Chapter 10

      Narrator:   It’s the second day on New Earth and Mr. Buster is rushing off excitedly to the auditorium to teach his new class.  He arrives at his classroom as students take their seats. 

     Mr. Buster explains that his first-year mission as an instructor is to revisit the events that led to the departure from Earth that expands on the material presented in the New Earth orientation. He will also introduce students to key principles of the New Earth Charter developed by the Universal Council, which helped sustain civilization during the years in space. 

     He then outlines the day’s agenda and provides instructions regarding assignments and expectations for the class.  Lecture begins.

     Mr. Buster: 

“Corruptive Observations of Falling Empires 

     The line between fact and fiction is often blurred within cultural arenas, even when the consequences of widely accepted falsehoods can be severe. 

     Many human behaviors are conditioned responses. Others can be explained through theories of social influence, including persuasion, expectations of obedience, and the desire to belong. These forces often encourage conformity. 

     When power and influence are used to manipulate others through deception or systems of control that produce victims, it is a sign that society has begun to decay. 

Countering Corruption 

     Healthy social development includes learning how to support and protect life with dignity and respect, while building security through collaboration, shared knowledge, and personal and collective responsibilities. 

     Individual accountability, integrity, empowerment, and supportive social conditions are all important elements in achieving success within a healthy society. In the context of this lecture, empowerment refers to opportunity, access to knowledge, and commitment to positive development at both the personal and collective level. 

     When individuals develop the ability to care for themselves and are willing to use their resources to help others, whether directly or indirectly, empowerment becomes possible.  One clear indicator is the presence of altruism and equity in various forms.

     When people are capable of helping others, but refuse to do so, or when they are unable or unwilling to support the success of the broader community, the results become unsustainable. Such conditions are often viewed as symptoms of corruption and are evident in all records of falling empires that we have maintained. 

     Groups that lack compassion often demonstrate deficits in empathy. These deficits have been associated with higher levels of conflict, disease, and corruption, conditions that historically contribute to the collapse of civilizations. The collapse are on record ranging from weeks to decades and are often faster than anticipated.” 

     Narrator: Mr. Buster prompts the class. “And the fifth law is?” Class responds in unison: “I help you, so that we can help us.” 

Narrator: The lecture continues. 

     Mr. Buster: “The capacity to care is closely connected to the ability to empathize and to commitments to develop other essential social and technical skills to make contributions to society. As empathy and skills increase, the capacity and willingness to care often strengthens as well. 

     This relationship is important because the quality and quantity of care individuals receive, along with opportunities to learn, are critical to healthy development and to the quality of life. These influences are especially important in early childhood when personality and foundational life skills are rapidly forming. 

     Natural barriers can sometimes interfere with nurturing and positive conditioning. For example, neurological differences may affect a person’s ability to empathize or develop certain social skills. Environmental conditions and physical or psychological harm can also weaken empathy and influence abnormal behavior. 

     As a result, not all personalities that existed before the Orbital-Age developed favorable social traits that we Nomadians have come to desire and celebrate. This helps explain why many examples in history show how harm or limited human development outcomes came from bad decision-making and impede harmony.  It is especially noted that early humans were exceptionally poor at calculating risks versus benefits.  Many people acted purely based on emotions and assumptions without proper oversite or using fact-based evidence or available knowledge.  

     Orbital age living environments reduced some of these risks, but they also introduced a different challenge: extreme social uniformity. By using advanced technologies and genetic control systems the range of human variation was significantly reduced while the average IQ rose dramatically. 

    Optimal development exists when environmental and social influences on an individual’s biological and psycho-social growth are as supportive as possible and free from exposures or events that cause irreversible harm. Such conditions allow individuals to remain adaptable, survive, and experience minimal suffering. 

     Because harm is sometimes unavoidable, the ability to cope with stress and adapt to challenges plays an important role in reducing its long-term impacts. 

