The Laudable

"Our joint countries, nations, cities, citizens, land, water, mammal, all of Earth as it is known (third planet from the Sun star) and the inhabitants therein formally anoint The Laudable and its reigning strategy and structure as our supreme guide in all matters henceforth and with no end."

- Excerpt from the Infinite Gesture, 3041

Prologue 

Their call was answered.

2074. The survivors of the Last War, in a moving resolution, began transmitting a call for help into space. It took nearly a century for the visitors to begin arriving. 

In 3041, the humble citizens of Earth united together under The Laudable in order to have a unified point of contact for Earth in the negotiations with interstellar guests, and to clean up the centuries of mess humans made and the Earth cleansed. Earth. The planet had raged in floods, disease, fire, so much fire, terrible rains, hurricanes in major cities, earthquakes on top of earthquakes.

The famine, the fear, the human race at its absolute worst in the midst of so much abject terror. Starvation was common in formerly bountiful areas. And water. In America, tap water became contaminated early. Pesticides, coolant, factories, farms, cities. The water absorbed all the pollutants released as a result of the destruction. No one was prepared enough. 

Earth's citizens were humbled and dreamed of a dignified version of the human race. A version they could present to other galaxies without shame. The Laudable was born out the desire to be and do good. To acknowledge the past and turn to a future where humans could safely live pragmatic and productive lives, while always seeking to improve and working for the best possible outcomes. 

There is a duality. The Laudable guides the vision of obtaining the greatest good for all humankind on Earth; while setting the structure and rules for success in the most pragmatic terms. In other words, the ends justify the means. The means, the strategy, is meant to be praiseworthy. But any action taken in the name of the Greatest Good would be very laudable, indeed.

War became a dirty word. A disgusting word uttered only to pronounce the admonition of it. Guns were synonymous with antiquated evil. Murder takes on new definition, even while new and more creative ways to kill are imagined and implemented. 

A Culling of the Minds

Mind and aptitude tests started innocuously, at home, in schools. A coalition was formed to assess the results and determine "what needs be done." Propaganda was renamed, as it always is when new regimes form. Only this one is based on transparency and truth in a way that radicalized the pandered notions of the past. All information was distributed instantly in real time with citizens being given a percentage based on the amount their vote was worth in equal and objective terms. Enough citizens together could sway a vote. New Earth citizens, as they dubbed themselves, were encouraged to gather, discuss, and spend their time in thoughtful contemplation about each new proposal, amendment, or veto. 

Machines and their quantum-level intelligence kept humanity on New Earth well fed, each on diets consistent with their blood type and ancestry. Custom meals appeared daily, along with notices of the progress made to restore New Earth to it's former glory. They were aiming for prehistoric 66 million years in the past glory. The ability for the planet to be home to nature in unprecedented scales with citizens living among the wildlife life Tolkien's elves in Lothlorien. No dams, no deforestation. Symbiosis and sustainability were paramount. That was the easy stuff. The harder transition was in the ways of thinking. People were not just encouraged to think open-mindedly. Since the new way of solving problems was through discourse. People with staunch beliefs were subjected to hours and hours of Socratic discussion. Back and forth, with small meal and "bio" breaks in between, and then more and more discussion. It may have amounted to torture, but it was effective in transitioning hard-wired individuals into community-loving, anti-war advocates. 

The idea was to talk through examine all the angles of everything and break ideas and memories apart for further examination. The change was meant to be organic, a natural part of the mind-opening process. Those who remained closed were sent to be participants in Capitol democracy. The became a face of so many in a crowd with less than .001 voting stance the only way for them to have a voice would be to work together en masse. This also meant that resources were incredibly scarce for the opposed. Housing, food, security were all fought over by the horde of those deemed close-minded.

Emotions

Feelings became a source of discussion in such a way that all notion of gender became moot. Citizens are human, humans have emotions. Acting out on those emotions became a problem. The common understanding became that we receive emotions as a gift after the logical action has been designed and implemented. Emotions were a benefit, not a reason, and no longer an excuse. Disorders affecting decision-making were seen as candidates for The Laudable, they became trainees whether they wanted to or not, always with the option to decline should they be approached to join. It had been decades since a citizen was sent into space to join the Laudable space station. Heaven, some called it. A silent hellscape, said others. Regardless, anyone with an open mind could, in theory, be considered for The Laudable. An honor no one had seen and thus a legend inspiring young open minds. 

  

The Common Stance:

1. War is never an option.

2. All disputes must be resolved to the satisfaction of all concerned parties.

3. Using violence to solve a problem is antithetical to the Greatest Good.

4. Feelings are not a reason. Use reason and logic to achieve the Greatest Good.

5. Use the Chain of Communication to ensure equitable information distribution. 

6. The Laudable has the final say, which will be relayed through the Chain of Communication.

7. All opinions, religions, beliefs, ideas, and associations are appropriate for the individual as so long as it serves the Greatest Good. 

8. We are all connected, we are all one. Earthlanders unite as one people and our minds connect as one community.

9.  Communities police themselves. Justice is determined at weekly community events. Consensus is required for strict penalties. Most punishments should involve being sent to the capitol to live en masse.

10. Community will be structured to avoid any confluence of power. The citizens are the power, the voice, and the communicators of the New Earth way of life. Peace is cherished, precious. Greed and individualism are disdainful. One's self and one's family do not go before the Greatest Good.  Only the Greatest Good matters.

11.  

The Laudable

Think futuristic monks, but replace uniformity with much individual expression. Gender as we know it know it being expressed in more subtle variations. Due to enforced alopecia and medical sterility, "gender" was not only antiquated, but puzzling to understand. There was no procreation or recreational sexual needs. They live on a space station orbiting Earth, make their own food, beer, and art, with 98.7% sustainability on average per year. The other 1.3% provided by citizens on Earth once yearly. 

The Laudable do not wear robes. They dress however they feel comfortable given the ability to dress from existing materials. There is talking allowed in certain areas, at specific times, for predetermined lengths. 

Otherwise, the Dedicated are working, silently, or quietly singing, meditating, writing, playing, creating, or reading.

Children must be raised in The Environment to continue the Laudable's mission of infinite guidance. The whole station act as parents. Diversity, creativity, collaboration. We work together or we die.

Communication

Words, and the meanings they impart, carry more gravitational weight than the the artificial gravity on their flying metal home. Words are chosen far in advance of being spoken. Listeners, so attuned to silence and singing, are focused on every careful sound uttered by their peer.

Ideas are communicated in text with much more frequency. Communication between the space station and Earth was required. All Dedicated had access to unfiltered communication from devices they wore on their person. Some dedicated wore it as a necklace while others found more creative ways to secure it to their person. Knitted hats with small pockets, or hanging from a piercing. It was small, round, and light in weight, dark in appearance at first. Like a scrying glass, it had depth and mystery, and almost seemed to have smoke swirling beneath the surface. Upon close inspection, things change. 

When communication is sent up the chain to The Laudable, the messages are received on all the devices at once, which they become aware of when a warm pulsing begins. The message must be retrieved before the device grows hot and the message disappears. The dedicated must focus their mind on their device, which has been attuned to each individual. By focusing they can retrieve the message into their mind space and read/listen/absorb. If too many messages are sent, information can be lost. Sending a message is done only when a new framework needs to be created. 

Mind Space

The messages received by each individual on the space station become like a folder of 900 something files. As the dedicated focus on the message their interpretation and understanding is added to the mind space so that a complete picture, with all perspectives, is created. Then the discussion begins. Not with voice spoken, nor sentences formed. The discussion happens in the mind space, where the processing of the information happens, like a processing unit, with human minds. 

 

More coming soon...