“That’s right,” Joyce answered. “Level tens spend a lot of time away from Earth helping others and growing. Evolved souls from other planets spend much time here helping us, too.”
Alan suggested something that at first made me think I had misunderstood, for it sounded like he had said, “Let’s dance!”
His suggestion was immediately received with shouts of agreement. He took my hand and we ran after the others down the long living room.
What happened during the next fifteen or twenty minutes was almost unbelievable to me. Suddenly the great room was filled with the most exciting music I had ever heard.
Imagine strenuous folk dancing like a spirited polka or Offenbach’s Gaïté Parisienne numbers, or the twirling dervishes combined with the Virginia reel, square dancing, gymnastic tumbling, and a relay race of sprinters at a track meet and you’ll have only a part of what they call the Macro dance.
They leaped, they tumbled, they ran. They joined together, they separated, they joined, they twirled, they cart wheeled, they pyramided, and they helped me join in all of these and more until my heart pounded like a sledgehammer and my breath came in whistling gasps. Then we all threw off our tunics and ran naked out the door of our Alpha and down the halls to the giant swimming pool on our Beta floor.
We plunged laughing into a pool thirty yards wide and ninety yards long.
My unspoken, question of why the pool was so large was soon answered as we were joined by the rest of our seventh triad Beta‑90 more naked, laughing youths of 18, 19, or 20, who had just finished the Macro dance in their Alphas.
Again I was struck by their physical beauty, joy, and friendliness.
There was no shallow end to this pool so we all swam in the ten‑foot‑deep water either above or below the surface, since everyone seemed to be as at home in the water as a herd of sea lions.
Only a few minutes passed, however, before Carol told me it was time to leave. We climbed out of the pool and I suddenly realized that we were the only ones out of the water. As I turned to see if the other members of our Beta were going to join us I heard their voices shouting, “Welcome, Jon, welcome!”
A lean muscular giant with piercing dark eyes vaulted out of the water, took my hand in his, and touched my cheek firmly but gently. Immediately there was total silence. He was at least five inches taller and ‑ seventy pounds heavier than I in spite of being six years my junior. He looked long into my eyes, but this time I did not feel uncomfortable and returned his look with confidence and a powerful feeling of contentment.
“Welcome, Jon, to our 7th triad student Beta,” he said in one of the deepest voices I had ever heard. “My name is Leo and I am the Betar of our floor. I speak for all when I say we are glad you have joined us.”
“Thank you,” I replied. Then raising my voice so all could hear, I called, “Thank you all for this wonderful welcome. You can see with your minds how happy I am to be here. No words can express my joy.”
Then the rest of my Alpha was about me. We ran back to our rooms to put on fresh tunics, then met in the dining room for dinner.
It was a leisurely meal with lots of laughing and talking, and I had an opportunity to appreciate the remarkable intelligence, broad knowledge, and varied interests of my Alpha. I also had the opportunity to try some strange new foods that I found delicious, but I didn’t ask what they were made of. Everyone cooperated, seeming to sense that I would enjoy the meal more if I was not forced to consider the content of the food I was eating.
Perhaps the most satisfying experience was their understanding and reassurances concerning my fears about my sanity back in 1976. I told them of my conversations with Karl and how we had set up our test of the reality of my experiences in 2150. They were unanimous in approving of this kind of test.
It was Alan who told me that the whole Macro society was aware of my time translation and very interested in
whether or not I could learn to remain permanently in 2150.
Then Joyce, of the lovely green eyes and short auburn hair, said that while I was a world celebrity I would experience none of the invasions of privacy that 20th‑century celebrities experienced. Since C.I. contained any and all information about me and the experiment of which I was a central part, anyone desiring knowledge concerning me or the experiment could simply ask C.I.
I told them that I appreciated this and added that I could get rich fast if I could offer this convenience to famous people back in 1976.
“There are dozens of questions we’d like to ask you, Jon, if you don’t mind,” Alan requested.
“Not at all,” I replied. “And I’d like to ask all of you some questions, too.”
Steve explained that while there were no taboo questions for them, they realized that in 1976 there were many subjects that people avoided because of their feelings of guilt associated with these subjects.
I thought about this for a moment and then said, “Feel free to ask me questions on any subject, no matter how uncomfortable it makes me. My reason for this is that I want to become a permanent member of your Macro society, so I’d better learn to be as aware of myself and as clear as you are.”
For the next few minutes I was overwhelmed with questions about my life in the 20th century and my feelings toward my parents, my teachers, my government, and the many churches and religions. They were interested in my feelings about cultural, economic, racial, religious, language differences‑all the things that divided micro man.
I felt no restraints in answering these questions and realized that, as yet, they had not asked anything that made me feel uncomfortable. Before they got around to that, David suggested that I be given a chance to ask them some questions.
