"THIS IS IT'
Our Bountiful Continent
Chapter 10
The following morning I awoke and walked out into the crisp morning air, and was reminiscing on my childhood experiences of riding horseback into Cheyenne to, sit through court sessions, and of seeing an airplane at close range for the first time, and of thinking how the airplane landed in a small stubble field at the edge of town. My dreams were shattered when Mr. Cogbum said, "The students of the Animal Husbandry Sequence are preparing an open-air breakfast for you folks at a picnic area, on the bank of the Washita River." The experience of eating breakfast in the open air was certainly a new and different one for them. When sausage, bacon, steak, eggs, fried potatoes, and steaming coffee were served on picnic tables, the Delegates sat for some time with expressions of disbelief on their faces. I have never seen people eat with such relish.
When appetites were sated, chattering began. Judging by action, one would think that at last the Delegates had really arrived, and were content to stay there forever. Eventually, I had to raise my voice to get their attention. After telling them of the time element aspect of the tour, I suggested we drive southwest to Carlsbad Caverns, then north through the Rocky Mountain Range. In spite of their enthusiasm at seeing more country, one could sense their disappointment at leaving Cheyenne. As we boarded the bus, the students were singing a Western ballad. I told the driver to head west and turn south at the first highway. We had driven only a short distance when I told the group that we were near the site of the Washita massacre, where so many Indian women and children had been killed.
After having driven south for a short distance, I told the group that we were entering the district of Sweetwater, in which, when I had first seen the country, there were groves of shin-oak trees, which bore many acorns and were unique in that they were perfectly shaped little oak trees slightly higher than one's head; their groves nourished many quail and prairie chicken until the land was cleared for farming. I informed them that the early settlers were prone to destroy the ecology of this area by not leaving some of it in its natural state. "This," I said, "is the result of what was known as free enterprise, where everyone was turned loose on the land to do with it as he liked, in quest of monetary gain, regardless of its future appearance." As we drove over the country we saw cattle grazing contentedly, while some were standing by watering troughs.
The Delegates were overjoyed when they saw horsemen driving cattle. They insisted on stopping to chat with them. Driving west from Childress, and climbing a grade, they inquired of me what mountains we were traveling through. I said, "Mountains? We are not traveling through mountains. Rather, we are approaching the high plains country."
Within a few minutes we were on high level ground where one could see so far that the level earth blended with the sky at the horizon. Even though this southwesterly route was slightly longer, I had taken it for the purpose of letting the group experience the contrast in scenery. I explained that the grade we had just climbed is called the Cap Rock. We hadn't driven far when someone said, "We are coming to a lake, and it is right in the center of the road." When I told them that they were not seeing a lake, Miss Jensen said, "Ah, no, Mr. Thorp, you must be mistaken, that is a lake of water we are seeing." I said, "Regardless of how far you travel on these high plains, you will never see a lake. When that one disappears you will see another one."
After turning south at Tulia, the Delegates were seeing unique countryside. As we drove by beautiful living complexes in wideopen country with no other buildings nearby, Mr. Proulx said, "I am both pleased and unhappy. I am pleased to know that people have such nice places to live, but I was expecting to see rambling ranchhouses, with barns and corrals." As the group began singing, "Give me a home where the buffalo roam," I told the driver to stop at Lubbock for lunch. While eating lunch, Miss Vollnogle said, "Mr. Thorp, it just doesn't seem fitting that a town right in the center of a farming and ranching country doesn't have board sidewalks and a dirt street. It seems incongruous that we are seeing almost nothing but nice living complexes, rather than streets lined with store buildings and dwelling houses. Really, Mr. Thorp, I am overjoyed to see what has been accomplished in this vast and great land of North America. Well, I suppose I was only reminiscing about motion pictures I have seen."
