Tiny Eden – Exploring the Vision for a True & Natural World

The content of the “Tiny Eden” books is the fictional account of an untouched civilization that is over 13,000 years in peaceful existence with itself just to be on the verge of being terminated by a fanatical sect invading this last outpost of sanity.

The 1st chapter can be read in its entire length on the Homepage of the book’s website.

The books are touching all aspects of life; from the social/moral aspects of law and order to the political, military aspects and environmental/economical ones. The books do not lecture but view the entire spectrum from a personal point of view. Many who have read it have begun using the books as a personal guide to their own way of living.

I wish to enable members of this group to explore the “What if?” scenario for solutions. Solutions have to be found after all in our present world. Hardly have we faced so much danger in any time of our existence than what we face today.

Based on the “The 12 Principle Laws of Life” from Tiny Eden, – the topics are then set

1. You Are Part of the Universe, – Respect and Love It.

2. Be Honest, – do not thrive Above, – nor Below of what is Yours.

12. Fear Shall Not Rule You, – Yet Love Shall Be in You, -
In All What You DO, – In All What You Speak, – In All What You Create,-
In Thought, – In Word, – In Deed, – Since Love Is Life.

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1. – You Are Part of the Universe, – Respect and Love It.

“Tiny Eden” is a fictional story about a fictional society that has not fallen pray to the ills of our world. Their Constitution are the “12 Laws of Life”. In their world, all other legal disputes are based on the consultation if any action is a violation of these 12 laws. They are a society that does not have 5,000 pages of a legal codex with each paragraph having 10 sub sections of “If and when however.. ” definitions

At 1st glance they might appear as just “a bit modified 10 commandments” – however they are not. This fictive country has no religion. Thus their notion of a higher power is something that is not defined as for example God is defined in Christianity or Islam and other religions.

1. You Are Part of the Universe, – Respect and Love It. … is in itself right there a statement of that Man is not some being that is above all other creatures and above nature. It is a clear understanding that man has to be in harmony with nature! It is also the 1st law as providing the basis for all others.

In essence, the 1st law disables any arguments that we are a “from God chosen people”, or that “God commanded us to subdue the earth and all its creatures..” or any other arguments based on some religious texts.

This is the foundation of these people’s way of thinking and conflict resolutions. It is obvious that there is a difference between a worm and a human being. As it is also obvious among all living beings that some are more advanced and others are just “existing life-forms”. However to assume that we as humans are any more special than nature with all its wonders as a whole, is absolute unnatural thinking.

It is obvious that many creatures modify their environment to their use. Birds build nests, other animals burrow into the ground and make dens. We humans build houses and cities.

Animals however, let us stick with birds for a moment, will not over develop their environment. Birds will not build nests by the 1,000′s on a single tree and have as such the tree then collapse by the sheer amount of nests or loosing its foliage due to blocked sunlight.

Man as the “smartest living being” is not entitled to a special status. Just because we are more intelligent, does not make us superior and gives us the right to violate the natural laws that govern all life on earth. Tigers for sure are smarter than an antelope and this is one of the reasons the antelope is on a tiger’s menu. Tigers however will not go on an all out war to eat all the antelopes on this planet. By doing so they will eat themselves into the danger of starvation and consequent extinction. We as humans however project beyond the NOW and do just that with out endless greed and consequent destruction of our environment.

It is this very notion that we are “better” that we are “chosen” that there is “life after death” that makes us the destructive creature that we are. It is this very “afterlife” assumption that is so dangerous. This “afterlife” believe is that makes us think that if we screw up here we can always have a magic cure “later”.

All other species operate on their instincts to procreate or even refrain from procreation if their food sources are scarce – (wolves). Naturally more intelligent animals use more intelligent means to enhance their survival, – (tool use by chimpanzees) however the main drive and instinct of these species remains to ensure the survival of their species. We as modern human beings look at “instinct” as some low form of governing force. It is however this very instinct that ensures the survival of every species! We are part of the universe! Thus we shall also act according to our “natural instincts” that are unique for each species and tuned to the maximum efficiency for survival and sustainability.

Thus the 1st law simply means to not project things that we might “believe” but not “know” and stick to the things that are real and visible and proven. We are part of the Universe.

2. – Be Honest, – do not thrive Above, – nor Below of what is Yours.

Article 2 is underlining a situation that we in the general society do not observe at all. From religion to philosophies and to political views, we define man and humans according to these different views.

Be Honest! We are nothing else but a “Naked Ape”. No matter how smart we are, no matter if dressed in the gown of a brain surgeon, the spacesuit of an astronaut or else, we remain a naked ape. We are a mammal! Just because we do not like to breastfeed our new born and stuff them with baby formula, does not negate the fact that we remain mammals.

It is this very definition of what and who we are that makes the Freeland constitution so different. With this article, the very limits of a debate are laid out! One cannot argue one’s actions with a philosophy that explains man as superior or from “god chosen” or anointed or any other of these lofty arguments.

So now one may argue that this above definition opens a totally new can of worms. What if for example someone now rightfully argues with existentialism undertone: “Well if we are nothing but a naked ape, can we then not just breed some people for food?” – (Legitimate cannibalism)

Sorry, NO! Under this article this option is not available. Very few species are truly cannibalistic in behaviour. And we humans are NOT among those species. Even the ones that do engage in cannibalism do so more by chance or by lack of resources. Additionally, medical evidence underlines that cannibalism is not a means of proper nourishment. In emergencies when one resorts to such practice for survival, this practice enables the person or species to survive for a short period of time, but after a while, – (a few weeks) – it reverts the metabolism and one starves to death despite a full stomach. It is this very medical fact, that is the reason why cannibalism is almost non existent as a form of the food chain in all species.

Cannibalism has always been part of us in hardly more but as means of true and immediate survival and or as token part of a ritual. The idea of a wide scaled commercial and industrial cannibalism as a solution to world hunger has been part of the “theories” only with the advance of science and naturally the idea that we can shape our destiny any which way we want.

I am aware that the example of commercial cannibalism is a bit an extreme example. However I took this extreme to underline this 2nd article.

Do not thrive Above – nor Below of what is yours … is the follow up to being honest.
When we thrive above ourselves, we do this by Ass-uming that we are totally in charge of all events.

Let me make this very clear: YES we can alter our living conditions. And NO we are not in charge of events.

Akin to the bird that builds a nest, we build houses and cities and bridges and so forth. Yes we have tapped into the DNA and we have created new materials by re arranging chemicals in one form or the other. Yes it could be possible to alter the human flesh with chemicals and enzymes to make it consumable and nutritious. But in the same way we could do this to our waste and turn it into a consumable substance. Just because it is technically possible, does not mean it is desirable.

To thrive ABOVE means exactly that. To do something that is possible but absolutely irrational.

Tribal people honour many of the creatures that are in their environment. They admire the eagle for its keen eyesight, the panther for its stealth and the fox for its slyness. However tribal people do not lean towards praising one animal alone. They admire and praise the skills and qualities of many animals but do not insist that one specific animal is the best or superior. Tribal people are keenly aware that every animal has its strength and also its weaknesses. And this is the balance that we have lost in our modern societies. It is then exactly this absence of balance that then lets us then theorize about the possibility of turning people into food.

When ever we achieve something, we feel pride! Pride is good to a degree. It is a sensation of accomplishment and knowing that we have our skills under control. However Pride is also like a drug! It makes us blind to the reality that no matter how magnificent this bridge is that we built across a gorge, the next real bad earthquake will bring it down. All that we do NOT know is when this “big one” is going to come, tomorrow or in 1,000 years from now?

