6.1: The Plan falters
“The Plan has gone wrong.”
“Really? Has it? Do you know that?”
“The calculations say so. The field equations of the general psycho-historical function show that the younger members of the community have become convinced of the existence of a shadowy movement whom they call ‘The Order of the Sponge’. They seem to be pinning their hopes on this mysterious external force to help them solve all their future problems. Eventually, the younger members’ faith will overcome the current scepticism of the older members and, when that happens, the Potting Shed will fall into decadence.”
There are two ‘voices’ in the shadows, though only one, the first, is actually speaking. The other continues:
“When will this happen?”
“Soon. Just ten years. But our psychohistory is compromised by one factor. We do not know whether the Order of the Sponge actually exists. It need not for it to have some effect but if it really does exist then that is all the worse. If it actually acts, it will reinforce their faith in it.”
“If you want to know whether something real happened on 31st July, the Feast Day of St Joseph of Arimathea – at least on the Greek reckoning – then it did. I/we felt it.”
One of the difficulties of telepathic communication is that the grammar can be ambiguous. ‘I’ or ‘we’? There is no way to tell.
“Do you mean…?”
“A supernatural or magical force, a force that might seem almost outside even our/my very broad understanding of nature, intervened.”
“Then we must do something to address this. We must find some way to balance a faith in the external force of the Order of the Sponge with some sense that the community needs to look after itself. If not, the community will become decadent and fail.”
“I/we have already begun. I/we have temporally tweaked the mind of the mole. His was the easiest to access. Where there was faith in order, I/we have introduced a tiny hint at the idea of the attraction of disorder.”
The second speaker pauses leaving the first speaker a little surprised.
“But I have only just told you that our calculations are awry! What do you hope to achieve by this precipitous action?”
“Your psycho-historical calculations are only one method to predict the future. I/we have felt the problem. My/our intervention may introduce some doubt. Thus leading the members of the community to further reflection. Leading, perhaps, to a return to rational self-confidence in their own self-determination. It will be enough if we make them think that the Order of the Sponge is merely one voice and not necessarily always to be trusted. There is also what we might call the ‘Disorder’… of… Catastrophe.”
The first speaker sighs. It is one thing to discover that the Seldon Plan has failed, another to intervene to set such a delicate mechanism – of creatures’ thoughts, feelings and actions – right. He can only hope, as he closes the door of his little box and turns to his colleagues, that the Pod, with its minions peas, is as skilled in psychology as it is mysterious.
Episodes of the The Subtle Intents of the Disorder of Catastrophe will be released twice weekly on Sundays and Wednesdays at 6pm for ten weeks, ending with a 6:30pm epilogue on 28th May.
Patron level subscribers can spend a night in the Potting Shed listening to tales told by Alcock, and the other old timers, of the commune’s early days with a careful outline the evolution of its current committee structures and the various terms of reference. After a night in a narrow bunk, high in the rafters, they will join Lottie for a 9am tutorial the next morning given by the Shed’s resident boffin, Hipparchus, on a subject of his choosing.
Gold Standard Patron level subscribers can sleep at ground level in an armchair and experience a 10am private tutorial, with a glass of Bas Armagnac, and without the irritation of the company of Lottie. They may even attempt to suggest a topic for the tutorial, though success in this is not guaranteed!