The first thing I noticed when I woke up was a dolphin! Natalia was also awake and saw it. Directly outside the panorama window in our bedroom it glanced at us while at the same time moving its head up and down. I sat up in bed in order to watch it. It looked as though it was trying to communicate with us!
«They are really something else, these dolphins» I remarked to Natalia as we walked over to the window.
«Yes, that’s for sure! They are highly intelligent, playful, and clearly quite curious» Natalia replied as she moved her arms and body to catch the dolphin’s attention. The dolphin followed her movements with its eyes. After a short while it swam away. Perhaps it was curious and wanted to look in through the other windows of this underwater hotel?
«Good morning! Did you see the dolphin?» We heard Kayden say outside the door. Yes, we answered, and told him we would join them shortly. We dressed and got ready and went into the sitting room. Kayden and Skylar were sitting in the sofa.
«That was a lovely experience, wasn’t it? These dolphins are truly impressive!» Kayden said.
«Did you realize that they have an amazing capacity to heal themselves? In a few weeks they can regenerate a large wound back to normal condition, they don’t get infections, and they tolerate pain incredibly well» Skylar added.
«As far as I have heard, they also have a brain which practically functions as two brains. This means that one part of the brain can be asleep while the other part is awake. They are very intelligent and have a sonar that can detect objects at a great distance» Natalia put in.
«I know they have a uniquely smooth skin. And, not least, they are known for being playful and helping other species like us humans, not only their own,» said Skylar.
«Should we perhaps go up to the surface and have breakfast and continue to talk there?» I ventured.
All agreed, and we gathered together the few items we had brought. We breakfasted just beside the artificial beach, where there already was a lively activity. We could see the tip of the artificial coral reef. The atmosphere was peaceful and we all felt very relaxed, although I felt sure we would have a tight program that day as well. But as long as we were having such a great time together, it would not seem stressful.
«I thought we might start the day with a visit to the Solution Building» Natalia suggested.
«Fine, but what is it?» I asked.
«It is a building where all the solutions that can be useful to mankind are collected and displayed. Most countries have such a building now, and some countries actually have several. These Solution Buildings are coordinated and connected to each other. Of course, all people have access to the same information via internet, but in these buildings everything is far more clear and structured, plus that one is able to speak with experts in the different fields. They also have a lot of local knowledge» Natalia explained.
«How did one realize that this was necessary?» I asked.
«Why reinvent the wheel? Doing so was the problem in far too many instances. People did not know about the many good ideas and innovations that were popping up everywhere, or that already existed. There was not a good cooperation and coordination of these solutions in a comprehensive and unifying way. Now there is. In fact, just about every human problem has been solved somewhere in the world. Already in your time there existed solutions to most things, but only very few people were aware of them. Now they mostly are, irrespective of where in the world one lives.»
«What kind of solutions does this include?»
«Every conceivable one. Of particular importance are those that are beneficial for humanity’s development, as well as new environmental solutions, as the latter was very urgently needed. Criteria are that it functions and is an improvement on the already existing one, if there was one at all. Inventions, ideas, innovations, projects and research are all parts of this.»
«What are the advantages?»
«As I mentioned, one was able to avoid spending time and resources on something that had already been invented. This, as well as a far greater openness and international cooperation led to the development accelerating. This was also highly necessary considering the escalating environmental problems we faced. These were of dramatic proportions earlier, but by now we are about to achieve control globally. We implemented enormous projects already several decades ago in order to remedy and reverse all the greenhouse gases humanity has released. But it has taken time. As you know, a new forest is not grown overnight!
«Now you have made me curious! Can we go there now?» I asked.
«Of course!» they all said, practically in unison, and off we went.
We took the boat back to town and walked towards the center. After some distance I got a hunch as to which building it was: a dome-shaped building we could see a bit further ahead. Not far from the entrance was a large, beautifully lit globe, held high by several huge statues of people. We walked underneath it and towards the entrance. There a discreet sign, this also lit, greeted us with the words “Welcome to a World of Solutions.”
Inside there was some information about what the house was used for, and how it was organized. It said that an American woman by the name of Barbara Marx Hubbard had been one of those who were behind the idea originally. It further explained that she already in 1984, as the democratic vice president candidate in the USA, launched the idea that we needed a new social function that could search for, map out, combine and announce that which functions in the USA and the rest of the World.
We proceeded towards the center of the dome. The walls were decorated with positive pictures of mankind’s solutions and inventions. We entered a large open room. In the middle was a huge holographic globe. It was a beautiful sight! Spread around on it were dots of light in many different colors. Some people and a group of students were standing around the globe, studying it.
