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Kibi and the Search for Happiness
Questions
The author will attempt to answer any sincere question, but will be honest if he does not know. In that case, he will try to point to the source of a possible answer.
"When are we going to find out what happened to Buna and Toli and Risan Gor? And why RG was important?" Clarissa, Nebador Citizen, 12
One the the important jobs of any story-teller, Clarissa, is knowing what NOT to tell. The NEBADOR story is seen through the eyes of Ilika and his crew. There are things they will never know, SHOULD never know. The lives of Buna, Toli, Neti, Misa, and don't forget Tera, might become important to the crew of the Manessa Kwi, and they might not. I don't know at this point. Same with Risan Gor, and why she was important enough to rescue. Remember, she is very young, and her importance may not become known, even to her, for many years.
The fact that Ilika and his crew don't find out everything also is an important theme in the story, that you will probably understand better after reading Books Five and Six, so I can't give it away right now. Book Five is almost out, and I know you'll be one of the first to get one. Look for Melorania, and think about who and what she is.
"How would Ilika's home, Nebador or whatever, handle the things you talk about in the blog like energy crisis?" Nancy, South Dakota
You'll understand Nebador better when Book Six is published next year, Nancy, but right now we'll have to work with the hints Ilika has given us. Nebador, it appears, is a civilization that's advanced enough to actually deal with any imbalance in it, or between it and its environment. An energy crisis is an imbalance between energy supply and energy demand. In our world, we usually take the attitude that whatever we want, we get, if we have enough money. That attitude only works in social things, give and take between people. When you bring in physical reality, it doesn't work so well. So Nebador must be advanced ("grown up") enough to know the difference, and when something is limited by physical reality, they don't whine like we do, they just deal with it. In the case of energy, that might mean riding a bicycle or wearing warmer clothes.
"... generally speaking nebador has a bit of wealth? enough to build and repair ships and keep tons of people busy.. and for all that high tech and expensive and technological stuff in the manesa.. they put in a cheap lock for the mission bracelets that can be easily pried open? think some one on nebador had a brain fart..lol.. and i think ilika needs to install some knock out gas in his ship in case someone decides to take it again..lol ... any who.. cant wait for the next book since i am now hooked. now you need to throw in some space monsters or pirates or something..lmao." Carl, Oregon
Yes, I wasn't completely comfortable with that mission bracelet cabinet issue, but I had already established that the ship can, once in a while, break down, it isn't designed as a "prison transport," and his knife was BIG, so I let that stay. But generally I agree with you, Carl, and that bordered on a "cheap plot device."
As you will see in future books, Manessa is quite capable of defending herself, but needs guidance, and in this case received it from Ilika (to do nothing, not even speak) because he feared for Mati's safety. And part of the theme here is that Ilika is inexperienced as a captain. Although not as much as his crew, he's still learning.
I'll think about the space monsters and pirates, Carl, but even if that happens, don't expect it to be like most space monster and pirate stories!
[concerning the crowded city in Book Four, chapter 18] Lubna, India
Lubna: Do you believe Euthanasia is beneficial? Will this not lead to its own set of problems - including murder? I mean lives are getting prolonged because we have artificial stuff such as respirators to keep the ailing alive.
JZC: I don't claim to know how a civilization should "manage" death. That's a huge question that will take centuries, perhaps thousands of year, for us to work out, if we ever do.
The city in Book Four, chapter 18, simply presents the reality that if we don't control our population through the birth or death rates, nature will do so through the death rate, and often in a manner that will can do great damage (a highly-unstable civilization tends to lose it sciences, arts, and technology, including large-scale agriculture).
I don't have any particular knowledge about euthanasia, other than to point out that most people today find it unacceptable, just as they do all other methods of population control, save one...
Lubna: You mentioned that wars can help keep the population down. But isn't war best avoidable? Wars arise out of greed rather than anything else.
JZC: I personally dislike wars, but they are generally very popular, and are the only socially-acceptable method of population control that the human race has ever come up with. Conservatives dislike contraception and abortion (as in the USA), and liberals dislike government mandates (as in China). Perhaps I am imagining it, but it often seems that those who are most AGAINST birth control are the same people who are most IN FAVOR OF war.
