The Time Capsule

 

CAST

Nkululeko “Leks” Mapanga (18 year old Zulu male, just completed school, applying to university)

David Kolvin (19 year old white male, Nkululeko’s friend from school)

Zolile Mapanga (43 year old, Nkululeko’s dad)

Brenda Mapanga (15 years old, Nkululeko’s sister)

Leo Nxumalo (19 year old, Nkululeko’s friend)

Xavier Mapanga (54, Hobo/Qoilahla/time traveller/Nkululeko’s future great, great… grandson)

Passer by

FNB Call Centre Lady

Preven (Mac’s Truck and Tow driver) 

---

FX Urban garden setting, background traffic and birdsong.

1. Nkululeko: Damn!

FX crumbling paper then thrown to the floor and stamped on. Soft sobbing and sniffling sound.

2. Nkululeko: Why? Damn it! Ah, man, what am I going to do now?

FX Nkululeko kicks crumpled paper viciously to sound of approaching footsteps…

3. David: Hey, Leks, whatsup? Why you throwing your stuff at me? What is this? … eh, oh I see its from UCT?

FX David un-crumples the paper (while speaking) and then short silence except for background traffic and birdsong as he reads it.

4. David: Howzit boet. Whats wrong dude?

FX sound of fist bumping and handshake ends with clicking thumbs

8. David: Sharp?
9. Nkululeko: Bastards!
10. David: Eish dude, that’s not so cool, UCT… too white for your black skin?
11. Nkululeko: Nah, it was my maths… What am I going to tell my folks? You know my dad said he was going to pay for my first year from his savings, but now…

FX sound of cigarette lighter igniting…

15. David: Jees bru, don’t burn that thing, you’re going to set the garden on fire!
16. Nkululeko: Who cares…
17. David: So, what about the others? Rhodes? Stellenbosch?
18. Nkululeko: Same story, its my flipping maths marks!
19. David: So, what you gonna do now?
20. Nkululeko: (brightening up) Who knows but first I’ve got a party to organise!
21. David: (Laughing) Flip bru, I’d forgotten about 18 here we come, you’re going to have your first legal dop!
22. Nkululeko: I guess so, maybe if we hadn’t jolled so hard last year I’d be in varsity now, oh man, why am I such an idiot?

FX music bridge comes in as following conversation fades out…

1. David: So tell me, have you invited Zintle, and what about Sue, … oh dear, they’re always fighting aren’t they? Did your dad say you could have it at the club house….?
2. Nkululeko: Dad, can I borrow your car? I need to go collect the sound system from Leo, he’s letting me use it for the
3. Zolile: Leks, that’s fine but your mom just needs to use it now to fetch Brenda from her guitar lessons, take it when she gets back. In the mean time, please can you go clean up the wheely bin, that nuisance hobo has been at it again, he’s left half the rubbish lying on the pavement, makes it look like we’re living in an umjondolo.
4. Nkululeko: Is he still there? I’m not going if he is, he probably stinks like
5. Zolile: No, I saw him this morning, he gave me that creepy stare again but he left when I shouted at him. When you’re done, come to my office, I’ve got something I want to show you.

FX door opening and sound of rummaging through waste, Nkululeko curses under his breathe. Footsteps approach and Nkululeko knocks on a door.

6. Nkululeko: Dad, are you here?
7. Zolile: Come in

FX door opens

13. Zolile: Take a seat
14. Nkululeko: What on earth is that thing?
15. Zolile: I’ve got something very important to tell you so listen carefully. I was going to wait until after your party but I’ve just been booked to speak at a conference in East London next week so I’ll be Take a look at this.
16. Nkululeko: Wow, its beautiful, whew… and heavy! What is it?
17. Zolile: It was made by your grandfather, he gave it to me on my 18th birthday and now I’m doing the
18. Nkululeko: What on earth is it? He made it? Wow, this family has some skills!
19. Zolile: You know your grandfather was always a bit of a dreamer. He used to talk a lot about the future and he read all those crazy books, you know, the ones on the bookshelf… Isaac Asimov, Arthur C Clarke and so on… Who reads that stuff these days? Your gran used to tell him he should have been a sangoma, all those fanciful ideas he used to talk about. She thinks it was those books that caused him to have his psychotic episodes just before he died.
20. Nkululeko: What is this thing? What do all these carvings mean?
21. Zolile: It’s a time
22. Nkululeko: A time capsule, what the (beep)…?
23. Zolile: Watch your language!
24. Nkululeko: Sorry dad but that sounds just weird…
25. Zolile: You see this little slot over here? Before your grandfather gave it to me, he wrote a message to the future and stuck it in there. He asked me to do the same and I have done so. Your grandfather told me that he always wanted to explore the future and see what this world would become, thousands of years He figured the only way someone from the future could find him, if time travel was ever invented, was if he left a trail for them to come back and find him. So he built this thing and started a new Mapanga tradition, one that I am passing on to you right now.
26. Nkululeko: A time capsule, flip, did he really think time travel would be possible in the future? I mean, we all know its just impossible, goes against all the laws of physics, heck, I know that just from my science at
27. Zolile: Your grandfather thought differently. He believed that future time travellers have been visiting humanity throughout the ages but that they always remain hidden, for lots of reasons that he explained to me but we don’t have time to go through that now. I mean, can you imagine what the control freaks in the intelligence agencies would do with a time traveller if they caught one? In the name of science and progress…
28. Nkululeko: Ja, I guess so, I mean you see all those conspiracy theories on Facebook about the CIA and NSA and the aliens they supposedly keep and interrogate for new technologies, I guess it would be the same with time travellers
29. Zolile: Yes, the powers that be seem to be obsessed with power and control, they work from a basis of fear and that makes them do some pretty stupid things so time travellers, if they even exist, would want to avoid them at all costs. Anyway, just before your grandfather died, when he was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, I visited him in the hospital one day and he was in a very excited state, he said that the time capsule had worked and he had met his great-great-great-great, gee I can’t remember how many greats there were but it was a great grandson from about 800 years in the future. He wasn’t making much sense, he kept on mumbling about iqoilahla until the nurse came and gave him his meds then he fell asleep, but just before he fell asleep he said very clearly that I must make sure I keep the time capsule tradition going. I’d almost forgotten about the thing, it was in a box somewhere in my office and I’d not yet added my message. So I went home and wrote my message and put in in the capsule and the next day the hospital called to say he’d died in the
30. Nkululeko: I wish I could remember more about grandpa, I was so young when he died I can hardly remember him at all. Do you believe all this stuff about time travel, I mean really… Is this mine to keep now?
31. Zolile: Yes, it’s yours, look after it. And don’t forget to add your message, even if you don’t believe in it, please just do it to honour your grandfather’s wishes. He loved you so much you know; you were always his favourite grandchild.
32. Nkululeko: Wow, thanks dad, I Thanks grandpa, if you can hear me out there (laughs self-consciously)

FX sound of car pulling into driveway, car door slams and footsteps on gravel approaching

27. Brenda: (approaching, excited) Dad, guess what? I got an A for my music exam! Mom said I can get a new guitar, can I get it today, please…
28. Zolile: Wow, Brenda, well done Just give us a moment. Leks, you better go get your sound system… and please, look after that thing.
29. Nkululeko: Thanks dad, I will.

