=r epee The Ones Who Stay and Fight ts the Day of Good Birds in the city of Um Hela! The Day isa local custom, sly nd random asso many local customs canbe and ye beausifulby the same token thas ite to do with birds —a fact about which locas cheerfully laugh, because that, 00, i how local customs work leis a day of tering and fight regandless, Where pennants of brightly dyed sill plume forth from every win dow, and delicate drones of eopperwire and fextherglase mide for this day and flown on no othert—waft andlbuaz onthe wind. Bven ‘he monorail cars tral stylized flamingo feathers from thet root tops. although these are made of featherlas, 00, since sel fstin _g0s donot i at che speed of sound, ‘Uns Helat sits at the confluence of tres riverandan ocean, This places within the migratory path ofseveral species ofbutterly and Jhummingbird as they tavel north to south and back agin, At the Day's dawning, the children ofthe cty come forth, most westing, wings made fr them by patents and kind old aunties, (Nol aun ties are actully aunties, but in Um Helat, anyone ean earn auntie hood. This sa cty where mumbesles aspirations can be flied) ‘Some wings are organza stiched onto school backpacks; some are quilted cotton stfied with died flowers and clipped to jacket shoul ders. Some few have been carefully glued together from dozens of+ NK Jams Durteflies' discarded wingebut only those burerflies that ded naturally, of course. Thus adored, children who can run through the sees do s, leaping of curbs and making whooshing sounds as they pretend fl, Those who cannot run instead ride special drones, belted and barred and double checked fr safety, which gen- tly bounce them into the air I's only afew feet, though it fel ke the beigh ofthe sky ‘But thisisno awhward dystopia, where alae forced so conform. Aili who refuse to give up thee childhood joys wear wings, £0, though theirs tend to be more abstractly constructed. (Some are fnvisble) And those who fallow fhe which forbid the emulation of beasts, or those who simply do not wane wings, need not wear them. They ae all honored fortis choice, as much asthe soarers and fltterersthemselves—for without contrat, how does one appreciate the diferent forms that joy can take? ‘Ob, and there is sch joy here, frend. Street vendors sll tiny custard led cakes shaped like jewel beetles, and people who've ‘waited all year wolf them down while sucking air to cool their ongues. Artisans offer cleverly mechanized paper humminghids for passersby to throw; the best ones lars they glide. Asthe after ‘noon ofthe Day gros long, Un-Helat’s farmers arsve, invited as lays tobe honored slongse the city’s merchants and technolo ‘gers. By all thre groups’ efforts does the city prosper—but when aquifers and rivers dip t00 low, the farmers move to other lands and farm there, or change from corm-husking ice padding and fishery feeding, The management of sil and water and chemistry are inrcate arts, a you know, but here they have been perfected. Here in Um-Helat there ie no hunger: not among the people, and ‘not for the migrating birds andburtrfies when they ip down fora ow ang Back tue Monte = 3 taste ofsavory nectar. And o farmers are particulaely celebrated on the Day of Good Bids The parade wends through the cy, farmers ducking their gazes ‘of laughing as their fellow citizens offer salute Here is a portly ‘woman, waving a hat of chicken feathers that someone has gifted ber, There ia seedy man i a coverall, nervously plucking athe brooch he bears, carved and laequered look ikea ladybug, He has made himself, and hopes others wil think ¢fine. They do! And ere! This woman, tall and strongand bare ofarm, hesleek ‘brown scalp doted with implanted sve studs, wearing aine uni {orimofrormelous damask, See how she moves through the crowd, ‘rinning with them helping up a child who has fallen, She encour ages their cheers and their delight speaking ro this person in one language and cht person in another. (Um Het i «city of poly los) She reaches the font ofthe crow and immediatly spies the reedy man's ladybug, whereupon with delighted eyes ands, she makes much of. She points, and others se it, too, which makes ‘he eed man bush erihly. Bu her isonly kindness and genuine pleasure in the smiles, and gradually the reedy man stands litle tale, walks with a wide stride, He has made his fellow citizens Ieper, and there sno Bier vietue by che customs ofthis gence, richland™” ‘The slanting afternoon sun stretches golden over the city, reflected light sparkling along its micaflecked walls and Isser facoted embossings. A breeze blows up from the sea, esting ‘bine and minerals, so fresh that a spontaneous cheer wafs alo the crowded parade route. Young men by the waterfront, bus stirring great vats of spiced mussels and pans of rice and peas Shien, cook faster, fortis sud in Um-Helattha the smell ofthe4 NK Jose wakes up the belly. Young women on sreetcormer ring out stars and synthesizes andbig wooden drums, the beter to getthe crowd dancing the young men's way. When people sop, too hot or thiesty to continue, chere are glasses of fresh tamarind ime juice, Elders staf the shop tha sll this, though they ako give away the juice if person is mach in need, There