Introduction to the New World

Foreword

It is my good luck to have happened upon a copy of the following book. Inasmuch as I have the only available copy, I'm going to pretend that I wrote it, and that everything else that follows is fiction. Therefore, honor my copyright by not reprinting any of it, and someday I may be able to talk someone into publishing it.

This book tells the story of a group of people who cut their connections with the rest of mankind at the end of the second millennium, as they had planned to do for 36 years, or as they would say, for three dozen years.

I am going to be rather slow about putting this book onto the web because (in spite of the introduction's statement that it is written using standard English) it has been written using a phonetic alphabet which I have trouble transcribing. At times, words are used which are not part of my vocabulary and which I can't find in any dictionary, so I have just made some guesses as to what was intended, and I have changed the text accordingly. From what I can gather, this copy of the book was printed to celebrate the solstice ending the year three dozen, thus it tells their entire history from day one until nearly that time.

While most sections have been signed, the book was published without an author or editor being listed. The date of publication was written out as "Saturn the Fourth, Taurus, Three Dozen" and enumerated as "030E4T;" -- whatever that should happen to mean.

I hope you enjoy reading it.

Ken Kifer

Many thanks to Riin Gill of Ann Arbor, Michigan, for spending long hours proofreading these pages.

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Preface

We thought, as a way of celebrating our separation from the Old World, that we should republish the following book for use in our libraries. We thought this book deserved publication in paper form, as we think it is an important historical document that future generations will want to analyze and discuss. In compiling this last edition of this work, we decided to add some additional documents to bring it up to date. The first edition was compiled in year one dozen and three, evidently in order to give those with a long sea and railroad trip something to read while traveling. The following introduction was written a few years later.

INTRODUCTION

This book has been written for the benefit of those who are visiting the New World for the first time. For this reason, we have written it using the standard English alphabet, which we are no longer using. We wrote it to help you understand our culture, thus making your transition easier whether you have already decided to join us or whether that decision lies ahead. Even more important, we want you to understand why the New World is different from the Old World, why we consider it essential to keep them different, and what we must do to maintain that difference. Most of this book is a history, as telling the story will help place everything into context.

We did not have such a book as this to offer our first settlers; instead we often tried to hide the fact that they were entering a different world, a subterfuge that never worked very well. However, even now, we are bringing many people into our world on some false pretext; after all, if we told the truth, who would believe us? But nonetheless, the fact that you have visited the New World must be kept a secret from those back in the Old World. We have loaned you this book to read in the evenings while here, but we will not allow you to take this book or any other evidence, such as photographs, specimens, or books back to the Old World, if you should return there.

There are several methods that you might have used to enter the New World. You might have come here by trolley, walked through a door, crawled through a cave, submerged in a pool, or arrived by some even stranger method. When you arrived, you entered a world that in many ways is identical to the one you left. It has the same mountains, oceans, lakes, and streams, although we use entirely different names to avoid confusion. Even local features, such as bluffs, springs, and caves often are very similar, sometimes almost identical, in both worlds. But, no matter how or where you entered, there are certain differences that can help you recognize the New World as being quite different from the Old.

First, the New World is clean and alive. While the dirty air of the Old World is not readily visible or noticeable, our crisp, clean air is immediately recognizable. Haze is rare when looking at distant objects. The smells in the air are natural and fresh (but not always pleasant). Most of our streams are clean, clear, and pure, and even muddy rivers are pollution free. Along with the clean air, you will notice the sounds of birds, insects, mammals, and the splash of fish; you will be astonished at how crowded with animals our world is.

Most newcomers are astonished by our trees. In the United States, the forests have been cut time and again with little regard for the top soil, which has largely washed away. Few people there have ever seen a 300-year-old tree, and most areas have been largely cleared of their original vegetation. However, in the New World, old trees are common, the soil is rich, and forests extend almost untouched from the Eastern Ocean to the Big Muddy and beyond, with the exception of natural meadows and burned-out areas. Trees over four feet in diameter are common rather than unusual in the rich bottomlands, and trees over ten feet in diameter are not rare. While we have cleared the land in some areas in order to grow gardens, orchards, and crops or to pasture animals, those clearings are the exception rather than the rule. Many houses are nestled in among the forest giants, while others have been built along the edges of man-made fields, natural meadows, and streams because some people need the extra light that those open areas provide. A natural arrangement and orientation of houses exists even in the towns, where there are no even rows of look-alike dwellings, and for that matter, no streets, driveways, mailboxes, or trash cans.