FX music bridge, footsteps on gravel, car door closing and ignition starts as car radio comes on to sound of DJ talking as car drives off. Song comes on radio and Nkululeko sings along… Cell phone rings and Nkululeko answers. Radio fades to background

4. Nkululeko: Leo, howzit umfowethu, kunjani?
5. Leo: Hey umhlekazi, whatsup?
6. Nkululeko: Umjitha, I’m on my way, I’ll be there in 10… I’d better go, I’m
7. Leo: Sharp, see you

FX rings off and radio plays on to background sound of traffic (traffic background noise continues for rest of this section)… Sound of car engine spluttering then it cuts off.

5. Nkululeko: Eish (switches off the radio)

FX sound of car door opening and opens car bonnet to loud sound of steam escaping.

11. Nkululeko: (talking to himself) Damn!
12. Passer by: (shouting from slight distance) Hey umfowethu, looks like you’ve over- heated there…
13. Nkululeko: Eish, ja
14. Passer by: Any way I can help?
15. Nkululeko: No, don’t worry, I’ve got a petro card with AA
16. Passer by: Sorry man, good

FX sound of cell phone dialing.

17. Female voice: FNB roadside assistance how can we help you?
18. Nkululeko: Ja, my radiator has overheated, can you send a tow truck
19. Female voice: Sir, I just need you to answer a few security questions, what is your petro card number?
20. Nkululeko: Mmmm, it’s (pause) 5285 0743 3464 5138
21. Female voice: Sir, please confirm your name and ID number
22. Nkululeko: Uummm, mam it’s actually my dad’s card, his name is Zolile Mapanga but I don’t know his
23. Female voice: OK, what is his cell phone number?

FX, a few beeping sounds from cell phone

27. Nkululeko: (slowly) Its 083… 7…4920…18
28. Female voice: And the physical address where the car is kept?
29. Nkululeko: 15 Roseway drive, Umhlanga Rocks
30. Female voice: Thank you sir, hold on please

FX irritating music plays through phone

27. Female voice: Thanks for holding sir, please give me your current location
28. Nkululeko: I’m on the North Coast Road, southbound, just before the La Lucia turnoff.
29. Female voice: Thank you sir, a tow truck will be dispatched It could take up to an hour to reach you. You must put on your hazard lights and wait inside the vehicle. Please provide the operator with your petro card when he arrives. Is there anything else I can help you with?
30. Nkululeko: No, that’s all, thank you
31. Female voice: I am glad to be of assistance. Your reference number for this call is X1P14.
32. Nkululeko: Bye.

FX beep as phone rings off. Radio switches on again with background traffic sounds continuing and clicking sound of hazard lights. After short pause phone rings again.

8. Nkululeko: Leo, flip bru you won’t believe it, I’ve broken down… the radiator overheated, damn it!
9. Leo: I was wondering where you were, are you OK?
10. Nkululeko: Ja, just waiting for the tow truck, they said it could be an
11. Leo: Eish man, can we come fetch you?
12. Nkululeko: No, don’t worry, I better get this car sorted out first. Maybe you could ask your dad to drop the sound system at my house, I don’t know how serious this radiator thing is, it might take some time to
13. Leo: Sure, no problem, I’ll ask
14. Nkululeko: Thanks man, if I don’t see you today, I’ll see you tomorrow at the
15. Leo: Sharp (rings off).

FX Nkululeko dials his phone, it rings

13. Zolile: Hi Leks
14. Nkululeko: Hi Dad, you won’t believe it, the radiator has overheated but I phoned the AA, they’re sending a tow truck just now…
15. Zolile: That’s strange, I’ve just had the car serviced, are you safe?
16. Nkululeko: Yebo, the traffic is not so bad and I’m behind the yellow Should I tow it to DJ’s, don’t you have an account there?
17. Zolile: Yes, that will be best then you can walk home if it’s going to take some time to
18. Nkululeko: Haybo!
19. Zolile: What’s wrong?
20. Nkululeko: It’s that old qoilahla, the same one that threw the rubbish out, he’s sitting on the guard rail next to me here and he’s just staring at me… freaky!
21. Zolile: Tell him to go away, are you sure you’re OK?
22. Nkululeko: Ja, its fine, I just don’t like the way he keeps looking at I’ll tell him to bugger off and anyway, I don’t have any cash on me.
23. Zolile: OK, see you later, shout if you need
24. Nkululeko: Thanks dad, see
25. Zolile:

FX phone rings off and sound of electric window winding down.

18. Nkululeko: Yebo Kehla, ufunani?
19. Hobo (Xavier): I can speak English, it seems to be your preferred
20. Nkululeko: What do you want?
21. Xavier: Are you always this rude to strangers?
22. Nkululeko: Baba, I don’t have any money or food so please, can you go somewhere else, there’s a shopping centre just down the road there, maybe someone there can help
23. Xavier: Did I say I was looking for money or food? Maybe I just want to talk to you…
24. Nkululeko: Now you are freaking me out. I don’t have much to say to homeless people and aren’t you the same guy who keeps emptying our rubbish onto the street, I’ve seen you
25. Xavier: Yes, you have seen me and sorry for emptying your rubbish, I was not looking for food, no, I was trying to get your
26. Nkululeko: My attention? Baba, I don’t need this nonsense, please go on now, just turn left up there, the mall is just around the corner, there are lots of bins to dig in there if that’s what you
27. Xavier: Your dad gave you something important today, didn’t he?
28. Nkululeko: What! How do you know that? Have you been spying on us?
29. Xavier: I guess you could say that, but not in the way you think. That thing he gave you, have you got it with you?
30. Nkululeko: Listen kehla, I don’t know who you are or what you want but that is none of your If you don’t go now I’m going to call the police. Please, hamba manje.
31. Xavier: Did it look like this?
32. Nkululeko: Hey wenna, how the hell did you get that thing, that’s mine, give it back.
33. Xavier: No, its mine, but strangely, its also yours, just a lot older.
34. Nkululeko: I left it in my room, how did you get it? Give it back, now!
35. Xavier: So it is you then? I’ve been waiting a long time to meet you and here we are. Don’t worry, yours is still in your room. Did your dad tell you what it is?
36. Nkululeko: How can it be in my room when you have it? I know there is only one of those things – my grandfather made it and I doubt he made 2 of them. Please give it back to me now or I’m serious, I’m calling the police.
37. Xavier: Your name is Nkululeko…
38. Nkululeko: How the heck did you know that….?
39. Xavier: I know because you wrote a message and put it in this box. Your grandfather was right, time travel is possible and I am your great great great…GREAT grandson from just over 800 years in the future from I know your box does not have your message in it yet because you have not written it, but in my box, your message is here, with many others too… Look.
40. Nkululeko: Shisa amazambane! That is my handwriting. Eita! Err, err, err,….
41. Xavier: Cat got your tongue?
42. Nkululeko: Ummm, but why do you look like iQoilahla? Surely our family did not become a family of tramps?
43. Xavier: No, I dress like this so people don’t see me. There are people in this world that would do anything to catch me and my kind. Hobos are invisible really, no one looks at us To all intents and purposes, we’re invisible!
44. Nkululeko: I guess so… What is your name?
45. Xavier: The way we call each other has changed much since this time but for now you can call me Xavier, I think this would be the closest to the meaning of my true name which cannot be spoken in any of today’s tongues.
46. Nkululeko: Xavier, I like There’s an awesome musician from Australia with that name, my friends and I like his music a lot. Xavier Rudd.
47. Xavier: Yes, his music has lived on to my time, he sings of great things and his music carries a lot of power. Beautiful listening too…
48. Nkululeko: Well, its crazy for us to be shouting at each other through this window. Why don’t you come and sit in the car while we talk. I’m waiting for a tow truck to come and fetch me; it should be here within an hour.
49. Xavier: That would be nice,

FX car door opens and slams shut again. Sound of background traffic fades slightly.

