Email from the Future by Rogers Michael

Author:Rogers, Michael
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Practical Futurist
Published: 2022-04-22T00:00:00+00:00

Family History:

New Williamsburg 2060

Given her background in blending cultures, I suppose it was inevitable that Marianna was also drawn to the absolute opposite of virtual relationships: the analog cults, the most alienated people remaining in the country. The challenge fascinated her; it was also, sadly, her last work.

Marianna began to work with the analogists in the late 2050s, starting with a small colony who still live about 20 kilometers south of New Williamsburg. (“Colony” is of course a rather negative word historically, but that’s actually what the analogists choose to call their settlements.) Marianna was assigned as a counselor for the “Children of Gaia” when they first settled in our area. They were migrating from an urban area of southern California, where they were very unhappy. The analog cults fare better in more rural settings.

The Children now consist of perhaps 20 families in all, fully analog, on a small farm. Their faith is a confusing blend of fundamentalist Christianity, nature worship, and survivalism. Years after Marianna worked with them, I met a few of the adult members, and they reminded me of what I have read about hippies in the last century. Naive, a bit deluded, self-righteous, but not evil, and surprisingly happy. They support themselves by growing vegetables and, during winter, handwork at home for boutique clothing designers.

In all, they seem like people who have for some reason decided to make their lives needlessly difficult. But that’s nothing new for organized religion.

Marianna helped the Children settle into their farm, arranged digitary services, and worked with the surrounding community to engage with the newcomers. She also enrolled their younger children in PreK, which was very important. The law requires that all children spend their early years in the public system, usually to age six, through the early introduction to virtuality. At the point when Tutor is assigned, parents can decline and continue to educate their children at private analog academies or at home.

The upbringing of the analogist children was the most controversial element of the cults. Early public education is required because those years are so crucial for a child’s mental development; it is considered a matter of community health. It’s not so different than public health measures from my youth, such as vaccination requirements. More crucially, public schooling gives analogist children some experience in the virtual world. Then, if they ultimately adopt their parents’ belief system, it is with an awareness of their choices.

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