The Earth, with all her majesty, called up to him with a tender voice that made him weep. August vowed to create a royal future for Her, one in which the mistakes of the past would be overcome, and she would become the dignified, life-nourishing center of a new galactic dynasty.
He looked for affirmation back to Aurora, but she was looking away.
Chapter 39 - Calvin30
As their capsule touched down, Calvin30 noted they were floating. Their landing spot was chosen to be far from any place anyone would suspect - to allow them to wander in the wilderness for a while. According to plan they’d be sustained on their path by caches positioned in anticipation of their passing.
That path was pulsing with potential. Kalsang was hopefully pushing up daisies where Calvin30 had ploughed him under, though he wouldn’t count him out until he’d danced on the dome head’s bones. He was proud he had finally seen through the deed, an action he’d completed without proxies. Perhaps it was a test he’d been given by the cosmos, to prove his place in the annals of chaos.
Groaning under their own gravity it was obvious they would be beholden to his lead. Motivating them out of their current languor would take some kind of carrot.
For August it would be that kiss, which Calvin30 hadn’t missed. The sight of hope igniting in August’s chest, the re-firing of his passion, his over-puffed belief in his personal myth. And how perfect that the woman was using him. This was breathtakingly beautiful.
Unreciprocated love and deceit. That was real tar baby. Black as night and as bottomless. August, that fantastic fool, was going to sink into an abyss so sublime that he’d drag the world down in with him.
The hatch flew open and fresh air flowed in. Around them the rolling motions of an ice-free Arctic Ocean and nearby a beach. Moved to his core, Calvin30 produced his pipe and blew out of pure gratitude.
Oh, what a wonderful world.
GLOSSARY
Alignments: Credited improvements to ecological performance by an organisation in a manner that reinforces global ecosystem repair and stability.
Buckeyball (also Buckminsterfullerene): A unique soccer ball shaped molecule of pure carbon named after Buckminster Fuller, an avant-guarde American architect, systems theorist, author, designer, and inventor who designed the geodesic Dome and was the first person to suggest the use of a global currency like the Eco. Some fullerene materials (Buckygel) have near perfect thermal and electromagnetic insulating properties and so are incorporated into materials used for the construction of space suits and radiation shields on spacecraft.
Campaign: Globally coordinated actions by many entities and actors against commercial interests with the aim of forcing them into alignment with the dominant economic system of the 22ndCentury, which values ecological stabilisation and repair.
Com: A liability limited corporation, although in the 22nd Century most Coms are multinational (or multi-world) entities.
Comscript: A form of money used by Coms for commercial dealings. Use of Comscript is illegal within many local communities and ecological-commercial networks.
Comsec: The security department for a Com.
ComSyn: A dynamic ideation of the evolving status of a corporation projected electronically into a person’s brain to facilitate timely and informed executive decision making.
Dreaming: A term invented by Western anthropologists to describe a deep concept from Australian First People spirituality wherein country and individuals are continually woven together by story as an act of continual generation and co-creation.
Dropstick: A baton shaped weapon which discharges current from the tip at high voltage.
Eco: A global currency based on formulas quantifying the universal economic benefit from activities which promote repair of global and local ecological systems.
Ecolution: A revolutionary movement which, by the 22nd Century, has fundamentally restructured human political, economic, and spiritual institutions to restore ecological and climactic balance to the planet Earth.
Ecoversion: The capture of a publicly traded Com through the acquisition of shares by panarchist entities (Hubs, Nets, Sys, and Revs) which are aligned with the Ecolution.
Fulcrum: A heavy compartment containing the engine and fuel tanks of a space craft connected by nearly unbreakable nanaofilament cable to the living compartment of a spacecraft from. The living area pivots around the fulcrum thus simulating gravity.
Gaia: The living Earth wherein life participates in homeostatic regulation of the climate and environmental conditions to optimise conditions conducive to life.
Gaia Ecological Organisation (GEO): An organisation which oversees the restoration of Gaia, the living Earth. The GEO coordinates the activities of large-scale institutions aligned with global ecological, hydrological, chemical, and geological cycles, and also sets the formulae and standards for accounting for impact and repair of Earth ecosystems by organisations and communities.
