Encounters in a Parallel World

By Bertrand Arlain

This fictional book, Encounters in a Parallel World, is thought provoking with humor, romance and intrigue. This is Book one of a trilogy, and is about the human dilemma based on the outcome of events in alternate parallel worlds.

It also explores the possibility that any life-form on one world may evolve to become the dominant intelligent life on some other parallel world.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: May 29, 2013
• ISBN: 9781626756663

Book preview

USA.

1 FIRST ENCOUNTER

Le Bertrand arrived home after attending the opera on his world called Eartheria, and sat down with a glass of vintage port wine to relax, while still intoxicated with the joyful reminiscence of the performance he had just experienced.

He imagined how wonderful it would be to know a charming lady similar to the lead soprano in the opera, and then his thoughts diverged to that of members of his family who had passed on. He even began to wonder what his older brother Conrad would have been like if he had survived well beyond the age of three years. Eventually, his thoughts diverged to politics, and he experienced feelings of disgust with the current jejune partisan behavior of both liberal and conservative politicians. Le Bertrand always thought that mankind could experience a more elevated microevolution with no need to identify with liberalism or conservatism, if most individuals could learn to respect human life and needs for survival as the primary common ‘good’, and human ‘wants’ as secondary matters of taste that divided them into disparate groups. As Le Bertrand continued to ponder that last issue, his feelings of disgust appeared to induce the drift towards a state of unconsciousness.

Suddenly, Le Bertrand found himself on the plateau of an unfamiliar world wondering how, why, where and what is he doing there. He immediately considered the possibilities that he was experiencing some sort of lucid dream or out of body experience; he was simply indulging in some exotic imagining; or he may have fallen into a portal and transported to a parallel world. He remembered reading about the possibility that the three dimensional visualizations of the brain were holographic projections of two-dimensional information from some area of space. Consequently, he surmised that some quantum event may have temporarily caused him to view information from a different area of space than he was accustomed. Nevertheless, when a professorial looking gentleman confronted Le Bertrand and introduced himself as Dr. Lagrange. Le Bertrand felt fully conscious and in turn introduced himself.

After a few awkward moments of silence Dr. Lagrange eventually said: You are not from this part of the world.

Some more awkward silence ensued, and then Dr. Lagrange asked: Are you a member of the resistance that refuses to use genetically engineered fabric?

Le Bertrand’s nervous response was: What has motivated you to explore this issue?

Dr. Lagrange responded: Your whole attire is manufactured from organically cultivated fabric that would not be used at this venue because the weather on this plateau is unpredictable. My wife and I noticed you and your attire, but the other spectators have been too occupied with the surprising current activities of the artifact to observe your presence.

Dr. Lagrange paused to allow Le Bertrand to respond, but that was in vain because Le Bertrand appeared to be experiencing some distress and remained silent. Dr. Lagrange curtailed the silence with: The weather conditions on this plateau vacillate between cold and warm. One could suddenly experience bright sunshine or clouds producing varied intensities of temperature or rain unpredictably. As a result, everyone here is wearing clothing manufactured with fabric genetically engineered and programed to warm or cool the body as necessary, or to remain dry through the most intense rainfall.

Le Bertrand blurted out: Well, I hope it does not rain or get cold, because that would introduce more discomfort than I am currently experiencing.

Dr. Lagrange responded with: That and more could be quite problematic for you, so you better come with me.

The two walked towards a means of transportation with which Le Bertrand was unfamiliar. Dr. Lagrange retrieved an overcoat that he offered to Le Bertrand while saying: The fabric will adjust to your size and protect you from any inclement changes in weather. You will need to tell me your story some other time, but for now let us join my wife and observe the artifact.

Dr. Lagrange introduced Le Bertrand to his wife Dr. Kathleen Lagrange, and Le Bertrand became aware that he was in the presence of a historian and an economist, on a world called Garlainia.

