Tenuous Utopia (epub)
Tenuous Utopia (mobi/Kindle)
Tenuous Utopia (pdf)
The alarm clock hadn't notified
Julian when he expected, so he missed his Monday appointment which
translated into yet another client lost, and a business partner would
be furious. If only this were to lead to the usual quibble having
resulted in yet another probation now yet another facade of his life
were crumbling about him. Isn't this meant to be for a reason? He
thought grimacing, and he thought countless times to numerous
examples of the session positivist laying work in his well
conditioned mind, so that he were replying to himself, repeatedly,
“All things are meant to happen for a reason!”
As it turns out so many things were
contingent on this day and stacked neatly like a house of cards, one
less mortgage payment to be paid, one less client, one less house to
be afforded, probation even on utilities payment, and a wife that
left with several children. He felt he hadn't so much the
opportunity to dream like he once had, take dreams, or at least too
many contingencies would remain for him in this present day like, and
anyways, he thought to himself, 'What risks can be taken with
consequences lingering over his head in the manner of some high
drama? He couldn't even afford to have his yard mowed let alone
afford the cost of a new mower.'
His cards tumbled down all about
him. Home foreclosure, fewer speaking to him or at least he felt
this way, having less sympathy all the more.
Julian became a dreamer again,
despite the inclination of others that would either show something of
self defeat, bitterness, or having reacted in some other constructive
manner as he were told required making oneself. He felt very old
though at time, but not in the sense of wisdom but more so in the
context of exhaustion, having rotated in and out of one position to
the next, rotated into a position of thinking upbeat to survive,
believing that the world of Solaris were real to this extent, and
then one day having snapped he laughed a bit and thought otherwise.
He were expected to either blame himself for his situation and lay
down, or he would remain upright in it, however humble regardless.
To him a lingering fear emerged in the course of years, however,
expressed in the thoughts that the key to success were made by
opportunity in youth, and here, the world quickly passed so many by
especially when things were not going so well.
Passing years and no communication
between the ex wife, and he hadn't thought so much of this in a
dream. Only if the economy weren't as bad as it had been, and he
hadn't been homeless for such a time, he would be in jail on back
child support if he weren't working. At some point, all the stresses
he had ever known shifted into something else, once responsibilities
weren't his anymore. The sky were overhead, and while the cold would
push him somewhere else that he couldn't always rely upon. Strangely
he felt as though awaking into a world that weren't exactly as he
expected, and maybe it were the same in some way like it were several
thousand years ago when Confucius roamed the landscape, homeless and
begging, despite his supposed profound appeal as social philosopher
thousands of years later?
Julian had tried reinventing himself
like so many before him tirelessly trying to convince others, in the
positivist schools where the stoics themselves failed, stoicism,
however at present were on the incline. It seems only the same stale
persistent regressive conditions remained for over a decade, and
anyways with lingering persistent high unemployment for so long, who
could care to hear some individual in the upper echelons of society
repeatedly blaming their pampered youth for existing social
conditions. What someone might have better wanted to here were:
consolation that they weren't alone?
That life could be harsh and difficult
in this way, even if you hadn't believed it should be this way and
that inequities inevitably exist? And while once having eschewed the
mediocrity of managing anything of a task for himself, this social
belief being tantamount to, anything ever done outside of one's
profession or occupation in life were wasted time in life, had
dramatically changed into a point of necessity. Having built and
constructed at times, his own shelter, and urged to the point at
times of gathering food in the world for sustenance, and Julian would
find himself laughing at times by any strange economy having existed
elsewhere in the world. Yes deer could better feed themselves better
then he could do so, and sadly he might have worried over a companion
house cat more so. While relying equally for handouts like himself,
the house cat, still over time had weathered more so like him
environmental conditions, but wildlife, he thought, even they don't
age and weather like us and our house cats when stuck outside. At
least this appeared to be the case from Julian's perspective. As to
the positivist, he failed to make a career here because of what his
publicist coined, 'market saturation'. He was told, 'Too many of you
people are saying this crap, do something else!' And anyways, if he
had better capital and social connections, Julian once might have
tried invent something simple that were relied upon and got lucky by
chance getting in on a lucrative manufacturing contract, building
something for someone. He were told as a mantra, if something were
needed in life profit could be made, and then another untold
expression were, 'sell also what isn't needed.' As he soon
understood in someways, governments and businesses might rarely
approach high levels of efficiency, this paralleled the drainage
patterns of nature itself, and even if man figured out more efficient
ways to drain water, they'd soon find their towns swamped by water
when torrential flooding followed. Too much efficiency might have
its added problems, and Julian thought resentfully, I felt caught up
in it. When optimums were always required, what should happen if
little slack is given and optimization is an only recourse for
survival? He'd hear the terms 'comfort zone', push a little harder,
work a little harder, or it were a matter of conditioning behavior to
a new norm of what should seem arbitrary, but then eventually
something starts creeping into the system. At least Julian could
feel this, a missed telephone call here or there, not by his direct
fault, but something else, things adding up, and the problem were:
mounting stresses. The functioning optimum were soon at some level
that afforded not merely take what were necessary to live but so much
more and expected here, and anyways, Julian thought it weren't just
him caught up in this faux pas of social philosophy, others getting
burned daily by it.
