Chapter 5: History Lesson

Yuki had somehow managed to arrange for the family a private tour of the local history museum that Sunday. The museum director, a tall, spare scarecrow of a man, gave the tour personally.

"Mr. Miller? Pleased to meet you. I'm Stanley Wilkinson, Professor of History (retired) and director of the Capitol History Museum."

"Thank you, Professor, I'm delighted you could spare the time. I'm sorry for any inconvenience."

"Not an inconvenience at all, young man. I'm delighted to show off our little collection. I hope you find it enjoyable as well as educational."

He led them to the West Gallery Wing, main floor. "We have other galleries, covering history on Earth prior to the start of the galactic colonization push, but let's just cover local history today. It will help you," he nodded at Mike, "with your work, and help the kids and your wife understand the nature of the society they find themselves in."

The first exhibit showed what life was like in one of the tin-can shelters that the early colonists used. It was cramped and sparsely furnished.

The second showed a model of the first of the domed cities. "Many of these original buildings have been long torn down," Professor Wilkinson informed them. "But this was the origins of the naturist lifestyle, believe it or not."

He indicated the recreational area filling the top of the central dome. "While the four surrounding domes were designated for agricultural purposes, growing crops that couldn't be handled hydroponically, the central dome was designated for recreational purposes. Because of the transportation constrictions, fabric was at a premium, and so we started clothing optional recreation out of necessity. Children up to kindergarten age regularly ran around nude once they were toilet trained.

"It was after the terraforming was finished and the weather controls were in place that we started to consider the clothing situation more carefully. We couldn't grow cotton as the needs of the cotton crop would have overwhelmed our ability to handle the pollutants and left us with insufficient land for agricultural crops, especially after the baby boom started in earnest. We decided to concentrate on food instead.

"So, we started creating a naturist society. The first year, elementary schools were declared naturist zones, and beaches, streets, shopping districts and residential areas were declared clothing-optional. Children in elementary schools went nude 24/7, as did their teachers and school staff, and anyone visiting school grounds." He grinned and pointed at a small building by the main gate in the model of a typical elementary school of the period. "Here is where the parents would leave their clothes during parent/teacher conferences, as would other visitors like delivery drivers. The parents would then walk across this front yard and head into the school. Some parents reportedly found it somewhat embarrassing."

He pointed to a picture of a family scene, showing mother, father and two elementary-school aged children, all nude, sitting around the dinner table. "To get the kids used to being nude at school, the parents were encouraged to keep them nude at home and be nude themselves in the evenings."

He explained that parents of children under 10 were encouraged to walk their offspring to school, and to be nude when they did so. Many parents that first year would walk their kids to school and get dressed at the school changing room.

"When the Grade 6 class graduated at the end of that scholastic year, the middle schools were declared naturist. The middle schools had had uniforms, which switched to berets with the school crest on them." He indicated the life-sized colour photos showing a male and female middle school student in the before and after uniforms. Mike and Millie both noted to themselves that neither individual had tan lines. "The students themselves decided the headgear was the best way to determine who went to which school." Professor Wilkinson pointed to a sign mounted on the wall above the photos that announced, "Effective immediately, all beaches are naturist. Please remove all clothing beyond this point." "At the same time, certain areas went from being clothing-optional to full-fledged naturist, specifically beaches and public recreation areas, hotel pools and the like. Sporting events were declared naturist for competitors and clothing-optional for the crowds. Restaurants were declared clothing optional. Tickets to events like plays and movies were subsidized if you were willing to forego clothes, making them clothing-optional as well. This had the secondary effect of causing quite a boom in the arts, as the artists still got paid full-price even when naked children and adults were admitted at the discount — more people attended than would have otherwise, and each ducat was still worth full price to the artists."

Micah whispered to his sister, "What's a ducat?"