Garuda: A bird-like spiritual being with many descriptions in Hindu and Buddhist mythology. In Vajrayana Buddhism, Garuda can be depicted carrying Avalokiteshvara, the enlightened deity of Compassion, and symbolizes the freedom and wisdom of mind which transcends conditioned existence. Kalsang’s spacecraft is named the Garuda.
Gov: A vestigial political institution which has evolved from existing government forms. Govs coordinate resource sharing, infrastructure, and other public institutions operating within specific geospatial jurisdictions. Govs are significantly influenced by other entities (Hubs, Nets, Coms, Orgs, Revs and Sys) whose jurisdictions intersect in a Gov territory.
Helium-3: A light, non-radioactive isotope of helium with two protons and one neutron (common helium having two neutrons). Helium-3 is an important fuel used in fusion reactors in the 22nd Century because the fusion reaction releases charged protons, which can be efficiently converted to electricity.
Hub: A local community institution in the 22nd Century wherein individuals develop their sense of place and primary identity.
Icarus: A figure from Greek mythology, Icarus was given wings glued together with wax by his father Daedalus and warned not to fly to close to the sun where the wax would melt. The ambitious son ignored his father’s warning and crashed to the Earth. August’s spacecraft is named the Icarus.
IndraSys: A global, Indian dominated Sys which aligns global economic activity with the protection of biodiversity and related benefits. In Hindu mythology Indra is the King of Gods, while in Buddhist iconography Indra symbolises the interdependence and co-emergent emptiness of all phenomena.
KaliyugaRev: The most aggressive Rev and principle enemy of the Coms. KaliyugaRev believes that space flight is heretical as it distracts humanity from the difficult task of restoring balance to the Earth.
Local: A unit of currency used by Hubs for day to day economic relations. Locals are Hub-specific but can be converted to Ecos based on a Hub’s positive environmental activities. Locals have the function of binding individuals to the Hubs and rewarding Hub loyalty and identification.
Mass Driver: An electromagnetic catapult that is used to provide the thrust for a non-rocket space launch.
Full Melding: The attainment of maturity for the Aliens. Prior to Melding the brains and associated nervous systems of their multiple heads are not fully coordinated and develop alternative perspectives. With Melding an Alien’s concept of self has developed to accommodate these multiple perspectives within a singular identity so that they all function in harmony.
Maa Al’hyat Sys: A Sys coordinating economies which protect and repair hydrological cycles, particularly within arid regions. Maa Al’hyat is the largest such hydrological Sys originating from the Middle East, and thus is primarily an Islamic organisation.
m’Hoomuun: A sister planet to the Mother Ocean within the Aliens’ solar system, which independently developed an environment suitable for life.
Microdropper: A solar powered atmospheric water generator (AWG) that extracts water from ambient air and funnels the
moisture to a newly planted tree’s root.
Mneme: Encoded packets of feelings and memories, which are stored and transmitted from one brain to another via neurovisor technology. Mnemes can also be composed by computer.
Mo: A divination technique employed by Tibetan Buddhists involving rolling dice following meditative visualisation and chanting of mantras.
Mother Ocean: The home planet of the Aliens. The planet is almost entirely covered by ocean.
Nanobot (Nanoid): A product of nanotechnology wherein a microscopic robot is assembled molecule by molecule. Nanobots facilitate many targeted chemical, industrial, and biological processes with minimal energy and resource investments.
Nanoprocessors: Miniaturized computers assembled similarly to nanobots.
Nanoweapon: Weaponised nanobots that have been outlawed in the 22nd Century due to the impact of their devastatingly targeted capabilities on individual leaders.
Neurolink: A communication connection made between two brains via a neurovisor.
Neuronet: The integration of the Internet with the neurological systems of human beings via neurovisor technology.
Neuroview: A vivid internal subjective experience of an individual, like a dream, which is projected into the brain by neurovisor technology.
Neurovisor: The principal communications technology of the 22nd Century which connects electronic technology directly into the cerebral cortex of the brain.
Net: one of the dominant Panarchist economic institutions of the 22nd Century. Nets are commercial networks which connect constituent Hubs and operate in collaboration or competition with other Nets or Coms. Nets use Ecos as their primary currency.