I thanked him and began with general questions concerning their feelings about the Macro society. They were genuinely surprised that I should think their society over regimented and restrictive. Alan seemed to summarize their answers in this area.
“In the Macro society we have more freedom to experience ourselves and the world about us than ever before in the history of man. As for repressive over regimented societies, we have no policemen, no armed forces, and no government to pass silly laws that people want to break.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“I mean,” Alan replied, “that we don’t have all those laws that almost everyone broke. Laws against alcoholic drinks, gambling, various sexual acts, and drugs, for examples. You people in 1976 had so many laws which were conflicting and confusing that your people had to hire lawyers to protect them from their own neighbors as well as from their own government. Consider the maze of laws that governed marriage, divorce, and taxes. Of course, these would not have been perpetuated if your lawyers had not had a vested interest in keeping them on the books.”
“But you have to have laws or everything would be chaos.” I replied.
“We have no laws, and we have no lawyers,” responded Nancy, “and we don’t have chaos.”
“But you do have laws,” I insisted. “You must have. How about stealing? What if I steal your belongings?”
They all laughed, and lovely little Diane, the smallest at six‑feet one, said “Go ahead and take anything we have. All material possessions are free and we’ll be glad to give you anything you want, so you can see that there is no need to steal.”
“All right,” I said, “but how about murder? You must have laws against that.”
I thought I had them with that one, but Bonnie smiled revealing her charming facial imperfection‑dimples. She said, “In your 20th century you had no laws against flying to the stars because no one believed it possible.” She paused and seemed to overwhelm me with her intense blue eyes as she continued, “We in the 22nd century believe it is impossible for Macro man to murder anyone. There are no laws against it.”
She so distracted me that I momentarily forgot about laws and asked whether the science of 2150 made it possible for people who were not yet level ten to visit other planets.
She explained that Macro man just used astral projection to explore the universe.
I was reminded of my astral body traveling to 2150 and then informed that some eighth and ninth levels and all tenth levels were able to use astral travel not only in our physical universe but in other dimensions beyond the fourth one of time. That was more than I could grasp, so I went back to laws.
“All right,” I said, “how about your educational laws. All 18‑, 19‑, and 20‑year‑olds have to live in a 7th triad student Beta, and until you reach 30 you must live in a student Gamma. How about that?”
Again they laughed, and darkly handsome Adam said, “But no one forces us to live in a student Gamma. The Macro society is set up so that our needs for companionship, love, learning, exercise, recreation, and everything else are best served this way. We are free to leave any time we want to. But we are not masochists, so we seldom go against our own best interests.”
Now Alan got up from our long dining table and said, “Because the Macro society lives according to the one Macro imperative‑loving acceptance‑we cooperate and, thus, conflict is impossible. However, we still have micro people living on Micro Island who dedicate their lives to amnesic forgetfulness of the Macro oneness of all. Only in this way of deliberately forgetting our Macro origin can we behave in micro selfish ways that damage others and ourselves.
“Well, then,” I said, “you at least have laws against micro man, since you force them to stay on a prison island.”
“Not at all,” Alan replied. “It’s only their lack of desire and belief that keeps them there. In fact, we maintain free training on the island for anyone who wants to remember his Macro origins and, thus, return to the Macro society. And we don’t interfere with them in any way that would restrict or punish any of their activities on Micro Island. They are free to do anything they like as far as we are concerned. They stay pretty busy just passing laws and enforcing them so that they can survive selfishly and competitively.”
I changed my tactics now and decided to ask a very personal question. “Did you vote for Alan as Alphar and Leo for Betar because you thought they would be the best leaders or because C.I. says they are level six and seven?”
My Carol had been allowing others to supply questions and answers for me; but now I looked directly at her for her response.
She glanced at the others and obviously decided she had their permission to speak for them, for she said, “We voted for Alan and Leo because as long as we have known them, since our first and second triads, they have demonstrated superior Macro qualities. C.I. only reflects what we already know. No one can possibly fool anyone else about his level of awareness because our tunic colors make no mistakes. C.I. only formally confirms what our tunics have already told us.”
“I see,” I responded, switching ground. “Well, how about jealousy? What if you have sex with someone else’s Alpha mate?”
Once again I heard their amused laughter as giant Steve answered for the group. “Sexual relations must have been one of micro man’s most exciting and challenging diversions. The popular ‘Eleven p.m. Syndrome’‑waiting for the late hour to bring enough drowsiness for soft music and quiet talk to lower a woman’s resistance so you can conquer her taboos‑isn’t needed here in 2150. We have no taboos, no hidden dark areas, and, thus, no desire to use others as possessions for our own selfish micro purposes.”
“Are you saying you wouldn’t be jealous if Adam or David began having sex with your Joyce?”
