The Great Symmetry
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Versari: An ancient race whose artifacts and remains spanned a period of a hundred thousand years, almost a million years ago.
Visitor Kit: A combination of a helmet and supplemental oxygen supply worn by visitors to the surface of Kelter Four.
Wastage Factor: The part of the economy that does not pass through at least one of the Seven Sisters. Currently slightly under ten percent.
West, Sonia: Social and Economic Analyst, on contract to Affirmatix. Inventor of the De Beers method.
West, Yvette: Sonia West’s wife, an electrical engineer and security expert.
Worm Drive: Write Once, Read Many: A data recorder that is intended to collect data in real time and never be updated. Used for black boxes on vehicles and other official records.
Chronology
2040: Peak of the Combustapalooza. Over three billion people died during the next twenty years due to a combination of global warming, resource depletion, and the resulting wars.
2060-2120: The Long Comeback
2136: First successful return to Earth from another star system, through a circuit of three hyperspace glomes
2159: First habitable exo planet, Phoenix, discovered
2180: Kelter discovered
2186: Buttonwood tree planted on Kelter
2204: Axiom born
2234: Untrusted Zone founded on Kelter
2260-68: The Fencing of the Commons
2267: Kate DelMonaco born
2269: Evan McElroy born
2272: Mira Adastra born
2294-2301: Valley of Dreams expeditions on Kelter
2302: Discovery of well-preserved Versari data storage devices on Aurora
2303: Anna and William DelMonaco die in a space travel accident
2304: Present day
Acknowledgements
I am grateful to Jan Bressler, the very first reader of The Great Symmetry. Her simple act of reading the entire first draft, and her encouragement about the value inside, helped provide me with energy to power through rest of the journey to completion.
Mariko Thompson did excellent editing and reviewing on the manuscript, pointing out numerous opportunities to improve internal consistency, character development, and tone.
Alan Canon, Elizabeth R. Apgar Triano, Mike Newsome, Frank James, and Susan Hansen provided many and detailed review comments and edits.
Noble Smith has provided review comments, encouragement, and guidance on navigating the publication process.
Thanks for thoughtful review comments to early readers Ian Baren, Michael Brooks, Andy Klapper, Eleanor Brown, Nan Brown, Joe Shapiro, Mike Cowlishaw, and Marley Magee.
Rachel Budelsky related the saying about the shabby donkeys.
With many thanks to the community of writers and environmental activists in the Pacific Northwest, at our great watchdog paper Whatcom Watch, and on the Daily Kos web site, who helped me to find my writing voice.
When I was eight years old, my Aunt Katy read the first thirty pages of The Hobbit aloud to me, then handed me the book, saying I would have to read the rest if I wanted to know how it ended.
Sara Wells and Katie Jane Wells supported the project of writing The Great Symmetry far beyond the bounds of reason, putting up with me staying up past midnight for months at a time and otherwise not doing all those other things I can’t wait to get back to.
End Notes
Glome is a real word, meaning hypersphere, also called a 3-sphere.
Infoterrorist is a term coined in the early 21st century, to describe the use of information technology for the purpose of spreading terror, dissent, or freedom.
“Knowledge screams to be free” is based on the phrase “information wants to be free,” ascribed to Stewart Brand in the 1960s.
The Abilene Consensus is based on the Abilene Paradox, a term first used by Jerry B. Harvey, in 1974.
De Beers Method is named after the diamond cartel of that name.
The Buttonwood Tree was the site where the New York Stock Exchange was founded in 1792. Since then, the word “buttonwood” has sometimes been used to refer to core underlying issues relating to money.
“Fly casual” is a quote from Han Solo in the movie Star Wars: Return of the Jedi.
The Seven Sisters is a term used by Enrico Mattei to describe the seven companies that dominated the global petroleum industry in the middle of the 20th century. The term also refers to the mythical daughters of Atlas, and the Pleiades star cluster.
A Drop of Water is an iconically great song by musician Dana Lyons (www.cowswithguns.com).
Jeetertech is a method of artistic fabrication named by Louisville, KY multimedia artist Scott Scarboro in the 20th century.
Merchants of Doubt is a book by Naomi Oreskes and Erik Conway, about scientists recruited to create doubt about the harm from pollution.
Klono is a deity from the immortal Lensman series, by Doc Smith. The concept of Intrinsic Velocity is also discussed extensively in the Lensman series.
Effessem is a deity with an enthusiastic and colorful following here in the 21st century.
“Shabby Donkeys will find each other even over nine hills” is apparently a Bulgarian folk saying, as related by Rachel Budelsky.
Orwen is descended from someone of the same name who appeared in The Chronicles of Prydain, by Lloyd Alexander. Or perhaps she is the same person.
Combustapalooza is something I made up, for an article about global warming.
Friend: When my daughter was about five years old, the words “friend” and “person” were synonyms for her. I have watched with sadness as she has necessarily learned the distinction, and imagine that someday in the future, she will unlearn it.
The Great Symmetry has been described by many phrases though history, and is something that almost everyone understands intuitively.
Blowing Cave is named in homage to Overholt Blowing Cave in West Virginia. My father was on the climbing crew that completed the first ascent of the 4th waterfall, using bolts, during a 3-day trip into this wet and difficult cave in the early 1960’s. Another waterfall was found, just beyond. Daddy, I will always miss you.
About The Author
JAMES R. WELLS is a life-long cave explorer and outdoor adventurer. He has led expeditions deep into some of North America’s great caves, including the Mammoth system, longest cave in the world.
He writes about climate and environmental topics, and volunteers helping people to protect their community and habitat. In his day job, he designs information systems that reduce energy use, saving money and reducing pollution. He is the great-grandson of pioneering science fiction author H.G. Wells.
The author lives in northwest Washington with his wife and his daughter.
The author’s web site can be found at
www.TheGreatSymmetry.com.
Table of Contents
Part 1: One Small Step
Part 2: Fly Casual
Part 3: How Many Lives
Part 4: Valley of Dreams
Part 5: The Daughters of Atlas
Part 6: Delusional Optimism
Part 7: Shabby Donkeys
Part 8: The Great Symmetry
Coda
Author’s Note
Glossary
Chronology
Acknowledgements
End Notes
About The Author