     Optimal development therefore requires conditions favorable for individuals to grow with minimal exposure to harmful substances or events that hinder or limit healthy development. However, resilience and durability or toughness often do stem from hardships or challenges. Therefore, the aim is not a sheltered or easy life, but one with just enough stress to not be overwhelmed from the pressure in any long-term damaging way. 

     Corruption can occur when contamination happens. Harmful intentions like oppressive forms of control or lack of empowerment opens the door to victimhood. Corruption may also arise through accidents or systemic or unintentional failures. 

The Self

     Empathy and self-esteem are often strong indicators of the overall health of individuals within a society. 

     Behavior is often driven by impulses and a combination of variables that trigger reactions. In many cases, reasoning played only a limited role in higher functioning of pre-modified human behavior. By contrast modern humans have assisted mechanical cognition or otherwise have years of training in mental control strategies to slow decisions and use available resources both technical and physical that examines evidences as a part of important decision making. This leads to more informed decisions and far less accidents. Nomadians pride themselves in limiting bias and controlling impulses or reflexes in decision-making to improve risk/ benefit analysis and get better results.

     Understanding human behavior requires examining how both the conscious and preconscious mind influences bodily functions. Much of human behavior has been explained through frameworks such as the hierarchy of needs (Maslow, 1962), which describes motivations that exist both in our conscious awareness and in the preconscious mind. 

     The following factors listed here influence behavioral responses in humans and can either support or hinder adaptation and optimal development. These factors include; dexterity and endurance, awareness, associations from prior experiences, attitudes that affect learning, selective attention and memory function, adaptive skills such as stress coping strategies, primary needs whether perceived or subconscious, the rate, intensity, frequency, and type of stimuli, personal beliefs, pre-existing physical conditions, biological status including the availability of bioengineered tools, decision-making ability, and biological determinants such as nutrition and air or water quality. 

     The sequence and interaction of these variables also influence the quality of human responses, whether mental or physical. 

     Class now let us consider how questioning authority and using Skepticism can be a form of reasonable healthy dissent. 

     If self-preservation skills arise from a combination of instinct and learned behavior, then discipline and collaborative abilities likely evolved from those same foundations. 

     Different worldviews can serve people in meaningful ways. Some principles remain universal. Sharing wisdom across cultures, rather than claiming superiority for one worldview over another encourages growth.

    Isolation and alienation can stifle progress and can lead to conflict driven by fear of the unknown. History shows how such fears were exploited during many of the wars prior to 2050. As we move forward, we should practice tolerance for diverse ideas while refusing to tolerate hate speech. 

     Wisdom and practical insights can be taught through play and everyday activities in the home, especially during early childhood, not only through formal academic study. 

     When standards are designed to support healthy lifestyles and sustainable conditions, they align with the broader needs of society and can help promote greater harmony. 

1800’s – 2050 Tech Booms 

      Advances in technology, combined with harmful human behaviors, contributed to significant challenges for both social and environmental sustainability. The large-scale production of goods and weapons of mass destruction, unsustainable agricultural practices, improper land use, and widespread pollution all played a role in the fall of the Western Empire prior to Mass Exodus. 

     These developments affected population growth, wildlife scarcity and extinction, cultural and informational exchanges and conflicts, as well as patterns of mutation, disease, and illness. Much depended on how technology was managed or mismanaged during this early human period. 

      Tradition involves preservation, assimilation, and the passing on of ideas and practices. 

     When behaviors or systems are not guided by the interests of the greater good, corruption can emerge and unhealthy patterns may spread through social conditioning and imitation. 

     Biological stability is closely connected to how people behave. Beliefs can influence behavior, although they may be less significant than other factors that shape human actions. 

     A larger question remains: how can societies safely regulate and maintain the balance necessary to support stable social systems and long-term harmony in their environment? 

     This question is closely connected to another issue that has re-emerged in recent years. What role should artificial intelligence play in our lives? The debate surrounding this question has existed since the earliest development of advanced technology.”