-2-
News had come some months before,
and in the great city that he once roamed, literally some in great
dress attire on the day of the major crash, and they had in literally
the course of hours and minutes become just like him now. He were
told vital resources were more so protected, loans could still exist
at least for food distribution points like retail grocers, but not
all. Utilities generally existed but the cost of personal
transportation had exorbitantly soared in cost. Julian were still
shocked at the increasing numbers in showing around a local train
station. He were told new opportunity were born in another city,
that hadn't existed in previous months, a new place hundreds of miles
away from the city that he presently lived. Julian made the decision
to leave the old city for the new one, and what differences existed
between the old and new city? The new city, he were told, had chance
to spring into a new life that hadn't existed when the people of old
metropolis ruled and dominated, they ensured the homogeneity of
social fabrics across ed the landscape, ensured in some ways the
failures and success of opportunities whether the reality of success
or failure were truly innate to the natural succession of ideas. The
new city could scarcely think of oil, could scarcely think of the
flat box geometry of the house in its present form, or the old world
Cartesian grids that resembled old circuitry designs. The people of
this new city would abandon the older ones and leave not so much with
the blessing of the old one's fathers, but government had spent and
exhausted itself beyond some sense of being able to control, dominate
and dictate in greater degrees then it once had. This old government
simply hadn't the resources to maintain old political, economic and
social systems, and many still having some position their, secretly
wanted a new social economy to take foothold, to be
successful...economic conservatism failed so many people, and now so
much were ripe for major changes. The new city were in the
graveyard of an old city which had been nearly all but abandoned,
only handfuls of individuals remaining in pockets. All the buildings
were brought down in cascading thunder where confiscated munitions
now were put use to creating a ground zero of the old cities desolate
ruins. Still geography were a place of consideration as to why ruins
and graveyards, should be made into something new, it seems
strategically nearby water ways were of use and necessity for
supplying a populace of people, and then the new architects hadn't
need create and build new inter state transports on top of what
should already exist in some form even if it were now ailing,
deteriorating and crumbling at the seams. What the new city
architects mostly wanted, however, were re conceiving a city so that
public transportation could be replaced when needed, and zoning
structure wouldn't become problematic and costly in time with
populations growth. When having a chance to conceive and plan a city
anew. Of course, this opportunity were like the planning of a new
city after its destruction because of war, but this were different.
Only nothing of great war existed, and the great systematic and
powerful destructions to rebirth something anew from it were
unparalleled in the greatest undertaking they had yet imagined, so
much the cloud of dusts would remains for a weeks, and people would
marvel at a flattened skyline. What would be built now?
Some called less practically for
any management of environmental resources, and wanted to invent a
city whose streets would become waterways, and who could disagree
given the enthusiasm? Yet the more the new cities founders had
grown, it seems contention and disagreement in some ways had sprung
up. No doubt others would leave taking with them proselytes and
disciples of their own orders. Not merely on the contention that a
larger older social system failed had the sprung into free existence,
but that the diverse spring of new orders would be just as right
alongside older ones, and some were even hostile to the idea of
building anything new of permanence
-3-
In the course of months, a strange
social order, called The People's Caravan emerged for the new city
people's order. Where the trains could not provide transport goods,
an order of people attempted to take up the vacuum of what once
existed in so far as goods transports, and their sense of social
renewal emerged more so now as fewer in prospect would claim or have
otherwise shares in life whose existence were very migratory by
nature. Their found occupation were having distributed goods as
could be found in the many thousands of years since the inception of
civilizations. At present no one cared so much how they lived
relative to others, or if they literally setup yurts on the
outskirts of towns, dressed themselves so strangely in their glowing
night attire and having statues breathing fire, in better times their
spectacle would draw something of a circus atmosphere, and in worse
times, they may have been generally ignored. Some walked the length
from town to town while another traveling group had rigged a trailer
hitch to a fleet of ten seating man powered vehicles. Some, however,
made the decision to travel in less austere kinetic conditions, and
rode practically in now strangely decorated semi trucks, and then
even in one notable case, eccentric futurists had devised a system of
guiding solar power vehicles that hadn't need man made operations.
While Julian hadn't outright seen this, he heard many gathered on the
platforms of these slower moving train like vessels, and that this
should seem like a moving city in its own right. Even in the course
of months following were dissemination of goods themselves neither
had the same convenience drawing occasional ire amongst the older
generation that could remember otherwise, a generation whom seemed to
miss most the possibility of gazing at any number of things that
they'd likely never own or possess. With respect to anything of
essentials, trains still worked, and a more devoted fleet to the old
social orders served impromptu delivering to communities, this would
leave the caravan fitting another market niche.
