. . . what we must strive for at the present moment is that every electric power station we build shall actually become a stronghold of enlightenment and that it should be devoted, so to speak, to the electrical education of the masses. . . .
. . . it must be realized and remembered that we cannot institute electrification when we have illiterates. Our commission will endeavour to put an end to illiteracy-but that is not enough. It has done a good deal compared with what existed before, but it has done little compared with what has to be done. In addition to literacy, we need cultured, enlightened and educated toilers; the majority of the peasants must definitely realize the tasks confronting us.
V. I. Lenin
The Eighth All-Russia Congress of Soviets
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Jackson Banner stared out into the weary gray, early morning rain, and the huge substation switchyard, listening to the incoming high voltage transmission lines sizzling.
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Screams of Burning Horses is about the last day of Jackson Banner's life.