Preface

Extraordinary Meeting of sub committee Pionova, colony development. D/d Yr 499 day 54

Minutes according to the beRobed Secretary.

PRESENT: The Robed ones presided by Our Illustrious Robed Leader, OUR NOTABLE ASSISTANT DEPUTY ROBED LEADER, beROBED MATHEMATICIAN, beROBED OVERSEER, bEROBED STELLARTICIAN, bEROBED RECORDER, bEROBED MASTER OF ALIENS, bEROBED ACADEMIC class 1, bEROBED ACADEMIC class 2, bEROBED HISTORIAN –RESEARCH SPECIALIST, bEROBED EFFICIENCY CORPORATION REPRESENATIVE, SOCIOLOGIST 2562 WITHOUT ROBES

Also present, bEROBED SECRETARY

MINUTES

OUR ILLUSTRIOUS ROBED LEADER "Robed ones, I declare this Extraordinary Meeting open. The matter for discussion is the development of the new community on planet, Pionova. I need an update."

ROBED SECRETARY "Robed Leader, a point of order. For the record, could you detail what date we are using today?"

ROBED RECORDER "My Robed Secretary, we always adopt the time here of the planet under discussion." He turned around for guidance. There was a whispered discussion. "For the purposes of this extraordinary general meeting, year 499."

OUR ILLUSTRIOUS ROBED LEADER "Robed Development Officer, a quick review of the background if you please?"

ROBED DEVELOPMENT OFFICER (Aliens) "Robed Leader, we have been developing the Pionovian colony for almost 500 years now. Two hundred years ago, (Pionovian years) we had to step up the development as we moved into conjunction with one of the planets for which the Foreign Colonial Robe Master had responsibility. A very primitive live species, was hellbent on the destruction of the planet, primarily by ozone depletion. They appear to be striving to achieve and exceed maximum sustainable pollution levels of the air system, the water provision and the seas. They had even developed methods of secreting poisonous chemicals within the land."

"Societies are breaking down and fighting against often each other because they held differing views of deities." (amazed laughter)

ROBED EFFICIENCY CORPORATION REPRESENATIVE This is the planet that believed in flying teapots in space and worshipped them?

ROBED HISTORIAN –RESEARCH SPECIALIST My Robed Efficiency Expert, a little learning is dangerous thing. An earth philosopher named Russell wrote that if he claimed that a teapot were orbiting the sun somewhere in space between the Earth and Mars, it would be nonsensical for him to expect others not to doubt him on the grounds that they could not prove him wrong. It was the same argument used by deity worshippers.

"By citing the ridiculous proposition, he was in fact, drawing attention to the outrageous premises held by those believing in such absurd things as deities."

OUR NOTABLE ASSISTANT DEPUTY ROBED LEADER "Can we keep to the point of discussion please?"

ROBED DEVELOPMENT OFFICER (Aliens) "To continue; Within the societies, men were purposefully poisoning themselves with chemicals that they produced. They were overeating to the extent that their hearts could not cope with their obesity. Perhaps the worst problem was that self-interest had asserted itself to the detriment of the needs of society. Civilisation was breaking down by thieving, robbery, rape, murder, kidnapping, gang warfare and drunken violence. Their berobed who governed were ruled by self-interest and corruption rather than the interest of the communities they represented".

ROBED EFFICIENCY CORPORATION REPRESENATIVE "It looks as if they should have just been left to it, the system is better off without such unintelligent life forms."

OUR ILLUSTRIOUS ROBED LEADER "I should be pleased if the Robed representative of the Efficiency Corporation, would not interrupt the proceedings. Robed Recorder, would you continue?"

ROBED RECORDER "The Moral Committee made a decision that there were many features of the various races on Earth that should not be lost. A decision was made to locate a suitable place for colonisation and the similarity between the atmospheres of Pionova and Earth could not be overlooked. Colonisation commenced in the year 300 using the pre-death compliancy method of rejuvenation."

OUR ILLUSTRIOUS ROBED LEADER "Robed Overseer, would you detail the progress made?"

ROBED OVERSEER, Pionova "Yes, Robed Leader. Phase 1 of the colonisation is always very slow. We regenerated experienced explorers, prospectors and the like who had experience in a variety of continents on Earth, North America, South America and Africa particularly as these were the last areas to be opened up by the more developed societies.

ROBED MASTER OF ALIENS They were successful in identifying the areas ripe for further colonisation, the sources of some basic materials that were needed and they detailed the botany and animal life of the planet. The planet had little animal life and we made a joint decision to transfer native species from planet Earth."

OUR ILLUSTRIOUS ROBED LEADER "Who started the development of the society?"