After appetites were sated and chattering began, I said, "Well, folks, to speak in the Western vernacular, we had better get with it if we are to arrive early in the town of Carlsbad." While driving through productive farming and ranching coun- try, Her Majesty's Prime Minister, Mr. Ditmor, said, "How in the world do you consume the tremendous amount of food you are growing?" "We don't consume it all," I said. "The surplus is used to supplement the diet of people in various parts of the world. We use it as trade commodity, and to acquire foreign currency so our people can travel abroad." When approaching Carlsbad we saw a baseball field with a game in progress. When we stopped and approached, the Delegates noted there were but few people in the bleachers. When we took seats the game stopped immediately. They, of course, had been expecting us, because I had called the park division of Regional Division 10432 to arrange for a guided tour of the caverns.
When the spectators and the ball players had met and began talking to the Delegates, the ball game was completely forgotten. During the period of questioning, Mr. Van Vorhees asked one of the players what team he was playing against. The fellow had a startled look for a fleeting of time, then said with a smile, "We are not playing against anyone. We play just for the pleasure of playing."
On further questioning, he said, "Sports are no longer com- petitive, insofar as attempting to beat someone for monetary gain or recognition. I assume what you had in mind is sports as gainful employment or profit-making business. No, Mr. Van Vorhees, we certainly don't have many fans, if any. We find that people had rather play a game than sit on the side as spectators. "The new social order of North America," he said, "is not conducive to making sport fans, as it was during the price system era, with the extreme popularity promotion that caused one to feel that, if one didn't keep oneself updated, as to what team had or would play what team, and who was the more popular player of the year, one found oneself lacking in conversation participation extant at most social gatherings, and was certainly not a part of the in crowd. "It is no longer necessary to beat someone at anything, because the necessity for competition is rapidly diminishing in North America, and it is no longer thought of as being popular to get the better of someone to prove one's worth. Since the inception of the Social Dynamic, one's worth is judged by what one con- tributes to society." I had not as yet informed the Delegates that I would have to return to Topeka, because of having received a call from John Brooks requesting my return to attend a meeting of the Continental Board of Directors, to sanction regional and continental personnel of the newly formed sequences of leather and plastics. When I again called Mr. Hewing of the park division to ask him who would be responsible for the Delegates' pleasure and safety in my absence, he told me that Tom Browning was the most capable guide, because of his being extremely cautious con-
Much to my surprise, when Mr. Hewing asked if I had contacted Tom Browning, a voice over my shoulder said, "Mr. Thorp, I am Tom Browning." I noted that he was the ball player who had been talking to Mr. Van Vorhees at the ball park. Having called the Transportation Sequence for an emergency flight to Topeka, and having been informed that air transportation would arrive in approximately one hour, Tom Browning and I sat down to dinner. I then informed the Delegates that I would be absent the next day, but would return the day after. Before leaving, I presented Tom Browning to the Delegates, and told them he would be their guide for the next two days. After dinner they bid me bon voyage. When the discussion and the appointments of personnel to the new sequences were taken care of, I took advantage of the following day to make some notes regarding the tour, before some of the events and comments escaped my mind. On the early morning of the one hundred and seventy-eighth day of the year, my pilot set the plane down at Carlsbad in time for me to have breakfast with the Delegates. Amid the laughter, when Tom Browning was relating the events and comments of people he had guided through the caverns, I began rushing the Delegates through breakfast, informing them that we had a tight schedule for the day, if we chose to go by bus and see some unusual scenery.
