DAY 7, BODY & SEXUALITY, book 4, building

(Saturday, 7 days left, focus: BODY & SEXUALITY) It wasn’t as if the world held its breath. There were still feasts and festivals, births and deaths, still wars, disasters, accidents. No, the world didn’t hold its breath, but some more players, in business and politics, started to wonder whether they should join those who pushed against the town project or those who pushed in favour of it. // Sixteen minutes past five, still dark outside. Alice looked into her bathroom mirror, and a thought of Jack crossed her mind. But no. This was her body, and it didn’t matter what Jack would think. This was her body, and she could make use of it any way she saw fit. Right now, something drastic might add an edge. Alice inhaled, opened the water tap and put her head under the lukewarm jet of water. When she lifted her head again, water dripping down her bare shoulders, down her naked body, she took her time soaping her hair, watching the foam form, and she smiled at the white cap on her head. Then she picked up the shaver, positioned it on her parting and slowly moved the shaver towards the back of her head. She swallowed and paused, looking at the single shaved line on her head. This was more brutal than she had expected. It felt as if she was harming herself. But was she? Frowning, Alice put the blade in position again, and defiance moved her hand. Dire situations need dire symbols. Something everyone sees. Something that makes everyone look and wonder. What’s the message? That we want our town? Yes, that, too. But more importantly, the shaved head says: We are not okay with the way the world is run. We are not okay with the destruction of the planet. We are not okay to drag ourselves from frustration to frustration. This is our world and we want to rethink and reshape it. Alice paused. Much of her hair was shaved off now, and a smile appeared on her face. There was something pleasantly genderless and pristine about her shaved head. It said rebellion but also beginning, primal bareness, almost as if it allowed a glimpse into the soul. // ‘What a strange world we created where we constantly seem to fight our own body, where we neglect and poison ourselves. We are body, mind and soul, all intwined. But— Ah, Tilly, I don’t know. Isn’t that a bit too—? I don’t know— too bla, bla?’ Tilly shook her head. She and Skye were in Studio 2, sitting on one of the big gymnastic mats. ‘It’s perfect. Except — it isn’t you. But you can do this, Skye.’ Skye grimaced. ‘I feel like I see all the words, but they don’t want to come out. This is my eleventh speech draft. It’s like my thoughts play silly buggers with me.’ ‘Or hide and seek?’ ‘Exactly!’ ‘Try again. We have nearly six hours before your first speech.’ Skye shook her head. ‘Why did I volunteer to head today’s focus topic?’ ‘Because you’re a warrior queen! And you know about the body.’ Skye frowned. ‘I know about the body. I am a nurse. I know how to nurse a body back to health. I can use that. Why is the body important? Why do we start our letting-down-our-hair week with the body? Because hair is part of the body— Nope! Because change starts with every single one of us, and we’ve been screwing with our bodies as much as we have been screwing with each other and with nature!’ Tilly laughed and applauded. ‘Keep it going!’ Skye grinned ‘That’s why we start our FOCUS WEEK with a focus on the body. Change starts with every single one of us, and true change is only possible if we go to the roots of our problems. Is the body a root problem? NO! It’s our lack of connection to our own bodies. It’s our lack of curiosity and love for our bodies. It’s, I’m sorry to say, the lack of knowledge about our bodies, and about how we can nurture and enjoy them. Should I refer to ENDING THE WAR AGAINST OURSELVES?’ Tilly shrugged. ‘I guess, ripples news reposts bits from all relevant campaign events.’ ‘True. But I’d like to get deeper into why the body is so crucial in our quest to shape a world where we thrive.’ Tilly nodded. ‘Something like: a person who is connected to their body is automatically connected to nature because the body is nature.’ ‘YES! That’s it. And part of the reason why we destroy nature is because bloody advertising and bloody religions taught us that something’s wrong with our bodies when they are all simply unique! Do you really think we destroy nature because we have no love for our bodies?’ Tilly shrugged. ‘I can’t see anyone who has a connection to every cell and feature of their body go about killing or poising anything or anyone. But I wonder whether it isn’t really the trio: body, mind and soul. We know that the body remembers attacks on the soul. That also means that connecting to the body might include healing.’ Skye nodded. ‘It does! It absolutely does. And that’s a big problem. We really screwed up. I sometimes think that we are all so damaged, there’s little hope for us. But then I think, damage is something we can address, healing is something we can support, and it all starts with the body.’ // At nine minutes to six, the sun rose across London, and the town project opened today’s events on Trafalgar Square with an early rise session which combined meditation, breathing, yoga and chi gong. Hundreds of Londoner’s had found a spot for their mats and took a deep breath in, and thousands more participated online, exhaling slowly. // A memory took shape in Alice’s mind as she entered Studio 3, today on her own. The body is the key. You pay too little attention to it, Master Lee told her at their very first encounter. The key to what? she retorted. To everything. ‘To everything,’ Alice repeated and picked up her fighting stick. She lashed the air with the stick. ‘To everything.’ Pah, I don’t believe that, she had countered and Master Lee returned: No you don’t. If you don’t want to believe, then find out. ‘Then find out,’ Alice repeated and focused on her body, the muscles in her legs, the connection of her feet to the floor — Jump! Jump again! — her arms, the connection of her hands to the stick. Move, dance, whirl, aim, hit. My head. Eyes open. Mouth breathing. Ears alert. The body is the key. The key to what? To everything. And we’ve made a mess of it. Like with nature, we’ve lost both knowledge about and connection to our bodies. My shaved head feels newly alive but a little cold, sweat forms. Body, sex. Change starts with us. Change starts in the mind, connecting to ourselves. How did we end up in a world made up of bloody useless stories? Too few challenged the stories, and fewer people offered alternatives which captured the imagination of many. Sweat roles. Dance. Feel your body. What is it for? It isn’t for anything. It just is — an invitation to live, explore, create, love and laugh, and dance.  A noice made Alice stop and turn abruptly. Jack! A flicker of surprise crossed Jack’s face as he came closer. // It was just past seven when Glen, Heather, Mudiwa, Tabansi and Rose were on their way to conference room 1 on the third floor of the Central Building. Tabansi smiled. ‘We could solve this by keeping some posts in the loop.’ ‘Repost them?’ Glen asked. ‘Not just repost but pick up an issue again, maybe give it an additional angle.’ Heather nodded. ‘The team which connects the dots between all posts, comments, past events and today’s events can send us suggestions for additional angles.’ Rose clapped her hands, smiling. ‘I love this! We’ll be like a huge incoming wave, and everything will be connected and worthwhile.’ ‘And wet?’ Mudiwa teased. ‘Yeah!’ Rose countered. ‘The kind of refreshing, wake-up-call wet.’ ‘I like it,’ Tabansi said, bumping fists with Rose. // Meanwhile, on both sides of the Thames, the preparations for today’s open-air breakfast were nearly completed and a columnist for an independent newspaper, who had found a seat at one of the tables, typed into his laptop: The sky is blue, the river flows, the tables are laden, and people arrive to BREAK FAST TOGETHER. Hundreds of tables have been brought to the Thames’ embankments, and more cross several bridges, thousands of foods are on the tables and more are prepared at over seventy cooking spots. Musicians have joined the feast, and some arrivals dance before finding a seat at the tables. There are voices who claim that the town project bribes the whole nation with free foods. Maybe they do. But then, this is the first bribe, I know of, which brings so much joy and connections to so many. ‘What’s breakfast to do with the body?’ I overheard a child ask their parent, earlier. I didn’t hear the answer, but the question is etched into my mind. What have we done? How can we not know that eating is what keeps us alive? That what we eat influences everything about us. Bloody hell. Maybe the town project is right. While we have no time to lose, we might need to return to basics, and understand what and who we are, how we relate to ourselves, to each other and to nature. As I sit here at the table — strangers smiling at me shyly, one telling me to hurry because a meal should be enjoyed and not spoiled by the proximity of work — as I sit here my heart is heavy and light. With good reason, the town project repeats that change starts in the mind, but at the same time we are invited to take pause from self-reflection (and work), meet strangers and share a meal and stories with them. That’s what lightens my heart. We are strong together  when we share a meal, a discourse, a dance, an exploration — even when we are strangers. All of this can be done at today’s three main locations: Trafalgar Square, Hyde Park, long stretches along the Thames and across many bridges. In addition to the events, each of these locations has meeting spots where members of the campaigns teams are available for discussions about everything that relates to our bodies, sexuality and the proposed town. One recommendation I must add: The simulations. Two in particular. Number one: What is a world missing where everyone is in tune with their bodies? As always, it is possible to slowly slide from one extreme (no one is in tune with their body) to the other (everyone is in tune with their body), and witness what is affected by the extent of people who are or are not in tune with their bodies. I remember staring at the final screen, my mind almost unwilling to take in what I was seeing. What is a world missing where everyone is in tune with their bodies? THIS: Violence, war, competition, exploitation, dominance, and the destruction of nature and communities. You are right to wonder whether this is true. Could everything be sorted just by healing our bodies, minds and souls? It’s unlikely to be all we need. But I do get the point: A person who is in tune with themselves, has no reason to