Our culture, instead of hiding itself within steel, wood, and concrete, considers itself a part of Nature. Rather than watching TV, passively watching spectator sports, or driving cars for entertainment, we spend most of our free time enjoying the planet around us. Thus, if you find a stream or pond in a populated area, you will also find small boats on the banks. Some of the boats are publicly owned and are available for your free use. Our dinky little roads, sometimes less than six feet wide, wind up and down the hills and around the trees, and travelers using them are on foot, on bicycles and quadricycles, on horses, and in buggies and wagons. Public bicycles are easy to find, although you will have to pay for a buggy ride. Every spot that looks like a pleasant place to picnic has been used for that purpose at one time or another, as there are no "no trespassing" and "keep out" signs, nor is there much fencing. Nonetheless, you won't find trash or vandalism. There are many trails leading down along the river or up into the mountains, and when hiking along them, you are likely to encounter happy people on any day of the week. Our people like long hikes and long bicycle rides, or they may be hiking or biking in order to explore caves, study rocks or plants, watch wildlife, gather food, or go fishing.

If you come in the summer, you might notice that the weather is noticeably cooler, wetter, and more predictable than in the Old World. Summer temperatures are lower in the New World because the forests have not been cleared and because the CO₂ level in the atmosphere is lower. Rainfall is usually more frequent during the summer than in the Old World because we don't have the problem of high pressure systems stalling over sun-baked lands. The ground is wetter because it is protected by trees and forests from excessive drying. At the same time, less rain falls with each shower.

On the other hand, if it is winter, you might notice that the cold is not quite as great. The extensive forests and lack of bare areas help protect against the winter cold by retaining heat and blocking the wind.

Everything about the New World is not better. Mosquitoes and some other insects are terrible in some areas, so we suggest checking locally to see if you need a veil. Large animals are common in the woods and can be frightening and even dangerous for those not accustomed to their behavior. We recommend that you not wander into the wild areas unless you are with a guide. And transportation is slower, as our trolleys never travel faster than three dozen miles per hour.

Like any people, we must work to earn a living. But the work we do is much less, and the living is much different. In the New World, we are not obsessed with getting ahead of the other fellow. We do not build huge homes to fill with as much junk as we can accumulate. Instead, we content ourselves with smaller homes, less clothing, and fewer possessions in order to have more time to enjoy each other's company and to cherish the natural world that we live in. We are fairly obsessed with good food, and by that we mean a rich variety of fruits, vegetables, legumes, grains, eggs, and milk products. Most people eat fish and seafood, some also eat chicken and turkey, and a few also eat mammals. We don't allow bird or mammal flesh to be sold, however, so those who eat it have to kill the animals themselves.

Our communities are mostly very small by your standards and just right by ours; everyone knows everyone else in their town. Each has a center, which at least includes a school, a public bath, and a store, none of which are much like their Old World counterparts.

In the school, the students do not sit bored in rows of desks but are actively engaged in learning during the school day. You might find them studying in small groups or alone almost anywhere, sometimes with books and papers, sometimes in earnest discussion or even arguments, sometimes exploring the outdoors, sometimes visiting a work site, and sometimes learning while working. Our older students perform valuable research that often ends up providing them with lifetime pursuits. The school is not just used by young people; people of all ages study and sometimes take courses, either for practical reasons or just to better understand their world. Our courses are often on subjects that Old World schools would never include, as we feel schools should prepare our students for all aspects of life, such as courses on lovemaking for the married or soon to be married. Our schools aren't entirely about learning; we ask the students to contribute their share to taking care of the community, so very often you will find them working during their school hours.

Our public baths were created to solve a plumbing problem in our early years, when we could not pipe water to every home. However, the social atmosphere of the baths, the pleasure of bathing in waters of various temperatures or in steam, and the delight of playing in the water have made them an important part of our lives.

The store is much more important in our culture than even a large mall is in yours, and that is because its basic purpose lies not in selling but in providing service to the community.

