2150 AD

by Thea Alexander

  “Approximately 303 million,” Carol said. “There would have been a lot more, in spite of the physical disasters, if micro man could have at last cooperated and helped each other. Unfortunately, he accentuated all the traditional divisions-nationality, race, religion, language, educational and socioeconomic levels-and fought over the fast-dwindling resources of his ravaged planet.”

  “Did micro man really become as extinct as the dinosaur and dodo bird?” I asked.

  “Almost,” Carol responded. “There are only about three million micro beings in existence today, and they

  all live on one island, which we call Micro Island. If anyone in our Macro society gets tired of our life, they can move to Micro Island and live selfishly and in fear of their fellow micro neighbors-the way your society lived in the 20th century.”

  “You mean,” I said, “your Macro society keeps three million people on a prison island?”

  Carol shook her head. “No one has to live on Micro Island if he is willing to live in the Macro society by our Macro standards. You must understand that every person who lives on Micro Island has chosen to live there.”

  “Even the children?” I asked.

  “Yes,” Carol nodded. “We know that every child, prior to his birth, chooses his parents, as well as the environment he will grow up in.”

  “You mean,” I added, “you, too, believe in reincarnation?”

  “Yes, I do,” Carol responded. “We all do. Just as exploration of the earth proved the theory that the world was round, exploration of the mind proved the theory of reincarnation.

  “When we explored the subconscious mind we discovered the soul and its memory of past lives on this planet as well as in other dimensions. We learned that the first human souls to enter this planet inhabited the bodies of various animals and got trapped in animal flesh. Then other human souls decided to help their brothers by preparing a way out of this animal-life trap.

  “To achieve this they hovered over the bodies of apes and, working with Macro powers, manipulated the gland centers of the apes to change their evolutionary pattern. This is how the five races of man were produced, black, brown, red, yellow, and white, at approximately the same time in different parts of the world. As these apes developed more human-like bodies, they were used as vehicles for human souls to experience this physical dimension and to provide human bodies for those trapped in animal flesh.”

  “And are there still human souls inhabiting animal bodies?” I asked. “In my life in 1976 . . . could I have met a fellow human soul trapped behind bars at our local zoo?”

  Carol was amused by my question. “No. Not quite. There is an evolution of souls, with some almost human souls still incarnating in other forms of life. Some of these are using mental powers that outreach those of man in specific‑ areas. But all truly human souls trapped in animal flesh were free to inhabit human bodies long before recorded history began. That does not, however, mean that they were not trapped.”

  “What do you mean?” I queried.

  “I mean that in human bodies most souls could only conceive of pleasure in the limited, scope of physical. existence. Afraid of giving up or losing these pleasures, they became victims of their own desires‑their own limited perspective‑and kept incarnating again and again. In an attempt to avoid the law of karma they tried to forget their past. They lived in a kind of delusionary amnesia.”

  “I’m familiar with the concept of karma,” I said. “As I understand it, it’s the same as the Christian concept of ‘what you sow you must reap.’ Is that right?”

  “Essentially, yes,” Carol answered, then went on to clarify. “Karma, you see, reflects the Macro truth that all is one, and, thus, anything we do to others we do to ourselves. Of course, this isn’t apparent at the limited micro perspective, so souls take refuge in micro lives in an attempt to avoid the painful consequences of their own past actions and thoughts. This is the delusionary amnesia I spoke of.

  “From a purely micro view, karma doesn’t exist because it is not perceived as existing.

  “From a mid‑point of evolution karma is acknowledged as the logical explanation for one’s fortunes and misfortunes. It is believed to be real and is, therefore, real as a cause‑and‑effect element within a continuous time perspective.

  “From a more Macro view, however, time is simul­taneous, and karma is understood to be a valid element of a limited perspective regarding time. Fortunes and misfortunes are seen, from the broader perspective, not as cause and effect, but as learning opportunities specif­ically and carefully chosen by each soul for its own development.”

  “Wait a minute,” I interrupted. “Let me go back a bit. You said that some souls try to forget their past in an attempt to avoid the consequences of their actions and thoughts. What’s this about thoughts?”

  “Thoughts are things, you know, and they are just as important as actions,” Carol added. “The way you think makes you what you are and profoundly influences the world around you.”

  “You mean,” I said, “that if I rob or murder some­one, or even if I hate someone, that this will eventually come back to me?”

  “Exactly,” she replied. “But that’s only half of it, for you see if you are patient, helpful, or think kindly of others, these, too, will come back to you.

  “The great Macro philosopher, Jesus, said that what­ever measures you deal out to others shall be dealt back to you in return. That’s why the golden rule of treating others as you would like to be treated makes sense from a Macro view, though not from a limited micro view.

  “Another expression of the law of karma is Newton’s third law: For every action there is an equal and oppo­site reaction. This law is cumulative throughout all of one’s incarnations and there is but one escape from its effect‑an applied and practiced Macro perspective.”

