DIVERGENCE, stories from parallel worlds

Foreword: Mid-nineties I heard a strange message on the radio. China had won a soccer game from one of the big countries: 2-1. I noticed, because I never expected that win. And indeed that evening the score was the other way around. Was it a mistake of the radio reporter, or had I, for a moment, been listening to a parallel universe with a different outcome? Scientists still argue if parallel worlds exist, discussing the point whether each tiny decision or outcome, creates a new alternative universe that plays out that variation. Meanwhile a secret lab has already established contact with another world, or rather they with us. The translation work was so huge; the project was renamed 'Tower of Babel.' Consider talking to someone who speaks a language that developed from ancient Farsi (Persian) into a completely different direction, including cultural differences after diverging over 2500 years ago.

The stories, of these worlds we found, were challenging. Sometimes the differences were so big, we had to shake ourselves to believe it. And several of these variations of our world furthest away from us, are doing considerably better than us. After we started releasing findings we found more and more opposition that wanted to silence us. So here before they can do so, are the stories from brother and sister worlds we all should consider if we want to make valuable choices for our own future.

Remember, in this book are only those parallel worlds we were brought in contact with. And they could only speak to us, because they developed the right technology, and didn't kill themselves with it. The Earth that contacted us first, also helped us with the translations, for some worlds developed so differently that their languages also had gone into quite different direction. Have fun with entering these unknown lands.

A taste of this Babel Universe:

There's a world where there are no professions. Everyone is an amateur, or lover of what they do. Money is a hobby game outside the economy. Everyones interest is to contribute meaningful. The more meaningful your contribution the higher your status.

Our Question: “Are professions indeed creating damaging distance between person and function?”

There's a world where the USA kept their values of the free world after WWII intact, and did not betray its own principles for power and money. Here it is more powerful than ever, and called 'the Golden Empire'. It has now over 74 states around the whole globe.

Our Question: “Do integrity and principles always pay off in the long run?”

There's a world where the Persians still dominate the world, though they have changed enormously. Their 'Diamond Kings' are leaders chosen by the people, in a very different way of selection. And neither Christianity nor Islam ever happened.

Our Question: “What more than democracy is possible to choose the best leaders?”

There's a world where there are no countries and only little self sustaining cities. Here everybody has lots of free times. As a result they lead a celebrative and intense cultural life, that also has sped up invention, more based on a populace working as swarm.

Our Question: “What if work was not the centre of life, but living and sharing was?”

There's a world where imagination is the most important subject teached at schools. As a result there is little hierarchy or order, but a hugely inventive civilization that is lightyears beyond us in technological advancement.

Our Question: “Should we start to take art seriously as the path to intellectual and inventive progress?”

The world that looks most like ours is a dying world. They have strong leaders that claim to protect the people and make matters worse, doing so. Environmental damage is worsened by useless wars and huge gaps in wealth and health distribution.

Our Question: “Is the paradigm 'It's either Us or Them' in nationalism and power politics not worse than the problems it states to fight?”

Another world very similar to ours has no USA any more. It collapsed recently (early nineties). They have developed since then a model of green liberalism, kept in check by a stronger global government that guards the environment above any personal interest.

Our Question: “What interest(s) should rise above all others, when it is about our shared future?”

There's a world where Londan (London) is the cultural capital of the planet, although there is a lot of resistance against this. There is much fighting and constant innovation to keep a slinking post-colonial white supremacy in power.

Our Question: “Does might mean right, and does use of might sustain or decay?”

There's a world where there's less than 5 million people around the planet. A plague, because of bacterial warfare, has killed all others. The ones who released the bacteria are gone too, due to unexpected mutations. Nature is blossoming though.

Our Question: “How can we ever think we can control and foresee all outcomes?”

There's a world where we have bases on almost all planets, but earth itself has became poor because of all the effort to make it so. They claim to prepare for a 'Golden Dawn' when all this effort should start to pay of, but their own government is worried.

Our Question: “How many people may suffer as 'an investment', so that others might enjoy?”

There's a world that is very tribal and diverse. But they have three classes that live outside and across the tribes: the traders, the artists and the discoverers (scientists), of which the last work for the elevation of the whole.