[deep thoughts and questions from a 15-year-old critiquer about the crowded city in NEBADOR Book Four, chapter 18]
"Seriously, what's up with that community? You'd think that the remaining 1% would end the cycle of death ... the inertia of bad ideas. Scientifically speaking animals reproduce to keep their genes passing along. Which is a good thing. There needs to be genetic diversity for any species to not risk extinction because of a virus. But these guys are going way overboard about it. Even if this is a medieval city there has to be enough death to make up for the births, especially if they're not allowing contraception. As horrible as this sounds, some pregnant ladies need to get 'accidentally' pushed down stairs, and some criminals, the really bad ones like murderers, need to spend too much time underwater ...
Which brings up something else! What do they do if someone murders another? Slap their wrists and tell them to never do it again? That city has got to be at least half doctors and jails if they have to keep everyone alive! But then, where do they get medical supplies? It's still a medieval city so there's probably just things like herbs and blood letting/leeches but how do they decide who gets the herbs? Or do the divy it up all even and make everyone have craptastic medical care? Hey! That's another way they could 'accidentally' lower the population! The doctors could just let too much blood out!
And say if the critical mass of the city was around say ... 1,000. And of the surviving 1% there was an uneven distribution of the genders, what would they do? Say it was 80% male and 20% female, four guys to every girl, how would they decide who gets to pass on genes? Even if the gender distribution was inverse 20% male, 80% female, the society would have the same problem, or a mass outbreak of STD.
Jeez, I don't think I've ever written so much about a single page before." -- K, 15, Nebador critiquer, 2009
I pondered some of the same questions when I was writing that chapter, but don't have answers for you, as I'm sure you know. Your questions illuminate the essential point of the chapter: that such a society would be absurd and completely out of balance with the planet and the very nature of mortal life.
"Is Nebador some kind of cult?" Mrs. Benson, USA
Gosh ... that's a hard question to tackle with a constructive response, but I'll give it a try. First of all, one of the recognized fallacies (errors of clear thinking and communicating) is the use of "loaded words," and "cult" is about as loaded as they come, especially in the USA. The word has neutral meanings, basically "sect" or "religious order." It also is used to mean "religion I don't like."
I know from your letter you were bothered by the ethics situation in chapter 15. It is very commonly used in philosophy courses, and is usually called "The Enquiring Murderer." It does tend to bother people because there is no easy solution. Many people like easy, clear-cut, black-and-white ethical rules. The universe we live in doesn't often provide them.
Although I respect your right to "not like" such difficult ethical situations, I'm not sure how you made the leap to such things constituting a "religion." Although ethics are certainly a part of any religion, a religion (or "cult") requires much more than ethical thinking. Religions (and "cults") are human organizations, with all the usual trappings.
Although I'm not sure you got much past chapter 15, if you kept reading, and especially if you got into Books Two and Three, you would see that these stories have, as one of their major themes, the difference between human religions (including "cults") with all their weaknesses, and genuine spirituality. Human religious organizations get tangled up in all the pitfalls of politics and economics, and so they revisit every kind of error and evil ever invented. The political scheme of the high priest, which concludes in Book Three, is only one example. The spiritual journey of individual people, on the other hand, is certainly not easy, but is completely different, and is usually not aided, in the author's opinion, by the political struggles of organizations.
In summary, I'd suggest that the high priest's religious order, and the other two orders in the capital city, all seem to fit the definition of "cult" you are using. Nebador would only fit that definition if you include in it anything that is a little hard to understand.
"Would you put all the lessons and wisdom stuff on 1 page? i don't mean the little picky stuff in the DLNs [Deep Learning Notes] ... I mean the big stuff." Sean, 14, Nebador Citizen, Quebec
I've had other people ask me that, so I've been thinking about how to do it. I promise to keep thinking and start it as soon as possible. I may need your help, Sean.
"If you don't mind--what are the steps in writing a book?" William, 18, Nebador citizen
I can only speak for myself on that. Other authors have very different rhythms to their writing. And I can only speak about writing fiction.
1. I have an idea, I scribble down what I know about the idea, and I ponder it, glancing at my notes every day while I do other things. Subconscious levels of my mind and/or spiritual influences (the "Muse") are working on the idea, seeing what important story it contains. I am doing that with Book Seven right now as I work on the final polish of Book Four.
