed were exceptionally rich in power and promoted\nstrong connection among members…These new ideas would be put to the\ntest as the world would soon convulse in violence…a fight for\npreservation of this new way of life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\tMany\nbands were located in the hills in every direction around the\nBay….Generally, clusters of some six to a dozen families lived in\nstructures with living areas contiguous and passageways continuous,\nwhich promoted constant interaction and creative collaboration. \nGolden Sun Tribe had the need for more independent work… thus, the\nresidences were separate in a circle with communal areas in the\ncenter. The early afternoon was a time when individuals with\ndifferent biorhythms could meet and confer… however, Golden Sun\nTribe placed high value on their solitary moments. Love Song Band\nwas located above where a tourist town once had existed along the Bay\nshore… immediately north of the Great Bridge… the embankments of\nwhich now were in ruins… located immediately north of the Old\nCity… which now was broken by earthquakes and was largely under\nwater. The New City was located in the backbone of higher elevations\nrunning down the Peninsula to the south. The New City was in a\nsquare, five miles on a side; it housed the machinery that\nmanufactured many of the goods required by Jupiter Nation of which\nLove Song Band was a part… as well as goods exported to other\nnations and countries. The City was now fully automated with only a\nhandful of people overseeing operations. The rest of Golden Sun\nTribe was spread in bands of people to the north and west, covering\nthe sequential levels of hills in the northern peninsula…nestled in\nthe midst of the live oak around them. Human life in the Bay Area\nhad pretty much abandoned the old flooded urban areas lying along the\nBay shore below. The hills near the band rose one after another\nuntil they reached up, up to one mountain, which commanded\nmajestically over the communities scattered below it… with the\npromise of peaceful, surging shores of ocean on the other side. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\tSilvia\nstood in the brisk morning air waiting for Omicron, who came in\ndripping wet from his marathon run. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\t‘Take\na fast shower and eat your breakfast. You don’t want to be late,’\nSilvia admonished Omicron as they moved towards the cluster. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\tEducation\nin the United States was conducted individually by means of Cerebrum\nin the night these days supplemented by group work during the day,\n‘larks’ in the morning, 9 a.m. to noon, ‘owls’, 2 to 5 p.m., and\ntogether, noon to 2 p.m. I-types and A-types worked together in all\ngroup work, learning how to use their respective mental strengths in\nthe creative process. Actual instruction was conducted individually\nwith Cerebrum in each student’s home cluster in the night…’ larks,’\n5 to 11 p.m. and ‘owls,’ 11 p.m.. to 5 a.m. In this way, all\ncreative work was undertaken according to the tidal-like biorhythms\nin their brains. There were two ‘high’ times and two ‘low’ times for\neach group during each twenty-four hour period. This meant that all\nhumans possessed high creative periods in the night. Sylvia was\nalways remarking that this must mean that prehistoric man and woman\nwere probably running around a lot in the dark. This did not seem to\nbe the case for primitive people anyone knew about in recent history.\n However, the pattern was there. It must mean that at some early\nperiod, man and woman required the darkness of night for protection. \nThey may have been partly scavengers, eating the remains of the kills\nof other animals. It would have been too dark to kill or gather\nanything themselves. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\tWhen\nchildren were young, lessons were like video games accessed on\nCerebrum… which was the world’s memory and software… with\nlearning occurring as part of interesting, action stories, with\nadults being close by to answer questions and help with work on\nwritten and artistic assignments. Group instruction and creativity\nwas also stressed at pre-school ages, with children working together\nduring their biorhythmic appropriate times under the supervision of\none of the adults in the band, who took turns in this assignment. \nGroup educational work even at an early age was creative interaction\nrelated to different aspects of the specific work that the adults in\nthe bands were involved in. Individual instruction was comprehensive\nand included the entire curriculum. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\t‘I-type’\nand ‘A-type’ referred to mental abilities in the right and left\nhemispheres of the brain, respectively. In each person one\nhemisphere is dominant and his or her creative abilities are enabled\nand constrained by the abilities and lack of abilities of his or her\ndominant hemisphere. ‘I’ refers to ‘inductive,’ ‘A’ refers to\n‘analytical.’ These terms would not appear to be strictly opposites.\n It would appear that the terms ‘inductive’ and ‘deductive’ or\n‘analytical’ and ‘synthetic’ would be better pairings. ‘Inductive’\nwas selected to refer to the abilities of the right hemisphere\nbecause induction is a process. It is the building up concepts and a\nsynthesis in thought that is never completed. Thus, the abilities\nare characterized by process not by final product. The left\nhemisphere works deductively, gives form to concepts created by the\nright hemisphere…it utilizes deductive, that is, mathematical,\nanalysis and is known by its final product, which is an ‘analysis.’ \nBoth abilities are important to creative thought… thought that\nbuilds and refines tools…Inductive thought conceives of ideas…\nthis conceptual thought process collects ideas into generalizations,\nhypotheses, syntheses, and theses…then analytical thought\ncrystalizes these conceptions…it separates concepts into\nimplications, deductions, clarifications, determinants, and\nexplications…. The two abilities working together…render the\nfinal product…a ‘tool’…which can be used…to impact the external\nworld…The most powerful tools…are Law. Thus, it takes both sides\nof the brain…in different people…to construct tools. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\tWhen\npeople with different mental abilities work together, explosions in\ncreative work are possible,… think of Francis Crick and James\nWatson, John Lennon and Paul McCartney, or Stanley Laurel and Oliver\nHardy. The children of I-A couples are hybrids and often exhibit\nstrong mental abilities with greater access to the weak hemisphere in\ntheir brains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\t\nAll living clusters in band and tribal areas were composed of\nmembranes, complete with plant-like arteries and veins, synthesized\nartificially by genetic engineering techniques. They were comprised\nof several rounded, soft membranes, linked together, which were\ntranslucent and admitted light during the day and were illuminated\ninside with artificial light at night. In the dawn light, they were\nglowing capsules covering the hills… glowing half spheres that\nsheltered the organism called Homo<\/em> within. \tTables in the\nband’s educational area near the central eating center and clusters\nfor group creative work were scattered among wild flowers and an\noccasional tree. All books, reference materials and research papers\nwere provided by Cerebrum and were downloaded into hand held readers,\nwhich could hold trillions of books in their memories. Omicron\nreached the group table. Wolfgang Meer, Beta Firestar, and Cyrus\nHillock were already busily examining the behavior of termites placed\non a plastic sheet with sides that could not be scaled. They were\nwatching intently, making observations concerning the grouping of\ntermites on the sheet and the types of defenses they used against\nlight and heat. Omicron had received high marks in the group work\nalready for the sardonic parallels he had noted between tendencies in\nhumans’ behavior and the behavior of these tiny sparks of life…\nwhich lived in darkness and ravished and impoverished the very\ntimbers which housed and supported them. Nevertheless, unlike man\nand woman… these sparks could always find new timber and thus could\nsurvive on earth, whereas humans’ survival, at least until recently,\nhad been extremely in doubt. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n\tExcesses\nof the twentieth century had taken their toll. Arctic ice was gone. \nTwo-thirds of the ice that had covered Antarctica was also missing. \nThe ice sliding off the land had raised the oceans by some forty feet\nsince the year 2000. Miles of structures and infrastructure around\nthe Bay either were now standing rotting and crumbling or were now\nunder water as levees that were built to protect these urban areas\nwere now breached, left without repair…miles of fragmented\nbreakwater jutting up in the Bay. Nuclear plants had been built\nquickly, after precaution in the past… and solar panels, with\nsquare miles of attendant energy storage, were now very efficient at\nproducing power. Structures were made of plant membranes that\nutilized sunlight to live… as well as to light and warm the space\nwithin them as required. Mass transit was used routinely by all for\ndestinations that walking could not reach. The salubrious\ntransformations man and woman had made were world-wide in developed\ncountries… thus, the deleterious impact of humans upon the planet\nhad been stabilized precariously for the moment. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\tWolfgang,\nan A-type, still used an old style name, as his parents were of\nconservative inclination and were in no hurry to sport titles of the\nnew age. Wolfgang’s parents felt that the decision by Golden Sun\nTribe to formulate new names to commemorate an age of tremendous\npromise and happiness was a reckless practice which would bury\ncenturies of heritage and tradition. They did assume a new surname,\nhowever, which was taken, as prescribed, from the world of nature\nabout them. They chose the German name for ‘sea’ to maintain a\nconnection with their ancestry. They felt it was one thing to move\npast and improve upon the retrenchment and loss that had been\nexperienced during ‘Dark’, mediaeval times, and the partial\nimprovement of the ‘Upper Middle Ages’ as the subsequent Industrial\nAge was now called. It was quite another to cut oneself off entirely\nfrom one’s earthly origins. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\t‘Well,\nOmikrank. Been up singing this morning… or just sleeping? Guess\nyou think others will do your work,’ Wolfgang began his relentless\nattempt to stir Omicron in some way. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\tAt\nfirst Omicron ignored his companion’s words, hunched up his shoulders\nand peered down at one of the wiggling creatures scrambling over a\nneighbor, falling on its back, then attempting to regain its rigid,\nthread-thin feet. The terrarium was a plastic enclosure filled with\nwood…a thick cloth kept light out of the space when students were\nnot conducting investigations. \tThen…’Wolfgaggle,…as you well\nknow, these creatures exhibit very many traits similar to ours,’\nOmicron said humorously in his best scientific manner, knowing he\nwould get a rise out of Wolfgang. ‘It must give one pause to\nconsider that these termites… even the microscopic paramecium<\/em>,\nare similar to man in their basic physical structure and processes.\nNeurologically, for example, the human brain, the termite’s tiny\nkernel and the invisible single nerve spike of the paramecium<\/em>\nare different for the most part only in terms of conglomeration of\nsingle cells. Much of man and woman’s behavior and what they\nexperience as Truth is related to neurological wiring as simple as\nthe ganglia of the earthworm. No wonder so much of our behavior in\nthe aggregate is similar to other animals. And in some respects,\nmany animals possess methods which are superior to man’s. \t<\/p>\n\n\n\n\t‘Notice\nhow many in the colony have covered the queen with their bodies to\nprotect her from changes in temperature. It is this type of concern\nfor the whole of society that humans could develop if they merely\nthought a bit,’ he said. \t<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\tWolfgang\nshifted agitatedly on his seat at the table and scowled. \t‘Think. \nYes, Omicrinkle… man can think. Which is more than one can say for\nthese wiggly pieces of dust. If we went around with as little\nthought as they, we would be extinct instantly. No, these few boys\nand many girls were born with all the answers inside. It is chance\nand DNA, not cognition, which is responsible for these creatures’\nbehavior. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\t‘Insects\npossess Life like man, it is true,’ he continued. ‘Each squirming\nspeck is filled with DNA ancestral to ours, branched from the same\nlimb a long time ago. We may be able to learn about certain forms of\nsocial behavior that are more efficient than others through the\ndisplay of patterns of life hewn to perfection by the forces of\nevolution through the millennia. But don’t talk of volition, when\nyou speak of termites.’ \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\tOmicron\nhalf-smiled at a response he had heard so often. Wolfgang, like so\nmany biologists, was preoccupied with animals other than man and\nwoman. In the previous century, biologists were able to do this\nbecause in their minds the lineage connecting man and animal was\ndiscontinuous. Even though scientists had now accepted the fact that\nman and woman are animals and that their studies needed to be placed\nupon a biological and physical base, still, the old ideas died hard,\nand scholarship was still in transition. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\nseparation in many biologists’ minds of man from beast… seemed to\noperate as a psychological security blanket of sorts, protecting them\nfrom what was accepted to be a scientific, if unsettling fact. After\nall, the delineation of the human genome and subsequent comparisons\nwith those of the Great Apes had certified that humans were\nindeed…ninety-nine percent the same as a chimpanzee. Thus it was\nthat many scientists still almost desperately concentrated\nexclusively upon other animals so that they would not have to\nconfront the true enigma, the ultimate challenge… man and woman…\nThus, it was the ‘social scientists’ like Omicron who were left to\nbreak the new ground, by dropping the traditional ways social\nscientists looked at humans and by becoming biologists\nthemselves…and then there was the entire knotty question…of the\nI.<\/em> \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n\tFor\nvarious reasons, scientists now believed that each human being was\n‘piloted’ by a consciousness embedded in a particle….an I<\/em>-particle,\nas it was called…this I<\/em>-particle was now thought to be a\nhydrogen ion…as it now appeared…amazingly…that each atom in the\nCosmos possesses consciousness…and if an atom loses its electrons,\nthat is, it becomes an ion…then the nucleus is ‘revealed’…its\nconsciousness is ‘revealed’…and is able to interact with the\nexternal world….A hydrogen ion was able to lose its one electron\nthe easiest…and traces of streams of hydrogen ions at work…can be\nseen way back towards the origins of Life…and captured in this\nmodern age in the leaves of plants as photosynthesis..<\/p>\n\n\n\n\tHydrogen\nand helium are the most abundant chemical substances in the\nuniverse…they compose the substance of every star…Hydrogen\nconstitutes approximately 75 percent of all baryonic mass…helium\ncomprises approximately 24 percent…all the heavier elements\ncombined account for less than one percent of the observable mass in\nthe universe. Thus most of the universe is composed of ions…whose\nconsciousness…is ‘revealed’…Thus ninety-nine percent of the\nCosmos…probably has the potential of interacting with, impacting,\nperhaps even communicating with… by means of consciousness…the\nfiery spheres around them…<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\tScientists\nin the past rigidly separated two ‘worlds’…the plant\/animal\nworld…and that of the cosmos…One was led blindingly by forces of\nbiology and evolution…while the cosmos seems to adhere to majestic\narchetypal verities…such as Will, Love, Beauty, Law, Justice,\nEquality….Now with the discovery of the I<\/em>-particle…scientists\nrealize that consciousness is everywhere in the universe….a\nuniverse with consciousness is denoted with a captial\n‘C’…’Cosmos’…and every idea connected to the dot of Cosmic\nconsciousness within…in charge of each human being… is denoted\nwith a capital letter…if behavior being described is worthy of such\ndesignation. The behavior of most animals is guided by\ninstinct…and thus is the result of the forces of evolution…Only\nman and woman have largely escaped the clutches of instinct…and\ncan…if exhorted in the proper manner…can adhere to the grander…\nmost exalted concepts at their disposal…given to them by a\nmessenger…a ‘revealed’ I.<\/em>..inside of their minds…from the\nheavens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\tThat\nis why it was so exciting to be a member of Golden Sun Tribe,…there\nwas so much to think about…in this new world of science… Golden\nSun Tribe concentrated on research regarding the Science of\nEverything. The true concept underlying this science was the\nunification of all the sciences under one methodology…Well, if the\nscience of man and woman is placed on a biological base…if humans\nare indeed…some sort of exotic chimpanzee…then the social\nsciences… must be redone…placed on a biological base…with the\nresult that in the end physical, biological, and social sciences\nwould utilize the same methodology and language…which would allow\neach…to ‘talk’ to the other… work with the other….easily…One\nwould be given one powerful biological, physical science that allows\nscientists to look at all the disciplines in the light of the others.\n It would also allow scientists to make greater progress in the\nresearch related to man and woman. And Goodness knows…these human\nsciences were of the upmost importance right now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\tWolfgang\n took an electronic notebook from his briefcase and began typing as\nhe talked. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\t‘Well,\nOmicroniverous, so much for philosophical squabbles. You must shake\nyour parts, and strive to accomplish something in three hours. We\nmust have a list of observations and associations between ‘mite and\nman before we meet with the ‘owls’ at noon. Mrs. Quasar will be here\nthen, too. We must work quickly to complete our work with its\nastonishing conclusions by then or she’ll send us all back to second\ngrade.’ \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\tMrs.\nQuasar was the band’s teacher. She was a member of one of the fifty\neducation bands which were part of the University. Each childrens’\nteacher had twenty bands under his or her wing and visited the\n‘larks’ and ‘owls’ separately… and occasionally when they met\ntogether during the week. She oversaw the education of all children\nin the band like a school marm of old… however, her work was\nsupplemented by the children’s parents, members in each band who were\nassigned to help the children each week, and children who mentored\nother children. Of course, most learning was conducted individually\non Cerebrum with parents helping the very young. Cerebrum offered\ndifferent approaches to teaching to choose from…one could learn\nconcepts of physics in virtual exercises that were like video games\nin the past… or just simply…1 + 1 = 2. Mrs. Quasar mostly\nmonitored group work on various projects. However, she had a good\nnotion as to how each child was progressing. Supplemental help could\nbe had if required. There were aides available at all times at the\ntribal level who could be contacted by means of Cerebrum or\nconsulted face to face. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\t‘All\nright, Wolfgangus Kahn,’ bantered Omicron. ‘Your’re the boss. \nCouldn’t we just copy the brilliant ideas Beta and Cyrus have come up\nwith and call it a day?’ \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\tBeta\nand Cyrus, who were both I- and A-types respectively… looked up and\nover at the mention of their names. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\tCyrus\nsmiled and fired back his reply. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\t‘Are\nyou fellows going to play all day? Seems as if we do all the work\nand you do all the talking. Beta was strafing these poor creatures\nwith the hot sun spot of her magnifying glass when I arrived and\nshe’s been working constantly since.’ \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\tCyrus\nthumped his notepad on a plastic wall for emphasis, sending termites\nflying for cover. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\t‘Now\nwe have to make our generalizations concerning these things’ behavior\nand compare these white ants with people. Wolfgang has done a good\njob with the termites, and you, Omicron, have done a good job with\nthe people. Now you must learn to work together arduously, without\nfussing or fighting, otherwise no progress will be made.’ \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\t‘Are\nyou doing anything this weekend?’ Beta asked Omicron. She had had\nher eye on him for several years. They had had ‘moments’ together…\nhowever, Omicron seemed to be floating through his young life unaware\nthat the Beta Firestar’s of the world would soon be upon him. He did\nnot realize that the reason Beta was in the group and was working so\nhard… was to win praise from one she knew was her superior\nintellectually, but whom she felt she could ultimately maneuver into\nher clasp. In his condition of inertia and lethargy, Omicron was\nripe to be plucked by a female whose head was not up in the clouds,\nand was exercising every ploy and device in her power to ensnare him.\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\tOmicron\nmumbled something in reply, connoting unintentionally his complete\nindifference to her. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\tUndaunted,\nBeta submitted her proposal:…<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\t‘How\nwould you like to hike up to Sage Brush Meadows on Sunday? Your’re\ngetting a bit paunchy there, the exertion will do you good.’