The new city by contrast already
emerging social stratifications of the old order, and it seems the
traveling brigand of 'free life' merchants were generally ignored on
many points. However, other ideas that the 'free thinkers'
cherished were shared amongst the city planners. Namely, changing
drastically the nature of the cities energy consumption both by way
of transportation and the general utilities of housing and building
infrastructure. A point of no return emerged in the context,
gasoline consumption should nearly vanish, alongside natural gas, and
much else found of the old orders. Nothing of government lobby stood
in the way now to have its say, nothing of old guard conservative
industries to pay for and bury new technologies, and nothing of
remained for a time but ruins and a graveyard of much the lands for
infrastructures development. Generally import trade were now more
costly, and what could be better produced could be done so
domestically as opposed to abroad, and anyways, Julian were told what
remained often an obstacle in development for these technologies
weren't production or performance as might have been spoken of, but
often times, large scale deployments making productivity gains more
likely. If you could plant smaller fields of wind turbines, and be
limited in so far as deployments. Of course, relative to much else,
production gains may be more difficult relative to larger scale
deployments. The problem were that economic and social initiatives
remained at a point to provide enough nominal returns so as to
seemingly disprove the idea of newer alternative technologies. Even
then Julian could often here the same arguments being offered for the
more dirtier technologies themselves, build enough production demand
and costs can be driven downward if enough backing occurs in a given
technology. The power were always there for the taking, up until
now, few saw drastic incentive for changing wholesale energy
consumption. Then people of the old cities and old culture, if they
were wealthy and shielded could afford still the old life, while
those flocking to the new cities couldn't. Despite something of
social division and order that might have seemed inevitable, the old
cities peoples only at present reluctantly insisted to pacify with
any number of measured bargains, attempting to persuade and dissuade
alike, the sort of thing, that the new cities peoples would argue
would easily have been held in contempt if one looked only a couple
decades past, but with a vast abandoned city landscape nearly
complete in abandon, it were hard Julian let alone other newcomers to
the great reconstruction see that the persuasion of the old life were
worth returning. This weren't a change of cosmetics, or change in
clothing, or acceptance of lifestyles, different personalities that
were found once acceptable. Only in the previous generations so long
ago, had another generation at times stood so uncompromising on
certain principles and seemingly squandered so much more that could
be had. There were no reason for shunning anyways between divisions,
and anyways this were the social differences between parents and
children. Although the lines between such had become so blurred now,
relative to one of the great previous social revolutions. This were
more like another several generations removed, when families
potentially could have had any number starving on the side of the
road for the great western exodus, but these new city peoples like
the civil rights generation hadn't wanted any violence for a new
life, hadn't wanted anything but seeing people of like mind agreeing
more whole heartedly about the improvement of their existence like so
many joining them. After all, a war between themselves should add to
conflict and misery, who could equally be a fight between family
members, between once friends and neighbors, and less likely those
weighing in with money, would they ever suffer? While those of
malicious designs might have attempted to sabotage at times social
unity, such people would be spotted so quickly and called out for it,
and banished for it if the ends were bloody and violent otherwise.
This group it seems were tired of hearing one social group
scapegoated for the problems of the past that could have repeatedly
been drawn into the fray of once used social media tap, only turned
on in varying degrees as a diversion of one sort to economic malaise.
If the choice couldn't be more clearly, for the energy sources they
couldn't afford, but having any manner of alternative, this emerging
generation rejected the notion they needed to fight any war for any
energy and for their survival, and the other old cities peoples, they
let the new cities peoples take flight from Egypt. At least, the old
cities could little manage decaying and abandoned infrastructures
elsewhere, and the exodus of peoples in a way, would relinquish
something of previous burdens, many of them might have reasoned.
Anyways too much suffering, reprisals, and social crackdowns had
occurred, and eventually something else gives way in time. Doesn't
history provide something of a similar accord in time, Julian
thought.
Only Julian could hear so much
euphoric talk at times, echoing the religious zeal that might have
been found in places in America, where so much potential existed of
the social system itself, the opportunity neither to tell your
children to think much like others in some particular way that were
required of them to be successful in life, but they had a chance as
individuals to find smaller groups of individuals that might have
related to their personalities, that somewhere in a new city, they
hadn't need feel alienated by who they were and could still be
successful in life that prosperity weren't measured in common
denominator metrics, social snobbery, cliques, cut throat ruthless
bloody competitiveness, and that instead communal ism were taken to
greater heart. Julian himself only cried now hearing it, only
hearing so much that should seem so different of his old life. Many
scoured older readings, and the ideas themselves had coalesced into
something different in time but neither the same as in the old world
that he had lived.
-4-
The opportunity of some new
society had emerged really in contrast with the contest of
personality wills. Something had emerged in short span of months
when durations of suffering now were taking some toll, and tolerances
had run shorter. Personalities and will power had taken foothold, so
much that some more strongly demanded leadership and more
emphatically having wanted this. Julian in these times learned then
he weren't so much a leader, but he felt that now he were more then
an ever a keen observer. At least many had learned by now of the
general assemblies and meetings that had formed about a new
civilizations. center. Often times, cities power management hadn't
settled, and something of a problem emerged within its population.
It seems while some would lay claim on older housing, and agreed with
planners to make sure housing were retro fit, with new more
insulating and less power consuming materials. New settlement
housing designs were nothing bearing to the old geometries
themselves, semi hemispherical in shape, and generally more compact,
the plan were to manufacture many millions of these units and
increase the overall density of the once old city ruins. The problem
were that the city itself owing to rumor and lack of infrastructure
and planning had emerged as a refugees/immigrant centers from other
places. It seems while many steps forward could be had, other new
problems would emerge with the successes had otherwise. A city, a
state, a region, that could manage itself successfully only became a
magnet to those areas that hadn't the same successes in like kind.
The city had only quickly mushroomed literally in a years time to
twenty million in short order. With substandard housing having
little sanitation, plumbing, electricity and so forth surrounding the
city in a vast network sprawl, and then food resources begun to
significantly dwindle because of unanticipated growth. Julian like
others having preceded the previous immigrant flight, had at least
certain privileges the others hadn't in terms of access, but now many
attempted to adjust shares distribution of food. There just wasn't
enough food to go around, and while many were urged to aid the farms
of outer laying areas, transport infrastructure hadn't fully
developed, added to a growing security problem. Grains could be
preferably grown, but agronomic culture were limited in the context
of year round production methods as it had remained for many
thousands of years. While the in the early foundations of the city,
only months before, people felt safer then they ever felt in the old
world, shades of the old world begun to re emerge, the newer peoples
arriving were bringing weapons, and generally weren't attracted to
the city for the same reasons as in the previous influx of newcomers.
