The Novels

Economics 101, a Novel (Rough Draft) -- My first sustained attempt at a novel, two-thirds finished in rough draft, and heading a little too far south.
What would you do if you and your study partner, with whom you had been seriously discussing marriage, suddenly found yourselves all alone together on a desert island? Study economics?
Sociology 500, a Romance (Second Draft) -- The first book in the Economics 101 Trilogy.(On hold.)
Karel and Dan, former American football teammates and now graduate students, meet fellow graduate students Kristie and Bobbie, and the four form a steady study group.

Featured Post

Sociology 500, a Romance, ch 1 pt 1 -- Introducing Bobbie

TOC Well, let's meet Roberta Whitmer. Bobbie entered the anthropology department office and looked around. Near the receptionis...

Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Sociology 500, a Romance, ch 1 pt 1 -- Introducing Bobbie

TOC

Well, let's meet Roberta Whitmer.



Bobbie entered the anthropology department office and looked around. Near the receptionist's desk was a rack of pamphlets, catalogs, and other informational material. On one side of the rack sat a young woman distractedly reading pamphlets. Bobbie guessed she was waiting to talk with a member of the faculty or a counselor.

On the other side of the rack sat a rather good-looking guy reading admissions materials. He looked like he could be a football player, although he was probably several years too old to still be playing for the university. There was an empty chair beside him.

As she walked in past him, he looked up and nodded an absent-minded greeting, then returned to his reading.

The receptionist was friendly.

"Hi! How may I help you?"

Bobbie smiled back and approached her desk. "Yes. I'd like some information on graduate programs. I have a bachelor's in nursing from," and she named a well-known school with a nursing program, "and a master's in dance from," and she named another school with a moderately well-known dance program, "and I'd like to pursue a PhD here in anthropology, focus on island politics."

The receptionist took a note in her logbook and said, "Well, I don't think we have a program specific to island politics, but we do have ongoing fieldwork in different islands around the world. Let me give you some general information on graduate studies in the department, and I could schedule an appointment for you with one of our graduate advisors."

"I would like that, please."

"My name is Melissa Burns, by the way. May I have your name, please?"

"Roberta Whitmer. I go by Bobbie."

Bobbie took the materials offered and sat down next to the maybe-football-player to read them. He looked up, smiled politely, and said, "Nice day, isn't it?" to which Bobbie agreed. She felt a little disconcerted, but a little relieved, when he went back to reading without further effort at conversation.

Mrs. Burns excused herself for a moment and was soon back.

"Miss Whitmer, do you have time now? Professor MacVittie, who is one of our professors working in island societies, is available for a few minutes."

"That would be wonderful."

"This way, please." Mrs. Burns took Bobbie to a nearby office.

"Miss Whitmer, sir."

"Thank you Mrs. Burns. Please show her in."

Bobbie thanked Mrs. Burns as she entered the professor's office. She extended her hand to the professor, who shook it warmly. "Thank you for meeting me, sir. Please call me Bobbie."

"Nice to meet you, Bobbie. I'm Sheldon MacVittie. Please sit down and tell me a little about yourself and why you are interested in our graduate program."

Both Bobbie and the professor sat down, and Bobbie introduced herself. "As I mentioned to Mrs. Burns, I am a nurse. I'm a registered nurse and certified midwife in both this state and my home state. I have a bachelor's degree in nursing, and a master's degree in dance."

"Nursing and dance? That's quite a combination."

"I've liked dance and sports ever since I was a cheerleader in high school."

"Okay. Cheerleading, as well. So you already have a broad range of interests."

"Yes. I, uhm, served a Church service mission in," and she named a mission that included a lot of island area, "and I spent a considerable amount of time in the islands there. I found life there interesting, and I've been doing some limited research in island politics on my own for the past year."

"I see. Do you have a curriculum vitae with you?"

"Yes, I do."

"May I look it over?"

Bobbie gave him her CV and he scanned it for a few minutes, nodding and asking questions.

"And you're certified to fly."

"It's a kind of hobby. My dad encouraged me, and helped me get certified. I've sometimes flown for his business, although I haven't been able to fly much since getting a job as a nurse."

"Such a broad range of interests. I'd almost say too broad. Has anyone ever accused you of lacking in focus?" And he gave the CV back to her.

"Not really, I work hard at everything I do.

"Well enough, but you are looking to enter a field for which your training in physical education and nursing will have only partially prepared you. Not only that, but you will find the terminology, and even the ways of thinking, somewhat foreign."