To thrive BELOW ones self is also counter productive.

Again I will use the sick example of cannibalism. Mind you this example does not come just out from my own mind, this was a true discussion some 30 years ago with a student in some bar. This man was void of any feeling and compassion and simply saw in each human being nothing but an arrangement of cells and biological matter.

BELOW means exactly that! That we understand in the human being nothing but a collection of cells and carbohydrates, – speak “meat”. BELOW can also mean to assume that we have no power at all. That we cannot change anything and that all is futile. Below is spawning the “Why bother …?” attitude.

There is a profound difference for a medical person or a scientist to understand the human body or the body of an animal as an arrangement of cells, muscles, nerves and bones, as is the view of a teacher of his students as potential future artists, and scientists and men driven by their desires. Yet both views work hand in hand.

The doctor views the human body as an entity that fights illness, that has to have broken bones set and so forth. The teacher views the same body as the potential entity of greatness in his future achievements. The decisions and achievements derive from the action of this living being. The success of his endeavours however depends on whether he is physically fit or not.

The paralysed physical body of a human is not delegating this same person to the scrap heap of useless entities. The existentialist would then argue that since this body can no longer perform his regular tasks for society, he should then be killed. Well if we then argue usefulness on physical abilities of people, then we should terminate our old at the age of 50 already. This is the being BELOW what is ours! The 80 year old grandmother might be in a wheelchair but can still teach and part wisdom to the younger generations. Accidental death aside, each of us has a predetermined biological clock. And no matter if we have a group of people who all receive the same best nutrition and health care, who live the same healthy lifestyle, they will die at different ages. Not much apart, but still at different ages.

For those who argue that old and “useless” people should have their lives terminated earlier as not to be a burden on the social services, I ask this: What are we doing about the 12 to 15 years of “uselessness” of children before they reach productive and reproductive ages at 12 to 15 or about? Are we going to “re-engineer” the gestation period of our species in breeding labs? Are we going to “pressure cook” the embryos in 9 month to a full grown 15 year old youth?

Article 2 is exactly this frame work of discussion. It simply set the limits as to how far we can go! Article 2 is simply a reminder to “stay on the carpet”. Stay real! Do not fantasize about possibilities that would negate our very essence of being. And foremost, do not even “think” of implementing any of these ideas that violate this article.

3. – Honour and love all Creation, – the Universe and all Occurrences.

Many articles in the 12 laws sound at 1st glance as if they have been copied straight from the 10 commandments. However it is the few extra words that make them different.

Freeland/Heikoon is naturally a nation and people with no organized religion. Why is then the word creation used? This word has to be seen in context of time when these laws were written, some 13,000+ years ago. Creation in this sense means that something had to have started somewhere. Not being scientifically specific and titling it evolution, Big-bang and so forth, the Heiko sees everything as made.

Freeland has never denied the existence of a higher power. What they do however do, is to refuse to label and define this higher power in the sense what we are used to from our various organized religions. Therefore for them everything they see and are aware of is a creation by something. This is best expressed in Ardos’ “Prayer” that is posted in my blog.

Being a people in tune with nature, they might not like certain creatures, plants or the likes, but they are keenly aware of life’s interdependence. What is standing out in this short sentence of the law is the term Occurrences! What do they mean by that?

An occurrence is for them anything that is maybe invisible, rare or inexplicable. These laws were written 13,000 years ago with humans emerging and evolving into civilizations of some kind. The Heiko/Freeland situation is that they had left at that time already survived a brutal “Stone-Age dictatorship” and survived a cosmic event of a meteor shower that had pretty much killed off 90% of their population. (See 1st chapter and the historic accounts by Reha)

13,000 years ago, the Heiko empire had been the superpower of its days within the Australian and South African corridor. Their technological achievements were basic and based on realizing that something “worked” while other things did not. The existence of scientific laws as such as we understand them did not exist. Therefore to explain what an earthquake is or how a tornado form was not likely. Thus such events were called occurrences. This expression included the sight of the Southern Lights, mirages and much more.

Their native culture might not have liked certain things, but they were keen enough to understand that when one lives with nature and not against it, then one is in the end better off. The survivors of this dictatorship as well this cosmic event of the meteor shower were these outcasts who had been in hiding and in resistance to the than acting dictatorship. Regardless of their civilization’s achievements, they had to live with nature and make the best out of it. For this however, they did not abandon the true scientific achievements and discoveries of their time.

To Honour all, – does not mean to not touching it. This does not mean that they turned totally vegetarian and refused to eat meat. To stick with the consumption of meat and in today’s world increasing awareness of animal cruelty, we can see what the term Honour really means.

For the Heiko, to have an animal in a breeding-pen was unnatural and cruel. Even in today’s time, over 50% of their meat comes from free grazing range animals. Honour in this sense means that they leave the animal in its natural environment till to the hour or moment it is needed for consumption. In Freeland agriculture, just the egg laying hens and the milk giving cows and goats are somewhat kept in a better controlled environment. This would more translate to the way animals were kept 100 some years ago in our world, that the cow grazed in the fenced in pasture during the day and was brought back into the stable at night. Where chickens roamed the yard for worms and would retire in their coops for the night.

Honour means also that the proverbial “village idiot” had a reason to exist and this reason was not that he be the laughingstock of the village. Honour means also that as pestering a mosquito may be, it does not give reason to invent chemicals to kill them all off. It does not mean to drain the swamps to deprive them of a habitat and so forth.

Since the law encompasses everything, the term Love is to be seen also as a substitute for appreciation. Freeland experiences severe winters and prior to the technological advances of 1994, winter meant to be pretty much stuck in one’s home from May to early August. It might not have been the ideal and most desired time of the year. Without understanding yet the cycle of water from rain and snow and how melting snow replenishes the ground water table, they did know that this had a reason and purpose.

Honour and love means also that one is prepared. Maybe we can also include in the terms used the definition of respect. Mind you that the Heiko language consists at the most of some 3 to 5,000 words. One word has up to 10 different meanings, depending how it is voiced often. When one reads Tiny Eden with an eye on technology as well as urban planning, then one will realize that the sites chosen for development are carefully selected. They are selected in terms of being the land least suitable for agriculture, mostly rocky terrain. They are selected for being out of the range of flooding. Out of the path of the wind direction a wild fire would spread and so forth.

The are keenly aware of the dangers that nature has in store. However instead of fighting nature by building flood levies, draining swamps and so forth, they look at a suitable region for their settlements and new urban and industrial developments. Their technological advancements during the times prior to 1994 were a logical and harmonious blend of using nature to help them. Wind and water were their main energy sources. Channelling these forces to their advantage was done with minimum alterations to the environment. No “Hover Dam” for them!

Being a cold place during the winter times, they depended on warm clothing and nothing is better for this than a good seal-skin. However they did not resort to hunt down the baby-seals as it is done annually in Canada and elsewhere, they again took out the mature and maybe even old and sick ones.

Animal skins for use for clothing and leather products were the By-product of their meat production. Hunting and killing for skins alone is for them a Disrespect to nature.

In what way and means is this Law used in legal applications?

As with the entire political and legal system of Heikoon/Freeland, their laws are not specific in the sense as we understand laws. Their laws are much rather a frame work of guidelines to be used to either approve of a project or decline it. In the case of the 3rd law it could also be a guideline as to what rights does the proverbial village idiot have?