While at breakfast, Mr. Hoyt informed me that the Delegates had prevailed on and had been granted permission by Mr. Hewing to take Tom Browning along as my lieutenant on the remainder of the tour. Although overjoyed at having an aide, I winked at Tom and put on an act of grumpiness, which caused sad expressions on many faces, and I would not acquiesce until some of the Delegates began pleading. I told them that before we started traveling through the Rocky Mountains region we would visit the white sands area in Regional Division 10632, and that if we maintained a rapid pace we could see the beautiful Rio Grande Valley near Santa Fe, and possibly spend the night in Taos. Almost immediately after the bus pulled out of Carlsbad, I began to understand why the Delegates were so insistent on having Tom travel with us, because Tom had them spellbound when he was telling them, with a sober face and a drawl, that when he was a boy and a friend, hearing stories about capturing mountain lions (with a rope noose at one end of a strong pole), had decided, after some discussion (which included inflating each other's courage), to capture a lion. He said, "Well, we got some hound dogs together and started off with our lion-catching equipment into some wild country that was covered with rocks and cactus and brush. By golly, sure enough, our hounds picked up a scent and were off like a flash, with us trying to follow over them there rocks and brush." At this point in his narration he hesitated to take a deep breath and conjure up an exciting and humorous ending. The Delegates were sitting on the edge of their seats. Finally, after some deep breathing and mopping his brow in a gesture of horror that the memory of the event was such a mental and physical strain that he dreaded continuing, he said, "Well, the dogs treed a full-grown cat in a pinon pine. "The longer we stood there looking at it," he said, "the bigger it got, and the meaner it looked as it hissed and bared its teeth. Yes, folks, I never in my life saw a cat critter grow so big in such a short time. As I remember it now, that cat grew so big that I thought he would break the branches off the tree. Well, I thought to myself, there is no use standing there and letting the critter grow any bigger, so I said to myself, Tom, discretion is the better part of valor. After thinking on it for a spell, I said, 'Willie, you are bigger and you are stronger than I am, so you just go ahead and gently slip the noose around the critter's neck.' "When I looked around, Willie's eyes were a mite bigger than usual, and he said in a quivering voice, 'Yes, Tom, I know that I am bigger and stronger, but your aim is better, and you have a steadier nerve than I have.' "Finally it came to me that time was wasting and I said, 'Tell you what, Willie, I will flip a coin with you to see who places the snare over the critter's head.' "
At this point the tension was high, and the Delegates were sitting transfixed, in anticipation of something horrible beyond description. After some deep breathing, Tom continued. He said, "Well, Willie finally agreed to flip a coin, and he said, 'Tom, what will you have, heads, or tails. "I said, 'Willie, I have always liked you, and you are the last person I would take advantage of. To prove to you that I am serious, I will, just as a friend, make it, 'Heads I win, and tails you lose.' " Tom's face held a wide-eyed expression for what seemed like eons of time, and I could sense that the serious faces confronting him were driving him to the breaking point. At last the punch point seemed to reach the Delegates, one by one, to the extent that when one was convulsed in laughter, another would be looking askance at him. For the next hour, someone would break into laughter and say, "Heads I win, and tails you lose!" Sheik Omar, never having been exposed to corny, crazy, American humor, was the last to have his funny bone hit. Both he and his interpreter sat with dour expressions, and looked askance at a group of uncivilized, uncultured people who would have the audacity to laugh when a man was relating a serious and courageous event. Finally when the crazy, corny joke hit him, he had me worried, because his face became red, and he became short of breath from laughter. Between convulsions of laughter, he kept saying in his native tongue, "Head I win, and tails you lose." At last when he gained his composure, he said, "I am really beginning to love you crazy Americans." For the rest of the day, and in fact during the rest of the tour, when things became quiet, someone would say, "Heads I win, and tails you lose."
