Copyright © 2013 Elder Adok. First novel in the Buffalo Future series. First published in Great Britain in April 2013 by Hiss Farm Concepts www.hissfarmconcepts.co.uk office@hissfarmconcepts.co.uk Second edition September 2013. This blog chapter edition August 2015. The moral right of Elder Adok to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyrights, Designs and Patents Act of 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of both the copyright owner and the publisher.
Of course Ashley was there too. Gustav encouraged students to walk round and round the metaguild quad as they wrestled with an idea. Exercise brought oxygen to the brain. They were wrapped up warm against the cold, and the frosty air caught their breath.
"Not directly, no; but I have a beach which is dedicated to diplomacy. For years I've been trying to influence the United Nations (UN) to develop a simple Value to Living index. For many animals life is just an existence, and that is sadly true for millions of human beings too. Funnily enough what sparked me off was reading an old copy of a newspaper written when fox hunting was banned last century; someone had compared the lifestyles of different animals. If I remember correctly pigs came off best, chicken worst, and foxes somewhere in between".
Ashley wanted more detail about the Value to Living index. His contact lenses had become uncomfortable so he was wearing glasses and checked them. Sphinx informed him that often managers and civil servants seek to measure value added to a function, for example education. The Value to Living index (or V2L) seeks to quantify the whole of a being's life span in terms of quality not just quantity. The index allocates scores against seven phases in life, with one additional score for the spiritual component, and is designed to be easily determined.
Gustav Kimmler responded, "That's right. I remember them from Jacques' soliloquy in As You Like It by William Shakespeare, with one additional score added for the whole span. Let me show you an example".
Gustav had real skill in setting out his ideas on an impressive V2L beach that he ran. It used suckling piglets against a rural skyline as the home image. He hoped that, as waves of information broke upon his beach, they would in turn carry his ideas across the world. He also loved tradition and pulled an ancient fountain pen from his inside jacket pocket and stopped walking so as to write on some card which he propped up on one leg supported by a bench. The lads were fascinated by his dexterity and the way in which he seemed so at ease with such an odd instrument.
"It starts, 'All the world's a stage, and men and women merely players'. Let's take a male free-range pig rather than a person as our first example. How does it begin? Ah yes, 'the infant mewling and puking' is the piglet stage which is well husbanded with little stress except for the tails being cut off, and administration of various vaccines. Let's give it a high score, say 8 out of 10. What's the next phrase?"
Gustav capped the pen and put it with the card inside his jacket, rubbed his hands against the bitter cold and put them in his trouser pockets. They walked on, cheeks aglow. Ashley loved the quaint rhythm of Shakespeare's style and already had sphinx telling him the whining school boy, with his satchel and shining morning face.
Gustav cut in, "Ah yes ... 'unwillingly to school'; that's when piglets run around together and learn their place in the pig village. I think that's another 8. Remember these scores because we'll complete the card in a minute".
Gustav cut in, "Ah yes ... 'unwillingly to school'; that's when piglets run around together and learn their place in the pig village. I think that's another 8. Remember these scores because we'll complete the card in a minute".
They walked at a good pace to keep warm.
"Then comes the 'lover, sighing like furnace'; with artificial insemination and castration of most male piglets this stage is a bit tame: 1 out of 10".
Gustav paused long enough to write the number on his card.
"The soldier's stage 'full of oaths, and bearded like the pard' is more worthwhile, not in fighting terms but in various social groupings established on free range farms. It would be reasonable to argue for 6".
William anticipated Gustav's next thought, "But pigs don't live into old age because they are killed for food".
A quizzical look flashed across the dark features of his face.
"You're right there; the 'justice' followed by the failing stages with 'big manly voice, turning again towards childish treble' are only seen by the occasional boar kept on as a stud. With modern culling methods the average pig never smells death or has any idea that it is coming. Robots cull only the required pigs almost simultaneously and, when well programmed, discreetly so that other pigs are hardly aware of death; they just wonder where their companions have gone! Pigs don't face the trauma of wasting away and they die in peak condition so I would give 5 out of a possible 20 for these two stages".
"Do you think that humans should be culled too?", asked Ashley shifting his balance as if the thought made him uncomfortable.
"Well, V2L might help. There's no point in existing just for the sake of it; however the elderly are our greatest source of wisdom because they can draw on a sense of perspective. Our pics are set to 110 years after which, if we want medical attention, we have to demonstrate a certain quality of life; otherwise there will be no intervention just to extend life. Let's complete the index for a male pig and then you can calculate something for a human being. Let's tot up the score so far".