ROBED OVERSEER Phase I was designed as a fact-finding exercise to prepare for Phase II. It was a very slow process and we were short of the available phase 1 pioneers who fit our profile. We made a decision in year 300 to extract the most work we could from the limited supply of labour. One of our problems was that the working life of the Earth men is only about some thirty years. We of course regenerate at twenty, as is normal. The pioneers we extracted primary came from what is called the early part of the 19th-century on Earth. Their life expectancy, in the conditions that they lived, generally expired at the age of fifty. We decided to more than double the life expectancy by reducing the ageing process from their arrival at regeneration aged twenty."

OUR ILLUSTRIOUS ROBED LEADER Why did you make this modification?"

ROBED OVERSEER "There were two reasons: 1 The shortage of finding suitable subjects for re-generation was thereby helped and 2. More than doubling the life expectancy has reduced the number of regenerations because the work of the Academic Regeneration Committee was being overloaded. I am assured that that slight modification has proved highly successful."

OUR ILLUSTRIOUS ROBED LEADER" Robed Recorder, if you would quickly move on to the reason for this meeting."

ROBED RECORDER "After about a hundred years (Pionovian years), we were experiencing problems with the pioneers. They are a very simple species and only have two sexes on Earth, male and female. The male sex was most suited to provide the pioneers, but the mental equilibrium of that sex began to go off balance and affect their exploration and colony development. You must remember that this race is very primitive and still uses responding to his impulses to go through the ritual ceremony of the reproductive ritual. We were forced to introduce female therapists entitled, 'Women Helpers Of Regenerated Earthmen'. A social research committee decided that was the cheapest option.

"At the time, some eighty years ago, we had a logjam of interstellar regenerations which you may recall. We were able to reduce the number of these 'Women Helpers Of Regenerated Earthmen' therapists. We discovered one female could minister to a hundred pioneers, if a large proportion of pioneers were in the field at any one time. The system has proved remarkably efficacious. Can I add that we shall need more therapists as the settlements increase in size and pioneers find them more accessible?"

OUR ILLUSTRIOUS ROBED LEADER "If the system has worked well, what has changed the status quo?"

ROBED STELLARTICIAN The divergence of Comet Colin has put this planet out of orbital synchronisation with us. Within twelve years, we shall be taken into an intergalactic-calalnistic orbit denying us the ability to resupply planet Pionova for another three hundred (Pionovian) years."

ROBED OVERSEER "Unfortunately this is the time that Pionovian civilization should undertake its period of greatest growth and social development. If we are not careful, all the existing work we have done could be lost and all the colonies could die out by the time that we return. They have to be made self-regenerating."

OUR ILLUSTRIOUS ROBED LEADER "A very simple matter is it not?"

ROBED OVERSEAR "Not as simple as you might think. You may have noticed that I did say that it was a primitive society. They cannot regulate their own self regeneration and are dependent upon actual physical interaction between the two major reproductive sections; male and female."

OUR ILLUSTRIOUS ROBED LEADER "You have the male pioneers. You have sent them females?"

ROBED OVERSEAR "At first sight the solution is simple, yes. We thought we would have plenty of time to apply a simple solution. If the Robed Academic would explain, please?"

ROBED ACADEMIC class 1 "May I take it my academic qualifications are entered in the records?"

ROBED SECRETARY "That is not the custom at an informal extraordinary meeting."

ROBED ACADEMIC class 1 "Oh. I want my displeasure noted and recorded in the minutes."

OUR ILLUSTRIOUS ROBED LEADER "Get on with it Robed, Academic."

ROBED ACADEMIC class 1 "I was only wanting to substantiate our conclusions by having my proficiency confirmed for the..."

OUR ILLUSTRIOUS ROBED LEADER "I said, Get on with it, Robed, Academic. You try my patience."

ROBED ACADEMIC class 1 "Hmph! ... To give you the background: We had a problem with the original pioneers who were treated so they should not be distracted from their objective, i.e. the exploration and mapping of the colony planet starting in the Deer River area. Fortunately, after our treatment of them on regeneration, they had no interest in any bodily contact with the sex called 'female'."

ROBED ACADEMIC class 2 "Unfortunately, we lost a lot of productivity by having their masculinity defused. The masculine traits in the second phase of Pioneer regeneration were left intact and the Frontiersmen's performance was restored to what we had expected. This second tranche of pioneer regenerations starting circa Yr 415, and it has proved very successful."

OUR ILLUSTRIOUS ROBED LEADER "And these were the ones who required medical therapy?".

ROBED ACADEMIC class 2 "Exactly. Women Helpers Of Regenerated Earthmen were sent as therapists to the Pioneers. It would have been very inefficient if these had actually reproduced because the reproduction process is most time consuming and at each reproduction the 'female' would have not been able to service her allocation of Pioneers. It was a simple matter to expedite this problem and no problems resulted in their inability to breed, quite the contrary, in fact."

