Last leg

Joy and Adam stopped stroking Grace's trunk and running their fingers through her foliage and returned to the car and the main road. There followed a few minutes of silence as they replayed Doc Cameron's story through their minds.

"Adam, what do you think caused the slave masters to become so dispassionate?"

"Good question. I started wondering years ago about why they were playing this world domination game of theirs and what type of nefarious cabal would enslave people and despoil the planet in the process. I found a number of sources that indicate the existence of an 'invisible government' that began to develop their mind control capabilities around the same time the Industrial Revolution got underway.

During the mid-1800s, there was an explosion of enlightened thinking, much of it brought about by the understanding of the power of the mind. Mary Baker Eddy wrote 'Science and Health' to establish Christian Science. She had been deathly ill and was cured by Dr. Parkhurst Quimby in a few days by the power of her mind. Thousands of churches were eventually opened to exercise what could be called faith healing. The establishment set about squelching these thoughts and did everything they could to discredit this capability. The current status of Christian Science is 'Endangered Species.'

Some of the scientific discoveries following the mid-1800s were astounding. The birth of computerization by Boole, Babbage and Lovelace, Fulton's steam powered engine, the Tesla coil and many, many other discoveries. One indication of a shady operation was the suppression of Tesla's findings to provide endless free energy to the population. Edison preferred to make money from most of Tesla's ideas and took credit for many of them. When Einstein was asked to compare himself to Tesla, he acknowledged that he stood in his shadow and gave Tesla proper credit.

When Thomas Jefferson and his entourage created the Constitution, they made it clear that citizens should be informed of governing bodies and their decisions. The purpose of establishing the Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches of government was to prevent any one element from gaining too much power over another. What has actually developed in the last sixty years or so is the transformation of the former Republican Party to Fascist rule. Fascism is defined as any movement, ideology, or attitude that favors dictatorial government, centralized control of private enterprise, repression of all opposition, and extreme nationalism. That is the definition of today's Republican Party. Vice President Henry Wallace said it best. He was quoted as saying: 'American Fascists claim to be super-patriots, but they would destroy every liberty guaranteed by the Constitution. They demand free enterprise, but are the spokesmen for monopoly and vested interest. Their final objective toward which all their deceit is directed is to capture all political power, so that, using the power of the state and the power of the market simultaneously, they may keep the common man in eternal subjection' and 'They are patriotic in time of war because it is to their interest to be so, but in time of peace they follow power and the dollar wherever they may lead.'

"Can this be reversed?"

"Only when enough people wake up to the truth and seek to become Utopians. The movement is underway, but it has become a race between insanity and peace of mind. It must eventually happen or Mother Earth will rid herself of humanity. She is sending strong signals in her efforts to wake us all."

"Are you referring to global warming?"

"Of course. Regardless of all the denying by the greedy Fascists, it simply does not make sense to despoil Mother Earth when any number of safe and sustainable alternatives are available. If they could tax sunbeams, all the energy we use would stem from solar power."

"Wouldn't it be to their benefit, as well as the general population, to start healing the damage we've done to the planet?"

"Of course. Their problem is they would have to expose themselves as the cause of the havoc in the process. When people learn of their greed and irresponsibility, they would unify to take away their power. Uninformed citizens are the sole source of that power. The Permanently Obedient Wage Slaves (POWS) could no longer be obedient once they learn the truth. It is in the Fascists' best interest to keep people confused, befuddled and scared."

"Adam! Look up ahead. There's a huge field covered with cars and other vehicles. We must be coming close to the reservation."

"You're right. There's a sign up ahead with what looks like an entry gate. Let's see what it says."

Joy and Adam pull up to the sign and vacate the car. It informs them to leave any gasoline-powered vehicle in the adjoining field, place the keys on the driver seat and proceed to the greeting station a few hundred yards from the sign. Although Joy has some reluctance to leave her keys, she moves the car to the field, rejoins Adam, and they start walking to the greeting station.

