“I
want to know how my students think. If they
don’t yet, I want to make them start to. I give this story to them:”
‘At
an ancient Center
of Learning the Studies Faculty meets in a room that has a table that
seats
six. Since there
are 10 on the Faculty, four
always have to sit on the floor based on seniority. Members have spent
three,
five, any number of years on the floor. As one of the members at the
table leaves
the Faculty the senior person on the floor ‘moves up’ to the table.’ It
has
been this way as long as anyone remembers.’
‘As
the building had
fallen into disrepair after long years of use the Governing Elders of
The
Center moved to rebuild the existing structure. Only for reasons of
cost and
time the meeting rooms were made larger. Since the meeting rooms were
larger
the Board also provided larger furniture. The old furniture was given
away. So when
the Studies Faculty came in for their first meeting in the new building
they
found a table that seated all 10 of them.’
“I
ask my students ‘Then what happened? Is there a
‘therefore’ here? If there is not, why not?’
They have the two free days between class days to do the
assignment and I
limit them to 500 words. Then I take the two or three best replies and
distribute copies to the other students and ask them to comment on
these.”
I
have to ask “If you give this assignment for
every term wouldn’t the students that have been successful tell the
next
classes what they have to do?” “Not yet Willson; I have not seen this
happen.
Anyone who spends sleepless days doing this assignment and is
successful isn’t
going to make it easy for those who follow. And I would readily
recognize if
they did.” He adds that “of course any assignment like this will
eventually
become familiar and I will think of another to replace it.” Alfred is
scheduled
to give a talk to a faculty group and it is time. I stand when he
leaves. I
hope I see him again sometime. I have some time before I have to be in
Electric
City so I can talk with Aiden.
I
told Aiden about Professor I saw earlier. “I
know what you are thinking Willson. Not all vested professors become
like that,
just the ones, how can I say this, that labor in fields of less fertile
ground
where they depend upon that which the winds blows loose that they might
use from
the more fecund fields nearby.” I wonder then if you could say “the
more
professors are like that the less important are their areas of study.”
“We would
never say ‘less important’ Willson as we uphold courtesy here at the
University. And nobody wants a meaning for ‘important’ here.” I asked
about the
‘extra faculty’ jobs and that “I saw some teachers earlier….” “I’m not
one of
those Willson. Neither is my daughter fortunately. The part-time
teachers and
their like in other professions are another reason I said things are
different
on this side of the river, but not necessarily better.” Aiden asks
about my
travels and how I met Alfred. I tell him the ‘lesson’ with the napkin
and rock.
He adds “a good person to be like is Alfred. One of the best minds and
teachers
in the Nation and you can talk to him while he is fishing.” I tell him
about other
parts of my journey including the Worms and the Corrections Campus. And
I
include the dream about the rabbits. I ask him if he knows what happens
at the
meetings candidates have with rich donors. Then I tell him about the
dream I
had about the meeting at Spring Desert City. “Willson, remember to
write down
these dreams you have. A greater truth there perhaps.”
We
still have some time so I tell him about my
house and that it was owned by a Professor Grndee. Aiden looks
surprised. “I
haven’t thought of him in years. I heard him speak several times while
I was a
student. A stimulating mind the way he looked at things. Anyone who
ever talked
with him would also say this. Alfred knew him. Grndee was accused of
being a
Socialist, which always hurt his career. You are fortunate to find his
notebook.” “Did he teach Socialist ideas in his classes?” “No, he just
had
ideas.” I told Aiden I would bring the notebook to him if he wanted and
he said
yes but “please read through it first. You will learn from it.” I told
him I
had read some of it and I ask him what ‘Minders’ means. “Oh Yes, that
would be
Grndee.” And that I heard the term again a few days later. He asks me
where and
I tell him about Reuben. He is surprised anyone would use the name out
loud,
and then “nobody has to.” I still don’t understand. Aiden looks around
and
lowers his voice “when someone is afraid to say or do something because
someone
might disapprove. But they don’t know who this someone is that might
disapprove.
That is Minders.” Then he adds “there is an Institute that is a place
though I
have never talked to anyone who has seen it. As I understand there
doesn’t really
have to be one.”
[We
do not understand what is meant by Minders
here. We have seen this word once before in the mention of
something called
the Minders Keep. We expected more
explanation because we found much more on other institutions such as
governments, religious bodies, universities and research centers.
Perhaps
Willson will tell more about Minders
sometime. Editors.]
***
This
is my second visit to Electric City. I had to
register my first time so I could come ‘on campus.’ I brought documents
from
Center that introduced me and why I would be coming there. When I went
to the
Registration Department there was a young woman at the counter dressed
in dark
exercise clothes lifting small weights up and down. A sign on the wall
behind
her said Body Intelligence is Brain
Intelligence. There was a large mirror on the wall that had
the outline of
a tall narrow person. A sign next to the outline said Do
you fit? I don’t want to know. As I walked up to the counter
she
looked at me and said “un- technical and maintenance workers register
at Physical
Plant in the next building over.” I showed her my documents. She looked
at me
for a moment more before she typed into a keyboard on the counter. Two
men came
out from the back dressed in the same kind of dark exercise clothing.
