Introduction

2056 A.D.
Mount Shasta Isle
There was a time the tyranny of clothes ruled the world.
Clothes werent bad, of course. Clothes were clothes. It was people in authorityinsisting we wear them, whether or not we needed to, or wanted to. They could be tyrannical.

Imagine a delightful summer day: White sandy beach, bright blue ocean, gentle sunshine. The air charged with sweet sensuality. Every fiber of your being dictates shucking clothes, becoming one with the sun-warmed earth, letting the elements work their magic.

Now imagine not being allowed to.

I know some of you will refuse to believe it, but there was a time you couldnt even swim nakedunless you were in total privacy, isolated from anyone who might be offended by the sight of your unclad body, who would think the only possible reason youd want to be naked where others might see you is to make a shameless exhibit of yourself. Even with reasonable privacy, you likely couldnt fully enjoy the nude swimming for fear of suddenly being caught at your crime.

Life was a masquerade; costumes were compulsory.

Textile laws were enforced everywhereexcept at a few, widely-scattered freebody beaches, mineral springs and resorts, and even they could feel the heat. Otherwise nice people suppressed the right of people to enjoy the day unwrapped beyond the privacy of their home, no matter how fine the weather, no matter how pleasant the surroundings, how innocent the intent.

Nude was a four-letter word: It rhymed with crude, it rhymed with lewdit rhymed with rude, dude; twas to be eschewed, forever booed and misconstrued. No matter your mood, your attitude, or size of brood, youd beware the prude who wanted you zoo-ed for going nude.

Anyone daring to go bare in public could face draconian consequences. People so inclined settled for disrobing only in secluded places like deserted beaches and mineral springs, if fortunate enuf to have one nearby, and, if not, only within their homes and maybe on rooftops and furtively in their yards under cover of nite when neighbors couldnt see and report them.

Others, less attuned to the simple pleasures of communing directly with nature, disregarded the wisdom of their bodies. They seemed to accept their prisons of compulsory cloth. During hot weather they might grumble, knowing theyd be cooler without unnecessary clothing, but it was simply the way things were. Clothes were our second skin. We felt too naked, nakedand we didnt want to get arrested. For most, the idea of being without clothes in public went so far beyond the pale of accepted behavior it beggared belief.

It was a lamentable situation.