"I am aware of that. As I mention in my CV, much of my work in dance involved ethnic dance. That and the languages and cultures I learned as a missionary have been a kind of springboard into anthropology. I have read an introductory text in anthropology," and she named a textbook he knew, "and I think I can see, for instance, how the four fields of physiology, archeology, linguistics, and culture interrelate. I'm not sure yet whether I agree with the four-field point of view of anthropology, but I can appreciate it."

"Okay, so you probably have one freshman-level class out of the way."

"I've been specifically preparing, reading other college textbooks on the undergraduate curriculum -- cultures of the world, symbolism and symbolics, morals and ritual, family relationships, the anthropological view of physiology, psychology, economics, politics in particular, religion as a topic outside E-P-ism, quantitative methods, and so forth."

"Where did you find time?"

"I've been carrying a textbook with me whenever I went anywhere, including work. I learned to speed-read a long time ago. It's not emotionally satisfying, but it gets the job done."

"Okay," the professor smiled, "I get the picture that you are not just daydreaming."

"I know I'm going to have to work hard to get ready for graduate level work. I'm weak in quantitative analysis, so I'm assuming I'll be taking that among the undergraduate classes I'll need. Hopefully, I can get by with just monitoring linguistics. Maybe you can give me some suggestions for additional preparation before I start attending classes next fall."

This satisfied Professor MacVittie, and they discussed some non-textbook reading which he thought might help her.

Bobbie said she would come in to talk with him again before enrolling in fall.

At the end of the interview, he encouraged her to submit an application and promised to see that the appropriate members of the department reviewed it. He encouraged her to talk with him again for advice, and they shook hands again, and Bobbie left.

On her way out, she stopped back by the department office to make sure she had the application documents, instructions, and other materials she needed. The maybe-football-player was no longer there.

At Mrs. Burns suggestion, she worked through the application forms before she left, filling out most of them so that she would have fewer questions when she returned home. She also left her name, address, and phone number, in case Professor MacVittie wanted to contact her.

Then she returned to the parking lot. She had borrowed the family car for the three-hour trip south from her hometown to the school, and she took time to look around campus, look at apartments in town, and so forth.

Before she left town, she stopped by the hospital, to ask if they might be interested in hiring her part-time in a year. Of course, there were no promises, but she was able to introduce herself to some of the regular staff.

When she returned home, her mom was in the living room, reading a book.

"How did it go?"

"Well enough. I met a professor, met some people at the hospital down there, and got a look at the town. Brought home a lot of application paperwork."

"Meet any interesting guys?"

"No, of course not." She laughed. "Well, sort of. There was this guy in the department office who was probably also getting ready to apply for post-grad work. He said hi, but that was it."

"He didn't hit on you?"

"No. Didn't ask for my phone number, didn't even introduce himself. Nice looking guy, too. Almost everyone I met was very nice. Almost as nice as being at Church here. Maybe I'll like it there."

She spent the next several weeks working on the application forms, making another CV for the application, and so forth. About a month later, she had her application ready, and returned to the university to submit it.

Several months later, when she received approval to start taking classes in preparation for becoming a PhD candidate, she gave initial notice at the hospital where she was working and got her dad to help her buy her own car.

Later, she went back to the university and made arrangements for an apartment off-campus for her first year. She met one of the women who would be her roommates during that first year, a petite, active blonde named Kristie Person, who was finishing her bachelor's in Physical Education and was getting ready for master's level work in Education.

She was able to arrange to work on call as a midwife for emergency deliveries, and to work at the hospital there on the weekends, to help stretch her savings and keep her skills fresh.

From the time she went to get the application forms and materials until she started actually taking classes was about eight months. (These days, in our world, that would be a rather short time. Back then in hers it wasn't especially short or long.)

Sometime that summer, her mother showed her an interview article in the newspaper about one of the students who would be beginning graduate studies at OHU at the same time as she would. He was a former football player at the school named Karel Pratt, who had spent two years in professional football while completing his master's degree in engineering, and would now be seeking a PhD in the same field she was choosing, anthropology.

He had been working for more than two years as an engineer, in the new field of semiconductor fabrication. But the company he had been working for failed, and he had decided to take the opportunity to pursue a new field.

The article had been picked up by the national press because he was an example of football players who were pursuing careers in academics during and after their professional football careers. 



About this "mission" thing: The E-P-ists had a program similar to the Mormons' missionary program. In the time frame this story is set in, many young, single E-P-ist men would take two to five years out of the time they would usually be spending in college or starting work to serve as full-time proselyting missionaries. The Church was not yet emphasizing the idea that every young man should prepare for and serve a mission, but it was by no means an unusual thing to do.