1. Xavier: Cars, funny things Our historians have a lot to say about these archaic means of transport. It’s my first time to actually sit in one.
2. Nkululeko: Eish, I couldn’t help thinking you would smell to high heaven but it’s not bad at all! So, how do you get around in your time? I guess you must have some pretty fancy flying machines?
3. Xavier: No actually, our technology is vastly different to yours. You know, this era you live in now is looked back on as the Great Dark Age in our time. What you call the Dark Age now was nothing really compared to what humanity is doing
4. Nkululeko: How can that be? Surely our times are quite advanced? I mean, we have huge airplanes, fancy cars, cell phones, the Internet… scientists are making new discoveries all the Our quality of life is awesome, so much to choose from: food, gadgets, drones, sports, medicine, gee the list is endless. How many people had this kind of lifestyle in the real Dark Ages?
5. Xavier: (Laughing) Yes, I guess it might seem that way to But at no time in history has there ever been such a scale of misery and poverty and inequality either. You are one of the lucky few to enjoy all those things you speak of. How about the majority of people still living as though they were in what you now call the Dark Ages? You might see airplanes and drones and the Internet as fancy technology now but from my time we look back and those things are archaic. With a few exceptions, most of your scientists today are groveling in the mud seeking answers in all the wrong places. Your generation came extremely close to destroying the entire planet, in its greed and foolishness – do you call that advanced?
6. Nkululeko: Well, I guess you do have a point. I have heard about the environmental crisis but heck, there are still many beautiful places on this Earth and I don’t worry too much about all that stuff. Those environmentalists are a pain in the ass, going on about climate change and killing whales and pollution and so on, why don’t they just get a life?
7. Xavier: And what about war? Your time is looked back on as one of the most savage in all of War is barbaric and unheard of in our time. War and the technologies that it drives, as advanced as they may seem to you are actually very backward and will never lead to harmony or peace, no matter how useful they seem to you now. But there are other ways and your Grandfather is actually quite famous in our time.
8. Nkululeko: My grandfather? How on earth? I mean he was just a school janitor, who would remember him? He died a crazy old man full of weird ideas and totally mad in his
9. Xavier: What about the time capsule?
10. Nkululeko: But that’s no fancy technology and certainly would not have contributed in any way to ending war… It’s just a piece of wood and metal. Sure, it’s beautifully made and must have taken some skill but how did he become famous?
11. Xavier: He planted a seed and he had faith that the seed would grow. Did you know that he believed 100% that his time capsule would work and that he would meet people from the future? His time capsule is just a piece of wood and metal but that’s not the point. It was the idea and even more than the idea, it was his total faith in his idea that actually created the seed that made time travel possible at all. It took a few hundred years to materialise but he did plant the seed and here I am now, sitting next to you from 800 years in your
12. Nkululeko: But that is tragic! He died a crazy and lonely old man and yet you say he became famous. How sad, I wish he could have
13. Xavier: He might have seemed crazy and isolated to you but he died I actually visited him just before he went to hospital. In many ways, it was our interactions that lead to what today you call his schizoaffective disorder. When it comes to matters of the mind and consciousness, your medical fraternity of today is in such an infancy of understanding that it is almost non-existent. There are many spiritual and cultural traditions around the world today that are light years ahead of the most advanced psychiatrists on these matters. No, your grandfather died happy and fulfilled, knowing his vision was not just a pipe-dream but of course, he had no way of explaining it to anyone else, the more he tried the more everyone thought he was mad.

FX Nkululeko’s phone rings, he answers…

20. Nkululeko: Nkululeko speaking
21. Male Indian: Is that Mr Mapanga?
22. Nkululeko: Speaking
23. Male Indian: Hi Sir, you’re speaking to Preven from Mac’s Truck and I’ve got an order number here to tow NUR 23144 located on North Coast Road, are you still in your location sir?
24. Nkululeko: Yes, I’m on the South Bound, just before the La Lucia
25. Preven: OK, I’m leaving the depot now now, I’ll be there in 30 minutes, I’ll sort you out one
26. Nkululeko: Awesome, thanks I’ll see you
27. Preven: OK, see you, bye.
28. Nkululeko:
29. Xavier: I could fix your car for you…
30. Nkululeko: What? You just said it’s your first time to sit in one and now you’re a mechanic too?
31. Xavier: Well, we were talking about technology earlier. Once you come to understand some of the more important laws that govern our universe, you can achieve what people might see as miraculous, even with an old lump of metal like this. Can I give it a go?
32. Nkululeko: Well, the tow truck is already on its way so maybe lets just give it a skip…
33. Xavier: You could phone them back and cancel… There you go, I’ve done it, you can start it
34. Nkululeko: No ways, I’ll burn out the engine, the radiator must be half empty by now.
35. Xavier: There is enough water and it has cooled down now, the leak is
36. Nkululeko: How can you know that just sitting there?
37. Xavier: Humans have the ability to see with more than just their eyes. There have been people throughout history who have discovered this ability but sadly, in today’s world and in the past, they are either ridiculed by society or have met terrible deaths at the hands of those who do not understand.
38. Nkululeko: But how did you fix the leak without even opening the bonnet?
39. Xavier: It’s not easy to explain, lets just say I re-arranged the molecular structure of the pipe that had burst with my mind. In my time, everyone has this ability to interact in this way with the world. Give it a go, start her up.

FX ignition starts up and car roars into life

21. Nkululeko: Wow, the temperature has gone back to normal, no ways, you fixed it with your mind?
22. Xavier: I guess that is the biggest difference between the technology of today and that of my time. In this era that you live in, your technology is mostly external as your scientists and engineers muddle around with matter, shaping it into things that you use outside of yourself to improve your quality of life. But this comes at a great price, not only in the way materials are extracted from the Earth to produce all these things and the pollution created when they are manufactured but also in the way that so much of today’s technology actually distracts people from realizing their true potential. It’s a bit like the old Greek tale of Narcissus, so enamoured with his own reflection he denied himself the possible joy of falling in love with Echo and so he died, trapped in his own self-love. Humanity is currently on the same path except that your infatuation with technology is the pool in which you see your own reflection and this prevents you seeing the inner technology that you all possess. Think about it, how much time do you spend watching TV or mucking around on social media?
23. Nkululeko: Err, mmmm, ja, that is a bit embarrassing… But how do you know all this stuff about our time?
24. Xavier: The entire history of humanity, not just what has been recorded in books and academia, is available to anyone who cares to access it. The discovery of this was one of the greatest breakthroughs humanity ever made, I mean when this knowledge became widely accessible and not just the domain of a few gifted individuals. This is part of that internal technology I was talking about. You have the power, right now, to tune into all the knowledge and experiences of every single human that has ever walked the planet. If you are not practised, it might just seem like a lot of noise and confusion but with the right training, you can selectively access any knowledge, from any time. You will be studying engineering right? So you might understand this analogy. Think of the human mind as a receiver as well as a generator of thought. Then imagine the collective human mind as a kind of field, like an electro-magnetic field but a lot more subtle. This field lies outside of the dimensions of time and space as you currently know them. Every thought, every emotion, every experience of every human in history; past present and future, lies in this field and your mind is able to tune into it, a bit like a So, we’re all adding to this field and we can all tune into it at will.
25. Nkululeko: So, are you saying that you can also read my mind then?
26. Xavier: Yes, I can but there is a universal etiquette of respect and honour for others that would only allow me to do so if you willed it.
27. Nkululeko: (giggles nervously) Well, I hope you don’t, there is all sorts of stuff I would not want to share with
28. Xavier: Don’t worry, I have respect for your privacy.
29. Nkululeko: So, if you don’t have external technology, what kind of things do you have in your time? I mean what are the cities and buildings like, and the transport systems? Can you show me your time machine?
30. Xavier: Well, before I answer that, you’d better phone the towing company and cancel the
31. Nkululeko: Ah, thanks, I’d

