The Spinning
by Stephen Mark
Golden
Copyright © August
22, 1987
Every
society has it's aberrant sector that lives on the
edge. Some societies deal with them
better than others. There are those
societies which lock up their aberrants. Others expel them. Occasionally, a few societies bring them to a
level of productivity by using the abilities they do have in a constructive way
. . . .
"The
spinning! This never ending cycle;
round, and round, and round! I can't
take it any more!
Let me go, please!!" Nought cried with tears in his eyes. "You just don't know what it's like
living on the edge! Please, I've got to
be released! I've got to get out of this
routine of life!"
"Calm
down. Collect yourself, Nought,"
the guard answered. "Your case has
been taken before the Central Council, and there is every reason to believe
they will release you soon. Gonna send you off to some 'city' thing,
and put you to work. They say
your kind likes it," Jovi said with an unusual sort of compassionate
contempt. Then all of
a sudden, he exploded, "Hey, the rest of us have our daily cycles
to follow, why is it you don't think you can deal with it? What makes you any different?"
"I
don't know," responded Nought, "how can you guys be so, so . . .
content . . . with life this way? It
baffles me! It's like someone constantly
driving a spike into my head!"
Jovi,
the guard, walked away shaking his head.
"These loonies," he thought, "I'm just glad the Central
Council, and the Universal Consolidate has found something to do with
them!" He thought of all the others
he'd known. They were all the same, and yet
no two of them were exactly alike.
Jovi
considered those he had known. "All
of them were critters who lived on the edge.
On the verge of falling off the universe, it would seem, at least to
hear them tell it. Dissatisfied to be in the course of things.
Unable to stay in the routine of everyday life. 'Wanderlust,' the core thinkers called
it. And yet, Nought seemed normal enough
to me -- at first."
It
seemed to Jovi, things would be better without
them. Life seemed more stable, and yet,
the outer ranks were always willing to pick up some more about as soon as some
of them left. "Why don't they just
send them all to the 'City'?" he was fond of saying.
Jovi
thought back to his studies in geography.
"At least it's not like one of those unstable "Radioactive"
societies like Pluto. Not just losing
those negative aberrants who live on the edge, but
actually expelling members of their central council: The right wing
positive conservatives, and even the normally satisfied neutral
non-partisans. No stability at all. Causing havoc wherever they turn up! They're all aberrant!" he thought.
"At
least here, we maintain quite a good process of order. Some societies just expel their aberrants off with no direction -- force them out into the
world where they can cause problems elsewhere," Jovi said aloud to himself as he found his
thought processes waxing philosophical.
"I once heard of some reasonably stable Core Councils and even
stable societies being split apart by some of these type
of aberrants!
It's terrible!" He caught
himself as Daneb entered the room.
"You
were saying, Jovi?" queried Daneb.
"Oh,
it was nothing really, just my usual ranting about the aberrants."
"Well,
then you'll be glad to know that the E-flow is about to be restarted, and we'll
take on a whole new group of dwellers for the outer rings," replied Daneb reassuringly.
"I hope none so excitable as those we currently have." He sighed, "But there are no
guarantees."
"By
the way," sprouted Jovi, "could you elaborate on just exactly what
good we accomplish by this E-flow thing, or whatever it is? I mean, it's great we can put the loonies to
good use, and send them some place where they can be helpful, but just what is
this 'ELECTRI-CITY'?"
Yes,
these are molecules. Protons, and
neutrons making up the core, with electrons orbiting it. Most of the electrons are highly stable, but
the few who live near the outer edge remain excitable, and ready to flow when
they can.
But
still, we could learn from such patterns as putting resources to good use. You couldn't really say the whole process was
for Naught!