Read Online The Infinite Moment by John Wyndham - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: John Wyndham
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increase. Therefore, if power was to become stable, a new form suitable to the circumstances must be found.
"In deciding the shape it should take, the natural tendencies of the littleeducated and uneducated woman were carefully consideredsuch qualities as her feeling for hierarchical principles and her disposition to respect artificial distinctionsYou will no doubt recollect that in your own time any fool of a woman whose husband was ennobled or honoured at once acquired increased respect and envy from other women though she remained the same fool; and also, that any gathering or society of unoccupied women would soon become obsessionally enmeshed in the creation and preservation of social distinctions. Allied to this is the high value they usually place upon a feeling of security. Important, too, is the capacity for devoted selfsafrifice, and slavery to conscience within the canons of any local convention. We are naturally very biddable creatures. Most of us are happiest when we are being orthodox, however odd our customs may appear to an outsider; the difficulty in handling us lies chiefly in establishing the required standards of orthodoxy.
"Obviously, the broad outline of a system which was going to stand any chance of success, would have to provide scope for these and other characteristic traits. It must be a scheme where the interplay of forces would preserve equilibrium and respect for authority. The details of such an organisation, however, were less easy to d termine.
"An extensive study of social forms and orders was undertaken but for several years every plan put forward was rejected as in some way unsuitable. The architecture of that finally chosen was said, though I do not know with how much truth, to have been inspired by the Bible a book at that time still unprohibited, and the source of much unrestI am told that it ran something like: "Go to the ant, thou sluggard, consider her ways."
"The Council appears to have felt that this advice, suitably modified, could be expected to lead to a state of affairs which would provide most of the requisite characteristics.
"A fourclass system was chosen as the basis, and strong differentiations were gradually introduced. These, now that they have become well established, greatly help to ensure stabilitythere is scope for embition within one's class but none for passing from one class to another. Thus, we have the Doctoratethe educated rulingclass, fifty per cent of whom are actually of the medical profession. The Mothers, whose title is selfexplanatory. The Servitors 50 who are numerous and, for psychological reasons, small. The Workers, who are physically and muscularly strong, to do the heavier work. All the three lower classes respect the authority of the Doctorate. Both the employed classes revere the Mothers. The Servitors consider themselves more favoured in their tasks than the Workers; and the Workers tend to regard the puniness of the Servitors with a semiaffectionate contempt.
"So you see a balance has been struck, and though it works somewhat crudely as yet, no doubt it will improve. It seems likely, for instance, that it would be advantageous to introduce subdivisions into the Servitor class before long, and the police are thought by some to be put at a disadvanttage by having no more than a little education to distingguish them from the ordinary Worker..."
She went on explaining with increasing detail while the enormity of the whole process gradually grew upon me.
"Ants!" I broke in suddenly. "The antnest! You've taken that for your model?"
She looked surprised, either at my tone, or the fact that what she was saying had taken so long to register.
"And why not?" she asked. "Surely it is one of the most enduring social patterns that nature has evolvedthough of course some adaptation"
"You'
're--are you telling me that only the Mothers have children?" I demanded.
"Oh, members of the Doctorate do, too, when they wish," she assured me.
"Butbut"
"The
"In deciding the shape it should take, the natural tendencies of the littleeducated and uneducated woman were carefully consideredsuch qualities as her feeling for hierarchical principles and her disposition to respect artificial distinctionsYou will no doubt recollect that in your own time any fool of a woman whose husband was ennobled or honoured at once acquired increased respect and envy from other women though she remained the same fool; and also, that any gathering or society of unoccupied women would soon become obsessionally enmeshed in the creation and preservation of social distinctions. Allied to this is the high value they usually place upon a feeling of security. Important, too, is the capacity for devoted selfsafrifice, and slavery to conscience within the canons of any local convention. We are naturally very biddable creatures. Most of us are happiest when we are being orthodox, however odd our customs may appear to an outsider; the difficulty in handling us lies chiefly in establishing the required standards of orthodoxy.
"Obviously, the broad outline of a system which was going to stand any chance of success, would have to provide scope for these and other characteristic traits. It must be a scheme where the interplay of forces would preserve equilibrium and respect for authority. The details of such an organisation, however, were less easy to d termine.
"An extensive study of social forms and orders was undertaken but for several years every plan put forward was rejected as in some way unsuitable. The architecture of that finally chosen was said, though I do not know with how much truth, to have been inspired by the Bible a book at that time still unprohibited, and the source of much unrestI am told that it ran something like: "Go to the ant, thou sluggard, consider her ways."
"The Council appears to have felt that this advice, suitably modified, could be expected to lead to a state of affairs which would provide most of the requisite characteristics.
"A fourclass system was chosen as the basis, and strong differentiations were gradually introduced. These, now that they have become well established, greatly help to ensure stabilitythere is scope for embition within one's class but none for passing from one class to another. Thus, we have the Doctoratethe educated rulingclass, fifty per cent of whom are actually of the medical profession. The Mothers, whose title is selfexplanatory. The Servitors 50 who are numerous and, for psychological reasons, small. The Workers, who are physically and muscularly strong, to do the heavier work. All the three lower classes respect the authority of the Doctorate. Both the employed classes revere the Mothers. The Servitors consider themselves more favoured in their tasks than the Workers; and the Workers tend to regard the puniness of the Servitors with a semiaffectionate contempt.
"So you see a balance has been struck, and though it works somewhat crudely as yet, no doubt it will improve. It seems likely, for instance, that it would be advantageous to introduce subdivisions into the Servitor class before long, and the police are thought by some to be put at a disadvanttage by having no more than a little education to distingguish them from the ordinary Worker..."
She went on explaining with increasing detail while the enormity of the whole process gradually grew upon me.
"Ants!" I broke in suddenly. "The antnest! You've taken that for your model?"
She looked surprised, either at my tone, or the fact that what she was saying had taken so long to register.
"And why not?" she asked. "Surely it is one of the most enduring social patterns that nature has evolvedthough of course some adaptation"
"You'
're--are you telling me that only the Mothers have children?" I demanded.
"Oh, members of the Doctorate do, too, when they wish," she assured me.
"Butbut"
"The
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