HCentrum   H-Centrum is an anomaly, a remnant from earlier days which has managed to staunchly defend its position in downtown Uppsala despite aggressive efforts from competitors all around. It is bathed in signs which suggest a mythological dimension, faded memories of better days. The big logo which towers above the shops and appears on all the shop signs suggests on the one hand something runic, Viking-like, and on the other hand a human being with outstretched arms, ready to embrace the other members of the collective in a happy show of togetherness. The Centre was not created by a collection of ambitious entrepreneurs who excelled at their respective crafts; it was put there by communal planning, and it was decided which services the town would need. Thus, there are the tobacco shops, hairdresser's, and flower shops, with few clients but, apparently, eternal staying power. Walking through the mazes of H-Centrum, everything is calm and silent except for the occasional sensation of hearing muffled whispers from bygone days. One can still enjoy that old communal smell which has become so rare nowadays. The layout is strictly linear, and all shops have a standardized look and sign. Sometimes it feels like walking through a ghost town, except the shopkeepers are still there. It's just difficult to understand who would want to buy anything in these ill-lit caverns of communalized desire. These collectivistic touches are partly influenced by Communism, fashionable at the time, but on a deeper level echo the well known fact that Swedes are not individual human beings, but exist only through membership in parties, guilds, or associations. This does not mean that they do not have a high degree of collective intelligence, like ants in a hive. Following in the tradition of the great civilizations of China and Japan, Swedes detest individuality, eccentricity, and self-confidence. They have a highly developed system of jealousy, which is directed towards those mutant specimens who stray too far from the crowd. "The nail that sticks out must be hammered down." Ronald Huntford, in his 1971 book "The New Totalitarians", attributes this to the absence of the Renaissance from Sweden. But the centre, like the old "people's home" Sweden, is under attack from foreign and potentially dangerous sources. The newest shop is an African Falafel joint, Ambessa, which stretches the limits of Swedish opening hours, not closing before 03 on most weekdays. Speculations of cannabis dealing and other shady business are never far away. The parking lot, in the daytime a peaceful base for leisurely shopping exhibitions, at night turns into a homestead of black market taxis. On the other side of the street, aggressive American capitalism has manifested itself in the form of a McDonald's restaurant, which rapidly became the no 1 place for drunken post-club hanging-out in the weekends. On Saturday, the place becomes packed to the limit, to the point where the staff can't see the street outside. Brawls are common, and it is rumored that a man was killed there two years ago; the authorities quickly put a lid on it. Despite this, the H-Centrum still ekes out its miserable existence, a symbol of Sweden itself, struggling with the contradictions and possibilities of modern times. It remains to be seen whether it will be squashed like a fly due to outside pressure, or whether it will live on forever ... and ever ... a funhouse mirror image of the beautiful dream in the Swedes' hearts. -Mikael Huss