ae always souls needing drumbeats sed tamarind, in Um Helat, Joyous! ei steady joy char fl this city, easy to speak of but ah, though [have tried, i s most difficult co describe accurately {se the incredliy in your fc! The dificalty les partly in my lack of word, and partly n your lackof understanding because you havenever eens plac like Um Helt, nd because Lam myselfonly an observer, not yet privileged to visit. Thus I must ery harder to describe it that you might embrace, 100, How can | illuminate the people of Um Helat You have seen how chey love their children, and how they honor hones, clever labor. You have perhaps noted thei many elders, for [have men- tioned them in passing, In Um Helt, people liv long and richly with good heath for as long as fte and choice and medicine permits. Every child knows opportunity: every parent has a life “here are some who go without housing, but hey eam have an apartment if they wish. Here where the spaces onder bridges are swept daily and benches have light padding for comfort, they do not live badly. If these itinerant folk dell also in delusions, they ace kept from weapons or places that might do them harms where they ritk disease or injury, they ate prevented—or cared for, if matters get out of hand, (We shall speak more ofthe caretakers soon) And so tis is Um Hela: ety whose inhabicanns, simply care How Long Black Patel? +S for one another. That isa citys purpose, they beieve—not merely to generate revenue or energy or products, but to shelter and mr ture the people who do these things ‘What have [forgocten to mention? Ob itis the thing chat wll seem moet fantastic to you, fiend che variety! The ctizens of ‘UmiHelat are so many and so wildy diferent in appearance and ‘origin and development. People inthis land come Feom many ot ‘ers and it shows in sheen of kin and kink of hr and plampnes of lip and hip, Ione wanders the streets where the workers and art sans do their work, here ate slightly more people with dark skin; ifone strolls the corridors of the execurive rower, there are afew extra done in ple. There i history rather than malice inthis, and itil being actively, intentionally corrected—because the people (of Un-Felat ate not naive believers in good inentions as the sol tion tall ills No, there are no worshipper of mere tolerance her, nor desperate groveers for that grudging ptance of respect which is diversity, Uns Helatians are learned enough to understand what mutt be done to-make the worl beter, and pragmatic enough to actually enact ‘Does that 88m wrong to you? It should not, The trouble s thar wwe havea bad habit, encouraged by those concealing ill intent, of insisting that people slready sulleving shouldbe aficted with fur ther, unnecessary pain, This isthe paradox of tolerance, the tr son offre speech; we estate to simi that some people are just fucking eviland needo be stopped. ‘This is Un Heli, afterall, and not thar barbaric America. This {snot Omelas, ick of ety, fat and happy with its head buried ina Torrared child, My accounting of Um-Hela is an homage ru, but theres nothing fr you to fear, fiend, :6+ NK Jems ‘And so how does Um-Helat exist How can such a city possibly survive, let alone thrive? Wealthy with no poor, advanced with no ‘var, abeautflplace where al souls know themselves beautifl Ircannot be, you sy. Utopia? How banal. W's afr ae, a thought ‘exercise. Crabs in barel, og-ea dog. oppression Olympics—it ‘woul not lst, you insist. could never bein the fist place. Rac {sms natural, sonar that we will calli “trbalsm” to insinuate that everyone does it. Sexism is natural and homophobia is natural and religious inolerance ie natural and greed is natural and cruelty ts natural and savagery and fear and and and... and. “Impossible” you hiss, you fate slowly clenching at your sides. "How dare you, ‘What have these people done ro make you believe such ies? What are you doing to me, to suggest that ii possible? How dare you, How dareyou (Oh, fend feat Thave offended. My apologies Yer. how else can I convey Um-Helat to you, when even the ‘hought of a happy jst society rites your ire so? Though I con {es | am puzzled a t why you are so angry. t's almost as f you feel threatened by the very tea of equality. Almost as if some part, of you needs tobe angry, Needs unhappiness and injustice. But do your Doyour Doyoubelieve friend? Do you accept the Day of Good Bids, the city, the joy? No? Then let me ell you one more thing Remember the woman? So tall and brown, so handsome and bud, so loving in her honest pleasure, so fine in her stormeoud ‘ray She isone of many wesring the same garb, commited to the same purpose, Follow her, now, as she leaves behind the crowd and walks along the biober paved side streets into the shadows, Beneath a skyscraper chat oats afew meters off the ground—ob, How Long i ack Pee onthe +7 ‘tis perfectly safe, Um Heat har controlled gravity for geaeratlons now —she stops. These two others awit one gethen, one male both clad in gray damask, 100. They are alo bald, their studded heads aigleam. They greet each other warmly, with hugs where ‘hote are welcomed They are n0 one special Just somé of the many people who ‘work to ensure the happiness and prosperity oftheir