2. The inspiration comes, guided by my knowledge that any good story has certain elements. Not all parts of the story come through inspiration. Some I must just create through sheer "work." But, in my opinion, the essential story must be inspired, or it will not have "wings."
3. The first draft is pounded out. This is a combination of getting down what I have already been inspired about, and doing the "work" of filling in some gaps, creating smooth transitions, etc. This step includes a re-read of each chapter after it is written, sometimes another read of story arcs that span several chapters, and a final read of the whole thing, catching as many glaring mistakes as possible. This takes me six months to one year.
4. I then send printed manuscripts to my young-adult critiquers, who take up to a year to comb through it for grammar, story logic, or other mistakes, too little or too much description or explanation, confusing places, wrong vocabulary level, and anything else that bothers them. Also, my cover artist is probably doing the original art during this time.
5. After I get all the critiques back and interview all my critiquers, I do a re-write, going through the critiques chapter-by-chapter, considering every suggestion, and fixing anything else I see that needs work. The clarity necessary for this is only possible because it has been many months since I last read it. Also during this time, I meet with my illustrator about weekly to create the drawing I can't do myself (I do the maps and teaching aides).
6. Next I give printed manuscripts to a smaller group of helpers, mostly on the audiobook cast, who give me their reactions (happy faces, question marks, "OMG," "WTF," etc.) They also catch a few more story logic and grammar errors. Every change (and there were hundreds during the re-write) can introduce new errors.
7. After getting those manuscripts back, and/or interviewing the readers, I begin the final polish, which is actually three reads through the manuscript. During the first read, I write the Deep Learning Notes. Then a copy goes to my proofreader, who reads it at least twice. While she's working, I do the other two reads. Also during this time, I make sure all the illustrations are just the way I want them, and in the right places.
8. Finally, several sizes of description must be written (without spoilers), and the letter to readers at the beginning of the book. Whew! All that took about three years.
"I just read book 3. Why do you think animals have souls?" Patricia, 15, Iowa
I tackled that wonderful/terrible questions on 8 January 2011 in the Youth Futures blog, Patricia.
"... They have had to bribe soldiers on several occassions. In Book 3, they also had to bribe the jailors for release of their teacher. It is true that there was no way out. But giving a bribe is almost as bad as taking a bribe. ... I would not want kids in my country to grow up on the assumption that it is fine to give a bribe. Perhaps it needs to be brought out that this was a last resort in the given circumstances which the students faced." Lubna, India
Although I don't disagree with you that bribery isn't ideal, in many times and places it is normal. In the medieval situation of the story, Ilika (and in Book Three, Boro) only had the choices of violence, bribery, or prison (and possibly death). They chose the middle way. No "perfect" solution was possible.
"I notice in [Book Three] the students have begun to eat meat. There is mention of beef stew, then mutton with herbs when they meet Sata's parents and then a stewed rabbit on Toli's birthday. In the earlier books the thrust was a hearty stew with just a few mutton pieces. I mean even the fox in Book 2 had noticed that these humans did not smell like others because they did not eat meat. Is there a deliberate change?" Lubna, India
Ilika, who usually lived in a nice, warm ship, ate little meat, but when they got into the mountains at the end of Book Two, he was smart enough to know that cold is hard to tolerate on a vegetarian diet. Then, when they returned to the lowlands, he respected their choices for birthday dinners. As you know, they avoided it at Cattle Town. When they got on the ship, they again ate little or none. As I hope you will discover, the NEBADOR stories are not about inflexible attitudes or simple people.
"Are you ever going to write Godi and Tima? You really should. It would be so WONDERFUL." Running Cat, Nebador citizen, 14
I'm thinking of using that as a writing contest topic, in late 2011 or 2012. I think it would be fun to write, but the main NEBADOR story keeps me very busy. If you have ideas about it, RC, maybe you could start working on it now ...
