The New Blueprint

By:DD

All modern humans can trace their heritage back to three brothers. Their names were Labor, Service, and Rule. They were conceived by Mother Earth and Father Time at the beginning of civilization. Before the brothers’ births, people had known only one way of life and had no basis for liking or disliking it. The three brothers represented a new breed of man and the start of a new era.

Labor was the oldest of the three brothers. His birth brought upon the dawn of the agriculture revolution over 10,000 years ago. Labor was the first human to work by the sweat of his brow. He toiled over the soil each day to create his first daughter, Security. It was in the promise of Security that Labor justified his backbreaking work. As Labor produced more siblings of Security, Mother Earth and Father Time had a second child, who they named Service.

Service saw opportunity in Labor’s time-demanding lifestyle. He realized that if he became a specialist, he could get Labor’s needs outsourced to him. Out of the desire to produce more Security, Labor took Service’s timesaving offer. No longer did Labor or Service have to have a wealth of knowledge and skills. Service brought upon the age of specialization, where people limited the diversity of their skills for efficiency. Through Service’s work he produced a daughter named Luxury. Service realized that Luxury was unneeded in the world so he formulated a plan to convince everyone otherwise. Service created a myth that Luxury was the highest goal of humanity and the reason why he and Labor worked so hard.

Rule was the last child of Mother Earth and Father Time. Rule had never known a time before Labor and Service. He reaped the greatest benefits of Security and Luxury. Rule knew that he was born into a world of privilege created by his brothers. He did nothing else, but eat the fruits of his brother’s labor, for which they grew to resent him.

One day, Labor and Service became weary of their work. It was on this day that Rule learned what his purpose was. Labor and Service’s disillusionment caused them to question the efficiency of the system that they had created. The two oldest brothers began to realize that their endless work prevented them from enjoying their children. It started to become clear that they would never produce enough Security and Luxury to justify the consumption of their Father’s time and Mother’s resources.

Rule did not want to lose Security and Luxury so he made it his responsibility tell Labor and Service to stay the course. Rule’s commands were no match for his brothers’ unrest. His brothers were ready to abandon the system that benefited him the most. Rule thought deeply about the situation and had an epiphany. He realized that if Labor and Service had no memory of a time when life was easier, they would continue with life the way it was. In order to achieve this, Rule had a daughter who he named Amnesia. With Amnesia on his side, he was able to convince Labor and Service that there was no other way to live. To protect Security and Luxury from future dissonance, Rule locked them up and required Labor and Service to work in exchange for visitation.

In order to fill his brother’s empty memories of the past, Rule created a myth. He told Labor and Service that it was their destiny to create a Tower of Civilization that reached the heavens. Rule explained that it would be extremely hard work to build the Tower, but one day it would reach a new height that would bring on an age of paradise for everyone. Rule’s myth also warned that any attempt to give up on civilization would mean a life of hardship in the unforgiving wild. Rule found his place among his brothers by spreading fear and false promises with the power of Amnesia.

It wasn’t long before Rule’s own child made him forget that his story was a myth. All three brothers were now convinced that infinite production of the tower would lead to a new Eden. As the tower grew, the brothers’ ranks in the tower became more defined. Labor, the first child, became the lower class in the tower. Service, the second child became the middle class and Rule, the youngest brother, became the upper class. Each Brother felt the weight of the tower differently, but in equal misery.

Labor held the most physical weight, working endless hours, in inhumane conditions, for little time with Security and Luxury. Since Security and Luxury were so scarce for Labor, he appreciated them the most out of his brothers. Service had more time with Security and Luxury, but could not enjoy them because of the stress of keeping his position in the Tower. Rule had made it very clear to Service that he could easily become like Labor if he didn’t streamline his work for maximum efficiency. The middle class became plagued by cutthroat competition because of the looming threat of work going to the lowest bidder. Rule had the most time with Luxury and Security, but enjoyed them the least out of his brothers. He was never satisfied with the Security and Luxury he received because his overabundance forced him to always need more. Rule’s daughter, Amnesia, caused him to become disconnected and isolated from his brothers. He had forgotten that the people below him in the Tower where of his own blood. Alone, Rule lived in great fear of falling, knowing that he would hit bottom the hardest.

With no memory of the past and acceptance of the myth of Rule, the tower of civilization became a prison for the three brothers. The larger the tower grew, the harder it was to sustain. This forced the brothers to work harder in order to survive. Labor, Service, and Rule kept taking more of Father Time until there was almost nothing left of him. Each brother hid their unhappiness because no one wanted to hear complaints about the way things were. They no longer had the time or energy to think rationally. Materials were taken from Mother Earth with disregard for the integrity of the Towers foundation. The brothers were so fixated on reaching the heavens, that the end completely justified their abuse of one another and the planet.

It was too late before Labor, Service, and Rule realized what they had done. Their parents were dying from the overuse of time and resources and the Tower of Civilization had become too large to keep stable. Fear and hoarding spread through the Tower. Shortages of time and resources brought wars, famine, and disease to the building’s occupants.

As Mother Earth and Father Time laid on their deathbeds, the three brothers remembered life before Security, Luxury, and Amnesia. Rule, the most insecure of the brothers, asked his parents why they would allow the brothers to act this way. Mother Earth replied, “If people always lived in paradise, they would have known nothing else. It was with the creation of the three of you that humanity will truly understand Eden.” Labor, Service, and Rule cried with relief, understanding that what had happened was not their fault. Mother Earth looked at her sons and said, “It is almost the end of time. Soon, time will no longer bind you.” Father Time took Mother Earth’s hand and said, “Soon will be the death of land. The ownership of earth will no longer imprison you.”

The Tower of Civilization fell and destroyed earth and time as the Brothers had known it. Free from their prison, the brothers were filled with joy. Labor, Service, and Rule did not grieve over everything that was lost because they knew what they had gained. Labor, said to his younger brothers, “We created fire so we can know cold, light so we can know darkness, technology so we can know humanity, and hell so we can know heaven on earth. It has always been perfect, but now we can see it.”