attack, compete, exploit. Not even in a situation of need because any rational person understands that need is best met as a group. We are stronger together. The second simulation, I want to mention, made me laugh. It’s not exactly a pretty watch but highly amusing and educating. It’s called: The world in digestive terms. It’s an amazing collaboration between artists, scientists and programmers with a lot of options for the viewer. You can start with a reduced simulation which shows how a single human is part of nature’s digestive system, or a single cat or mouse. Next you can step up by adding more players, like other humans, animals, bacteria or fungi, and eventually you can get to the big picture where you can see the daily, weekly, monthly, annually … cycles of a world that is constantly digesting, nurturing, digesting, nurturing. The simulation is a simplification, but if I had had any doubts about what breakfast has to do with the body, or what the body has to do with nature, I would finally have seen some of the big picture. And now, I must pause and enjoy the company of strangers and strangely delicious looking breakfast. // At eight past eight, Navarro sat down on his favourite low armchair in the chill-out area on the seventh floor of the Central Building. He was a little late to the meeting of the Campaigns & Negotiations Team, and everyone else was already sitting, Alice speaking. ‘—about half of the people we invited to the groundbreaking ceremony have accepted our invitation. There was a question of whether we should push others to accept, too. But, to be honest, I don’t want to. We are highly visible. We make very clear what we are about. I won’t butter up people. Either they are interested in a future, or they are not. Let them come to us, our doors are open.’ Several people nodded, and Alice briefly looked at her notes. ‘One last point. We’ll all be very busy over the next days, and we might not have the time for another meeting. Rohana’s team will make sure that we all know what we need to know when. An open question is: What will happen with this team after the thirty-first of March? Regardless of the outcome, you should all take a break. I talked with Rohana and Raiden, and they agreed to stick with me in case we get to start building our town on April the first. Many will be watching us, and it will be paramount that we mess up as little as possible. That means, there will be time to celebrate and digest what we achieved over the last weeks. While I need to make sure that the building phase gets a smooth start, you should take time off for your families and friends, as much as you need. Whenever you’re ready, rejoin your town project teams.’ Navarro frowned as did many others, and Heather said: ‘Maybe a break will be good. It’ll be very strange not to hear you all every day, any more, not to feel this kind of pressure, and to get back to our original jobs, and I don’t like that you won’t take a breather, Alice. But I understand.’ Navarro grimaced a little, seeing how many struggled with the news. Earlier, he and Alice had spoken about this announcement, and Navarro had advised Alice against telling her team that they wouldn’t be needed any longer in a few days. To be fair, Alice had thought about his arguments for quite a while, but eventually she returned: ‘I see your point: It’s ill-timed because the team need every bit of uniting energy. But it’s also fair-timed because this is the reality. We only have a few more days, and after that I will be gone for a week or much longer. I’d rather they know now and have a moment to swallow it and prepare for it.’ Skye was the first to rally herself, and, straightening in her seat, she said: ‘Thanks for the warning. But don’t think we won’t come for you if you’re not taking enough care of yourself.’ Alice smiled. ‘Thanks, Skye. Both Rohana and Raiden have issued similar warnings, so I should be pretty safe.’ ‘Good!’ Skye said, leaning back. ‘There’s something else. I’ve been checking the Hub’s Campaigns Square, reports from our opening events and ripples news, but I still have to ask: Are we loud enough? Are we getting under the skin of politicians, business players, lobbyists?’ Emine nodded. ‘Going by the amount of lawsuits that still keep pouring in, I’d say yes.’ Troy sharpened his pencil, saying: ‘We have enough people to increase the volume any time. I actually like the idea of not being full volume today. The body needs gentle contemplation.’ ‘And so does sexuality?’ Dennie teased. ‘Yes!’ Troy returned with a grin.’ Navarro smiled. Maybe he had underestimated the team. Of course, no one— ‘Should we all shave?’ John now asked and Navarro shuddered. But Alice shrugged. ‘I actually don’t think so. If we all shaved, we might come across as some sort a cult. Besides, this was my decision. I needed to do something drastic, something no one can overlook.’ Navarro nodded. ‘I’ll be honest, I don’t like the idea of shaving my head. But I like the idea of using a shaved head as a statement. And lucky for me, I think that this statement is clearer if only our leader makes it rather than everyone on the team. However, if this catches on, if people on the streets start to shave their heads, then I would reconsider, and might also decide to shave my head. In any case, I believe it’s important that shaving or not shaving is our personal decision.’ // It was past ten when all breakfasts were wrapped and sections of the Thames were transformed into open-air galleries, featuring art shows relating to the body, plus scientists answered questions about the body at designated debate spots. // At eleven past eleven in Hyde Park, Skye opened her first speech: ‘Hello everyone. Looks like quite a few people are interested in the body. Fantastic. Must be my lucky day. Let’s dive straight in without sugarcoating: We’ve been screwing with our bodies as much as we have been screwing with each other and with nature!’ // Skye’s speech did what it was supposed to do, ignite a myriad of discussions. // Meanwhile, also in Hyde Park, a sixteen-tents installation opened, inviting visitors to explore their body one step at the time. Two friends stood in one of the four queues, chuckling. ‘It’s true,’ one of them said. ‘It’s not about sex, nor is it about perfect shapes, skin or hair. It’s about actually looking.’ ‘And then?’ The friend laughed. ‘I haven’t got the slightest! I guess it will be a case of: What happens if I hypnotise that single hair near my belly button. Will it start to talk?’ The friends laughed. // ‘It’s six minutes to noon. I am Phoenix Dragonfly, and this is Dragonfly Time! Welcome, welcome, welcome! I’m excited and furious! Why? Excited because so many of us rise up to challenge our government, our businesses, our millionaires, the very systems that destroy nature and frustrate us. I’m proud of every single one of us. I’m furious because this shouldn’t be happening! We shouldn’t have to go on the streets only so the people who pretend to lead us finally find some grains of rationality. How did these people ever get into the position to harm us and our country? Ah, it’s not good to be furious. Or maybe it is. But while we are furious, let’s also have fun, and let’s see what my favourite town people and the wonderful marching people are up to today, on this first day of the FOCUS WEEK. Whitehall, marches. Hyde Park: explore the body. Trafalgar Square: talk about the body. Thames: artists about the body, body art, tattoos and piercings, plus scientists answer questions. Hub Campaigns Square: thousands of online discussions. Ripples news: hundreds of articles and posts. It’s less than we’ve been accustomed to over the last weeks, but it’s still a lot, and some of you asked me: How deep should we dig? I love the question and passed it on to the project. They replied: As deep as it takes to get to the roots of what made us shape a world which is blindly stumbling into self-destruction. Can I add to this? Yes! A wholehearted AMEN!’ Phoenix laughed. ‘Anyway my friends, I’ll be on air repeatedly today, bringing you the best sounds and my favourite highlights from today’s campaign. You’ll have to be quick to catch my first favourite: Troy. If you haven’t read any of his comics, go get yourself — Oh, wait, no. First go to the Tower Bridge, which is closed today, where Troy and his large comic crew are presently offering free sketches of almost any of your body parts which you’d like to get to know better. As examples they gave: your pinkie’s fingernail, your right armpit’s hair or your earlobe’s shape. Of course, Troy and his team are teasers by nature and will add dirt under the fingernail, sweat to the armpit and a little fairy hanging from the earlobe. That’s one of the many things, I respect about this project: whenever they can they include a sense of humour. Lightness in the face of darkness. Oh, and don’t forget all of Troy’s comics! // Is the body evil? Navarro (society) typed, and with that he opened the online discussion some seven hundred people had joined. Left and right of Navarro sat, Robin (education) and Adriana (neurology), laptops in front of them all, coffee, tea and snacks on the table. Welcome to you all, Navarro wrote, and thank you for joining us! Adriana, what’s your take: Is the body evil? Adriana smiled and typed: More likely it’s misunderstood. Robin chuckled and typed: And misrepresented. The church and other religious bodies took issue with the body and amplified what confusion any human already experiences when we grow up. Navarro smiled: Are you saying the body is confusing? Robin laughed: Did you skip puberty? Navarro shook his head: I remember it well. But was I confused because the body is confusing or was I confused because no one had prepared me for the changes every human, and indeed every living being, undergoes, especially in the period where we approach our reproductive age? Adriana smiled: A very good question. Our research, so far, indicates that we might have passed down misconceptions about the body for millennia, making matters worse rather than better. Our minds are very sensitive to failure, shame, anything that might make us look weak. So long as we don’t own our sexuality as what it is, we will continue to be confused, and we will continue to pervert sex and use it against others. Navarro nodded, thoughtfully: The body isn’t evil. It’s simply a body, an assembly of living organs and indeed living organisms. But so long as we don’t fully understand and embrace the simplicity and complexity of what is, our confusion can be so profound and sadly normalised that we might act in ways that can only be called evil. Robin nodded. Yes! Exploring and understanding are paramount, plus healing when we have traumata to deal