There was once a great Prince who lived in a goodly land, born of goodly parents, given the task of rearing this Prince and preparing him to rule as they ruled. Now this was a great task, for the Kingdom was great and the King very powerful in his influence. The King knew the difficulty but was also hopeful of the outcome and he set about his work.
The Princes name was Erlos, his fathers name was Ehemal, his mothers name was Kame and he had a younger brother named Vormitt. There were other brothers and sisters but that is another story. Now according to the law of the land Erlos had been designated to rule the kingdom in due time, being the first born of His Father Ehemal. This was a pattern set forth for the entire Kingdom to a greater or lesser degree among the people that lived there. This rule could only be changed if the first born died or was considered unworthy.
Erlos and Vormitt had had a wonderful childhood together. Being close in age they had done everything together, receiving instruction and training early on, requisite of their high stations. The division only became evident later as they began to mature. Vormitt had dazzling looks, was a natural athlete and had a very quick mind. He also had his mothers great compassion being greatly disturbed in the face of injustice or tragedy which occurred from time to time. In deed it could be said that among the people Vormitt was most popular of the two brothers with his personality and outward acts of concern drawing people to him. The questions first came from without, from lesser but older souls, to Vormitt. It is unfair that the Kingdom will not be yours. The law is an old one and you have so much to offer. Eventually Vormitt began to think the thoughts himself, even though he loved his parents and especially his brother.
Erlos was a different sort from his brother. He was in the image of his father, not beautiful like his brother and not as comfortable with the crowds. He was no less intelligent perhaps even more but did not enjoy the great debates so frequented by his brother among the people. He was strong of body but became uneasy when play turned to competition. He had a great love for everyone but was content to serve quietly and most times without revealing his high station to those he served. In deed to many he appeared too weak to rule and was misunderstood. He did not present great new plans, which appeared outwardly to solve great injustices as did his brother.
Now the reader, being oriented to him or her self, might begin to have images of the mind relating to this place, these people, the brothers, their language, their architecture and their commerce. In truth, if there is time, they lived in a different time, in a different place, and with a different language. We shall call this world Bolok. In a three dimensional sense and according to our understanding, it would be a globe one thousand times greater in circumference than our own. It has several suns and numerous moons. If we could visit we would see the differences but in doing so perhaps we would also be haunted by a faint memory of recognition. The people and places we would see would make sense. The size, geometry, smell, the look, indeed we could say the people of Bolok were in our image or we in theirs. Bolok was a one world society, with a common language, though other sub-languages existed and with a common government, though different races of people were there. Its origins were not well understood even though their libraries were full of historic references and commentaries. The King ruled with absolute power but in fact the society functioned against a precise and lengthy set of laws that required participation at every level with administrators of 10 people, of 50, of 100, of 1,000 and of 10,000, with judges of the law following a similar pattern. The King spent most of his time on the weightier matters of the Kingdom and judged only those who broke the pattern of order and incited revolution on a larger scale.
There were found everywhere plants, animals, insects and microscopic life. In fact to our eyes it would appear to be in perfect harmony. The general topography would be considered flat but in fact was a low level rolling landscape that guided the rain that fell about every third day with good regularity, gently into the streams, rivers and ocean which occupies about 2/3rds of the planets surface. Most building occurred underground with above ground structures taking on the appearance of low hills. From space the planet would appear full of life but not inhabited by humans who would be thought to scar the surface with buildings, roadways and parking lots. The above ground structures were primarily public places of government, education, recreation and commerce. Common to these above ground structures was a central plaza, approximately circular in geometry, covered by a transparent roof that allows the light to enter but which keeps the relatively moist exterior environment at bay. The work areas that range from one story to twenty stories, face inward to take advantage of the natural light. Fewer windows face outward and no doors or entry ways come in at grade level. The majority of movement of people occurs underground using simple walk ways or for greater distances, high speed tubes. These tubes, by our reckoning, would typically be 14 feet in diameter, would be made of different materials depending on where they were and where they went and are either configured like a spiral for local traffic or very straight for long distances. The spirals are generally found at a level below the long distance tubes which are located nearest to the surface. A transportation vehicle similar in concept to a subway train is used in the tubes but without any surfaces being contacted. The outside was not a prohibited area but by law it was left more or less natural. To go out required training or at least supervision by someone who was trained. The environment was not necessarily hostile but it could be if a person did not understand the plants and animals that lived there. It was allowed to be harvested, both plants and animals, under certain guidelines but substantial interference was not allowed except to rectify certain conditions detrimental to the wild life. Formal agricultural activities were conducted inside of an enclosure with a transparent roof similar to the pattern of other public buildings and carefully separated from the outside.
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