2012-21-12 : We on Baker Island are really excited about the possibility for a truly simple life here, now that the UIM is complete and the rest of the world is uninhabited. Many of us have long dreamed of a world free of the technology that ruined our planet and our people, living the life of our ancestors.
We have discussed our future at length with our brothers and sisters on Howland Island, and it was decided that those desiring a freedom from technology should stay on Baker and those willing to venture back into what has been called the "modern world" would stay on Howland. I allowed Saufatu to talk me into taking this manual typewriter that he found, however, as I agree that keeping a journal is probably worthwhile. I've told all on Baker that they can use the typewriter at any time, if they decide to also keep journals.
The makeup of our two colonies is quite interesting, although not quite representative of the former "world at large." The two things that we all have in common are that we are all former Skybot Senior Graphic Assimilators and none of us are married or otherwise attached. One of the requirements that Skybot had for their SGAs was that they'd be single and under 40 years old. Since starting these two colonies, several of our people have "paired off", as is natural due to the continuous close contact and fact that there is little to do here other than socialize with one another.
Aside from the two similarities mentioned above, we are actually quite a diverse group. Only 6 of the group are from the South Pacific areas, with the remainder being from Europe, Asia, Africa, Middle East, North and South America, and Australia. We have representatives of just about every religion, but find ourselves slowly drifting toward a sort of composite religion with aspects of each of the represented religions.
Because we don't have any big plans for the future, other than to live and let live, I'm not sure how much I'll have to say here in my journal. I will attempt to write something every week or so, though, just to provide a record of how we got to wherever we get to.
One thing that has us rather concerned is the UIM. We feel that it represents a danger to us and would like to see it turned off as soon as possible. We noted several weeks ago that it had a sort of "magnetism" effect on those flying using the CATs and we fear that might get stronger as time goes by, possibly even affecting those on the ground at some point. Not knowing precisely what the UIM will do as time goes by and it possibly gets stronger, there seems little point to keeping it on. We know that it can be "severed" from the Earth by simply turning off the facilities at Tokelau, Tuvalu, Lagos, and Abidjan. The only adverse result (as far as we know) of that severing would be that our CATs would no longer function. Those of us on Baker have all but stopped using the CATs anyway, so that wouldn't be a problem for us. Weighing that against the possible dangers the UIM might present in the future, it seems like a logical step to turn off those facilites in the near future. Of course, the other adverse effect would be that whoever went to Lagos and Abidjan to turn off their facilities would probably not be able to return to our little islands here. We anticipate that some of the Howland crew, with their "thirst" for a return to technology and the "modern" world might welcome an opportunity to restart their life in Africa, which is not nearly as remote and techology-free as our South Pacific environment.
I guess I'll continue writing my dates as YYYY-DD-MM (as in 2012-21-12), since that seems to be the custom here now. More later ... Muresa.
Journal of Muresa
2013-01-13 : We had a visit from some of the Howland bunch today. Seems they flew over to Tokelau and brought back several solar-powered hovercraft. They offered to give us one, but we declined. We feel that we can get wherever we want to go in our outrigger canoes that we built just as our forefathers did. We're proud of our canoes and the other things that we've done without the benefit of modern conveniences. We might not be able to go as far or as fast as the Howlands in their hovercraft, but we can go as far and fast as we need to.
The Howlands are also putting together a list of things they plan to bring back to their island before we do the much-needed shutdown of the UIM. We let them know that we have nothing to add to their list and that we think they are really putting us all in jeopardy with their continuing travels outside of the sector. We've asked that they limit their trips for gathering their "necessities" and they've reluctantly agreed to try to keep it down to 2 or 3 trips. After a little negotiating, we've managed to convince them that one trip to Tokelau and one trip to the Marshall Islands should be sufficient. Between those two locations, they should be able to find what they think the need. If not, they'll just have to learn to survive without some of their supposed "necessities." We plan to keep a close watch on these technology retrieval jaunts and will be ready to put a stop to it if it gets out of hand.
It's looking like Baker will be the first to welcome a new soul into the Post-World. Two of our original inhabitants, Shin from Japan and Joanne from Area 51 in the United States, have been together since mid-2012 and recently announced that they are expecting a child. We're all really excited about that and look forward to watching our little community grow. We built a larger hut to use as a church every Sunday and are discussing the eventual need for a school. There was a little discussion about whether we might want to try to get some construction materials for buildings other than the simple huts, but then decided that we can get along fine with huts just as our ancestors did.
2013-01-14 : We had a meeting last night to further discuss our concerns about the Howlands and their pre-occupation with technology and rebuilding things as they were in the Pre-World. Not only are their travels likely to endanger us, but we're concerned that their ways might someday corrupt some of our people. There was even a mention that they may eventually try to force some of their beliefs on us, but that was dismissed as unlikely. At least for now, they appear to be happy doing what they're doing and don't have any problem with our group following a different path to the future.