Serving a mission was for them an expression of their faith in their Lord and in His Church.

Young, single E-P-ist women at that time were generally not encouraged to go on missions. Their first mission was considered to be in the home.

Unfortunately, there was often a bit of social stigma associated with women who went on missions. Women serving proselyting missions were often considered by the gossips in their home wards to be "past their prime" days for being courted -- or some such silliness.

However, a service mission was a little different, often being considered, socially speaking, as a recognition of skills that the woman had developed. Single women who had qualified to work as nurses or in other service capacities would, in fact, often be recruited to serve in areas of the world where medical or other services were needed and hard to get. A proselyting mission was "for women who hadn't been trying hard enough" -- according to the wags. But a service mission was obviously different.

Now, in their fields of labor, the women who served as either proselyting or service missionaries were generally seen as the mortal equivalent of angels. "A prophet is not without honor, but in her own country and among her own kin," as the scripture goes.

Which just goes to show that gossip is a bad thing, even in a good church. Especially in a good church.

It would be several years later that women in general began to be encouraged to serve missions, and the artifact social stigma would begin to be eased.

Didn't I say it would be quick? We'll get to learn more about Bobbie and Kristie as we go.


TOC Next



[Previous versions backed up here: http://joel-rees-economics.blogspot.com/2017/02/backup-soc500-01-01-bobbie.html.]



[The original of this chapter can be found here: http://free-is-not-free.blogspot.com/2016/05/economics-101-novel-ch01-introducing.html.]

Backup: Sociology 500, a Romance, ch 1 pt 1 -- Introducing Bobbie

[JMR201704121434: metadata edits -- Name.]

Sociology 500, a {replace}Novel{with}Romance{replace.}, ch 1 pt 1 -- Introducing Bobbie

[JMR201704121434: end metadata edit.]
 

[JMR201704121243: edit -- Probably unnecessary text.] 


Well, let's meet Roberta Whitmer.{delete} This will go kind of fast, so keep your eyes open as we go.{delete.}

[JMR201704121243: end-edit.]

[JMR201703082201: edits -- more cleanup.]

On the other{add} of the rack{add.} sat a rather good-looking guy reading admissions materials. He looked like he could be a football player, although he was probably {replace}a couple of{with}several{replace.} years too old to still be playing for the university. There was an empty chair beside him.

---------

As she walked in{add} past him{add.}, he looked up and nodded {replace}absently and{with}an absent-minded greeting, then{replace.} returned to his reading.

---------

"{replace}Hello. May{with}Hi! How may{replace.} I help you?"

---------

"I am aware of that. As I mention in my CV, much of my work in dance involved ethnic dance. That and the languages and cultures I learned as a missionary have been a kind of springboard into anthropology. I have read an introductory text in {replace}archeology{with}anthropology{replace.}," and she named a textbook he knew, "and I think I can see, for instance, how the four fields of physiology, archeology, linguistics, and culture interrelate. I'm not sure yet whether I agree with the four-field point of view of anthropology, but I can appreciate it."

---------

This satisfied Professor MacVittie, and they discussed some non-textbook reading which he thought might help her{replace}, and she volunteered to visit the school several times for further advice before she would enroll{with}.

Bobbie said she would come in again to talk with him before enrolling{replace.} in fall.

At the end of the interview, he encouraged her to submit an application and promised to see that the appropriate members of the department reviewed it{replace}, and encouraged her to come to him again for further advice. Then{with}. He encouraged her to talk with him again for advice, and{replace.} they shook hands{add} again,{add.} and Bobbie left.

[JMR201703082201: end-edits]
 
[JMR201702031050: edits -- Changed Straitgate to E-P and made some minor adjustments. ]
As she walked in, he looked up and nodded absently, {strike}maybe a little tiredly,{strike.} and returned to his reading.

Bobbie gave him her CV and he scanned it {strike}over{strike.} for a few minutes, nodding and asking questions.

"I've been specifically preparing, reading other college textbooks on the undergraduate curriculum -- cultures of the world, symbolism and symbolics, morals and ritual, family relationships, the anthropological view of physiology, psychology, economics, politics in particular, religion as a topic outside {replace}Straitgatism{with}E-P-ism{replace.}, quantitative methods, and so forth."

