By Evan C. Lewis
At Planet Harmony, we are committed to the maintenance of a Careful, Harmonious and Polite (CPH) society for all citizens. As a new arrival, we believe it is important to understand these values before entering our planet so that you may be Careful, Harmonious and Polite to our planetary community, but also so that you may be ensured that our citizens will be Careful, Harmonious and Polite to you.
In this module: Introduction to CPH we will present the basics of CPH. You may come from a planet that still holds Unharmonious beliefs and orientations, but our community is forgiving, and our people, especially the Enactors of Harmony take pride in Harmonising even the most Careless people.
Let’s start with a test question to get you familiar with the system…
Practice Question: The growth of a wild organism, such as a “plant” or “tree” in one’s domicile is…
A: ‘harmless’ - because I am a Careless person unaware of the risks of wild organisms.
B: ‘my choice’ - because I do not care about the safety of my fellow citizens.
C: ‘Careless’ - because wild organisms can be full of poison, spores and other potentially harmful substances.
D: ‘private business’ - because I do not want to do my part in maintaining a Careful community.
You chose D! That is the wrong answer, the correct answer was C. Citizens of Planet Harmony look out for each other, and must not allow the introduction of Careless substances into our community.
***
Section 1: Introduction to Harmonisation.
Truth and falsehood, justice and injustice, good and bad. Many planets in our solar system have had different concepts of what is most important, but these rigid ideas have always resulted in a lack of Harmony.
Consider the ideas of truth and falsehood, the highest values of the Republic of Alpetron III. They say that truth is good and falsehood is bad because falsehood leads to failure and suffering. But as shown by Ixilius Exron, Enactor of Harmony, truth can also lead to suffering. “If a man knew the date of his death, or the Unpolite thoughts of everyone in the galaxy, would he feel Harmonious?”
Harmony encapsulates all that is true, good and just but with an extra orientation that ensures a true lack of suffering.
Let’s see if you understand…
Question 1: Statistics about the regular disappearance of citizens on Planet Harmony are…
A: True - because I have an Unharmonious mindset and listen to Careless news sources.
B: Good - because I distrust the Enactors of Harmony and therefore don’t believe in the value of Harmony.
C: Just - because I arrogantly claim to know what is best for the citizens of Planet Harmony.
D: Unharmonious - because statistics are rigid truths and ignore the concept of Harmony.
You chose A! That is the wrong answer, the correct answer was D. Harmony is more important. Statistics only focus on truth, which is a rigid way of thinking.
Warning! Too many incorrect questions will result in an alert to the Enactors of Harmony.
***
Section 2: Introduction to Carefulness.
When prompted to think about Carefulness, we often think about extreme dangers like weapons or rocket fuels. These kinds of items are indeed Careless, but items like sugar and books come with their own risks too. We need to understand a better orientated understanding of Carefulness so that we can proactively mitigate risk at all levels on Planet Harmony.
The Enactors of Harmony created the forever growing and inexhaustive Catalogue of Careless Entities in the year 2236. All items on this list must be reported to the Enactors of Harmony as soon as discovered, and placed into your local Harmony receptacle where possible. Please refrain from placing your hand into your local Harmony receptacle, as the Harmonisation process can be unsafe for bare skin.
The ten most important entities are the following: 1. Knives 2. Poisons 3. Foreign books 4. Unregistered vehicles 5. Guns 6. Statistics 7. Wild organisms 8. Unpackaged foods 9. Careless thoughts 10. Explosive materials
Question 2: While Careless substances can and must be destroyed, Careless thoughts…
A: Cannot be changed - because thoughts are rigid and indestructible.
B: Can be reorientated - because most Careless thoughts can be reorientated towards Harmonious truths.
C: Can be Harmonised - because Enactors of Harmony are trained to deal with all forms of Unharmony.
D: Both B and C, but not A
You chose D! Well Done! The first solution for Careless thoughts is to reorientate the holder of these thoughts into a Careful state of mind. The second step is to contact the Enactors of Harmony, as the Enactors of Harmony are experts at Harmonisation and can Harmonise even the most Careless people.
***
Section 3: Introduction to Unpoliteness
Unpoliteness is when a citizen witnesses another citizen engaging with Careless, Unharmonious, or Unpolite substances, activities or thoughts. Someone who is Unpolite might understand Harmony personally, but doesn’t feel that it is necessary to help others to orientate themselves towards Harmony in turn. Complete Harmony does not live in isolation. It lives only when all citizens of Planet Harmony are Harmonious together.
This next question has been adapted individually, and is based on new information recently ascertained by the Enactors of Harmony…
Question 3: Your mother, Adiana, who entered the Planet of Harmony 17 days ago, is suspected of being a spy sent by Rigid thinkers of the Republic of Alpetron III. She is…
A: Good - because I have failed to learn anything from this module and am still Unharmonious.
B: Innocent - because I audaciously distrust the Enactors of Harmony and their Careful truths.
C: Careless - because I naively think her thoughts can still be reorientated.
D: Unharmonious - because I understand that the Polite thing to do is to report to the Enactors of Harmony all previously witnessed Careless thoughts espoused by this individual.
Awaiting answer…
About the Author
Evan C. Lewis is Melbourne man who writes about absurd things more to get them out of his mind than to get them onto paper.
Tara Campbell is an award-winning writer, teacher, Kimbilio Fellow, fiction co-editor at Barrelhouse, and graduate of American University's MFA in Creative Writing.
Emma Louise Gill (she/her) is a British-Australian spec fic writer and consumer of vast amounts of coffee. Brought up on a diet of English lit, she rebelled and now spends her time writing explosive space opera and other fantastical things in
Tim Borella is an Australian author, mainly of short speculative fiction published in anthologies, online and in podcasts.
Ed lives with his wife plus a magical assortment of native animals in tropical North Queensland.
Brian Biswas lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.
Geraldine Borella writes fiction for children, young adults and adults. Her work has been published by Deadset Press, IFWG Publishing, Wombat Books/Rhiza Edge, AHWA/Midnight Echo, Antipodean SF, Shacklebound Books, Black Ink Fiction, Paramour Ink Fiction, House of Loki and Raven & Drake
My time at Nambucca Valley Community Radio began back in 2016 after moving into the area from Sydney.
Merri Andrew writes poetry and short fiction, some of which has appeared in Cordite, Be:longing, Baby Teeth and Islet, among other places.
Alistair Lloyd is a Melbourne based writer and narrator who has been consuming good quality science fiction and fantasy most of his life.
Sarah Jane Justice is an Adelaide-based fiction writer, poet, musician and spoken word artist.
Barry Yedvobnick is a recently retired Biology Professor. He performed molecular biology and genetic research, and taught, at Emory University in Atlanta for 34 years. He is new to fiction writing, and enjoys taking real science a step or two beyond its known boundaries in his
Mark is an astrophysicist and space scientist who worked on the Cassini/Huygens mission to Saturn. Following this he worked in computer consultancy, engineering, and high energy research (with a stint at the JET Fusion Torus).