Origin
Description:
As a leap-year festival, Origin expresses the Novel Universe’s lifecycle of incarnation. With the help of the Hosts– honored members chosen by the Cult– the River establishes temporary Villages populated with Families, wherever NUC exists across the planet, for a days-long festival centered around a broadly relevant motif. For example, should the relationship between management and labor be at the forefront of world politics, Origin’s motif might delve into valuable parts of the Novel Universe Cult’s unique organizational structure. In this case, Love’s interpretation of the motif might be the application of NUC’s neural-democratic principles to foster communication between the two sides, whereas Power’s, negotiation strategies and tactics corporations (Towers) and unions (Squares) might benefit from.
A Family is a combination of Wanderers, Freemen, and Civilians, belonging to a Village, and presided over by a River Sage, known throughout the festival as the Family Sage. Hosts are members elected by the Cult to operate the Village, and assist its Sages. Any member anywhere may sign up to attend Origin in any Village they wish, and Sages provide members a list of Families in their chosen Village. Each Village adopts a general aspect of the motive, and each Family is assigned a theme related to that aspect, either a subject of the Novel Universe Model that applies or a common pillar that speaks to the motif. The mission of each Family’s specific theme is to dig into their Village’s aspect of the motif, thus creating valuable approaches by addressing that contemporary issue. Having a festival that both celebrates our connections with each other, but also venerates Origin’s overall function to create novelty for the Cult and the world-at-large, best reflects the foundational purpose of NUC, and origin of our exclamation, “NUC Earth!”
In our example, the motif of the labor / management struggle could have a Village aspect of “conflict strategies,” while a Family might have the theme of applying neural-democracy’s input bias to various voices in negotiation, digging into strategies for particular participants to be amplified or silenced from round to round. Who sits at the head of the table sets the agenda, while highlighting those with valuable input speeds things along. Another Family theme are the strengths and weaknesses of informal versus formal hierarchies– whether negotiators are given authority to set terms. Removing this authority may delay, deny, or even dismantle negotiations– admittedly, a true Power move, this is a passive-aggressive tactic used by dominate actors to frustrate their weaker opponents into surrendering foundational positions, while maintaining that valuable illusion of a “good-faith” actor. Themes might also highlight pillars such as: a Community who studies the persuasive effect of graphic design; a Tribe with creative tactics for disrupting counter-protests. Or, simply, they could address the pros and cons of the River Sages’ role in mediation between Water and Rock Bodies– something labor and management only see when government actors step in.
Members evaluate Families and their themes, eventually selecting five Families they might join with themes that align with their interests. The challenges and benefits of our mortal families are the apparent randomness of affiliation– some fit in, while others wonder if they weren’t adopted by aliens. Whether we play a part in selecting our families before birth, Origin attempts to simulate that uncanny attachment of blood, both familiar and foreign. Therefore, after making the selections of which Families one wishes to join, the final placement is made by the Family Sages, adding that bit of randomness to enhance the potential for novelty.
It is through our mortal bodies we either gain the tools of the Concert Hall or commodities for the Marketplace. To honor this, each Family constructs a three-sided dwelling with a roof called a Biye (Mongolian for “body”) with the help of the Family Sage and Village Hosts. Akin to the structure of a Jewish sukkah, Biyes are designed and decorated with elements of both Love and Power as a reflection of the Family’s theme and members involved. Housing the Family’s theme-related creations, Biyes symbolize how we all enter the Novel Universe with a unique history, influenced by both Love and Power, in a temporary form built of their mixture. They also represent the fleeting, physical order of incarnation, and the seemingly chaotic nature of one’s place in a human family– we’re all forced to interact with people we might otherwise choose to avoid.
The Festival is separated into three periods– construction (days one through three), observance (days four through six), and consumption (day seven). In general, the first day is spent getting to know each other, and planning the Family’s Biye, while the next day, the Biye’s designed and construction begins. By the end of day three, the Biye should be built and decorated. Over the following three days, Village Families finish detailing their Biyes, while visiting other Biyes, music venues, art shows, etc. put on by the participating Rock and Water Bodies. The final day concludes the Festival in a feast and communal celebration, reflecting the Village’s novel interpretation of the motif.
Members of opposing frameworks will tend to form new relationships as they co-create their Biye. Facilitating these valuable connections constitutes the primary mission of the Family Sages, while secondarily, guiding the evolution of the Family’s theme to keep it in line with the Village’s aspect of the motif. Lastly, the Sages collect, for eventual publication, any innovative ideas Biyes create. Throughout the Festival, while members mingle, festival-goers write comments directly on each other’s Biyes, like graffiti. These comments are primarily meant for members to interact with the Family’s theme, but can be about any appropriate thing. Each comment symbolizes a Block of the Blockchain, the information accumulated by Signature-Frequency Sets throughout their time on Earth. Sages are encouraged to document these “Blocks,” and publish the more valuable ones, alongside those novel innovations created within the Village.