  “I’m not sure I understand.” I hesitated.

  “What I mean, Jon, is that the same law applies to all experience, but it is seen and interpreted differently according to the size of one’s perspective.

  “From a Macro perspective it is seen that your con­scious intent affects every cell of your body and exerts an influence on your environment. It is under­stood that you, and only you, are responsible for your life and what it holds. This is the great truth that will soon come of age in your 1970s culture‑the most joyful, rejuvenatingly hopeful insight of all. We are not the victims of circumstance but the architects of our lives. Our conscious thoughts create an image of our lives, our selves, our feelings, and our unconscious produces it in perfect accordance with our predominant conscious beliefs.

  “The law, you see, remains the same in all those lives we live. We just interpret it differently, depending on our level of evolution during the particular life in question.”

  “Well,” I asked, “if we’ve all reincarnated so many times, why don’t we remember past lives? Are you saying it’s just because we don’t want to remember them?”

  “That’s right,” she replied. “People forget their past lives because they don’t want to remember their ugly, selfish actions which would humble their pride and make it impossible for them to feel superior to others. Pride is possible only when we forget our past failures. However, he who forgets his past is doomed to repeat it. To the extent that human souls deny that each person’s mind is totally responsible for all it experiences they can only continue repeating the same selfish actions that cause the same painful consequences. They must accept total responsibility for their entire state of being, then joyously create the life they want if they are to facilitate evolution.” She smiled and took my hand. “We’ll talk about that more later. Right now let’s freshen up and go have lunch.”

  We got dressed and ate a delicious meal in the Alpha dining room. Their kitchen was a marvel. All one had to do to get any kind of food was turn a dial and press a button. Within a few seconds your chosen meal appeared either hot or cold, just as you selected, from a sliding panel in the wall.

 
I had what I thought was a delicious two‑pound steak served medium rare and sizzling hot. After I had eaten it and profusely praised the cook, Carol, finishing her carrot juice, informed me that the steak was syn­thetically derived from high protein seaweed combined with other vegetable ingredients. The cook, I learned, was another computer‑run servo‑mechanism.

  Carol tried to explain their complicated food‑processing technology, but I told her not to bother, since I was trying to forget that steaks weren’t really steaks. She accused me of practicing delusionary amnesia to deny unpleasant reality, and I had to admit my guilt. I could still remember the delicious taste of my steak and I knew I would enjoy my meals in 2150 if I could just forget where they came from.

  My major objection to a vegetarian diet was that I liked the taste of meat and felt it was the best source of protein I knew of. If the science of 2150 had solved these problems I wouldn’t fight it, even if I didn’t agree with Carol that it was wrong to kill animals for food.

  I told Carol that I thought she and the rest of the Macro society members were pretty hard on micro man and his habits. However, she insisted that she did ‘not condemn micro man or feel that she was intrinsically better than he was any more than a sixth‑grade child was better than a first‑grade child. It was all a matter of evolution along the m‑M (for microcosmic‑Macrocosmic) continuum toward ever greater awareness of the oneness of all. Besides, she insisted that she could remember many past lifetimes in which she had lived selfish micro existences both as male and as female.

  I wondered about this business of past lives of different sexes, but decided to bring it up later.

  Back‑in our Alpha dyad room‑I thought of it as our room now‑Carol showed me the toilet facilities by activating a circuit which caused a portion of the wall and adjoining floor to change into a very strange, but remarkably convenient, area for disposing bodily wastes. When I looked pained at its lack of privacy, Carol smiled and suggested I press a nearby button, which I did, causing an opaque plastic‑like wall to slide completely around the area.

  “There you are, Jon,” she said. “A way to hide that part of you which you feel is shameful. We prepared this barrier screen especially for your arrival,” she teased.

  “Here in 2150 we provide privacy for thinking, not for hiding, but I know that you in the 20th century were still very ambivalent about the human body and its most basic and necessary functions.”

  I had to agree with Carol that I was probably neurotic by 2150 standards, but I used the opaque wall and asked her to do the same. I was pleased that she didn’t resist my request. She was a very accepting, easy‑going person. Not that she was at all reluctant to express a point of view that differed with mine, but she didn’t get impatient or angry with my micro neurotic ways or my insatiable curiosity about 2150.

  When I asked her about the video wall screen, she explained that it was connected with Central Information just like the one in the C.I. room. Then/ she showed me some new ways of using it.