Julian only heard rumors in some cases that some had been forcibly
removed from the ramshackle tenements of the old cities, and in other
cases, older cities weren't providing the sorts of aid that once
might have existed, and in other cases, it seems the fallout of
economic collapse were no bearing more substantial impact in creating
even greater economic 'dead zones'. If it weren't the flight of
'brain power' problematic in dealing with any number of challenges,
the old cities that had become less sustained, weren't equally suited
to sustaining itself in the ways that other societies had. What
could a city once having a viable consumer service sector now provide
when services were no longer needed, or in other words, how could
consumer service representative feed him or herself, if there were no
jobs to had. Transitioning to the farm with little experience
weren't something that were created overnight, and where grain were
produced and sold, it went to the cities itself or were exported
abroad, or in other words, produced for the old cities and certain
quotas of surplus distributed in places here and there. Maybe those
once having held out, gave up on the re birth of the old social
ideas, and they in turn decided to see for themselves what
opportunities may lay elsewhere, even at the risk and peril of not
knowing? At least the people of the new city, had enough collective
intelligence to construct farming machinery that wouldn't rely upon
traditional sources of energy, Julian thought. At least they had
plenty of farming land, but then he were told, it takes time to get
things going and established sometimes, but many at least were still
remained adamant in any way of resembling the old social orders, and
a campaign was undertaken to educate the newcomers, alongside finding
alternate places that might have more suitably handled a potential
refugee like crisis. Where could they go? Yes small contingents
here and there to North, Julian thought. Some to the Southwest, and
more back to where they came with additional tools in mind and
literally in hand, but likely he wondered if they wouldn't starve to
death? Some of the early immigrants would go with them, at least,
hoping to seed something in their own communities...like the desire
to found something anew when the old culture of peoples is washed
away, and some of them Julian were told at least were farmers of
practical agricultural experience. If they could grow something and
raise things to be eaten, they could survive even if they couldn't
work alchemical magic with modern chemistry sets, or having little of
metallurgy/mining experience, or having experience in many things,
that once great and mighty civilizations. made room for in craft,
trade, and economies that would be utilitarian components to their
modern functioning, but the farmer that could feed himself/herself
from a given landscape, could well be prized with respect to
essentials.
-5-
The course of months to come could
only be described as social chaos. Some two million had left
peacefully on their own accord, with tens of thousands of the
original residents leaving abroad, either destined back towards
economic 'dead zones' from which they may have like originated or
elsewhere, and sadly, tens of thousands in poor housing hadn't fared
the harsher winter. The roads of the new city were so substandard
that literally a rolling horse carriage served as a means to carry
the bodies of the dead to their graves. However, despite all this a
turning tide were made in the the madness of housing growth itself.
The new city had in the course of months had provided enough sturdy
four season shelter units for its residents now, but delivering
utilities alone would be another problem, but in the warmer months,
at least there wouldn't be as much worry over potential fire outbreak
with so much temptation to burn potentially anything combustible
inside home for a heat source. While the timber of the old city
could have provided something here, it were urged to be used for
other things in re cycling, and city architects worried. Once
forested nearby woodland parks, were being massively deforested.
Nothing were done much at the moment to prevent this inevitable
consequence, and what immediate foreseeable purpose could it so
drastically serve? Yes ecologist argued to the vitality that
woodlands offered, but many countered that the woodlands would
eventually return alongside the wildlife. People, however short
sighted must have been thinking ahead to another set of winter
months, but unfortunately, timbers growth wouldn't be in keeping to
the demands of future years and much of this heating contingency
would fall upon the new cities frontiers.
The nearby woodlands of the city
decimated, and the wildlife scoured from its surface by so much
poaching opportunities, little could think to object at least then.
Thinking it should at least return in some future.
Julian were part of this new
chaotic dream, however, and likewise his role in it whether ill
served or not, were part of this. He imagined by day, his role in a
new industry or corporation for that matter. They had legal scholars
guiding them now, and men and women of the business industries.
Amongst business leaders while many called for old social practice
continuities, it seems a new spirit had arisen amongst them in
examination to their order and rank. Who should lead? And how many
below him or her should lead? What tasks should each in leadership
given? Voices would insist that standards and practice conformity
would likely lead to better investment potentials from abroad should
successes prevail remained as a long standing ghost, and as to the
regulatory environment, little should care now as long as people had
jobs, as long as industries themselves, as long as people could put
'several squares per day' on the table, but at least in this day,
Julian found himself, once again working in a start up of a
manufacturing sort. In the new city, there were textiles, mills,
electronics assembly. It seems everyone were attempting to construct
something to make the old world come back alive, the way that people
wanted to remember it only decades having passed. At least now sixty
percent of the new units had many of necessary utilities, and more
should be expected. Julian only were trained so briefly as a service
technician, however, doing little of the previous work that he had
done in higher level management in a now little thought of consumer
services sector. At least if ever such an industry existed, not for
their culture that were learning day by day to complain about new
things in life, not a lousy bill.
-6-
The textiles produced weren't
strictly from natural fibers but many synthetics that had been
devised, Julian learned some might, for instance, have been produced
from petroleum itself, or in other cases, from chemistry magic. His
industry produced a lot of fleece, no wonder there he thought, for
its insulating properties, and so forth, but in time, he imagined
people demanding. They weren't splitting sheep to do this, however,
they had even processed wool in their facility.
