In Ummite society there’s nothing similar to our entrepreneurship; they maintain that … all Ummo people could be considered what you call state employees. Nor any free enterprise is possible among them. Their central government takes charge of youngsters from very early age: Boys and girls start their education when 13.68 years old, in something like a UNIVERSITY, which resemble small towns and are kept under strict discipline. The whole of their future life depends upon the results of this training period. These centres are called UNAWO UE. When a boy (about 15.5 years old) selects a girl as his possible wife, he must submit his choice to his teachers, who will search, through the network of SANMOO AYUBAA (brains, or computers of Ummo), for any possible physiological or mental incompatibility which might jeopardize a future marriage. If no problem arises, the boy reveals his intentions (kept secret up to this point) to the girl.

Of course, the plan of studies and subsequent placement into the society are managed directly by the state, using the all-pervading computer network, and continuous testing during the process. Their society doesn’t use money, because of the abundance of goods available to meet all requirements. In any case, they have a somewhat similar method of exchange: the access to goods is regulated (as usual!) by the government, through a very complex mathematical formula, that takes into account the capacity of the individual, his/her cultural level, level of responsibility, and  efficiency. According to this formula, a higher hierarchical level doesn’t automatically imply a better “wage”. The opposite happens rather frequently, when a low-level person who does his/her best, and achieves a high efficiency rating may “earn” more than his superior, if the superior doesn’t have similar proficiency. The equation is too long and complex to be quoted here. In any case a lower efficiency level is given more consideration the higher the level of the person involved. In theory such a mechanism should lead to an extremely efficient managerial class, for efficiency (in the sense of term used in the physical sciences: “costs versus results”) is the main parameter that determines one’s capacity for acquiring goods.

In a strict sense, there is no private ownership, of course, but there is a de facto property. For instance, a house is assigned by the state to the new couple (there are no “single” people), and it is theirs to use as long as the couple is intact. When one of the two passes away however, the surviving one leaves it, and enters collective dwellings, or goes to live with one of the children (again, it’s up to the state to decide what must be done). Every benefit is assigned by the state in usufruct, on the basis of the above mentioned formula, and may be taken back at any moment. Among us the money is the mechanism that regulates the access to goods, but among them this function is usurped by the state.

Aside from this continuous overshadowing of the state, their society is strongly male-oriented, with the wife subjected to her husband. In the workplace there is no distinction between sexes, but within the family the husband has a heading role. As I have said, in the hierarchy and at work there is a substantial parity. As an example of that, here is the tale told by one of the typists from Madrid who was employed by our friends.

It seems that for unspecified reasons, the chief of Ummite expedition had to spend one night in Madrid. This person was to arrive to Madrid from Singapore via London. They asked the typist if he was willing to host their chief; after consulting with his wife, the man accepted. At night three Ummites arrived at his house, two girls and an older man. The “chief” happened to be the younger girl, YU 1, daughter of AIN 368. The other girl, UUOO something, was her secretary, and the man was a high level person in the hierarchy, but obviously of lower rank than the girl.

After having secured the house and the street, with other Ummites standing guard in the neighbourhood, they began their supper (boiled potatoes, hard-boiled eggs, and fruit – no wine) with only the young chief actually eating, while the other two stood behind her. While dining, YU 1 explained that UUOO was a mathematician, but that, after a mistake she had made somewhere in Mexico, she had been downgraded to the role of her secretary!

When the supper was over, YU 1 decided to help the host’s wife with doing the dishes. Then, although having been offered the bed of her hosts, the young girl insisted on sleeping on the dining room floor, again with the other two keeping watch. At sunrise the three Ummites left, but before that the two Spaniards observed what appeared to have been a reproach that YU 1 made to her assistant – for although the chief had spoken in Ummitan, it was evident that the other girl blushed, and her eyes filled with tears. Before leaving, YU 1 told the housewife that it was unpleasant to see that in Spain women were less accustomed than males to read, and ordered the other girl to give her an encyclopaedic book, in Spanish, as a reward for her role as host.

The typist has obviously paid utmost attention to what took place inside his house. He tells how when YU 1 was asking her companions something, they lowered their eyes before answering, and that they never took the initiative to speak directly to their chief. Another example of how rigid is the hierarchy inside their society!

Returning to Ummo, their houses are of course rather complex. Here is a plan:

Fig 2-08

This structure is usually more or less underground, but it may be raised on demand, thanks to a piston that may be seen at the base of the vertical rod, which is pushed upward by the conversion of a mass of sodium from solid to gaseous. As usual, it would take too long to examine all of the details our friends told us about their homes. Generally speaking, under the main floor there are the control devices, that receive supplies from outside, using a kind of pneumatic dispatch, recycle wastes, generate energy, and so on. Technology is very complex, to the point at which what looks similar to one of our fork is for them an electronic gadget that would require a degree in engineering to be used by a human. Among the many unusual characteristics of these houses is the capability of modifying the use of each room. A bedroom may be changed into a kitchen, and so on. Things are not as easy as they may appear. For instance, the room where breakfast is served resembles the Japanese one, with persons sitting on the floor, their legs dangling over a hole warmed – in Japan – by hot coals. In addition, thanks to the piston, the house may rotate about itself, if told to do so.

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