It's a beautiful sunny afternoon and the peaceful stillness during their stroll is palpable. As they round a small rise, they see what appears to be a double-wide trailer with a large sign on its side:

"Welcome to Utopia, where the power of love has overcome the love of power."

After a few more steps, the silence is broken by the sound of a helicopter heading their way. It stations itself above the trailer and hovers.

"Joy, that's a military helicopter. I think it's an Apache attack helicopter. It looks as though it is fully armed."

"Adam, I'm scared."

"Let's go into the trailer. We can ask what is going on."

Joy and Adam step into the trailer and enter a rather barren space with a sofa and several chairs. A middle-aged man with Native American features is seated on the sofa next to an end table. The table has a lamp and a glowing cube on it. A poster on one wall contains the lyrics to John Lennon's "Imagine." The floor is bare, save for a hand-woven rug in front of the sofa. Light is coming from a large picture window opposite the entry door.

"Welcome folks. What brings you here?"

"Good afternoon. I'm Adam and this is Joy. She drove me here from Chicago. I wish to join the community."

"What about you, young lady?"

"I'm not sure yet. Adam certainly has me interested, but I don't know much about what is here."

"We can fix that. It would be rather late when you get back home if you leave now. The orientation tour is done in the morning and we have accommodations for visitors and guests. Will you spend the night?"

Short pause. (I can still be at work on Monday morning) - "Done!"

"All right, then. Joy, Adam, step closer to the end table and speak in a clear voice, stating only your name, one at a time."

Joy and Adam step closer and speak their name. After each speaks, a disembodied voice comes from the glowing cube and repeats their names, adding: 'Welcome to Utopia,' you have been registered."

"From now on, you both have access to the community knowledge base by simply speaking. Residents are issued a wrist communicator to access our system from anywhere on the community grounds. Voice recognition identifies who and where you are. If you have any questions or are in need of help, all you have to do is speak. You will get more details during orientation. Let me show you where you will spend the night."

The threesome exit the greeting room and begin walking towards a row of stately oak trees a couple of hundred yards behind the trailer.

"What is your name, sir?" Joy asks.

"I am Running Bear, great-great-great grandson of Chief Seattle."

"Running Bear, Joy and I were curious about that Apache helicopter we saw when we arrived. What is that all about?"

"They send it about once a month for observation reasons. Normally, they just send drones to take pictures of our development. They hate not having a surveillance system on the premises."

"Who are THEY?"

"That's something else we'll save for tomorrow."

After they pass through the trees, a vista of a large, flat plain opens with structures of the community in the near distance. Just up ahead is a row of prefab structures resembling an old-style motel on Route 66. Further off into the distance, a dozen or more wind turbines spin slowly in the gentle evening breeze.

"If you had come earlier in the day, Mom would have found room for you with the residents, but you will find these units to be supplied with all your toiletry needs and fresh underwear. Unit 1 is a big closet with clothing you may want to change into. It has a connecting door to Unit 2 which has showers and relief stations with a privacy divider. Sleeping arrangements are available in the next ten units. You will also find your wrist communicators on the night stand by your bed."

"Who's Mom?"

"That's what we call our computer system. It watches over our-well-being just like a mother would, so we call her Mom. While you're getting comfortable, I'll have Mom send you a nice vegetarian dinner. When you get up in the morning, ask Mom for directions to the community kitchen. Again, welcome and sleep tight."

"Thank you Running Bear." In unison.

After Joy and Adam refresh themselves and are preparing for bed, Mom's voice comes from the communicators: "Dinner is here." They open the door for a young man carrying a tray with two plates of food, along with two glasses of water. He wordlessly hands the tray to Adam and walks back towards the community. Joy and Adam look at each other quizzically and proceed to silently consume turns out to be a remarkably delicious vegetarian meal.

"I can hardly wait for morning." Says Adam. "I hope I get some sleep."

"Me too."