When we were traveling west from Artesia in a more open country, the mental attitude of the group became serious. Tom, noticing the serious faces, began a narration of horrifying events of cowboys, outlaws, and Indians in the day of the early settlers in that area, always ending with a crazy, corny punch line. As he was saying, "Yes, it used to get so hot here that one would see lizards picking up rocks and holding them over their heads like umbrellas." I said, "Tom, forget the lizards because we are nearing the white sand dunes." On leaving the bus I said, "Tom, the safety of the Delegates is your responsibility, because I am not familiar with this kind of terrain. It appears that one could get lost rather easily if separated from the group, and would perish from the heat and thirst." Tom nodded and said, "All right, folks, all of you who have the inclination can follow me on a walk, or should I say a climb, into the dunes. Those that don't wish to follow, please remain in, or close to the bus. Please don't wander off." Sheik Omar stood on the shady side of the bus and told us that he didn't care to walk in the sand. He said, "I have been doing that all my life, but I will have to admit those are real man-size dunes." After commenting about the dunes, the sheik said ' in understandable English, "Heads I win, and tails you lose." "Mr. Omar, that bit of jest, spoken differently," I said, "has strong social implications. In a price system society, when sufficient scarcity can be maintained to keep it functioning, the great mass of people, who are, for the most part, conscientious and softhearted (or soft-headed, if you will), have to lose a great deal in order that the manipulators of the society's monetary mechanism can gain. To rephrase the statement, the mechanics of a price system is so constituted that when one gains, another has to lose. "To elucidate, it is contrary to the mechanics of a price system economy for everyone to be simultaneously in a state of affluence. In a price system one can gain financially only by luck,
When I looked back after approaching the group, the sheik had his handkerchief out, wiping his eyes. Sheik Omar is reputed to be extremely affluent. When I approached the group Miss Jensen was asking Tom what caused the dunes to be so high. Tom said, "Well, miss, we don't rightly know. However, when I was a youngster there was scarcely any sand here at all. Over the years the volume has been growing steadily. It is thought by some folks that the Martians have too much sand on their planet, and not enough good topsoil to grow food. With their extreme technology and knowledge of gravitational forces, they are bringing their excess sand here, and taking back loads of topsoil. There seems to be no way to stop the stealthy critters, because they sneak in here in the dark of night, and have done their damage, and are gone before daybreak." Tom shielded his eyes, as Miss Jensen threw a handful of sand at them. After that bit of jest, Tom said, "Well, in spite of the heat we will go for a short walk over the dunes. In all seriousness, please don't leave the group; to do so could be tragic." Then with a smile he said, "If anyone should get lost in these dunes, and be lucky enough to survive the heat of the day, he would only be captured by the Martians, and become their slave." After that remark he had to shield his eyes again. After we had climbed over several dunes, and had reached the top of an exceptionally high one, we found ourselves on a terrain that was completely foreign to the world we were accustomed to. Several of the group said it gave them the feeling of being on the moon. "I can now understand," Mr. Hoyt said, "why Tom said not to wander off by oneself, because there is mile after mile of this.
The magnitude of this gives me a feeling of awe. However, it does have a beauty and fascination of its own, in spite of its potential danger." It wasn't long before the heat and thirst were getting to us, and we decided to depart. On making the decision to leave, the discussion arose as to what direction we should walk to find the bus. Everyone's sense of direction differed, to the extent that the group was on the verge of panic. When I saw Tom standing off several paces enjoying himself at the expense of our anxiety, I threw sand at him. With the act of throwing sand at Tom, all eyes turned in his direction, and all facial expressions indicated relief and security. Notwithstanding the returning feeling of security and survival, Tom received a tongue lashing in many languages. Grinning broadly, he said, "Well, folks, guide me to the bus," then broke into a belly laugh and said, "Folks, you are like babes in the woods. You didn't have enough forethought to pick out a landmark before wandering off into these dunes. When you were lost you could have been guided by the sun, had you not panicked. Before I left the bus, I picked a mountain peak, at 180 degrees