The information Le Bertrand received along with his observations, motivated him to consider that Garlainia was a parallel version of his world Eartheria. It revolves around a sun in much the same manner that Eartheria does around its sun, and appeared to have many characteristics with which Le Bertrand was familiar on his world. The inhabitants were ethnically diverse with physical characteristics similar to the inhabitants of Le Bertrand’s world, but their microevolution seemed far more advanced. For example, spirituality, scientific concepts such as non-local entanglement, collective consciousness, genetic modification, etc., which some Eartherians begun to consider during their twentieth century, were well established principles or practices on Garlainia for many centuries.

On Garlainia race and ethnicity were not considered synonymous. Race simply represented some physical characteristics shared among groups of a population whose evolution had diverged from the original single human race. Members of the population who were racially mixed were recognized as distinct. The diversity of their lineage was respected so that they were not forced to identify with one particular race for petty sociological or political reasons. Ethnicity represented shared customs, interests and responses necessary to survive in an environment by any race or group of races. There were members of some races who argued that such a representation of ethnicity implied one would lose their ethnicity when they departed from one environment for another. The contradictory argument was that ethnicity represented the microevolution of an individual or group, which could never be lost or replaced. However, ethnicity could be expanded and become more inclusive by exposure to new environments, experiences or humanity.

The inhabitants of Garlainia, referred to as Garlainians, were convinced that their existence was the result of some intelligent design initiated by the source of all energy. They believed that fields of energy were generated to evolve to the diversity of life and matter, predicated on sets of governing laws. Some scientists postulated that the laws were the natural result of the outcome of evolutionary events. Other scientists emphasized the role of DNA as a program that uses permutations of four basic building blocks to allow life to evolve, and sometimes the environment or behavior influences the permutation of the building blocks. Among the general populations, there was confusion regarding the origin of DNA. However, most believe that a superior being responsible for all of creation developed DNA as the program for creating life.

The Garlainians had survived many hardships, but also experienced many triumphs addressing issues pertaining to the dynamics associated with accepting new information that contradicted established beliefs. Some nations recognized that their fundamental elements of constitution, economic theories, legislation, etc., were established at a time when their thought leaders could not envision future trends that would influence the microevolution of their citizens. As a result, some established elements were revised to reflect the current valued trends that elevated the lives of many citizens. For example, the eventual recognition that economic trickle-down theory was a pyramid scam, which only benefited those at the upper echelons of society and their puppets (some economists and government officials), motivated the lower rungs to rebel against it. The realization that progressive tax laws exclusively benefited citizens who could afford the services of tax experts to help reduce their tax burdens, motivated the revision of the tax system.

It appeared that Garlainians had resolved many issues similar to that which humans were currently experiencing on Eartheria. However, Le Bertrand wondered how many of the population resisted the deliberate attempts of capitalists and political leaders to use purely emotional appeals to distract individuals from engaging in independent reasoning. He wondered what percentage of the population prioritized the pursuit of ‘needs’ ahead of ‘wants’, and rejected products and services that provided short-term benefits, which were burdened with long-term negative consequences.

Le Bertrand also wondered if parallel worlds existed in the space all around him similar to the variety of radio waves operating at different frequencies, and some space-time anomaly caused him to tune into the frequency of Garlainia. Eventually, Le Bertrand wondered whether another world identical to Eartheria existed with a shorter name such as Earth.

2 LE BERTRAND AND ARTIFACT FIXATED ON CASSIOPEIA

Approximately, seventy-two years had elapsed since an unidentified artifact was discovered on Garlainia, and some implications associated with that artifact were realized. The artifact appeared cylindrical in shape with a length of about 48 inches and a diameter of 30 inches, and until this day it had remained dormant on its pedestal. On this particular morning, the blue sky provided an exquisite backdrop for a few clouds and brilliant sun, and some gentle breezes and birds created their own music on tree branches laden with beautiful flowers. That delightful atmosphere appeared to have intoxicated a charming visitor, and motivated her to entertain her friends with her vocal asset. The tone of her voice appeared to prompt a response from the artifact. It began to transform into a variety of geometric shapes while emitting various hues of color and musical tones, all in concert with the charming visitor.

The artifact’s behavior was unlike anything the Garlainians had previously encountered and amid many speculations about its purpose, manufacture and origin, someone near the pedestal stumbled and tried to hold on to anything within reach for support. At that moment, the individual inadvertently came in contact with the pedestal where the artifact was perched. The pedestal quivered sufficiently to cause the artifact to topple while in the cylindrical form, and the concert concluded. The artifact came into contact with the ground on its flat side, and then levitated back to dormancy on its pedestal.

