Mission9

CON T E N T S Chapter 1 War or Peace......................................................................................................1 Chapter 2 The Selection.......................................................................................................9 Chapter 3 Imagine.............................................................................................................27 Chapter 4 The Plan.............................................................................................................39 Chapter 5 The Planet Positino........................................................................................... 43 Chapter 6 The Planet Mediato..........................................................................................59 Chapter 7 The Planet Authenticum..................................................................................69 Chapter 8 The Planet Securitum...................................................................................... 85 Chapter 9 The Planet Energeticum...................................................................................97 Chapter 10 The Planet Compassia...................................................................................109 Chapter 11 The Planet Observia.......................................................................................121 Chapter 12 The Planet Idealum........................................................................................133 Chapter 13 50 Years Later..................................................................................................145 Chapter 14 Appendix.........................................................................................................153 About Daniel Ofman...........................................................................................................159 About Albert Heemeijer......................................................................................................162 CHAP T E R 2 The Selection Best from Idealum As agreed, each planet went about choosing a representative. This selection process was taken very seriously on Idealum, they took pride in their high standards. Everything on Idealum was done thoroughly and precisely, to the best of their ability. They weren’t easily satisfied. As a matter of fact: they were never satisfied. Every time they had finished a job, they looked back with a kind of remorse: what could they have done differently to get an even better result? And that’s exactly what happened in the selection process for their representative. The selection procedure was so perfect that it took forever. Every time they seemed to have found the perfect candidate, someone came up with an even better test, another exam, another interview. For the participants, it was truly an ordeal. Only those with stamina and perseverance stayed in the race. Someone like Best. Best was born in the city Optima-Forma and was true to her name. Best always wanted to perform to the utmost of her ability, she never wavered. She was smart and wouldn’t settle for anything but the best. Which was exactly why she was selected. Idealum’s president wanted to be certain that they made the best possible choice and played an active role in the process. He made the final decision and selected Best for this responsibility. Just before Best left for Ambitia, where the travelers were to meet, the president of Idealum spoke these words to her, and to all the citizens of Idealum: “Best, we know that you will represent our planet to the best of your ability. Do not accept mediocrity, strive for the best, aim to excel. The destiny of our planet, of all the planets, is in your hands. Do the best you can!” Best nodded shyly, picked up her bag and walked to the spaceship that would bring her to Ambitia. She was tense, nervous about whether she could live up to such high expectations. Forza from Energeticum Things were completely different on the planet Energeticum. They were looking for a strong and powerful child, someone who would stand firm and voice their opinion. On Energeticum they appreciated such traits as clarity and conviction, and didn’t tolerate nonsense or persuasiveness. You had to let yourself be heard and know what you were talking about if you wanted to get anywhere on Energeticum. Playing the sympathy card would get you absolutely nowhere. The fact that Forza’s immediate reaction upon being chosen was not one of outright elation is illustrative of how well she met this criteria. Forza came from Intensia, a city renowned for its strength and drive. Her first words, on hearing that she had been chosen, were, “That’s all well and good, but there has to be a goal.” Her election was broadcast by hologram (a kind of 3-D television). She continued, “I’ll only go if I have a shot at success. I don’t want to waste my time. If there’s anyone out there who thinks they can do a better job, then please say so now, because I won’t accept any muttering or complaining afterwards.” Those words were music to the ears of the citizens and leader of Energeticum. You could almost hear them think, “That’s our girl!” The leader of her planet came to see her off. He shook her hand just a little too firmly and said: “Forza, hang tough girl, stand your ground and get the job done!” Forza looked around with determination and answered, “Will do, boss. You can count on me.” And without looking back, she stepped into the spaceship and closed the door behind her. Dezzimal from Observia On the planet Observia, a scientific council was formed in order to elect the most suitable representative. The citizens of Observia were good with numbers and had a strong preference for a choice that could be mathematically proven to be correct. They loved formulas and left nothing to chance, because luck was for the foolish. They wanted to be absolutely certain of their decision. They found it difficult to make a definitive choice, because hard as they tried, they couldn’t come up with a formula that would guarantee their choosing the most suitable candidate. Which is no surprise, because if finding such a formula were simple, they would have come up with one that could solve the problems between the planets. But they hadn’t succeeded with that either. Observia’s director needed every ounce of his powers of persuasion to lead them to a decision. Ultimately it was Dezzimal who was selected. Dezzimal was born and bred in the city of Evidence. “Dezzimal is our logical choice,” the director said. He continued, “He won’t let himself get carried away. He’ll make sure that the solutions they come up with are based on thorough analysis and common sense. With Dezzimal, there’s no risk of fuzzy reasoning. He’ll ensure that the solutions are thought through and based on facts.” And because no one could think of arguments to prove the director wrong, Dezzimal was unanimously chosen as representative of Observia. Dezzimal was proud of his election, and although he was a little bit shy, he was able to put his thoughts into words and said, “I want to come up with clear solutions that are based on reason and easy to explain to everyone. I don’t like loose terms or vague presumptions. The reasoning behind every choice must be crystal clear. Do you understand?” “Yes,” everyone shouted in unison, “we understand.” “See, I was right,” the director thought to himself and snapped his notebook shut. Out loud he said, “Good luck Dezzimal!” “Thank you, sir,” Dezzimal answered. He then entered the spaceship that would take him to Ambitia.