fellow citizens ‘Think ofthem as socal workers i'you ik; thei oe is no diferent from that of social workers any where. Word has come of troubling case, and this is why they gather: to discuss, and make a difficult Aecisin, skyserapersin "There are wonders far gestr than a few Bo ‘UmHelt, you see, nd one ofthese is the ability to bridge che dis ‘ances between possibile avhat we wood cll universes, Any ‘one can doit, buralmost noone eres, Tatis because, due toa guise ‘of spacetime, the only word tha people in Un lat ca eeach i ‘our own, And why would anyone from tis glorious place want to come anywhere neat our benightedhellscape? ‘Again you seem offended, Ah, friend! You have no right tobe In any case, there's litle danger of travel. Even Um-elat has oe succesfully found a way to reduce the tremendous energy demands of macro-sale planar traneversl, Only wave particles ‘can move from our world to theirs, and back again. Only informa tion. Who would bother? Ab, but you fnger: This is a land where ‘no one hungers, no one i lef ill, no one ves in fea and even wari almost forgoren. In such a place, buoyed by the sxury of safety and comfort, people may sek knowledge soley for knowl edges sake Bursome knowledge is dangerous. ‘UnrHelat has heen a worse place after al, in its past. Noe all8 NK of is peoples, so disparate in origin and custom and language, came together entirely by choice, The city had a different civlza tion once—one which might not have upset you so (Poor thing. ‘There, there) Remnants ofthat time dot the land all around the city ined and enormous and halfbroken. Here abridge. There a great truck, ons back rusting, curve sided thing that ancient peoples referred toby the exouc term mise nthe distance: the skeletal remains of another city, once just as vast as Um-Helat, but never so lovely. Watks euch at these encumber all the land, no _more and no less venerable tthe Um-Helatians than the rest of| the landscape. Indeed, every young citizen must be reminded of ‘these things upon coming of age, and told carefully curated stories oftheir nature and purpose. When the young citizens lear this, itis a shock almost incomprehensible, that they lcerally lock the words to comprehend such things, The languages spoken in UUmetielat were once ou languages, yes—for this worl was once ‘ue word: twas not so much parallel asthe some, back then. You ‘might stl recognize the languages, but what would puzzle you ‘show they speak... and how dhey dont. Oh, some of this wil be fannie to you in concep at lest, ike terms for gender chat mean either he nor se, ad the condemnation of words meant to slur and denigrate. And yet you will puzzle over the UmHelatans’ choice to retain descriptive terms for themselves ike Minky hatred or ft or def ut these are jst words, fiend, dont you see? With ‘ut the arached contempt, such terms have no more meaning than if horses could prouely introduce themselves as palomino cor miniature or hairy footed. Diflerence was never the problem in and of iself—and UnrHelatlans sill have diferences with each other, of opinion and otherwite, OF course they doi They're How Long Black Fare Meh? + 9 ‘people, But what shocks the young citizens of Um-Helat is the realization that, once, thote differences of opinion invaved diffe. ences in respect. That once, value was ascribed to some people, and not others. That once, humanity was acknowledged for some, and not others. Ws the Day of Good Binds in Un-Helt, where every soul mat ters and even the ides that some might nts anathema, “This, then, i why the social workers of Unv Hela have come together: because someone has UPBRched the barrier berween worlds, A citizen of UmHelat has listened, on equipment you ‘would not recognize but which records minute quantum perturba Wont excited by signal wavelengths, o our radio. He has watched cour television, He has followed our social media, played our vid 0 lked ous selfs, We are remarkably primitive, compared t0 Un Helt. Time-lows the same in both words, bt people there have not wasted themaelves on crushing one another into submis. son, ad this makes a remarkable difference. So anyone ca do build Ung co traverse che worlds. Like building your own ham radio, Easy. Which i why there isan entire underground indus ay in Um-Helar—aht crime! now you believe a litle more—boilt around information gleaned feom the strange alien world that is our own, Pamphlets ate written and distributed. Art and whis pets are eraded. The forbidden isso seductive, i noe? Even here, where only things that cause harm to others are called evil. The information gleaners know that what they dois wrong, They know tise what desctoyed the old ces. And indeed, they are horrified st what they bear through the speakers, se onthe screens. They begin to perceive that ours isa world where the notion that some peopleareles important then thers has Been allowed to take root andWo + Romy _grow wntilt buckles and cracks the foundations of ou humanity "How could they che leanerseaclaim, us “Why would they do such things? How can they justleave those people to starve? Why do ‘they ntlisten when that one complains of disrespect? What does it ‘ean that these ones have been assulted and noone, no