"When Tera is found near the abandoned cottage, she hasn't run away from this cottage premises, even though it is abandoned. This probably means someone has been feeding her or looking after her. Thus, walking away with Tera does seem to be not quite the right thing?" Lubna, India
It's one of those things I probably should have somehow recapped from Book One, but forgot. Tera was purchased by Doti the healer as she helped the group prepare to leave, and was delivered to the corral just the evening before. The donkey was there just for Mati.
"At first I thought it was going to be all anti religion, and the green balls were just some sci fi thing, pure-energy beings or something. Now I've read book 3, I'm seeing connections all over the place. Angels, right?" Gina, Nebador Citizen, 17
I can't give away the plots of future books, Gina, but I'll say a few things about your insight. First of all, a "religion" is a human organization, and being "anti-religion" doesn't mean someone doesn't believe in spiritual beings. Also, of course, being pro-religion doesn't guarantee someone understands or believes in spiritual matters.
I'm glad you're starting to see the spiritual connections in the story. Just like in real life, they are subtle and easy to miss, and people who don't want to see them will not. It appears you have "eyes to see."
Putting labels like "angel" on a spiritual being is dangerous, because then people and their organizations (such as religions) start arguing about which label is right, exactly what it means, etc. People feel so strongly about their labels that they even sometimes kill each other. So I hope you'll understand if I don't confirm or deny (or even pretend to know) if the spiritual beings you have seen and heard in the story should be called "angels."
"Ok tell me if i'm getting this right. Wilderness like book 2 is really good for us because it doesn't save us if we f... screw up. Our momies aren't there. But what about summer camp?" Billy, Georgia
You are on the right track, Billy. Some people can learn and grow even if they don't have to, but most people have trouble with that. That's why wilderness is so good for us. In civilization, there are people to rescue and comfort us. In wilderness, the clouds just rain and snow, the wild animals just hunt and eat.
Many people find that after growing up enough to be comfortable in wilderness, they are more self-motivated and self-contained even when with other people, even with parents. As Sata learned, standing on your own 2 feet feels good. It's not one of the boring, stuffy parts of adulthood, it's one of the good parts. There are many good parts of childhood and young-adulthood that we should keep, also, but that's another topic.
Summer camp is good, but it's not wilderness. Take a look at Outward Bound and NOLS. They come much closer to true wilderness experiences, but are expensive, and wilderness trips don't have to be. There is probably some kind of wilderness very close to your home.
"Why does the group in the book keep wanting to pick up pets?? lol ... and also I was kinda curious as to why Sata hasnt been singled out yet since she was not a slave to start with ... seems like there would be a bit of an argument about it ..." Carl, Oregon
Young people love pets, and there seems to be a natural human need to practice having control over other creatures. Even children in a medieval culture know that people are in control of many animals. Pets give us many opportunities to make good (or bad) ethical decisions, and allowed Ilika to show how his ethical values were different from the people of the kingdom.
The NEBADOR stories, I hope it is obvious by now, are not about kids with all the usual bad habits and human weaknesses, like prejudice and social class separation. It is not about Tiko, Kodi, and the goatherd. It is about a handful of young adults who are ready to step outside their backward culture and take a different path.
"I wonder what do you think would happen in the room in the tunnel if Buna not find the courage?" Yukika, Nebador citizen, 18
Ilika was gambling that hard, cold reality would motivate her to find her courage and swim through the underwater passage. It's quite amazing what people can do when they have no other options. But if that did not happen, he probably would have told the others (when Boro swam back through, wondering what was taking so long) to go on to the shack without him. He would have used the light in his bracelet to help them (he and Buna) retrace their steps. It would not have made such a good story.
"So you think math, phonetics, logic, and ethics are the most important subjects? How come we only get 2 out of 4 in school?" William, Nebador citizen, 17
Yes. Mathematics is necessary to understand the physical world, and phonetics is the key to language. Without logic, at least intuitive (like Boro), little thinking takes place. Ethics separates us from ... most people would say "animals," but most non-human animals I've known have strong ethics ... ethics separates us from machines.
Your second question is difficult, William. Here's my stab at it. At this point in history, our civilization has evolved with few people knowing logic and ethics. We have customs of thinking and packages of values that substitute, but they are not the same. I believe that situation will change, out of necessity, although I cannot predict when.