About this "mission" thing: The {replace}Straitgates{with}E-P-ists{replace.} had a program similar to the Mormons' missionary program. In the time frame this story is set in, many young, single {replace}Straitgate{with}E-P-ist{replace.} men would take two to five years out of the time they would usually be spending in college or starting work to serve as full-time proselyting missionaries. The Church was not yet emphasizing the idea that every young man should prepare for and serve a mission, but it was by no means an unusual thing to do.

Young, single {replace}Straitgate{with}E-P-ist{replace.} women at that time were generally not encouraged to go on missions. Their first mission was considered to be in the home.

{replace}
On the other hand{with}Now{replace.}, in their fields of labor, the women who served as either proselyting or service missionaries were generally seen as the mortal equivalent of angels. "A prophet is not without honor, but in her own country and among her own kin," as the scripture goes.

Didn't I say it would be quick? We'll get to learn more about {replace}her{with}Bobbie and Kristie{replace.} as we go.

{strike}Oh. Did I mention that she is beautiful? No? Hmm.

How about her new roommate, Kristie? No? Hmm.
{strike.}
[JMR201702031050: end-edits] 

[JMR201702031050: backup of http://joel-rees-economics.blogspot.com/2017/01/soc500-01-01-bobbie.html before rework incidental to the Straitgate stuff.]


TOC Next

Well, let's meet Roberta Whitmer. This will go fast, so pay attention, ...



Bobbie entered the anthropology department office and looked around. Near the receptionist's desk was a rack of pamphlets, catalogs, and other informational material. On one side of the rack sat a young woman distractedly reading pamphlets. Bobbie guessed she was waiting to talk with a member of the faculty or a counselor.

On the other sat a rather good-looking guy reading admissions materials. He looked like he could be a football player, although he was probably a couple of years too old to still be playing for the university. There was an empty chair beside him.

As she walked in, he looked up and nodded absently, maybe a little tiredly, and returned to his reading.

The receptionist was friendly.

"Hello. May I help you?"

Bobbie smiled back and approached her desk. "Yes. I'd like some information on graduate programs. I have a bachelor's in nursing from," and she named a well-known school with a nursing program, "and a master's in dance from," and she named another school with a moderately well-known dance program, "and I'd like to pursue a PhD here in anthropology, focus on island politics."

The receptionist took a note in her logbook and said, "Well, I don't think we have a program specific to island politics, but we do have ongoing fieldwork in different islands around the world. Let me give you some general information on graduate studies in the department, and I could schedule an appointment for you with one of our graduate advisors."

"I would like that, please."

"My name is Melissa Burns, by the way. May I have your name, please?"

"Roberta Whitmer. I go by Bobbie."

Bobbie took the materials offered and sat down next to the maybe-football-player to read them. He looked up, smiled politely, and said, "Nice day, isn't it?" to which Bobbie agreed. She felt a little disconcerted, but a little relieved, when he went back to reading without further effort at conversation.

Mrs. Burns excused herself for a moment and was soon back.

"Miss Whitmer, do you have time now? Professor MacVittie, who is one of our professors working in island societies, is available for a few minutes."

"That would be wonderful."

"This way, please." Mrs. Burns took Bobbie to a nearby office.

"Miss Whitmer, sir."

"Thank you Mrs. Burns. Please show her in."

Bobbie thanked Mrs. Burns as she entered the professor's office. She extended her hand to the professor, who shook it warmly. "Thank you for meeting me, sir. Please call me Bobbie."

"Nice to meet you, Bobbie. I'm Sheldon MacVittie. Please sit down and tell me a little about yourself and why you are interested in our graduate program."

Both Bobbie and the professor sat down, and Bobbie introduced herself. "As I mentioned to Mrs. Burns, I am a nurse. I'm a registered nurse and certified midwife in both this state and my home state. I have a bachelor's degree in nursing, and a master's degree in dance."

"Nursing and dance? That's quite a combination."

"I've liked dance and sports ever since I was a cheerleader in high school."

"Okay. Cheerleading, as well. So you already have a broad range of interests."

"Yes. I, uhm, served a Church service mission in," and she named a mission that included a lot of island area, "and I spent a considerable amount of time in the islands there. I found life there interesting, and I've been doing some limited research in island politics on my own for the past year."

"I see. Do you have a curriculum vitae with you?"

"Yes, I do."

"May I look it over?"

Bobbie gave him her CV and he scanned it over for a few minutes, nodding and asking questions.

"And you're certified to fly."

"It's a kind of hobby. My dad encouraged me, and helped me get certified. I've sometimes flown for his business, although I haven't been able to fly much since getting a job as a nurse."