«What is it meant to symbolize?» I asked.
«It shows the latest of new solutions or inventions and ideas and where they originated. We speak then of matters that have a significance for humanity, and not of for example the superficial and useless products that were so numerous in your time. The colors indicate the different sectors» Skylar explained.
«Sectors?»
«If you look down at the floor you will notice that it has been divided into areas of different colors that indicate the different sectors. These sectors represent all aspects of human life. The colors start at the globe and expand until they meet the walls that also have the same color. There one can enter the room that belongs to that particular sector. One of the 12 sectors concerns the environment, and its color is obviously green. Over a long period of time it had the largest number of dots on the globe, but now other sectors have more, as we by now have regained control over the environment» Skylar continued to explain.
«Could we go in where the environment sector is? «I asked. As usual the others agreed, and we went in. Some tables and chairs were placed here and there in the room. Here too the walls were decorated with relevant pictures, such as photos of gorgeous parks or various environment-beneficial inventions. A movie on one wall showed Nature in all its glory. A guide dressed in the green sector color approached us. He welcomed us and directed us to a free table. The table was a large touch-screen! The guide explained that it could also show holograms, and that some of them were touch-sensitive. I sat down on the chair in the middle which apparently controlled what was shown in the table. The others also sat down, while the guide remained standing.
«Now you only see a large green circle in the middle of the table and a menu bar further up, otherwise nothing. The circle is also segmented into several subsectors, among others transport, renewable energy and free energy» the guide told us.
«Free energy? I questioned and looked at Skylar who was sitting beside me.
«That is what we are now about to change to» Skylar explained. «In your time one is now gradually changing from fossil energy sources to renewable sources. We are now changing from renewable sources to free energy».
«And what is that?» I asked.
«In this connection we are thinking of the kind of energy and power which is available all the time and anywhere. If I drop an object, gravity comes into play. And then there are magnetic forces. Besides, there is energy everywhere, as the atomic age showed us. Nikola Tesla was way ahead of his time. Already around 1800-1900 he endeavored to release free energy for mankind.»
«But apparently mankind was not ready for it at that time» I said.
«Correct!» Natalia agreed. «Mankind was not so developed and conscious at that time. Almost nobody contemplated the environmental consequences of what they did, for example. Already at the end of the nineteenth century there existed electric cars. In fact, electric cars were the most common types until quite far into the twentieth century. There were even electric boat engines at that time. If one had put a larger effort into electric transport already then, one would have avoided many problems. But you know, the greed of mankind was boundless...»
The guide broke into our conversation: «If you would like to have a look at the historical aspect of a specific subsector or invention, it is perfectly possible. When you tap the menu, four choices appear. The first shows environment solutions that have been implemented and are functioning today. The second shows environmental solutions that are being developed. The third shows research in the area of environmental solutions. The last one shows the archive where one sees some of the earliest environmental solutions that occurred, as well as some history around them. I shall now leave the exploration to you, but do feel free to ask if you wonder about something.» He took leave of us and went on.
I tapped on one sector. The main circle moved to one side, and a new circle appeared with a topic related to the subsector. After exploring many topics and several levels of subsectors, we decided it was sufficient and got up.
«Is there anything else you would like to explore further?» Kayden asked. I looked at the different colors and the 12 different sectors, environment, science, economy, education, spirituality, government, media, health, justice, infrastructure and art.
«Maybe we could have a look at the media sector?»
«Of course we can. Any special reason for that?» Kayden inquired.
«Nothing else than that I am curious as to how that sector functions today. In my time there is such a lot of focus on superficial and unimportant things without any further relevance. At the same time there is an exaggerated focus on crises and catastrophes.»
«Precisely. So let us go to the room where the media sector is located» Kayden said.
Here we were met by a guide in a blue uniform.
«Is it possible to get an explanation of what media really represents?» I asked the guide and noticed that she considered the question for a few moments.
«If you look at the globe as a living organism and compare it to a human being, you could say that to a certain extent the rivers represent the veins and the rain forest the lungs. Media would then correspond to the nervous system» the guide said.
«Eh... okay? Could you explain that in greater depth? What does she mean?» I asked and looked at the others.
«I think it is a very good comparison» Skylar commented. «In your time, Aron, mass media communicated people’s suffering through the nervous system of «The Earth». Mass media presented most of the «wrong and painful» that went on all over the world, and gave it unnecessarily much attention, be it wars and killings to crises, accidents and Nature catastrophes, just to name some of it. In other areas of the media sector the media focused on the lower aspect of human life. This created a wrong picture of the world and mankind.»