"By today's standards, wouldn't Boro and Sata's relationship be indicative of sexual trauma in Boro's history, and illegal?" anonymous, 16
Since you say "by today's standards," I think you mean that the trauma is presumed. The perception, by other people, of trauma in a relationship, or as a cause of it, is often driven by customs or laws. If a relationship is against custom or law, it is assumed to be traumatic. The people making the judgment don't personally know the people in the relationship.
In contrast, real trauma is extremely unpredictable. Some people live through wars and other terrible experiences, and come through mentally healthy. Other are traumatized by the smallest challenges in life.
Boro certainly could have experienced real sexual trauma during his years in slavery. In that case, it might harm his relationship with Sata, or it might be healed by that relationship. Could it cause their relationship? Sure. People who have been traumatized seek out romantic relationships. So do people who are perfectly healthy.
What about the 4-year age difference between Boro and Sata? Although some people are bothered by such relationships, they are fairly common, especially when the girl is younger. And since girls tend to be about 2 years ahead of boys, Boro and Sata were only 2 "years" apart developmentally.
Could their relationship be illegal? Even by today's standards, in the USA and most other countries, relationships (in general) between youth of different ages are completely legal. Sexual contact is illegal under certain circumstances, but those circumstances differ greatly from place to place. Boro and Sata, as most readers know, were not lovers.
"If Ilika absolutely had to keep Kodi, how could he engage the boy in the learning process?" Lisa, Nebador citizen
I know you're in that situation, Lisa. I have friends who are school teachers, and they tell me they rarely have anywhere they can send a troublemaker. But truthfully, I don't think Kodi was ready to have a teacher. If I was his therapist, I can think of things that MIGHT help him grow up, starting with a one-on-one, 24/7 therapeutic relationship. That wasn't available in the story, and it's probably not available to your students. The few hours a therapist or teacher gets with a troubled youth is rarely enough. Healing a twisted moral value system, like Kodi's, is a huge task that almost requires "re-raising" the person. It's almost impossible at or beyond 12, as I'm sure you know. Sorry I can't be more optimistic.
"Help! Scientific notation...or whatever you call it...I get multiplying where you multiply the numbers (duh) and add the exponents. But what about adding? I don't get that!" Fiona, 16 ("I'm the one who asked about teachers like Ilika")
That's the hard one, Fiona. No shortcuts, you have to get all numbers scaled the same, then add the significant digits. In the following examples, E means "times 10 to the power of." It's usually best to put them all in the highest power of 10: 2.5E7 + 4.3E5 = 2.5E7 + .043E7 = 2.543E7. If you need to, you can put them in decimal form: 6.02E13 + 1.35E12 = 60200000000000 + 1350000000000 = 61550000000000 = 6.155E13. Negative exponents work the same: 2.9E3 + 3.66E-1 = 2.9E3 + .000366E3 = 2.900366E3 (or 2900 + 0.366 = 2900.366). Try some on your own and tell me how it goes.
"What do you do to verify the identities and ages of the people who write to you?" Sandra, California
You must be new to the internet, Sandra. Even though you gave me your last name, address, and phone number, I will not publish them, just as I do not publish "too much" information that young readers sometimes send me.
To answer your question: nothing. The people who write to me, youth or adults, are welcome to use real or fake names, real or fake (or no) pictures, and be (or pretend to be) any age. None of that is of any importance to me. People (especially young people) are working out their public images, and I respect that. The only things of importance here are the thoughts being shared. It is a well-recognized fallacy, called "ad hominem," to think that the value of an idea is different depending on who it comes from. I honor statements and questions from 9-year-olds the same as I do those from adults. There is no business being conducted on this web site that requires verification of identity or any certain age. The only exceptions are the first place winners of the writing contests, who must have parents also sign the transfer-of-rights contracts if they are minors.
"Why doesn't Nebador have a presence on Facebook and Twitter?" Ben, Montana
Facebook and Twitter are fads. They are very good at keeping people busy chasing after the latest thing. They are not so good at communicating ideas that really help people learn and grow. The "noise" level on social networking sites is very high, the true "content" very low.
NEBADOR is all about changes that happen slowly, deep inside the individual reader who has decided to look thoughtfully at the universe, and listen to their sources of inspiration. If NEBADOR becomes a passing fad, it will have failed. If it becomes a treasure, with dog-eared copies tucked lovingly into daypacks as young people head out into the world, it will have succeeded.