to the direction we were walking. You see that mountain in the distance, which is much higher than the rest nearby? Well, just walk in that direction and you will find the bus." When the group started walking in that direction, I said, "Wait, folks, I have something to say to you before it slips my mind. The scare we experienced when we thought we were lost has a very strong social implication. Suppose, for example, that we would have decided to leave the direction of the bus to a vote, on the assumption that majority decision is always correct. The result would have been the blind leading the blind, to complete confusion and chaos, if not tragedy. This slight period of mental torture should be a constant reminder that the only way to have a society running smoothly and satisfactorily is to leave decisions to those who are competent in their respective field of endeavor." After leaving the white sands and traveling between Alamogardo and Carrizozo, Her Majesty's Prime Minister, Mr. Ditmor, was looking at a map of ancient vintage, and said,
Turning west from Carrizozo, I told the driver to stop at San Antonio for lunch. When I mentioned lunch, Tom said, "Yes, I am hungry enough to eat the south end of a north-bound skunk. Speaking of food, once when my grandpappy was on a trek across the wide-open plains, a group of friendly, but hungry, Indians followed along with him, and mooched food every time he stopped to eat. He didn't mind feeding the critters, but he got completely tuckered out from doing all the hunting and cooking. One evening when he was cooking dinner over an open fire, he got a brilliant idea. He made his eyes wide, and started shaking like he had a chill, and pulled the dentures out of his mouth. The Indians vanished like prairie dogs in a prairie dog town." Tom started out again on a long drawn-out narrative about his grandpappy meeting war party Indians, and when he said the only thing that saved his grandpappy was putting on an act of being tetched in the head, I said, "Break it off, Tom, you are going to spoil our appetites." When we drove into San Antonio, we saw locks being constructed on the Rio Grande River. I told the Delegates we would inspect the project after lunch. At lunch, when Tom started on a long narration of when he was on a roundup and the cattle crew ran out of food, and the only thing they had to eat-I kicked his shin and said,
After lunch we met Mr. Jim Boggs, of the Hydroelectric and Inland Waterway Sequence, who is in charge of construction on the Rio Grande River. He explained to us the advantage of hydraulic lifts, versus the flood-type locks. He told us that when the hydraulic lock is completed it will be capable of lifting 65,000 tons to a height of forty feet in fifteen minutes. He told us that, when the lock is completed, the Rio Grande River would be navigable to a point near Taos. He said, "There is a canal crew developing the Pacos River Canal near its confluence with the Rio Grande River, and when that is completed the river will be navigable to a point near Las Vegas. "In approximately two years," he said, "the inland waterway system will be completed. There are now under construction, at three locations, self-propelled barges of 25,000-ton capacity that can be coupled together, two wide and six long, making a train with a load capacity of 300,000 tons. The marine train will transport goods to almost any area on the North American continent. Some of the units will have classrooms and dormitories constructed on the top deck, to accommodate the North American youth. "The youth of this continent, as part of their education, will travel the inland waterway, and see North Americans at their social responsibilities, and at play." When asked about dams, he said, "It is possible, with the equipment and technology at our disposal, to build a dam a thousand feet high, which would be able, if necessary, to reverse the flow of a river. We can also, with our equipment and technology, divert the flow of a river by way of miles of tunnel. To be more precise, we will, when the inland waterway is com- pleted, be completely in control of the water flow of this continent. "What you see here is just a small segment of the overall project," he said. When Mr. Proulx asked him why he put more emphasis on water rather than other modes of transportation, his answer was: for the conservation of energy. He informed Mr. Proulx that water transportation requires only one-tenth as much energy consumption per ton-mile as rail. It was evident that Mr. Van Vorhees was familiar with water transportation in Holland, but the order of magnitude of rivers, lakes, and canals crisscrossing a continent the size of North America was almost beyond his comprehension. Nevertheless, he stood with wide eyes and a slack jaw as Mr. Boggs was talking. "How can the people of this continent afford such a massive project," Mr. Van Vorhees asked, "and survive financially?"