"Such a broad range of interests. I'd almost say too broad. Has anyone ever accused you of lacking in focus?" And he gave the CV back to her.

"Not really, I work hard at everything I do.

"Well enough, but you are looking to enter a field for which your training in physical education and nursing will have only partially prepared you. Not only that, but you will find the terminology, and even the ways of thinking, somewhat foreign."

"I am aware of that. As I mention in my CV, much of my work in dance involved ethnic dance. That and the languages and cultures I learned as a missionary have been a kind of springboard into anthropology. I have read an introductory text in archeology," and she named a textbook he knew, "and I think I can see, for instance, how the four fields of physiology, archeology, linguistics, and culture interrelate. I'm not sure yet whether I agree with the four-field point of view of anthropology, but I can appreciate it."

"Okay, so you probably have one freshman-level class out of the way."

"I've been specifically preparing, reading other college textbooks on the undergraduate curriculum -- cultures of the world, symbolism and symbolics, morals and ritual, family relationships, the anthropological view of physiology, psychology, economics, politics in particular, religion as a topic outside Straitgatism, quantitative methods, and so forth."

"Where did you find time?"

"I've been carrying a textbook with me whenever I went anywhere, including work. I learned to speed-read a long time ago. It's not emotionally satisfying, but it gets the job done."

"Okay," the professor smiled, "I get the picture that you are not just daydreaming."

"I know I'm going to have to work hard to get ready for graduate level work. I'm weak in quantitative analysis, so I'm assuming I'll be taking that among the undergraduate classes I'll need. Hopefully, I can get by with just monitoring linguistics. Maybe you can give me some suggestions for additional preparation before I start attending classes next fall."

This satisfied Professor MacVittie, and they discussed some non-textbook reading which he thought might help her, and she volunteered to visit the school several times for further advice before she would enroll in fall.

At the end of the interview, he encouraged her to submit an application and promised to see that the appropriate members of the department reviewed it, and encouraged her to come to him again for further advice. Then they shook hands and Bobbie left.

On her way out, she stopped back by the department office to make sure she had the application documents, instructions, and other materials she needed. The maybe-football-player was no longer there.

At Mrs. Burns suggestion, she worked through the application forms before she left, filling out most of them so that she would have fewer questions when she returned home. She also left her name, address, and phone number, in case Professor MacVittie wanted to contact her.

Then she returned to the parking lot. She had borrowed the family car for the three-hour trip south from her hometown to the school, and she took time to look around campus, look at apartments in town, and so forth.

Before she left town, she stopped by the hospital, to ask if they might be interested in hiring her part-time in a year. Of course, there were no promises, but she was able to introduce herself to some of the regular staff.

When she returned home, her mom was in the living room, reading a book.

"How did it go?"

"Well enough. I met a professor, met some people at the hospital down there, and got a look at the town. Brought home a lot of application paperwork."

"Meet any interesting guys?"

"No, of course not." She laughed. "Well, sort of. There was this guy in the department office who was probably also getting ready to apply for post-grad work. He said hi, but that was it."

"He didn't hit on you?"

"No. Didn't ask for my phone number, didn't even introduce himself. Nice looking guy, too. Almost everyone I met was very nice. Almost as nice as being at Church here. Maybe I'll like it there."

She spent the next several weeks working on the application forms, making another CV for the application, and so forth. About a month later, she had her application ready, and returned to the university to submit it.

Several months later, when she received approval to start taking classes in preparation for becoming a PhD candidate, she gave initial notice at the hospital where she was working and got her dad to help her buy her own car.

Later, she went back to the university and made arrangements for an apartment off-campus for her first year. She met one of the women who would be her roommates during that first year, a petite, active blonde named Kristie Person, who was finishing her bachelor's in Physical Education and was getting ready for master's level work in Education.

She was able to arrange to work on call as a midwife for emergency deliveries, and to work at the hospital there on the weekends, to help stretch her savings and keep her skills fresh.

From the time she went to get the application forms and materials until she started actually taking classes was about eight months. (These days, in our world, that would be a rather short time. Back then in hers it wasn't especially short or long.)

Sometime that summer, her mother showed her an interview article in the newspaper about one of the students who would be beginning graduate studies at OHU at the same time as she would. He was a former football player at the school named Karel Pratt, who had spent two years in professional football while completing his master's degree in engineering, and would now be seeking a PhD in the same field she was choosing, anthropology.

He had been working for more than two years as an engineer, in the new field of semiconductor fabrication. But the company he had been working for failed, and he had decided to take the opportunity to pursue a new field.

