Fish Tails

by Sheri S. Tepper

  The Teacher sighed, for that is not the way he taught; he would have been kinder to the oxen, but he was kind to the Drover, and thanked him for his help. And those who listened to the Drover thought the teaching was the only good one, and when they saw the whip he carried, they knew it was for using on ­people who didn’t stay on the right path, and they bought whips to show other ­people what teaching they believed in.

  It’s all right to be kind, but not when there’s hauling to do.

  Time went by, and one day the Teacher was ill and could not give his teaching. The Lawyer asked if he could be the substitute, and he went out among the ­people saying, “Before I tell you the teaching, I have new rules for you, so before we talk about the teaching, you must learn all these rules about how you must live, for only those who live in this way can really take advantage of the teaching.” And he made the ­people sit down and write copies of the rules as to what they could eat and when they could eat it and how they should dress and who they could associate with and how much money they must contribute to the Lawyer for his time. When the Teacher learned of this, he said, “I always tell ­people my teaching is a gift, not a rule they must follow. And I never talk about money.”

  But the Lawyer said, “Oh, Teacher, that is because you think everyone is as kind as you are. If you want to be able to tell your true followers from other ­people, you must make rules that set them apart from other ­people, and you must make them memorize and recite the rules, and you must also make them pay for your words.” And he said, ­“People really value only what they pay for, and you will grow rich in the process.”

  The Teacher was upset, but he was kind to the Lawyer. Those who listened to the Lawyer saw he carried books and a bag full of gold, so they learned his rules, and the subrules that went with his rules, and the exceptions to the rules and the details that went with the exceptions, and they bought copies of them all and studied them every day. The Lawyer had taught them it was all right to be kind, but one had to follow the rules first, and they were so busy learning and following the rules, that’s as far as they ever got. They never found time to be kind.

  The Teacher grew older. He sometimes found it hard to stand up to give his teaching. The Soldier told him he knew the teaching word for word, so he went out among the ­people. The Soldier told them, “Before I tell you the teaching, line up there and give me your names so I can enroll you among our followers. If you have babies or children, they must be enrolled as soon after birth as possible so God will know who they are. God recognizes only the ones WE enroll. God pays no attention to ­people under any other label. Your children must come to class and learn the teaching. They will listen carefully, repeat every word after me, and they will be tested on how well they remember. You will join your brethren in marching and you will stay in line! Once you have joined, you may not leave us. Anyone trying to leave our rank and file will be hunted down and burned for being a heretic. You may in time do some kindness, but you have to conquer first and get rid of all the ones who don’t believe.” Then he marched up and down, he marched up and down, with the sword at his side going clang . . . clang . . . clang . . .

  When the Teacher heard of this, he was very upset, but he was kind to the Soldier, even when the Soldier said, “You are too easy with the ­people, Teacher. You need to have a great army of right-­thinking troops, for they will give you the power to put your teachings into law, and that way you can take over the government and enforce your teachings among everyone. The ones who are most rigorous, you will make officers, and they will discipline the ­people. You need more power! I will take these ­people and drill them over and over until they obey without thinking. Then we will conquer everyone else and teach them in their turn!”

  And those who followed the Soldier bought swords of their own and became very militant and warlike. They enrolled their children as soon as they were born and told them they must not associate with other ­people who might not know the Soldier’s way. They sent their sons to become officers of the troops and their daughters to be teachers in the schools, and they learned to sacrifice and feel pain and offer it to God, and they waged war on those who did not believe what the Soldier believed. It was all right to be kind, but . . . But you had to conquer first and get rid of the ­people who didn’t believe.

  The Kindly Teacher was saddened. He knew he had failed his own teachings when he let his friends teach in his name. He did not want to force his teaching on ­people. He did not want to gain power over others. He did not want to make his teaching into law. He did not want to grow rich. He wanted only to offer a good teaching that would make life happier for many. Now he was too tired and old to go among the ­people and give them his teaching. In sorrow, he died. He was buried by the Drover, the Lawyer, and the Soldier, all of them weeping over his grave. Then each of them went his own way.