with. And I think rituals can help us to deal with the bodily changes we experience in the course of our lives, for example, by welcoming new features of the body, be it the emergence of pubic hair or the first appearance of a wrinkle. Nothing needs to be confusing or rejected. And there is another point. It seems important that we don’t just feed our minds with information, but that we take the time to experience, nurture, strengthen and explore with all our senses, body and nature alike. Adriana nodded: Babies still learn by using all their senses. That kind of learning often missing in later years. Yet, when learning is a whole-body experience, then it is the most effective. Navarro nodded. Let’s add more angles by using the narratives review questions. Question number one: What is the record of the statement: The body is evil? Robin typed: Unbelievable sufferings. This statement has been used to condemn people in many ages, and it has distorted self-awareness for countless generations. It has pushed matrimony as much as prostitution as institutions. It has kept billions from grasping the beauty and ingenuity of their bodies and the responsibilities that come with them. Most aggravating of all, this statement cut the natural connection to our bodies, making it into something alien, something to be fought, corrected, disciplined, fixed. This disconnections ripples into our societies and into our relationship with nature. In short, the narrative that the body is evil has a dismal record. Navarro nodded: I fully agree. Question number two: Does this narrative serve us. I think we already answered that question. Instead of serving us, this narrative keeps us from connecting to ourselves and with that to each other and to nature. Only connected can we shape a world that thrives. So, I’ll jump right to question number three: Are there more beneficial narratives? Adriana nodded and typed: Plenty. My favourite is: The body just is. It does what it does. We can influence it with a whole range of activities, foods, experiences, and by thinking. Our minds can be extremely capable if we make use of them. I also believe that it is important to acknowledge that the body is often confusing, and that we have a lot less control over what is happening than we would like. But no matter what, we can learn to read and assess our body, and decide how we want to act in this or that situation. Plus, as Robin remarked, rituals can play an important part. Navarro nodded: Thank you both! I open the chat now. The following discussion was occasionally wild, but generally it seemed that quite a few people were intrigued by the idea to assess their relationship with their body and maybe take some quality time to connect to it. // Around this time at the demonstration for the town, Alice concluded her speech. ‘We don’t fight against anything! We create, test and build routes for us as humanity, routes that empower. And I ask you: Would you rather have a polluter or a nurturer? Would you rather have someone who crushes dreams or someone who empowers? Would you rather have monotony or diversity? Would you rather have disrespect or thrive? Would you rather be an asset or a human? Would you rather destroy or create? Would you rather be stupid or clever? Would you rather be controlled or collaborate? Would you rather have people who spend their fortunes on space exploration or people who strengthen communities and restore the environment? Would you rather have people who increase dependence or those who give room to your contribution? Would you rather be dragged into wars over resources or collaborate globally to restore our planet?’ Applause erupted, and eight police officers entered the stage, four from each side, turning the applause into boos, and, when the officers grabbed Alice, into shouted protests. Alice didn’t fight, but she asked one of the officers who had a firm grip on her arm: ‘What did I do?’ ‘You are suspected of incitement to riots and damage to our economy.’ ‘Oh. Well, I don’t want any riots. And the economy is damaging itself. Can I go now?’ None of the officers reacted. // ‘I am fucking furious!’ Skye called into the microphone at the start of her second speech, this time on a stage near the Tate Gallery. ‘There were two hundred and forty-three arrests at the march for our town. Two hundred and forty-three people who did nothing but make a peaceful statement. Among those arrested is my friend, my ally, my colleague, the head of our town project, Alice Adler. As I stand here, she is in a cell somewhere. Why? Because like everyone on our team, she cares about the people of this planet, about nature, about what we are capable of. And because so many wonderful people here in London and elsewhere decided to fight with us, and that every day until the government finally chooses to serve and to make a future possible. And what’s this government’s answer? Shut up the voices for the people, the voices for a future, the voices for our town.’ Skye took a deep breath, ignoring the applause. ‘But we will not be silenced! And we will not stop! And you will have to suffer my second speech. Unfortunately it fits rather too perfectly. Human sexuality. As a project, we are still at the speculation stage when it comes to sex. But this much seems to be rather clear: When we search for the roots of our messes, we can’t shy away from asking blunt questions about what sexuality does with us.  