There is also a concern that they don't seem to have moved toward any established religious activities. They don't have any semblance of a church on their island and don't have any sort of organized religious gathering on Sunday or any other day. They seem content to let each of their inhabitants worship or not, according to their own preference, and we fear that many of them are following no religion at all. Most of our people feel that if there's no religion, there's a definite danger that they may start engaging in activities that will ultimately hurt both their people and ours.
The immediate solution that we've come up with to address these potential problems is to try to keep to ourselves and not associate with the Howlands any more frequently than is necessary. We'll accomplish this to some extent by only allowing a few of our leaders to even visit Howland Island or have any communication with their people. For now, we've decided that I will be the only one that will be allowed to deal directly with them. As time goes on, we can appoint others as necessary. Likewise, we're going to try to "contain" any visits by any Howlands to our community. To accomplish this, we're going to clear an area near my hut to provide an "approved" landing site for those bothersome hovercraft. We can simply tell the Howlands that we're concerned about their craft disturbing our people or structures. In actuality, having them land by my hut will allow me to be their primary contact and I'll try to limit their other contacts in our group as tactfully as possible.
After the meeting, I lay awake for a long time in my hut, thinking about the events of the last two days. I was a little concerned at the meeting that almost everyone there got into the discussion about how to "handle" the Howlands and their "dangerous" ways, but not very many were ready to spend much time planning for our own future. It seems that many of us are more concerned about where the Howlands are going than where the Bakers are going ... and what we're going to do to get there. I've decided to try to spend more of my time thinking about our future and less about Howlands' future. Both of our groups have much to do and many opportunities to consider, without worrying about what others are doing. It's a great responsibility to be the only hope for the future of the world and I intend to do whatever I can to make it the best world possible.
So, what are the highest priorities in rebuilding the world the way I'd like it to be? I think we should give priority to family, health, stability, happiness, and security. I guess as we go along, maybe I'll try to push our discussions in those directions, and maybe try to add to my priorities list as we go along. Basically, the world right now is just exactly as I would like it to be and I wouldn't change a thing ... except maybe to get rid of the UIM and to convince the Howlands to reconsider some of the directions that they're taking.
2013-01-18 : I've been thinking about what my intents are for keeping this journal. I've decided to start looking at it as a "letter" to future generations, on the assumption that there will be some future generations. One of the couples in our group is already expecting a child and we hope to see many more as time goes on. With that in mind, maybe the tone of my writings will change somewhat. I hope to tell you about what is happening here now, so you'll know how things got to wherever they might be in your world. I hope to warn you of any dangers that we encounter, so that you might be able to avoid these as you travel through life. Lastly, I'd like to offer my advice as to where I/we would like to see the future go, in hopes that you might heed some of our suggestions.
I hope that to anyone sitting down to read this journal in a year or two, the UIM and what led up to it will be a dim memory. We feel that we can live here for many years as our ancestors did, without the corruption of material possessions and technological advances that got us to the state that the world was in prior to creation of the UIM. I hope that the state your world is in as you read this will continue to reflect our goals for simplicity and harmony.
2013-01-19 : I'm quite pleased with the way that those in our group are evolving toward a harmonious and natural division of labor. There are four in the group that appear to really enjoy getting out on the water in the outriggers that we helped them construct and they return each day with a great catch of bounty from the sea. For some reason, the UIM barely bothered the sea life within our sector, so they've been able to easily supply us with plenty of fish for our meals. One of them is a great diver and he's been highly successful at bringing up shellfish from Conch to Lobster to Mussels. The greatest challenge that our "fishing clan" have is to avoid bringing back more seafood than we can eat. We hope this trend continues, as it greatly simplifies keeping the families fed. About the only complaint in that regard is that they'd like to have more vegetables and fruit, as our little island doesn't have a real abundance in those areas.
In addition to the fishing clan, we have a cooking clan with enough participants that they can take turns preparing the food each day. Here again, we've been fortunate that there are those in our group that actually enjoy the challenge of trying to keep our meals healthy, tasty, and diverse. The biggest challenge seems to be the diversity, as there's only so much variety that can be introduced with the same seafood being provided every day. We're looking for ways to add more variety to our diet, but haven't come up with any really great ideas yet. We have a small farming clan, but they have few usable areas for planting, largely due to the limited availability of fresh water for irrigation.
