Long, long ago in a land far, far away there were two kings who ruled neighbouring kingdoms.
King Bore liked things to be completely predictable and risk free. His subjects were happy with his Laws, there was no fear, and nothing ever changed. Everyday was as it had always been for as long as anyone could remember.
King Ran was the opposite – he liked things to be unpredictable and risky. His subjects were happy with his Laws, there was always excitement, and nothing ever stayed the same. Everyday was never the same as anyone could remember.
The kingdoms were named after the two rulers – Boredom and Random.
A fence marked the boundary between their domains – and despite their different cultures, most of the citizens lived near the Fence and spent much of their time sitting on it and debating what lay on either side. Their debates lasted for generations.
The Boredoms argued for doing everything the same as before; while the Randoms argued for doing everything different.
The fence was not fixed – it was continually being removed and rebuilt. Sometimes the Randoms brought news of exciting new discoveries and shared it during their Fence debates. Those who were convinced by the evidence would vote to incorporate the new knowledge and move the fence towards the Random reward. At other times the Randoms shared news of catastrophes and the Fence Sitters would voted to move the fence away from the Random Risk. Everyone could choose to live where the balance of stability and instability felt most comfortable for them. Everyone was happy.
One day a Great and Unexpected Storm arrived and devastated both kingdoms.
When the storm has passed the surviors emerged from their shelters and surveyed the damage. Most of Boredom had been blown or washed away because its inhabitants were unable to react to the unexpected threat. Random was always changing anyway so the storm appeared to have little effect but there were many who had also been blown or washed away.
The survivors were those who had sheltered closest to the Fence – but the Fence had been smashed – so the survivors rebuilt the Fence – and continued to live as before – debating the next move – not knowing when the next storm might arrive – but feeling more confident that at least some of them would survive.
After each Storm the populations of Boredom and Random were reduced – those who preferred to live furthest from the Fence were less likely to survive – and after each storm the Kingdom of Random gained ground. The survivors were those most able to balance conservative with creative.
Between the Storms new discoveries became incorporated and ossified as dogma and the Kingdom of Boredom gained ground as the balance shifted – until a Storm would once again smash the complacency and force a rebuilding.
It appeared that the key to survival was to learn how to both sit on the Fence and to keep a foot on both sides and to be ready to jump one way or the other to shelter from the Storm.