For the same reasons, the author has decided to keep this web site simple, and the "noise" level as close to zero as possible.
"Why is the healer also referred to as a "witch"? That seems like a contradiction! Witches are evil." anonymous
It's a contradiction if we're using a modern stereotype, but not if we use a definition with some historical accuracy. From the Deep Learning Notes for Book One:
Most of our modern concept of "witch" is derived from two sources: the Christian Inquisition, and Hollywood movie-making. If we peer beneath the surface of these stereotypes, some historical truth remains. Although they varied greatly from culture to culture, a "witch" was most often someone who attempted to deal with the unseen forces that others in society could not. During most of our history, illnesses and diseases fit into that category. "Witches" were, therefore, one of the forerunners of medical doctors.
"I keep rereading parts where Ilika isn't afraid of things most people would be. He wouldn't be afraid of the woods or the dark, right?" Tabitha, Nebador citizen, 11
Yes, Tabitha, just like you, Ilika has mastered his fears. Partly that's because of his bracelet, and partly it's because of where he comes from, which you've seen hints of in Books One and Two, but will learn much more about later. I can't give away what's in later books, of course. Mastering fears is good, as long as you don't confuse that with being careless in a genuinely dangerous situation.
"Why do I get the feeling this story is about science one minute, and religion the next minute?" Running Cat, Nebador citizen, 14
Running Cat has eyes to see! Science and religion are like a quarreling brother and sister. They are both after the same thing, figuring out what is really "out there," but they go about it slightly differently, so they love to hate each other. Perhaps a good measure of the advancement of a civilization would be how well science and religion get along. The author is of the opinion that any attempt to know what is really "out there," that didn't take into account the points of view of both science and religion, would be an incomplete and insincere effort.
"Why did you make Ilika give up on Kodi so easily? Would you have done that if he was YOUR child?" just an irate mother
The author has no easy answer to that question, just as he has no easy answer to those who ask why Ilika put up with Kodi for so long. Certainly, most people would invest much more effort if he was their own son. Ilika's reaction to a possible new student in Book Two, chapter 8, may shed some light on this question.
"I'm trying to figure out if Ilika is conservative, or liberal. What do you think?" Gina, Nebador citizen, 16
People often try to figure out if some famous person (or fictional character) would belong to their favorite (or hated) political party. Often, two or more opposing parties claim the same person. The poor fellow most fiercely dragged left and right is, of course, Joshua ben Joseph (Jesus of Nazareth).
The political labels "conservative" and "liberal" imply complex and constantly-changing platforms of values and positions. The author is no authority on either camp, and so will just take a look at the words themselves. Would Ilika "conserve" (hold onto, maintain) values and resources? The opposite would be shirking or wasting. "Liberty" (the noun, where "liberal" is an adjective) means freedom - does Ilika value freedom? The opposite would be bondage, or at least regimentation.
Although Ilika spends a little more money than he might spend if he haggled, we never see him waste anything. In Book One, he holds onto his values of trust and confidence by getting rid of Kodi, and in Book Two, the unneeded saddle bags are sold, not wasted. Although he doesn't buy every slave and give them their freedom, he clearly doesn't like slavery, and gives his students all possible liberty, except when it might interfere with the task at hand.
Whether we stick with this simple analysis, or dig into the details of political party platforms, the author has to honestly say that, in his opinion, Ilika would probably relate, to some degree, to both political positions, and so join neither.
"How could Sata's parents let her leave when they knew Ilika had just had a brush with the law? NO parent would do that!" anonymous
It is true that today, in an affluent democratic society, most people who have "brushes with the law" are, to some degree, guilty or of questionable character. This is what we are used to, as we have enjoyed it since about the middle of the 20th century.
But if the situation is moved a little from "today," "affluent," or "democratic," things change. Even today, poor people often have "brushes with the law" for little or nothing. Not long ago, skin color was a determining factor. Our justice systems have only dispensed anything remotely like justice for the last couple of centuries.