2013-01-24 : Despite our warnings, the Howland Island crew took a large contingent of their people on a trip to the Marshall Islands to retrieve their "needed" technology and got into trouble with the UIM! Although we didn't know what might be expected, we had suspected all along that that travel would get us all in trouble. Now, it's possible that we're all in danger because of their insistence on making those retrieval trips. We sympathize with their loss of one of their group, but feel that no time can be lost in planning whatever is necessary to shut the UIM down once and for all ... assuming that can still be done.
Their plan is to send two of their group, using their CATS, back to the facilities at Lagos and Abidjan in Africa. At the same time, one person will go to Tuvalu and another to Tokelau, so that all four of these core facilities can be shut down at the same time. It's our assumption that doing so will sever all connections between the UIM and planet Earth, although we don't really know what to expect after we do that. We know that the CATs will no longer operate, but what will happen to the physical appearance of the UIM remains a mystery. Whatever the result, we all agree that implementing this plan as soon as possible is imperative.
Since Howland is sending two of theirs to Africa, we discussed volunteering two of our group to be responsible for Tuvalu and Tokelau. The main problem with that is that we have nobody that is really experienced in piloting the hoverwings, so getting back to Baker after the shutdown would be a problem. We finally decided that Saufatu would handle Tuvalu, since he was the lead Senior Graphic Assimilator at that facility and can handle a hoverwing alone. Since I was the lead SGA at Tokelau, I've volunteered to make that trip, with Lydia going along to pilot the craft. We hope to get this all arranged and put into action soon.
Since it's over 10,000 miles from Howland/Baker to Abidjan and Lagos, the trip will take several days, even using the CATs. Despite the fact that there's no danger of flying into anything, since all birds are gone in most sectors of the world, we still don't usually fly more than about 50 mph with the CATs. At that rate, the trip would require about 200 hours of flying, so would take nearly a month to complete. We've decided to outfit the flyers with goggles, helmets, and flight suits to allow them to comfortably travel at 100 mph or more, so the trip can be made in less than 10 days. Even at that rate, we'll have to figure out how to pack enough food for a 10-day trip and help plan suitable intermediate stops to make their trip as comfortable as possible. As far as how they survive after they get there, we're leaving that up to them. Since Howland is sending the two that were the lead SGAs at Lagos and Abidjan, those two are probably in the best position to plan their activities after returning "home." We've offered to do whatever we can to assist, but there is little we can do. We've got some ideas on shellfish that can be prepared in a manner that will allow them to remain edible for several days, so we're going to work on that over the next few days. Other than that, preparing me for the trip back to Tokelau is about all we can contribute.
2013-02-06 : Well, the UIM shutdown is in progress. Last week, a couple of the Howlands went back to the military base at Kwajalein, where they found four pilots' flight suits with helmets for the long trip to Africa. They also retrieved some large backpacks that we hope will carry enough food to sustain them for the 10-day trip.
Four of the Howlands left us last Tuesday, with their backpacks loaded with shellfish and vegetables. They all were dressed in pilots' flight suits and helmets. When they raised their hands to start the flight, some of us actually wondered if the CATs would carry the load. They rose easily, however, and were on their way.
It's now been 9 days since they left, so our plan is to fly to Tuvalu and Tokelau tomorrow. Saufatu will take one of the hoverwings to Tuvalu and Lydia will fly me to Tokelau. Once on station, we'll then be able to locate the African four using the MPS satellite views to see how successful they've been in their trip to Lagos and Abidjan. If all goes well, we should have the shutdown completed by mid-week.
2013-02-07 : I got up this morning with a great feeling of excitement and apprehension. I decided to write a short letter to you, our future generations, just in case something goes wrong and I'm not able to return. Today is Thursday, February 7, 2013 and we'll soon be creating a new world that is no longer under the potential control of the UIM.
Although we speak of "shutting down" the UIM, what we're actually about to do is "disconnect" from the UIM. It will still be there, but we'll no longer be associated with it. As it is now, the four core facilities at Tuvalu, Tokelau, Lagos, and Abidjan are still powered up and maintaining a passive connection with the UIM that is overhead. This connection was to be maintained until the planet had made 2-3 revolutions around its sun, which in our case equates to 2-3 years of Earth time. After that, the UIM would be free to separate from the Earth and become an energy field within the universe. At that point, life again begins to appear on the planet and the cycle begins again. The intent of the 2-3 year wait is to ensure that both the UIM and the planet that formed it are stable within the gravitational structure of their solar system, prior to calling the operation successful and complete. By manually disconnecting early, we're not sure if we'll upset the cycle to some point that it adversely affects the UIM. Since there obviously is already life on the planet (us), however, we're hoping that the life cycle continues to renew as it should. Whatever the results might be, we're convinced of the need to perform this disconnection immediately to avoid losing any more of our people to the pull of the UIM.
