Fear and Aggression (3 page)

Science was in two camps, both of which
operated under the assumption that life on earth is a chance event
that underwent a long, arduous, yet successful evolutionary
process. But, the uniqueness of this event is where the opinions
differed greatly, and the camps separated. One, affirming that the
odds associated with such an event are so minuscule that even if
many other planets were provided with similar circumstances, they
would not likely bring forth life. The other camp looked at it from
a separate angle: with a universe so expansive and having existed
for so many eons of time, the odds that only one little planet ever
sprouted life seemed unfathomable. Perhaps, if life didn't exist
here, it would be feasible that it existed nowhere. But the
possibility of life was unquestionable; could it have only happened
once?

While the media and general public
fascinated themselves with UFO’s and aliens, and the scientists and
philosophers pondered the meaning of life and the possibilities of
extraterrestrial life, the capitalists had other things on their
minds. Space travel no longer required vast amounts of energy
because time and distance were no longer significant hurdles, so
governments with enormous resources were no longer requisite for
space exploration. Missions no longer had to be justified to the
public in general. Only relatively small amounts of capital were
now required to reach out into the universe. Within this universe
there was undoubtedly a plethora of resources that were no longer
out of grasp, and that would be very valuable. So while there was
some public debate as to whether private companies or individuals
could travel around the universe and do as they liked without
government approval, it never became a real issue because it just
happened. It became so pervasive and so successful that there was
simply no stopping it.

Of course, while traveling around this vast
universe became possible, finding valuable resources was like
trying to find a needle in a hay-stack. But the initial investments
were very profitable; all that had to be brought back was a rock
from another solar system, or better yet, another galaxy, and it
would be worth a fortune. Gold, silver, and gems such as diamonds,
emeralds, and rubies were eventually discovered, brought back, and
sold for enormous amounts; a ‘space diamond’ or ‘space gold’ at
this time could be sold for one thousand times what the same
quantity and weight of ‘earth gold’ or ‘earth diamonds’ could be
sold for.

Those who undertook these ventures early on
profited greatly. It became like the 1849 gold rush. Seemingly
everyone wanted to strike it rich and became involved. In time
supply met demand, and then quickly exceeded demand. ‘Space gold’
was available everywhere and the prices fell dramatically. While
demand was floated to some degree by finding uses for common things
now made of gold, overall gold’s value dropped exceedingly. At
first ‘space gold’ and other raw materials were worth far more than
‘earth gold,’ but, soon these values reversed. Investors began to
stock pile ‘earth gold,’ and while its value was far less than
before the ‘space gold’ phenomenon, it still held some value. In
particular, relics that had been crafted prior to ‘the ball’
remained quite valuable.

This quick shift in the availability of
natural and precious resources won and lost fortunes for many
individuals. The economics of the world were on a roller coaster
ride during this time. Much worry, stress, and frustration resulted
from this. Still, while the shifts in the economy were quite
dramatic, overall things were going pretty well. Most people were
employed, and doing just fine, but job and career changes were at
an all-time high. Even though people had more stuff than ever
before, lack of stability, greed, stress, and anxiety caused a
general lack of happiness around the world. Often boundaries are
considered obstacles to happiness. Yet, when those boundaries are
dissolved, and people seek for happiness beyond those former
boundaries, they find less happiness than they had had before. So,
the universe was opened up to the world, but the people of the
world were less satisfied than they had been before—in relative
isolation.

With the table set to perfection and the
individuals of the family cleaned and nicely dressed, Roloff
Palador offered the blessing on the food. With his heart full of
gratitude, humility, and joy, he offered a short, yet eloquent
prayer; then the family began to divvy up their feast.

Aspiria took her portions first, as Caryell,
not quite patiently, waited. He, and then Roloff filled their
plates, and the family ate. Caryell wanted to thank his mother for
the feast, and express how good everything was, but was unable to,
as at the moment as he was not capable of stopping himself from
filling his mouth with bite after bite. Aspiria, who had had a more
relaxing and quiet day, was quite ready for dinner conversation,
but politely acquiesced for a few minutes, as she could see that
any attempt would, at this point, be fraught with failure.