Steve smiled a kind and patient smile, “First of all, she is by no means my Joyce. She is her own Joyce. Secondly, it would be surprising if Adam or David wanted a sexual relationship with Joyce, since it would be totally out of character with their lifestyles. But I couldn’t be jealous because if it made them happy it would make me happy, too. If it did not make them happy, they would have learned a valuable lesson and we would all rejoice in their new growth.”
“But why would you be surprised?” I asked, not understanding this part at all.
“He’d be surprised,” Joyce answered, “because by the 7th triad we are focusing on greater‑depth dyadic relationships with our Alpha mates. We’ve explored polyadic sexual relationships from the first through the 5th triads, and by the 7th triad, we are no longer interested in childish activities. Not because they are bad or wicked, but because we’ve simply outgrown them.”
“You’ve outgrown being sexually attracted to each other?” I asked incredulously.
“Oh, never!” They laughed, then Joyce explained with the analogy that admiring a painting or statue was very different from wanting to take it home, hide it away where no one else could see it, and keep it all to yourself.
I was thinking that her analogy didn’t do much for me when Diane said that they realized I had not had their early triad experiences and so of course, any of the girls in my Alpha or Beta would help me with whatever sexual problems I might have.
I was stunned. “Are you telling me that any girl on this floor would be willing to have sex with me?”
“That’s right,” Carol replied. “If you approach someone in 2150 who doesn’t feel it’s in the best interest of both of you for you to spend time together, she’ll just say, ‘Thank you. I care, but I don’t feel we’re harmonic. However, there is no girl in the whole Gamma or even Delta who would refuse you, so it won’t be fear of rejection that will stop you. And, I assure you, neither Lea nor I will be jealous.”
I shook my head, trying to clear its conflicting thoughts and feelings; then I said that with all my sexual frustrations and guilts they would be taking an awful chance with me. They might feel like they were being raped.
But rape was impossible in the Macro society, Bonnie said, since no one would resist and, since Macro beings could not enjoy the micro use of sex, the Macro society would not satisfy micro man’s twisted sexual needs.
“It’s incredible,” she observed, “how often during the 20th century blackmail and political scandals could have as their focal point some person’s sexual behavior. Your ridiculous social sanctions against homosexuality and extramarital sex did far more to encourage these behavioral patterns than to extinguish them.”
“Do you mean that you people don’t object to homosexuality‑a man making love with a man, or a woman with a woman?” I asked incredulously.
“Of course not. You will find, however, that there is a much lower incidence of homosexuality here in 2150 because of a few factors.
“First, we have eliminated the social situations that often caused homosexuality‑like loneliness, unfulfilled needs, pernicious social myths which tell you that if you enjoy the touch of someone of the same sex, then you must be homosexual.
“Second, when a soul incarnates into the physical body of one sex while still carrying with it emotional, spiritual, or mental selves that are overwhelmingly the opposite sex, you must, naturally, expect expression of the predominant sex. This is neither abnormal nor undesirable. It is true, natural, and logical.
Third, as we evolve to higher levels of awareness, the masculine and feminine forces within us become more perfectly balanced till we ultimately reach a point where we are once again emotionally, spiritually, and mentally androgynous. Your micro society, in its isolationist ignorance, would call this state of total ‘at‑one‑ness’ sick.”
“I don’t know much about androgynism, but homosexuality is sick isn’t it?” I questioned.
Steve explained, “In some cases, yes. In some, no. Just like heterosexuality which is, in some cases, what you would call very sick and, in some cases, not. As with all else, it depends totally on the motivation.”
We talked some more about the problems of our micro society and their Macro society’s solutions to these problems. Then Alan said he must leave to visit his Personal Evolution tutor. Carol looked at her mib and said it was time for some Macro counseling, popularly called Personal Evolution tutoring.
We said our goodbyes and everyone left t
he Alpha together in pursuit of his or her tutor.
I asked Carol about Personal Evolution tutoring. C.I. had told me that P.E. tutoring was the core of formal education in the Macro society, but it hadn’t meant much to me.
Carol explained that P.E. tutoring was a learning relationship between a tutor, with a larger viewpoint or life perspective, and a student with a smaller perspective who wanted to learn a larger one. While all triads had P.E. tutors beginning with the 7th triad, and continuing through the 10th, students are assigned to the wisest tutors in the Macro society who had a minimum of 7th level awareness. This meant that most of these tutors were beyond the age of 50.
The eleventh and twelfth floors of the student Gamma building were devoted to comfortable tutoring rooms large enough to accommodate both individual and group work. There were also exercise rooms and an auditorium big enough to hold the entire Gamma.
We arrived at our Personal Evolution tutoring room after walking through multicolored halls with gleaming white doors.
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