I should also say something about the four that are currently en route to Africa. Just as our colonies are our hope for the future repopulation of the Earth from our little Howland Island and Baker Island locations, so are they planning to recreate a new civilization in their locations in Africa. One couple, Antoine and Yoko, are going to Abidjan. He was formerly the primary SGA at Abidjan and she was at Kobe, Japan. They've been a couple for several months and decided to volunteer for the Africa mission, despite the fact that they'll be completely on their own and cut off from the rest of us. Likewise, Gunnar and Bisi, the couple going to Lagos, have been together for quite some time. He's from the Area 51 facility in America and she's from the core facility at Lagos. Since she had lived in the Lagos area for her whole life, they have high hopes of being able to make it without any outside assistance. We hope to be able to re-establish communications with them at some point in the future, but for now we'll be totally out of touch as soon as the UIM facilities are turned off.
Since it's 500 miles from Lagos to Abidjan, the two couples may not be able to easily get together, but they have a plan to meet in the town of Tema. If all goes well on the UIM disconnect, their plan is to immediately find some means of transportation and travel to Tema. Tema is a city on the Atlantic Ocean coast, east of the capital city of Accra, in the region of Greater Accra, in Ghana, West Africa. It's halfway between Lagos and Abidjan, approximately 250 miles (400 kilometers) from each. Both Antoine and Bisi are familiar with the area and they've agreed on a place to meet on the waterfront at Tema. Since Tema is the nearest city to the geographical position of 0 degrees latitude and 0 degrees longitude, that puts it directly opposite the area of Howland and Baker. What more appropriate location to form our "2nd civilization"?
Lydia just arrived in the hoverwing, so I'd better stop the writing and get ready to make the trip to Tokelau. I dislike having to depend upon the Howlands to "chauffeur" me over to Tokelau, but at least they sent someone whose company will be pleasant. I guess if I have to make a trip like this, it might as well be with a tall, attractive blonde lady.
I'll hopefully continue this record in a few days.
2013-02-15 : Well, this certainly has been an interesting week! Lydia and I finally got back late last night and spent a couple of hours telling our group all about the week's events. Lydia stayed over night since it was so late and she left this morning to return to Howland. She's only been gone an hour and I miss her already.
So, you're wondering, when did this attachment start? I guess it was after we'd been on Tokelau for a few days. On the first day or two, we spent our time checking out the facility, staying in touch with Saufatu over at Tuvalu, and trying to contact the four who were supposed to be in Africa on the 7th. On the third day, Saufatu agreed to stay online waiting for the African four, so I took Lydia for a little tour around my island. I showed her the places I'd played as a child, took her to my favorite spots on the beach, and even showed her my boyhood home. That evening, back at the Skybot facility, we put together a very good meal from food in the kitchen that hadn't yet spoiled. Since the building was still powered up using the auxiliary solar power units, there was still refrigeration, cooking facilities, and all that was needed to prepare a fine meal. As we sat eating and talking, I began to realize how close I felt to Lydia. As the evening progressed, I learned that she felt the same.
I'm really quite surprised about my feelings for Lydia, since she's so different from the women I've spent time with over the years. I've always been more attracted to the dark Polynesian beauties from my homeland and would never have thought a tall blonde who was so technology-oriented would have appealed to me. She has, however, and I don't think I've ever felt this way about any of the women in my life. Thanks to the travel problems of the African four, Lydia and I were able to spend nearly a full week together. I expect we'll be seeing a lot more of each other in the future.
But, maybe a few words about the purpose of our trip ... we got hold of Antoine and Yoko on the 11th, and Gunnar and Bisi contacted us on the 12th. On Valentine's Day, the 14th, we each handled the disconnect from the UIM at our individual facilities and by sunset, there was no more UIM!
As soon as we lost communications with the other three facilities, Lydia and I immediately went up to the 12th floor and raised our CATs to get up to 20. From there to 2012, up to the roof and there was the most beautiful blue sky we'd seen in a very long time! As we stood there marvelling at the blueness of the sky, it was soon sunset. The colors of the sunset were so vivid, we just stood there in amazement. It seems the UIM had actually been partially dimming our view of the sky, without us realizing it. As anxious as we'd been to get rid of the UIM, we really didn't know all of the reasons why we'd be better off without it.
We also learned that although the CATs still work inside the building, they didn't work outside. We guessed that must have been a result of disconnecting from the UIM. We spent about an hour admiring our "new world", then went back downstairs, found the main power switch and turned off the power, then left the building. Our hoverwing ride back took about 5 hours, where we found the entire group celebrating around a bonfire in the middle of our camp. By the time we'd finished telling everyone about the UIM shutdown experience, we were both extremely tired and went to sleep immediately.
Now, Lydia is back with the Howland group and it's time for us to get along with the planning of our future without the threat of the UIM.
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