OBrien Colony

In northeastern Pennsylvania ridge-and-valley country there is a winding, narrow, barely two-lane road leading to a big parking lot. The lot is so big that it sprawls completely across the end of it. For the last two miles the road is lined with tall forest trees who's branches spread completely over the road creating a wondrous green tunnel effect. This road clearly leads to vacation adventure, not just-in-time commercial industry of any sort.

In the parking lot are a few modern (driverless) cars. Opposite the paved road leading in is an even narrower cobblestone road leading out. A horse and carriage comes down that cobblestone road from OBrien Colony, stops in the parking lot, and passengers get out. At first these passengers are unsteady and slow -- they look like they are rock climbing as they climb out of the carriage and hang on to it to steady themselves. But over a minute, or so, they miraculously recover from whatever ails them, and then they are moving steadily and confidently as they go to one of the cars, get in, and it drives them out down the paved road, headed back to civilization.

The boy driving the horse and carriage waves the visitors off in a friendly way, then takes a break. He's eighteen, clean-shaven and good looking, and wearing home-made farmer-looking clothes. He looks at the sign on the regular road side of the parking lot and grins widely.

The sign says,

State of Pennsylvania
Special cultural zone
The operation of creations, electronics and nanotech devices is prohibited beyond this point.

Also on the sign is a QR code, and beside the sign is an antenna powered by a solar array which broadcasts this same message on a couple of RF bands so that creations and in-body devices can receive it directly.

On the cobblestone side of the parking lot is a home-crafted sign saying,

Welcome to OBrien Colony

with a couple of cute Pennsylvania-Dutch hex signs above that. The colony isn't Pennsylvania-Dutch in any way, but the hex signs add to the local feel.

The boy, Virtuous Nazim, is grinning because he sees technopollution and hypocrisy in that sign on the paved road side. ...But, then again, some people are real thick-skulled, and being an eighteen year old he knows that. But he also has some sympathy for some of those thick-skulls. He also knows that the reason for the miraculous recoveries he sees when people get into the parking lot is their technology is kicking back in again. John Vellum, who comes to visit his nephew here regularly, told him that one time.

But, the reason he's paying attention to that sign today is because big, big change is coming to his life, and he can't wait! The school year ends next week, and when it does, and after he goes through graduation ceremony, he's going to travel beyond OBrien Colony and see the world! He's going to find out what this "technopollution" is really all about.

But let's hear more about this straight from the horse's mouth...

I'm Virtuous Nazim. I was born and raised in OBrien Colony. OBrien Colony is located in a green, tree-filled valley in the northeast Pennsylvania coal region -- I'm not going to tell you exactly which one, The Man has ears everywhere. Leader Kim tells us this place is heaven on earth. We've got trees and farms and streams and mystic mountains on all sides. Personally, I wouldn't know. I've never been anywhere else, but I've seen pictures in my school books. My father tells me they used to do a lot of anthracite coal mining here. I've explored, and I've seen some of the pits and mine mouths. But these days they are just part of the scenery. The pits are forest-covered and neat to walk around in because they have lots of flat places. The mine mouths are choked with trees, too. After all, who needs anthracite coal these days?

All but one, I should say. The colony makes sacred jewelry with it now, so they scour tailings piles and they opened one secret mine, but that's it. No one else wants the stuff, the miners left decades ago. I know about them because my father is a history buff. He has some pictures he's showed me.

There are tall ridges with steep slopes north and south of us. The creation towns are many miles east and west of here, where there are passes through the ridges. No passes here, so we have this land to ourselves, and we have turned it into paradise.

OBrien Colony is named after Kim OBrien, the founder of our town and cult. He's still around, and last year we built a new meeting hall to accommodate more people. He teaches us about Juche -- that's what we follow. He learned about Juche from the North Koreans -- people who live way over in Asia somewhere. Leader Kim says they were a shining beacon for humanity for seventy years, but they were treacherously put down by The Man in the 2010's and the North Korea that was based on Juche vanished. But before that happened our Dear Lead... Inspirer! Kim OBrien learned their ideals and now is having us carry them on, quietly, here in Pennsylvania. He says we need to be quiet about it because he knows The Man is ready to put him, and us, down if word of our great successes spreads into the wrong ears.

I checked the sun. This time of year the shops around Colony Square close as the sun goes behind Bektusan Mountain, and the restaurant closes an hour later... for tourists. There were three cars still in the parking lot. I figure I have one more run and my carriage driving day will be over -- the other two cars were filled with bicycle riders. Then I'd be livery boy for an hour as I put the carriage and horses in the stable, and I have parade practice on the square after that.

I was about to head back for the square when I spotted them: They were hiding in the bushes across from me, pretty well, but not quite well enough.

"Come on out, you guys!" I shouted. It was Harley Masselon and Kenny Jones -- eighth graders. "What's up?" I said when they came out.

"Nothing." they said, "Horsepucky!" I said, and the truth came out, "We want to ride in one of the cars. Jacky Salony said he did. He says he got in and said, 'Ride me around the parking lot,' and the car did!!"

"Did he tell you he was a liar... with his pants on fire?" They giggled a bit at that.

"No. He said he rode in a car Saturday two weeks ago. He said he went around three times. And no one caught him. And the car didn't mind at all."

"You realize that if the Elders believed him, he'd get a willow switching so bad he wouldn't sit for three days. That's devil dealing, Third Class."

Harley and Kenny hadn't thought out it that way, their eyes widened.

"You would, too." I added.

Their eyes widened more, then Kenny had a second thought and said, "You wouldn't tell on us, would you?"

"If I didn't, I'd get the same switching," I said, then added, "Hop up here with me. I'll give you a ride back to the square. It may not be a car, but it's a ride, and the tourists love it. They say you can't get this in civilization."

The boys loved that offer, and we all headed back to the square.

<<<*>>>

At dinner the family had a guest, Aardvark Norton. He was the family advisor. When dinner finished Virtuous; Henry, his dad; and Aardvark ajourned to the living room for a talk about Virtuous' upcoming adventure.

Aardvark began with something of a review, "Son, it's a big world out there. And most people do things a lot differently than we do. We're sending you out to see what, if anything, we can bring from the outside world into ours.

"We are not Neolithic Villagers. We can interact with other people. But, as our Great Inspirer has prophesied, too much technology has made a lot of people go crazy. We don't want to be crazy. So your adenture is to learn more about the technologies out there, and help the colony pick and choose what we can use here to make our lives better... without endangering our core humanity.

Virtuous noded, he'd been told this before. Thanks to his Dad's efforts as a colony leader, and his own efforts to do well in school, and help the community in many other ways, he and three others had been chosen for this assignment. He would be adventuring with Willey, Wonkey, and Whoozy.

He looked at Henry before continuing. Henry was looking concerned, but chose not to bring it into the conversation.

"This is a difficult assignment. You will be tempted, and we worry that you or the others will succumb -- you will decide that living fully civilized is a better choice. But, this research is vitally important to keeping our colony healthy and growing. We have to take the risk.

"We want you to know that our hearts and prayers will be going out to you while you are on this mission. We want you to learn, become wiser, and bring back your wisdom."

Henry nodded to that.

"You'll be staying in New York City with a colony fellow traveler, your uncle Samuel Nazim. He's civilized, his bad health forced him into it, but he respects our goals and intentions. He will help you with city living."

"I will remain true. I promise that," said Nazim.

Aardvark smiled at that, "That's what we are counting on. Learn, become wise, and bring back ideas and techniques that we can use."

<<<*>>>