In any culture, most people "know" which crimes are real, and which have no bearing on the quality of the individual. Today we laugh if a friend gets a parking ticket. Sata's parents knew how unreliable the medieval justice system was, especially when initiated by a personal request from someone of high status.
"Why are there no teachers like Ilika?" Fiona, 16
There are. All of Ilika's teaching methods are based on sound educational and psychological theory and practice. The problem is that the places we usually go to find teachers and get an education, usually called schools, have several other purposes in addition to education, and must deal with social, political, and economic pressures that further distract them from teaching. Some good teachers can be found in schools, but they may not have time to do any real teaching. Other good teachers will never set foot in schools, but quietly do other jobs and teach a few students informally.
A bit of wisdom that has come down through the years, expressed with different words but the same general meaning, is that when the student is ready, the teacher will appear. This means that when you are ready to learn something, you will naturally attract, and be attracted to, the right teacher. You might find that teacher in a school or college, in a library, or just about anywhere else. Most people are eager to share the knowledge and wisdom they have, and will gladly teach a sincere student.
The author believes that as we move further into the future, schools (especially public schools) will be less and less able to provide a good education, and it will be more and more necessary for young adults, who want to learn, to take responsibility for their own educations, which means finding their own teachers wherever they might be found.
"Why is this web site so simple?" anonymous
Complexity is the enemy of resilience. Complex "state of the art" web sites require constant maintenance, and are often found to be partially or completely non-functional on one browser or another. This forces web programmers to chase after errors, and web site visitors to chase the latest browsers and updates.
Those are some of the reasons the author chose to write this web site in HTML 3.2. As an added bonus, simple web sites load much faster. The author wants time to write, and he wants his readers to have time to read.
In our world today, we have gotten into the bad habit of solving a problem (usually caused by too much complexity) by adding more complexity. If the author is not mistaken, we will soon be forced to bring many aspects of our civilization back to a more manageable level of complexity - in other words, back to resilience.
"What is a Muse?" Jolene, Nebador citizen, 16
The ancient Greeks conceived of the sources of inspiration in the arts and sciences as nine sister goddesses, the Muses.
Any person working in a creative field experiences moments of inspiration that cannot be explained by anything from the person's past. Some people say that inspiration is just a process that occurs in the mind, an integration of past knowledge and experience that only SEEMS unique and new. Other people, who believe in a spiritual aspect of the universe, see inspiration as coming from deity.
The author, and many other creative people, uses the term "Muse" because it is very old-fashioned (2500-3000 years old), and therefore avoids the political and religious arguments of today. It's a way of saying "that mysterious source of inspiration." Others can argue about it, but we're busy writing, painting, or whatever.
This author is a theist; he happens to believe that deity exists. Another might use "Muse" for more of a psychological process. The honest truth is, we don't know, and can probably never know, at least in this life.
"Why does Ilika always use money to solve his problems?" anonymous, 18
As anyone who has traveled to another culture knows, having money greatly simplifies getting things done. A story in which Ilika deals with the challenges of the capital city without money would probably be interesting, but it is not the story the author set out to tell. Ilika is there on an assignment: to find a crew for his ship. The cultural immersion necessary to live without money takes a great deal of time.
"How could Sata's parents allow her to make such a career choice at her age?" anonymous
Sata is ten years old when she asks her parents if she can be tested for the jobs on Ilika's ship. Two things combine to make their acceptance plausible. First, it is the time in life in that culture when this should happen, as was the case in our world just a few centuries ago when apprenticeships usually began between five and ten years of age. It is as if a sixteen-year-old today was applying for his or her first job. Also, Sata is an example of a young adult growing up more quickly than the average. Although some people might prefer a world in which everyone's development is "average," the reality is that people mature at all different rates. Compare her to Toli.
"Several characters use the term "gods." What's going on? There's only one God!" anonymous
Most older cultures conceive of deity as plural. Monotheism is a fairly recent concept in our world, and the NEBADOR story begins in an "older" culture. Also, it seems to the author that if a person "believes in God," then they are convinced of the absolute existence of deity, independent of any mere mortal's opinion. In that case, different titles, names, numbers, or genders for deity might be useful for including or excluding people from human groups, but have no bearing on the reality of deity.