The article had been picked up by the national press because he was an example of football players who were pursuing careers in academics during and after their professional football careers. 



About this "mission" thing: The Straitgates had a program similar to the Mormons' missionary program. In the time frame this story is set in, many young, single Straitgate men would take two to five years out of the time they would usually be spending in college or starting work to serve as full-time proselyting missionaries. The Church was not yet emphasizing the idea that every young man should prepare for and serve a mission, but it was by no means an unusual thing to do.

Serving a mission was for them an expression of their faith in their Lord and in His Church.

Young, single Straitgate women at that time were generally not encouraged to go on missions. Their first mission was considered to be in the home.

Unfortunately, there was often a bit of social stigma associated with women who went on missions. Women serving proselyting missions were often considered by the gossips in their home wards to be "past their prime" days for being courted -- or some such silliness.

However, a service mission was a little different, often being considered, socially speaking, as a recognition of skills that the woman had developed. Single women who had qualified to work as nurses or in other service capacities would, in fact, often be recruited to serve in areas of the world where medical or other services were needed and hard to get. A proselyting mission was "for women who hadn't been trying hard enough" -- according to the wags. But a service mission was obviously different.

On the other hand, in their fields of labor, the women who served as either proselyting or service missionaries were generally seen as the mortal equivalent of angels. "A prophet is not without honor, but in her own country and among her own kin," as the scripture goes.

Which just goes to show that gossip is a bad thing, even in a good church. Especially in a good church.

It would be several years later that women in general began to be encouraged to serve missions, and the artifact social stigma would begin to be eased.

Didn't I say it would be quick? We'll get to learn more about her as we go.

Oh. Did I mention that she is beautiful? No? Hmm.

How about her new roommate, Kristie? No? Hmm.


TOC Next

The original of this chapter can be found here.
[JMR201702031050: end-backup]

Sociology 500, A Romance -- Table of Contents

Every work of fiction creates an alternate world. Even historical fiction does. That's implicit in the definition of fiction.

Since you, the reader, are being kind enough to give up some of your time to read this story, you need to know something in advance about the world in which Karel and Dan meet Bobbie and Kristie.

That is, I'd like you to know some things about it.

It does look a lot like our world. There is a union of independent states similar to the United States of America here. It has a Constitution and a Declaration of Independence and a Bill of Rights and a history very much like our USA. There is a Christian religion in this world, with a Bible. And there is a restorationist Christian church with a companion scripture similar to the Book of Mormon. There are even states parallel to such as Hawaii, New Mexico, and Texas, and countries parallel to such as Japan and the Philippines.

As much as I can without causing confusion, I will borrow names from our world.

You will find some differences, of course.

In the world of this novel, that book of companion scripture, being named after the ancient new world prophet who abridged it, has a name that can be translated as "Eternal Progression". Since that is a mouthful, I'll abbreviate it "E-P". And the restorationist church will be commonly called after the book, with the resulting confusion about whether E-P-ists are Christian or not.

You ask why you should care about this?

The protagonists of this novel are of the E-P-ist faith, and will do some things that you might not expect.

The university where most of the story takes place would not be called Brigham Young University. It kind of looks a lot like BYU, and it is even located in a town a bit south of the Point of the Mountain. But from the way it was named and its history and so forth, it would make more sense to call it Orson Hyde University. And there are some policy differences at the school that you may notice.

Speaking of points of policy -- considering that it's a different world, perhaps you will not be overly disconcerted if the E-P-ist church has certain points of policy different from the Mormons, as well.

I think that will be enough that you won't be too surprised. Thus --


Sociology 500, a Romance

by Joel Matthew Rees
Copyright 2017, all rights reserved.