Yes, the store does carry things to buy and things to eat and drink. As you enter the building, you are most likely to first encounter a bar and some tables. During much of the day, there is prepared food waiting from which you can make a sandwich or a dinner, and many in the community eat at least one of their meals here every day. However, the flesh of mammals and birds can't be sold, so you will either have a vegetarian dish or have eggs, cheese, fish, or seafood with your meal. But fresh-baked bread of several kinds, thick crackers, home-made jellies and jams and butters of every kind, a variety of cheeses, fruits and vegetables in season, rice and cooked bean dishes, soups and casseroles, all provide a good variety. There will also be a variety of fruit drinks, beverages, and wines, although each person is limited to one alcoholic drink per visit. The cost of eating in the store in our world is generally less than the cost of eating in a restaurant in yours because the store is a non-profit, community service and because the food is self-service.

If you don't wish to eat there, the store also includes a good grocery store, so you can buy foods to cook and eat elsewhere. Some things that look very similar to the Old World are really quite different. Our foods are packaged in reusable containers as much as possible; for instance, all canned food is in standard jars. The frozen foods are all in small packages because there are no home freezers; therefore, all frozen food is purchased on the same day in which it is to be eaten. The grocery store, unlike those in the United States, does not have large quantities of chemical and paper products. We do not use poisons to keep insects away from our food but instead are careful to keep it in tight containers. We do not use dangerous chemicals for the purpose of cleaning but depend more on elbow grease. We use rags, which are laundered, rather than paper towels for all cleaning purposes, and all our diapers and wipes are also cloth. (Wipes are small pieces of cloth which we use in place of toilet paper. You will find a container to drop them into, so they can be rewashed and reused.)

Also the store includes hardware, notions, clothing, and all of the frequently-sold, non-business items. Each store also has a catalog with full details of all the items available in the New World which can be ordered by the store or the individual. With some items, such as clothing or shoes, it is necessary to be fitted to the item, and therefore it is necessary, at some times, to travel to a shop located in one of our larger towns.

But, as has been said, the primary business of the store is not buying and selling. The store is an important gathering place for the community. People often casually spend time in the store, talking with friends, playing board games, or just enjoying being around others. In some communities, people use the store for their weekly neighborhood sessions, although other locations are used as well, such as the school, the library, or a special building. These sessions, required of all members of the community, are the glue that holds us together. Some of the time is used for intimate sharing of problems, and some is used for dealing with community issues, including the election of the representatives.

The store also acts as our mail center and rail station. Mail boxes are located in each store, and mail cars pick up outgoing mail and deliver incoming mail to those boxes. Our passenger rail cars carry people from station to station, that is, from store to store, and people must travel to the stations in order to travel by rail.

Unlike the United States, the New World is not a land of private motor vehicles; indeed, there are no motor vehicles at all. Most people use bicycles at least some of the time, a few people own buggies or wagons (they can be rented in every town), everyone does a good bit of walking, and we all use the electric railway for long distance. You might also occasionally see some electric vehicles, which are used indoors or locally to carry goods.

Our railway consists of a variety of trolley cars. There are mail cars, on which the mail is sorted between stops; combines, which are combination passenger/baggage cars; box motor cars, which carry packages and other small items; various work cars, including crane cars, shovel cars, dump cars, flat cars, cement cars, and snow plows; passenger trains, to carry people long distances day and night; and various non-motorized cars, which are used to haul bulk materials. These rail cars travel over wide distances, as it was important for us to be able to mine a wide variety of metals and other materials and to be able to grow both tropical and cold-weather crops. However, our railroad looks quite different from yours, as our trains and the tracks usually follow the terrain, climbing up and down the hills or around them rather than traveling in deep cuts through them.

Our working lives are quite different from those in the United States as well. Everyone is encouraged to limit their working hours to a couple of days per week. After all, we live only once, and it does not make sense to spend most of our time working. But working hours may also seem strange. Some people work during only part of the year, while others work a few hours every day. Some manufacturing plants are operated around the clock with shifts of workers, to economize on equipment, but the workers are not machinery and work no more hours than anyone else.

Our world also lacks taxes. Each person instead contributes a day's work each week to the local community. We also use very little cash and have no banks or interest either. It's not that we do without financial bookkeeping entirely; it's just that we have been able to greatly simplify the process because we are not so worried about being cheated or about getting ahead.

In our world, you don't have to save for years or make high payments to own a home; it's free. Don't expect a mansion though; the free house includes just one room per person. If you need to move, we will give you a free house at your new location, but you will have to give the old home back to us. You can't buy land, but we will give you whatever land you need, whether you want a garden or a farm. If you have a good idea and want to start a business, we will finance it for you. But the burden of proof is on you; if we are not convinced, you will have to finance the business yourself. If you are badly injured or seriously ill, or when you become old, we will provide care without charge. You will have to pay normal medical expenses yourself, and even when you are old or ill, we will expect you to contribute to your community if at all possible.