oe, are? (Who treats other people like that” And yet, even amid cheir hock, they share the ies. The evil. .spread ‘So the socal workers of Um Hilat and, talking now, over the body of a man. He is dead-—eaely, unwilling, with a beaucfully crafted pike jammed through his spine and heart. (The spine 0 snake it painless, The heast to make it quick) This it only one of the weapon carried by the social workers, and they prefer it because the pike islet. Because there was no shot o eochet, no crackle oraz, no seream, no ane else will come to invertignte The disease ha taken one poor vit, butt need not claim more In this manner i the contagion contained...in 2 moment. Ip a Beside the mans hody crouches a litle gi. She's cury-aired, plump, blind, brown, eal for her ge. Normally a boisterous child she weeps nov over her father's death, and her tars run hot with the injutie oft al. She heard him say, “Tim sore.” She heart the social workers show the only mercy posible, Bor she isnt od enough to ave been warned ofthe consequences of breaking the law, orto understand that her father new those consequences and accepted them—s0 to her, what has happened has no purpose or reason. Ie «senseless, monstrous, and impossible thing, called get back at you,” she sys between sobs "Yl make you de ‘the way you made him die” This is an unthinkable thing to sy ow Lang Black ute Monel? = 1h Something is very wrong here. She snarls, “How dare you. How dare you. "The socal workers exchange looks of concen. igey are conta: inated themselves, ofcourse i's permitted, and frankly unavoidable in therlin of work. Impossible to dam alond without getting we (There are measures in place, The studs on thee scalpe—vel. n ‘ut own world, those who wohinteered to work in leper colonies were once venerated, and impisoned with them) The toca work ers know, therefore, that for incomprehensible reasons this gil father has share the poison knowledge of our word with her. An uncontaminated citizen of Un-Helat would have asked “Why” afer the inital shock and horror, because they wold expecta re: son, There would ea reason, But this gil has already decid shat the social workers are es important than her athe, and therefore season doesst matter. She believes thatthe entire city is lest ‘important than one man’ selfshness. Poor child She s neal sep siewith the taint of our wold, ‘Neatly, But chen ous social worker, the tll brown one who got a unved strangers to smile ata handmade ladybug, crouches and takes the child's hand, ‘What’ What surprises you? Did you think this would end with the coldeyed slaughter ofa child? There are other options—and this is Um-Helat frend, where even a piful, diseased child mat ters. They will keep her in quarantine, and reach out eo her for ‘many days f the gel accepts the hand, listens to them, they will ‘ryt explain why ber fazher had ro die. Shes etl fr the knowl ‘edge, but something must be done, do you see? Then ogether they will bury him, with their own hande if chey must, in the ‘beausiful garden cha chy tend between caseloads This garden12+ NK Jems holds all the Um-Helatians who broke the law, just because they have to die as deterrence doesnt mean they cant be honored for the sterifce Bu there is only one treatment fr this toxin once it getsinto the blood iting. Tooth and nail, spear and claw, up close and br tal; no quarter can be given, no parole, no debate, The child must row, and learn, and become snother social worker fighting an end: Jess war against nea... butshewilive, and help others, and find ‘meaning in tae Ish takes the womans hand, ‘Does this work for you, a last, frend? Does the possibility of harsh enforcement add enough teallsm? Are you better able to _sccept this postcolonial uropia nw that you se itsbloodyteeh? Ab, but they didnot choose this bare, the people of U-Helat today: ‘heir ancestors did, when they spun es and ignored conscience in ‘order to prot fom others pain. Their greed became a philosophy, 4 religion, series of nations all iron blood, Un Helat has cho sen tobe better But i, t00, must perform Blood sacrifice to keep true evil at bay. ‘And now we comet you, my frend. My ite soldier See what ve done? Soinsiioas, thet litle thoughts, going both ways along the quantum path. Now, perhaps, you will think of Um-Helat, and ‘wish, Now you might finally beable ro envision a world where peo ple have learned to love, as they learned in our Wodd to hate. Per haps you will peak of Um-Helat to other, and spread the notion farther sil, ike joyous birds migrating on ade winds I's posible _Everyone—even the poor, eventhe lay, even he undesisable—can matter, Do you see how just the des ofthis provokes utter rage it some? That the infection defending itself...because if enough of tasbelieveathing’s posible, then tbecomes 90. ‘And then? Who knows. War, maybe. The fre of fever and the How Lang Back ate Monch? «3 ~ porging scourge. No one wants that, bus othe alternative to le helpless, spoty and blistered and heaving, until we all di? ‘So don’t walk away. The child needs you, to, don you see? You also have wo fight fr her, ow that you know she ensts, o walking away is meaningless. Here, ere is my hand, Take t lease. Good, Good Now. Lets gett work