Table of Contents


  • Chapter 1 -- Introductions
    • Part 1 -- in which we meet Bobbie, and she is accepted to graduate school.
    • Part 2 -- in which we meet Karel and Dan, and they are admitted to grad school, as well. 
    • Part 3 -- in which I talk about football and engage in a little recreational invention.
    • Part 4 -- in which we get to actually meet Kristie, and Bobbie and Kristie meet Karel and Dan.
  • Chapter 2 -- Going by Four
    • Part 1 -- in which Dan and Karel discuss their luck with women.
    • Part 2 -- in which Kristie and Bobbie talk about about men.
    • Part 3 -- in which our four protagonists go on a double date and find that they do like each other. 
    • Part 4 -- in which our four friends study and dance and set some patterns for the next couple of years.
    • Part 5 -- in which we read their letters home.
  • Chapter 3 -- The First Semester
    • Part 1 -- in which we get to listen to our protagonists talk about many things, including much that is religious in nature, before a study group session.
    • Part 2 -- in which the protagonists and some friends visit the temple and talk a little about the physical meaning of being a proxy. 
    • Part 3 -- in which Bobbie and Karel explain a little about the temple to Mrs. Burns.
    • Part 4 -- in which we meet Piers (again), and he invites Bobbie to a movie that Karel doesn't like, and our friends talk a little about social and sexual issues. 
    • Part 5 -- in which I introduce more of the people our four protagonists socialize with, and talk a little more about the world they live in. 
    • Part 6 -- in which I moralize about beauty and love and introduce more history of this novel's world, and we meet more of our four protagonists' friends. 
    • Part 7 -- in which I invent a solar system and our friends play Pit
    • Part 8 -- in which we attend a class with Dan and Kristie and learn a little about their calendar.
    • Part 9 -- in which we continue to observe their class and learn a little about their computer technology. 
    • Part 10 -- in which I commit the literary folly of asking you, the reader, to put up with an extended passage written in a language for machines after talking a little about the computers of their world and time.
    • (placeholder)
  • (placeholder)


†I had thought to use the name "Straitgate" (partial Japanese-English pun) as the name of that prophet and the book he was the editor-in-chief of in the alternate world of this novel, but there are already organizations with that name. Using that name might invite confusion.

(I was thinking of Jesus as being the gate and considering that the gate is very hard to get through if you don't conquer your pride, ergo, "strait".) 

I had also considered "Moregood", but I might as well just use "Mormon" if I do that. (The interested reader might research why.)

Which left me scratching my head. Thinking of repentance as a "proceeding forth to return to that God from whence we came" brought back a name that has some special meaning to me -- "Forth". And I decided the confusion might be something I could deal with, and maybe the Forth Programming Language community would not be too upset at me for presuming to use it.

"Turn" or "Return" might be more appropriate, but "Forth" also sort-of evokes the idea of "doing more good".

But, no, after more thought, I decided that I need as much separation as possible for certain elements of the plot. (People get upset when you talk about certain things.)

So I will use the abbreviation "E-P", for "Eternal Progression". Maybe I'll be able to provide a satisfactory explanation somewhere in the story.

Ultimately, I know someone will be dissatisfied, but no proxy name I could use will satisfy everyone, and I do want to make it clear that this is an alternate world.

(The Programming Language Forth will get some mention along the way.)


‡For the curious, this novel is essentially an edited extract of The First Draft of Economics 101, a Novel, and is named in a similar pattern. Perhaps you will understand that I plan it to be the first of a trilogy.



[Previous versions backed up here: http://joel-rees-economics.blogspot.com/2017/02/backup-soc500-00-00-toc.html.]

Backup: Sociology 500, A Romance -- Table of Contents

[JMR201704121729: edits -- Trying to clean up the introduction of E-P.]

{replace}
In the world of this novel, the name of the prophet and the book of companion scripture will be translated as "E-P"†, for "Eternal Progression". And the restorationist church will be commonly called after the book, with the resulting confusion about whether E-P-ists are Christian or not.
{with}
In the world of this novel, that book of companion scripture, being named after the ancient new world prophet who abridged it, has a name that can be translated as "Eternal Progression". Since that is a mouthful, I'll abbreviate it "E-P"†. And the restorationist church will be commonly called after the book, with the resulting confusion about whether E-P-ists are Christian or not.

You ask why you should care about this?

The protagonists of this novel are of the E-P-ist faith, and will do some things that you might not expect.
{replace.}

 
[JMR201704121729: end edits.]

[JMR201704121404: metadata edits -- Changed the name of the novel. Good thing this doesn't affect the URLs.]

Sociology 500, A {replace}Novel{with}Romance{replace.} -- Table of Contents

-----------

Sociology 500, a {replace}Novel{with}Romance{replace.}‡

[JMR201704121404: end metadata edit.]

[JMR201704071911: edit -- incidental stuff from the calendar]
(The Programming Language Forth will get some mention {replace}in the third book of the trilogy, by{with}along{replace.} the way.)  
[JMR201704071911: end edit]

[JMR201703111521: metadata edit]

{replace}Straitgate{with}E-P, Eternal Progression{replace.}

[JMR201703111521: end metadata edit]

[JMR201703081923: edits -- Simple stuff that needed fixed.]