FX phone dialing

5. Preven: Mac’s truck and tow how can I help?
6. Nkululeko: Hi, its Mr Mapanga here, we just I’ve managed to fix my car so I won’t need a tow thanks.
7. Preven: But Sir, I’m almost I will still have to invoice this job card so please, give me 5 minutes and I just need you to sign it.
8. Nkululeko: Ah, of course, no
9. Preven: Thanks, I’ll be there in 5
10. Nkululeko: OK, bye.
11. Preven: rings off
12. Xavier: So, now the car is fixed, should we go somewhere else to talk, how about a walk on the beach?
13. Nkululeko: Sounds good, I must just wait to sign for the tow truck, he’ll be here now.
14. Xavier: So, to answer your question then. The steps that humanity made towards discovering our internal technology took place not too far into your future, maybe 20 years or so from now, when the third world war ends.
15. Nkululeko: Third world war, oh no, please not, when does that happen?
16. Xavier: You’re already in it. Most historians of our time place it’s beginning as 9/11/2001 and some even earlier. It’s not a world war like the previous two, more like what you know from history as the cold war. You see, you live in a world where most nations aspire to democracy but in reality you’re currently living in a corporate oligarchy. Those who wield wealth and power ignore the real voice and will of the people and the liberation of humanity and true democracy is not on their agenda. Knowledge and information are the true keys to freedom yet these things are mostly controlled by the corporate/military/industrial/financial oligarchy that controls most of your mass media so very few people are aware of what is actually going on. Those who wield power today are operating from a fear-based materialist framework of scarcity and they have become so removed from the family of humanity that they see the world’s population as a threat to their own accumulated wealth and lifestyle. War is an extremely profitable exercise for some and many so called beacons of democracy, such as the USA, spend nearly 60% of their tax revenue on the military. You cannot even begin to imagine how different the world could be if those kind of resources were rather put into developing people, energy, health, education and cleaning up the environmental mess that humanity is responsible for. Right now there are incredible tensions at a geopolitical level throughout the world. The wars you see in Libya, Nigeria, Syria, Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan, Ukraine, these wars are the coalface of World War III and you’re living in it right now.
17. Nkululeko: Wow, I guess so, it just does not really feel like a world war really. At least here in South Africa we are free, well to some degree, I mean we have a crazy president who seems to only look after his own interests but other than that we all seem to get along fine. I think he is a good man in his heart but he seems blind to how corrupted he has become by power and the people around him. So, you say things start to get better in about 20 years from now?
18. Xavier: Yes, the information technology that you have available today is playing a big role in changing people’s perceptions and beliefs about what is really going on in this world and with this awareness, it is becoming harder for the corporate oligarchy to keep up their façade. Anyway, all this talk of war has distracted me from answering your first question; you wanted to know more about the technology from my time?
19. Nkululeko: Yes, and please can you show me your time machine, even if I can’t go with you in it, I’d love to just see it with my own

FX sound of car pulling up

9. Preven: Mr Mapanga?
10. Nkululeko: Hi, that’s me.
11. Preven: You sure your car is OK?
12. Nkululeko: Ja, thanks, its sorted.
13. Preven: OK, can I get your petro card?
14. Nkululeko: Here it is, where do I sign?
15. Preven: Just over here… (FX pen scribbling on paper) perfect, thanks (FX paper tearing) here’s your copy.
16. Nkululeko: Thanks and sorry to be a
17. Preven: Don’t worry, I’m still getting paid brother (laughs)

FX truck pulls off and sound fades out with background traffic noise continuing

5. Xavier: So, do you want to walk on the beach?
6. Nkululeko: Well, can we rather go to your time machine?
7. Xavier: I don’t have one.
8. Nkululeko: What? How did you get here without one?
9. Xavier: Let’s go to the beach and I’ll explain everything FX car pulls off and car radio comes on, fades

FX car doors slam closed and background sound of waves breaking on the beach.

1. Nkululeko: Wow, those waves look good, I wonder if David is out there? He spends his life surfing. It looks like great fun, I’ve tried a couple of times but never quite got the hang of it, maybe one day…
2. Xavier: It certainly looks like fun, and in a way it’s a good analogy to describe time As I was saying, I don’t have a time machine because time travel is not possible using external technology. We travel using an internal technology that is naturally built into our minds. This ability has been latent in humans for thousands of years but took quite some time before anyone figured out how to use it. So, it’s a bit like a surfer catches a wave and then rides it and at the end of the ride, finds him or herself in a different location in space and time. With surfing, the travel through time is only in one direction – towards the future. Now imagine if there were waves going in two directions, both into the past and the future and that you could choose which one to catch. Quantum scientists, quite soon in your future, will discover that the very fabric of space and time is made up of wave like ripples and that the human habit of perceiving time as linear and flowing in one direction, is only that – a habit. These ripples flow in all directions, not only past and future but into sixty-four dimensions that are too difficult for me to explain based on your current knowledge. Let me just say that the 3- dimensional universe that you take as reality today is only about 4½% of the possible realms of existence available to you. These unknown realms have been detected by scientists today and for now they call it dark matter, anti-matter and dark energy, simply because they have no idea what it is.
3. Nkululeko: Sixty-four dimensions! Wow, that sounds hectic, it must be easy to get lost out there!