<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\tOmicron\nwas not one to have his life ordered and planned before hand;\ntherefore, he was vulnerable… at the mercy of those who were. Beta\nwas not an objectionable creature, she possessed above average,\nI-type, intelligence and was reasonably attractive. However,\nOmicron’s ‘inner eye,’ the subconscious parts of his brain, was\nfocused upon another,.. one he secretly worshiped, but felt unable,\nunworthy to approach. She seemed to be a goddess in his mind, with\nhair of gold, one of the exceptional students in his age group in\nJupiter Nation. Her father was a University professor who was in\ncharge of research that Love Song Band under Steve’s leadership was\nconducting for the President of the United States. In this new\nworld, families often worked together… as the nation was a family\nas much as the band and tribe were. So it was that for six months\nnow, Aura Jasmine had accompanied her father and mother to Love Song\nBand once a week when they conferred with Steve and his right hand\nman, Rex Meadowlark and his wife, Dorothea. Sometimes she brought\nher best male friend Gemstone along for company. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\tYes,\nshe was like a goddess. However, Omicron in his present state was\nbehaving as if it was his lot to be paired with a girl like Beta. A\ngoddess was worthy only of a god. And he was far from being a god,\nalthough elders in the band knew that there was no better candidate\nfor such a post… if such a post could ever exist in this mundane\nworld… given his many abilities and potentialities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\tOmicron\nwas home by two-thirty. For two hours and a half, he usually\nrelaxed, composing music in the band’s creative area or rested in his\nroom. At five, the families gathered for dinner. Although\nindividuals were on different schedules and although meals could be\ndispensed in the band’s eating area or in the homes at any time, the\nfamilies in the band gathered once a day, as the tribe did once a\nweek, in a more or less artificial way, in order to foster Loving\nrelationships. The males throughout Jupiter Nation were organized in\na hierarchical ‘reach to the heavens’ of Will…with the most able\nleaders at the top…which opposed forces of evil in the external\nworld…Women were in ‘circles’ of Love… in whose embrace the\nactivities of the bands, tribes, and nation were undertaken. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\tSteven\nBlue in a crimson robe sat with Silvia at the head table and presided\nover the fifty some band members who were there. Omicron’s brother,\nJason, an A-type, was tardy as usual as his congeniality had produced\na galaxy of friends in other bands in which he continually revolved. \nThe meal had been prepared under the watchful eye of Lavina Marigold,\nan East Indian, who was mistress of the kitchen. Food was prepared\nautomatically, for the most part… automatically with a minimum of\nintervention from Lavina’s staff and conveyed by moving surfaces from\nthe central kitchen to the dining area nearby, in response to orders\npreviously inputted. \t<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\t‘Well,\nmen,’ said Steve, addressing his own sons. ‘Having a productive\nday?’ \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\t‘Yes,’\nreplied Jason, then ‘Several of the guys are going boating this\nweekend, I thought I might, too.’ \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\t‘Boating\nis one of the few pleasures bequeathed to us from the \u201cold days,\u201d’\nsaid Sylvia, whose words were always colored by a historian’s\ninterests and perspective. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\t‘And\nguess what,’ Jason continued. ‘Omi’s got a girl friend. He’s going\nup to Sage Brush Meadows this weekend,…with Beta Firestar… \nEveryone is talking about it.’ \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\tOmicron\nglared at his brother. He felt six eyes riveted upon him, and he\nblushed nervously. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\t‘Beta\nFirestar,’ Sylvia said with hidden concern. ‘Just how serious is\nthis, Omicron?’ \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\t‘I\ndon’t know…she asked and I said., yes. She’s all right,…you\nknow,’ he replied helplessly. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\t‘She\nis so assertive. I don’t know. I wish you would spend more time\nwith your father.’ \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\t‘Omicron\nis almost a man,’ Steve spoke, napkin brushed across his mouth, then\ngrasped again to his lap. ‘He has been given all that we can give. \nHis life soon will be his to command.’ \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\tIt\nwas true that Omicron was no longer a child. Yet Steve’s words were\nnot to be construed as merely protective of Omicron’s rights as a\nyoung adult. They also reminded Omicron of an entire world of\nthoughts and ideals that would make him think more profoundly about\nthe weekend jaunt than Sylvia’s furrowed brow would be able to do.