Varner grew up on a corn farm in Iowa. By the time he graduated from high school, he was tired of corn and dirt and tractors. Instead of studying agriculture at college, as his father and brother had, he wanted to become an architect. It was during his second year of school when he started to think bigger. He was accepted into the city planning program and quickly found that planning and logistics were his passion.
Varner’s first job out of college was with the planning commission in Des Moines. He quickly found there was little room for movement. He started applying for jobs in larger cities and landed a job in Chicago. He enjoyed the challenge, but eventually realized that he was better suited for self employment.
Varner took a leap of faith, quit his job, and started a planning and logistics firm—a company that eventually grew and morphed into Insight Resource. Landing the government contract for this experiment was a coup, but it wasn’t without its challenges. The biggest of which was dealing with the federal government, especially the smarmy senator who’d sponsored the bill. Luckily his visit had been brief. Better yet, Varner got the sense that the senator was just going through the motions. He would likely never get involved in anything to do with this experiment.
Despite the palpable excitement of the new town and the experiment, Varner intermittently felt dread. The worst part was his inability to describe the cause. Perhaps it was the fact that there was no governmental structures or institutions to keep the society in order. Perhaps it was the fact that private entities were charged with the public safety—the police, fire, and healthcare. These were things the researchers, particularly the political scientists, insisted on. They wanted to see the fabled “state of nature” in action.
Most predicted that a government would quickly be established. This was a good thing in Varner’s mind—he’d wanted to set up a government, patterned after the US Constitution. However, someone had made the point, and it was a good one, that the type of government they set up would bias outcomes in the experiment. Varner argued, and vehemently at that, that there had to be some middle ground. Everyone agreed with this in theory, but no one could explain what it should be. The consensus was to err on the side of liberty.
Varner looked at his wife again. She smiled at him and then barked at their children to stay close to them. He returned the smile and then laughed at his son, who made a wise crack at his wife. He was suddenly glad that he was an outside observer of this experiment. In order to retain a strong presence, he’d rented a house in Ogden, Utah, which was about fifty miles away. The company’s meetings would be held there. The monitoring equipment, including all of the servers, were in Ogden also. If there were any serious problems, Varner could be in the Pocatello Valley in an hour.
That sense of dread came and went. Right now he was focused on the positive and having fun with his family. However, as he looked around at all the people, he couldn’t help but feel that if something went wrong, it was going to go very wrong.
CHAPTER 7
The weather finally broke for good around the first of May. All through April, Mother Nature was schizophrenic—cold rain and high winds, then snow, then a week of spring-like weather. Farmers couldn’t plant their crops and be confident they would survive. However, there were thundershowers by the second week May, the surest sign that spring had finally arrived.
With the warmer weather, people began to get out and enjoy their new surroundings. As May turned to June, boats and wave runners filled the lake. Many residents went out camping, fishing, and hiking. For many, this new life was like a permanent vacation, a holiday dream. Most had more money than ever before and they wanted to experience leisure. Many of the spies, including Bao, noticed the people’s loose spending and started making negative predictions in their reports.
To the office of Dr. Michael Varner/Insight Resource Inc.
Re: Report for May/Microcosm
Note: This report is the summary report of field reports.
Field Agents: All field agents in place and reporting.
Summary: May has seen mostly normal activity among residents. Weather has been continually warm, which has helped increase economic and social activity. As of yet there has been no date set to give the community an official name, although that movement has gained some momentum. Still no organized political activity. There is too much prosperity for there to be too much dissatisfaction. One watcher has predicted, however, that as the weather turns hot, crime will rise and that there will be enough fires to call for the formation of organized police and fire stations. He predicts that this will eventually germinate into a full-blown movement to form a government. I have attached his full report.
Criminal: Two men have been arrested and detained by Blue Creek Security Services for domestic violence (assault against their spouses—one was called in by the woman herself; the other was called in by a neighbor). There is no governmental body to adjudicate these matters so it is believed that these men will be released soon. Also, drunken and disorderly conduct continues to disrupt the ‘night life’. One man was badly injured during a fight: he was treated by local doctors but was transported to Ogden, Utah for further treatment.
Social: The general sense of ‘newness’ has begun to wear and residents have begun to consider this as their home rather than some large social-scientific experiment. Evidence of this can be seen through less ‘hits’ on the microcosm.org website. People are asking less questions and generally visiting the site less.
Political: There is the mindset among some that formation of a government is an eventuality and the question is what type of government be formed. Some residents are nervous to have so much freedom and lack of structure to their lives. They are used to traditional American life where much of life is centered on governmental activity.
Economic: Economic activity has continued to be heavy, although there is some worry that people are over-spending and that they will soon have to sell items, or mortgage their homes at some point. As a forerunner of this, two banks have formed and are offering mortgage products. Although no one has, of yet, mortgaged their home, many watchers feel that this is inevitable, considering the sheer amount of money that has been spent by some.
Psychological: No serious negative psychological behaviors as yet.
To celebrate their already-succeeding venture, Patton, Frank and Mike chartered a fishing boat and planned a long day fishing, telling stories, and drinking beer. The owner of the fishing shop was a friendly, middle-aged man named Tom Parry. He was a retired oncologist from the Cleveland area. Tom had set himself up for year-round activity. During the warmer part of the year he would charter his boat for fishing and waterskiing. During winter, he was going to rent snowmobiles and cross-country ski equipment. The three partners complimented him, telling him it was bold for him to depart from what he knew.
Tom enjoyed his work of helping people overcome disease, but was worn out by the whiny, non-paying patients, the governmental regulations, and the constant need to upgrade equipment. They were glad Tom had made the change. He already knew the lake and was a master fisherman. The fish weren’t biting, but the beer was cold and Mike had enough stories, including the one about the Saudi who’d put a hit out on him, to keep them laughing all day.