4. Xavier: Yes and no. If you have no idea what you are doing, it can cause an overload and that usually leads to any number of psychiatric problems but with a few simple techniques, it is possible to make sense of it all. So, coming back to surfing, when time travel was discovered, it was through a technique that uses the mind to consciously manipulate one’s DNA to purposely catch one of the these ripples in space-time that then transports the entire body to a different location in space and time. Our understanding of DNA has come a long way since your time when scientists were muddling around trying to manipulate individual genes in plants and animals. Human DNA is made of 64 strands, one for each dimension, and the reason that scientists of today only see two strands is that they are stuck in 3-dimensional thinking and perception. Scientists are on the verge of discovering a third strand and after that it does not take too long for the others to be revealed. You see, DNA is actually not a physical thing, in the sense that most people think of it as. It is better to think of it as a system of sound harmonics that creates a unique “song” that “sings” the body into existence. Once you become consciously aware of these spiraling vortexes of sound, in each cell of your body, and if you are also aware of the ripples in space-time, it is only a matter of technique in order to consciously harmonise one’s internal ‘song’ to the vibration of any of these ripples at which stage you can ‘surf’ into any of the 64 dimensions. I can do it right now, watch.
5. Nkululeko: Haybo, where did you go? Xavier? … Ah, you’re back. Flip that was scary, you just made yourself
6. Xavier: Not really, you could have still seen me if you were not so stuck in this 3D habit of One of the trickiest things in time travel is to find the right location in space.
7. Nkululeko: I guess so, I mean I know the world is rotating in orbit around the sun and the sun itself is spinning around the centre of the galaxy, I read recently that it takes 226million years to make one rotation around our galaxy. So you would really have to know where to go in space at a particular time in order to find the earth!
8. Xavier: Not only that but the galaxy is also moving, very fast too. In fact the Milky Way and Andromeda Galaxies are on a collision path and will intersect each other in about 4 billion years time. So yes, finding the right location in space is critical when doing time travel but that is where the 64 strands of your DNA come in. One of these strands connects your body and mind to an intuitive source of knowledge that allows you to surf the ripple in space-time to the exact right location in space without even thinking about it. Just like a surfer does not have to think about the hundreds of calculations required to catch and surf a wave successfully, it just comes as a natural fluid motion that the body does without effort.

9. Nkululeko: Wow man, you make it sound like such fun! Is there any way you can train me to do it?
10. Xavier: I can but it will take a long time. Your mind is too conditioned and the slave of so many habits of thought and perception, based on your current world paradigm that I would need to do a lot of work with you to break these habits first. It will take many years of hard work and discipline but if you are a willing student, I will be your teacher, it would be an honour
11. Nkululeko: That sounds so strange, to hear you call me I mean, I know you are my grandson many times removed but with everything you know and can do, I see you as more of a wise old Guru than someone who is actually younger than me.
12. Xavier: (Laughs) Yes, but once you start time travelling, everything else goes out the window. I mean, I also have so much to learn from you and that is partly why I am

FX Nkululeko’s phone rings

4. Nkululeko: Heita Leo
5. Leo: Howzit umfowethu, sharp
6. Nkululeko: Hey bra, did you manage to drop the sound at my place?
7. Leo: Ja, I was just calling to say its there. My long extension chord is with Muzi so you’ll have to try organise another one, he’s using it for his DJ gig this
8. Nkululeko: OK cool, thanks umjitha. I think my dad has one so that’s all
9. Leo: Well dude, I’m looking forward to the party man, you must be getting excited now?
10. Nkululeko: Ja man, it’s going to be good. See you
11. Leo: Sharp (rings off)
12. Xavier: So, Mr. birthday boy tomorrow is it?
13. Nkululeko: Ja, my dad has organised a venue at the country club for me, it should be fun, most of my friends will be
14. Xavier: Any special ladies coming too?
15. Nkululeko: (Laughs) Yes there is one but she can’t make it, she left yesterday, she’s going to study economics at UCT in Cape Town. I was supposed to go too, I was hoping to study engineering but my maths marks were too low and they rejected my I haven’t even told my dad yet, I only found out this morning and that feels like it was ages ago already. I better tell him when I get home. Now I have no idea what I am going to do this year but I’m going to worry about that after the party. (Laughs) Hey, maybe you could take me on a time travel tour, now that would be fun!
16. Xavier: Hmmm, yes but I would need some time to train you first. We can try but I would need to take you for a few months to a wild place somewhere, like the Drakensberg or Karoo where we can do the training without interruptions from other Wild places also have a special kind of power that will help with your development; wise people through the ages have known this and used it in many ways.
17. Nkululeko: Whew, then I would have to introduce you to my family, I wonder what they will think of all this? I’m still struggling to get my head around everything, I think if you disappeared again, I might just think it was all a weird
18. Xavier: Yes, I can meet your family and explain everything to them. But first, I have an important task I must do back in my own time. Now that I have made contact, it will be easy for me to find you I will return again in a week. But let’s finish our conversation before I go, I think what I have to tell you will be important to help you make decisions about what you do the rest of this year.
19. Nkululeko: OK that’s cool but I better get going in about 30 minutes, my dad is going to worry about me and the car. What were we talking about again?
20. Xavier: I was explaining how time travel works, are you happy with your understanding of it so far?
21. Nkululeko: Well, sort of, I can’t say I fully understand what you told me but at the same time it does make some sense, I mean the way you explained it’s like surfing, I can sort of imagine these invisible waves going through space and time and body-surfing them. I’m actually quite good at body surfing though I’ve never managed surfing on a board. Is everyone from your time able to time travel?
22. Xavier: Not actually. Everyone knows about it but it’s a bit like surfing too I guess, billions of people live at the coast but only a tiny percentage of them ever take up the sport of surfing. So although most people know about it, many never even try it.
23. Nkululeko: I’ve just thought of If you travel in time, it means you also travel vast distances through space. I mean, in the 800 years to your time, the Earth will move billions and billions of kilometers through space. Does this mean you can also travel to other places in the universe in your own time using the same method?
24. Xavier: Eh, you’re a sharp one aren’t you? And UCT would not accept you?

That is a very good question and the answer is yes.