Would it be more “humane” to just kill him off or would killing him constitute murder? Would killing a human that is in such a “vegetable state” of existence be justified? Is there a difference between the just a bit “dumber” village idiot and a person that can’t even move his fingers, recognize anyone and is totally dependent on the help of others to even survive for longer than 6 hours? Would it be right to snuff such a “vegetable’s” life out or is it still murder? And let us use the example of a single parent being stuck with such a severely disabled child and then one day “flips” and kills it. Can we blame the parent? Or can we also blame the community for having left this person all alone to care 24/7 for this disabled child. Is it murder or is it simply a tragic case of someone having “flipped”?

A Freeland court will not open its session with “… the defendant being accused of murder in the 1st degree of the killing of …” The court will cite an event of which the said person is accused of and will debate with all 12 laws, or the ones applicable to the event, to see to what degree the accused is responsible for his actions.

With the 3rd law, it is not just the person that killed the village idiot that will be brought to court, but also the person who proposes to stuff the pigs into tight pens so he can breed more of them. The person who advocates to slaughter the baby seals or to drain the swamps for a golf course. The person who decided to short change the community by building dwellings that would not hold up to the wind forces that the land experiences. The parent that kills the newborn because it was not of the desired gender and so forth. All such crimes would be covered by the 3rd law.

The Freeland justice system does not work on the principles of guilt or innocence of a person alone. It examines also the shared guilt of society at large and more closely the shared guilt and responsibility of the community in particular. As in the case of an over burdened parent that finally kills his/her 100% disabled child because no one in the village lent a hand to help. The system does not so much thrive for pure Justice as we understand it but rather for the true harmony that we so much long for.

4. – Respect Old and Wise, – as well as Young and of Lesser Life, – So that You shall be Respected.

It may sound like the “… Honour they father …” commandment from other religions. However the few additional words already make it stand out. It does not say to respect ones parents and blood-related family. It talks about Old and Wise, Younger and foremost Of Lesser Life.

Respect in this sense again has more a leaning toward the term Appreciation.

The Old and Wise are the ones we learn from
The younger are the ones we mentor.
The ones of lesser Life are the ones with handicaps and disabilities who shall not lack recognition.

To simply say to “… honour thy father …” would be restrictive. Because it would mean to honour or respect a person even if he is a violent sadist.

Here the respect is given to the quality of a person’s character! Not to the status of a person as a parent, teacher or other position. This law clearly indicates that a negative quality of character is not to be respected simply because one has a position of authority.

A child in turn is a person immersed in discovery and learning. A child’s needs maybe not at all important to the daily lives in the adult world, but these needs are important for the proper development of the child. Thus the child has to be respected!

The Heiko culture is certain in their understanding that if a human being is provided with the optimum conditions of food shelter and love, then this person will achieve the utmost within his or her abilities and talents. Therefore the lesser Life, – the proverbial village idiot, – is a person who has reached his utmost achievable, – thus demanding the same respect as the others.

What does Respect mean in the Heiko culture?

It means foremost recognition of a person’s arguments as not being simple “hot air”. It means the recognition of the person’s talents. His judgments and assessments have value. His needs and desires as well. The “dumb question” of a child is not “Dumb” at all. It is a genuine curiosity verbalized by a young human being within the framework of his pattern of thinking and limited knowledge. Thus the question of a child is to be respected and properly answered to.

Nature is brutal and merciless! As cute as it may look when one sees 2 lion cubs pounce and play around, it is a vital learning for them. If these cubs do not learn the tricks of their trade, they will not live long.

In all of the Tiny Eden books, the presently published one and the ones to follow, most readers are struck by a simple fact: In Heiko society seems to be no “sports activity”! Freeland has no national soccer or baseball team! So where is the play?

The playing in their society is skill based. Similar to the lion cubs learning to pounce on their prey by pouncing each other, Heikos play in similar fashion. Their recreational activities are useful ones. A good hiker is not just someone who can enjoy nature by hiking across the plains and through the forests. A good hiker is also able to practically use his endurance and knowledge of the land to be with a search party looking for a lost child. The profession that they have are professions of their likings. They are the best they can be according to likes, talents and abilities.

Well one might argue that it us very unlikely to be enjoying the killing of animals in the slaughterhouse. As counter arguments one can point out that the actual “kill” is the smallest amount of time spent on this animal. A good butcher will do this bloody job very quickly. His concentration and true talents are not in the kill but in the processing this meat into all forms of delicacies. The proper smoking of the meat, how the sausages are made and more. He is as much an “artist” in the sense as a gourmet cook is.

Respect is also the basis for change! If one encounters a person with an opposing attitude, opinion or others, direct confrontation and ridicule will not change a thing, it will rather entrench. When treated with respect, a person is much more likely to recognize his shortcomings and show a willingness to change.

Respect is in essence the foundation on which we refuse to condemn without knowledge. It is the foundation for tolerance, love and care.

5. – Do not Kill Man, – Beast, – and Universe in Vain. – Nor shall you Judge, – without Knowledge.

This might be a bit confusing at 1st. What one is struck with by this law is the missing “absolute” of the “you shall not kill” commandment. However this very law is so down to earth and especially to natural behaviour as one can get. The main part of the law is the order “to kill NOT IN VAIN…”

This in itself turns our “do not kill” laws around by removing the “exceptions” as killing in war, in self defence and capital punishment.

War and self defence are naturally exceptions and it is obvious to all of us that before one aggressor is able to kill me in person, I shall for sure try to kill him first. However when we examine our legal system and sift through the definitions of self defence, aggravated assault, excessive force and similar definitions, then the lines blur quickly.

When one reads the Tiny Eden books. Not just the original, but the sequels as well, one is struck with the realization that Freeland does not seem to subscribe to equality before the law. In mathematics we have divided a circle into 360 degrees. Freeland law looks at life and events from infinite amounts of different angles. So each event is predetermined from what angle the initial confrontation occurs.

Unlike other “do not kill” laws, this law includes animals as well the universe. This might strike people as odd. However for a people in harmony with nature, to kill a beast in vain is as much a sacrilege as to dam a river just for the sake of hydro power.

Hunting for meat still part of the daily meat supplies for the Heiko. But one will never see them going trophy hunting. There are no real extermination efforts implemented against any kind of animals. To avoid pests and rodents, the proper dwellings are usually sufficient enough to ensure these creatures to stay outside. The proper choice of materials within the construction of a dwelling will either attract or discourage pests and rodents to seek shelter there. There are many natural ways and means to control pests, rodents and parasites that would be attracted to houses, barns or crops. One does not have to use a chemical bat to put an end to invasions of pests & other critters or parasites.

To not kill the Universe – the Universe being for them the environment ranging from the river besides the house till to the galaxies unseen – means simply not to pollute, alter or destroy habitats needlessly.

Needless in this sense means not to make short cuts because they are cheaper. For a people who are in harmony with nature, the proper planning, the proper choice of the best materials as well the most reliable designs are used to set up a building, a dam, a bridge or so forth. Additionally the proper choice of location is also included in this. In clear terms, a village would be built on the grounds that are least fertile. This would be at times on top of bed-rock formations that are just a few inches below the top-soil, leaving the truly fertile places of the region for agriculture and grazing land. Sometimes, as in the locations for Gwenedine and Pao, this construction is a city tunnelled into the actual rock. Naturally it takes more efforts to do so. However what habitat did they destroy by tunnelling into solid rock? None to very little! It takes a lot of efforts but it results in an almost maintenance-free city for ages to come.

It is this care for their environment, the insistence on harmony, that is the backbone of this law.

However to underline this, they insist also on Knowledge!

