The Wealth of Elves - Advanced Sharing for Children

7/23/2019 The Wealth of Elves - Advanced Sharing for Children

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The Wealth of the Elvesby Dr. Juice

Illustrated by Sergei Arsenev

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It was our third day at sea. We were on our way to Grandmothers house when the

storm hit. !y brother" #ucas" and I had been luc$y we were near the raft when the

cruiser smashed into %ieces. #uc$ier still" the raft did not fall a%art. &ut that is whereour luc$ sto%%ed.

As the sun rose" it was getting hot again. '!ia" Im thirsty(" #ucas com%lained"

')eally thirsty.( I wouldnt let #ucas drin$ the sea water * it would only dehydrate us

more. The storm had %ushed us %ast the sea border" we were floating in the E+clusion

,one * an area outside of our %eo%les lands. -ere" all communications were bloc$ed

by the dwarves. o human would $now we were there or be able to cross the line to

save us.

We floated.2


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We floated some more.

It seemed li$e forever. We held each other and thought of our %arents.

Suddenly" we lurched. A dwarf fishing vessel came out of nowhere at incredible s%eed

and grabbed us in a net full of fish. We were scared at first" then #ucas said" 'I dont

thin$ they have seen us" but they are dragging our raft toward shore.( I agreed" 'We

can ho%efully get their attention on shore(.

We didnt $now much about the dwarves. They $ee% mostly to themselves to %rotect

their gold. Ever since they %ut u% the E+clusion ,one" humans had left them and the

elves behind it to themselves. As we got closer" '#oo$ at that/(" shouted #ucas.3


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The Dwarf

shi%yard was

even larger andgrander than I

had imagined.

We $new the

dwarves were

rich" but it had

been decades

since the

E+clusion ,one

went u%"

cutting off all

contact

between thedwarves and

our %eo%le.

0ur raft

started being

%ulled u% to the

doc$. It didnt

loo$ li$e wewere going to

get home * but

we were not

going to die on

the vast ocean

either.4


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Sur%risingly

welcoming" a

stoc$y dwarfsaid" '-i" fol$s.

I am Gree *

welcome to my

shoreline and the

#and of the

Dwarf 1ings/(

'-el%em out of

that wrec$/(" he

yelled at his

servants.

Gree continued"

'2ou loo$n

healthy 3ust alittle tired and

hungry. #et me

ta$en you to the

guest house.

4ant haven

%eo%le starvn on

my doorste%.

Gree brags" 'We

have great meat

* youll be loven

it.(

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'!ia can you

believe how much

meat they have5(as$ed #ucas.

Gree seated us at

an over6flowing

table. '-aven as

much as you want"

well trash the rest

anyways.(

!y stomach

growled loudly and

we dug in gleefully.

After we hadfinished" Gree said"

'#et me shown you

how I %ay for this .

Everything has a

%rice.(

'4ome tourn mymines.( -e

whee7ed as we

climbed the stairs.

'eedm escalator.(

he mumbled.

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'#oo$ at all my

wor$ers going togetn my gold and

my coal. '" Gree

boasted.

'They wor$n for

wages" 89 of my

gold coins a day.

We have guards to

%rotect against

the thieves * they

are every6where.(

'They worse thanthose buy6

nothing elves/

They will ruin

everything"( Gree

grumbled .

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The gold mine was

sweltering hot and

smelled of chemicalwastes that seemed to

rise as steam from the

dee% tunnel. 'Wor$n

harder//(" yelled Gree at

the miners. 'eedm

more/ eedm more/

!ore/(

A servant called Gree

away for his na% and

we were than$fully left

on our own.

'Why does he need all

this gold anyway5(

as$ed #ucas. 'Im not

sure"( I admitted. It

already seemed Gree

had more than enough.

We followed somewor$er dwarves who

didnt tal$ to us to the

coal mine. The filth of

the coal mine was even

worse. '#ets get out of here" !ia. Its scary(" said #ucas.