19. Nkululeko: Have you ever traveled anywhere?
20. Xavier: Yes, I have but I am not that adventurous, I have only travelled within our own galaxy but there are many more adventurous people in my time who go further. There are some who time travel as a sort of extreme adventure
21. Nkululeko: And tell me, is there extra-terrestrial life out there? My girlfriend was fully into aliens and she used to read up on the internet about all these people who said they could talk with them telepathically and that they had even visited the Earth. I always thought she was a bit weird that way and she used to get cross with me for not also believing in all that stuff.
22. Xavier: (Laughs heartily) It’s so strange, I’d almost forgotten there was a time when people thought they were the only ones around in this vast universe. From my point of view, that belief is as ridiculous as you would feel about someone who thought the Earth was
23. Nkululeko: Haybo, so she was right then?
24. Xavier: Yes indeed. The universe is highly populated, there must be over 100 000 civilisations in our galaxy alone and most galaxies support life except for the young ones where it has not yet developed and others where the conditions have excluded it but even scientists from my time are making new discoveries all the time and forms of life outside of our conceptual frameworks and physical senses are being discovered all the
25. Nkululeko: Eish, some people are scared about the thought of aliens, they say if there are aliens and they come to Earth, they might be far more advanced than humans and would be able to control us or take our resources.
26. Xavier: (gentle laugh) There are always those who choose fear but they need not worry. Predatory civilisations never last long; it’s one of the laws of planetary evolution. They become self-destructive before they develop beyond a certain level of technology, remember what we were talking about earlier about internal technology. Internal technology or organic technology is far more powerful and superior to external mechanical technology and most predatory civilisations that have developed so far throughout the universe, have developed external technology at the expense of their internal technology and when that happens they usually die out within a few hundred thousand years, usually The main issue is the troublesome forms of artificial intelligence that they leave behind, some of which continue to cause havoc for millions of years. Our planet is no exception. A number of civilisations have risen and fallen in the Earth’s past, the most recent before humanity being a race of dinosaurs that evolved into an incredibly sophisticated but predatory civilisation about 80million years ago. If you think about it, it makes sense. Humans have only been around for about 2 million years but dinosaurs survived for over 165 million years. In this time, a number of intelligent races of dinosaurs evolved and collapsed. Your scientists’ speculation that an asteroid destroyed the dinosaurs is actually incorrect. They were destroyed by their own artificial intelligence, a race of dinosoid robots that integrated organic life with machines. These Dinosoids were created as an attempt by certain of the elite of the final dinosaur civilisation to achieve eternal life through integrating their biological consciousness with mechanical and digital technologies. These Trans- Dinosaur beings, called Dinosoids, with their superior technological abilities soon took total control of the planet Earth and subjugated the organic dinosaur race from which they evolved into a slave class that served their material and resource needs while maintaining the technological infrastructure required for them to hold onto power. These Dinosoids, having no soul, that part of organic life that allows sentient beings to feel love, empathy, joy, pleasure, freedom and creative expression, became progressively bitter and filled with envy of the organic slave class and set in motion procedures to make them obsolete and destroy them. They eventually took control of all the planetary resources and were selling them on the inter-galactic black market. You have no idea how valuable a resource like water is in this galaxy and this race operated an illegal trade in exchange for technological innovations that eventually helped them create a weapon that went wrong. There were small but effective pockets of resistance to this technicist Dinosoid race by members of the organic slave class that eventually escalated into a full-scale planetary war that ended when the Dinosoids used their new weapon. It exploded 65million years ago in an area near Mexico, off the coast on what was then a large island controlled by the Dinosoids and destroyed the entire planet, almost. Organic life is remarkably resilient as you can see by the life around today. The explosion caught the attention of the Inter-Galactic Alliance and they soon rounded up most of the Dinosoids that remained though a few slipped through the cracks and now live as outlaws on remote and mostly inhabitable planets in far flung corners of the galaxy. They’re mostly pretty toothless now.
27. Nkululeko: Wow, that blows my mind, I mean what you’re telling me blows almost everything I believe out of the window, whew man!… So, this Inter- Galactic Alliance, it must have huge armies to keep order and stability in the universe?
28. Xavier: Actually not, the Inter-Galactic Alliance works through a political system known as Universal
29. Nkululeko: (interrupting) Anarchy? I thought anarchy meant chaos and disorder?
30. Xavier: Don’t worry, many people from your time have this misunderstanding of the Anarchy is actually the most advanced political system yet developed in the universe and humanity is reaching a point in its evolution where it will soon be achievable. At a galactic level, it simply means that each planet or civilisation is left to manage its own affairs without external control or interference. There is a guiding set of universal principles and ethics that is growing and changing all the time as different civilisations add their lessons and experiences. This is managed through an open-source and transparent inter-civilisation super-net, similar in some ways but way more advanced than today’s internet on Earth, that links all civilisations that have chosen to participate. At the level of an individual planet, such as the Earth, Anarchy means the absence of government where power and decision making is devolved to the lowest possible level, that of the individual, then villages, towns and cities. The nation state will dissolve entirely not too far into your future. However, humanity has some pretty serious hurdles to overcome first due to the grip of the corporate oligarchy we were talking about earlier.
31. Nkululeko: Is there any way that the Inter-galactic Alliance can help? I mean if there are all these benign advanced civilisations out there, why do they not come and help humanity with our problems?
32. Xavier: A good question and in many ways they are assisting behind the scenes but one of the universal principles I was talking about earlier is that of non-interference in the affairs of emerging civilisations. Each civilisation that has emerged in the universe is unique in that the planetary context in which they evolved is different to anything else in the This leads to remarkable diversity in cultures, technologies, cosmologies and science and this diversity is extremely powerful as civilisations voluntarily join the Inter-galactic Alliance and share their perspectives through the inter-civilisation super-net. Interference by more advanced races before a civilisation has evolved its own path, would be a form of political and scientific violence that is not allowed except in rare cases where a civilisation with great potential reaches a cross-roads and is in danger of destroying itself. In such cases, if a minority within the race concerned would cause the potential destruction, there are measures in place to mediate a more sustainable path that is in harmony with the cosmologies, wishes and aspirations of the majority.
33. Nkululeko: Has this ever happened on Earth?
34. Xavier: Yes, it has. Remember our galaxy is a vast place and is only 1 of billions of galaxies in the universe. The Milky Way has only recently reached a state of equilibrium where peace and harmony reign for the most part. There are still a few rogue civilisations out there and some of them have influenced human civilisation in negative ways in the past. Many of our religious gods, across the planet, were actually rogue alien beings who used their superior technologies, both internal and external, to manipulate humanity in subtle and devious ways for their own benefit. There are still some in this time right now who are working with the corporate oligarchy to manipulate world events towards outcomes that are not in humanities best interests. These rogue aliens are working with remnant Dinosoids that were seeded 65 million years ago on other planets within the solar system to activate when a new civilisation evolved to the point of technological advancement sufficient to achieve space That time has been reached and it is now urgent that these pseudo-living beings are stopped in their tracks. Their aim is to re-create the level of technological infrastructure that they require to once again create and rule an organic slave class, this time being humanity. That is partly why I have come as I am a civilian member of the Inter-galactic Alliance and I will be reporting on the state of affairs on Earth shortly, this is why I must soon be on my way. Humanity has reached the stage in its evolution where it is on a razor’s edge with one path leading to destruction and horrors beyond your imagining and the other to beauty, love, peace, harmony and scientific and spiritual advancements beyond your wildest dreams. The majority of individuals on Earth have chosen and are living the second path and this is why Earth is one of those rare cases where action by the Inter-galactic Alliance is warranted. Humanity is not far off now from joining the inter-galactic community of beings and the fact that I am here from 800 years in your future is a good sign that things will work out well, but there is still important work to be done.
35. Nkululeko: Shew! I am struggling to take in everything you are telling me. Here I was just worrying about my university acceptance and now that seems so trivial! My mind is spinning; I think I need a swim to settle my thoughts a bit. Want to join me?
36. Xavier: I’d love to but I’m not exactly dressed for it, these clothes are all I have on me right now and I might upset some people if I swim
37. Nkululeko: OK, I’m going in, see you
38. Xavier: Enjoy!

FX background sound of ocean gets louder and sound of waves crashing and splashing as Nkululeko runs into the water.

7. Nkululeko: (swimming) Hey, David! I thought you might be out here, howzit going?
8. David: Hey Leks, cool man, these waves are cooking dude. When are you going to get a board?
9. Nkululeko: Eish, you know I’ve tried but I enjoy just body surfing, its just as much fun I think?
10. David: Ja, maybe, hey, whose that dude you were talking to on the beach? He looks like a bit of a tramp, was he bothering you?
11. Nkululeko: No, he’s actually not a tramp, he’s pretty cool, we were just chatting about stuff.
12. David: Hey, here comes a set, you take
13. Nkululeko: Thanks man. I’m going in, see you

FX sound of large wave breaking and Nkululeko shrieks in delight.