\nOmicron shifted uneasily. He really desired to take a hold of his\nlife… however, events seemed to have a way of sweeping over him. \nHe was a leaf pushed before the torrent. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\tAfter\ndinner, Omicron went to the band’s music room. The room was rather\nlarge in the band’s ten-room central creative cluster. In the room\nwas a grand piano, a recording system with overlaying capability,\nguitars, and a drum set. A large one-way “window” in the\nwall, which was composed of cells just as the rest of the cluster\nwas, was almost completely blue as it looked out upon the Bay. The\ndying sun ignited a few floating clouds in flames of orange, then\nred, until they were extinguished in puffs of smoky white. The water\nwas iridescent against the dark forms of the land. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\tOmicron’s\nfingers sank into the keys of the piano slowly, without thought at\nfirst. Music issued forth in a solemn sacred hymn of sublime peace\nand joy. The music swelled, then ebbed. Then the fingers moved more\nquickly in an almost automatic improvisational way in a free form\njazz…but not jazz…it was ‘classical music’…that is, it was the\nmusic Bach played spontaneously and his wife would write the notes\ndown as fast as she could…and these pieces were some of the\nbest…that Bach would write…In this way Omicron played for almost\ntwenty minutes and… then all was still. This first flurry of music\nwas a release for Omicron which rendered a blissful relaxing of the\nmuscles and mind in preparation for harder work ahead. Yes, in Bach’s\ntime such music was good in itself…but it was no longer the\n1600s…More was required of a composer nowadays… Sometimes in\nthese unrestricted surges of music he noticed new relationships\nbetween chords and between notes, but otherwise they were of little\nworth as part of an effort to write the best music that could be\ncomposed in this modern day… He had read all sorts of stuff…about\ndeveloping new ideas in music…he just had not had the concentration\nto try things new..and perhaps even contribute to the theory itself. \n.He had read that I-types like him could hum…and every time there\nwould be a new melody…and melodies were scarce in classical\nmusic…Tchaikovsky obviously must have known the secret of humming\n…every phrase of music he wrote…was filled with melody…And then\nthere were chords…yes, chords…with the help of the concept of the\ncircle of fifths…Omicron could move towards creating a music theory\nthat would offer one million possible chords…well, that is what\ntheorists were saying…were hoping for…in the act of composing a\npiece….He just had not spent enough time thinking things\nthrough…he realized that overlapping triads was important…and\nmoving, utilizing notes from all the scales rapidly…like being in\nall the keys at once…but it was all so confusing…he just didn’t\nknow what to do next….<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\tBesides\nhe had so much work to do…what with school and all…and in\naddition… he had music to write for theatrical productions…He\ndidn’t really have enough time to think about music theory…Omicron\nwrote his music in collaboration with members of several of the bands\nthat created entertainment for the weekly tribal gatherings. He had\nto coordinate this work with the scientific research he was\nconducting for his own community. Omicron had written five songs for\na musical, but was satisfied with neither the music or the words. \nThe songs seemed to possess no significance, no pathos, no depth of\nfeeling. \tStill it seemed as if the pressure was constantly on him to\nproduce…so he had to continue…just doing the best he could…<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\tThe\nscript for the musical was entitled ‘The Bird and the Beaver.’ The\nheroine in the play was an artist who had fallen in love with a\ncommon laborer. It was her intention to spend her time in the forest\npainting life as ‘she saw it.’ Her lover derided her effort, saying,\n‘How can you paint life in a forest? How can you paint life unless\nyou have lived it? And of what use is painting to the pursuits of\nlife anyway?’ However, their love was intense and the roughly hewn\nblock of man took the delicate, sensitive lady into his mundane and\nphysical life. In this way was the blithe spirit of the woods\nultimately destroyed by the man of might. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\tThis\nplot generated little enthusiasm for Omicron as he pounded forth his\nstrains before a darkened panorama, illuminated now only by a golden\nmoon. After a half hour, Jason opened the door to the room and wound\nhis way through sets of drums, three guitars, a computer in its case,\npast the large oak worktable, to the piano. The reflection of the\nmoon on shimmering water had taken Omicron’s thoughts far away from\nhis work. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\t‘I’m\nsorry to bother you when you’re in the throes of impassioned\ncomposition,’ Jason said. ‘But Uncle Jonathan wants to know if\nyou’ll be going to the Creative Center Saturday.’ \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\tOmicron\nstared blankly at his brother. A slight smile curled his lip as he\nthought of Jonathan Proudhawk, of his grim yet fascinating stories\nabout life before the Change, and of his complete enrapture and\nexuberance for life in this new age. Jonathan was not an uncle by\nblood, he was instead an uncle ‘of the blood,’ the blood of the Love\nSong Band. Jonathan would say how two-thirds of his life had been\nsquandered in meaningless and harsh work in the cities. Now he could\nwork all day and all night, reveling in the creative, delightful life\nwhich was now possible. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\t‘I\nthink I’ll mag over to the City a bit while you clothes horses slave\nat the fashion mall in the Creative Center. I’m interested in the\nCity. There is so much machinery in one place and all is controlled\nby so few people.’ \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\tBy\n‘mag’ Omicron meant the electromagnetic trains which traveled in\ntubes at speeds up to 500 miles per hour… transporting people\nwithin the nation and delivering goods manufactured in the City to\nthe communities. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\t‘Yeh,\nI guess so,’ Jason said, who was not particularly interested in\nmachinery and goods. ‘But you’d better be back at the Center before\nnoon. You know how Uncle Jonathan looks forward to being with us on\nthese jaunts.’<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\t‘I’ll\nbe there,’ said Omicron, who was tired of being nagged by his older\nbrother. However, he knew that such nagging was near an end. Jason\nwas now finishing his preliminary medical training in the community\nvia Cerebrum and would be going to New York next year for four years\nof intensive training. He was twenty years old and would be a\nfull-fledged doctor by the age of twenty-four. In the previous\ncentury, a young person would have been almost thirty before he or\nshe had completed the same training. However, the modern doctor was\ndifferent from his earlier counterpart in that although he would work\nin an office in the Creative Center, he would always retain an\naffiliation with a creative band and could always shift his attention\ntoward creative activity if the demands of medicine became too great\nfor his psyche to bear. A primary requirement for being a doctor\nnowadays was a history of concern and Love for fellow human beings. \nGone were the days when doctors were considered to be gods, who too\noften graciously deigned to bestow curt words and cursive scribbling\nupon forty patients an hour in a mad scramble for money. Now the\ndoctor was healer of the whole body. The body was viewed to be an\norganism, not a machine. Psychological needs were administered to as\nwell as physical needs…preventative medicine was emphasized\nstrongly…it was recognized that a Cosmic harmony between mind and\nbody was required for robust, vigorous health….in addition, he\nunderstood that each cell in a person’s body…possessed a couple of\nI<\/em>-particles of its own. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n\tBecause\nmedicine was concerned with the well-being of the individual and the\ncommunity, it was associated with the world of the body and the Law\nof Love, to the precepts of Wild Mercy…to use the terminology of\nthe theology of Golden Sun Tribe. Consistent with this, most doctors\nnow…were women. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Omicron continued to work on the musical while Jason called up his assignments for the day on the interface with Cerebrum in the room. It was 10:30 when they walked slowly back to the cluster. Jason had six hard hours of study utilizing Cerebrum before him as he went to his room. Omicron had difficulty falling asleep as a vision of his dream girl remained before him. The anticipation of his being with her the next day kept him alert for hours …as he stared into the darkness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n