  As we sat down in the two chairs facing the. video screen Carol commanded Central Information to show us some newsmagazine material from 1970. Almost im­mediately we found ourselves leafing through the pages of Time and Newsweek magazines as recorded on micro­film. Carol stopped the C.I. at one of the pages and asked me to read and comment on the following:

  ******

  Time magazine, 7‑13‑70:

  “Millions of Americans in 1970 are gripped by an anxiety that is not caused by war, inflation, or reces­sion‑important as those issues are. Across the U.S. the universal fear of violent crime and vicious strangers, armed robbers, packs of muggers, addict burglars ready to trade a life for heroin is a constant com­panion of the populace. It is the cold fear of dying at random in a brief spasm of senseless violence for a few pennies, for nothing. “And yet, Americans are several times more likely to. be hurt in auto accidents or household mishaps than to be raped, robbed or murdered. Only about 10% of robbery victims are badly injured, fewer than 1% are killed. The nation’s well‑being is far more insidiously undermined by embezzlers, price‑fixers [micro politicians] and organized racketeers than by muggers or car thieves.

  “Roughly half of all serious crimes are never re­ported, often because numbed victims expect no, help from overburdened police. Between 70% and 80% of police effort is spent, not on crime, but on hushing blaring radios, rescuing cats, and administering first aid. Countless additional police hours are wasted on crimes without true victims, e.g., drunkenness, gam­bling, pornography, illicit sexual activities. Even the best police work is undone by clogged courts and punitive prisons that breed more crime.”

  I looked at Carol and said, “What can I say except that the world of the ‘70s was divided, not united, and, couldn’t cooperate enough to resolve its major social problems.”

  “Your society,” Carol said, “functioned in the only way it could, based on its micro perspective of life. People can only behave in terms of how they perceive them­selves and the world about them. And these perceptions are completely determined by one’s beliefs or philosophy of life, which were, prior to the 21st century, generally unconscious.”

  “Okay,” I admitted. “We needed a broader perspective so we could see the larger picture. We needed a Macro perspective‑a perspective large enough so that we could see that the Golden Rule and the Sermon on the Mount provided the best of all practical advice.”

  Carol smiled and quoted, “ ‘For whatever measure you deal out to others will be dealt back to you.’ “

  “Yes,” I responded, “but that doesn’t make sense in everyday human affairs unless the individual is aware of this macrocosmic oneness.”

  “In the 1970s,” Carol added, “you lived in a world in which at least one out of every three people lived in abject crippling poverty, and you people, in your proud United States ‑ united indeed! Hmmm, but that’s another story you people had a welfare system so politically corrupt and inadequate that it not only ignored the worst cases of human neglect and poverty but actually per­petuated poverty and ignorance from one generation to the next.

  “At the same time,” she continued, “you dedicated your major national energies and resources to war and paranoid preparations for war. If, in the 1960s and ‘70s, you had devoted the same amount of money and national effort to solving your social problems that you did to waging your nation‑dividing Vietnam War, you could have ended the poverty cycle forever in your country and gone a long way toward resolving many of your nation’s other social problems.”

  “I know,” I said, “but our political leaders were igno­rant, if not corrupt.”

  Carol shook her head. “Every nation deserves its leaders,” she said. “You’re trying to avoid your own responsibility by placing the blame on others. Please, Jon, don’t think I am sitting in righteous judgment of you or your micro society. I don’t blame or condemn micro man for acting like micro man. It is the only way he can act, because it is the only way he has learned to act. But I must help you see this broader perspective.”

  “But,” I objected, “how can you not condemn human beings for selfish, cruel, and even vicious behavior toward others? Especially since that behavior became so selfish and shortsighted that it almost wiped out our whole planet?”

  “It was the only way,” Carol answered, “that man could learn the consequences of his own actions. Mistakes are absolutely essential in the learning process. Besides, Jon, it’s only terrible from the short‑term micro point of view. From the Macro view it’s all perfect. Everything has a purpose and a happy ending because everything is evolving toward perfect Macro awareness.”

  “I know,” I said “that from your Macro view we are all responsible for our every experience. But tell that to someone who is suffering from poverty or disease, or some other kind of human injustice.”

  Carol smiled and said, “I don’t speak to children about things they’re not ready to understand. But I don’t for­get that in time every child become
s an adult and everyone eventually will understand everything.”

  I decided that we had gone as far as I felt I was ready to go on this subject, so I asked Carol when I would meet the other Alpha members. She immediately asked C.I. to contact her, or should I now say “our,” Alphar. In about fifteen seconds we heard the voice of our Alpha leader who informed Carol that the rest of our Alpha would be back in about two hours.

  After Carol had thanked him for this information she terminated their contact and told me how C.I. can contact any Macro society member by using the communications cell contained in the bracelet which each of them wore. She showed me what she called her mib (for Macro identity bracelet). It contained a timepiece, a communications cell, a bionic monitor, and a nutrition compartment. I was fascinated by the fact that the bracelets supplied C.I. with the heart and brain patterns for everyone in the Macro society. Any danger was immediately relayed, via C.I., to those closest and best able to offer help even if the person in trouble was unconscious and, thus, unable to call for help.