5. Xavier: How was the swim?
6. Nkululeko: Awesome man, the water is fresh but warm enough. Hey, are those dolphins out there?
7. Xavier: Where?
8. Nkululeko: There, just behind those surfers, near the backline.
9. Xavier: Oh yes, I see them, wow that’s beautiful! Look, they’re catching a wave. Man, did you see that one jump?
10. Nkululeko: Awesome! Now I know why David loves surfing so much. He said he touched a wild dolphin once, on the wild
11. Xavier: They are incredibly intelligent beings. In my time we have learnt to communicate with them, it took a while because they have such a different way of sensing and interpreting the world around them but they are actually intellectually more advanced than humans believe it or not. The reason it took so long for humans to work it out is that dolphins and whales perceive the world through a 4-dimensional combination of sight, sound and sonar that creates a 4-dimensional image in their minds. So they communicate through the projection of these 4D images in a form of telepathy that humans will only begin to understand in a few hundred years from now. The fact that they never developed external technologies in the ways humans have does not make them less evolved. In fact, they are fully aware of the 64 dimensions we were talking about earlier and their knowledge, once integrated with humanities’ knowledge when we learned to communicate with them was the key step towards our developing the internal technologies for time and space travel. It was only after humans discovered the Noosphere (pronounced “no – os – phere”) that we were able to develop our senses further to communicate with these beautiful beings and eventually all the species of life on this planet. At first, when the Noosphere was discovered, humans were only aware of their own species knowledge in this sphere. You can imagine it as a kind of energetic field that surrounds and permeates the Earth. All human thought, from past, present and future, exists in this field and soon we discovered that it also contains the thought and experiences of every single species of living beings on the planet. That is when human society took a huge leap forward in our evolution to become a true member of the community of life on Earth. Before that we were like a toddler sitting in and playing with its own faeces really.
12. Nkululeko: Yuk, that sounds pretty crude. So if all knowledge from past present and future exists in this field, how do we access it?
13. Xavier: People have been doing it for thousands of years but it is only in about a hundred years from now that it goes mainstream. It takes serious discipline and meditation techniques to open and train the mind to make any intelligible sense of it. Everyone has experienced it through their sub-conscious mind in the form of dreams, imagination and art. Once you make the leap to accessing the human part of the Noosphere, the next step to accessing other species’ knowledge is easy. It is only when a critical mass of humans achieves this level of knowledge that the Earth as a whole will reach a point of planetary evolution and consciousness that allows us entrance into the galactic community of life. Until then, we’re just that little toddler playing…
14. Nkululeko: (Interrupts) Stop that, I hate that
15. Xavier: (Laughs) Sorry, but it’s the best analogy I could think of to make the point.
16. Nkululeko: Point taken. So you’re saying we will be able to communicate in 4- dimensional images with dolphins one day? Wow man, that sounds awesome! How do we even begin to learn this skill?
17. Xavier: It started with developments in music. Some musicians learnt to play certain harmonics of sound using their instruments and voice that led to the creation of 3D images in the minds of the audience. Once this ability was recognised and developed, it opened a more conscious awareness of the Noosphere and from there inter-species communication was the natural next
18. Nkululeko: Shew, when does that happen?
19. Xavier: Its happening already now in this time but only within the subconscious level for most people. The biggest obstacle is the level of individualism that has crept into society, across the world. I’m proud to say that Africa played a key part in helping humanity evolve beyond the trap of individualism and in our time, history points to Africa as one of the most advanced civilisations that contributed to humanities’ evolution. Most of the African peoples developed systems of thought similar to the Nguni concept of Ubuntu and when the value of this philosophy became more widely known and appreciated, it contributed vastly to the developments in humanity that we have been speaking of. You see, an individualistic worldview too easily leads people into a narcissistic trap of competition, greed and self-aggrandisement that seems to afflict politicians, celebrities and corporate oligarchs the worst. This then leads to the kind of social, economic and political structures we have in the world today that are so destructive and unjust and hinder human development. Ubuntu recognises that individuals only exist in the context of their communities and by extension the entire human family. When one person suffers, it’s the whole of humanity that suffers too.
20. Nkululeko: Ja, Ubuntu, we hear that word punted about all the time, mostly by people who are the last ones to actually live out its true meaning. I get so depressed with politics, especially in this country. We have a president and seemingly his entire party who run around looking after their own interests and that of their families and cronies. I wonder what happened to the true spirit of the struggle that my dad speaks so proudly of? I know the ANC has great policies and is doing a whole lot of good for the people but I often think things could be so much better if so much was not being lost to corruption and incompetence. I read recently that South Africa has the worst Gini coefficient in the world.
21. Xavier: That’s a new term for me, what does it mean?
22. Nkululeko: I’m not sure if I get it fully myself but its basically a measure of the distribution of wealth. If wealth was distributed 100% fairly, the Gini coefficient would be zero. If one person owned all the wealth and everyone else had nothing, the Gini coefficient would be 1. South Africa sits at just over 0.6 which is the highest in the world, it means we are the most unequal country on the planet.
23. Xavier: OK, I get it. Wow, that is quite a serious thing. In my time, we don’t even have money anymore and all people have equal access to everything they need to live a good life. In a few years, maybe 10 or twenty from now, I can’t remember exactly when, the world economy went through some drastic changes brought about by a new technology called crypto-currencies. Crypto-currencies started off fairly slowly after they were invented but reached a point where they super-ceded all the national currencies of the world. This played a major role in the eventual dissolving of nation
24. Nkululeko: Crypto-currencies, I’ve heard the term but have no idea what they are.
25. Xavier: Ever heard of Bitcoin? That was the most famous one and the first to cause the crumbling of national currencies but there are many others. They are a kind of digital currency, created through highly complex mathematical calculations that require huge computing power. Even in this time, although they are still in their infancy, the decentralized network of crypto-currency computers, which are linked through the internet, form the single largest and most powerful computer in the world. The fact that it is a decentralized system, is transparent and that the currency can be shared peer to peer led it to become a transforming force in world economics as the role of private banks and reserve banks became obsolete. People are able to use, share and spend without any need for these And being decentralized in its fundamental structure means that no one is able to manipulate or control it.
26. Nkululeko: Gee, that sounds pretty amazing, so you mean I could send money to someone without a bank being involved?
27. Xavier: Yes, and it’s totally anonymous so your transactions are effectively invisible. Of course the banks and politicians tried their hardest to regulate and control the use of crypto-currencies but they were too late, by the time they cottoned on to it, the cat was already out of the bag. The more innovative and awake banks started to work with these currencies, packaging them and making them more acceptable and user-friendly to the general public who were, for the most part, a bit intimidated by the technology and this was a positive step towards the eventual dissolving of all the national currencies in the world. When crypto-currencies became mainstream, it was the first time that the Earth saw a truly egalitarian economic system start to form because the means of exchange was no longer controlled by a minority elite. Due to the nature of the technology, no-one was able to take control over the generation or distribution of crypto-currencies and many of the world’s wealthy elite saw their wealth disappear in front of their very eyes as the national currencies became worthless. It was a quiet and bloodless revolution on a global scale never before seen in the Earth’s history and one that changed the human story
28. Nkululeko: I still can’t imagine a world without countries, does this really happen in the future?
29. Xavier: Yes, it does. The Inter-galactic Alliance will play a subtle but effective role in helping humanity make the transition, behind the scenes at first as many people would get totally freaked out at the thought of aliens meddling in human affairs. However, the powers that currently rule the world, the corporate oligarchy as we called it earlier, thrive off division and conflict as this allows them to continue to run their hugely profitable industries of war and mindless mass consumerism. The rogue extra-terrestrial beings and the Dinosoids we were talking about just now are working with these elite powers in secret programmes that aim to keep the status quo so that they can continue to loot the Earth and its precious resources as they work towards their vision of total control and enslavement of humanity. They continually promote the idea of scarcity and competition as though these are physical and evolutionary laws that humanity cannot escape. So many scientists and the general population have bought into this mindset and are unable to imagine a different reality. The struggle of environmentalists and social justice activists against unfair and unsustainable developments, issues like climate change and global warming, diseases like cancer and HIV/AIDS, all of these are very simple and easy to solve, humanity has the resources and technology to solve them today. And many are already doing so and we are on the cusp of a global transition as the old power-based structures dissolve and are replaced with a more humane, just and decentralised network of creative communities working towards a better world.
30. Nkululeko: But earlier you were just saying we are in the middle of World War III and now you’re painting such a glowing picture as though everything is fine and dandy.
31. Xavier: What you see taking place in the middle East, Israel, Palestine, Syria, Ukraine and many other places is a last gasp attempt of a crumbling empire, the project of Predatory Capitalism as we know it and it’s biggest proponent, the USA, is It is not a sustainable political or economic system and left uncurbed would see the Earth destroyed. There are certainly many good elements to capitalism but it is no different in many ways to the very systems it painted as evil, like communism for example. The ridiculous dualism between the ideologies of Capitalism and Communism, a totally false dichotomy in any case, stunted human political and economic progress for a long time but this too is coming to an end as Capitalism transforms into something more human and planet-centred.
32. Nkululeko: So, how does the Inter-galactic Alliance help in all this? You said earlier that things could go in two ways but I can’t imagine these space ships and aliens arriving without causing mass panic and fear.
33. Xavier: No, the principle of non-interference in Earthly affairs will remain intact. The Inter-galactic Alliance will deal with the rogue civilisations and the Dinosoids working with the corporate oligarchy. They will be banished to planets that serve this purpose, until they either transform and evolve themselves or else destroy themselves. Both have happened in the past, many many times.
34. Xavier: Wow, so it seems things will work out OK then, I can’t wait for these things to take place, I look forward to living in a world where all people are equal in all regards. It still seems so impossible right now, I mean how would we ever get rid of poverty the way things are now? You know I spend a lot of time mucking around on Facebook and the other day I read this post that explained that in the USA, the richest 1% of the population own over 50% of the wealth and South Africa is even worse in this regard. How would you convince these wealthy people who have so much to ever give it up for the advancement of all of humanity? Things just don’t seem to work that way in this world…