«Yes, I recognize that» I said. «I watched television a lot and probably read far too much news. I did get the impression that man was a burden who only caused trouble for the planet and for ourselves».
«Exactly!» Kayden broke in. «Imagine the influence it had on the people in your time! But what if we were able to turn that focus around?»
«Was that perhaps what happened? «I asked.
«Right!» said Skylar. «Gradually we turned it completely around. Mass media began to present to a far greater extent the positive aspects of what we humans did. This Solution Center is of course a part of that now and is diligently used by the media. In addition countless stories around these solutions are presented, as well as all the ideas, innovations and projects. That is something entirely different from earlier times! It lifts and inspires instead of accentuating all the negative things that went on earlier. Media also used to have the bad habit of all the time trying to turn people against each other in debates. They used polarization instead of a more respectful approach. There was always a hunt for viewers and readers, or, more correctly, a hunt for profit. Obviously one of the roles of media is to put the spotlight on things in society that don’t function, but everything that was wrong, all the polarization and all the superficial things got far too much space».
«So positive news and solutions became the new norm?»
«Right again! This of course elevated mankind and was very motivating and, not least, inspiring. I am sure you can imagine how the development of society accelerated!» Skylar said.
«And with perfect timing. We really needed it. We had a very real need to increase the speed of the development of society and to implement all the new things that emerged. In addition it awakened an enormous positivity in people, one simply became far more optimistic on behalf of oneself and the world» Kayden put in, and continued: «Mankind has evolved from being irresponsible teenagers to become responsible adults. At least we are well on our way there.»
Again we sat down at a table. This one had a blue circle with different relevant things pertaining to media. We looked a bit at the history of media from my time till the future I presently found myself in. The entire focus had altered! Instead of being problem-oriented it had gradually become more and more solution-oriented. Many media houses had taken to sharing the good news and solutions to the problems of the world. Large columns in the newspapers became dedicated to doing this, in addition to publishing their own stuff. TV-programs and movies were produced with focus on humanity’s future, with our challenges and - not least - solutions to them. Documentaries and series began to focus on solutions that were of benefit to everybody. This created a contagious effect so that the question of how one could raise mankind out of its problems became a far more common topic of conversation.
The goals humanity had set for bettering the conditions of people in the poorest areas of the world, as well as for climate and environment, now received support from the media. That led to the goals being reached more rapidly than had been estimated, which in turn inspired to set new goals and have new ambitions on behalf of mankind. These were then promoted by media. It became a self-reinforcing trend. After a while there were so many concrete positive cases to refer to that people saw it with their own eyes and experienced it themselves. Optimism and the hope of a better world began to return to humanity.
«This really was particularly interesting to learn!» I enthused.
«Yes, wasn’t it!» Natalia said. «And not only that, but politics also changed a great deal. We won’t go to that sector now, we don’t have time for it, but I’ll just mention that as a side effect of all these solutions being collected and implemented both nationally and internationally, we avoided a lot of political discussions and debates. The solutions were there already! And when one could observe that they functioned excellently all around the world, that was sufficient proof. All that was needed was to put these solutions into operation without these eternal time-consuming discussions about what would be the best thing to do» Natalia said in conclusion.
«But now I am wondering if we should perhaps return to Lighthaven. The end of your time here with us is beginning to draw near.»
As she said these words I was abruptly pulled back to reality. I was in the future and would soon be back in the time period from which I had come. The thought actually made me feel quite sad. This was noticed by Natalia who gently took hold of one of my hand, kissed it and held it between her own. I felt so wonderfully well here in the future, not least being with Natalia, of whom I had begun to be very fond. I had no wish to leave her!
«It may well be that we meet again, time will show» she said as an attempt to encourage me, I noticed that she too felt moved. It was clear to see that she liked me and did not feel happy about my having to leave her.
«And we have a few things we have to do,» Kayden interjected, «so we also thought we’d leave now.»
Natalia took my hand and we all walked together out of the Solution Building.
We exchanged some long and affectionate hugs with Skylar and Kayden and said goodbye to them, after which Natalia and I walked to the central station and took the hovercraft back to Lighthaven.
«Maybe we should take it a bit more easy the last day you are here with us. We have done such a lot of things during these days,» Natalia said. I agreed and we talk as we walk through Lighthaven to her house.
