Trust or Fear - A Lesson in Accounting

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From The Tribes of Eden, by Dr. Bill Thomas
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Tribes of Eden is a compelling adventure story that begins in the not very distant future.  Here's a very short synopsis from one of the book's sites:
On the run after America's sudden and total collapse, a family finds sanctuary in the heart of a community thriving "off the grid".  But when the lure of a virtual new world order divides the family, the elders of the community recognize that humanity's fate rests with a chosen girl and a surprising alliance between the least powerful - the young and the old.


In this scene two young brothers, Zach and Virgil, have ridden on horseback through the night to seek advice from Professor Ned Wolff, their uncle, who now lives within the walls of a Demo (demographic unit) set up by the GRID on the former university campus.  Ned's talking about the "old system", before The Fall...

"The whole system was built on just two things: trust and oil"

"Then the oil ran out", Zach volunteered.

Ned shook his head.  "Not really, there's still plenty of oil in the ground.  The problems started when cheap, easy to get oil ran out.  Even so, the old republic could have survived, even till today, if it had kept people's trust.  The old republic was founded on the idea that people in search of 'life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness' could solve even the biggest problems.  In order for it to work, people needed to believe in each other, trust each other, work with each other.  You know...", he prodded them, "We the people...".

The brothers stared blankly at Ned.  Rusty mantras from the old republic's glory days didn't matter, not any more.

"OK", he sighed.  "You want the take-home message?  Someone or something, I'm not sure who or what, decided to transfer assets from the trust account to the fear account."

Virgil nodded.  "Xenos are afraid.  As far as I can tell, that's the whole point of the GRID."

"I think it started when those lunatics flew airliners into the World Trade Center.  They acted with the intention of creating fear - terror.  Here's the thing, though.  They also provided a world-class lesson in how thin and brittle trust could be.  For the first time, the old republic abandoned its faith in people, its trust in trust - it surrendered completely, totally and without reservation, to fear."

"Yeah", Zach said, "they scared the airplanes right out of the air.  That was the first time I saw the blue sky without the white streaks."

"Contrails", Virgil added for the sake of accuracy.

"Right, contrails."

Ned Wolff took a deep breath.  "I've been thinking lately about the last days of the old republic.  You fellas probably don't remember that much about it but it was a great thing, a fine thing, and it lasted more than two hundred years.  Then it was gone."

"The old republic was a mess, didn't deserve to survive."  Zach spoke with certainty.

"Lots of people say that", Ned agreed, "but I don't think it's true.  I've been reading about this, really digging in."

"I don't think the old republic fell - I think it was pushed.  Powerful people decided their investments would be more profitable if they transferred them, so to speak, from the trust account to the fear account."

The Master Herdsman leaned forward. 

"How'd they get away with it?"


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Dr. Bill Thomas is an international expert on elderhood and geriatric medicine. He is the founder of the Eden Alternative and Green House Project, a writer and musician.
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