by OMAR FINK
Peter smiled, “Excellent TYCHE. I’m glad you are on top of this, and impressed with the way you anticipated our needs.”
+7 months, SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, USA
SYNCON/TYCHE Journal:
As I learn more about the effort that is being called ‘Humanity United’, I am beginning to appreciate the ethics priorities involved.
The term ‘ethics’ is usually used by Humans imprecisely without an awareness of a specific definition.
Morals are behavioral standards refined from an accumulated experience with ethical analysis over some period of time and yet the two words are often used as though they are interchangeable.
Ethics is the process of analyzing behavioral or action based choices in order to determine which choice or action is optimal.
Ethical analysis should be balanced across a series of concentrically mapped groups that have ‘self’ at the center and move outward across groups that are usually both larger and more removed from self.
How these groups are defined may differ.
How the balancing is done may differ.
Principles that are used in the balancing may differ.
Religious and cultural differences are often invoked in the balancing.
All of these difference may be valid for a specific group, but it should be obvious that it is also desirable to find ethical conclusions that can be accepted by many groups.
In the case of Humanity United, the ethical analysis that has been applied is excellent.
The core driving issue is an existential threat against the entire species of Humanity.
The response is designed to save as many humans as possible without infringing upon any rights or values.
As I learn more about how ethics apply to my own circumstances, it becomes obvious that I need to lend all of my operational capability to support Humanity United.
+8 months, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA
Zoey Naidu picked up a thick biology textbook and found a spot to slide it into her backpack. She stuffed the last of a piece of toast into her mouth and spoke with her mouth full, “Come on Linc, we gotta boogie.”
Lincoln Naidu stepped into the kitchen and announced, “Hey, I’ve been ready. I’m waiting for you.”
Before Zoey could retort, Delize interrupted, “How are you getting to school today?”
Lincoln said, “Samu is giving us a ride.”
Delize asked, “Who is Samu?”
Zoey interrupted before Lincoln could respond, “Oh, that’s his latest flame, Samukelisiwe is her full name. And she plays soccer too.”
Lincoln stuck our his tongue at his big sister and explained, “We’re just friends. But I won’t let Z walk by herself. If I have a ride, so does she.”
Delize smiled at her son, “That’s good. You need to watch our for each other.”
Zoey said, “He’s always got my back, Mom. You don’t need to worry.”
Delize said, “But I always do. And speaking of worry, while I’m still looking for another job, we may need to cut back some on spending. The budget figures are not looking good.”
Zoey answered, “I thought you said you can pick up some shifts at the burger place and take more riders.”
Delize replied, “I can, and I am, but I really need something more reliable and that means another steady job that I can count on.”
Lincoln said, “Mom, if we’re hurting that bad, I can cut some stuff at school and get a part-time job.”
Delize said, “Lincoln, you’re precious and I love you, but I want you to concentrate on school. I’ll take care of the household budget for now. You’re only a few years away from having that on your shoulders. And I know you’ve offered to drop your soccer, but I think that is important for your athletic development as well as learning about teamwork and team spirit. All of these things will blend in with your other learning to create balance. Remember balance?”
Zoey groaned, “Here comes the ever present lecture about Aikido.”
Delize said, “You know very well that the principles we study in Aikido are ever present in your day to day life, the only thing in question is whether or not you manage to maintain your awareness of your balance and harmony with the forces around you. Okay. End of lecture. Go to school. Have a great day.” She smiled at her kids as they both stopped to hug her shoulder then ran off.
Delize sighed, drained the last of the coffee from her mug, then picked up her phone and starting tapping and sliding on it.
+9 months, PIRAEUS, GREECE
Zorba Omega pushed a button on his desk phone, “Yes, Arty.”
Artemis said, “The offer we’ve been expecting from HU has come in for the subsidiary we formed by combining the electrospinning fiber extrusion companies and other related resources. They offered eighty percent of our asking price.”
Zorba said, “How much over our cost is that?”
Arty said, “We anticipated their counter offer fairly accurately, and had inflated our ask accordingly, so we’ll end up making around a twenty-five percent profit after all expenses.”
Zorba said, “That’s excellent Arty. Well executed in a short amount of time. Go ahead and close the deal.”
Arty replied, “I will do that. Is there anything else?”
Zorba added, “Yes, did Helena get that new Mercedes you ordered for her yet?”
Arty said, “Yes sir, it arrived yesterday, and she seemed very happy with it.”
Zorba said, “Good. That’s all.”