Someone desiring more activity from the artifact issued a request to the charming visitor, Could you please sing that song again?

The charming visitor hesitated, and then a friend of hers issued the request: Please sing that melody again Cassiopeia.

The hesitation continued, and other individuals issued them request this time in unison; Please sing again. Please sing again.

However, no singing or song was forthcoming. Some other person with a pleasant voice and delivery tried her best, but there was no response from the artifact. This lack of response motivated Cassiopeia to fill the entire plateau with her magnificent voice. The artifact responded, and a vocal duet emerged between Cassiopeia and artifact, while everyone listened and observed.

More individuals began to gather around, and there were failed attempts to extend the duet, because the artifact continued to respond only to the range of Cassiopeia’s operatic scales.

Cassiopeia was stunningly beautiful by any standards. She possessed silky, shoulder length black hair, and bright brown eyes with a slightly darker hue in the center. Her impeccable eyebrows and cheeks were symmetric about her perfectly aquiline nose, and were accentuated by a pair of tantalizing lips that she seemed to control at a whim. Her skin appeared soft with an exquisite complexion that caused one to think of honey or light caramel flavored with cinnamon. She possessed a graceful, athletic, statuesque appearance of five feet eight inches tall, which was emphasized by her well-proportioned leveled shoulders and trim waistline. She had a radiant smile that Le Bertrand thought could have inspired Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Michael Angelo or Sir Dunstan St. Omer to improve their portrait painting skills.

Cassiopeia’s characteristics appeared to exude infectious joy and goodwill that contaminated everyone in her presence. That reminded Le Bertrand of the feelings he experienced while attending the performances of Danielle De Niese on Eartheria. That memory motivated Le Bertrand to consider that Cassiopeia may represent a version of Danielle with ‘bel canto’ in lieu of mezzo-soprano voice. The joy he was currently experiencing, motivated him to consider that some interesting possibilities may occur on Garlainia.

Dr. Lagrange while standing next to Le Bertrand, noticed his attention focused on Cassiopeia, and said in a sort of rhetorical manner, She is quite remarkable, is she not?

Le Bertrand smiled quietly and politely at Dr. Lagrange, realizing that he did not require any confirmation.

Dr. Lagrange continued to say: She is well read, and is familiar with the works of all the eminent philosophers, classical musicians, poets and writers on Garlainia. She has good insights into philosophical issues, and appreciates both aspects of subjective and objective truth. She understands that most judgments belong in the realm of doubt, and respond to them with thoughtfulness and compassion.

Le Bertrand responded: It is also remarkable that she responds so effortlessly to the musical tones of the artifact with her categorical ‘bel canto’ voice. She reminds me of the sort of lady whom I always desired to meet. Nevertheless, I imagine that she represents the rarest of gems well out of my reach.

Dr. Lagrange informed Le Bertrand that Cassiopeia was his daughter, and while experiencing some embarrassment for the issue of his latter statement. Le Bertrand apologized to Dr. Lagrange, who responded by attempting to assuage Le Bertrand’s embarrassment with: There is no need for an apology. I am very proud of my daughter, and your identification and appreciation of her fine qualities indicate that you are a man of some distinction with excellent taste.

Le Bertrand responded with, Thank you

Le Bertrand learned that Cassiopeia was once a student of philosophy and music at a renowned conservatory. She is currently a leading soprano who displays incredible vocal ability and passion during her performances at the most important opera houses on Garlainia. She was a diva on stage, but elsewhere quite demure. She seemed to possess the senses of discretion and decorum that Le Bertrand thought had evaded most of the population on his world. Cassiopeia and her family appeared to behave similar to some members of St. Lucian, or other Caribbean Island families, whose lives had been exposed to some semblance of noble upbringing, which resulted from the influence of British Colonialism and education.

Dr. Lagrange proceeded to ask, What is your profession?