Her patience lasted only a few minutes, and
then she asked Caryell, “Are you enjoying the dinner?”

Realizing his mild rudeness, and recognizing
that his mouth was still full, he looked up at his mother with his
bright beaming eyes. What a strange concept it is, that an
anatomical entity, such as a mouth, could be used for two such
differing functions: eating and speaking. Be that as it may, when
his mouth was clear he said, “Yes, Mother…it is wonderful, thank
you very much.” And with that, his eyes returned to his plate and
he began to work on his unfinished business.

Aspiria smiled slightly and glanced over at
Roloff, who, incidentally, had his mouth full at the moment, as
well. He, being more experienced and clever as to the subtleties of
unspoken communication, communications with the opposite sex in
general, and more particularly with his wife, deduced that it was
time for dinner conversation.

“
Taun Lake was teeming
with fish this morning. Several flocks were catching their fill. If
I'd gone to hunt, we would have brought a bounty of nice fowl like
this.” Aspiria, who had just taken a bite, nodded approvingly, and
then cast her gaze towards Caryell. “However, today was not a day
for fishing or hunting,” Roloff continued as he sat back a little,
put his right arm around his son, and squeezed his shoulder.
“Caryell has begun his journey into manhood this day,” and pausing
briefly, “so no more calling him your ‘lil’ papo.’” Aspiria gave a
short sarcastic grin, while Caryell, looking down at his plate
shook his head softly with a slight flush. Roloff smiled warmly and
then chuckled lightly for a moment.

Indeed, the day that a boy begins his
journey into manhood was a special time for the Paladors and their
people. The feast that they were now enjoying was capping off a
singular father and son experience. Traditionally, the father would
spend the day with the young man teaching him of the world,
elevating him physically, mentally, and spiritually into manhood,
and Roloff believed strongly in tradition. In large measure, the
father discussed the roles of man, and in particular, the
relationships of men and women. Reproduction was described in
detail; not simply the technicalities, but also as part of the
pleasures and responsibilities of marriage. The emphasis was to be
on the spiritual nature of love, family, and posterity,
intermingled with work, responsibility, and patience. Roloff made a
special point of explaining how women, especially one’s wife,
should be treated with the upmost respect and admiration. Beyond
this, much was spoken of civic duties, education, and the dangers
and pitfalls of the world to avoid. Some was spoken of church and
religion; much was shared about God, the purpose of and eternal
nature of life—that birth and death, while important events, were
neither the beginning nor ending of the soul and the family. All of
this was brought full circle in describing the family as the basic
unit of society, and as an essential element of the purpose and
plan of life.

For Roloff and Caryell this was all
accomplished with the backdrop of the beautiful woods and lakes
surrounding their home. They talked as they walked, as they rested
by the lake and skipped rocks, while they prepared and cooked
meals, and as they explored in the woods. It was certainly not a
lecture, and Roloff didn’t need to organize his presentation. It
was all an intimate part of his being, and thus flowed naturally
and conversationally. And conversation it was. All that was shared
this day was not new to Caryell; the details of reproduction were
very enlightening to the young man, but much of what was brought up
had been talked about before in some sense or another. So Caryell
shared his thoughts, asked many questions, and expressed his
opinions in this detailed conversation. Still, never had so much,
and in such great detail, been laid on this young man’s mind at one
time. His silence at the dinner table was more than just the
feeding of a famished body; his mind was overfilled, and
subconsciously he was trying to put the pieces together.

“
We are so very pleased
with the young man you have become, Caryell,” Aspiria said smiling.
“It is a special day for you, and a special time in your life. In
only a short while you will begin your higher education. Do you
think that you are ready?”

“
Thank you, Mother, I hope
so. I do feel grown up. Father said that no one is ever ready, but
that you do your best and it all works out.”

