Secret Places: An Introduction to the World of Little Run

 

Coastal view of Little Run, port side (Image generated by Art Breeder)

A new short story series, soon to be released on Wattpad. 

 

 

The world that we call home is a world that's not much different than yours. It is populated by communities of humans and various less intelligent life forms. It is a simple world, and yet a very advanced one, I should add. Today it goes by the name of Hart, but I suppose it has gone by many names in ancient history and will go by many names to come as it continues to evolve. It is a world relatively free of strife, but this wasn't always so. 

 

Wars and genocide became rampant as tyrants became bolder, enabled to greater heights by the potential of artificial intelligence and the surveillance and war technologies that came with it. Revolutions were rampant, and protests were commonplace, but they soon were crushed by counter opposition. People died of starvation and preventable disease while resources that would have saved lives piled up in landfills in a world too advanced for its own good. 

 

Frequent pandemics and economic disaster quickly destabilized governments, and soon, the wars fought between tyrants and free men took to the digital world. Poverty became rampant, and most would come to depend on stimulus that, after a while, stopped showing up. People who obeyed their leaders and waited for help soon realized that help would never come. The old governments were dead. The bureaucracies of the old world had crumbled, and with them their armies and economic systems. Communities then banded together and formed society anew. 

 

Today our world is mostly controlled by provisional governments. They are formed of democratically elected assemblies and limited in power and scope. Their duties and powers mostly involve establishing courts and committees along with a civilian police force that mediates in inter-community disputes and enforces basic provisional laws. The provisional governments preside over small jurisdictions in lieu of establishing large national territories. However, the true heart of governance can be found in the community. That is where the needs of the people are met. 

 

So far, I believe it has worked out quite well. With the help of technology and community-minded innovators, we have seen the eradication of death from starvation and preventable disease. Genocide is a thing of the past, as are most forms of tyranny. With the death of large nations, we have also seen an end to international wars and strife. I will say that I am a man well-traveled, and the world of Hart is more connected than it used to be, despite the fears of some that community rule would bring isolation. It turns out. People just want to be people. 

 

Perhaps I am biased, though, for I love my community. As I said, I travel well and am a worldly man, a renowned author who has gone far and wide and met many people in many places. I have found, though, that it is often the secret places that are most profound and most beautiful. Life's small and untold stories, too often do we miss them, though they lie beneath our noses. The small and quaint community that I have proudly called home these many years is one such place, one such well-kept secret. Little Run first nestled itself on a lovely beach by the sea, which I often visit in the off-season for peaceful strolls. There you'll find a harbor, a busy pier, and even an old fishery, surprisingly still in operation.

 

Around town are many shops and homes and quaint sub-communities in its many sprawling neighborhoods. There are a few festivals and fairs, and even a parade or two. Though I more highly recommend the fairs in Tanner, just a short drive away. Little Run is nonetheless a simple place of simple people. I think it is very much the people that make a place. I hope you will take this lesson well and carry it in your heart, as I so strongly believe we have here in Little Run, one of Hart's many special secret places.

-Letters to The Future, by Thomas A. Pendleton