Mr. Boggs hadn't expected that kind of question, as was evident by his raised eyebrows and widely opened eyes. After he had first smiled and then become serious, he said, "Believe me, it could never, by the wildest stretch of the imagination, be accomplished within the framework of a price system economy. A project of this magnitude is a completely new concept of social operation. To be more concise, it can be accomplished only in the absence of monetary consideration. "Mr. Van Vorhees, we proceed," he said, "from the premise, be it a continental hydrology, a living complex, a system of rapid transit, or a theater, is there a need for it? Are materials and equipment available? Are there sufficient personnel to execute the project? If these requirements can be met, a master specification, or plan, is established by the best trained people in the sequence or sequences involved, and issued to the personnel who will execute the project. Thereafter, all the detail operations are accomplished to fulfill and complete the master plan. "Actually, Mr. Van Vorbees, the mechanics of it are the essence of simplicity. In contrast, if one were to get bogged down in the economics of monetary consideration, it would never be accomplished. Moreover, if monetary consideration were present, the concept would be absent." There were other comments by the Delegates, including mention of the magnificent recreational outlet it would afford. I said, "Well, folks, we had best be traveling." Then I thanked Mr. Boggs for his thorough explanation of the project, which, of course, is too much out of my sphere of knowledge for me to do justice in explaining a project of such magnitude. As we were traveling, the Delegates were exceptionally quiet. It seemed that everyone had a feeling of magnanimity, caused by the magnitude of what was being accomplished in North America. That feeling was too intense to last for long, without an outlet of melody. Suddenly, and almost spontaneously, everyone began singing "America the Beautiful." As thick-skinned as I have become over the years, I was wiping tears from my eyes.
When the singing had ceased, Miss Vollnogle said, "It's a sad commentary on their patriotism and love of country, when the American people will permit the Martians to steal the topsoil of this continent and replace it with their useless sand." Suddenly everyone was awestruck with the beauty of the Rio Grande Valley north of Albuquerque, and the beautiful town of Santa Fe, with its newly erected living complexes and park areas. An aesthetic feeling seemed to pervade the bus, and as though on cue, everyone began singing "Along the Santa Fe Trail." Tom got started on a long discourse about a mountain-climbing expedition, consisting of various hazards encountered, and topped off the narrative by saying that when the mountain became too steep to climb, he jumped astride a big-homed sheep and ascended to the summit in record time. He never seemed to run dry of a wild story. We had time before dinner to visit the Taos Pueblo. Sheik Omar commented that he had seen so much in one day that he had become dizzy from the diversified scenery. We had dinner in Taos, and stayed the night in a newly erected living complex. It is evident that Tom Browning's mischievous mind functioned at its full capacity during the time he was guiding the Delegates through the caverns, because at breakfast Miss Jensen said, "Tom, I will never believe another thing you say. If the caverns were developed during your lifetime by a colony of
After breakfast, Tom recommended we take the drive, which is slightly longer, through the mountains to Las Vegas. We drove through country that was completely different in terrain and plant life from anything we had seen. After we left Las Vegas and were climbing the Raton Pass, the scenery became rather routine, which caused the Delegates to become restless. When Tom noted their mood, he started on a long discourse about the early mining prospectors in that area. He said, "Their diet consisted of nothing but jackrabbit and sourdough bread, and after they had found gold, there was nothing they could buy with it other than whisky and pack mules." After having lunch in Pueblo, we arrived in Denver in the early afternoon. Having visited Denver some years previously, and having remembered it as a sprawling district consisting, for the most part, of a series of suburban settlements of dwellings and shopping centers (with the exception of the downtown area), the only thing that looked familiar was the airport. Aside from being an area suitable for animal husbandry, its proximity to beautiful mountain country affords both winter and summer sports, and it has been developed to accommodate tourists from all parts of the North American continent. Denver as I remembered it is no more. There is now a living complex near the airport, so vast, and so beautifully designed, to accommodate both residents and tourists, that it reminds one of the Taj Mahal, with such beautiful park area surrounding it. The Delegates were so impressed that, after they had refreshed themselves, they wanted to take a tour of the place, but couldn't