Org: Non-profit entities which coordinate and deliver most essential services in the 22nd Century.
Oort Array: The Oort cloud is the furthest belt of objects orbiting the Sun out beyond the orbit of Pluto. The Oort Array is an array of publicly owned space telescopes which are located in the inner edge of the Oort cloud and are dedicated to cosmological observations rather than the interception of extra-terrestrial communications.
Panarchist: A political philosophy wherein individuals nominate their political membership within exclusive networks, as opposed to geographic location. Panarchy is also an approach to economics, which uses the lessons from system theory and studies of ecology to understand human economic behaviour. In the 22nd Century, Panarchy has become the dominant global political philosophy in competition with older capitalist and socialist ideologies.
Pleiades: A bright cluster of seven stars visible to the naked eye and located near the vernal equinox, marking the beginning of spring. In ancient Greek mythology, the stars represent Seven Sisters who are pursued by Orion, the hunter. The story, associated with these stars, of sisters fleeing unwanted attentions is also found in the oral histories of various Australian and North American First Peoples.
Pod: An Alien matriarchal extended family grouping led by a single female Queen from whom the children of a pod descend. Pods also include selected male concubines, including Alphas which have decision making status and Betas which do not.
Proximity Malaise Syndrome: Also Outlanders, Going Out, Outers, etc. A psychological syndrome which increases in intensity the further a space farer travels away from the Earth. A small number of persons, mostly hermit meditators, are apparently immune from the effects. Women are generally more resistant than men.
Quantum Computer: A computer design which takes advantage of the strange ability of subatomic particles to exist in more than one state at any time to improve processing speed, energy efficiency, and information security. This technology has also been used to provide the conditions for artificial consciousness to develop in machines.
Rev: Activist organisations which are at the vanguard of the Ecolution, pressuring the Coms into ecoversion and compliance with the terms of The Peace. Revs use either legal or extra-legal means to achieve these ends. While some Revs have a registered legal status, others such as KaliyugaRev are outlawed.
Second Wave: The Second Wave of Space exploration wherein humanity, led by the Coms, established outposts and the Moon and several other planetary and satellite bodies. The motivation for the Coms was an existential imperative to develop Space in a bid to provide a future for unconstrained market expansion. The cost of the Second Wave proved prohibitive and led to the wide-scale decline of the Coms as global powers.
SkyTran: A prominent form of public transit in the 22nd Century. A SkyTran carriage, or fly-seat, is suspended below a fixed rail suspended between poles like a ski lift. A fly-seat on a SkyTran can select alternative directions at intersections, and installation of SkyTran poles allows traffic to travel through urban landscapes with a minimal structural footprint on the ground allowing reuse of old road ways for urban agriculture and other purposes.
Squeeze Suit: A restrictive body stocking impregnated with ‘buckygel’ which maintains 22nd Century Martian explorers’ skin under Earth atmospheric pressure while protecting against loss of heat, moisture and cosmic radiation.
SpaceX Terminals: Floating offshore space ports connected by rail to selected cities in the 22nd Century.
Syn: An organisation focused on developing solutions to complex problems such as Gaia restoration, which operates via the neuronet through the coupling of big data, artificial intelligence, and networked human minds.
Sys: Powerful, macro-scale institutions of the 22nd Century. Sys are the glue which holds the Ecolution together by coordinating economic activity with specific global environmental systems and cycles. Sys are an amalgam of messy human political, economic, and cultural relationships with clear scientific principles and an adaptive legal structure. The Sys undertake the role of referee in mediating Net and Hub identity and exclusivity with the overriding imperatives of global repair and stability.
Tata XP car: Vehicles with inflatable bodies composed of steel strength textile skin resulting in a greatly reduced weight with resultant safety, energy efficiency gains, and reduced price.
Terrapod: The use of technology mediated living ecosystems to dynamically maintain survivable environmental conditions during long term space travel.
The Peace: An agreement brokered between the Capitalist Coms and the ascendant Panarchist institutions wherein the Coms were left free to pursue unfettered markets through the development of Space while the Panarchist bodies enforce ecological constraints to economic growth on the Earth.