"Are the characters bathing naked?" anonymous
The author understands that this question looms large for some readers, so he leaves the answer up to them as much as possible, as it certainly isn't important to the story. Historically, someone in the middle class (like the innkeeper's daughter) might have some sort of simple underpants. A bathing suit would be unknown to anyone but upper-class nobility. To be completely authentic, they would bathe in full view of everyone at a cold stream. The author compromised by giving them some privacy and warm water.
"Ilika's students seem too smart, too cooperative, too good to be true. Are you trying to portray some kind of utopia?" anonymous
Yes, in the sense that all employers are utopias because they don't have places for everyone from the general society. The drop-out is not welcome at IBM, nor the drug addict at British Airways.
Most of us are used to public schools where, if we are to learn anything, we must deal with ugly environments, poor or non-existent supplies, burned-out teachers, constant regimentation, and fellow students more interested in fist fights and back-biting than learning. Public schools have places for just about everyone from the general society.
Ilika's students were first selected by their harsh life circumstances and their strong spirits. Next, the slave master did some screening. Ilika then tested his candidates every way he could in the time and space allowed. But it was the half-year they all spent together that really told Ilika what they were made of.
Even so, every one of those who remained with Ilika had inner-demons to battle and weaknesses to overcome. Utopias have unrealistic expectation about people in general. In reality, there are always a few who can achieve great things.
"How could the students have learned so quickly? It took me ten years to go from counting on my fingers to trigonometry!" anonymous
We are used to assuming that if a young person can't read, write, or do arithmetic by their teenage years, they must have a learning disability. That was not the case with Ilika's students. They were bright, but an education, even the materials to study on their own, was not available.
Now they are motivated by several things. This is their one and only chance out of poverty and oppression. They have chosen this path with their full hearts and minds. They are studying all day, every day, late into the evening, with no de-motivating forces (like school-yard bullies). Although they don't yet know much about Ilika, he is a shining role model, and obviously places great value on knowledge and clear thinking.
When it comes to education, there is just no substitute for self-motivation, whole-life immersion, and cohesive group reinforcement. No general society has ever succeeded in offering this kind of education to its people, so for most of us, it seems impossible.
"Sometimes the plots are not as action-packed as they could be. People today love constant action and maximum jeopardy. Aren't you afraid people will find your books boring?" anonymous
It is true that stories today compete for action on the grandest possible scale. Once, exploding buildings and airplanes were exciting. Now it takes exploding planets to impress an audience.
The NEBADOR stories have a different purpose. While most people may be looking for the largest possible explosions, a few young people are keeping their eyes and ears open for stories that speak especially to them, at this point in history. These stories are for those few.
Often while writing, the author comes to a situation where he isn't sure what should happen next. Since he has read books and seen movies, well-used plot elements jump into his mind that could easily carry the story forward, and usually with plenty of excitement and jeopardy. Instead he waits, and often the Muse has something else in mind, something a little less exciting but more uniquely relevant to young adults facing the changing world of today.
The author trusts that those who need maximum excitement and danger will find plenty of books and movies to keep them satisfied.
"What does "Nebador" mean?" anonymous
As far as the author can tell, it is just a rarely-used proper name.
"Les ceps du Nebador" is a French wine, meaning "The stocks of/from the Nebador." In this case, "Nebador" is most likely a place name. Since it does not occur on any map on the internet, it is probably a single vineyard.
Nebador Hood was a girl born in Washington County, Georgia, USA, in March 1882, and was alive and single at age 18 when she was recorded in the 1900 census. Nothing else is known about her from the internet.
"Nebador" (or the Cyrillic letters that appear as such on the internet) seems to be a person's name (or handle) on a Russian internet site.
The internet also contains a few occurrences of the word that are misspellings of other words, or randomly-generated nonsense words.
Previews
Book One:
The Test
Spring 2010
Book Two:
Journey
Summer 2010
Book Three:
Selection
Fall 2010
Book Four:
Flight Training
Spring 2011
Book Five:
Back to the Stars
Fall 2011
Book Six:
Star Station
Summer 2012
Book Seven:
The Local Universe
2013
Book Eight:
Witness
2014
Copyright © 2009-2012
by J. Z. Colby
unless otherwise attributed