Le Bertrand indicated that on his world, he had a most enjoyable foray into the architectural profession. Then after pursuing further graduate degrees in other sciences and engineering economics, he worked as an organizational and technology transformation strategist. He always knew that he could never be happy working permanently for any corporation, so for a while he transitioned to work as an independent consultant. Eventually, he discovered that art and writing were his true passions, so he dedicated the rest of his life to the pursuit of success in those arenas.

Dr. Lagrange continued to reveal that they have in the past encountered other visitors who appeared and disappeared with just enough time for photographs to be taken. Their scientists speculate that those visitors may have arrived and departed through some form of temporary portal. Le Bertrand’s curiosity about other visitors could not be contained, and so he asked: Are all the visitors you have encountered human or humanoid?

The response suggested that some visitors represent a form of reptilian evolution, while others represented some diversity in evolution that was dependent on planetary environment. Many of those visitors were not able to survive in Garlainia’s atmosphere without some form of life support accoutrements. The diversity of the visitors encountered inspired the speculation that any species of life could evolve to become the dominant intelligent life on a planet in a universe. For example, there may be some planets on which either the ape or chimpanzee, or horse may have evolved to become rational life. The sad realization that accompanies such a speculation is; the group that first develops enough intelligence to dominate the other species, becomes an obstacle to their evolution.

Le Bertrand’s next impulse was to ask: Do most of your scientists believe that all human life evolved from a single-cell organism?

Dr. Lagrange suggested: There are a few who continue to believe that all life is purely the result of evolution from a single cell in a primordial swamp to primates and then to humans. There are also some who believe all life was solely the result of instant creation by a superior being for whom there is no greater than. However, one could consider the possibility that some exceptional life force, generated fields of energy and natural laws for life to evolve with the diversity to which we have been exposed.

He paused to laugh, and then with some attempt at humor continued to indicate that some advocates of macroevolution, suggest their reasoning is based on the resemblance of human DNA to that of primates. They conveniently ignore the fact that human DNA also closely resembles the DNA of pigs. They fail to consider that by implication, humans could be descendants of pigs, or the descendants of some hybrid of primate and pig. Dr. Lagrange while in his humorous mood asked: Did a primate and a pig wallow in the mud one moonlight night?

Some laughter ensued, and then Dr. Lagrange assumed a more serious visage and tone. He stated that the staunch advocates of macroevolution have no explanation for the fact that humans have fewer chromosomes than the primates from which they are claimed to have evolved. That implies two chromosomes became fused during the process of evolution, and that appears impossible to result from the evolution of primates to human. The use of fossils as evidence of human evolution from primates requires giant leaps of faith in the speculative postulates of a few paleontologists. As you know, scientists have far more knowledge in their disciplines than the average human. However, the amount of knowledge they have accumulated is still only equivalent to a spoon full, from vast oceans of knowledge. Furthermore, regardless of their extensive accumulation of knowledge relative to other humans they remain prone to fallibility.

Dr. Lagrange concluded with: Frankly, I prefer to believe that the source of all energy generated certain fields of energy according to natural laws, so that they would evolve to include mankind and other species.

Le Bertrand added: A much safer gamble. He continued to indicate that he also considers the source of all energy to be the grand creator of all cycles of life predicated on natural laws. Considering all humans are prone to fallibility, and those who have secured power tend to be so corruptible, it is very difficult to accept that any creator would populate any universe with solely humans as the dominant species.

Dr. Lagrange suggested that some worlds may have been destroyed a number of times by various calamities that caused mass extinctions and loss of accumulated knowledge. Garlainia has experienced some substantial loss of life due to local destructive forces of nature and at least two asteroid collisions. Fortunately, some well-informed humans and records of accumulated knowledge survived so that the civilization could rebuild and progress. Sometimes the cumulative progress of a civilization depends on who survives the catastrophe, along with the survival of intellectual capital. If the innocent inherit the world after a major destructive event, humans will revert to their most primitive instincts to survive. They will wonder about focused on survival for a significant period of time. When that occurs, the whole process of civilization has to begin again. The new civilization progresses forgetful of the past, and behaves as though it is the most advanced ever. They will fail to grasp the idea that everything has been done before and will be done again.

