2022 by Ken Kroes Page A

benevolent
dictators who could be ousted if the majority of the other elders
felt the need. “I’ve selected Mario to be leader of your group.
He’ll also have no special privileges, and will do everything you
do but with the added responsibility of leading the village.”
    He handed each a sheet of paper. “This is an
abbreviated list of your additional responsibilities. I’ve
completed a more detailed document on this subject with specific
suggestions on several items. This document along with several
others related to the other villages, radio operation, and other
information will be in the village manual that is currently being
published and should be arriving within the next week or so. I’ll
give you a minute to read this summary, and then we can discuss
it.”
    Primary Elders’ Responsibilities
    1. Ensure a fair schedule is setup for the
performance of day-to-day activities to support your clan and
village.
    2. Monitor the shortwave radio on a regular basis to
get news from the outside world that may impact Percipience.
    3. At a preset time each week, you will be contacted
by the Pleasant Belief Foundation Research Division by radio to see
if there are any critical problems and to get a report for research
purposes.
    4. There will be no communication outside the
village other than to the research division or other villages we
have set up. A simple, two-way portable radio has been developed
for communication within or near the village. To avoid detection
from others outside, the radio design is not to be modified.
    5. With the help of the Genetic Data Processor
(GDP), determine the goals and manage the genetic pairing program.
Paranormal abilities will be a priority.
    6. All religions will be allowed with the exception
of those that do not respect the faith and beliefs of others.
    7. Make reasonable adjustments to accommodate
religious restrictions, such as not working on a specific day or
not eating a specific type of food.
    8. Virtuesh is to be used only if the village is
threatened by an outside group.
    9. All new elders and the leader will pick their own
successor immediately. That person cannot be a direct
descendent.
    10. New elders will be introduced to these rules and
to other details through the Elders’ Forum Library. No one else
from the village will have access to this library.
    He waited for everyone to read through the
information before continuing. “I’m sure you have questions, and
I’ll get to all of them, but let me address one of the more
controversial points—the genetic pairing program, population
control, and the GDP. First of all, residents, including all of
you, have been well-informed and have agreed to population limits
and to the selective pairing program for your children. The new
information I’m about to give you, and the reasons behind it, is
how this will be achieved.”
    He explained there being a few reasons behind
selective genetic pairing, the first is an attempt to increase
cognitive mental abilities or paranormal powers. The second would
allow for dominant traits within the species. He told them that
without this, and having only random breeding like today, human DNA
would degrade over time as negative mutations are allowed to
propagate without constraint.
    “As to what kind of dominate traits to pick,
I leave that to you. Strength, agility, or artistic ability, I
really don’t care. You’re responsible for choosing the people from
your village possessing the strongest preferred traits. I would
suggest some kind of village-wide games or competition as a test,
but that’s your decision.”
    He then pointed to the odd looking machine in
one corner of the room. “It’s called a GDP, and it’ll calculate the
specific egg, sperm, mother, and date after you’ve entered your
data. It’s made of very simple electronics, and there are enough
spare parts in the warehouse to last at least a thousand years. The
data you’ll enter will comprise the target goal for the