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We wal$ed out of the

dar$ of the mines

bac$ into the street.#ucas said" '!ia"

boost me u% to see(.

We both %eer over

the wall. All the

s%lendor of the great

dwarf city seemed to

vanish in a few feet.

Decaying buildings

leaned against each

other to $ee% from

falling down.

'Where is all the

gold5( I as$.

4urious" we climbed

the wall and started

down an alley into

the wasteland.

We saw that

everyone does not

live as well as Gree in

the #and of the

Dwarf 1ings.9


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-andica%%ed and elderly wor$ers lined the street" begging for handouts.

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We hurried along

:uietly" trying toavoid eye

contact.

As we e+%lored

dee%er into the

ruins" %assing

the beggars" the

smell hit us.

#ucas said 'This

%lace stin$s.(

The smell was so

bad" my eyes

started to water"but I grabbed

#ucas arm 3ust

as he nearly fell

into a massive

landfill.

The smell was over6

%owering.

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Someone grabbed my

arm. 'There you $ids

are.( said a servantdwarf" 'Gree wants

you bac$ to your room

so you get a good

nights slee% before

you start wor$

tomorrow.(

'If you dont wor$ you

dont eat in the #and of

the Dwarves. 2ou will

get the standard 89

gold coins a day.(

The room was a

stunning contrast to

the street we had 3ust

come from. When the

servant left" #ucas

whis%ered 'I dont

understand 6 why arethere so many %oor

dwarves with so much

richness all around5 89

gold coins seems li$e a

lot/(

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'I dont $now" lets

get some slee% now

and try to figure itout in the morning.(

We laid down in the

soft %illows and

:uic$ly fell aslee%.

In the middle of the

night" I wasawa$ened from my

slee% with a tug on

my ear. 'I am Ava * a

member of the #ight

&rigade. I am here to

rescue you"( she said.

' 2ou must get u%

and leave

immediately. The

dwarves are not who

they a%%ear to be.

The rich live well"but all the other

dwarves serve them.

(

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Just as she said this" a

white letter slides

under the door.

'That would be your

bill"( Ava said with

disgust.

I held the letter and

read in awe. We hadbeen charged for

everything/

Ava e+%lained 'It will

ta$e you years of toil in

the mines to %ay off thedebt to Gree * most

never do * they sim%ly

become slaves to his

com%any" which now

owns most of the Dwarf

1ingdom.(

ow I understood why

there were so many

homeless dwarves * those that could not wor$ in the mines ended u% on the streets.

I wo$e #ucas and showed him the bill. -is face became red as he reali7ed how we had

been tric$ed.14


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Ava said" '2ou

must come withme to the #and of

the Elves where

you will be free of

this wage

slavery.(

We sli%%ed on ourclothes and

followed the fairy.

We followed Ava

running as fast as

we could.

'It is after curfew.

-alt/(" shouted a

dwarf guard that

s%otted us.

Ava $noc$ed

over the shortdwarf with a flash

of light and

yelled ')un/(

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We ran.

The dwarf guards chasedus but we made it to the

woods. The woods were

thic$ and dar$" but we

could see Avas fairy glow.

As we got dee% into the

woods" we lost them.Ava flew in front of us and

did her best to $noc$

away insects as big as she

was with her light . They

were intent on eating us

alive.As the air cleared" Ava

e+%lained" 'To $ee% the

%rivileged dwarves li$e

Gree in lu+ury" everyone

else in the dwarf society

must wor$ li$e slaves

until they can no longerwor$" and then they are

discarded. We fairies have

sworn to save those that

we can * but most dwarves are too far gone with their lust of gold to listen.(

'2ou will li$e the #and of the Elves much better.( she said.16


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Wal$ing was hard and lasted a long time. #ucas was homesic$ and I was starting to

worry we would never see our %arents again. She told us about the great E+clusion

,one the dwarves had built to $ee% the elves from meeting humans and destroyingthe dwarves mar$ets. It was really nice to have Ava to e+%lain things. She assured us

the elves could hel%. 'We have finally made it * this is the land of the Elves/( Ava

shouted with glee and a flourish of her hands. 'Ama7ing/(" #ucas and I said together.