When I dialed, a voice said, "Monroe Pierce, Recreation Sequence of Regional Division 104 and 10539." When I gave my name and told him of my desire, Mr. Pierce said, Even though I am a busy man, I am going to personally conduct you and the Delegates on a tour of our city in a building. I will meet you at the park entrance, near the Automotive Division of the Transportation Sequence." When Mr. Pierce arrived and introductions were made, he asked, "What would you like to see first?" The question he posed involved such a vast array of things to be seen that I hardly knew what to suggest. On looking to the left, through a large opening, where automotive vehicles were parked, I said, "I think the Delegates would like to inspect this mode of transportation." On walking into the spacious office with lounging facilities, we were introduced to Mr. James Vaccaro, head of the Automotive Division of those Regional Divisions. Before Mr. Vaccaro con- ducted us through the storage and repair area, he insisted we partake of coffee and cake. The storage area contained both automobiles and motorcycles. The automobiles were of various sizes and passenger capacity, but were all the same track measure. The track measure is approximately two feet wider than those originally manufactured. The Delegates had never seen vehicles of that type, which caused many questions to be asked. Miss Jensen, being the most curious and the most candid of the group, asked Mr. Vaccaro who owned them. It is amazing how, when one has become accustomed to our new Social Dynamic, one will react to that kind of question, and Mr. Vaccaro, was no exception. Realizing, of course, that the visiting Delegates were unfamiliar with our mode of social operation, Mr. Vaccaro, smiled and said, "Miss, no one owns them, and everyone owns them. They are merely here for North Americans to enjoy. Every piece of equipment or machine on the North American continent that degrades energy is controlled by the North American Social Dynamic, for the purpose of
With a facial expression of subdued humor, Mr. Vaccaro said, "Miss, would you prefer being responsible for the maintenance of a motor vehicle, or would you rather drive one where and when you like, and leave the maintenance to qualified personnel?" He told them that at any time of the day or night one could check out a vehicle and drive it as far as one chooses, and check it in at any vehicle center on the North American Continent. On further questioning, Mr. Vaccaro said, "It is arranged on a time-and-distance basis. When one checks out a motor vehicle, it is expected to be driven a given number of miles, in a given time period, for, and only for, the sake of record keeping. When one returns a motor vehicle to a vehicle center, one has to relinquish energy units to cover the time the vehicle has been checked out, regardless of miles registered. By this method there are always vehicles available for other Americans to enjoy. When the demand for more vehicles increases, we merely place a requisition for more vehicles. "You will note that there are vehicles of different passenger capacity. It is a rare thing for someone to check out a vehicle of more passenger capacity than is required." When asked about driver requirements, he informed them that semiannually every citizen of North America, on receiving a physical examination, is required to take a motor vehicle driving test, if he or she wishes to drive a motor vehicle for the next half year. On checking out a motor vehicle, every citizen is required to present an identification card, indicating the status of his physical condition and driving capability, of a four- or twowheeled vehicle. When asked if the automobile is more in demand than other modes of transportation, Mr. Vaccaro said, "In most regions of this continent it is rapidly diminishing; however, this being a tourist area, the automobile and motorcycle are more in demand than in other regions." On leaving the motor vehicle center, I heard someone say, "This North American Social Dynamic is the first social system in the history of the Homo Sapiens that indicates he can be a civilized animal." As we walked into the park area Mr. Pierce said, "What now? There will be a couple of hours of daylight. Your people can inspect the shops, the hospital, classrooms, or living quarters. If you would like visiting with the people residing here, they will make you welcome, or you can walk around in the park where there are tennis and basketball courts." The Delegates stood transfixed for a time, not knowing what to say or do. Finally, they agreed with the shiek that everything was so beautiful and perfect that they preferred going at a distance, to sit on park benches, or just walk around and gaze at the wonder of it all. When that was taken care of, Mr. Pierce said, "Let's go to the dining area for a cup of coffee. I am anxious to hear about your tour and your experience with the Delegates." After giving Mr. Pierce a resume of the Delegates and the tour, and of their attitude toward our Social Dynamic, I prevailed upon him to recall his experiences in the Recreational Sequence. He told me about a number of interesting things having to do with his social function, and specifically about a newly wedded couple who insisted on holding hands while skiing down a long ski course, which created such a scene of rolling and sliding and tumbling (then attempting to stand again), that all activity on the course came to a standstill while people used binoculars to watch the show.
