Brave New World

Chapter 4

 

      The intense red-violet sun rose slowly on the horizon and the inhabitance of Guinan Village woke slowly and began their routines peacefully and happily.  Fredrick and then Alexander were brought out of sleep by a knock on their doors. 

      Demaris called out to them, “Ready?”

      Hoping the loose robes were appropriate to wear during the day.  “Breakfast?” Fredrick asked sleepily.

     “Emma wants you to break fast with her in the dinning room downstairs,” Demaris replied.

     “Who is Emma?” asked Alexander.

     “Counselor of Common Rules.”

     “Queen?” Fredrick wondered out loud.

      “No, we rule ourselves basically.  She simply makes sure things are kept in order and takes care of the village like our collective mother.  She rarely has to do anything except in the case of intruders such as yourselves.”

       Demaris led them down the dimly lit stairway, through the lobby and across to another hallway.  They came to a stop in the back of building on the first floor.  It looked to Fredrick and Alexander like a cafeteria, except that all the benches were cushioned and the benches were all along one really long table.  It might have been several tables together, but it looked like a single one.  Another difference was that candles lit the room instead of harsh florescent lighting.  The blue-white paint had long since faded and chipped.  At the head of the table sat a majestic woman of about forty.  She had long black hair and violet colored eyes.  The men were amazed at how beautiful and intimidating she could be at the same time. 

       Women back in their time didn’t seem to be taken seriously when they dressed sexy.  Any academic woman or woman of power tended to dress more like a man.  Somehow the loose unisex clothing allowed women to wield more power in the 1950s, but here the women wielded power in all their sexual attractiveness.  It was a bit disconcerting to say the least. 

        Demaris nodded and said, “Emma, this is Fredrick and Alexander.”

       “Sit,” Emma commanded them.

        Obediently, Fredrick and Alexander sat to the left her.  A plump blonde woman with the most welcoming smile severed them all plates of fresh, colorful fruits.  More plates were brought out with eggs and toast and then glasses of milk were provided for everyone. 

        “Thanks,” both men said as they received their food.

        “Yes, now tell me where you came from?” she asked setting her elbows on the table and putting her hands together.

        “Los Angeles, California,” Alexander said happily.

        Fredrick was skeptical and cautious where it came to this woman Emma.  Did she plan to pump them for information and keep control of them or what?  “Where are we now?” he asked.

        “We are in what used to be California, on the East side of the Sierra Mountains.”

        “Used to be?” he pressed.

        Emma nodded.  “Tell me what is your Los Angeles like?”

        Alexander replied, “It isn’t anything like here.  It had lots of skyscrapers�"tall metal buildings.  There are cars and paved streets that are filled with both men and women.”

        Fredrick watched Emma as he ate.  She didn’t seem at all ill at east with them and he didn’t like that at all.  He was used to women deferring to him and being intimidated by him.  She glanced at the nervous Fredrick and said, “You must be from the past then.”

        Both were surprised at her quick and accurate conclusion.  Fredrick asked, “What year is this then?”

        “2423 AD. What year are you from?”

        “1958,” they said simultaneously.

        “How did you get here?” she asked resting her chin on her hands.

        “First,” Fredrick said, “Tell us if you are willing to help us find our way back.”

        Alexander shot his fellow traveler a look.  He was acting far too suspicious in his opinion.  In fact, Fredrick acted as if they were all in great mortal danger, when Alexander felt completely safe and comfortable there.

        Emma replied, “If we can. We might not have the technology to.”

       Alexander took a drink of milk and said, “You seem to have technology at your fingertips, but aren’t using it to its full potential.”

       “We use it only when it is necessary.  The resources are limited and we use what we have to protect ourselves.”

        Fredrick made a face.  “It seems as if we missed 487 years.  It would be nice to know how and why the world has changed.  I would really like to know how we got from the height of civilization to…this.”

        “Explain how you got here and we will make sure you are briefed on our history.”