The
Security Guard was dressed in an exercise uniform. The two looked at my
documents, then at me, and then back at the documents. One pointed at
something
on one page. The other looked at me and said ‘Fruitbaugh?’ and looked
back at
the page. The first one started talking on his computer phone and after
a few
minutes said “we must assume that The Center knows what they are doing”
and
walked away with the documents. I then went with the Guard into a room
with electronic
equipment that looked at my right eye and my left hand. So now when I
come to
‘campus’ I go to a machine and look into it with my right eye and put
my left hand
on a flat piece of glass. And then I can go on in the buildings. Before
I can
get back out again I might have to go to other machines to look into
and touch some
more times before I am finished.
[Electric
City is another independent autonomous political entity. It is located
near the
train tracks between Coast University and Greater. The City is a large
‘campus’
that looks much like another University. The campus work center
buildings are organized
in a circle. In the middle of the circle is a large round church. The
work
buildings are in turn surrounded by another circle of buildings where
the
residents live. The residential buildings also have stores,
restaurants, and
other services. While most of The Nation’s electronic goods are
imported from
The Celestial, these are mostly devices for routine functions,
communication,
and entertainment. Electric City invents and manufactures electronics
for the
most complex tasks, including space flight. They supply these for the
rest of
The Nation, The Celestial, and for Old World. Editors.]
Everyone
in Electric City lives in large buildings
that do not have any decoration on them but do have large glass
windows. They
own their own part of the building. They have battery-powered cars that
have computer
systems that tell the cars where to go. The cars crash into one another
a lot
but do not go fast enough to do much damage. Some move around the
‘campus’ on
hover disks. They don’t have very many kids here. When they do they
hire
consultants for advice. Kids there play electronic games on computers
more that
physical sports. But they do exercise like the adults. Everyone carries
several
small computers that they use to communicate, read from, or play games
with.
People
in Electric City do not cook very often. They
either eat their meals out at restaurants or have the food fixed and
brought to
them. They are all very careful about what they eat. They usually dress
like
they are going to an exercise place. There is one or more of these
places in
every building. Even when they go to work or to church they dress like
they do
when they go to exercise.
[‘Exercise
places’ are places where people move heavy objects or jump around in
groups.
These are common in Willson’s world. We don’t know why. Or why there
are so
many in this one city. Might these places be part of a criminal justice
system?
Or are they similar to some religions in primitive lands where the
faithful
punish themselves to purge evil. Editors.]
There
are no churches in Electric City except for
one very large church in the center where some go to hear about spirits
and
messages that go around the universe. The church clergy wear exercise
clothes and
talk a lot about the vibrations in the universe. The church has its own
exercise room. There are small weights and elastic bands to use by the
seats in
the church. There are also exercise machines along the wall where you
can go
and do a little exercise while the service is going on. During the
service at times
there will be lightning bolts that travel across the top walls and
ceiling of
the church. When this happens the minister will lead everybody as they
jump up
and down.
Today
I am in Electric City to leave
specifications and an order for parts for the project. I looked into
and
touched a machine to enter Technical Resolutions. The young woman at
the
counter dressed in dark exercise clothes was pulling an elastic cord
back and
forth in front of her. She stopped and looked at me a moment and said
“un-
technical and maintenance workers register at Physical Plant near the
entrance
to campus.” She pulled the elastic cord some more as I told her I
brought an
order for parts from The Center for a project at the University. She
looked at
me another moment before she typed into a keyboard on the counter. Two
men in
dark exercise clothing came out from the back and I repeated what I
told the
young woman. They looked at me a moment and then at the specifications
I
brought. They looked at me again as one said to the other ‘The Center
must know
what they are doing.’ They asked me to follow them. I had to look into
and
touch another machine to enter into a room with machines and mirrors.
There was
another outline with the same ‘do you fit’ sign. As we sat around a
large table
one of the men offered me a glass of ‘pure juice extracted from native
vines
near Wash.’ “Very healthy” the other said. “Do you improve your body
intelligence
Willson?” They exchange looks. I tried to be polite, sipping slowly on
the vine
juice. Very slowly. I’m not going to look for this in the store. They
studied
the specifications and seemed surprised I was able to answer their
questions. And
I finished some of the vine juice. Soon I was signing the order forms.
As I
stood to leave one offered me a full bottle of vine juice to take with
me. I told
them that I had enough at home still.
***
My
uncle in Cottonbaugh sent me my storage trunk.
It was by my front door when I got home. It has my military journals. I
am
going to have to look at those now. They will help my memory for when I
see
Lewis next time. I hope the storage box of old furniture gets here
soon. So my
house will start to look like a real house inside.
Tomorrow
I am back at the Wing. It will be a good
day there as Jaemes’ latest project worked. It took him a long time to
do but
it has been sent into space. It is a ‘deep space’ mission called Hunter that will listen for any messages
that other civilizations out there might have sent.
***
(To
be
Continued)
Contents