Or rather, what our ancestors might have gotten wrong about sexuality, and what we might have internalised to our disadvantage. Let me give you an example: I meet person A who is an expert in nursing and someone I want to work with. Unfortunately, I feel attracted to person A. Astonishingly, we humans have no societal tools to deal with this situation. There is the old story, according to which I, as the female, will seduce the male and throw us both into chaos. But where is the story, where we are capable of admitting that we are attracted to each other but choose to prioritise working together and figure out a way to deal with the attraction differently? You see, we have not only divided the world population into people with different body parts. We also tell the story that certain people can’t work together because they might be attracted to each other. Or worse that people with one set of body parts have to appease every signal the proximity of people with attracting body parts triggers. Sexuality messes with us. Desires have started wars. Accumulating riches to buy a partner have absolutely messed with us. There is a lot to untangle. And we mean to be courageous enough to leave no stone unturned.’ // Meanwhile in his radio studio, Phoenix Dragonfly banged his fist on the table. ‘I can’t believe this! Our government are losing their freaking minds! Why on earth do you let people walk free who enrich themselves by exploiting people, by depleting nature, by fucking up over and over again, and when someone enters the stage and offers, not a sermon, not an ideology, but a quest, a fucking quest! to find out what it is we actually need — that person and over two hundred more get arrested? Argh! I am so angry! BUT! But I owe you a show. I owe you the latest news. Besides, the best way to support the town project is to keep going, to keep pushing, to keep shouting: TIME’S UP. We’re tired of your fuck-ups. We’ve had it with your failures! We want a world that doesn’t suck! OK. OK. OK. Sorry. I’m just so angry! So, here are the news: Much of the media chooses lowkey comments on the arrest of Alice Adler and her powerful speech, but they all comment on her shaved head, some asking: “What’s Alice Adler trying to tell us?” It obvious! She is telling us that nothing is okay, that we are in a mess, and should stop pretending we’re not. I have half a mind to shave my head, too. Maybe I will. What else? Yes, our bridge. And apologies. I’m already calming down. Skye Matisse gave a fiery speech focusing on the question: What’s so important about sexuality? I’m not comfortable speaking about sexuality, but maybe that’s part of the problem. We’ve made the most natural things, our bodies and procreation, into something weird, something to be ashamed of, something to use against people. Luckily I don’t have to go down this path on my own. With me now are three special people from the town project. Please, welcome with me: Raha, Kamal and Ualan!’ ‘Thanks so much for having us,’ Raha said. ‘We love your show! And I’m as furious about Alice’s arrest! But let’s talk about sex.’ Phoenix laughed. ‘No one has ever said that to me.’ Raha smiled. ‘It’s quite liberating when we talk about it with curiosity rather than shame or leering.’ ‘That’s a very good point, Raha. Before we proceed, could you three briefly introduce yourselves?’ ‘Of course,’ Raha said. ‘My cousin and me are from Otaon in the Middle East, officially a prince and a princess, but since the town project doesn’t cater to the idea of classes, we are happily Kamal and Raha. And I’m part of the Health and Care Team, mostly supporting my team at Jellybridge.’ ‘I’m glad I already knew that you and your cousin are a princess and a prince in another life, or I would blush more deeply now. Kamal?’ ‘I’m with the project’s Arts Team, mostly working for the project’s company: book stations international and at Jellybridge.’ ‘I’d love to hear more about that, but we must press on. Ualan?’ ‘I’m a guest architect from Edinburgh, presently coordinating material supplies for the building site.’ Raha, you are researching something you call The Penis Trauma.’ Raha smiled. ‘It was actually Alice who coined her speculations The Penis Trauma, but it’s quite fitting.’ ‘Alice Adler, the head of the town project?’ ‘Yes. You can read her conversation with her friend and assistant Leo on the ripples press website.’ ‘Are you going to tell me what the trauma is?’ Raha shook her head. ‘No. It’s really best to read the conversation without any preconceptions and also with the knowledge that Alice is always driven by curiosity not by talking anyone down.’ ‘Thank you. That helps. I’ll definitely read it. Kamal, as a fellow man, and in the know, how do you feel about this?’ Kamal leaned back in his seat, nodding and taking a moment to assemble his thoughts. ‘Since the first time I read about the Penis Trauma, I have undergone several stages of being confounded, quietly asking questions, listening to Raha’s research and to the thoughts of others, many on the Hub in special discussion rooms, some of which will open to a broader public today. But it was a combination of exploring my body via painting and exploring it with my friend, lover and fellow-explorer that I slowly began to grasp more about myself, more about my penis, more about my interactions with people who have similar body parts and with people who have other body parts. There might be a trauma to face, that’s for scientists like Raha to find out, but I can say that this open, curious, loving exploration of my body has given me a new ease and peace, I’ve never known before.’ Phoenix shook his head. ‘Wow! I’m nearly speechless. Ualan, do you have any words because words fail me.’ Ualan smiled. ‘I got chatting with these two, one night at Jellybridge, and Raha’s research just blew my mind. As a war veteran who is bound to a wheelchair, I had a massive penis crisis. And that allowed me to relate immediately to the speculations about a Penis Trauma because the fact that I could no longer be that muscular, potent guy who commands the attention of the room, tortured me. Today, I know better. But back then, I was devastated by the thought that I could no longer be the man I had admired. So, when I heard about Raha’s research, I was like: bloody hell, yes! We make so much fuss about a single organ, and worse we build whole ideologies, hierarchies, philosophies on it. Why the heck? And it’s because of my conversations with Raha and Kamal that I realise I wasn’t quite as accepting of my situation as I used to think, and I, too, went on an exploration to understand more about my body. And it’s mind-blowing. Sometimes confusing. Liberating. Healing. Relaxing. And I want to say to all people with penises: Read! Explore! Become yourself! Don’t let anyone tell you, you have to act in a certain way only because you have a penis. And as for everyone with other body parts: Read! Trauma is something that can be reinforced from the outside. Plus, there are some speculations about other body-part related traumata. Also, I love that the town project starts their final week with the individual body and with sexuality, not only because change starts in our minds, and in every single one of us, but also because a lot of our motivations and a lot of what we get wrong, or what we believe we have to do, can be traced back to our bodies and to our sexuality.’ ‘WOW! That’s a lot! But, I’ll be damned if I chicken out now! This town project really knows how to pile up the challenges. Anyway, thank you all for coming. It’s been amazing meeting you. I hope to see you all next week at the building site.’ Raha laughed happily. ‘I say you will! We will build the town!’ ‘Very good! Very good! Dear listeners, as my formidable guests are leaving, my next guests are already piling in. Come in, come in. Take a seat! With me now are Devery Beaumont and Javiera Fuentes who head the Hub’s coordination team, plus Javiera Fuentes is one of the project’s formidable lawyers, and also a huge welcome to the wonderful, wonderful Hachiro Anabuki, head designer at the town project’s global clothing company: dot. I’m such a fan!’ Hachiro laughed. ‘Thank you, Phoenix! It’s great to finally put a face to the voice. Thank you for supporting dot. and our town project.’ ‘Don’t thank me! It’s such an inspiring ride, along our converging roads. Anyway, you three are here to speak about Traumatic Run-Ins with Women, and I believe, Alice Adler has something to do with this, too.’ Javiera smiled. ‘I wasn’t fussed when I noticed that Alice doesn’t like me. There’s no need to be best pals with everyone, but when Devery told me about his conversation with Alice about traumatic run-ins she had with women, I understood quite a bit more about her, and when I heard about the Campaigns and Negotiations Team’s decision to start the FOCUS WEEK with the body and sexuality, I called Devery and said: We have to add that conversation. Some of it isn’t pretty, but it’s important.’ ‘How did Alice Adler react to your suggestion?’ ‘She read the transcript of the recording, and afterwards told us: “OK, let’s dig as deep as possible. Let’s have these conversations. The more of our strange behaviours we take on a rethinking ride the better.’ Phoenix shook his head. ‘How did you go about it?’ Devery smiled. ‘We parcelled the different subjects and got experts on every one of them. These experts will spend the afternoon on the streets of London to discuss each topic with the Londoners. Other experts are already actively engaged on the Hub.’ ‘Wow! Is there anything you can reveal about the original conversation?’ Devery smiled. ‘We were in Rio, and Alice had had a tough day when one of our team asked her to join a girls night out. On edge, Alice declined rather harshly, and I, as part of her security detail, decided to take her on a walk along Copacabana Beach. When she had cooled down a little, I asked her “What’s wrong with a girls night out. And that was the start of a startling conversation which covers a lot of ground on gender, religion, politics, sex and more. There was that one moment, I can share now. We were talking about gender. Back then, Alice hadn’t heard the term non-binary and I hadn’t thought of it. Anyway, she sort of waters my mouth with her thoughts about simply being a human, and suddenly we are on this road where I begin to see myself live as a woman for some years and then return to some form of a man, and there was something incredibly liberating in that, to have the freedom to be someone today and someone else tomorrow.’ ‘Wow! I fear this afternoon, I’m doomed to monosyllable exclamations. WOW! Dare I asked about your thoughts, Hachiro Anabuki?’ Hachiro smiled. ‘Later that night in Rio, I joined Alice and Devery, Javiera and Andy were with them by that time, too, and I was angry, because the girls night had triggered a boys night, and I had been attacked for not being manly enough, too small, too beautiful—’ ‘—THAT’s!’ Phoenix exclaimed. ‘But I thought bullying doesn’t happen at the town project.’ ‘Oh,’ Hachiro returned, ‘the project was only a few months old, and we didn’t have the sex talk, yet. Devery and Andy gave the other guys a telling, and they never bothered me again. Which sounds weird now, but at the time, I was so moved. As an androgynous person, I have been attacked many times, and all the more I believe we can only gain if we take the time to rethink our concepts about our fellow humans. Our body parts don’t decide who we are. Our beauty doesn’t decide who we are. Our hight doesn’t decide who we are. If it does, we and everyone else misses out so much.’ ‘And there I go again: WOW! It’s impossible, but unfortunately we’ve run out of time. Dear listeners find those transcripts, join in the conversations, let’s give rethinking a try. I might be lost for words, but I am ready to think! This is Phoenix Dragonfly, and this was Dragonfly Time. Over and Out!’ // Around this time, the play IT ALL STARTS WITH THE BODY premiered in the Front House Theatre at the compound and was streamed live on the Hub. ‘It’s another of those planet stories,’ someone in the theatre whispered to their neighbour. ‘Like what people on other planets do with their mess. It’s always easier to watch others mess up and—’ ‘Mister, would you please be quiet?’ ‘Of course, of course. Oh, I think it begins!’ // Meanwhile Alice was in a strange mood, parts of her felt unreal, alert in tense way, other parts felt almost invincible as if sitting in a prison cell was some sort of badge of honour, and another part kept wanting to laugh out loud. The latter was due to fact that Alice had a stream of visitors, and while the police had not been particularly friendly or unfriendly, the jailers let everyone through from banker to politician, from billionaire to headteacher, from farmer to energy provider boss. ‘We can be rebels, too,’ one of the jailers whispered with a wink. ‘At least for some hours. So make the most of it.’ The visitors were not unexpected because these were mostly people Alice had promised to meet today — only the location was. As another CEO left her cell, Alice shook her head again. Here I am. My body feels totally strange, my mind feels like it’s on drugs, and yet I smile, and talk, and joke, and— The next visitor was a politician. — and when I get talking, there are moments when I feel all myself — briefly. ‘If you dare think about it,’ Alice said to a friendly politician, ‘it really is clever marketing that shaped our present way of life. That means, it was never logical, rational or for the human wellbeing. Marketing’s only aim is to increase sales, and we’re stupid enough to buy into it, and we’re stupid enough to believe that anything in our present economic system is about or for us.’ // It was during Jazz’s visit that Alice heard about the farmers in South America, Africa and Asia who had gotten in touch with the project after the news about Alice’s arrest broke, and who wanted to make a deal with the project’s suppliers networks on the condition that Alice would speak with them personally. Alice grimaced. ‘How long will I be in here, Jazz?’ Jazz shrugged. ‘We’re working on it.’ // By this time, the media had found something new to get upset about: Giant installations of human body parts with a focus on sexual organs such as walkable penises, climbable breasts, milk route expeditions inside giant breasts, egg tracks in uteruses, chill-out bars in cosy vulvas, and walkable full bodies, all installations along and on the Thames, and a couple of giant puppets lying across the river. One commentator wrote: Do we really need to climb breasts and slide down penises to heal and find something like a new beginning? Maybe. As the town project keeps pushing, challenging, provoking, public support is growing not just at the marches, also at the events, on the streets, in families, and online. Meanwhile the opposition ramp up their attacks, mostly ridiculous attempts at defamation which are handled expertly by the project’s fact-check teams. // At twenty minutes past six, the sun set and today’s campaign marked this moment with another mixed practice of meditation, breathing, yoga and chi gong on Trafalgar Square in London. // About an hour later, and also on Trafalgar Square, Skye gave her final speech of the day: What do the body and sexuality have to do with a town? Her concluding words were: ‘Our town is about finding out what kind of environment a human needs to thrive. A human who is uncomfortable in their own skin and with their own desires, is a human on edge, and from there it’s a scarily short step to abuse: sexual abuse, domestic violence, child abuse. A society where abuse happens is a sick society, at worst its a society which keeps secrets. Keeping secrets means a lack of communication. Without communication a community can’t thrive. The body and with it our sexuality is one of our starting points. We aim at finding out how both can be nurtured, how both can thrive, how both can develop in ways that nor harm is caused and traumata are healed.’