It is the year 2300  and the world is at peace.  There are no extremes; extremes are gotten rid of.

If a child is too anything: violent, crazy, visionary, smart, stupid, incurious—-it is eliminated.  And if an adolescent or adult goes to extremes, the police are called in.

These true peace officers carry the only weapons still available: handguns.  Their job is to eliminate any adult who is too extreme.  Even extreme talent is eliminated, and extreme intelligence.  People are strongly discouraged from wearing too-bright colors or odd clothing.  Those who are discontented with what is are not around for long.

The handguns which the peace officers carry are the remnants of a vast array of weapons, weapons which were destroyed after the Great Plague.  The nuclear weapons were dropped into deep holes; the rest were burned, and melted in furnaces.  Ammunition and explosives were destroyed, and any devices which were too complicated to repair easily were destroyed with them.  There is no electricity generated anywhere on the planet.

Everyone lives in tribes, and everyone farms.  Children learn what they need to learn from their parents and others in their tribe.  The old paved roads are not used any more: few people feel the need to travel. There are fewer than 10 million people on the planet, and there is enough room and food and water for everyone.  There is no war.  Local populations stay the same.  There are no religions, only kindness and brotherhood.

The world is happier than it has been in a long time.

But, for all of that, it is somehow a gray world.

Lou Gottlieb                          5/22/20