In the world of this novel, the{add} name of the{add.} prophet and the book of companion scripture will be translated as "E-P"†{add}, for "Eternal Progression"{add.}. And the restorationist church will be commonly called after the book, with the resulting confusion about whether E-P-ists are Christian or not.
--------

The university where most of the story takes place would not be called Brigham Young University. It kind of looks a lot like BYU, and it is even located in a town a bit south of the Point of the Mountain. But{add} from{add.} the way it was named{add} and its history{add.} and so forth, it would make more sense to call it Orson Hyde University. And there are some{delete} minor{delete.} policy differences at the school that you may notice.
--------

Part 4 -- in which we meet Piers{add} (again){add.}, and he invites Bobbie to a movie that Karel doesn't like, and our friends talk a little about social and sexual issues.
--------

Which left me scratching my head. Thinking of repentance as a "proceeding forth to return to that God from whence we came" brought back a name that has some special meaning to me -- "Forth". And I decided the confusion might be something I could deal with, and maybe the Forth Programming Language community would not be too upset at me for presuming to use it.{replace} {with}

{replace.}"Turn" or "Return" might be more appropriate, but "Forth" also sort-of evokes the idea of "doing more good".

--------

So I will use the ab{add}b{add.}reviation "E-P"{add},{add.} {delete}({delete.}for "Eternal Progression"{delete}){delete.}. Maybe I'll be able to provide a satisfactory explanation somewhere in the story.
 

[JMR201703081923: end-edits]

[JMR20170204: edits. On-going addition of chapters, changed the TOC structure to a two-level index.]


[JMR201702031105: edits]
{global replace}Forth{with}E-P{replace.}
{add}
But, no, after more thought, I decided that I need as much separation as possible for certain elements of the plot. (People get upset when you talk about certain things.)

So I will use the abreviation "E-P" (for "Eternal Progression"). Maybe I'll be able to provide a satisfactory explanation somewhere in the story.

Ultimately, {add.}I know someone will be dissatisfied, but no proxy name I could use will satisfy everyone, and I do want to make it clear that this is an alternate world.
{add}

(The Programming Language Forth will get some mention in the third book of the trilogy, by the way.){add.}
[JMR201702031105: end-edits]

[JMR201702031036: Changed "Straitgate" to "Forth" and added an explanatory note.]

[JMR201702030939: backup of http://joel-rees-economics.blogspot.com/2017/01/soc500-00-00-toc.html before rework incidental to the Straitgate stuff.]

Every work of fiction creates an alternate world. Even historical fiction does. That's implicit in the definition of fiction.

Since you, the reader, are being kind enough to give up some of your time to read this story, you need to know something in advance about the world in which Karel and Dan meet Bobbie and Kristie.

That is, I'd like you to know some things about it.

It does look a lot like our world. There is a union of independent states similar to the United States of America here. It has a Constitution and a Declaration of Independence and a Bill of Rights and a history very much like our USA. There is a Christian religion in this world, with a Bible. And there is a restorationist Christian church with a companion scripture similar to the Book of Mormon. There are even states parallel to Hawaii and New Mexico.

As much as I can without causing confusion, I will borrow names from our world.

You will find some differences, of course.

In the world of this novel, the prophet and the book of companion scripture will be translated as "Straitgate". And the restorationist church will be commonly called after the book, with the resulting confusion about whether Straitgatists are Christian or not.

The university where most of the story takes place would not be called Brigham Young University. It kind of looks a lot like BYU, and it is even located in a town a bit south of the Point of the Mountain. But the way it was named and so forth, it would make more sense to call it Orson Hyde University. And there are some minor policy differences at the school that you may notice.

Speaking of points of policy -- considering that it's a different world, perhaps you will not be overly disconcerted if the Straitgate church has certain points of policy different from the Mormons, as well.

I think that will be enough that you won't be too surprised. Thus --


Sociology 500, a Novel*

by Joel Matthew Rees
Copyright 2017, all rights reserved.

Table of Contents


  • Chapter 1 part 1 -- in which we meet Bobbie, and she is accepted to graduate school.
  • Chapter 1 part 2 -- in which we meet Karel and Dan, and they are admitted to grad school, as well.
  • Chapter 1 part 3 -- in which we get to actually meet Kristie, and Bobbie and Kristie meet Karel and Dan.
  • (placeholder)

* For the curious, this novel is essentially an edited extract of The First Draft of Economics 101, a Novel, and is named in a similar pattern. Perhaps you will understand that I plan it to be the first of a trilogy.
[JMR201702030939: end-backup.]