Only in several months from his
having started work, a problem emerged, not with energy consumption,
at least rolling blackouts were still a problem with the power grid,
and production would have its downtime. As to pay Julian didn't care
so much as long as he had a home, food to eat, and basic utilities,
he were content. The problem that came were that the old cities were
practically donating textiles to their new cities, and could the
people of the new city rightly refuse it?! Anyways, the emerging
class of business leaders many of which may have as likely had
previous business experience would offer up a response of diplomacy
much to the consternation of those like Julian now. What should be
taken from people's that in some ways tried to abandon you, should
you forgive them and take up their offer even if you hadn't needed
their surplus, even if you hadn't needed their help? Even if it
meant a job such as his could be displaced by it, having adjusted in
some ways the demand of the textiles that his manufacturing sector
should produce? Julian understood the more long winded course of
this, building bridges even if it meant a little suffering here and
there, that were now the position that he occupied. With expanded
trade opened, less diplomatic friction, less economic frictions, and
less tendency of a fight between neighbors, but at what cost in terms
of jobs, and what if people should later not be able to afford the
costs of produced textiles only sometime later? They could scarcely
afford it now even under his production, but it seems something of an
agreement must have emerged with respect to leadership. The old
cities leaders must have seen something of a new spark in the new
cities, and even if they hadn't directly served peoples that other
the new city leaders would in ways providing help and recourse,
should one consider the alternate a mortal enemy for life because of
it? The new city leaders had taken the deal, of course, which
angered Julian a bit, only because he hadn't sympathized so much with
old world callousness and harsh treatment of them in some manner.
They were told there were no other way in life, but their own, and
told further more to pass people that fell through the cracks
callously on by in so many words, and they attempted to lie
repeatedly about the condition of such people, that this was their
own making and doing, not by way of either neglect or deliberate
attempt on their part in bringing about certain social conditions,
but at least for now, a bargain, neither had the immediate
foreseeable impact of lost industry. The new city leaders hadn't
agreed in part as purchaser of any such textiles from abroad, and it
seems nothing more were said so much of what were perceived as a
'token' gesture, or in other words, nothing of a permanent trade
agreement were made at the moment.
Growth in population, especially
in the summer months brought about new health concerns. Problematic
combinations of viral encephalitis, malaria, and a strange sub
tropical lethal concoction, emerged in the coming summer months
furthered by poor sanitation, the last of items on the cities laundry
list to be administered. Doctors at least in so far as their
numbers, weren't in short order, oddly enough at present. Although
it were more likely the event that their part of the world weren't
ignored for the reasons, they would have once witnessed in other
worlds far apart from their own. Health concerns were long
considered in the modern age, securities concerns. Public attention
must have been given, if not from isolated enclaves of the old cities
world order, affluence elsewhere must have paid attention well
enough. The doctors came from foreign places that Julian had thought
little of, but at least they were kind enough, and the evidence of
sickness should smell at times so heavily and hotly in stale summer
air, added to surrounding moats of water that surrounded homes
quickly constructed for the sake of shelter without so much long term
consideration to an environment, some places resembled swamps and
lagoons, harboring more then odd human refuse, but also swarms of
mosquitoes. With much vegetation gone to absorb so much runoff,
someplace merely collected water and only allowed its departure in
some long evacuated process of evaporation, and even in some cases,
where people refused to drink from a more trusted well water source,
they attempted braving contamination only falling short in getting
sick. The housing problem were solved but really not fully solved as
it needed to be and deforested lands hadn't helped this situation.
And in this particular summer, the added stress of so many new
peoples had already created ironically another strange problem
uniquely of its own, if expected rainfall, hadn't come and water
resources were already diminished problematic, localized crop
production could be difficult. At least if hundreds of kilometers
away production gains were made where shortfalls were had elsewhere,
one hadn't need worry if someone else's crops somewhere else were
providing significant enough yield in food supply. The problem were
that seasonal rains were too sporadic, too much at one time, too
little at other times, with flooding, and the deficit fell well short
of production expectations, added to this the cities water use
causing a river to literally dwindle in levels unseen in previous
decades. Already, the neighboring regions to the south and east were
complaining for they should have some right to the water, and it
weren't strictly the new cities water alone. It appears there were
too many peoples, not enough water at the moment, and the new city
leaders would be scrambling to figure out another solution to its
woes, or a dream would vanish into maybe something worse then the old
misery that Julian remembered.
Synthetics that Julian produced
came from recyclables itself and then from any products that could be
laid upon. While potentially animal sources itself were much more
costly, the wool and natural hair of animals generally were
expensive to produce, and most locally were actively discouraged from
raising animals, even if meat, and other byproducts could be produced
here. If only because of water shortage concerns that needed
addressing with huge population demands, the city would turn away at
least for now the idea of livestock industries, or at least if having
done so, they would look like the callous old world in which they
came where resources that could sustain people, were reserved for the
more affluent segments of such civilization. Recycled fibers would
only have certain limited time here. Although 'free thinkers' were
attempting to find ways at reducing waste so much more so that even
the old worn natural fibers, and long since degraded synthetics could
have life extended in these products. Variant weave structures being
explored, any number of restorative processes likewise. At least
headway were beginning to be made. It weren't greater demands for
better goods produced that should be consumed less of, thrown away
that much quicker to be thrown away again. Ideas were born that
social economy hadn't needed so clearly discrete exchanges of goods
in exchange for people's survival. Julian were told not to worry, if
the textiles mill should shut down, he hadn't need rely upon the idea
of having shelter, eating, or any other necessity without having
clearly so much work in the interim. Consolation were merely that
however.. He weren't paid in the clearest sense by currency of
anything, or at least he were told it were possible that the details
of common currency would be worked out, but generally speaking their
weren't much of anything but old world currency floating about their
world, and even this, would be of greatest worth to any traded with
old world merchants. Grain and water were more precious commodities,
and if these could be found, the money would have greater intrinsic
value. Julian worked to receive a share in living space, a share in
food, but the idea of having more wealth at the moment generated were
an absurd notion, or at least this were translated in the difference
between those better access to water and food relative another.