Le Bertrand remained silent and continued to listen to the very urbane Dr. Lagrange. He said: You will need to have some discussions with Dr. Omegna and Dr. Denabough. In the meantime, you could stay at one of my lakeside cottages until your issues get resolved.

Le Bertrand expressed his gratitude and thanks, and volunteered his assistance in some manner he thought would be appropriate. Dr. Lagrange proceeded to suggest that it would be better to wait to meet Dr. Denabough and Dr. Omegna at a party being sponsored at the planetary museum a few weeks from today. In the meantime, the ground work for a congenial meeting to occur will proceed.

The activity and number of people on the plateau seemed to be increasing at an accelerated pace, especially after some media representatives arrived and began broadcasting the event. A certain amount of disorder began to occur, but eventually some local security arrived, and order was established.

3 SOME COMIC RELIEF AND INTRIGUING REVELATIONS

Cassiopeia stopped filling the air with her angelic voice, which had been delightful to everyone present. The artifact seemed to have discerned some requisite pattern in her vocal responses, because it requested her name, and then that of her world. In response to the names, the artifact addressed everyone indicating that Garlainia was a planet that contained many elements required to support human life, but was originally inhabited only by wild life.

Everyone was informed that in some distant Galaxy, a world called Camille became aware that its sun would destroy its solar system much sooner than had been estimated. Consequently, the world government proceeded with haste to develop technology for terraforming uninhabitable planets, and evacuating some number of chosen Camilleians to planets that were habitable or conducive to terraforming. This planet now called Garlainia needed no terraforming, and was simply seeded with diverse groups of inhabitants from Camille. As the artifact paused to engage in a survey of its audience, Cassiopeia returned to join her family. She eventually stared at Le Bertrand with some sparkle but mostly the expression of startle in her eyes.

Cassiopeia’s father informed her of Le Bertrand’s predicament and then introduced him to her. She extended her hand to him, and Le Bertrand grasped it firmly but gently. He felt that he had undergone transformation into the character of Rodolfo from the opera La Bohème with the entire aria ‘Che Gelida manina’ echoing through his mental faculties. Cassiopeia definitely appeared to be a healthy, elegant, well-educated Mimi that Le Bertrand always aspired to meet, and he does not remember how long he remained holding Cassiopeia’s hand. However, the sudden light taps of her father’s hand on Le Bertrand’s shoulder returned him to reality as affected by his current circumstances.

Dr. Lagrange informed his daughter that Le Bertrand would be staying at their lakeside cottage. Cassiopeia responded with: The cottage is beautifully decorated with all necessary conveniences. It contains some fine works of art, a great collection of books, and it is fully stocked. I hope that you will make yourself at home and enjoy everything.

Le Bertrand assured Cassiopeia, with: I am certain that I will enjoy being at the cottage, and I do appreciate the kindness and generosity that your family has extended to me.

At this juncture, some more security staff and government officials entered the setting at the plateau with intent to confiscate the artifact, and the attempts to retrieve the artifact presented a most enjoyable comedic experience to all who were present. The setting was an archeological excavation on a plateau framed by mountain tops, which revealed the plateau in a form that evoked thoughts of an ark to Le Bertrand. The actual location where the artifact was found and then displayed seemed to represent the bow of the ark. Digging to retrieve the artifact required excavating a depth of approximately 40 feet of clay, followed by some environmental restoration. The artifact was displayed on a pedestal, on a stage in the excavation that had become an amphitheater.

The stage was made of white granite arranged in the form of a circle 20 feet in diameter rising 12 inches above the ground. It was almost surrounded by six feet of clear space, which was interrupted at the back of the stage by a structure three floors high, and constructed of combinations of opaque and translucent metal. An arch of opaque metal appeared to be extended from the ground at the back of the structure to intersect its front, precisely at the third floor level. The arch continued up to the full height of the structure forming a canopy over the stage. One assumed that the structure contained facilities necessary to accommodate performers, and the public which attended performances. The outer perimeter of the space that almost surrounded the stage appeared to form ten 48 inch wide concentric circles of grass with 12 inches thick granite borders, which were also interrupted by the structure at the back of the stage. Each interrupted circle ascended 12 inches above the other until reaching the upper level of the plateau. Some people sat on the granite borders while others walked along, squatted or stood on the grass. The artifact had always remained motionless as an object of art on a pedestal. Anyone willing to donate a small fee to the archeological foundation was allowed to visit and ogle the artifact, or attend a stage performance.

