Ship's Holog: June 2078, fragment #20

Well, I’m done making my purchases, but it’ll be ten or fifteen minutes before Marco makes it back to the boat, so meanwhile why don’t we have a look see at what life is like in this prosperous (and politically conservative) lake shore town. It’ll be good cover for me to be seen just strolling, casually around town.

Let’s just turn in here between these two rows of buildings. Notice how many people are here, especially adolescents. As you can see, this open area between the buildings, which runs the entire length of the town, is used primarily for recreation and socializing, as well as for the delivery and pick up of goods by wagon.

(In fact, there’s Marco, driving a rig down toward the hardware store. Cross your fingers!)

As you can see, the rec areas are uncovered; that's because it’s summer. In winter and during periods of protracted rain they can be covered by mechanically retractable roofs, making them usable year around.

Check out the people socializing and playing here! What may be strange to you, if you’ve never before seen a bunch of New Vermonters in a group, is their attire, a fascinating mix of uniform and anti-uniform. New Vermont has long been a land of contradictions, historically populated by a dynamic combination of conservative, native Yankees and non-conformist “back-to-the-landers” who immigrated here over the past one hundred and twenty-five years. This difference, as you can see, is still reflected in the habits, customs, and dress of these two groups.

The native men, both young and old, like those two guys chatting over there, tend to wear the green or blue uniform of the original Vermont farmers (except now they’re entirely made of wool, winter and summer)—light-weight work pants, shirts, and caps in summer; thickly insulated pants, checkered shirts, and caps with earflaps in winter. The “newcomers” or “flatlanders” as they continue to be called by the natives even after a century of living side-by-side with them, wear almost anything that strikes their fancy, but bright colors predominate, as you can see if you look at the group sitting around in a circle over there, listening to a traveling minstrel. As it’s summer, you see that both men and women are wearing shorts, the women covering their breasts with brightly-colored halter tops, the men largely bare-chested or wearing tank-tops, all made of finely woven wool, of course. (You won’t find any cotton or synthetic clothing in these climes any more!) In winter, the flatlanders become a bit more conservative and practical in their dress: the women usually wear long, coarsely woven, full skirts reminiscent of nineteenth century pioneers and the men sport baggy trousers and the same sort of checkered shirts worn by their native neighbors.