“
Your father knows what he
is talking about. It is a credit to you that you listen to his
counsel,” said Aspiria, wanting to add a little counsel of her own.
But her thoughts, and the conversation in general, were cut short
with a brisk knock at the door.

It is somewhat strange how the U.S.
Government took the lead in utilizing the fourth dimension in space
travel with ‘the ball’ experiment, but that for many years
thereafter the private sector alone traveled significantly through
space, while NASA remained, apparently, silent. In reality, NASA’s
plan was to come up with a plan after the experiment; successful or
unsuccessful. If the top minds could have been inquired into at the
time, they would have expressed that the next stage would be to
perfect or fix the problems from the first experiment. But the
experiment went off without a hitch. Any and all directions that
NASA would have gone in next were undertaken quickly by private
industry. Elected officials were more concerned with the economy
than with NASA. Scientists were occupied as part of many of the
space endeavors that were already being conducted. It simply was
not a priority, nor was it clear exactly what the federal
government’s role should be in this new space age.

The environmentalists were putting a lot of
pressure on the government to regulate what was being done to the
‘precious’ raw materials of the universe. It was a little difficult
to get public sympathy for a now infinite supply of raw materials
to be classified as precious. They also suggested that the
explorers were destroying pristine places, and wreaking havoc on
the beauty of the universe. A hard line of reasoning to follow,
since beauty is a hard thing to gauge without being able to witness
something in the first place. With this extensive space travel,
people were able to behold many things of beauty in the universe.
For those who were not able to go into space, the pictures that
were brought back could be seen. The beauty was more apparent than
ever before. As far as the taking of natural resources goes,
literally the surface had not been scratched. From an earthly
perspective, it seemed as though much was coming and going; truly,
most of the universe had hardly been seen or touched. The earth was
just a tiny grain of sand and the universe was a beach; after
millennia of mining, the universe still had secrets to be
discovered.

Still, the environmentalists had another
concern: with all of this raw material being transported to earth,
won’t the mass of the earth increase? This will change the
gravitational relationships between the earth, sun, and moon.
Disaster would be imminent. The reality was that just as much was
going out, as was coming in. With all of the space crafts, and
later space stations, that were being put in place, the earth would
have lost a little mass if it hadn’t been replenished by the
various cargo loads. Nonetheless, it is doubtful that there was
ever enough coming or going to have made a difference. It wasn’t as
though these companies were just bringing cargos of space dirt and
dumping it en masse. In fact, for those that were truly concerned
about the environment, the earth had never been in better
condition. Minimal mining was occurring throughout the earth, the
use of non-replenishable energy sources was not increased at all by
the space traveling, as it didn’t take much energy at all, and as
the ability to use replenishable energy was increasing. But the
true colors of the ‘environmentalists’ were quickly becoming
evident. They were anti-capitalism, anti-progress, anti-technology,
and especially anti-freedom. So, as their arguments that the
earth’s environment was being damaged were fleeting, their liberal
socialistic agenda became more evident. As liberal policy, at its
essence, requires the equal divvying up of a closed limited system;
and as the world seemed closed or limited to almost no one, their
ideas garnered support from very few people.

However, because the environmentalist lobby
had been so strong in Washington for so long, they were largely
responsible for convincing the Federal government that some sort of
a presence would be needed in the last frontier. Part of the
problem was deciding whether this presence should be U.S. alone, or
‘international.’ Those pushing for an international presence
desired a policing regime funded primarily by the United States,
but led equally by all nations involved, and whose purpose was
primarily to limit the ability of U.S. corporations to profit from
outer space ventures. This idea was quickly nixed. For those who
preferred a national presence there was much debate as to whether
NASA should simply expand and change into a stronger auxiliary, or
if NASA should be dissolved and a new organization with a little
more bite should be formed. Although the Federal government had
never been afraid of redundancy, it never considered keeping NASA,
and also creating a new agency.