         Fredrick was frustrated. Alexander turned to him for answers, as he had no clue had the technology had worked to send them there. He had simply connected a few dots in Fredrick’s formula and then pushed a couple of levers and viola! They were in the future.

         “I was conducting a time travel experiment,” Fredrick explained agitated, “using an electromagnetic field and some lasers.  There might have also been a nuclear generator in play, but I am not sure how effective it was.”

         “It doesn’t sound like any time travel theory I am familiar with,” Emma admitted.

         “It was really a combination of ideas.  I wasn’t sure what would work, so I tried a bunch of different things at once.  Something obviously worked since we are here.”

         “What was your main source of inspiration?”

         “The idea that molecules could be broken down and reordered was my pet theory.  Alexander here was just supposed to send me forward 5 hours in time, but he got sucked into the doorway and now we are nearly 500 years ahead.  I wish I knew exactly what went wrong, but unless I can recreate the conditions, I may never know.”

         “We will see what we can do to help you,” Emma said.  She sat back in her chair and crossed her legs as she continued, “You might be shocked by all that has happened.  Because of pollution and war in the early twenty-first century the population of the earth was dramatically reduced.  All the fossil fuels were used up and the world as you knew it came to a halt.  Tragedy after tragedy kept befalling the human race.  Bio-warfare and experiments with genetics destroyed many women’s ability to conceive and carry to term.  Suddenly there were more deaths than births in the world and it was men who suffered the most.”

          “Why was that?” Fredrick asked.

          Emma shook her head, “Some genetically altered virus targeted men mostly and left women virtually untouched during the war of 2089.  In 2100 the population of the world was decimated to the population of what was once Los Angeles or New York alone.”

         “A group of women,” Emma continued, “gathered together in this very building in the year 2000 because they were able to foresee such a catastrophe.  Over a thirty year period they collected and recorded everything from history to technology in secret.  They hid those secrets in this very building.  They also gained access to supplies in a fertility clinic hoping to ensure the survival of the human race.  Right before the war this group hid deep within the earth underneath this building in a fallout shelter.  They lived in the depths of the earth until it was safe for their children and grandchildren to return to the surface.”

         “Didn’t men care or want to help?” Alexander asked.

         “Well, there were a few men who rallied to our cause, but most thought us foolish.  They didn’t believe we were in danger,” Emma replied.

         “So there was a nuclear war?” Fredrick wanted to know.

         “Nuclear weapons were used, but by then they were better able to control them.  They were able to destroy specific targets without such a huge mess.  Even without the nuclear weapons though, the human race was on the brink of extinction.  The earth became hotter and hotter every year due to pollution.  The greenhouse gases were trapped and the polar ice caps soon melted.  Many of the costal cities flooded and that killed more people than all the wars the past 500 years combined. “

        “So the planet got hotter? Why did the climate change?” Alexander wanted to know.

        “Because of all the carbon dioxide in the air�"put there by cars and factories.  We have no cars today because there is no fuel for them and they produce too much pollution anyway.”

         Alexander thought for a moment.  “But what about electric cars or solar powered cars?  I know a few scientists in the fifties that were working on such ideas.  Couldn’t you use an alternative source of fuel?”

         Emma shook her head sadly.  “There are experimental prototypes that were created before everything collapsed, but those technologies were never wide spread enough to keep going afterward. “

        Fredrick was still curious about the men.  “Where did the men go then? There were some who survived weren’t there?”

        Emma turned her attention from Alexander to Fredrick.  “Yes, they are still here in the village.  We have tried to genetically engineer more males, but they all tend to die before they reach adulthood.  We haven’t been able to have much success with old fashioned mating either, but we need to figure something out.”

         There was a long silence while the two men tried to absorb all that information that they’d just learned.  Fredrick wanted to know more, but wasn’t sure what to ask.  Emma finished her breakfast and then stood up.  “I have business to attend to, but I can arrange for someone to give you a tour of our village.”

         “That would be nice,” Fredrick replied.