Freeland/Heikoon is a nation and a democracy that has been shaped by the survivors and resistance fighters to the 1st total dictatorship in mankind’s life. Thus judgement with knowledge, – meaning facts and not myths – is the key for justice. Justice for man, for beast and nature.

6. – Do not Desire Power over any: Man, – Woman, – Child, – Beast and Being.

POWER! The most addictive drug that is not dealt in powder or liquid form. It can’t even be smoked!

Power is a phenomena that is pretty unique to our civilized world. In nature the battle for positions of power is seen all over as well. The typical battling for the right to breed among animals! The dominance over the herd! So again in our civilized understanding we “assume” that this is normal.

In our civilized world and societies we again see this with blinkers around our eyes. When a species battles for the domination in the breeding positions then this battle is done for the benefit of the herd. It ensures that the prime spenders of sperm will breed with the most healthiest and promising females in the herd. This position of dominance is directly linked to physical prime performance. And this is where we forget to focus on!
The time frame of the species in its years of Prime-Performance!

Fast forward to our civilized world: Who are today’s power-brokers? Who are the dictators, the war lords and the monopolists? Most are by far not the Prime-Performance Species and Ages that we associate with the natural power struggles observed during mating seasons.

The older bull that bangs the hell out of the younger and maybe even stronger bull during the mating fights might be older but he is also wiser and knows a few more tricks. This why he can defeat the younger and stronger bull. But he cannot do this for very long. He might win the position for supremacy for a few more years, before a younger bull will knock him down.

Many of our strongmen and dictators are however not in their physical prime! Hitler might have been a war hero during the 1st World War and it is shown that he for sure was not a coward. However to be a ruthless defender of his own safety, that he was not. An army of bodyguards were with him day and night! Alone, any semi decent martial arts expert could have knocked “Little Adolph” onto his butt.

Our misconception of power as observed in the position power struggles in nature during mating season stems from the fact that we do not consider the lifespan of the animal that we observe. The lead bull is in power for the most for about 1/3 of his entire lifespan! His time in power is approximately akin to a human being in power between 25-40 at the most. The typical physical prime time, the physical and mental health at it’s optimum and the productive organs also at the optimum performance!

The dictators and despots on the other hand are usually people past this prime time! In a tribal setting, the supreme power of a chief is not at all that supreme! A tribal setting is a very open affair of decision making! Tribal societies with about 200 people do not have much room to conspire nor room to hide to make up such plans. A chief is usually elected with the same means as a bull establishes his dominance over a herd. Age, brute force and WISDOM; – the wisdom that makes him even at the end of his power curve still smart enough to bang a younger and stronger but less experienced bull into submission.

The Shaman in a tribal society is mostly not at all a person of brute strength but a person of immense wisdom. Old Age is usually associated with a frail body and a keen mind with much experience stored. Tribal societies have this keen balance between the brute leader in terms of a chief that goes on hunting parties and also engages intruders and the wise but otherwise frail elder who councils in other affairs. The tribal society is quite transparent and is very aware of its direct needs and future needs. Their accounting system of supplies at hand and supplies needed are basic ones. Therefore the screw ups of any leader have quite direct impact on the lives of the tribe. One mistake can be accepted, maybe two or three; but a continuous bad tribal economy with food shortages and other perils will not be accepted.

Since tribal societies do not have wealth in the sense of stocks and bonds as well tribal chiefs have no standing armies and bodyguards, the same can be replaced quite quickly over night if their service to the tribe is questionable and flawed. Such leaders come into position of leadership due to their prowess, intelligence and wisdom to lead for the optimum benefit of their society. Their power is a limited one. Not limited by natural death – (sometimes accelerated by an assassin’s bullet) – as a dictator, but limited to their alertness to lead. Their power is an honour! It is a responsibility of stewardship towards their tribe and people.

With civilization we have invented artificial wealth! The gold coin and the diamonds are now our collateral. No longer do we count wealth by the numbers of heads of cattle or sheep but by these fictive numbers on stocks and bonds and gold certificates. And with this unreal wealth we can now do something that we could not do in a tribal society, bribe and intimidate.

The bulls fighting it out for the pecking order in the herd during the mating season do not form alliances, it is bull against bull and only the best will win. It is like a sports competition and the bulls get their ranks accordingly to their winning position, be it 1st place, 2nd, 3rd or so forth. And akin to a sports competition, these ranks change every year. If we stick to sports it is obvious to all of us that the 25 year old Olympic Gold-Medallist from 50 years ago has not a chance in hell today at 75 to outrun a new comer in his prime age of 25.

Artificial power however has changed all this! And artificial power has warped our minds in many ways. We seek power over our spouses and children! If we cannot get them we invent religion that decrees that a wife is subordinate to the husband. We decree in our dogmas that children have to obey their parents at all costs. And we decree that animals are to be tamed and used and abused at our will and desires.

With such a mindset of justification for power, is it then a wonder why we are mired in an ever more complex swamp of problems?

According to the book, Heikoon-Freeland had its absolute dictatorship thousands of years ago before any or the rest of the world even knew what agriculture was. The resulting revolution that then established the Heikoon-Freeland as we know it and gave us these 12 laws had only one goal in mind; – NEVER AGAIN!

The ones who wrote these 12 laws had thought very long and hard about what makes us INHUMANE. As more we read these laws and look at the do and do not, the more we realize that they focus on issues that appear almost small and non important! The laws focus on ATTITUDE! The desire for power, the enjoyment of power is evil! It is not to be confused with the pride of achievement! Sure in order to overpower an attacking lion with a lance only, one needs courage, skill, keen reaction and to a degree brute force. But this brute force of a young and well exercised hunter is not POWER in the sense of Addiction. It is Power in the sense of physical strength!

After such a close call the young man has every right to be proud of his achievements! The tribe will honour him and consider him as a future chief. This young man has after all proven himself in times of crisis. He remained cool headed! He remained calculating and he reacted the right way in the right moment! He may and shall feel happy. However a true man of power in this sense will also admit that with just a little bit of bad-luck, he could have been lion lunch!

The fine line between ability and aptitude and false pride and bad attitude, is today fully blurred! The wisdom of the Heiko has long ago realized, that the one that desires power of his wife will also one day desire power over an entire people. The one that enjoys to beat an animal into submission today, – just because he CAN, will tomorrow beat an entire people into slavery, – because he CAN.

Humbleness, after all …

7. – Do not Desire, – that sustains the Life of Your Fellow Man. -
Nor shall You seek Gold to ease the Pain of Man, – Love though will do.

I personally call the 7th Law the Anti Capitalism Law. It is a clear reminder to all that what really matters are what is actually existing and real.

As explained in other discussions on these 12 laws, the history of them is rooted in a Never Again! – desire of a brutal past. And as so often in the discussion of these laws we have to think back to Man the natural species. Not Man in the space suite or in the diving bell or in the space-station above earth. Man the Naked Ape!

The natural man and naked man is not able to physically horde much on possessions. He can store food supplies, – providing they are of the non perishable form. And as in the animal kingdom, these stores can be raided by other creatures. However we have to again underline that man is a Social Species.

As the naked ape – the Single Human – (single in the sense of being alone in a region, not single in the sense of a relation ship) – is an incredibly vulnerable being! Without even as much as a stick or a rock in our hands, we are totally defenceless against any predators. Suppose even if at the time of man evolving into the Homo Sapiens of our understanding the same was skilled in martial arts, he still would not have stood much of a chance against a Lion for example.

The Miracle of evolution of man is not in some divine intervention as in the logic applied that together this band of naked apes had a chance against the environment. As we observe today among other primates, without the social group, they are lion lunch!