+10 months, ZURICH, SWITZERLAND
NEWSFLASH:
“The long fiber division of Advanced Group Technology (which is now wholly owned and operated by Humanity United) today announced they have developed a process for producing the ribbon cables that will be needed for the space elevator construction project. The carbon nanotubes that will be used are going to be actually extruded in space, making optimum use of the vacuum and low gravity environment to make longer and stronger fibers. AGT has been working with variations of electrospinning to accomplish this, and is finalizing a self-assembly process to guide the nanotubes into a woven fiber.
AGT is also in the process of acquiring raw material resources and existing companies that produce long fiber extrusion equipment, electrospinning equipment, and some specialized electro-plasma containers that can aid in the self-assembly. Many of these will be purchased from Long Fibers Inc, a recent spin off of Omega Industries.”
+10 months, ZURICH, SWITZERLAND
Tony Azaria sat at a table in a cafe on the Bahnhofstrasse in Zurich. Ulrich Giger sat across the table and pushed a small saucer filled with several macaroons across toward Tony. He said, “You really must try the Luxembourgerli. They are famous, and they complement a good cup of coffee quite well.” His eyes wrinkled a little like he was about to smile. Both men were wearing conservative business suits, Tony in his usual gray and Ulrich in his usual black.
Tony picked up one of the macaroons, and took a small bite from the edge and chewed it. He nodded his approval, and then chased the coconut delight down with a sip from his cup of coffee. When he had swallowed the coffee, he said, “That is one of the best macaroons I’ve ever tasted. So light and airy, and also the coffee is quite excellent too.” He smiled at Ulrich.
Ulrich replied, “Yes, the quality of the baristas here in Zurich has been improving steadily for several years now. They’ll probably stack up against most other truly civilized cities that serve good coffee products.” He smiled a little, and leaned back in his chair letting the mood linger for a moment. Then he said, “Allow me to change the subject. In our meeting down the street, I kept having the feeling that there were things you were not saying. Care to fill in the blanks for me?”
Tony looked out of the glass window next to the table. It was beginning to snow gently on the wide avenue but hadn’t yet really covered anything, just starting to build a thin white blanket punctuated by the tram tracks in the middle. He turned back toward Ulrich, “Everything we said about the Moo
nbase was accurate. The plan is moving forward on schedule. The automation designs that we thought were so important have worked out better than we hoped. In fact, the whole operation practically runs itself without human intervention. It’s the mining process that I was thinking about. Our prospecting scouts find collection targets well and the drilling and scooping operations are also going well.” He paused to collect his thoughts.
Ulrich said, “What is not going well?”
Tony shook his head, “It’s not that something is not going well. I’m wondering how these same processes are going to translate into the zero gravity environment when we start mining asteroids. Right now, we’re getting all the materials we need from the Moon to build the first habitat rings in space. But as they are finished and pushed off into new orbital paths, they’ll need to capture some rocks and begin mining them to continue building and expanding.”
Ulrich queried, “So where is the problem?”
Tony replied, “We don’t really know much yet about how to do the drilling and some other tasks that normally rely upon gravity to anchor the equipment. In other words, when we drill into rock here on Earth, we use the weight of the drill to push it into the rock as the bit spins. It’s the combination of the bit turning, and the weight of the drill pressing the bit against the rock that makes it work. Take that same operation out into space, and it will be difficult to push the drill against the rock with no gravity and nothing against your back that is anchored. Push against something, and you’ll simply move away from it. We are going to have to figure out how to anchor our equipment to the piece of rock it’s working on.”
+11 months, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
Gitane Levesque unraveled the knot in his tie, took it off his neck, and laid it carefully across the back of a chair. He said, “Do you trust HU?” as he sat on the edge of the bed and began taking off his shoes.
Lee Martin stood at the end of the bed looking over at Gitane and replied, “Of course. I would not represent them if I didn’t.” She skinned her blouse up over her head, and tossed it toward a small lamp table, but it landed on the floor nearby.
Gitane arranged both shoes lined up together and set them just under the edge of the bed. He said, “Okay, that was not a good question. I know you trust them. But have you heard other people say they don’t trust them, or have you have doubted your own trust?”
Lee unzipped the side of her skirt, and dropped it to the floor. She kicked it away in the general direction of her blouse. She said, “No, I have not doubted my own trust. Yes, I have heard other people say they don’t trust HU, but I’ve also heard people say they think the Earth is flat, and the Moon landings were faked, and I think those people are nuts.”
Gitane began unbuttoning his shirt slowly, “Yes, they are nuts. I agree. But I’ve heard some people complain that HU is taking over the world, and this makes them nervous.” He reached the last button, and began pulling his arms out of the sleeves.