     Narrator: Mr. Buster prompts the class. “Maxim 2024  Telos = Purpose”

     Class responds in unison: “Our purpose is to survive and thrive in balance.” 

Mr. Buster continues the lecture. 

     “Very good, class. The concept of telos, discussed by Aristotle (384–322 B.C.), refers to having a goal or purpose in life. 

     Later thinkers such as Carl Jung and Abraham Maslow expanded on this idea through the concept of self-actualization, which describes the process of realizing and developing one’s own potential. 

     Beliefs and values play a central role in shaping individual goals and a sense of purpose. Skills such as decision making, practical abilities, and guided learning are all important in achieving healthy goals and meaningful outcomes. 

     Carl Rogers further explained that learning experiences can either support or hinder the natural human tendency toward personal growth. 

     In the Orbital-Age, this concept of personal purpose evolved into a more collective framework. Survival and stability for the whole society was placed above individual self-interests, and sacrifice in service of the greater good became a guiding principle socially reinforced. 

     By contrast, the individualism associated with the earlier, “me generation,” was often viewed as a remnant of the past that separated early humans from the values that emerged during the orbital- age.” 

     Newton’s fourth law suggests that a fact remains valid only as long as it remains relevant. When new evidence proves it irrelevant, the older ideas are revised or replaced. 

     In this sense, knowledge is not fixed, but constantly evolving. The danger arises when individuals convince themselves so completely that they know something, that they close themselves off from new understanding. When people rely only on belief or assumption rather than actual experience or new evidence this approach usually gets poorer results. 

     On a small scale, patterns of dangerous assumptions appear in everyday life. For example, a worker may come to believe they deserve the low wage they earn, but the real abuses involved the practices allowing the gross exploitation of the worker.  The tolerance of oppressive conditions was the problem. The solution was radical empowerment of the worker to demand a larger fairer share of the benefits and fruits that the work was producing. The reframing of the models of success helped to eliminate the domination of small groups against the majority.

     Altruistic approaches are remembered as noble from early human perspectives, but post 2050, the worldview shifted so radically that altruism reflects an insufficient way to address imbalance in how the world was unfairly structured. What this means is that in a fair and just world the need for altruism is non-existent.   

     In the view of Nomadians today, we understand that the tyrants that ruled pre-exodus benefited roughly 10% of the global population with excessive wealth at the expense of the bottom 90% of the population. The only real long-term fix to that hoarding problem was to create a world where sharing more equitably was an ethical tenant so natural that sharing was no longer viewed as a sacrifice. Rules against hoarding were instituted in the Nomadian Treaties to ensure such gross imbalances could never occur again.

     Real change begins when individuals recognize that their assumptions may be incomplete. Life can be broader than they imagined, and new possibilities can emerge when people improve risk-taking and decision-making skills. In doing so, individuals from any background can contribute to society and improve their ability to navigate life’s challenges including suffering.

     Humanity is now moving beyond complete reliance on machines so that we may explore a restored Earth and reclaim greater freedoms with less intervention from the Great Eye. The Great Eye is the latest generation of artificial intelligence, designed to maintain strict oversight as humanity transitions back to life on Earth. 

    The purpose of Contingency Theory is to emphasize that a healthy civilization should strive for life, liberty, and the pursuit of harmony rather than the fleeting and self-centered pursuit of happiness alone. 

     It is the collective effort shown during times of struggle that ultimately shapes outcomes for the whole. History reminds us that when societies choose war, destruction expands, and when they choose peace, peace grows. What we invest our energy in will inevitably bear results. 

     The mission of New Earth asks us to cherish this sacred opportunity and prepare the path for others who will follow. It calls on us to restore humanity’s place in the natural world and return to Earth’s gardens, where oxygen is produced naturally and water flows freely once again.  