The security detail that arrived was led by commander Yuvenovic, who demanded that everyone depart from the immediate vicinity of the artifact. A government official was assigned the task to retrieve the artifact, so that it could be brought to a facility for private observation. Some security enforced the commander’s demands, and the assemblage of Garlainians scurried away from the stage with a few reaching to the top of the amphitheater. The rest of the security staff surrounded the pedestal at the stage level in a single file, and a government official walked towards the pedestal to retrieve the artifact. As he stretched his arms and reached to grasp the artifact with his hands, it levitated slightly out of his reach and remained there. The levitation of the artifact evoked sympathetic sighs from the security staff and other government officials, and a modicum of laughter from some of the gathering that witnessed the event.

The government official attempted to jump and grab the artifact a few times, and every time the artifact simply levitated just beyond his reach. By this time, the full gathering of spectators began to enjoy what seemed a most delightful comedy routine. Even some of the security staff and other government officials seemed a little entertained, while the commander and designated retriever appeared to grow embarrassed and irritated.

The commander of the security staff then engaged in some evaluation of the current situation, and apparently deduced that a change of strategy was necessary. He issued orders for some of his staff to reorganize and leverage their reach to grab the artifact. His staff complied with some display of enthusiasm, and constructed a human pyramid equivalent to the height of three individuals. With this new approach, the artifact simply moved horizontally but slightly beyond the reach of the individual on the lowest rung of the pyramid.

The commander kept shouting, Grab the artifact Colin. Colin kept reaching, and reaching, and reaching until he stumbled and the entire pyramid tumbled down upon him. That resulted in more hilarious laughter from the gathering of spectators, and some disguised chuckles from the security team restricting the spectators from returning to near the stage area.

More news media arrived and began broadcasting the efforts of the government officials and security detail to retrieve the artifact. The artifact appeared to display incredible artificial intelligence and agility, and almost appeared to taunt the security detail and officials in its pursuit. It led them on along the inner partial concentric circle of treads, sometimes up to seven treads and then back down to the stage. Some of the security staff brandished nets to aid them in capturing the artifact, but the only objects caught in the nets were the security and government officials that stumbled and fell into the nets.

As though magically, some clouds began to cast some shadow over the plateau, and deprived the sun of further observation. Some intense rain began to fall, and within what appeared to be few minutes. Enough rain had accumulated on the surface surrounding the stage, causing it to appear like a pond. During the rain fall, the security detail continued to chase the artifact up and down steps, through the new artificial pond while a few collided with one another, or sometimes fell flat on the back or face in the water. The spectators were being thoroughly entertained, and displayed no concern for any possible consequences from the pouring rain to which they had been exposed.

The rain continued, but no one would depart from the site due to the anticipation of further comedic entertainment. Eventually, the rain abated, and the sun became a spectator once more. The fabrics of clothing worn by everyone were engineered to remain dry during the exposure to any fluids, so the spectators experience little discomfort.

The security detail regrouped to assess their current plight, and appeared to use a communications device to request additional resources or assistance. The artifact appeared to remain alert, and continued to entertain everyone with spectacular representations of color, and musical scores that they had never encountered before. Some of the military looked and listened with curious intent, while others seemed engaged in planning their next approach in anticipation of some assistance on its way.

Some slight hums heralded the approach of new transports towards the site, and appeared to prompt commander Yuvenovic to address his team. Some more security approached the spectators, and everyone except the news media was encouraged to retreat closer to the top of the amphitheater. That resulted in the formation of groups at the surface of the plateau viewing the events on communication devices that projected televised transmissions in holographic form.