;rom our overloo$" we could see that all of the region was bountiful and beautiful.

There we re no ugly alleys here" 3ust waterfalls" trees and sim%le" elegant houses with

odd roofto%s.

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Ava too$ us to a

house and $noc$ed

:uietly on the door"e+%laining" 'This is

my friend So%hias

house" She is a great

ma$er.( The door

o%ened almost

immediately.

After ha%%yintroductions" So%hia

said 'Welcome to the

#and of the Elves.

2ou must be hungry

and tired from your

long 3ourney. Wontyou come in5(

'I must leave you

now"(Ava said while

giving us each a mini6

hug" 'and go bac$ to

see if I can rescuemore souls from the

mines.(

With a $iss to each of

our heads" she flew bac$ into the woods.

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'This is my husband" #iam.

We were 3ust about to sit

down to eat"( So%hia said.

'There is %lenty for

everyone(" #iam said as he

served us vegetable sou%

in bread bowls. While we

eat" they e+%lained how

life in Elf6land wor$s.'-ere" we are all makers *

we encourage creativity

and ma$ing things.(

'What $ind of things5("

as$ed #ucas.

#iam continued"

'Everyone ma$es and

im%roves things as their

interests guide them. We

dont o%erate li$e the

dwarves 6 rather than sellour wor$ so only a few

grow rich" we share our

innovations so we can all

benefit.(

'This way" we all have abundance. 2es" sharing is the $ey to elf wealth"( said So%hia.

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After lunch" they too$ us

to their garden. '#iam is a

bio6hac$er" constantlye+%erimenting with new

%lants li$e these gra%es

that $ee% us from getting

sun burned"( e+%lained

So%hia.

#iam continued" 'When I

develo% a %articularlyuseful %lant 6 or a really

yummy one 6 I share the

methods to grow it and

the seed DA so it can be

used on the robo6farms

that feed and %rovidefree medicine for all

elves.(

'I li$e to garden with my

hands though * it is more

fun/( said #iam. As we

listened to #iam in thefantastic garden" So%hia

loo$ed closely at us with

a raised eyebrow and

%ointed at my arm. 'Were you stung in the swam%5( she as$ed. I nodded and so did

#ucas. 'These are infected" we need to get you to the doctor immediately.(" #iam said.

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'Doctors are e+%ensive

6 how are we going to

%ay5(" #ucas as$ed.So%hia and #iam

laughed $ind6

heartedly and said" '-e

is very old 6 you will

li$e Dr. Jac$son.( #iam

added" '&ut dont

worry 6 there is nomoney here. (

Dr. Jac$sons office was

across the street.

So%hia e+%lained what

had ha%%ened. After a:uic$ chec$ with what

loo$ed li$e a magic

wand but clearly ran

on electricity" Dr.

Jac$son grabbed a

watermelon and began

to slice it.

'We found that

growing medicine in

fruit ma$es it easier

for the younger children. -ere" both of you have a slice and you will be as good as

new"( he said with a chuc$le.

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0n the way out" #ucas

whis%ered" 'The olddwarves were all

homeless. Dr. Jac$son

seems much ha%%ier

and he was really

hel%ful. I dont even itch

now.( 0verhearing" #iam

said" 'Everyone hasvalue * even the very old

elves. They have much

to teach us and there are

always useful"

interesting tas$s for

everyone.(0n the way outside" I

as$ed" 'Who does the

wor$ that no elf wants

to do5(

So%hia e+%lained" 'Well"

we ma$e robots andcom%uter %rograms for

tas$s we do not want to

do ourselves. See the

street cleaner. There is not much of that $ind of wor$ as we use only what we must"

we do our best to avoid waste and recycle most everything else.(

'Throw your watermelon rinds in the com%ost %ile there(" said #iam.