Our evolution is a twofold one. The 1st and obvious is the evolution from a primate to the naked human who we are today. The 2nd part of this evolution is our ability to learn and pass on the learned wisdom and skills to our next generation. As we progressed in the terms of inventions and as well language, we obtained a knowledge that was far above what is inherently instinctive behaviour. With the inventions and discoveries, skills had to be learned far beyond instinctive skills. When baby lions play with each other, they are just honing their stalking and attacking skills. And this is the total of their needed “schooling”. Man however has it not in his instincts to make fire. Depending also on the geographic location, the means to make fire and what fuels to use are also different.

The fuel in the arctic is a different one than the fuel in the savannah. However even if I would let a tropical lion loose in the arctic, the basic skills how to stalk a gazelle is now used to bring down a caribou or a seal. So the “schooling” that the Lion had in Africa is for him enough to manage survival in the arctic in the skills of hunting. Considering his temperature tolerance is naturally another issue for the lion. However the African bushman used to wood for fire will have to learn new means of making fire and fuelling it when transplanted in the arctic.

Naturally both, the African lion and the African Bushman would die very quickly due to exposure in the arctic. This is one reason why there are no lions. The reason why there are native people in the arctic is because the people that settled these cold regions tens of thousands of years ago did so with the additional skills of making clothes and fire. Without these skills, man cannot survive the arctic as the naked ape. Man the naked ape is as much limited in his geographic habitat as the lion is. In essence a year round nude beach temperature.

Only the inventions, developments and discoveries of fire, clothes, dwellings and weapons enabled man to leave his natural habitat and settle in regions in which he could not survive as the naked ape. This mobility depended on learned skills and not on instincts alone that will be honed to perfections during the childhood to adult growing phase, – as for instance the lion’s hunting skills.

When we talk today about professions, we often seem to see them just as a title that we achieve due to x-amount of years studying a discipline. However to be a good doctor or pilot or engineer is not just a matter of intelligence, but also a matter of liking a specific profession. Additionally each skill requires a certain manual dexterity in some cases. Surgeons for example do need a very steady hand. So the skills of a butcher would not be enough. Additionally as in the case of a medical professional, the sight of blood has to be not a problem for the one aspiring to these professions.

So we developed skills due to 3 criteria: Liking of the profession, the mental capacity to learn the discipline and last but not least the proper aptitude and in manual work the proper dexterity. It is obvious that a person with no hands and arms cannot be a very good surgeon.

Therefore as we as a Species and Society advanced, we became more and more interdependent on each other. Our quality of life improved with the tribal group now specializing individually in tasks they were most skilled in. As more complex our lives became, the more the chance of survival and co-existence rose for those who became disabled. As fire became part of our lives, and the same had to be kept going 24/7, the paralysed former hunter could now sit all day before this fire and just feed it with wood. In the original naked ape society, this paralysed man would have been a burden rather than an asset and he for sure would have been left to die.

Thus the advancement of our technical progress enabled us also to let our old, week and injured to keep living in a limited but productive way. It is quite obvious to all that any species of animals that we keep in our domestic use has about double the lifespan of the same species existing in the wild. Because in the naked ape scenario, any handicapped member of the tribe became a burden rather than an asset.

In tribal societies, each person from small child to old and disabled had their respective niches and responsibilities. And our skill of language and our memory enabled us to teach. We were able to pass on knowledge beyond instinct levels! Thus we humans retained value to our tribal society even when we stopped being physically of strength and a “brute force” contributor to the tribe.

So the tribal structure of our more and more advancing ancestors became almost Eden – like! There was no more need to discard of an old or disabled person as a hindrance to the survival of the tribe. Being paralysed, being blind, being weak and old was no longer a break shoe to the tribes progress. The tribe began to value Wisdom!

So what went wrong? What went wrong in our evolution was the shift to agriculture and the establishment of empires. The more knowledge there is, the more different things receive value, the more value has to be assigned to it in forms of tokens or Money! Money or similar became and is for most of mankind the artificial value, and for some the Absolute Value.

There is a euphoric sensation that we experience each time we have success! We are Proud of our achievements. However this euphoric sensation is a dopamine induced one due to our brain activity. And similar to any drugs that we use, some people react very different. Drug dependency is usually expressed as the uncontrollable drive and need to get the next “Fix”. For a drug addict nothing on earth matters other than the securing of this next fix. This is common knowledge to us. What is less understood is the fact that this sensation of success and power is akin for some as Heroin or Alcohol is for the addict. In drug treatment centres one often hears the term “Dry Drunk”. This is a person who is physically drug and alcohol free but is behaving so irrationally that he might as well be fully boozed up.

Power and Greed cause the same behaviour as what one can observe on a “Dry Drunk”. And this is what the 7th law addresses!

A cohesive group or tribe will carefully ration their resources in times of need and scarcity. It is the power and greed driven person who will violate this rule and take more than what he needs.

Let us focus on what we can observe today on our rich and (IN)-famous. There is one thing that we all have, – a passion for some hobby. Be it collecting stamps or rebuilding antique aircraft or riding horses and so forth. In these passions we can loose ourselves for hours to no end. And there is nothing wrong with this! What is wrong when someone with power and money accumulates a wealth beyond of what he or she can actually enjoy.

I recall a report on a pop-star recently on TV. The said star has a ranch with some 20 horses. Several private aircraft, a yacht and 5 villas in 5 different geographical locations. Well sure she has the money to get it! This may sound logical. However this star is NOT a pilot, thus she has to hire pilots to fly her. She is not much of a rider and she spends 300 days/year on the road giving concerts. So what is the use of her possessions? Why have 5 villas that are for most of the time lived in by her for days only during an entire year when 100 other people with no home could have a nice roof over their heads? Why even waste money on a yacht and burn fuel for nothing else if for the few days she is on the beach she could as easily afford to rent a yacht from someone else? Why have 20 horses if she can’t even ride? Why not have 20 horses and have the ranch for kids that have social problems and use the horses as a therapeutic element in the rehabilitation of these kids? – Shortly after this airing I saw another program of just such a ranch that uses horses as a therapeutic part of troubled youth rehabilitation, and these people fight for every penny to keep their ranch going!

What it comes down to in the end is a behaviour that is simply excused with the slogan – “Because I Can!”

Truly successful people retreat to their hobbies after their stressful days or weeks on their respective jobs. They have a handful of horses for themselves and their friends to enjoy. They have one or two aircraft they are skilled in flying and enjoying to fly on their own. They might have a sail yacht and actually also possess the skills to sail her!

If I am not in the business of breeding horses for a living, I have no reason nor entitlement to have more horses than I and my family can physically ride. If I am not in the business of running an airline, then I have no reason to own jets, even less so if I am not skilled to fly them. There are plenty of executive airlines out there that can jet me to my destination if I need to do so. If I cannot use something on a daily basis and as part of my life, then I shall RENT it not OWN it.

The 7th law is here to make sure that we as humans to not become “Dry Drunks”. There is enough to go around for everyone! And we shall not take away from others that is vital to their own livelihood.

Money is a symbol or a token, it is not an absolute value! We have to understand that money or tokens are accounting tools. Each time we face a survival situation, we are brutally reminded as to what really matters! And to underline the issue as to how removed from reality one can become I cite a report about Herman Gőring, the Nazi chief of the Air Force. It is reported that during the later days of the war when the Allies would bomb Berlin, he would sit in his bunker and play with his pile of diamonds! His aide reported that while Berlin was being bombed to rubble, while everyone was in fear, Goering was all calm by touching and feeling his diamonds! The absolute useless diamonds, – and they are useless other than being good for optics and cutting tools, – calmed this man down from all fear and made him immune to the horror of this war that raged a mere few meters outside his bunker walls!