-7-
Construction in the summer months
of the new city's second year lulled this time, as the prospect of
food shortage and malnutrition were beginning to take its toll on the
biologies of a people. At least any number of resident's whose lives
hadn't faced the sorts of habitual shortages of food. They adapted
in the same ways that their children would be forced, or at least who
could clearly adapt as well. Certainly physically their children
would look more like what Julian imagined as Medieval waifs of a
previous millennium with short stature, but they might also have less
energy in store for any physical labor, that their parent's could
produce. They would more likely be prone to injury and communicated
disease more likely amongst their populations. Foundations of the
new city could only extend itself so far. If they had been a smaller
city, the most earliest of immigrants might have held out better on
any number of previously conjured ideals, but they were dealing with
an influx of problems. At least the those appearing committed to the
city hadn't abandoned it yet, and this would include any number of
thinkers, and while the thinkers themselves might have been inclined
to go elsewhere if only tempted by the prospect of selecting amongst
themselves a silent and select group that could abandon so much all
that hindered their progress, they still kept amongst them a sense of
humanity with respect to the welfare of others like them that had
been abandoned by old world economies, but how long could sympathy
and survival intertwine? Would ingenuity, innovation necessarily
translate into success without mistakes. If anything the new city
seemed as likely to fail in a massive case of endemic starvation, and
the city architects, engineers and all else were simply to kind to
completely turn away people whose lives should seem practically ended
from the day they had left their old world homes on the premise of
nothing but hope to be gained and life to lose at worst.
Julian were told to prepare, food
would be rationed with declines in calories, he tried to manage his
focus here, thinking less of other things, but even this would
succumb. At least he couldn't concentrate as well, his mind felt
cloudier amongst other things. He felt tired more often and
developed as of recent a chronic cough. He hadn't heard so much the
yelling, screaming from an open window that should have seemed like
another active urban center full of life, the cities quiet were
rising, and at least the heat seemed to pacify somewhat the tension
about his stomach, and the nights had felt even lonelier. He were
almost convinced that many of his neighbor's must have left, but
having waited longer to count anything of sounds of the quiet night,
he managed to hear brief rustling coming from a nearby house. The
sort of sound he imagined driven bearing strange energy and insomnia,
not eating sometimes brought this on. Then he managed to catch a
glimpse of dark silhouette in the night passing slowly by so many
houses. There weren't any street lamps active yet in his
neighborhood, and he weren't sure if the new city ever would have
these.
Several days had passed when a
neighborhood custodian going door to door informed them food aid were
being delivered at a drop off point a mile from their present
locations. Crowds of people swelled as he approached the indicated
delivery point. A guard stood by another individual, shoveling a
deep tin pan into a dry tannish burlap sack now half filled with
grain. While some have shoved their way in the meandering line.
Most hovered about, gently waiving hands on occasion for the days
heat having poured on them like the flies already about. When Julian
had as close enough in eyesight to the food aid administrator, he
could see more clearly what must have been distributed already, and
what should remain. Only the lines of people would continue to grow,
and what should food aid should remain in distribution were left to
those that could have something. He might have feared as in times
before people might get angry, but people were sadly different now.
Their eyes hadn't shown exactly the same urgency as in sensing more
alertly what should or shouldn't be for their own sake, or their
children's sake. Some pushing and shoving occasionally, but little
of the previous fire in a people's that he might have known in other
times. Julian managed here to receive several cups of grain, and
departed from the crowd. As he had gained some distance along the
flat road away from the swollen lines, he could hear some brief
crying, the truck must have left, yet some still ventured with
whatever energy they must have had in store to see if something
could be had.
A spell of rain then came bringing
at least relief from the heat, and then better news had come only in
the days to follow. The city had managed to secure a major supply of
grain for the coming months ahead at least somewhat through winter,
and perhaps into spring bringing cries of relief and gratitude.
-8-
Once again the new city found
itself moving with a sense of newer momentum, and some basic
completions were being added to this, the new city should seem more
in foundation like rural villages crammed into a massive city
metropolis. Wells dug at strategic points, many and varied, and a
pipeline from a larger water source designed to feed in a varied
sense the wells neither directly the homes in any context. While
many probably now had the sense of the traditional culture of
plumbing having existed before, new city planners hadn't time so much
in deciding structure in as much respecting the more immediate and
pressing demands, pitted with so much limited resource in providing.
