Looking Forward by Kenneth Jr. (snow like ashes .txt) 📗

governmental positions. Although it was not planned that way, the government scientists began taking longer and longer vacations and leaving Corcen unattended for greater periods of time. No matter where these scientists were on earth, Corcen was in immediate touch with them and did not hesitate to call them if they were needed for any reason.”

Hella knows that many years ago Corcen began to call on men of ability, regardless of whether they were elected or wore the mantle of political power. In emergencies or disasters Corcen would quickly scan its memory banks and immediately gather as many people as were needed based upon their qualifications and their proximity to the problem area. People responded readily to Corcen’s appeals. “After all,” she thinks, “we’re all on the same team.”

“We find today that the world has no need for politicians or governmental scientists,” the telescreen continues. “Corcen impartially calls upon any or all of the people to assist it when, as, and if their services are needed. In a sense everyone is a part of the government of human affairs. It is considered a privilege. Most people enjoy working with Corcen in the assignments they are offered. We thus have arrived at the very interesting state where no individual or group is engaged in governing the world. But each individual in the world during his lifetime will, from time to time, plays a very real part in cooperating with Corcen on activities that in previous centuries would have been labeled ‘political’ or ‘governmental.’

“To a person living in the United States during the last century, it would have seemed inconceivable that the world could be so changed that it would have no use for politicians, legislatures, and the enormous apparatus of bureaucratic government. In the past governments had extremely important functions to perform. Through their armies, navies, and air forces, they attempted to protect their citizens against aggression from other countries. They also acted as a sort of referee between citizens to keep them from hurting each other. The United States government had a Department of Labor assigned to look after the interests of workers and a Department of Commerce to help businessmen increase their annual volume. They had a Department of Agriculture to assist farmers. They had a Department of State which played a part in maintaining relationships with other countries.”

Hella knows that almost all of the activities performed by governments of the past are no longer needed today. She shudders at the ways in which societies of the past chose their leaders—violent methods of dictators, hereditary happenstance of kings, voting based on emotional appeal. “What chaos,” she thinks, “if we were to select men for their teleprojection manner instead of their technical training. Besides, no humans could possibly handle the tremendous load of correlation—only a computer can keep up with the work.”

“One of the problems of the twentieth century democracies was to keep political power in the hands of the people,” the telescreen shows the piled-up corpses of Dachau. Gasps of horror come from the stunned spectators. “Disastrous things occurred when dictators such as a Hitler got control of a nation. Modern weapons became so powerful that individuals were almost helpless in overthrowing the government once a dictator was thoroughly entrenched. After 1960, if people lost the power to elect their representatives, they were unable to get it back. In those days of scarcity, in which all personalities were deeply twisted by hostility and insecurity, it was wise for people to protect themselves by holding tightly to their democratic processes.

“Although we are nominally a democracy today, and the people theoretically have the right to elect political representatives, we find that in practice there is nothing for politicians to do. I suppose this is probably our greatest security against our world’s ever again being subjected to the whim of dictators or tyrants. After all, a politician has power only because people think he has power. If everyone in Germany had decided to ignore Hitler, he could have ranted and raved, having no more effect on affairs than a monkey in the Berlin zoo. If anyone were to try to exercise any type of political control in our sane civilization, he would simply be laughed at. We have about as much need for a politician as we have for a dinosaur.”

Hella knows why people would laugh and ridicule anyone who might want political office. The people of the twenty-first century have developed a close, personal relationship with Corcen. “Every individual,” thinks Hella, “interacts with Corcen many times each day. Politicians would separate the people from Corcen. In previous societies only a few people could communicate and interact with the king, dictator, president, or prime minister. Today everybody has the feeling that if their thoughts have merit, they will be acted on.”

Hella has lived with Corcen’s rapid responses. She knows that Corcen always gives feedback to suggestions, even if only by giving reasons why they seem impractical at the time. Often Corcen responds immediately by appointing the individual to work with a group to study the problem further.

The telescreen shows the Acropolis and then a close-up of the Parthenon. “This personal relationship of every citizen with government is similar to the original Greek conception of democracy,” it continues. “In ancient Athens every citizen had an opportunity to vote on every issue and to get up before his fellow citizens and speak his mind. This proved impractical as nations grew larger. In the United States the only part that most citizens played in government during the mid-twentieth century was to push down a few levers in a voting booth. The average voter had no feeling of personal participation in government Because we can talk to Corcen, and Corcen responds to us, each citizen feels that he, personally, participates in the running of the world. Our cybernated government gives us intense feelings of dignity, worth, and security.”

The tour is over. Hella is deeply moved by her visit to Corcen. She is proud of this creation