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'What %owers the robots5( as$ed #ucas.

As #iam boosted uson his shoulders so

we could see" he

e+%lained" 'That

would be the solar

cells. They are

%hotovoltaics that

turn sunlightdirectly into

electricity. All the

roofto%s collect the

suns energy" which

we can use

immediately orstore in advanced

battery ban$s and

ultraca%acitors for

later.

The houses also all

heat and coolthemselves too. We

call thatpassive

solar. As little

energy is wasted as

%ossible.(" e+%lained

#iam .

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'There is something else I 3ust dont understand. Where do you get all of your raw

materials5 Do you have mines li$e the Dwarf mines we saw5( So%hia said 'It is ugly.(

!y heart san$ as I %ictured elves in a horrible mine. After a short ride in a tube6train"

we get out at a dum%. 0ur mouths fall o%en as we reali7e we had gone all the wayaround bac$ to the dwarf garbage %it. Elf recycling robots D %rinters and other digital fabrication tools

that run elf society. 'We have made more com%le+ machines that %rovide an

abundance of freely6available goods and services to all elves" liberating us from

menial labor" debt and servitude. We can now devote our time to non6economic

%ursuits that interest us. I li$e design and #iam li$es farming. We all share our talents.

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'So what do you ma$e5( #ucas as$ed So%hia.

#iam :uic$ly cut in"'So%hia is a master of

4AD * com%uter aided

design. #oo$ at this/( *

as he too$ us to a giant

whirring machine.

'This is the >D %rinter Iuse to ma$e my

designs.( said So%hia.

With %ride" #iam said"

'!ost of the

decorations and the Elf

$nots on the buildings

everywhere

throughout Elf6land

So%hia had a hand in

designing.(

'I share my designs

and everyone else canuse them"( So%hia

e+%lained. 'They are all

structural * it cuts

down on material use/(

'And everyone agrees

they are %retty as my wife"(said #iam.

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So%hia said" '&ut what I create is nothing com%ared to what our children do now.

4ome see.(

She too$ us to her

childrens school. So%hia

said" 'As the children

have access to the tools

and the $nowledge to

wor$ on real %ro3ects"they do real wor$. See

them testing new bi$es"

writing com%uter code to

%redict the weather"

ma$ing their own toys"

building electronics for

their %arents or designing

and ma$ing furniture.(

I said" 'At home" this

would have been wor$ for

adults.( So%hia e+%lained"

'-ere" learning" %lay anduseful wor$ are all

intermingled.( She

introduced us to the

children" who ha%%ily

invited us to come and

see the wonders they had made.

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Suddenly" 'It is almost time for the show/"( they cried.

'We have been

wor$ing with aclass in the

Southern )ealm to

ma$e a hologram

movie. They did the

%lot and the motion

ca%ture and we

wor$ed on thecom%uter gra%hics

and the hologram

%ro3ector.( '0ur

class is es%ecially

interested in

electronics( #iam

and So%hias

daughter" Emma"

said.

It was sim%ly

ama7ing 6 we had

never seen anythingli$e it.

#ucas said" '!aybe

these $ids can hel%

us get home.( '#ets

as$"( I whis%ered

bac$.

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We than$ed Emma and the elf children for a great show and then told them our story

about the shi%wrec$" the dwarves" our esca%e and how much we loved the Elf6land.

We e+%lained to the

elf children that we

missed our %arents"

but didnt $now how

we could get through

the dwarf barrier and

the E+clusion ,one tosee them again.

They %romised to

hel% and then eagerly

began sharing ideas.

We %ulled u% a lin$

with the other elf

schools and suddenly

hundreds of elves

were dividing u% the

wor$ to focus on

%arts of the %roblem

that interested them.