A smaller network of power generation facilities would aid more so
the essential while an emerging power infrastructure hadn't relied
upon major facilities for any and every home. Instead, people would
in time receive power generation kits allowing for individual homes
to generate their own power. There weren't exactly a centralized
utilities here. Some cried at disparities and inconsistencies in
power access, only because so many home kits couldn't be distributed
at once, leaving so many without. In the summer months it should
seem less needed, and strangely if the exotic flash and glow of multi
colored lights and led screens had shown at times often, and any
person had the ability to communicate with any other the world round,
paradox were that technological divide hadn't translated in any sense
of absolutes. The poorest of the poor here actually carried smart
phones, now considered crude by old world standards, yet be
malnourished and starving while talking with emmigree relatives so
many thousands of miles away in some distant richer landscape whom
were eating dinner that night in a restaurant. Clearly the oldest
parts of the world, that the poorest of countries were divided in all
manner of culture and communication were changing. The smartphone at
least could be a lifeline of some sort. If only for the sake of
survival by way of a social network whose reciprocal chains had
extended. The new city again hadn't its own currency but old world
currencies, strangely pooling about the cities informal banking
system. The workers from abroad would send remittances to many of
the new cities, and an electronic digital exchange of such currency
creating strange import markets. Already what once should seem a
strangely classless society were emerging such that some had managed
to create some amass of personal wealth, goods, foods, and this
weren't exactly a blight to the rest at least, in that even if their
options and conditions in life were somehow different. At least, a
culture expectation in the city had arisen, if people knew that you
had amassed some measure of food security in the home, your share of
aid should be given to others in need. New cities people could like
any other person in the world traverse the storefronts of world
markets, could still freely purchase something they'd likely never be
able to afford if they only had the currency. Free thinkers yet were
still developing a fleet of vehicles, some resembling motorized
rickshaws, and any number of compact vehicle, likely of single or
double occupancy, but compact enough for sometimes narrow corridors
of the cities winding radial nature. Informally people served as a
means to compact the often exposed and sun backed reddish brown soils
below, and even some in communities organized walks designed to
improve their roads for the sake of deliveries by motorized transport
whether aid or not, and despite the potential problems of logistics
and transport, commercial deliveries existed in newly registered
addresses that might have sprung as likely up overnight even in
consideration to political turmoil, and sometimes violence or crime
that might have sprung up on occasion. Now, however, the new cities
communication, however, informal in the sense of policing, fire
control, and health services, still had a communications network to
rely upon. Julian hadn't owned a smartphone, but someone in the
neighborhood had, and ad hoc wireless transmissions network had at
least been established, so that people's devices could create
necessary communications links inside the city and beyond it. There
weren't exactly a cost for this service in relation to individual
communications consumer, this has changed only hundreds of years
before. The city planners at least had so much free information at
their disposal given the informal array of demographic/geographic
databases having furnished information about the cities geologic
foundations. They could tell where natural aquifers existed. They
could tell at least where underground springs like ran, and when and
where the best wells might be dug. They managed to relocate other
homes which could prove more difficult in the event of flooding.
They at least had free information and hadn't need re learn something
over. Headway and discovery were provided soon allowing the retrofit
of existing home shelters then having allowed for heating and cooling
access, and what should matter most to the planners? Food really.
If shelter, and controlled environmental conditions could be
maintained, alongside communications access, food were probably the
most vital remaining component to the people of the new city. The
land of the city were more scarce of vegetation, and only the
collective organization about individual homes themselves might prove
hazardous in terms of fire, but the homes themselves were not only
fire retardant, but having combustion properties exceeding standards
of any previous century. It could takes thousands of degrees of heat
before a home would literally spontaneous com bust, and more likely
things in the home brought in from the environment were com bust
before the home itself ever would. While some no doubt used
collected wood from any nearby forest and woodland, and this would
present challenges and difficulties to the cities fire safety.
Informal networks of fire control volunteers maintained the cities
fire control. Still fires were rarer. Nothing of running gas
pipelines, or the significant use of combustibles aside from a
rapidly diminishing wood supply had given rise to the concerns that
fire control could be a major and systemic problem. The wood supply
in time wouldn't be needed as alternative heating sources came on
line rapidly.
The new cities health in time would
rapidly develop troves of mobile pharmacological manufacturing.
Cheap and easy medicines fabrication should exist where blueprint
data should exist. While inherent problems existed such people
shouldn't have the clearest means to afford drugs that could be
manufactured cheaply even by New City standards, informal bartering
and banking allowed for such exchanges. Health in the long term
sense weren't paid as much attention. Nothing of social program or
initiative had existed or should exist in so far as any wide
dissemination of drugs combating aging disease issues. Some might
have been able to afford cheap medicines, if only having proved
themselves lucrative in local market systems. The cost
considerations, however were such that new city managers were now
able to pay for drugs combating more short term and vital health
problems in the city, and some in the city were now carrying medical
diagnostic modules connected to their communications devices which in
itself added to the health services component of the new city
society. People could exchange goods to receive medical treatment of
some sort from any who could afford. While accusations of snake oil
salesman selling hope and promise might have abounded for those
disguising a faulty or utterly contrived medical module contraption,
at least a number in an emerging city wide network would possess and
own more medical equipment that would include everything from
surgical repairs/implantation, to emergent medical triage services
and transports. Julian only having encountered in the strangest of
way such a facility once in the new open markets, a store front which
displayed those operated in live public settings, a man's eye
surgically replaced. This weren't so unusual relative to the old
world societies, but surgical malls were described more so by wall
photos and video glamor shots, business itself were behind closed
doors. The more visceral opportunity Julian imagined must have been
for consumer's sake. Some even in these markets held their devices
aloft, so that they could take images and video of procedures
themselves where some doctor in consultation should provide feedback
with respect to the surgical work being performed, but mostly even
critique of work were done so through automated scanning diagnostics
which determined the course of work and evaluated the course of
procedure based upon visual examinations of video and image feeds,
and even the patients vitals were broadcast. As to emergent care
centers, at least one center that served Julian's community were a
small house operated in part from a local merchant's wife. She had
an array of automates that were wired to any number of hand held and
small devices. For any given day, performing an array of trauma
based procedures were enacted. She actually seemed to know, however,
very little though about human physiology herself, and more the
miracles enacted were done so by old world technology. She usually
provided referrals to the surgical malls once emergency procedures
were attended to, that might have included stabilizing human bodies
for blood loss, attending to wounds, setting bones once broken,
diagnosing and treating chronic conditions in a limited capacity that
hadn't mean replacement of any manner of human physiology itself,
aside from blood, blood plasmas, or anything more basic. She could
provide at least temporary stints, and even patch major arteries if
given enough time. She even offered limited services with respect to
cancer treatment. People's would trade grain sometimes as payment,
or might have provided something of an object in their possession
which she would appraise for value. Although Julian had heard that
her home in recent times been broken into, and thieves made off with
a number of possessions.