Le Bertrand observed that three military transports arrived with troops to take over command of the situation from the security detail. That was followed by the arrival of a civilian transport labeled Turgot-I with three individuals. Dr. Lagrange informed Le Bertrand that the first gentleman to disembark the Turgot-I was named Donald Turgot. Donald was the current head of the Turgot family, which represented the wealthiest and most influential family on Garlainia. The two gentlemen accompanying him were Dr. Denabough an eminent mathematician and geneticist, and Dr. Omegna a renowned physicist and philosopher. As Le Bertrand observed Donald, Dr. Denabough and Dr. Omegna, he realized that Dr. Lagrange and his family along with some of the population he encountered so far on Garlainia were like the racially mixed Caribbean islanders. Dr. Denabough, Dr. Omegna, Donald Turgot and a larger percentage of the population were similar to the North and South American, European, Asian, African and Middle Eastern ethnics on Eartheria.

The three civilians from the Turgot-I transport walked towards the military officer whom they addressed as General Motouck. Yuvenovic came from the site to meet the general, and everyone assumed that he was briefing the general with an account of the events that transpired.

Something about Donald attracted the attention of the artifact. As he and the entourage of general, commander and additional troupes walked to the site, the artifact levitated and circled high above Donald’s head. The artifact began to retreat back to its pedestal while maintaining a beam of green light on Donald and asked, How many of you are fitted with a microchip implant from Camille?

There seemed to be no doubt that the artifact had addressed its question to Donald, so he responded with, I do not understand what you mean.

The artifact indicated, There is an original microchip from Camille implanted behind your right ear and slightly above your jawbone. That microchip contains a universal language translator, a significant amount of the knowledge accumulated on Camille, and a transponder that identifies you to information repository devices. Are you a direct descendent of the Turgot family from Camille?

Donald became flustered, and did not seem to desire answering such questions in public, so he tried to influence the general to dismiss all the news media and spectators. The general appeared to display some resistance, until he received adequate reason to comply. As the general and Donald stepped aside to have a further discussion regarding this surprising news regarding a microchip implant, the artifact completed its retreat to the pedestal.

Donald proceeded near the pedestal and asked the artifact: What are you? Where are you from?

The artifact paused as though confused and not able to respond. During the pause, General Motouck demanded, What are you, and how did you get to Garlainia.

This time the artifact responded with, I am a repository of information from your ancestral world of Camille. I am one of many IR2000 models that accompanied each group of evacuees from Camille to a planet. I am equipped with a universal language translator, and contain a record of all the knowledge accumulated on Camille. I can provide or control all planetary communications, and could recount the history and accomplishments of Camilleians in any language. I am also capable of identifying and cataloging the genetic composition of any species.

The artifact then proceeded to present everyone with the history of their ancestral world. The artifact revealed that Camille had survived many planetary catastrophes, which included natural and man-made disasters. A number of catastrophes were caused by some misuses of technology and exploitation of resources due to human avarice. Some catastrophes were the result of political dysfunction, religious conflicts, and improper risk assessments required to develop projects; especially genetic modification. Some experts recommended the adoption of economic liberalism in lieu of government sponsored mercantilism. The acceptance of the economic liberalism yielded greater economic expansion than ever experienced before, followed by an industrial revolution. The revolution caused the expansion of cities populated by new classes based on the level of income or wealth attained. However, most of the population lacked the upbringing associated with class predicated on noble deeds and appreciation of decorum.

Political liberalism worked in parallel with economic liberalism, and enjoyed much favor with its attempts to correct some inequities of the new economic freedoms. Some advancements in human rights legislation occurred, but unfortunately, human proneness to fallibility was often exhibited in a variety of forms such as greed, prejudices, corruption, etc. That eventually led to the misrepresentation of both political and economic liberalism.

Many of those who considered themselves modern liberals became overindulgent. Much like the new conservatives, liberals failed to remember that the original sponsors of liberalism were religious people with a fear of their god. As a result, they desired to free humans of similar ilk from the acts of tyranny, bondage and exploitation, and never intended to create any liberal or conservative ideology. Eventually, some of the new influential self-indulgent began to interpret liberalism simply as the right to indulge in anything that provided pleasure. That is quite contrary to sound philosophical thinking, which suggests everything providing pleasure may not represent a ‘good’ or a common good.