"Well, V2L might help. There's no point in existing just for the sake of it; however the elderly are our greatest source of wisdom because they can draw on a sense of perspective. Our pics are set to 110 years after which, if we want medical attention, we have to demonstrate a certain quality of life; otherwise there will be no intervention just to extend life. Let's complete the index for a male pig and then you can calculate something for a human being. Let's tot up the score so far".
They stopped walking and sat down on a convenient bench sheltered from the biting east wind and catching some thin winter sun. Gustav showed them his card which they completed.
"Nothing else can be added because life is cut short. 'Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything' does not apply to pigs. There appears to be no spiritual side to a pig although some say they make good pets; let's be generous and add on 5 points. That gives us a total of 33 out of 80".
male pig = infancy, 8 + student, 8 + lover, 1 + soldier, 6 + justice, 5 + 2nd childhood, 0 + oblivion, 0 + spirit, 5. Total = 33
"You can see that it's simple to come up with a value, and it gets people talking which puts the whole thing into the public domain, and that's a key feature of V2L. In the early part of this century the World Health Organization (WHO) came up with a Quality of Life scale or WHOQOL for short. It was a fantastic attempt to assess well-being internationally. Unfortunately the research became complex and bogged down by copyright issues, so it never entered into public use".
male pig = infancy, 8 + student, 8 + lover, 1 + soldier, 6 + justice, 5 + 2nd childhood, 0 + oblivion, 0 + spirit, 5. Total = 33
"You can see that it's simple to come up with a value, and it gets people talking which puts the whole thing into the public domain, and that's a key feature of V2L. In the early part of this century the World Health Organization (WHO) came up with a Quality of Life scale or WHOQOL for short. It was a fantastic attempt to assess well-being internationally. Unfortunately the research became complex and bogged down by copyright issues, so it never entered into public use".
He paused for questions or comments but was surprised by attentive silence; perhaps it was the cold. Anyway he continued.
"There was an attempt to make it accessible called the 'happiness index' but understandably it was rubbished as 'political correctness gone mad'. You try out V2L for an unwanted child without access to good education, and I think you will begin to see its power".
Ashley began, "The first stage is the mewling puking infant which for an unwanted child is likely to be tough, probably involving physical abuse. I reckon the first five years of life are when children pick up a real feel for what life is about, and to learn that nobody loves you is a hard cross to carry. The score would be low, say 2 out of 10".
"But that's worse than a piglet's start!", cut in Will.
"That's the whole point of V2L, it make us think about living as opposed to existing, and it applies to all sentient beings", explained Gustav. "Many human beings have been given dreadful lives".
He wrote on his card. Ashley was curious because he had had to carry a cross himself when his parents divorced.
"The whining school boy can't be so bad; the child will feel friendship at school, say 7; that makes a measly 9 so far".
"Hang on a minute", cut in Gustav, "I said this child had no access to good education. I think 7 is too generous; more like 3 because the child could be trapped in a so-called home".
"The lover, sighing like furnace ought to be a good stage with a real sense of being wanted but perhaps finding it difficult to trust, say 7 out of 10. That makes 12 out of 30 and we're catching up on the pig", explained Will with a slight sense of relief.
It seemed appalling that an animal should score higher than a human.
"Then comes the soldier full of strange oaths which I suppose is professional life since national service was abolished ages ago", argued Ashley who was a pacifist by nature. "What do you think, Will?"
"It can't be less than 5; sometimes those who have had a difficult upbringing have natural resilience in a competitive market place, how about 8? That gives a cumulative total of 20 and we've nearly caught up the pig if I read your writing correctly Mr Kimmler".
"I think you're beginning to see the power of this idea and why I have dedicated so much time and effort to influencing the swell with my beach".
There was a brief pause, which reinforced the sense of Gustav's utter conviction. They considered the justice and, after a long debate about learning from life, came up with a score of 6. The final stages of life gave the most difficulty but they settled for 4 in each, 34 out of 70 so far ... only one more than a male pig! Only the spiritual component could make a difference. They agreed that sometimes disadvantaged people have profound spiritual lives and gave it 7. Gustav showed the card which they noticed had one more section waiting to be filled.
male pig = infancy, 8 + student, 8 + lover, 1 + soldier, 6 + justice, 5 + 2nd childhood, 0 + oblivion, 0 + spirit, 5. Total = 33
male pig = infancy, 8 + student, 8 + lover, 1 + soldier, 6 + justice, 5 + 2nd childhood, 0 + oblivion, 0 + spirit, 5. Total = 33
unwanted human = infancy, 2 + student, 3 + lover, 7 + soldier, 8 + justice, 6 + 2nd childhood, 4 + oblivion, 4 + spirit, 7. Total = 41
valued human =
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