31. Xavier: The biggest hurdle is humanities understanding and treatment of money. Crypto-currencies like Bitcoin are a step in the right direction. You see, money, when it first evolved, was never intended to have any value in and of It was a value-less medium of exchange. For ages in the past, trade took place in and between various civilisations all over the world through valueless items such as cowry shells, beads and even seeds. The artifacts and structures left behind by these civilisations, feats of technology beyond the abilities of the best of scientists and engineers today, remain to show what such an economic system is capable of achieving. The Islamic religion recognises this and so did the Christian faith until it was subverted for political reasons hundreds of years ago. The giving of value to money, through devices such as interest, is known as a sin called usury. This fundamental difference in economic and moral thinking is one of the key reasons that the Corporate Oligarchy hates Islam and underlies many of the wars that are masked as wars over fossil fuels and terrorism. Think of this analogy, you live in a house near a lake of beautiful clean fresh water. Through some clever manipulation, persuasion and charm, your neighbor convinces you and the rest of the villagers that the water from his tank, which he pumps from the lake, is the only water that may be used for all activities in the village. He gives a price and people all start queuing up to buy his water. Small sub-industries spring up with some people buying water in bulk and selling it on to others from further away. No one ever goes to the lake anymore, the very idea seems absurd and for the most part does not even cross anyone’s mind. Within a few years, the poorer farmers and people in the village who can only afford a little water, are unable to continue producing their crops and their land lies fallow. Some households are unable to afford any water and send their children to beg for it from their neighbours. The economy of the village grinds to a halt and unemployment rates soar as farmers and all the industries they supported no longer work the land. The owner of the water tank, in a great spirit of benevolence, donates 3% of his profits to a CSI fund that is administered by the local governance structure to assist with community and economic development in the area. 80% of these funds are used up by the bureaucrats managing these projects and the trickle that makes it to the ground is ineffective. That in a nutshell is the current predatory capitalist system that dominates the world. And it is only possible because people have been duped into believing that money itself has value and the resulting industry of financial instruments and strategies that brokers, investors and the banking sector engage in are activities that add no value to the economy or society. Giving money value also creates the very conditions that cause it to accumulate at the top, where 1% of the population can own and control over 50% of the world’s wealth. So most of humanity sits and grovels on the shores of the lake, dying of thirst in the hot sun.

32. Nkululeko: So, you said that eventually money is done away with completely, how does humanity overcome the obstacle of making money valueless?
33. Xavier: That’s where crypto-currencies provided the necessary conditions for the transition. Crypto-currencies are incredibly efficient means of exchange because they cost virtually nothing to own and exchange. They also have no inherent value – all they are is complex bits of code on a computer. Impossible for anyone to centralize and control, they provide a free and easy means to exchange goods and services, after all it is the goods and services that have the value, not the money. The corporate oligarchy have no means to siphon off most of the wealth and thus leave the remainder of humanity in And the timing of crypto-currencies in a world where manufacturing is becoming decentralised and turning into micro-scale businesses able to 3D print any product required from cell phones and body parts to buildings and cars, the attachment of value to the means of exchange is actually a ridiculous concept when the only effect this has is to grind the whole system to a halt. What do you think the crisis in the banking sector over the past few years has been all about?
34. Nkululeko: The way you explain it makes sense, its funny how I’ve never ever thought about money in that way. I just earn it and use it without even thinking about it.
35. Xavier: So does most of the human population. This is why the Corporate Oligarchs get away with their But their time is now running out…
36. Nkululeko: Talking about time, I better head home, my dad will be worried if he does not hear from me
37. Xavier: Yes, and I have my work to do. I’ll be back soon and in the mean time, here is a little challenge. Consider it to be the first task in your training for time travel. Did you know that the Earth is a popular galactic tourist destination? The Inter-galactic Alliance ethics only allow for visas to Earth to those civilisations that have perfected the arts of camouflage, mimicry and imitation so that they are not detected by humans who are at this stage not ready to take their place in the galactic community. But those races that are able to arrive and live among humans undetected do visit and stay on holidays. In fact there is an entire tourism industry for the smaller races who travel inside of a perfectly humanoid robot vehicle on tours around the planet. You see, the human diversity and culture on this planet is unique, our cosmologies and traditions, from tribal peoples living in the remotest regions of the Earth to the Skyscrapers of the world’s Cities, it is considered an honour to visit and learn from humanity. Your task is to see if you can identify and befriend an extra-terrestrial With your new knowledge, it should not be too hard. Make good friends. I’ll see you soon, be well.
38. Nkululeko: Haybo!…. Hehe… and he disappears again, just like that, hehe, Amadlozi wami, hehe… just like that.

FX music fades out.

 

Acknowledgments

 To my 13-year-old son Skye Nkululeko Wigley who came up with the idea of the time capsule and who will take 20% of the winnings and an overseas holiday if we make it. To my Girlfriend Sarah Sawyers who heard the advert on the radio while we were driving together on the Wild Coast on our Christmas holiday in December 2014 and challenged me to enter. To the Noosphere and all the beings who have and will contribute to its evolution.