This creativecommons e+%loded

with ideas that

seemed to ta$e on a

life of their own.

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We decided on a vehicle and our team started in on the electronics. Some of the elf

children hel%ed #ucas understand circuit diagrams. Emma >D %rinted a %air of safety

glasses that matched hers and gave them to me so she could teach me how to solder. Ihad never done anything li$e that before" but it was fun to learn new s$ills and to

wor$ together with the elves. Everyone was so e+cited to try new ideas and to share

them with the grou%s here and on the outer edges of Elf #and. The elves were not

afraid to ma$e mista$es. 'Its 3ust a learning e+%erience(" e+%lained Emma when my

first design s%ar$ed and left behind a trail of smo$e. ;inally" I got it and with the hel%

of the elves" #ucas and I designed a guidance system. We were so %roud/

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After hours of intense wor$"

we finally felt our %art was

done and #ucas and I went toslee%. With morning" all of our

elf friends came running u%"

laughing and saying" 'The

northern elves have brought it.

4ome to the beach.( In the

north" they had an even larger

%rinter than So%hias thatcould %rint in millions of

materials. The northern elves"

dressed in their formal wear"

came down the beach holding

a gleaming submarine. 'This is

the submarine that can duc$

the dwarves E+clusion ,one

and can ta$e you bac$ home to

your %arents.( We we%t with

3oy to $now we would be going

home" but were sad that we

would be leaving this magical

%lace of sharing" caring"abundance" ha%%iness and

friendshi%. We must have been hugged a hundred times by the elf children as all of

our new friends wished us well.

Just as we were getting in the submarine" So%hia said" '!ia and #ucas * #iam" Emma

and I are really glad to have met you" but we wish you a safe 3ourney home.

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#et me give you

this(" as she held out

a $ey in her hand" 'It

is an electronic $ey

containing a digital

wi$i of all the

$nowledge of Elf

society. The o%en

gear should remindyou to share your

ideas and creations.

Ta$e it bac$ to your

%arents and the

other humans to

hel% ma$e your

world better.(

'We will.(" we

re%lied as we hugged

them goodbye and

got into the

submarine to headhome.

??The End ??

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@arents"

The $ey to the wealth of the elves is free and o%en source hardware and software. It is

a real conce%t used every day throughout the world of real humans often called

ma$ers.

2ou can hel% your child be a ma$er and learn about how to get involved here Appropedia : collaborative solutions in sustainability appropedia.org

Arduino : electronic prototyping platform arduino.cc

Blender: make animated movies blender.org Code.org : learn to write software code.org

Discover an Open Source World opensource.com

OpenSCAD: script based CAD openscad.org

Open Source cology : Blueprints for civili!ation opensourceecology.org

Open Source "ardware Association oshwa.org

Open Source #aboratory: make science tools appropedia.org/OSL

$ublic #ab: D%& environmental science publiclab.org

'ep'ap : self replicating ()D printers reprap.org

Scratc*: create stories+ games and animations scratch.mit.edu

,ooniverse: citi!en science zooniverse.org

-ave ;un. #earn. Share. !a$e the World &etter.* Dr. Juice

32
http://www.appropedia.org/http://www.arduino.cc/http://blender.org/http://code.org/https://opensource.com/http://www.openscad.org/http://opensourceecology.org/http://www.oshwa.org/http://www.appropedia.org/Open-source_Labhttp://publiclab.org/http://reprap.org/https://scratch.mit.edu/https://www.zooniverse.org/http://www.arduino.cc/http://blender.org/http://code.org/https://opensource.com/http://www.openscad.org/http://opensourceecology.org/http://www.oshwa.org/http://www.appropedia.org/Open-source_Labhttp://publiclab.org/http://reprap.org/https://scratch.mit.edu/https://www.zooniverse.org/http://www.appropedia.org/

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The Wealth of Elves - Advanced Sharing for Children