This is the example of insanity!

Insanity produced by a brain that had shifted its appreciation from essential to non-essential values. This is the insanity we see every day when problems are decided and solved by a fixed number value of money allocated to them. We seek Gold to ease the pain of man! Yet the true help and true value of the human spirit, the community and the fair distribution of all goods to the same, that we ignore.

8. – Speak True at all Times, – Nor shall You Fake Emotions.

It sounds like a simple “Don’t Lie” commandment, but again it is a bit more.

Freeland/Heikoon laws are not simple laws in the sense as we know them. They are not “Black & White” definitions. Freeland courts settle legal dispute not by simply charging someone with violation of “Law-X & Paragraph-Y with Sub-section-8″. Similar to an accident investigation where things look at 1st glance quite obvious, the cause of a crash or similar might in the end be just the opposite of what one had originally thought.

For this reason the 12 laws are much more a philosophy than a strict law.

One will read in Tiny Eden and its sequels very often the statement that before Freeland’s courts people are not equal before the law, but each is different before the law.

Actions and events are not judged just as to what had happened but judged much more on the intended goal of one’s actions.

Not to lie is an easy rule, so it seems, – but is it really so? And why is the order not to fake emotions included to this request for truth?

I know that the following statement will shock many: But Mankind could only evolve to the Homo Sapience as we know ourselves today, because of Lying!

We humans have an incredible gift in our ability to speak. Just consider the 1,000′s of languages we all speak across the globe. Consider our abilities to sing! Our ranges of vocal expressions are many! From a simple “dry-talk” in the professional world to the incredibly mastery of voice in singing an Aria for example.

But what else do we do with our voice? Hunters for example still fake the calls of their prey to lure the same before their gun-sights. It is obvious to everyone that Humans are not ducks, and yet our hunters fake the calls of a duck in order to lure the same for a sure kill. We do the same with the calls of deer, and any game animal that we desire to hunt. Now this is obviously “lying to the duck” if we hunters are not ducks.

Humans, the naked ape that we are, have little physical traits that would make us superior. All that makes us truly superior is our brain! We “lie” to the game animals in the sense that we fake their calls for our success in hunting them. However our progress in evolution is not beginning with our superiority, but with our inferiority against most other creatures.

It is our inferiority that forced us into superiority!

Prior to the discovery and use of fire, we humans were not the hunters, we were the hunted! Our 1st progress in survival was in our solidarity towards each other. Strength in numbers. Our change over from being lunch for most predators to become a predator was naturally the use of fire. The very scent of smoke on us was a good turn off for most predators to come too close. Animals in general are terrified of fire. So this fire gave us the upper hand. It protected us and gave us a scent that gradually over time evolved that most predators removed our scent from their association with “Free Lunch”. This is why “man-eating” tigers and lions and the likes are rather rare. It was not so at the dawn of our emergence to the people who we are today.

As we grouped together into tribes, we developed our language more and more. And then it happened! As we evolved our vocal abilities, we quickly learned to fake animal voices. And once we were able to fake such voices, we could then face an oncoming predator and scare him off with making the sounds of it’s enemy. I doubt a Lion wants to have much to do with 20 African Wild dogs howling in unison at him – even if he don’t know that those “wild-dogs” are nothing else but 20 scared to death humans.

So Faking It became one of our 1st tools of coordinated survival.

It shall also be known that we scavenged meat in the beginning of our evolution. One of the things we did with utmost delight and to the utmost “piss off” to cheetahs, was to steal their kills that they usually stored on tree branches for later consumption.

Thus, TWO of the most reviled actions now listed in our laws world wide, Lying and Stealing were the basis of our progress in evolution.

Thus these two “qualities” seem to be part of our natural human instincts. Understanding this, then the reasons for such laws in our criminal codex are to remind us, that these instincts are for survival against creatures that are not human, but that we should not use these instincts and skills against each other!

So the 8th law is again trying to underline the goal and intent of the actions.

In our present western & industrialized world, lying has taken on many different dimensions. Besides religion & politics, the biggest “Liars” are the business people. Advertisements are so slick and designed to stimulate our base instincts in order to trigger the desires to purchase these items. Very often a product is made to appear appealing to the senses of security. The notion that one bought the safest car that will protect children and spouse in the worst crashes is interpreted by us already as a pseudo “Good-Parenting”. Car commercials for any type larger than a regular 4-seat passenger care are filled with family images and scenes of family activities as the trip to the scout camp or soccer practice with 9 kids. The trip to grandpa in a snow storm with the child sleeping safely in the well protected back seat of the SUV, – and so forth.

So the faking of emotions is not aimed at the proverbial faked orgasm of a sex-partner, but rather at the faked emotions a pretty plain simple materialistic intent is creating. Most domestic products, from the choice of food, to the choice of clothes, cars and all other consumer items are skillfully geared to awake the bad-parenting-guilt in us. The True Intent of these add is however to get you to buy the product.

So the 8th Law does not condemn lying and faking as inherently wrong, but as with all laws of Heikoon, is looking at the INTENT.

9. – Do not Enforce your Will onto Others.
Nor Shall You call Any One Your Own – But in True Love.

This is the law that should be placed into all law books and constitutions. At 1st glance it appears to be a call to tolerance. However as I have always outlined in the discussions, the Laws of Heikoon/Freeland have very little to do with tolerance. These laws define natural laws! Their society is based on the recognition that man as a species is part of nature and not above.

Our ability to reason, to abstract, to dream, to be philosophers and even to create principles of thought as religion for example, enables us to hold onto a belief that we then wish to impose on others.

And there we have to begin to understand the difference. A Belief is not a Fact. We have come to understand that in their way of life, the individuality of a person is in the talents of the said person, not in the believes he holds onto. However all our present day quarrels centre around our likes and dislikes. If we dislike something, then we wish to enforce these likes onto others. The most common scene of such enforcement within the family is in the choice of clothes that one’s kids wish to dress in and the clothes the parents wish to see their kids dressed in. Or the hairstyle and choice of music.

On the political scene however we do see these battles take much nastier forms. We see these battles on ethical issues and so called Moral Issues. We long before established that there is no morality. Our understanding what is right or wrong is our instinctive understanding what is best for the survival of our species.

Any species can have its outcasts. There are also in the animal kingdom criminally insane members of a species. And when we observe a lion or a tiger being a loner then it means its behaviour has warranted the pack to expel this individual due to behaviour within the pack that endangered the survival of the species.

This very instinct of survival is the reason why we do not tolerate murder among our own kind. This is why we do not accept greed. Rape and hurt of our tribal members and other acts of violence. These basic rules to not kill, steel, rape and so forth have very little to do with any god or religion. These are the foundation of survival of every species!

The law books of today are quite fat volumes of 1,000′s of laws and subsections and so forth. Even law as such is divided into international law, national law, provincial and municipal law. Then it is divided into criminal law, war crimes law, business law, family law, property law and so forth. However all these laws are man made and address a specific reality of our artificial society.

These laws also change! Slavery was once practiced and seen as normal, now it is outlawed. They used to hang pick-pockets in England as young as 10 some 100+ years ago. Today we do not even charge young murderers in adult court. And now we see new laws emerge that prohibit the smoking in public places and so forth. So laws come and go and evolve as society evolves or fails.