The Festival ends with the deconstruction of the Biyes into a bonfire, and an extravagant meal provided by the Family Sages, called, “The Feast of the River.” The bonfire represents the supremacy of silence, the seemingly permanent loss of Earthly information in death. On the other hand, the Feast represents the tools of Love and the commodities of Power gained over one’s lifetime that returns with them to their Spiral, and possibly onto the Concert Hall or Marketplace. To symbolize this transfer of information from an Earthy existence to the beyond-life, the heat from the bonfire is captured and used to cook the meal.
Practices:
Following Origin, a Cult-wide report is published by the end of summer, documenting highlights from the recent Festival. At the center of this report are the innovative ideas Families had created, addressing the motif. These ideas are primarily meant for NUC, but might be additionally published in secular outlets, if deemed warranted.
Over that summer and fall, Cult members submit ideas for the coming Festival’s motif. By the end of the leap year, a new motif is selected by the Cult, and preferably, any member from the recent Festival who wishes to volunteer to be a Host for the upcoming Festival will have submitted their name for consideration. Motifs are not intended to be hot-button, trendy issues that may become irrelevant over the coming months, but instead, core, human values that persist for centuries on end, like the struggle between Power structures in society.
In year one, following the previous Origin Festival, Rock and Water Bodies who wish to jointly sponsor a Village submit their application to the River. The application must include a list of possible Family themes and possible Village venues. The River evaluates these candidates for viability, confirms the list of potential Village sites, and by the end of year one, has a list ready to submit to the Cult for consideration.
In year two, members begin the year by voting on the sites, with the vote closing no later than the end of spring. Immediately following the vote, the Village sites for the coming Festival are announced, and by the end of the year, the River releases a list of each Village’s Families and their individual themes.
In year three, members submit their requests to join a particular Village, select their five families, and the list of Hosts is announced. Previous Origin Hosts are called on to train the new Hosts, with training nearly complete by the year’s end. The training Hosts will be overseen by a group made up of the coming Origin’s Family Sages. These Sages serve as is practical, and are substituted as scheduling requires.
Over the spring, the Villages are planned and, by year’s end, constructed. Any Host from any Origin who wishes to take part in the construction is welcome to do so by joining a group led by one of the Village’s Family Sages.
In year four, a new leap year, the River announces the list of attendees and Families they belong to on New Year’s Day. From that day until the day prior to leap day, members can apply to the Sages for a change in Family / Village, and Hosts may be added or subtracted from the list as it is practical.
On leap day, the roster for Families and Hosts is set. Previous Origin Hosts finish the new Host’s training. Should the list of Hosts, a Village, or the Festival itself have more applicants than available spots, the Sages, neural-democratically, select the Hosts / attendees. In the case of having enough spots for the Festival as a whole, but certain Villages running out of space, the Sages do their best to fill the open spots while simultaneously accommodating the membership’s interests. For instance, if one member has been to the Festival before and another has not, the one who has never gone is prioritized by the Sages. This same rule applies to Hosts.
Conditions permitting, sometime in spring, Hosts and Family Sages arrive at the venue as it is practical to set up and run Origin. At the center of the Festival venue, a large, semi-permanent Festival Hall is built as a central hub. While Sages and Hosts are primarily housed off-site for the duration of the Festival, the Village houses the attendees in special Mongolian yurts, called gers. The Mongolian culture is known for its nomadic lifestyle, a wonderful reflection of the Villages’ temporary nature. Although strict adherence to their traditional design is not necessary, gers are chosen for their significant role in Mongolian life, as they represent hospitality, family unity, and harmony with nature. To manage the Festival overnight, volunteering Family Sages and Hosts remain in the Festival Hall’s private rooms, each staying no more than two consecutive nights– ensuring they have reasonable breaks from their duties. Each Family (between 9–15 members) consists of 3 gers, housing 3–5 members in each. With its opening facing the Festival Hall, the Biye’s built at the center of the triangle formed by the 3 gers.
Invited members travel to their Villages for the Festival, arriving, at minimum, the day prior.
The three days prior to the Festival, the Hosts’ information and orientation booths guide attendees as they settle in. At the end of the third day, an assembly is held by the Family Sages and Hosts with presentations, performances, and the like in order to unify the Village in its mission to express its unique aspect of the motif. The categories for awards / prizes are announced for the attendees’ consideration.
On day one, attendees get to know their Families, while they create plans for their three-sided Biyes and strategies for the expression of their theme. Day two, the Biyes are designed; day three, constructed and decorated. Over days four through six, attendees visit other Families, engage with each theme, write messages on the Biyes, and attend concerts, exhibits, etc. They also submit votes for Families who might win the awards / prizes.
On day seven, the Biyes are dismantled, the bonfire lit, and the Feast of the River is held. The awards / prizes are given out to the winning Families following a final presentation by the Family Sages. Special gifts created by the Families are presented to each Host. The Festival ends with a musical concert.
The following days (as needed), Family Sages and Hosts direct the cleanup of the Village with full membership participation (as practical), the efficient departure of attendees, and return of the venue to its original state, if not improved. Sustainability and responsibility are core values of the Novel Universe Cult.
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