«Would you like a massage?» Natalia suddenly asked.
«What? Eh... Of course I’d say yes to that, Natalia. It sounds ahem... lovely!» I answered.
Natalia laughed. «That is not the kind of massage I was thinking of, although you may have that as well some other time» she said, smiling at me.
«Then what kind of massage did you think of?»
«As you so quickly got into an altered state of consciousness at Skylar’s, I was thinking of trying out a redemption-massage. I notice that you sometimes are a bit tense, and so I am wondering whether massage might be of help with that, but I’ll start with some energy massage where I don’t touch you.»
«Ok, why not?» I said.
We had by then reached Natalia’s house, and she asked me to undress down to my underpants. We were in her guestroom where she had bench for giving treatments. She asked me to lie down on it on my stomach. I could just barely sense that she was moving her hands over me.
«I am now treating your aura, your energy field» she explained.
I stayed like that for quite a while before she asked me to turn around. Even though she did not physically touch me, it was very relaxing. I wondered for a moment whether I could perceive this energy field, that is her touching it, but I was not sure.
«I have now finished the energy massage, so please turn over again.»
Shortly afterwards I felt her loving hands touch my back. I noticed that she pressed certain points on my body. I asked her why she did so, and she explained that she noticed muscle tensions and worked to loosen them. She told me that often deeper emotional issues are being redeemed at the same time, and also that it removed stress. Again she asked me to turn around. Her treatment was clearly beneficial for me, and afterwards I felt tranquil and balanced.
«This is something more people ought to try!» I exclaimed while I dressed again.
«Far more people do receive such treatment today» Natalia replied. «At the same time we are beginning to utilize our potential to a far greater extent than earlier. We actually have a Centre for Human Potential here in Lighthaven. It is a building where we work with body, consciousness and mind. Here there are advanced exercises in yoga and meditation. We are working on developing our abilities within parapsychology, such as telepathy, hypnosis and clairvoyance.
Work is being done on the effect of the mind on matter, the body and the psyche, out-of-body experiences and a lot more. These phenomena are far more widely accepted today than they were in your time. To a far greater extent we now realize what enormous potential every human being has, and what we have discovered is truly not trifling!»
«And not only that,» she went on, «occasionally we receive tutoring from our cosmic friends who are far more advanced than we are…!»
«Wow... that sounds fascinating! I would have loved to take part in that!» I commented.
«Maybe some other time, but that we’ll have to come back to. Tomorrow you will be going back to your own time, but you are going to meet our wonderful friends from Cosmos before you leave.»
I noticed that Natalia’s voice sounded sad, and suddenly I realized that we might never meet again. I felt a lump in my throat and sensed that tears were on their way. I went to her, and we held each other for a long time.
«However, we still have a bit of time together. All evening and all night!» Natalia said.
«I wouldn’t miss that for the world!» I answered while I stroked her hair. «Lucky me!»
«And I am also lucky! she parried. «Aron, should we pay a visit to my son Jayden and my parents up on the slope over there? They know about you, to put it like that.»
«Of course we could do that!» I said.
«They are aware that we might come sometime today, so I’ll just give them a message that we’ll be there in a little while. They will then prepare some food for us as well.»
«That sounds great» I said, wiping away a tear.
We got ourselves ready, Natalia received a message from her parents that we might come anytime, and we left the house.
Again I was struck by the pleasant atmosphere in Lighthaven. The entire area appeared so harmonious.
We reached the small hill where Natalia’s parents lived and began to ascend it. Suddenly Jayden came running towards us. He threw himself into Natalia’s arms. Their joy of reunion was great. We walked together towards the parents’ house. They had by then come outside to receive us. They smiled at me and hugged me in a very hospitable way. I very quickly relaxed as I felt at home with them.
«Have you had a good time here?» they asked as we were eating. I could only confirm that it had all been the greatest of adventures! We talked quite a bit about all the things we had seen and experienced. They were listening, but at the same time eagerly taking part in the conversation, and time flew fast. Gradually we got to talking about their own lives, and they related some of the many things they had experienced. They said there had been an enormous societal development. They remembered little from the turbulent time when there were so many problems on Earth, because they were so little then. That was something I knew more about, to put it mildly, so I told them quite a bit about it.
By then it had got late, and it was bedtime for Jayden, who asked Natalia to see him to bed. She did so, and when she after a while came back, we thanked her parents warmly and strolled the short trip back to Natalia’s lovely house.
We talked for a long time before going to bed, and then made love for a long time before we fell asleep...