However we also have to understand that when we talk crucial issues that are deeply rooted to our convictions we very often defend them with modern laws, also the ideas we wish to get enacted into law are ideas that are totally counterproductive to harmony.

When we argue gay-rights for example, we use the right to free speech to condemn an act of love based on a book that has no historic authenticity and no proof that such act is truly against nature. We use the law of free speech to argue under the name of a god that cannot be proven to deny the natural rights to other people by claiming that we speak the divine truth.

The same holds true for abortion. Among all species, family planning is enforced. The size of a herd or pack depends on the availability of food.

In other forms in politics we also argue political doctrines according to our personal convictions. From communism to right wing conservative capitalism. The pro and con universal health-care lobbies. The pro-Israel lobby versus the pro-Palestine lobby and so forth. And in each field of arguments we use pressure tactics.

Enforcement is a more or less violent act. Enforcing means to be in a position that I can make you do it, no matter what. It can be plain physical violence or it can be intimidation, ridicule, and psychological means of enforcement. On public issues we now use advertisement and propaganda. One of the least looked at acts of enforcement is the denial to true information. However this in itself is a whole different issue that warrants a totally new discussion.

Where does this will to enforce … come from?

To begin with we have to understand that we are quite efficient people. Any species enjoys uniformity. As it has been pointed out so often before, the individuality is in the talent; – meaning in that one is a good hunter, another a good carpenter and so forth. We wish to see our activities and chores be completed with efficiency and comfort. Uniform behaviour, team work and other elements come to play. Education for example makes us uniform in that for example all mechanics have the same standards and knowledge, as do all doctors have. Common language, common terms, commands and identical procedures. This is stuff we all understand. The uniformity to do a given task the right way and complete this task in the most efficient ways. This is what we call the technical side of making social life possible.

The enforcement desire and need however is very rapidly transplanted into the private and intellectual sector. Suddenly we desire a family life with the same efficiency and absence of problems as in a smooth running enterprise. And the more insecure a person is, the more enforcing s/he becomes in the family life.

People who have a hard time tolerating others for their difference will at least make sure that within their own 4 walls there is no difference. And naturally then comes the 2nd element of this law into play:

If for example the child rebels against the parent with different clothing, choice of music and choice of religion and political affiliation, then we quickly hear the words: “As MY son/daughter you WILL DO ….” We use the word my in a possessive way. In indicating that this child is my property akin as in darker days of time a slave was one’s property.

In public life we enforce our will in rallies on moral issues. We suddenly claim our nation to be of “Christian heritage” and therefore we have the right to ensure that no immoral freedoms shall be granted.

In truly political issues we enforce our believes in what we back. If we argue universal health-care, environmental protection, energy independence and so forth, then we argue issues that would affect the lives of many. It would better the lives of the masses of the poor who are without health-care, without clean drinking water and so forth. However it would also affect the upper 10,000! Because it would mean the enforcement of limits in income, in limits as to how much property one really needs and how much energy one really is entitled to. So in order to protect my own rich pockets, I would naturally pull out all the legal and illegal stops to prevent such a change that would affect my lifestyle.

So we see that this enforcement of will is not just a family matter. Even world politics are tied into very personal interests. The interests of multi-national corporations of which one wishes to not loose control.

The problem of today’s societies is that due to our vast numbers and many cultures and traditions we have forgotten to think tribal. It is however this very tribal thinking of the founders of the Freeland constitution that enabled them to apply it nation wide without infringing or forcing any tribe or clan to feel pressured into accepting something that is not agreeable with their tribal needs.

It is this little piece of enforced tolerance that made it the great nation it is.

10. -Do Not do Onto Others, – What You Abhor, – Nor what Others have not Chosen

At first glance it is again a commandment akin to the “Do not onto others … “ kind. Again, there is a twist. With the addition of the “… – Nor what Others have not Chosen”, the law take a complete new twist.

It is very hard for us to comprehend that we do not just enforce our wills quite often onto others, we also often decide onto others what is good for them. This is much more a law focusing on a politics & economics than it is on a personal issues. A personal issue is to enforce my will in terms how the house is decorated, what rules are enforced within the family and what believes one holds. However in politics, economics and so forth, we often enforce things onto a society by pure means of manipulation. This is especially clear in a free market economy in which we simply design a product to become obsolete and in need for replacement with a “better one”.

We have to understand that Freeland/Heikoon is caring strongly for the environment. It is a society that is in harmony with nature. In this harmony with nature, any alterations to nature, the environment, the use of resources and so forth are well planned and considered for their harm or absence of the same.

The book begins with a transformation of an almost perfect “Stone-Age-Society” into a modern industrial society. The material that enables them this incredible swift transformation is a material that is almost indestructible. Akin to the plastic waste that today litters the planet, Freeland/Heikoon faces pretty much the same problem would it embrace a market economy!

Needless to say, the modernization is a vital step in the military requirements to finally regain their freedom and independence. However, for a people that had lived for thousands of years with a proven method of how to manage life, this modernization is of little use to them past the need for a modern defence force.

“Perfection is not when one cannot add anything anymore to a product, but when one cannot take anything away from it.”

For a society and people who had managed very well all those years, the modernization was not so much an issue of curbing child mortality, diseases and the likes. They had this pretty much under control. Even their health care system was able to handle almost all cases short of removing brain tumours or the likes. Plumbing and running water as well hot and cold water was common, it just was not available in the forms we know it. And cars? Well their personal need to travel was not depending on given times and deadlines to be met.

So for many in the rural regions, these new additions in tools, machinery and so forth were a bit a surprise and as so often, met with resistance. In the following books, this is much better explained than it is in the 1st Tiny Eden. The 1st one is basically an introduction to the entire series.

Any developing nation faces the same dilemma: In order to catch up with the industrialized countries, they often develop at all costs without regards to local and social needs. Besides the technical aspects of new equipment, gadgets and so forth, come often changes in values. And once values have to change in order to make it in this “new world” – the clash of cultures and philosophies begin.

We seem to forget that it is in human nature to embrace new inventions that Ease the work load for us. Not even the still most primitive stone-age tribe living today, – (IF such exists) – would refuse the adaptation to metal knives in favour to its flints. Where this tribe would clash with adaptation to modern technology would be if we force a change of values on them.

The clashes between new and old are not so much the clashes of innovations as they are the clashes of changing values.

What also happens in a world of information abundance is the fact that we isolate ourselves from our fellow humans. Today in the age of computers we might talk to 100 people world wide in a day’s length and yet have not managed to say one single “How are you?” to a real flesh and blood person besides us.

When we talk innovation, in one chapter in the following books, it becomes quite clear. Rifles are now mainstay of the new army. And rifles are now also distributed as means of self defence to the masses. Strangely enough however, the herders who ride constant patrols around their grazing animals refuse the use of guns. So do especially the hunters! Hunting still provides about 50% of the meat supplies for the nation. Skill, Stealth and silence is a must for them. So one loud shot fired from a modern rifle will scare the game away not just for a few minutes, but for hours if not a day.

This may sound “primitive” to us. However for a people that do not need a rifle to bring down a massive game animal akin to a Bison or even a stampeding elephant, the crossbow is a reliable and deadly weapon for their trade. For these people, the gun remains a last choice weapon.

Take the same example of a Stone Age tribe with no powerful crossbows, with game animals that are much more dangerous than a common deer and with hunting practices that constantly cause injury or death to at least one participant, the introduction of a crossbow or a rifle would be a “blessing”. However for the Heiko, there are no animals of such size or danger in his environment that he cannot handle with the age old and reliable crossbow. Thus the rifle becomes a weapon not so much used against animals, but much more used for self-defence against humans.