ROBED OVERSEER "The decision was made that these, Women Helpers Of Regenerated Earthmen remain non-reproductive workers, that situation could not be changed with those already regenerated even if we wanted to. Oh, whatever the conclusions of this meeting, there will continue to be a demand for such valuable specialist mental health workers. In the future, if the recommendations are adopted, the Women Helpers Of Regenerated Earthmen will have to be supplied by local reproductive methods."

ROBED SECRETARY "Permission to interrupt the Robed Learned Academic?"

OUR ILLUSTRIOUS ROBED LEADER "Granted, Robed Secretary."

ROBED SECRETARY "The group of settlers known as the Women Helpers Of Regenerated Earthmen exceeds the prescribed number of characters according to edict 23/l 56/Fg/382. Surely you can shorten the phrase?"

ROBED RECORDER "Simple, Robed Secretary, the students simply used an acronym, she emphasised the initial letter as she reread the title Women Helpers Of Regenerated Earthmen. Thus we have the word WHORE. To differentiate the word from the word 'war' they drop the W in pronouncing the term and they pronounce the acronym, Hor', It was so good a solution that the Earthmen on the colony appear to have adopted it too, most unusual."

OUR ILLUSTRIOUS ROBED LEADER"That's better, in future we shall refer to them as whores, can we not? But that is not the only problem you intimated there was?"

ROBEDRECORDER "No, initially we thought it would be a simple matter to introduce a few females simply to expand the size of the settlements. Unfortunately we did not understand the absolute, unsophisticated nature of the humanoid. Their procreation is almost animal-like, so unexpected for those with that size of brain. First of all, multiple births that we have engendered in the other colonies in the past, are present in this species but even double births often provide too much work that the reproductee has difficulty in feeding more than one after birth. We originally believed that the two feeding glands were designed for pairs of offspring but the physiology of the body is not always capable of sustaining what are called 'twins'."

ROBED OVERSEER "Our conclusion was that we should not encourage multiple births. Again we have the problem that the reproduced foetus actually grows within the body. (surprised reaction) It is the same for many animals, called mammals, on that planet. It is an extremely inefficient method of reproduction because the female, during the later stages of pre-birth is incapacitated to some extent."

OUR ILLUSTRIOUS ROBED LEADER "You came across many more problems?"

ROBED OVERSEER "That is correct. One female can only be expected to reproduce once every two years. The offspring need their attention for up to a dozen years after birth. Even the birth itself is quite a messy and a primeval procedure."

OUR ROBED MATHEMATICIAN "On the other hand, the efficiency of the male in reproduction is quite remarkable. We have calculated he could accomplish up to around one thousand reproductions in any one Pionovian year, an extraordinary achievement that puts the female of the species to shame."

OUR NOTABLE ASSISTANT DEPUTY ROBED LEADER "Please refrain from such contributions if they are not wholly relevant to the timed meeting. The solution? You have one?"

OUR ROBED MATHEMATICIAN "The immediate solution was that we could regenerate a thousand females for every pioneer."

OUR ILLUSTRIOUS ROBED LEADER "A logical resolution,"

OUR ILLUSTRIOUS ROBED academic... "Thank you, my Robed Mathematician, but other academics decried this. For some reason they want a diversity of DNA in the progeny. You do know what that is? Also, the Social Interactions Sub-Committee recommended that the most efficient of our pioneers were brought up within a family environment, a most labour intensive and archaic system, but it does have its advantages"

ROBED MASTER OF ALIENS"So we are back to the one woman, one man scenario?"

OUR ROBED ACADEMIC... "Don't be ridiculous, that would really be wasteful. One woman looking after a child every two years, when her prime consideration is the pioneer's well-being himself, it would be almost impossible. And if our plans worked out, within a few years she would have offspring aged two, four, six, eight and ten to manage."

OUR ROBED MATHEMATICIAN "We came to the conclusion that we could achieve a more rapid growth in population numbers by a system known as polygamy, the females could work together as a group, bringing up children, providing food, and serving the pioneer; the duties could be shared between two or three, possibly even more."

ROBED MASTER OF ALIENS "But, I understood the Historical Research Committee discovered there were problems with polygamy, did they not?"

SOCIOLOGIST 2562 WITHOUT ROBES "Those problems can be simply overcome. One problem was that the female did not get enough attention from her man and left the 'family grouping'. Leaving the family grouping was also common on Earth where it is actively encouraged. They 'marry', and a few earth years later they 'divorce'. The practice has quite a following there and much money is expending in enjoying a peculiar feature that has adverse effects on the offspring. We could not understand why the practice was popular."

ROBED MASTER OF ALIENS "We can simply overcome this by the Jupiterian method of Latching. Do we need to explain 'Latching'?"

OUR ILLUSTRIOUS ROBED LEADER "I think not. We are not kindergarten children. Please treat the committee with some respect. So, the females are to be latched to their Pioneer?"

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