DAY 9, FOCUS, book 4, building

FOCUS. ‘Focus,’ Alice mumbled to herself when she called Andy the next morning. ‘Alice! Hi!’ ‘Andy! Could you run the entire town simulation to find out which period of time is the minimum we’d need to run the experiment to get reliable results on our main topics: economics rethought, community rethought, admin rethought and so on. I’m thinking maybe we could go down to eight or seven years as an offer in negotiations.’ ‘I’ll get a team right on it. But we’ll have to use the old simulation. The Jellybridge version isn’t complete, yet. And we need to use a cluster of exclusive servers, to get results quickly.’ ‘Do that! Call me when you have the numbers.’ ‘Will do.’ // Some two hours later, just after nine, Mudiwa smiled into the camera. ‘Hello everyone, and welcome back to our ripples news live coverage of the final day of campaigns.’ Rose smiled. ‘Hello from me, too. As you can see, we’re on a Thames ferry, which is presently picking up people for an event called: Focus and flow.’ Mudiwa nodded. ‘With us now is Mario, the host of this event. Hello Mario, thanks for speaking to us.’ ‘My pleasure! Just a shame you want to get off at the next stop.’ Mudiwa chuckled. ‘That’s true. But as always, we want to give visitors glimpses of as many events as possible.’ ‘Ah, but where’s the focus in that?’ Mario countered and Mudiwa smiled. ‘In showcasing that you can approach any given topic from a vast multitude of angles, in a whole range of very different events.’ Mario laughed. ‘You’re spot on!’ Mudiwa smiled. ‘So, Mario, what’s your event about?’ Mario clasped his hands on his belly. ‘When we hear the word focus, we often associate it with standing still, with fixing our eyes or mind on something. Here on our boat, we want to remind people that focus doesn’t have to be static, that focus can and in many cases should be something dynamic.’ ‘Can you give us an example?’ Mario chuckled. ‘So many you’d have to stay for several trips to hear them all.’ Mudiwa smiled. ‘I’ll have to settle for one or two.’ ‘All right, all right. Example one: you can focus on rethinking your personal mobility options, such as public transport, going by bicycle or using car-sharing. It’s a clear focus which will soon lead to a result for your personal life. You can also focus on mobility for much broader discussions, such as building towns for pedestrians not for cars, such as creating different kinds of bicycles for different requirements, such as rethinking trains so that going by train meets a variety of needs. By expanding your initial focus from a personal perspective to broader issues, you still focus, but you allow for more variables, and some variables will interact with each other, so to speak, adding new dynamics to your exploration. Example two: You focus on rewilding. You know, rewilding your balcony, your garden. And again you can extend your focus and say: why just me, why not initiate a Rewilding Neighbourhoods Project? Or a regional project that brings people together who create rewilded corridors, a network spanning their region. But as you sit there, with your new rewilding pals, you suddenly realise that what you’ve experienced in your work together, can be translated to other areas of life, too: rewilding the mind, for example, aka getting out the rubbish, rethinking damaging narratives, replacing them with narratives that nurture you, testing some self-seeding in the mind, and so on. From there, it’s a tiny step to rewilding relationships, education, workflows and so on. That’s what being on a river is about, to remind people that even with a focus, there is a flow, there is a lot to discover, to include and river arms to explore — and at best together, especially for the planet.’ ‘That sounds fantastic!’ Mudiwa said. ‘So, you pick up more visitors at the next two stops, and then …’ ‘Then we’ll start easy with a meditation on deck, mostly to get a feel for the river — and for the boat’s engines, to be honest. After that, we’ll form twelve groups of twelve. Each group will be headed by one of my team. The participants have been asked to bring one focus that is important to them, personal, global, whichever, and then a group will explore whether this focus is already flowing dynamically and if not, how a flow could be initiated. Focusing is something we all urgently need, for our private lives and more importantly for our planet. And we need the kind of focus that is flowing, not stuck in one issue, one perspective, one side or opinion, but a focus which connects dots and finds river arms. The more focused we are on rethinking and restoring our world— Ah, here comes Marha, one of my team. Marha is an amazing community builder, someone who has an incredible eye for people’s talents and for matching people.’ ‘Hello, Marha,’ Mudiwa said, ‘nice to meet you!’ ‘Nice to meet you! I’m a fan of ripples news and of you two. I love the energy between you.’ ‘Thank you so much!’ Rose said, shaking hands with Marha, and Mario said, ‘Marha, you must tell these two about matching.’ ‘Please, do!’ Rose and Mudiwa said. Marha smiled. ‘Thanks for your interest. Matching is a neglected practice. Too often we believe that everyone, every good person that is, must be friends with every other good person. But that’s not the case. Even if we have similar interests and goals, our minds might still have nothing to offer each other. Some minds are like two pieces of a puzzle, put them together, and they’ll discover new worlds. Other minds are like brothers, put them together, and they’ll strengthen each other. Some minds are like lovers, any friction allows them to dig deeper, to grow broader, to extend, to indulge. Other minds are like trees and stones. They might occupy the same space, they might interact, but there isn’t much happening between them, though they might both serve the same moss or fungi. Like I said, too often we feel obliged to interact with people, good people, we don’t match with, whose company doesn’t allow for anything to happen. While we all need to come together to restore our planet, we should focus on connections which have the most promising symbiotic effects. When we find our matches, when we build our bridges, when we allow ourselves to be in the river, to flow while we focus on rebuilding our ecosystems, then there will be an abundance of unrivalled hope for all of us.’ // FOCUS. ‘Focus,’ Alice mumbled and shook her head. She was at her third secret meeting. It was the first meeting where she was offered some toast to go with the cup of coffee. Admittedly, this coffee, too, was something else. But Alice wasn’t in a good mood. Like the previous two secret meetings this one, too, smelled of self-importance as if meeting-Alice-Adler-in-secret was trending, and any respectable meddler had to conform to that trend. This meeting, too, promised to have no content whatsoever. So much for focus. // Five minutes before noon, the fourth march for the town began, today smaller but with new people joining, thanks to the efforts of the town project’s international teams. ‘It was time we brought some more colour into these marches,’ Kaya, the head of the South Africa Team, remarked to the people in her group. ‘No disrespect, you white people,’ Kaya called louder. ‘I love that you care for the planet, too. And I’m even a little hopeful that you know enough about our town project to realise that it is and always will be an international, all races, all genders, all ages, all abilities project.’ Renshu, the head of the China Team, chuckled. ‘An all minds and bodies project sounds good, too.’ ‘It does,’ said Lydia, the head of the Australia Team, and Nanda, the head of the Brazil Team, remarked: ‘I like all shades, talents and imaginations.’ ‘I’d have thought, you’d add all dance moves,’ Mika, head of the Berlin Team, teased. ‘That’s bias.’ ‘Nope. That’s envy. I’ll never dance like the people at the carnival in Rio.’ ‘In your imagination, you could,’ Lavrenti, head of the Russia Team, remarked. ‘Uh, uh, look, I think I know this woman with the long braids,’ a little boy called from the sidewalk, staring at Kaya. ‘How?’ another smaller boy asked. ‘I don’t remember but— Uh, hello, hello! Do I know you?’ Kaya and Nanda stopped, and so did Renshu and Lavrenti. ‘Not that I recall,’ Kaya returned. ‘Though you look a little familiar.’ ‘Oh, that’s just my dad. Sometimes I look like my dad, people say. He’s famous, you know. But then you don’t know me. But I could swear, I’ve seen you somewhere.’ Kaya and Nanda exchanged smiles, and, Lavrenti, pushing his round glasses into place, said: ‘You are Jack Harris’s son.’ ‘Yes. That’s what I mean. I’m Davie.’ Renshu smiled. ‘And you’ll have seen pictures of Kaya because your father was on the travelling team when they visited South Africa.’ ‘Oh! WOW!’ Davie and the smaller boy exclaimed. ‘You are with the international teams,’ Davie said, beaming, and the smaller boy called: ‘Dad! Dad! Look, these are with the international teams! They are really here! Look!’ The father in question smiled, came closer, in the company of another young man, and said to Kaya, Nanda, Renshu and Lavrenti: ‘Hello, I’m Nitis, a member of the project’s Admin Team. This is my son Kuruk. And these are Jack’s sons Davie and Kyle.’ ‘Kyle!’ Kaya exclaimed. ‘I’m a fan of your music, your’s and Bertok’s. And now I remember that I saw you all at Halloween. You’re amazing!’ ‘Thanks a lot!’ Kyle said. ‘Did you get the tickets for tonight’s concert?’ ‘We did! Thanks so much!’ ‘Can we march together?’ Davie asked, still beaming. ‘Absolutely!’ Kaya returned. // Meanwhile Mudiwa and Rose stood on the roof of a London apartment building. ‘Yes,’ Mudiwa said into the camera, ‘we are standing on a roof which has been transformed into a garden with solar panels shaped like sunflowers, and yes, this is the centre of a web of connected roofs. And yes, this is the roof project which began on the Loneliness Day, which was completed this morning, and which will host a bridged-roofs-gardens party to celebrate the achievement, the forged connections and every step towards restoring the planet by divesting from fossil fuels, by exchanging lifeless roofs with habitat roofs, by building bridges which connect people and nature alike.’ Rose smiled. ‘With us now are Oliver, Alexander and Rembrandt. Thank you so much for joining us.’ ‘It’s our pleasure,’ Oliver said, ‘and I’d like to thank ripples news for covering our project with so much heart and thorough research. We’re very grateful for that.’ ‘Our pleasure! I’ll pass it on to our teams,’ Rose returned and Mudiwa said: ‘The works on the roofs were completed less than an hour ago, and in less than an hour the bridged-roofs-gardens party will begin. How are you?’ Oliver laughed, shaking his head. ‘I have no idea! But when I woke up this morning, I thought: What we need is focus, each of us on their tasks, and we’ll be fine. To be honest, I never expected we’d be ready before the start of the party. I’m just. I think I’ll burst any minute now. I’m so excited, happy, happily overwhelmed, amazed. I mean, bloody hell: WE DID IT!’ Oliver laughed and tears escaped his eyes. ‘We did it! I think I’ll need a few hours before that will have sunk in!’ Mudiwa and Rose smiled. And Rose asked: ‘Alexander, Rembrandt, how are you?’ ‘Great,’ Alexander replied, smiling. ‘Very proud of my husband, of everyone who was involved in transforming the roofs, of all the Londoner’s who cheered us on. The local support has been amazing. And very happy to have met Rembrandt on this project.’ Rembrandt nodded. ‘Like these two, I live in this apartment house. I knew about a gay couple. Architects. But we’d never even seen each other. Never said hello — until the day when they knocked on my door. My first thought was, they’d run out of eggs, oat milk or tofu. Instead they invited me to be part of bringing the land to the roof. Honestly, I thought, they’d lost their minds. But I was curious, read up on the town project and— and on loneliness. That was the weirdest moment for me. I had never considered myself lonely. But reading about it, and more so when I worked with these guys, and all the other people in our house, most of whom I also hadn’t met before, and with the people of the other houses and all the experts, that’s when it hit me: I’d been a lonely fool for at least a decade. I’d slowly slid into it, so slowly that I hadn’t noticed what was happening to me, and now— It’s incredible! Working together, creating together, talking with real people again not just online, being in the fresh air — all of it is life-transforming, really amazing. And these two make me wish I was gay. Honestly, they are amazing, lovely, big hearts, giant minds. Amazing!’ ‘Oh, oh,’ Alexander said. ‘The first guests are arriving.’ Mudiwa smiled and said into the camera. ‘That’s our signal to stop recording and to thank Oliver, Alexander and Rembrandt for speaking with us. Me and Rose will join the party for a little bit. When we come back, we’ll be at the Compound with something you’ve never heard of, never imagined, and if you had, you would never have believed possible. Stay tuned.’ ‘And keep your noses clean,’ Rose added with a grin. // In the late afternoon, Andy called Alice. ‘The simulation suggests that three years is the absolute minimum we need to run the town experiment. With the data collected in that time, we could make some good guesses on a number of our core issues.’ ‘That’s a lot less than twelve years.’ ‘Yes. We wouldn’t have time to do every experiments we want to do, but with three years, we could gather valuable data regarding life in town, business cycles, education and health. It’s not ideal, but if we get parliament to agree to three years, we have three years to prove that our work is relevant, and that it is in the government’s interest to prolong the experiment. Probably.’ ‘Hm,’ Alice mumbled. ‘Three years. Can we really build a town for just three years?’ ‘Yes!’ Andy returned. ‘If that’s all we get, we’ll do it because the actual town is our best chance to deliver visible results.’ ‘Hm.’ ‘You don’t have to tell them. Offer eleven, ten …’ ‘Hm. You’re right. Hm.’ ‘How are your secret meetings going?’ ‘Boring, to be honest. But I’m just returning from a not so secret meeting with Princess Felicitas.’ ‘Oh! What was that about?’ Alice chuckled a little. ‘At first I thought, the princess just wanted to congratulate us on inviting her and the queen to the groundbreaking ceremony. She said, she burst out laughing when she read the invitation. But then she introduced me to some influential friends who want to help.’ ‘How?’ Andy asked, sounding suspicious, as he always did when the royals were concerned. ‘They want to talk to MPs,’ Alice said, ‘put in a word for us. They compiled quite a bit of material, insider tips and a list of conditions that might sway enough MPs to vote in favour of the town — if they can persuade the MPs to vote again.’ ‘Hm. Do you believe these friends?’ Alice shrugged. ‘They seemed sincere enough, and they asked good questions, informed questions. I’ll have a look at their material when I’m back at the Compound.’ ‘When will you be back?’ ‘Hopefully soon. I have two more secret meetings. By the way, Princess Felicitas told me that some countries, including Europe, put pressure on the UK to block our project.’ ‘Bastards!’ ‘Oh, yes. But apparently some British people are annoyed about that. They are tired of interfering, patronising foreign powers. We might be able to use these people’s resentments.’ ‘Only, you don’t like playing.’ ‘I really don’t. And I’m worried about the three years.’ ‘Why?’ ‘Because I promised to be honest. But the moment, I say three years, everyone will go for it.’ ‘I wouldn’t worry about that. There’s a lot, we can find out in those three years, including that it might be advisable to prolong the experiment.’ ‘Hm.’ // ‘Hello, hello! We are back! This is Mudiwa. I am Rose, and we are with ripples new, presently sitting on this comfy, nearly circular, sofa on the large square in front of the Compound. It doesn’t look like the square? You’re not wrong.’ ‘You’re really not,’ Mudiwa said, chuckling. ‘What you see around us is the official and public wrap party of all forty-seven millionaire boot camps, planned and designed by the one thousand six hundred and forty-five millionaires and billionaires who attended one of the millionaires boot camps.’ Rose chuckled. ‘Usually this square is your typical nude, lifeless stone desert, the kind humans invented for no good reason whatsoever. But now this place is buzzing with wildflowers, trees, sofas, info boards, bars and buffets, all arranged in two distinct circles. It’s crazy cool. It would be fun to interview all participants, but tonight, we’re really just observers. Luckily, all participants will publish statements tomorrow.’ Mudiwa nodded and nudged Rose. ‘I think, we should explain what the circles are about.’ ‘Oops! Yes! The inner circle is where all the camps’ participants gather and where the stage is located, near the archway into the Front House. The outer circle is divided into three sections. Section one: media, on the left. Section two: public visitors, centre. Section three: special guests, friends, family, on the right. Foods, drinks and music, in short the party, is rolling everywhere and abundantly.’ Mudiwa nodded. ‘I think, we’ll hear more about this arrangement later. Now, we have just enough time to squeeze in an interview with two formidable guests, and then the stage belongs to the millionaires and billionaires — and for once this is actually good news, from what we hear.’ Rose chuckled and nodded, saying: ‘With us now are Hayley, our technical innovations expert on the Campaigns and Negotiations Team, and Itzel, the head of the True Power is in Creation Campaign. Welcome Hayley and Itzel, and thanks for joining us. It’s great to have you.’ ‘Our pleasure,’ Hayley returned. ‘And thanks for making room for my wheelchair. Appreciated.’ ‘Pleasure,’ Rose returned and Mudiwa said: ‘Hayley, the millionaires boot camp was your idea. How did this idea come up?’ ‘Millionaires and billionaires cause the most damage on our planet. If we can get them on board with rethinking— well, everything, then that will have a huge impact.’ ‘That’s true. Were you involved in developing the boot camps?’ ‘I was too curious to keep my nose out of it,’ Hayley returned, ‘so I kept an eye on it from the start and occasionally gave a hand. A few times, I managed to sneak into a boot camp, and it was always more than I had hoped for.’ ‘Then your idea worked?’ Hayley grinned. ‘Nah! It surpassed my wildest dreams! But these stories are best told by the participants.’ Rose nodded and asked Itzel: ‘What did you think when you first heard about the millionaires boot camp?’ ‘Bloody waste of time! Undeserving pack! When will we finally kick them to Mars? Why are we still giving them even a second of our time, a crump of our thoughts, a penny of our money, anything?’ ‘But you still agreed to organise the boot camps?’ Itzel grimaced. ‘I protested. But this project—’ Itzel shook her head. ‘It just doesn’t accept anything as untestable. Someone on this project has an idea, and once that idea is out in the open, curiosity has the upper hand. The teams want to know. They’re not interested in anyone’s resentments or doubts. Not at that point. And so I did the only thing I could: I found people who were also curious and who brought the kinds of talents the Campaigns and Negotiations Team had in mind, namely people who could do bodywork, others who could do mindwork, those who could stimulate healing, and most importantly those who could unchain people’s imagination. To be honest, it was in the process of searching for these people that my own curiosity stirred. Today, I’m—’ Itzel shook her head again. ‘Today, I’m proud. I’m proud of the boot camp teams. I’m proud of the participants. I’m even proud of humans in general because we have so much potential. All it takes, apparently, is that this potential is unearthed, nurtured— Ah, the announcements are about to begin.’ Mudiwa nodded and said into the camera. ‘That’s our signal to focus our cameras on the stage and listen to what the boot camp participants have to share.’ On the stage, near the archway to the courtyard, stood five men and two women, all dressed casually. ‘Good evening,’ said one of the women into the microphone. ‘My name is Ann Masters, and I welcome us all to our official boot camps wrap party. It’ll be as peculiar a party as it’ll be unforgettable. There is quite a bit of programme we want to get through. That’s one of the reasons why we decided to be the animals in the zoo and keep the rest of you, most of the rest of you, in the circle around us. We want to focus while you have the choice to focus with us or to party. Our focus will not only be on the presentations on stage but also on connecting to each other for collaborations. Don’t worry, we’ll take it in turns to talk to media people and to see our guests. And much later, we’ll all party. The people from the town project are welcome everywhere. We owe them. A lot. Though I hear that few could make it because they have a fight to win. Kudos to them. Kudos to them for having the courage to call every human a human, every human a fellow human. Kudos that they don’t cater to anyone. Kudos that their curiosity didn’t dismiss us but found a way into our minds, even into our hearts!’ Applause. It wasn’t a thundering applause, more one that was new to the task and was still trying to get a hang of applauding. ‘Many of us participants have already been in contact via the Hub’s millionaires imagination boost room, and it’s great to meet you all in person here. Our focus tonight will be on introducing our ideas for projects which emerged at our boot camps. To quote Navarro Duarte, the town project’s best philosopher: “You have the money and the choice to have fun with it — for planet and people. You can create something that ripples far and wide, that leaves a mark for generations to remember, that will be alive and expanding for centuries to come.” This time the applause was a little more confident in its purpose and the how-to — also just a little enthusiastic. ‘We split the evening into slots of seven presentations each. We have thirty minutes per slot and will continue until midnight. It’s nearly five now. That means we have seven hours to present ninety-eight of our over seven thousand project ideas. From tomorrow on, all our project ideas can be found on the Hub’s projectsscape, which is part of our millionaires imagination boost room. The team which has been adding our ideas to the projectsscape, have already indicated overlaps and possible cooperations between projects. Check them out, connect. That’s it from me, for now. My friend Robby Tongle will make a start with his presentation.’ ‘Thank you, Ann! Thank you for your introduction, and a big thank you to the town project for making us sweat and dream and rethink. The boot camp was amazing. Too short. I wasn’t the only one who tried to bribe the town project into letting me attend more boot camps. But these people insist on not taking bribes. That was a new experience!’ Many in the audience laughed. ‘Since I really loved being at the boot camp, and since the project wouldn’t be bribed, I decided to develop millionaires boot camps myself, and to set them up around the globe. There are millions of us, and most of us have lost our minds, hearts and souls. If a single day of sweating, dreaming and rethinking can set me on a track to finding my mind, heart and soul, then it can do that for others, too.’ The applause experienced gusts of enthusiasm. ‘The ticket price will remain as high. It needs to cost us something to fight for our souls.’ The applause stumbled, surprised, frowning. ‘Part of the income will cover the costs for the boot camps. And yes, I finally get that paying the people well who work for and with us is part of any healthy economy. And that giving respect returns respect. It’s that simple. The rest of the income will be split: twelve percent will go to the town project for their exemplary work. Twelve percent will go into a pot for other boot camp people’s projects I like. Both people and projects I like.’ Laughter. ‘Twelve percent will go to the people in the neighbourhood of a boot camp to support their community, to give them the means to turn private land into community owned land, to achieve energy independence by setting up local, small unit solar networks, to lessen the burden of food costs by establishing additional local food sources. The remaining funds will be split between my other project ideas which you can all find on the Hub, tomorrow. If you, like me, could do with some more boot camp days, join me as developer, as one of the people who set up a camp and/or as a participant. I’ll definitely test every boot camp myself.’ Nods and thoughtful applause. ‘Next up my new friend Ed Shollar whom I used to hate because he once beat me to a lucrative deal. Ed!’ ‘Thanks, Robby! I admit it still feels weird that in this after-boot-camp world, we don’t compete. It feels better than expected. I’ll definitely be at some of your boot camps, Robby.’ Applause and smiles, and Ed continued. ‘I remember sweating and stick fighting at my boot camp, and feeling so angry and insecure, like I had this need not to bend, not to give in to whatever those town people were trying to do to me. Hell, I was a mess. I still am. I started therapy just days after my boot camp. The thing that has been my anchor ever since that unsettling, liberating experience, is an idea I had during the imagination session: The freedom to roam for children.’ Ed smiled a little sheepishly. ‘I can see the question marks on your faces. Unlikely as it may seem, I once was a boy.’ Laughter. ‘Not a happy boy. But I don’t have to tell you what it’s like to grow up with money. I was often sick, and I used to lie in bed dreaming of running away, of living in the wild, of roaming across the whole of England, like a mini version of Strider who would eventually become king of the White City.’ Chuckles. Thoughtful, wistful chuckles. Ed smiled a little and continued. ‘At the boot camp, I realised that I have the means to let this dream come true, now, decades later. Not just for me, not just for every sickly child but for all children in England. When I spoke about my idea at the imagination session, one of the boot camp people said: “It’d be great if the children themselves created roaming spaces.” That’s when I was hooked for real. Back home, there wasn’t a single argument that could sway me. They all tried. You know them: advisors, partners, investors, accountants, lawyers, and all the rest of them, people who are caught up in our money-making machinery. No amount of pleading could change my mind. I’ve already assembled the initial team, met with school kids, set up a website. This is the plan: With the help of locals, my team will figure out a network of traffic free, digital free zones, all connected, all across England. Once the routes are determined — and I’ll buy the lands if necessary, and I invite you to open your lands for this project — once the routes are fixed, the children can get to work. First plan what they want to be where along those routes, like places where they can build secret hideaways, places where they can create gardens, places where they can repair their bicycles, places they can rewild, places where they can play, and places where they can just hang out. But most importantly a network they can roam, carefree explorers of nature, guardians of wildlife, restorers of ecosystems, dreamers. This roaming network will be built by and for children.’ Ed paused and shook his head. ‘When I spoke with school kids it was— I was amazed how quickly the kids understood what the roaming network is about. I mean, at first they got all excited, telling me how they would make a lot of money from the network. But when I told them that the network wouldn’t make any money, that it would just be for them to enjoy and restore, they got it, in a heartbeat. There was even a sense of relief in their little souls. For once they wouldn’t be asked to perform, to win, to make money. Instead they are invited to play, explore, build, to be the heroes who restore nature and become it’s valiant guardians. I’m in talks with the town project’s book stations company to decide whether book stations could become part of the roaming network. The book stations team like the idea and suggested that stations by Two Wheels for bicycles, and stations by Original Instruments for everything music might add to the roaming network, too. Book Stations and the like could also offer workshops for first aid, crafting, foraging, herbal knowledge, and the like. And the stations would be places where the kids could choose to mingle with adults, to learn from them, to watch them. Of course, the kids have called for lunch trees and cooking spots. And some added the idea that once their network is completed, they could travel to other countries and help the children there to set up something similar. And yes, I know, I’m over time. Thanks for listening. I have all the money it’ll take to build such networks in Britain and across the whole of Europe. But if you want to be part of this amazing project which will give children the freedom to roam, the space to have adventures, the freedom to test their strength, to learn by exploring and by creating, then, please, join this project.’ Applause, partly thoughtful, partly incredulous, with a smile that said: What the heck is happening with us? Hell, I love it! ‘Next up is Jordan.’ ‘Thanks Ed. Hi, everyone. I’m Jordan Buxton. I was born into money and spent my days increasing the family fortune by buying land and other assets. I was sceptical when I returned home after my boot camp. I had experienced weird things happening in my body and mind at the camp, but for all I knew I had been drugged, and all these unknown sensations would wear off the next day. Some did. My curiosity did not. What if? became the question I couldn’t shake off. What if I did something drastic? Maybe I did have a fever, but something in me needed to know. What if I did something drastic and returned land to the communities?’ Something rippled through the audience. It might once have been shock or dismay, but it had lost its face, and it felt quite lost in the crowd, and yet, there was an echo of horror somewhere in it. Jordon felt it, too, and a lopsided smile appeared on his face. With a little nod to himself, he continued. ‘And so, as the head of the family, I eventually decided to return seventy percent of our holdings to the communities — under the condition that the people of these communities became joint owners and guardians of the land, and that half of the land would be rewilded in cooperation with rewilding experts.’ Jordan paused and shook his head, now smiling broadly. ‘The relief I felt still shakes me. The lies my parents told me about our duty, our privilege, our birthright. The lies. The burden. The damage. And for what? To feel important? To be a someone in a world of shallow ghosts? To continue a tradition that hasn’t served our country? Or us?’ Jordon inhaled noisily and nodded to himself. ‘For me releasing the land from its unnatural shackles is just the beginning. I need to learn more before taking my next steps, but I have set up an organisation which will advice people like us on how to return the lands that were never ours, how to help communities to become the guardians the lands need, and how we can become part of an actual community again. Allow me to add this. I know, we are all very rich here. I know some of us have clashed, have been enemies. But today is the first time that I’m among people like us, and I don’t feel afraid, I don’t feel stressed, I don’t feel ashamed. I’m not sure yet what this new feeling is, I think it’s something like becoming, maybe waking up, taking first steps. Navarro Duarte wrote: We aren’t greedy by nature. We are afraid by nature. I think, he is right. A lot of the hoarding we do, we do because we are afraid — of so many things. But I’m not afraid any more! Not of failure, not of disapproval, not of the future. I look forward to tomorrow.’ The applause was cautious, agreeing, and yet a little afraid of how courageous it really was. Could it— ‘—Next up is Tina.’ ‘Thank you Jordan. And thanks to the town project for initiating the boot camps. It was a life-changing experience, and I agree it was liberating. During the dream and imagination session, I got pretty panicky because I could see that the magic was working on everyone, ideas popping up like poppies in spring. But my mind was resolutely empty. No one talked numbers, curves, predictions. At some point, I complained, and when that didn’t work, I walked out. The boot camp I visited was near a creek which I had to cross to get to my car. And then something peculiar happened. I stepped onto a short, wooden bridge and stopped. I had no idea why. There was a sense of déjà vu, like I had been on a similar bridge before. And as I stood there, a memory slowly reassembled itself, the memory of a child which had been sent to an aunt over the summer, and who used to play near a creek. I smiled. I leaned on the bridge, looked into the water — and sniffed. It stank. Not badly. But it stank, and I remembered seeing headlines about the miserable state of England’s rivers and lakes. Back home, I immersed myself in research, and by the next morning, I had a project. I had the calculations, and I knew that my money was enough to restore the waters in England. My money is enough because I won’t suffer corruptions, excuses or extortions in the process. I’ll involve locals. I’ll work with farmers and hold industries to account. I know numbers and I know how to fight. I know how to spot bullshit and how to call it out. I won’t be a billionaire any more once the work is done. Rivers, lakes and waterworks will be in the hands of local communities, with proper procedures in place which ensure the restoration of ecosystems and the education of people. Though, I have become critical of education as we often practice it, where a few people decide what other people should be taught and how. And worse, being guided by the underlying idea that people need to be tweaked into a certain way of thinking and need to be filled with pre-determinant content. And worse, putting labels on everything and using language that complicates and divides rather than creating connections to the subjects in question. All of this mingled with the seeds of self-importance. If I have learned one thing from the town project, then that my education has done everything to cripple my imagination, to block my ability to think beyond what I know, to stand in the way of my ability to dare create visions outside of the narratives of our time. I don’t even remember how often I dismissed every headline about the state of the natural world as a fringe concern, as something for the radical left. Today, I ask myself: How could have dismissed this? Because I didn’t use my imagination to reach beyond what I had been taught, beyond what I thought I knew. But once I allowed my mind to think for itself, to dare question the narratives that guided me, my mind was frustratingly quick in coming to the conclusion that yes, an intact ecosystem means we will have enough food, we will have air and water that doesn’t make us sick, we will be able to enjoy the countryside. But I don’t want to tell people what to think. I want to find a way to enthuse and free their minds of all the damaging narratives that got us on a road of thoughtless self-destruction. And I hope that my work will encourage people to become guardians of the land, not its owners, not its exploiters, but part of the land — and until the land is restored its guardians. Thank you.’ The applause was a little frustrated. It was making progress, but there was always something in a presentation which made it hesitate, wonder, and a little afraid. ‘August is next. And I’m happy to say that we already decided to support each other’s projects. I look forward to working with you!’ ‘So am I, Tina! And thank you! Hello, everyone. I am August Zolach. And yes, my parents thought it was funny that my initials read A to Z. That is actually the only joke I ever heard them tell. Well. The boot camp. It was strange to realise how much I had lost because of my riches, because of my way of life, because of my work. When I was a child, I would run across fields, I would rest on heaps of straw, I would climb trees. I wouldn’t return to the house before dark, and sometimes after. When I was a boy, I loved nature and everything about it. When I became a man, I forgot. I forgot what I loved, and I got lost in a soulless world. The boot camp— The boot camp somehow managed to dig up that little boy. And— Bloody hell, I love that boy! He’s so full of life and love, and adventure. I stayed until the end of my boot camp, soaking up every re-awoken sensation. Back home, I needed nearly two days of sleep. When I woke up, I wept. I was a total mess. But a mess with a mission. I wanted back to nature. I wanted to demolish the dead ivory towers I had built for myself, my shareholders, my employees, my family. So, apart from finding a wonderful therapist, I ordered hundreds of books on everything nature, and began to dig into everything rewilding. And that’s where I found my project: Researching the history of native plants and wildlife, in the country I love most: Peru. That’s something I really respect Alice Adler for, she and her team didn’t come along with lists of projects we should use our money for, with what would be a right thing to do. Instead they brought spades! Spades so we could dig into ourselves and find what we love, what we’d enjoy once we’d escaped the madness money had thrown us into. The team’s only guidance was that we’d use our money to create — not to drain. Not to drain. Honestly, today I wonder what made any of us ever think that draining is good for anything. Anyway, my favourite team will research what constitutes healthy ecosystems in Peru, with a special focus on which plants, fungi and animals are native to which region in Peru. And since I am very rich and British, I’ll also finance similar teams to compile comprehensive guides on what other ecosystems need to function again, namely in England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Europe. I’m also in contact with someone who is interested in looking at the bigger picture of the connections between ecosystems in the northern hemisphere. All my teams will collaborate with book stations international and establish book stations as research and information centres, and as contributors to local economies. I do have responsibility for hundred-thousands of employees, and while I will dismantle some of my companies, and restructure others in cooperation with the town project business networks, my focus will be on taking my employees on the journey to restoring and rethinking our planet. Today, the town campaigns’ theme is to focus. And the most urgent issue we need to face is how much we have destroyed on our planet, how much needs to be cleaned up, restored, rewilded. I’m glad that for once it looks like I’ll get something right because there is nothing as urgent as restoring our ecosystems. I owe so much to the boot camp that I wanted to donate a quarter of my fortune to the town project. But can you believe it? They declined, saying that the maximum they’d accept are twelve percent since they are well funded and are presently behind using all the incoming funds. Isn’t that amazing? “Thank you, we have enough money. So much, in fact, we’re behind with spending it.” Incredible! Anyway, twelve percent of my fortune will go to the town project, one percent I’ll keep because there’s still a coward in me who is afraid of not being terribly rich. And the substantial rest will go into rewilding research and rewilding projects worldwide.’ The applause experienced a wave of tiredness. Maybe it was a bit much to be confronted with so many critical issue in such short order. ‘Next up is Steve.’ ‘Thank you, August. Cool project! Hello, I’m Steve McGusty. I’m a property shark, property developer and an all round arsehole. Ask my children. Ask my tenants. Ask anyone who ever did business with me. I’m despicable. Of course, I’d never have gone to a millionaires boot camp. Never! But my children tricked me into it. They drove me to one of the camps, pretending that we’d go on a hunting trip. On location, I got out of the car and stumbled into Greg. I was too damn embarrassed to shout at my children there and then, accepted the ticket they handed me through the window, and followed Greg as if I couldn’t wait for the boot camp to start.’ Some cautious chuckled rippled through the audience, and Greg sighed. ‘I think I was the guy who cried most at my boot camp. Boy, I was used to being hated. It was my butter and bread. It was how I got things done. But to look myself in the mirror — You remember that mirror, a real mirror they made us look into? — To look myself in the mirror and feel nothing but hatred — that shocked and scared the hell out of me. I needed a week of sleep after the boot camp’s eighteen hours. When I finally had the courage to lift my head, and a bit of energy trickling back in, I took another hard look at me. I still hated myself, but I remembered someone saying that I didn’t have to hate myself — not my future self, at least. And I didn’t have to change. I just had to unearth my mind, heart and soul. I had to unearth the human I buried decades ago. I hated to hate myself, and so I went looking for a shovel and did the digging. It’s not a pretty process, and I’m still in the middle of it. But the one bright light in my life is the project which first occurred to me during the imagination session at the boot camp, and it’s the project I predominantly work on now: ending homelessness, ending the housing crisis, rethinking communities. And yes, I am that rich. I can do it! How? As the town project keeps reminding us: Change starts in the mind. It begins with us exploring an issue from all possible and improbable angles. Since I am responsible for pushing many people into homelessness, homelessness became my starting point for my thinking processes. As a preliminary result of thinking about having a home and not having a home, I decided to take ninety percent of my properties off the market, restructure some of the houses, demolish others, extend some, add new ones, and involve existing and future tenants, including homeless people, in designing sustainable features inside and outside of all properties, test whether our ideas work, ideas which will be influenced by the research of the town project team. And we’ll keep a special eye on restoring urban ecosystems, and on creating energy and car independence. I’ll also set up a research team which will focus on the interplay between nature and human settlements with a special eye on population density, and how we can develop lands which have both human settlements and functioning ecosystems. Once my properties have become communities, have something like a functioning ecosystem, sociosystem, energy independence, non-profit rents, and whatever else might be needed, I’ll hand the keys to the communities, and hopefully I’ll no longer be an arsehole. Wish me luck. Next up, the wonderful Ann!’ The applause was more uncertain than ever. No one admitted that blatantly that they were an a— No, no one did that— ‘—Thank you, Steve! And thank you for your refreshing honesty. Among the many projects we initiate, there should be one about sending pretence to Mars! Draining the planet of resources, exploiting ideas and people for mere numbers, that’s what arseholes do. No inspired person is an exploiter. But remember, what we are today doesn’t need to resemble anything of what we were yesterday, and tomorrow we can dig deeper into— Not into becoming good people, but into having fun with rethinking, and with shaping a world that functions, that thrives, that is alive with laughter and dancing. One of the many obstacles on the road to this world is the economic system which births people like us while draining people and planet. If the town project wasn’t already doing an incredible job at developing and shaping an economic system that will never know millionaires, slaves or destruction, then I’d have put my money into rethinking what made us sick. I’ll still get involved in rethinking everything business and economics because I’m hooked. And in a way, I’m also on a revenge mission for all the decades the present economic system stole from me. It was my fault that I fell for it, but it’s not like anyone made a compelling case for an alternative. Making money and winning was all I knew, and it took my life, it kept me from living. But since the town project is on the economic case, my focus will be on one of the other obstacles to a thriving world: the media which has been highjacked by some of us. We all know cases where a paper or a TV station was bought for some altruistic reasons, to make sure that the public knows what matters, what counts. It’s like Albert Camus wrote in The Plague: ‘The worst people are those who believe they do good, and they do it without realising how much harm they cause.’ Quoted freely from memory. Don’t quote me. Look it up. I am in danger of being just such a person while at the same time seeing how urgent it is to have an independent, visionary media. I therefore decided to use three quarters of my considerable fortune to set up a fund for independent media outlets in Britain and Europe. I’ll formulate a few conditions on who can apply for a monthly budget, but I won’t own any of those outlets, and the conditions are only meant to ensure that these papers are truly independent and work for “a future of planet and people,” to borrow a phrasing from the town project. You’re welcome to chip in because I fear there is no country on this planet who couldn’t do with a well-funded independent and visionary media. Mine was the final presentation in this slot. We’ll answer some questions now. Thank you all for listening.’ The applause took a deep breath and smiled a little. Yes, it was in unknown territory, but it was here and that seemed to be a good thing. Unknown but good. // Isabel was in her office, on the seventh floor of the Central Building, reviewing the ideas for the final week when Alice called everyone to a meeting of the Campaigns & Negotiations Team. The team met in the circle made of sofas and armchairs, at the centre of the open office space, and Alice told them about her meeting with Princess Felicitas and about the material the princess’s friends had given her. ‘Are you saying, we are back on?’ Dennie (security) asked. Alice shrugged. ‘I don’t know. These friends seem confident, or at least like they want us to have another shot. Rohana and me made subject lists for each of you and added the contacts where to send your comments on which subject.’ ‘Sounds like fun,’ Skye (care) said doubtfully. Alice smiled. ‘It sort of is because there is hope value in every good question.’ Several people chuckled, and Alice said to ‘Jack, the princess asked whether you’d be prepared to join her tomorrow. She’ll be meeting some influential wives. She said, it’d be terrible for you because they’d all dote on you, but it might help if they whispered into their husbands’ ears.’ Jack grimaced a little. ‘Erm … Sure. Could I take Dennie?’ ‘Me and the princess?’ Dennie exclaimed, grinning. ‘You and the princesses’ wive friends,’ Jack returned, grinning, too. ‘Hm. Can I be gay?’ Dennie asked. ‘Oh, that could be perfect,’ Jack said. ‘What do you think, Alice?’ Alice smiled. ‘I think the princess will like it. Thanks, Jack. Thanks, Dennie. The princess expects you at eight for a first breakfast with three of her close friends.’ ‘Eight is a tad early,’ Dennie returned. Now, Alice grinned. ‘The princess knows a lot of influential wives.’ ‘Oh!’ Dennie and Jack uttered, and Alice said to ‘Emine are there any updates on our lawsuits?’ Emine nodded. ‘Some more lawsuits have been dismissed, but we still get flooded with additional attacks. I had to extend my team again. It’s such a bloody waste of time. They cannot win. They try to bribe the judges. We expose a judge. The judge withdraws. They try to bribe the next judge. We tell that judge what happened to the previous one and so on. At the moment, I think their strategy is to drag us into lawsuits because they know that they can’t win, but they can keep us busy.’ ‘Anything I can do?’ Alice asked. Emine shook her head. ‘No. Let’s get through the next week. Let’s focus on getting the town. We, too, can use delay tactics.’ Alice frowned. ‘Are you prepared for the lawsuits which will rain down on us if we get the site, the Jellybridge Estate?’ Emine blushed. ‘DAMN IT! I lost sight of that. But I did some work on it, weeks ago. Alice, I need more people.’ ‘Hire as many as you need. Can you also bring this up with THE. They can help.’ ‘Will do.’ ‘Thanks. Isabel, do you have an update on the wrap day, tomorrow?’ ‘Yes,’ Isabel replied. ‘All teams are ready. We’ll start the wrap day at midnight, posting highlights from three weeks of campaigns, quotes, photos, illustrations, videos, including the documentaries and interviews we did. On the Hub and at several locations, including Trafalgar Square, clips of campaign highlights will run all day, powered by solar panels. The teams who have to dismantle pop-up gardens, parkours, tents, stages, galleries and the like, have all reported back that they have more than enough helpers to get the work done quickly. Members of the campaigns’ teams will be present at the Q & As in London and in Jellybridge. And we expect that many people who were at the campaign events will join the marches tomorrow, which will take place in over two hundred locations. At three in the afternoon, the kids’ wrap parties will start, and the wrap parties for adults start at eight in over fifty-thousand locations across the UK.’ Alice nodded. ‘That sounds good.’ // ‘Welcome back my friends. I am Phoenix Dragonfly, and this is a special night edition of Dragonfly Time. Come on in, come on in, settle down and listen, for I have a story to tell of some defiant people who are fed up with the corruptions and stupidities of those who have a say in our world and whose narratives we too often followed. These defiant people impressed no other than the queen who offered them a piece of land where they could build a town which would prove that the corruptions and stupidities that fill so many minds are not the result of some incurable, evil human traits. Instead humans can choose to shape a world that thrives without wars, genocides, competitions, dominance, exploitation, greed, violence, rubbish, ecocide and all the other strange things some humans invented — and others let happen. When these defiant people told the government about the queen’s offer, the government ignored them, and so the defiant people decided to rouse the people of the country. While preparing their campaigns, they asked the people what worried them, what needed sorting. And so, the defiant people devised the most amazing events which soon spread from the capital into all corners of the country and even beyond. There seemed to be no limits to the imagination of the defiant people, but remarkably they weren’t out to lure, manipulate or betray. Instead they mixed celebrations with questions, encouragement with challenges so that the people of the country could see for themselves, could use their minds for thinking, could explore, question — and find their own defiance. When this country’s people fell in love with the defiant people, it wasn’t because of some flashing, shiny dust in their eyes. It was because the people’s eyes, minds and mouths were wide open. It was because their hearts were uplifted, their talents unearthed, their joy rekindled. You are right, dear listeners, it wasn’t all happy feasts, though this county’s people have seen many of those. There were also mirrors, and it was hard to allow for them, and some issues struck not just a cord but punched right into people’s cores. But the people recognised what the mirrors were about, and many testified that the campaigns had the potential to transform the minds of anyone who dared to listen, who dared to participate, who dared to join in the dance. What the people valued most is that their transformed minds are not obedient minds or gullible minds, these transformed minds are thinking minds, open, curious, exploring, shaping minds. And there is a growing chance that those who dare to think and put people and planet first will live happily ever after. Tonight the people dance and celebrate. Tomorrow, I will march for a town which doesn’t seek control but wants to build an environment which allows humans to thrive as self-determined, healing, restoring beings. My friends, the seconds tick away towards midnight, and I say goodbye. This is Phoenix Dragonfly. And this was Dragonfly Time. Over and out.’

© Charlie Alice Raya, book 4, building, 2025