The Surge: The mass migration of Aliens from the Mother Ocean to the sister world m’Hoomuun through the development of wormhole technology.
Tides: A demarcation for time developed by the Aliens which, as a marine species, first tracked time through observing the tidal movement of ocean currents.
Tsuchinshan: A near Earth comet whose orbit approaches the Earth every 6-7 years at a close enough distance to allow access by space craft. During these passages it is mined for water for use in Space development.
Upside Down Thermometer: A dynamic register of a Hub’s positive contribution to the repair and stability of the climate and an indicator used to set an exchange rate for local currency into ecos.
Volantor: A Vertical Take-off and Landing (VTOL) vehicle which redirects thrust from turbo props to travel both vertically and horizontally.
Waijungari: A Dreaming hero of the Ngarrindjeri people of the Southern Murray River region in South Australia. Escaping a jealous husband whose wives he had stolen, Waijungari ascended into the sky and became the planet Mars.
Wheatbelt: A region of Western Australia that extends north from Perth to the Mid-West region, and east to the Goldfields-Esperance region. It is bordered to the south by the South West and Great Southern regions and to the west by the Indian Ocean, the Perth metropolitan area, and the Peel region.
Wormhole: A theoretical passage through space-time that could create shortcuts bypassing the need for long distance space travel. Wormholes are predicted by the theory of general relativity.
Yulbrada: Yul
brada, the Earth, in the languages of several Australian First People inhabiting areas ranging from Southeastern Australia up to the Northern Territory.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Samuel Winburn has spent a very long period writing Ten Directions, his debut novel. He was born and raised in Alaska before relocating to Western Australia two decades ago. He, therefore, has had the privilege of inhabiting both Ends of the Earth. He has been active in the development of the profession of Environmental Accounting through his work building a successful environmental accountancy, teaching at local university, and co-founding the Australian national professional organisation in that field. He is especially grateful to have been an instigator for a United Nations award winning non-profit to empower local school kids to become climate leaders.
Samuel has been attempting to practice Buddhism since he was a teenager, having the exceptional good fortune to study under wonderful Tibetan meditation Masters.
If you want to engage with Samuel, you can do so via this book’s Facebook Page (Ten Directions - @directions10) or via his web page www.samuelwinburn.net. Please consider leaving a review on your favorite online book community.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This book, so long in the making, is truly a collaborative effort including the input of friends and family who radically changed the story over the years through their helpful insights. To my children: Aurora, whose name entered these pages before birth, and to Django, who insisted that I add an alien with his name to make things balance. My chief inspiration is contributing to a better future world for you two.
To my high school English teacher, Sue Zimmerman, who read my first complete draft and suggested ways to tie the characters together and insisted a love story was essential. To John Croft, for all the inspiring Dragon Dreamings and for the Gaia House library, which you lovingly curated and shared with me – those books informed much of my book. To David Michie, for many years of helpful advice from a seasoned pro to a perpetual newbie. To Elaine Lewis and the Maia Maia team for brainstorming and road testing many concepts in this book at local primary schools – who would have thought we could do that? To Sandy Spicher, who suggested edits to my opening chapter and who helped me put out the call to engage other commercial editors. To my story editors, Marta Tanrikulu and Mary Dedanan, your comprehensive advice in restructuring my story was invaluable. To Susan Kornfield, my number one fan, whose advice immeasurably improved the opening chapters and whose unsolicited praise was extremely motivating. To Nadia Nelson, for your careful reading and ideas about reincarnating aliens and getting rid of the fish people. To my good friends, Durstin Selfridge, John Argus, Kym Flannery, and Jason Hart, who read my early drafts when most of the writing was crap – I owe you. To Barbara Kingsolver: we may never meet but Poisonwood Bible inspired a complete beginning-to-end rewrite. To my Mom and Dad who couldn’t understand all the technobabble, thus forcing me to remove most of it. To my beloved Kristy Watson, who copy edited the book and who was not afraid to hit me over the head regarding sloppy writing. The remaining errors are where I chose to ignore your advice. To Alfredo Jimenez for your awesome book cover. To my dear friend Uzy Samorali of Unleased Design, for your expert work on my author’s website.
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