Our Question: “What if all science worked for the elevation of us all, rather than for organizations with private interests?”

There's a world where all generations are always present in any meeting. Young idealism and dreaming go hand in hand with the wisdom of the old. This society was most shocked about ours, and claimed cultures driven by ambitious career men are deadly.

Our Question: “Is it almost a war crime to lock up elderly in homes and give them and children no say in economic and legal issues with far reaching consequences?”

There's a world thats run by a global dictatorship by a 'Divine Clan'. Despite its advanced technology it is in bad shape. Military power is constantly challenged by tribal uprisings. Slavery, corruption and oppression have taken the initiative out of the majority of peoples.

Our Question: “Who are you really helping when you grasp power with force over others, and why do we allow this every time again?”

There's a world where genetic engineering, toxic waste and agricultural poisons have indeed killed all the bees. The last bases of civilization are panic driven developing new techniques to keep their agricultural food alive.

Our Question: “Once again, how much warning do we need to really have, before common interest takes precedence over corporate convictions and interests?”

There's a world where the side effects of geo engineering, due to previous disasters are slowly transforming the world towards something as dry as Mars and each new attempt to turn the tide has proven to add to the process.

Our Question: “When companies design solutions for us all, on which they'll make huge profits, how much are they willing to lie about side-effects, just to score the contract?” "When is the point to let nature run its course?"

There's a world without schools. A children learn through play and intrinsic motivation and mentoring. Life long learning is here much more a trend, than in our world. Around the age of 21 you choose your way of contributing and may change that every 7 years.

Our Question: “How much is our school model really motivational to learn, and how much about social conditioning?”

There's a world where science is very different form ours. For them truth is when it works in harmony with nature, even when it's driven by a fairy tale. Enrichment of the (shared) life is the highest value, that so far has made the first flight to a different star possible.

Our Question: “When science would not put checkable facts at the centre, but positive experience of outcomes, what would be different?”

There's a world where human kind lives way more like Bonobo's. Sex is everywhere as means of conflict resolution. The power is matriarchal and the world quite peaceful. Wars are only used to prove prowess, not to destroy the other side.

Our Questions: “What if our wars were about proving prowess and not about destruction. How would we fight differently?” "What if we took a more free take on sex as means of conflict resolution?" "And how about more female attributes at the top?"

There's a world where the interest of the whole is rules over the individual. Here the Chinese 1 child per family has become global. Here the Chinese Global Enforcement is hated, but human numbers are going down and global warming has been avoided.

Our Question: “Where is the best balance between personal tragedy and general interest?”

There's a world where proven scientific discoveries are implemented, when it benefits the whole. Latest is: since owning more than 10 million dollar destroys your sense of ethics, this is now the maximum amount anyone, even a company can own. The impact is huge.

Our Question: “When did we listen to proof that bonuses or abject amounts of wealth, or don't work or dared to act collectively on any essential insight?”

There's world where the native Americans are the cultural dominating force. After killing all settlers early on and stealing their technology, they started to raid a plague ridden Europe. As a result there is no pollution, nor huge territorial wars for land ownership.

Our Question: “Do we dare to even consider the West not being the best way and investigate alternatives?”

There's a world where the Asian Fighting styles are the dominant way to train attitude and physical condition. Governments are way more accepted and less troublesome, for here people tend to focus on self development rather than on organizational power.

Our Question: “If we all focus more on self development, with at the core self containment and self restraint, would that also help self restrain damaging businesses?”

There's a world were war is an art, that is played as a sport. Weapon technology is low, media technology very high, to be able to watch every corner of the fighting. Biological advancements are also huge, to have bigger, better, stronger fighters.

Our Question: “Could we play out our wars in restricted sporting zones and have negotiations on the outcome before and after?”

There was a world that didn't want to tell anything. We only knew they talked a mixture of Greek, Kurdish and Arabic. After we pressed them a little, we heard the people on the other side being murdered and all contact was broken off.

Our Question: “What is more important: free information or governmental interests? What is more dangerous, a madman with access to everything, or a madmen regime who controls it all?”