In response, some who identified with new conservative school of thought attempted to limit the excesses practiced by liberals and sometimes succeeded. However, the conservatives were also not inoculated from human proneness to fallibility. They became more militant, obnoxious, and began to focus on the accumulation of wealth at any costs to the common good. All decisions they made were predicated on some perceived economic gain, and the advocacy of survival of the fittest. It became apparent that both new conservatives and liberals no longer remembered the original intent of their respective schools of thought, and had lost their way.

The IR2000 continued to reveal that occasionally some liberals or conservatives performed some worthwhile act in favor of other human beings, when either school of thought occasionally transcended their adopted petty self-interest or ideologies, and behaved like sentient human beings.

Considering that all humans are prone to fallibility. All conservatives and liberals are human, and there is no certainty but only the probability of success. Most humans should be motivated to accept that ideas or proposals from either liberals or conservatives may not always be valid or lead to success. It is impossible for conservatives or liberals to be invariably correct about every idea they advocate. Regardless of human claim of accumulated knowledge and desire to serve, they are all prone to fallibility. Worst of all, some humans who gain power, frequently became susceptible to corruption by power.

A few of the population, who were independent thinkers, began to question the need for anyone to become aligned with either liberalism or conservatism in an era when both appeared to have lost their way. Behaviorist hypothesized that humans generally feel more comfortable as part of a group or gang, so some find it necessary to align themselves with a school of thought. Unfortunately, the sponsors of the two political schools of thought, conservatism and liberalism, most often try to motivate their supporters to abandon their independent reasoning and follow like sheep. Many of the leaders of either school of thought, especially the self-appointed with television or radio talk shows, recognized the rewarding value of emotional appeal. Consequently, in lieu of presenting accurate and valuable information to followers or constituents they simply engaged in expressions of ‘épater le bourgeois’ (clumsily translated that means; shock the middle class).

The more enlightened among Camille’s civilization, concluded that until most members of their civilization engaged in independent reasoning more often, and focused on recognizing the merits in ideas or proposals, their civilization would have difficulty transitioning from the Type zero to the more advanced type one civilization.

No single nation on Camille could accommodate the insatiable appetites of capitalists for the accumulation of wealth and control of resources. The capitalists with no regard for the plight of the domestic populations pursued new resources and wealth by moving the factors of production to foreign countries. That resulted in a form of world commerce with capitalists exploiting the resource of any country where the leadership (sometimes corrupt) accommodated them. Many economists and capitalists tried to rationalize the exploitation of resources at the global level by misrepresenting it as free trade. At this point, of the presentation, Le Bertrand thought to himself that activity is very similar to what is currently occurring on Eartheria, and that is definitely not what the original architects of economic liberalism intended.

The IR2000 continued to reveal that in many nations, a few of the population were aided by capitalists to secure leadership positions in academia, government and media, so that the misrepresentations of economic and political freedoms could be perpetuated. Even at the most elite institutions of education some misrepresentations of the original ideals or intent of liberalism were perpetuated. Actually, conservatives appeared very liberal solely with regard to the pursuit of wealth.

Worst of all, some new educational institutions on Camille began to operate simply for profit, based on having a financial-aid office that helped students obtain financial loans to pursue an education. Those institutions were owned by capitalists, and the loans the students received were paid directly to the institutions. Some schools operated in shopping malls under false pretenses of concern, but were mostly exploiting the underprivileged via a financial-aid office. In most cases the students received no benefit from classes taught, but the students accumulated debt that they had to repay under any circumstances, while the institutions accumulated profits. Some students were fortunate to have employers who refunded their educational expenses at accredited institutions, but others were simply accumulating debt. Once again, some mediocre capitalists had found a new way to exploit another segment of the population.

Some governments, which became the puppets of capitalists who had created a sort of economic freedom referred to as Globalization but was more representative of privatized mercantilism, aided in exploiting the resources of the less developed nations on Camille. Most economists, central banks practicing fractional reserves and governments, supported the idea of globalization. They refused to acknowledge that some form of global political liberalism was also needed to limit the inequities of worldwide economic liberalism. Both the conservative and liberal government leaders allowed financial institutions, full reign over leveraging outrageous risks, and exploiting the weaknesses in globalization. That resulted in a global financial collapse started by the most powerful military and economic nation on Camille.

Conservatives and liberals continued to blame and