2. Comparison of Two World Societies

The difference between the two societies is huge and affects nearly all aspects of life and organisation. The scale of differences is difficult to quantify.

Political Structure

On E-One (here) we have Countries and/or States which are managed by a single central government. Governments can be of many different types. Governments are (supposed to be) responsible for the integrity of The State, the defense of the borders and the welfare of their citizens.

The 'Nahha' have no concept of Country or State, it being a single world-wide entity. The World is broken down into geographic regions OR cultural regions, however as there is much freedom of movement the 'Nahha' are losing their cultural identities and what were 'cultures' are now turning into something more akin to 'fashion styles' or 'life themes'. The 'Nahha' are aware of this.

Economy

Although the 'Nahha' are fundamentally a capitalist (i.e. money based and commercial) society, there is no perceived difference between 'The State' and the 'Private Sector'. In fact there is no 'State' as such. It is compulsory that every 'nahhumar' subscribes to basic services (e.g. Banking, Insurance, The Law, Education, Audit, Health, etc.) and this subscription is often managed through other specialized 'nahhumar'. However, with the advent of the 'Intelligent Nahum' (known colloquially as 'Peyrit') most 'nahhumar' are now able to manage these services themselves. Subscription to basic services and/or other services is decided and enforced by the individual members of each 'nahhumar' as their democratic right and obligation.

On E-One the primary earning entity is the individual - i.e. a person is employed to do a job by another entity. On E-Zero it is the 'nahhum' that is employed to provide the service, not the individual. As the 'nahhum' is a family based enterprise there is no equivalent concept of 'employee'. Furthermore, there is no set working week or set office hours.

Due to the inherent restrictions on the growth of a 'nahhumar' (the largest being far less than a thousand souls) and the distributed nature of the population (cities never became as popular there as they are here) transport and production costs have always been significantly higher. Thus material goods are significantly more expensive and consequently more treasured. Personal ownership is rarer there and consumer items are usually shared among the members of 'nahhum'. Material goods are treasured and shared, but this should not be mistaken for a communist society.

Warfare

On E-One a war is (usually) declared and fought between two (or more) sides in order to expand a nation's sphere of influence or to protect it's interests. Often the military will engage the other side, causing significant damage to one or both sides. Some formality to warfare is encoded into the Geneva Convention.

The 'Nahha' experience of war is simply that of being attacked by belligerent - non-'Nahha' ('Samam') - societies. Historically the 'Nahha' only support a small specialized offensive capability to be used when needed. The 'Nahha' are ill equipped to expand using military force and always prefer to use economic or cultural pressure. Consequently the 'Naha' have never formally declared war (why tell the enemy you're going to kill him?) and have never engaged in an outright preemptive attack except at the tactical level. Instead the 'Nahha' would employ extensive intelligence, covert operations, infiltration and assassination at the higher levels of the enemy hierarchy. They prefer to employ the carrot and stick approach; 'Trade with us, or you will be assassinated'. The 'Nahha' have specialized 'nahumar' devoted to special forces, secret agencies and intelligence operations - although these have been severely reduced over the last few hundred years as their enemies withered away. They now form highly specialized teams in Law Enforcement (internal security) rather than in a 'national' defense (external security).

Education

On E-One we usually send our children to schools. Different schools cover different age groups from Primary Schools through to colleges and universities. Once completed we then spend our lives in employment until retirement.

On E-Zero education is seen as a continuous process from the nursery to the grave. For this reason one can find children as young as seven years undertaking various professional jobs (as juniors, naturally), although this isn't a form of exploitation (work hours are restricted for children) but rather an early introduction to a productive working life. The invention and global adoption of the 'katim' (a communications and health-managing implant) has promoted life-long education. The 'Nahha' spend far longer in education than people in E-One.

Health

On our planet we have various health systems. Some are government funded, others are government assisted but there are fully private institutions.

All health on E-Zero is privately run. 'Nahhumar' pay a subscription (or insurance) fee to a network of health providers and when anyone falls ill they will be admitted to a health 'nahhumar' (hospital equivalent). Note that the 'Nahha' have implants called 'katim' which help in keeping the host healthy and communicate directly with the 'nahhum' about the person's current health situation. The 'katim' and the 'nahhum' also liaise about the person's diet and exercise regime. Furthermore the 'Nahha' use mechanical transport far less than we do. They will often walk between locations. Thus personal health on their planet is normally of a very high standard.

Work

On E-One we usually commute to work and work a set number hours under a contract of employment. Remuneration also forms part of the contract. Entrepreneurs are able to work the hours they wish. Wealthy people own shares in companies and other investments and if they own sufficient, then they do not need to work at all.

On E-Zero everyone in a 'nahhum' works for the 'nahum'. Wage earners, those that bring in income from outside, are held in high regard by everyone in the 'nahhum'. However income is shared and allocated within the 'nahhum'. 'Nahha' lay great store in copyright and licensing and some 'nahhumar' are very wealthy from the income of license fees. However these fees reduce over time so even wealthy 'nahhumar' will invest in high technology and / or research to maintain their wealthy position. The members of a 'nahhum' will either work locally or they may be seconded (contracted) to work away from home.

Socializing

The 'Nahha' are, in the end, people like us. Different people like to socialize in different ways. 'Nahum' and 'nahumar' are usually designed with rest and socializing areas. These can vary from a small comfortable room (sometimes these are referred to as 'socks' or 'Winter Room'), to a larger bar / dining room or a balcony (Summer Room). People can also remain in touch with each other using their 'katim'.

Crime

Small scale crime such as bullying, mugging, robbery, theft, vandalism and even rape and murder are actually quite rare on E-Zero. This is because of the extended family in the 'nahhum' and extended oversight of 'katim' and 'peyrit'. Larger, organised criminal activity is a more prevalent problem. Drugs are the main area of concern for the authorities and organised 'nahhumar' may well be armed. There is some human trafficking, particularly from failed 'nahumar' but surprisingly not from travelling youngsters - probably because these are recorded and over-watched by 'peyrit'.

Most crime is corruption of one form or another. War crimes, naturally, are unheard of and managerial (political) crimes are nearly always forms of corruption. There are less than 420 recorded intentional murders per year globally.