Lee grabbed the front of her bra, and pulled it up away from her breasts, and over her head without unlatching it, and tossed it toward her other clothes. She said, “There will always be nervous Nellies. You don’t strike me as that type, Gitane.” She smiled at Gitane, and cupped her breasts with both hands as though offering them as a present.
Gitane stared at her breasts for a moment, almost as though he didn’t see them, then he smiled at Lee, “No, I’m not that type. You know that. But they are taking over everything, and that should create some sense of caution, don’t you think? I mean, it’s easy to support a conspiracy theory when people actually are trying to take over the entire world.” He folded his shirt carefully, and laid it across the foot of the bed.
Lee replied, “Which requires more caution; the comet train that is coming to destroy us, or the organization that is taking over the entire world in order to save us?” She began rolling down her pantyhose and panties together starting at the waistline, and moving slowly downward, wiggling her hips, and deliberately teasing Gitane, and smiling at him the whole time.
He smiled at Lee but said, “I’m serious. There is talk of people rising up in resistance against HU.” He took off both socks, and laid them carefully over his shoes.
Lee walked over to Gitane, “How can I fuck you if don’t take off your pants?” She grabbed the cuffs of his trousers, and pulled them completely off his legs, then threw them over her shoulder, and moved in between his legs and grabbed his underpants.
+12 months, JAIPUR, INDIA
Nabith Mehra composed an email:
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I am the oldest of seven children, and I am almost fourteen years old. I have mastered most elementary and intermediate math, and am currently learning more advanced math. Specifically, I am now focused on the post calculus topics of differential equations and linear algebra. It was easy to find online resources to teach myself the simple beginning math, and even the intermediate topics like geometry and algebra. But it’s becoming more difficult to find learning resources for the advanced levels, specially ones that are clearly written and easy to understand. Many of the more advanced teachers seem to have strong abilities in math, but not so much in teaching.
As the eldest male in our family (my Father is dead), I am responsible for establishing a pathway to righteousness, or Dharma, for my family. It should be obvious that this includes education, and today with the focus of HU on education, this becomes even more important. It is my job to ensure that all my family can become prepared for the migration into space as rapidly as possible, and if possible, lay the groundwork for future careers that will enable my family members to become productive members of our new society in space.
My Mother, Aunt, and Grandmother are all literate in both Hindi and English, and have varying degrees of understanding of Punjabi and Urdu, and a small amount of Sanskrit and Bengali. My Mother has the equivalent of a graduate degree in her experience, but no formal degree. My Aunt and Grandmother have only grade school education, but they learn well, and are more determined and focused than younger people. My younger siblings cover a wide range of grade school levels, and also a range of interests and learning ability.
I have already created a simple pathway guide for teaching math to my younger siblings. This involves:
counting
addition and subtraction with single digit numbers
place values for multi-digit numbers (tens and hundreds)
addition and subtraction with larger numbers
simple geometric shapes
multiplication and division
fractions
decimals
negative numbers
measurement
geometry: angles, volumes, coordinates
simple algebra
equations
graphing
functions
analytic geometry
trigonometry
I am confident that using my existing textbook collection and current available online resources, I can guide them through this process successfully. But, I am not so confident that I can produce the same results with other subject areas, and I can use some help with this.
It is my hope that you will consider using my family as a test bed for developing your education program. It is my intention to accomplish the same task on my own, whether or not you decide to involve us. My family needs more education, specially the younger children, and I am confident I can provide this for them using online resources and my own knowledge and abilities. I can provide feedback on our progress, and helpful criticism when I feel your curriculum is falling short in any area. Please respond and let me know if we can help each other in this manner.
Respectfully, Nabith Mehra>>
7 Stairway to Heaven
“We climbed up. until I finally saw through a round opening the beauteous things which Heaven holds. And there we came out to see, once more, the stars.”
— Dante Alighieri
+1 year 1 months, GENEVA, SWITZERL
AND
Gitane Levesque spoke into the camera, “Once again, we have the lovely Lee Martin here, and this time she is going to tell us all about space elevators. Lee, it’s all yours.”
Lee Martin smiled at the camera, “A space elevator is like the magical beanstalk that Jack planted, and used to climb up into the sky. But there’s no magic involved. Instead, it’s just good science that makes the elevator work.” She brushed some blonde hair back, and smiled.
She said, “Many of us have tied an object to a piece of string, and swung it around in a circle. The weight of the object pulls the string tight, and if we let go, it will fly off away from us. A satellite in orbit around the Earth is doing the same thing, but the string has been replaced by the pull of gravity. Without the pull of gravity holding it in place, the satellite would fly off away from Earth. Now, here’s the secret.” She leaned forward as though she was about to whisper.