Other boroughs existed inside the
city which operated according to their own rules and organization.
In some of these aspirations to old world structures: legal systems,
stricter regulatory environment. They must have once held higher
positions in some previous government, and in their own right such a
borough would provide its own services, and sell its own goods
internally. They were rumored something composition of pilgrims,
dissidents, well educated mostly. Such peoples were also quieter,
keeping to themselves, and generally had shied away with socializing
with peoples from other boroughs, and rapidly it appears while having
once been outcasts in another society so many hundreds of miles away,
they must have established some trade from abroad. Julian were told,
their thinkers went elsewhere abroad, not too the old cities, but to
other communities somewhere about the world where he imagined they
must have been esteemed for their contributions in advancing some
aspect of that world. Maybe it had been in law, technology, market
economies. It were also rumored they provided ideas for the
establishment of the city itself. They hadn't appeared to build
exactly anything, neither clearly having building experience,
manufacturing, or in a class sense born merchants exactly.
The new city had begun with a
chaotic intermixing of peoples. However, local migrations soon
transpired such that people were attracted to other places in the
cities vast spiraling enclaves. The free thinkers and artists wanted
their space of like minds, merchants and traders there own space, and
then subset cultures of peoples from varying regions having some
greater point of geographic commonality might have sought similar
company. This weren't merely of the cultural similarities, but that
the new city had left social and political and legal regulations more
strongly up the boroughs themselves. The new city seemed a faction
of compressed states in tighter geographic confines in their own
right. They hadn't shared in the previous old world cultural
homogeneities, belief systems were wide and varied. While other
boroughs would welcome anyone and everyone, and each borough had
their own sets of legal systems and pertaining laws. There were
technically no mayor over the city. Although a representative group
in the city would claim to speak for the most broad cross section of
the city itself. Their work were mostly ad hoc, and volunteered,
although having counted in the context of occupation, and then the
old cities had setup another enclave of their own.
-9-
The textile factory that Julian
worked at closed its doors within months of the cities New Year.
Another competing borough laid claim to some aspect of this factories
work, and the rule of traders seemed to dictate more strongly in an
emerging commercial centers supplying for the cities center textiles
imported from abroad. A new frontier for tenured old city wealth
migrated here to some significant protest. Many of the other
boroughs were given so much the better bargain of textiles from other
surrounding regions, and now more rarely did free thinkers and
artist, venture at times to the new cities center which had in
hurried fashion erected more then several high rise led glass towers.
The new cities center were spiritedly rich, fashionable, seemingly
international, cosmopolitan and quite vacant of people, and the
other old world system might have appeared alongside except that at
least for such a time, the other boroughs had the power to trade more
freely amongst themselves, and their equity were born of the
creations inside a new space that were restricted in ways that they
had previously known. The other boroughs would attempt to build
their own wealth, only measuring themselves more often in the
limitation of trading with any other place. Some should setup a
manufacturing base, only to see it too close in turn for another
reason having existed elsewhere. Regardless it seems always a strong
contingent of many would in turn see to it to socially help others in
need. Only consistently it seems many agreed, if they could continue
to secure food, and find ways of producing anything that should be
necessary to their living circumstances for a longer and healthier
life, what else should the city truly need? Julian found himself in
this circumstance. Only briefly he tried a new occupation in the new
city center, an opportunity that ironically hadn't existed for him in
the old cities where many of the new city occupants had likely come
from but a place at least however temporary were found here. The
commerce of wealth were interested in the trend of a new travel
destination, and a peoples that had re invented society itself.
Julian could even almost afford to live so much closer in a more
wealthy trade borough, but then as quickly even migratory wealth, in
a years time tired of the same storefronts, a similar look. The
artist and free thinkers had barricaded their own borough and chased
the wealthier onlookers away so often, and more often works anyways
were deliberately contrived as its own counter culture to wealth and
seemingly in design so un aesthetically appealing to the eyes of what
could be potential benefactor. Only the new cities present artists
should have known all to well the drain of their presence so much
from a city or place of origin. At least food supplies were secured,
and most of the artists and free thinkers anyways for their
contribution thought mostly with respect to the utilities of new
cities lives: how to make people not have to struggle or work so hard
for much of anything. In a time, only one borough might find
accumulated wealth and resources dwindling, and decided to reduce its
taxes. While some attempted to construct more permanent
institutional features, Julian like others were merely suspicious and
leary of even these ideas. If only one more added dependency to be
had for their own place, and a tax demanded to keep another's
institutional doors swinging open, and for what to weigh in on some
other opinion about the ways people should or shouldn't be educated,
to tell them taxes needed to be raised to create city growth which
should in turn lead to the lesser of fortune's eviction. The
boroughs now at least had some common feature amongst them. Their
houses this time were built to last for many family generations, they
conspired to build manufacturing bases that would last for short
enough periods to produce the goods their population should need, and
they themselves had conspired for temporary access and gain of
resources needed in producing such goods. The new cities engineers
and educated people, this time refused to leave the city, and the new
city strategically rode the waves of old world intolerances, so much
to avoid violence. They created amongst themselves informal manners
of trade, provided educational service, medical services. They
lived cloistered at times and self protective of one another, often
times they could at least be socially intolerant, however, of certain
things, like violent organized criminal activities. Only human
nature might have weighed in at times with respect to habitual drug
use, and the city might have appeared like others in so far as crime,
but at least now, the old cities hadn't conspired to infect their
space or plague it with problems. The new city weren't
conspicuously successful, nor the poorest of cities amongst all
others, and at least fewer starved now here relative the old world
from which they came.