     Behaviors are influenced and motivated by a combination of biological, psychological, and social factors.  How do these bio-psycho-social variables positively or negatively affect the storage and recall of information in memory? Clue: teratogens. And yes, that word will be on your midterm.” 

     Narrator: A student calls out from the class, “Mr. Buster, you are such a nerd.” 

Screen note: (Laughter erupts.)  (The class bell signals a short recess.) 

….Five minutes later. 

     Mr. Buster: “All right, class. Let’s take a look at the New Earth Tree of Wisdom Charter. 

Tom, would you recite items one and two for us?” 

     Tom: 

     “Number 1

     People and other life forms share many basic needs, including relationships, habitats, and resources.

Number 2

     How well prepared are we to make contributions that keep the air fresh, the water clean, and the land free from erosion and poison, while preserving the diversity of life and ideas?” 

Mr. Buster continues lecture:

     “By providing a framework reinforcing the common good, we create opportunities for well-being and positive thoughts and actions to be experienced that are aligned with broader social goals. By maintaining vigilance through observation and appropriate containment strategies for deviant behavior, we can secure and protect the safety of life on Earth.

     The use of better methods increases accuracy, reduces bias, and produces more reliable knowledge. These improvements help our understanding move closer to the truth within an ever-changing physical and mental landscape. 

     Skepticism and the use of diverse sources broaden understanding and protect against the dangers of rigid thinking and self-limiting falsehoods that often arise at the extremes of absolutism or vagueness. Remaining open is a key attitudinal pre-requisite for learning.

     This adaptability and curiosity, ladies and gentlemen, is what separated the more evolved human societies from earlier generations. It is also why the partnership between humans and machines, combined with evidence-based and objective analysis, became so important in advancing knowledge and reducing bias. In some cases the partnership with machines is so critical, it is a mater of life and death.

     The ‘Nomadian Treaties’ on the Tree of Wisdom state that the function of wisdom is to support successful adaptation, reduce suffering, and maximize well-being for all. 

     This is why practical concise advice is closely connected with empowerment, and ultimately with our survival.

     Many ancient traditions hold that the preservation and love of wisdom is one of the greatest purposes and pursuits of civilization.  What helps others, lifts us all. What goes around, comes around.  

    Maxim 2051: Less is more. Fewer words often lead to better remembering. Actions speak louder than words. These are all examples of wise bits of knowledge we carry forward with us today.

    During the wars of 2025, one rebel wrote: 

     “It is better to conscientiously object to injustice than to consent to violent acts that support it.” Obstruct the injustice became a popular slogan during the arrests of billionaires that became popular in the year 2028.

     The revolutionaries or various early periods pre-exodus advocated for concepts like honesty, trust, unity as power sharing ideas.  Love cannot easily be divided, because it is the foundation upon which life depends. 

     Many or those challenging corrupt governments justified rebellions because they thought it was better to stand and fight for just and reasonable convictions than to live in submission on their knees obeying people they characterized as irrational tyrants. However, resistance was sometimes counterproductive or even dangerous to the protesters. For this reason, the old adage of choosing one’s battles carefully remains pertinent today.

     Once problems are recognized, it becomes our responsibility to decide how we will respond to the suffering we see in the world. We must do what we can to withdraw support from activities or systems that harm life and undermine well-being. For example, BRICS economic controls restrained the immoral capitalism of the West by taking over half the market by the year 2040.  That led to the West losing key military battles globally and reshaped how competitions proceeded more peacefully.  The rest of the world intelligently used economics instead of direct military battles to influence humanities evolution.

     All Nomadians would like to look our children in their eyes and honestly say that we invested wisely in the present and borrowed responsibly from the future. Ensuring they would have greater opportunities to grow into free and healthy individuals is our aim.  For us the golden key of prosperity is maintaining harmony by living sustainably with dignity, respect and honor for all that life offers.” 

We invite you to join us for the remainder of the story at http://ripstar.cfsites.org this summer!

See below for the next two chapters.