Our government is also different, from bottom to top. The government begins in the neighborhood meetings, where our representatives are elected. The representatives serve for only one year, and their purpose is to speak for their communities. At attempt is made to give every one an opportunity to serve. At the meetings of the representatives, they must decide on what projects need to be done in the future, and they also oversee the work of the permanent government workers. They don't have the power to increase or decrease the contribution from each person, and they can create new laws or abolish old laws only through a 2/3rds majority vote of the people. From among the representatives, a smaller group is selected to serve a second year at a higher level. This group sets priorities at higher levels of government and also appoints judges.

Crime is uncommon in our society, and it is handled quite differently. Trials are at the local level, with the people of the neighborhoods serving as jurors. There are no lawyers in the usual sense, but every attempt is made to investigate the evidence. We have judges, but their task is to ensure that the trials are conducted fairly, not to make verdicts. The community has great latitude in deciding cases, taking into consideration the character of the individual as well as the seriousness of the crime. In most cases, the matter is resolved locally, but those who have committed crimes of violence or who have committed repeated crimes are required to live in segregated communities for the rest of their lives.

You might wonder why our culture is so much different from that of the United States, and the simple truth is that we intended for it to be very different. We feel that the people of the Old World are obsessed with power and greed and that, as a result, they have destroyed the natural beauty of their planet. Instead of believing, as we do, that "the best things in life are free," they have sold their birthright for some trinkets and toys of little value. Certainly, there are many great and admirable characteristics and accomplishments of the Old World, but at the same time, there have been many mistakes made and many horrible actions committed which have resulted in much unnecessary destruction, a poorer quality standard of life, and a moral degeneration. In the Old World, the human race has become a rat race; in the New World, we believe that such an unsavory life is unnecessary, undesirable, and avoidable.

When two cultures separate from one another, the differences between them are likely to grow, rather than to shrink, and that has been the case here. We are very proud of the progress we have made, but we are saddened by the lack of progress on the other side.

This introduction is not the place to explore the rationale behind our culture. Rather, the rest of this book and your observations of our society should help you come to a final decision as to which kind of world you wish to live in. You are a very lucky person just to have such a choice, as most people will never and can never have your opportunity; opening the gate to the New World to everyone would lead to its destruction within a few generations. We understand that people who choose to remain in the Old World generally do so for noble reasons, and we hope, that if you choose to return to the Old World, that you will also help to make it a better place.

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Table of Contents

Chapter One: The Beginning. The story of how the New World was found and explored by one person.

Chapter Two: The Community (The First Encounter with the Founder) The story of the visit to the community in Pennsylvania by the discoverer of the New World because he wanted other people to share his planet.

Chapter Three: The First Visit to the New World The initial trip by members of the Community to the New World, and the agreement reached for sharing it.

Chapter Four: The Founding of the New World The establishment of the first settlement, the town of Cave.

Chapter Five: Digging for Gold in California A second gold expedition is carried out, and also blue bricks are brought back from Nevada.

Chapter Six: Trolleys and Interurbans The plan to use an electric railway for transportation is put into action.

Chapter Seven: The Introduction of Plants and Animals into the New World Details about importing, improving, and growing plants, along with attitudes towards animals, beekeeping, natural childbirth, teaching, and religion.

Chapter Eight: Recruitment Efforts for 1966, '67, and '68 The beginning of the effort to gather more immigrants, how they were recruited and how they were prepared.

Chapter Nine: Standards Adopted for the New World Moving to a New World provided an opportunity to change everything from spelling to bolt sizes. This chapter looks at spelling, number systems, weights, measures, time, the calendar, and direction.

Chapter Ten: Rolling on a River Extending the railway, creating a lake, building a river boat, the Proud Mary, and inventing and installing rollers, plus work as an engineer outside the Community, and the Community's view of love and marriage.

Chapter Eleven: Beekeeping in the New World How the twenty hives already established were increased, plus some information from the early years of the Community.

More chapters will be added as they are transcribed, but I probably won't be doing much work until next winter.

Anyone who links to any of these pages from a site with any theme deal with in this site can receive a link in return here.