These 10 years later, I know for a fact the air is sweeter and cleaner. Intellectually, I also understand that is largely a function of the great oxygen-nitrogen generator on the shore of Lake Ptolemy, but I think as well that there is a taste of freedom in that air that no machine can manufacture.
Ten years have passed since there was a structure in place to confiscate people’s earnings under threat of force in order to fund what were described as necessary services. It was said we needed a government to do these things. And yet, 10 years later, the roads are still in good repair, refuse is still collected, the hungry are still fed, criminals are still punished, and people around Sirius 4 planet remain vigilant for signs of another Earthian attack, which to date has never come.
I have been asked to write down my recollections of those times to preserve them for history, while I still can. I am flattered and humbled that, it seems, many people believe I will go down in history for my contributions. More than just these 10 years of peace in our commonwealth will be needed to judge what whether that is justified. And as a historian myself, I know that I am already in the process of being reduced to a phrase: “Ray Kaliber said a few words that inspired the people of Sirius 4 to wage a nonviolent rebellion,” or “Ray Kaliber agitated the people of Sirius 4 to overthrow the sovereign government established after a hard-fought war to secure independence.”
Still, I also know that these superficial phrases – “Lincoln freed the slaves,” “Sardonicus established the Republic of Colorado” – only describe external actions, and history is about what happens inside the hearts of men and women. By writing a memoir, perhaps I can contribute to an understanding of the whys of Sirius 4 as well as the wherefores.
Who am I that anyone would care to read my recitation of those days? That’s a very good question, and I encourage your skepticism. Too often through the years we have attached disproportionate significance to one person or another, one source of information or another, when the truth is that each of us as individuals are as significant as any other. Don’t take my word for what happened; check out what others have to say. Read and listen to my old friend Badiah Sinclair; see what led my dear colleague Fred Masterson to act as he did, and how he changed his opinion.
I know, as well, that there is much curiosity about my beloved Buffalo. And that is another thing to remember about history: It was made by real men and women, who loved and struggled and had doubts about themselves and whether they were loving or being loved enough, and who also knew the comfort and joy of each other’s arms. And so I will tell the story of Ray Kaliber and Buffalo Springsteen to a point – the point at which we come to moments that belong only to her and to me. You are free to use your imagination, but I will not tell you whether you are imagining something that actually happened.
Freedom and the imagination have that in common: Their power is unlimited. When we tapped the power of the imagination to fuel starships and other machines that perform what once would be considered miracles, we advanced our freedom beyond the boundaries of Earth once and for all, just as centuries earlier, we found that exercising our inherent freedom breaks our imaginary shackles forever.
And so, here from my point of view is what happened to bring about the Commonwealth of Sirius 4.
Entry 56
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