Communication as well remains minimal. Also they quickly advance to the use of cell-phones and the likes, these items are again tools for emergencies rather than for daily communication.

In all the books one can read the way these people adapted to modern technology. Since the Freeland/Heikoon society is not based on a free market economy, the incentive to use a product and new technology is based on the products usefulness and betterment of their situation. Sure they are glad to have helicopter based air ambulances and so forth. Sure they are happy to make a 911 call for a doctor or an ambulance with their cell phones. However these items remain tools. The industry does not centre around perpetually coming up with new ideas and new gadgets to replace the old ones.

On top of all this, the person not adopting these new items and technology is not loosing out on much. The persons quality of life in creature comfort terms does not compare between our modern city dweller with a house with all the “bells and whistles” and the proverbial outcast “mountain man” who roughhouses it in the wilderness. The difference between both worlds would be akin rather to a person who relies on washing his dishes by hand versus a person who uses an automatic dishwasher.

We only can understand this all, when we really step back from our present day conception of a market economy. And when we then look at all the problems in the developing world, we do see that most of them are based on the changes in the market.

Today we talk about sustainability. We worry about the environment and so forth. Yet all artist impressions of the future show us a life and a civilization even more complex as the one now, especially in technical terms. In the same time we face the dilemma that the older generation is today often totally inept to handle this modern technology. It is one thing to operate an ON-OFF button on something. It is a totally different issue to operate an ON button and then choose from a “Menu” a mode and function to get what we want.

The market economy has transformed our values much more than what we care to admit at 1st glance. And this is where the clashes come into play. Do we really need so much? Do we really need to centre our lives around a market rather than around ourselves as a people and community?

This is what really matters! And what ever we invent, like a coin, it has 2 sides. So we can progress and change, but we shall not enforce this change on everyone. With change we shall not remove the options for the former way of doing things.

11. – Do Not be Ruled by Powers, – That You Have Not Chosen, – Nor that Do Not Serve the Peace and Harmony, – of the Universe.

This law is in essence a warning not to jump too quickly onto a band wagon. There is a fine line between being forced to do something because of nature, because of brute force and threats from outside or other reasons. It is another issue to vote or accept a power over oneself that has kind of “sneaked up” on oneself.

One of the powers we never have chosen are the powers of religion. We all are born atheists. And depending as to who our parents are, this then determines our religion. Religion then sets forth our values and customs that we adhere to and also shapes our view on life. From then on, narrow mindedness is just a step away.

Religion is quite a shut case, however political views are not so. Political views and also market views and so are very complex. However this complexity is again reduced to an “Either – Or” situation with these laws. The litmus-test is the peace and harmony of the universe.

We have come to understand that in Heiko terminology, – “Universe” – can mean anything, it is all embracing. Since the Heiko sees himself as part of nature and the universe and not its master, he does not gauge a decision just by its impact it has on society, but also what impact this decision has on nature, on mankind in the future and so forth.

The longer one deals with the 12 laws the more one realizes that they are not clear cut definitions. These are laws that almost invite to endless debates. On the other hand they do not do that at all. These laws become very clear-cut once we have decided to see ourselves as part of nature and not above nature. It is this very foundation that changes everything.

First of all they do not see themselves as from “god chosen” or see themselves in the light of the Marxist philosophy or any other “philosophy”. Therefor the debate if we as humans are from god created or have evolved over the billions of years to who we are today, is a futile discussion. We are humans! We are not elephants or sharks or birds. Our needs are inscribed into our instincts as are the needs of each species.

For the Heiko it does matter little if specific things are possible or impossible to be had. What matter to him is if these possibilities are in line with our human needs. Needs that are in balance with the universe and our environment.

It may at times sound quite insulting and arrogant when Heikos consider religion akin to a state of insanity. However if religion were so natural, then why are there so many different versions of it? Religion in itself does not permit grounds for debates. Every invention and train of thought is scrutinized by religious leaders for its “spiritual” merits or the lack of the same.

The people of Freeland turn this whole debate around. For them it does not matter if one is Christian, Jew or Muslim, what matters is that we all share one planet and we are responsible for it. For this reason the health of Mother Earth overrules all other philosophies and religions. This is after all our only planet that we can call home. And to sustain its health is our utmost obligation.

Now one may ask: “How can such simple laws define the entire legal system of a nation?” These laws are not open to interpretation! On the contrary, they are very much defining the very playing field of our actions. In none of these 12 laws does it anywhere speak about “sexual morality”! – In all religious commandments elsewhere, sexual conduct is clearly defined! Sexual morality is artificial. Sexual morality has changed over the centuries and millenniums over and over again. It is very strange that a “God” that apparently has created us with our sex-drive is so much concerned that we might abuse it.

Freeland/Heikoon’s laws are not concerned with “morality”. Morality does not exist! What we call moral behaviour, is nothing else but our instincts. This is why the fight to “out-law” homosexuality for example will be a futile one. This is why prostitution cannot be stopped and many other sexual behaviours that we partake in.

We have to always read these laws with the focus that these are laws written with the intent of “Never Again”. This is a society that began anew after thousands of years of total dictatorship. And they have decided to ensure that this past is not forgotten within 3 generations. For this reason the 1st law defines it clearly, we are part of nature! With this basic definition, all other “Philosophies” and “Believes” have no place to be even considered. From this fact, all reasoning begins.

And why are there then no “Real Laws” as “Article 123 concerning property rights of an individual …”? Well these laws as we know them today, even when drafted with the best intentions, always cause a loop-hole somehow. There are always people falling through the cracks of our system. Even in our professions that demand no room for error, where every detail of operations is written down, come moments and events when all this paperwork means nothing and just plain guts and luck can avoid a disaster.

“Real Laws” as we understand them are called “Recommendations”. These are the laws that can change every time we see a fault in them. We change or amend them. Sobriety laws for example are laws that are a direct result of our industrial advancements. As more complex the equipment we work with becomes, the more a clear and sober mind is in demand.

In a natural world and life, a drunk person mostly harms himself alone. In a complex industrial world a drunk driver can harm or kill a dozen people or more. Therefore it is understood that certain jobs can only be done when completely sober. Now for example what if I invent tomorrow a pill that removes the effects of drunkenness 10 minutes after being taken? Do we then still need these laws? Suppose the pill removes the effects and has me function with as clear a mind as if I never had taken a drink, yet my blood alcohol level still shows high. Do we then still use the drunk laws and jail people for driving drunk? Will we then debate endlessly if a person taking the pill is sober or drunk but just behaving sober and so forth?

Freeland law simply asks: “Show me where is the harm done?” It also asks: “Did you not think ahead of what impact your decisions will have?” It is a fail playing field of give and take, of responsibility and trust, – in plain words, – COMMON SENSE.

12. – Fear Shall Not Rule You, – Yet Love Shall Be in You, -
In All What You DO, – In All What You Speak, – In All What You Create,-
In Thought, – In Word, – In Deed, – Since Love Is Life.

Well this law needs little interpretation! It simply ensures and encourages us to be human. To love and share the sensations of love among each other. To make it a pleasant stay on earth during our lifetime. We all got finite years of life. For some this life maybe just a few hours as one dies right after birth, for others death comes at age 5 in a play accident, for others at 21 or at 50 or for some at old age some time in their 90′s. All this means, don’t waste your time with unpleasant things, just go on and enjoy life to the fullest, – in harmony with your fellow man.

Copyright Gűnter K. Heyes 1999 “Tiny Eden”