Suddenly I remembered that I hadn't reported to Continental Headquarters, as to location and the well-being of the Delegates After I had given my report, the young lady said, "Mr. Thorp, I was told to connect you with John Brooks's extension." When John's image came on the view plate, he frowned and said, "The last we heard of you was of your vehicle taking on motor fuel at Pueblo. Tomorrow the Continental Board will be in session to take under advisement and make decisions on a number of recommendations coming from the various sequences, among which is the recommendation submitted by the Agricultural and Distribution Sequences, concerning a change in the calendar year. They have recommended that we start numbering the days of the year, starting from the day of the vernal equinox. "It is important that you be there at 9 hours tomorrow morning. Your plane will be ready to depart at 22 hours." When the Delegates, the tourists, and the residents of Denver were at dinner, the questions among themselves were many and varied. Mr. Hoyt commented that he had never, since arriving in America, witnessed a rush hour of traffic, or the crowding of shopping locations or places of recreation. He asked me how this was accounted for. I said, "Mr. Pierce, my voice is getting hoarse from talking, would you be so kind as to answer Mr. Hoyt's question?" Mr. Pierce nodded and said, "Mr. Hoyt, the favorable conditions you speak of have not always been present in our society. At the inception of our Social Dynamic the building of living complexes, hospitals, recreational facilities, hydroelectric and inland waterways (which are still under construction), and the building of heavy equipment, for various projects (including new and different agricultural equipment) decreed that North Americans, in order to accomplish what you have seen, required long hours of daily functioning from everyone who was able to function in any capacity. "Now that we have things well in hand, the daily requirement of social responsibility of each individual has been reduced to four hours per day, and four days per seven-day period (or a week, if you will). As to how we will arrange our responsibility schedule social responsibility calendar on a day of the year, rather than by week or month. Therefore, four-sevenths of our people who are between the ages of twenty-five and forty-five are active at their respective social responsibility, while three-sevenths are free to pursue any activity they choose during their three days of leisure. "There being six shifts, of four hours each, in a twenty-four hour day, creates a constant and smooth flow of traffic and participation in recreational facilities and locations, thereby eliminating oscillation in those activities. "The social responsibility calendar is so arranged that everyone of service age, enjoys a period (by the price system calendar) of almost three months' leisure, or vacation, as it is sometimes referred to by the old calendar. "When the major projects are completed, and things only need to be maintained, it is difficult to contemplate the glory of civilization on this continent. It is, of course, all due to the flexibility and dispatch of our mode of social operation, pyramiding up to our Continental Board of Directors, chosen from each sequence. Yes, our -social system is conducive to rapid change." After Mr. Pierce explained how our social responsibility service is arranged, Miss Vollnogle said, "Even after your explanation, which sounds very equitable, I am still not too clear as to why you prefer the day of the year, to the week and the month?" "Because," he said, "the days of the month vary in number from twenty-eight to thirty-one days. The time lapse from new moon to new moon is twenty-nine and a fraction days, so that the phase of the moon shifts about a third of a month in the course of a year. Therefore, the only astronomical periods that need be considered are those of the day and the year. "The year consists of 365.2422 mean solar days. Our calendar, therefore, consists in numbering these days consecutively from one to three-hundred sixty-four, plus one zero day (two zero days every fourth year)," he said.
When Mr. Pierce finished explaining the calendar, I said, "What he has said to you reminds me that I am leaving tonight for Topeka, to attend a Continental Board of Directors meeting, In the presence of the Delegates, I told Tom Browning that for the next two days he would be responsible for their pleasure and safety. Before boarding the plane, I recommended that Tom expose the Delegates to the beauty of the Rocky Mountain resorts in that area.
This was chapter 10 go to chapter11