  And in time the Drover died. The Drover had three friends who knew the teachings, word for word, and they carried on by creating the Church of the Teacher’s Drover.

  And the True Church of the Teacher’s Drover.

  And the Reformed True Church of the Teacher’s Drover.

  And they each taught something different, but they all had a whip.

  And in time the Lawyer died. The Lawyer had many followers who knew the teachings, word for word, and they carried on by creating the Church of the Teacher’s Lawyer.

  And the True Church of the Teacher’s Lawyer.

  And the Reformed True Church of the Teacher’s Lawyer.

  And each of them taught something different, but they all had many, many rules; and very—­large—­bags—­of—­gold.

  In time the Soldier died, and he was remembered by the Church of the Teacher’s Soldier.

  And the Militant Church of the Teacher’s Soldier.

  And the True Militant Church of the Teacher’s Soldier.

  And the Reformed True Militant Church of the Teacher’s Soldier.

  And by the Absolutely Reformed and Truly Most Militant Church of the Teacher’s Soldier. And they all taught something different, but they all had swords. Clang, clang, clang . . . Clang, clang, clang . . . Clang, clang, clang.

  Every few hundred years, a new person would arise with yet another idea of what the Teacher had probably meant. One time many killed at his direction, and that was called the Teacher’s Crusade; another time many tortured in his name, and that was called the Teacher’s Inquisition; another time many hated in his name, and that was called the Teacher’s Reformation; but no one ever heard what it was the Teacher had taught. Then, of course, men slaughtered men until there were no more men to fight.

  There are still those who follow the Teacher in dealing with others—­not his Drover, his Lawyer, or his Soldier. They carry no whip to punish, accumulate no gold to bribe, carry no sword to kill. They do not buy influence to make their belief a law, they do not threaten the pain of hell or prison, they do not deal death. They study no book, memorize no creed. If attacked, they defend themselves, but the way of kindness keeps peace among them. For the Kindly Teacher told them this:

  If a man seeks to make his faith a law, this action alone disproves his faith, for the law cannot define kindness.

  If a man seeks to buy his faith into prominence, this action alone disproves his faith, for money cannot buy kindness.

  If a man seeks to kill others who believe otherwise, this action alone disproves his faith, for those who kill are not kind.

  About the Author

  SHERI S. TEPPER is the author of more than thirty resoundingly acclaimed novels, including The Waters Rising, The Margarets, The Companions, The Visitor, The Fresco, Singer from the Sea, Six Moon Dance, The Family Tree, Gibbon’s Decline and Fall, Shadow’s End, A Plague of Angels, Sideshow, and Beauty; numerous novellas; stories; poems; and essays. She lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

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  Also by Sheri S. Tepper

  The Waters Rising

  The Margarets

  The Companions

  The Visitor

  The Fresco

  Singer from the Sea

  Six Moon Dance

  The Family Tree

  Gibbon’s Decline and Fall

  Shadow’s End

  A Plague of Angels

  Sideshow

  Beauty

  Raising the Stones

  Grass

  The Gate to Women’s Country

  After Long Silence

  The Awakeners

  Credits

  Cover design by Adam Johnson

  Cover art: The Blood of Fish, published in Ver Sacrum magazine, 1898 (engraving), Klimt, Gustav (1862-1918)/Private Collection/Bridgeman Images; wave © Biwa Studio/Getty Images; ball © Alex Koloskov Photography/Getty Images; bubbles © Yuji Sakai/Getty Images; continents © Vinko93/Shutterstock

  Copyright

  This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Harper Voyager and design is a trademark of HCP LLC.

  FISH TAILS. Copyright © 2014 by Sheri S. Tepper. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

  FIRST EDITION

  Chapter-opener art based on The Blood of Fish, published in Ver Sacrum magazine, 1898 (engraving), Klimt, Gustav (1862–1918) / Private Collection / Bridgeman Images.

  EPUB Edition October 2014 ISBN 9780062304605

  Print Edition ISBN 978-­0-­06-­230458-­2

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