by Rick Field
“That was an interesting metaphor,” the Pillar commented. “I do not believe I have heard it before. It is interesting that this behavior is linked to a small rodent. Do you know why that is?”
Steve shrugged. “Not really. I guess, in our society, rats are seen as sneaky and underhanded.”
Liane nodded thoughtfully. “About your schools?” she prompted.
The explanation she received was lengthy, complicated, and left her filled with questions. By the time Steve finished his explanation, most of her questions had been superseded by a single query. “So you are telling me that people in your country do not have any sort of personal responsibility toward their education?” she asked, aghast.
Steve looked uncomfortable. “Sure, they have personal responsibility. Even if lately, the parents try to interfere too much for my liking.”
“That is to be expected, due to your lack of Rules of Equality. They may be brutal, but they are effective,” Liane said. “I was referring to the part where you claimed a person could not fail out of school. In Kiria, if a person fails their end of cycle examinations, they are failed out of the Academy. It is a good motivator to encourage students to take only the courses they wish to take, and to achieve the desired results. The fact that people cannot fail... it is simply...” Her hands came up in a helpless gesture. “Surely, you're exaggerating?” she finally ended up asking.
“The worst that can happen is that a person is held back a year,” Steve told her. “It's considered the worst punishment imaginable, and it's used less and less these days.”
She was gaping at him, and he started to realize just how uncomfortable it would have made her feel to have him do the same thing at her. Finally, she said, “So if a person does not do anything, and fails their courses, they are rewarded by allowing them to take the course again? Indefinitely?” If anything, she looked even more helpless now. “What's to encourage anyone from ever completing their education?”
“Mostly because the children want to succeed, and it's expected of them. Those held back are a minority... and the reason that being held back is being employed less and less is because some students, and their parents, really did not care. It was considered to be ineffective, so people looked for reasons to have the students pass regardless.” He looked rather unnerved. “Like teaching to the tests, for example.”
She eyed him. “I take from your reaction that you don't agree with this practice of handing out the examination questions beforehand?”
He gave a single chuckle, a helpless one. “They stop shy of giving out the test questions,” he tried to protest. “Grade school and high school education in the United States has been going downhill, even if I have to say that we've got the world's best universities and colleges.”
She looked confused. “What is a university and a college?”
“Higher education,” he explained. “After compulsory education, grade school and high school, there is the optional higher education through a university and a college. General education is just that – general. It teaches a lot of subjects, but none of them really deeply. Colleges and universities teach courses arrayed around different subjects.”
Liane rubbed her chin in thought. “Like the Academy,” she finally said. “The Academy teaches magic and all courses are arrayed around magic. General education would be like the Commoner schools – an array of subjects, but none of them in depth.”
“I suppose you could say that,” Steve agreed.
They had arrived at the outskirts of Eunan, and Liane's pace noticeably quickened. “I find it most interesting that you would consider your higher education to be the best in the world, yet your normal education to be in decline. How can your advanced studies be the best, if you do not have the basis for students to advance to it?”
“In the past, it was because the best and brightest went there,” Steve explained. “These days, it's more a case of who has enough money, or has the ability to get a scholarship.”
The Pillar's quickened pace halted abruptly, neither noticing nor caring that she was now standing in the middle of a busy road leading into a city. “Does that mean one has to pay for education in your country?”
Steve blinked. “Well, for higher education, yeah. How else will they pay their teachers? Normal education is mostly limited to books and paper and other necessities, though.”
She shuddered. “That is horrible. And you call Kiria barbaric.”
The foreign pilot pulled himself up in indignation. “Excuse me?” he snapped at her.
“Education is one of the fundamental rights of a person. One cannot expect a healthy society if one does not provide education for the children. Common school may only last a few years, but they impart the necessary knowledge to have the basics required for learning a trade. The Academy lasts for eight years, but one emerges a fully learned Noble of Kiria, even if one fails in their first examinations. Pay is required for neither education. Any child of the right age that is in the principality can receive the education. Tools and materials are provided by Kiria.”
She shook her head, and went on, “to have children or their families pay for an education – it's barbaric.” Her gaze bore into his eyes, keeping him silent and immobile. “I was once an orphan; I had neither parents nor family. I grew up in abject poverty as the orphanage struggled for funding. When it emerged I held magic, I was accepted into the Academy. Kiria paid for my clothes, my rehabilitation, my food, and my shelter. It even provided me with a small stipend to allow me to purchase items for myself. That is how one does things here in Kiria.”
For a moment, her thoughts went to the other orphans, most of which turned out very bad. She wondered if any of them ever had the opportunity to go to school. The education would have been free, but their needs would not have been looked to – clothes, food or shelter. She'd have to talk to Milor and see if something could be done. She had connections, it was time she used them. It seemed that talking to Steve forced her to think about certain aspects of society she had ignored up until now.
Steve, released from her burning eyes, took a deep breath. “Education always has too little money,” he said. “It's unfortunate, but it is what it is. It teaches students to get a job and pay for themselves, I suppose.” As soon as he said it, he wished he hadn't, as Liane's eyes drilled deep into his once more.
“You actually believe this is a good thing?” she demanded, angrily. “You would consider it a life experience for a student to be unable to focus one hundred percent on the education that will shape their lives? Are you and your country that ignorant?”
“Hey!” he snapped, his anger burning through whatever it was she was doing to keep him silent. “That's my country you're insulting! Watch your mouth!”
Her lips tugged. “Just as you have been insulting mine since we started this journey to the capital?” she asked. For a moment, she could see shock on his face, before he looked ashamed, and nodded. Before he could say anything, she said, “Additionally, it is very difficult to watch my mouth without a mirror. Which, coincidentally, would make it difficult to have a conversation. That is a most interesting phrase.”
“It means to be mindful of what you say,” he explained, his voice soft. “And you're absolutely right. We're looking at each other's countries from a totally different point of view. I apologize. I didn't mean to insult you.”
She gracefully dipped her head. “Then I will consider it a lesson well-taught, and forget it ever happened,” the Pillar said, starting to walk once more. “I did not wish to insult you, but it seemed the most expedient way of getting you to understand what you had been doing.”
“It worked,” the pilot muttered.
As they entered the city proper, Steve forgot all about the conversation and simply took in the atmosphere of Eunan. The buildings were wooden and well-maintained, and of a decidedly higher stature than the equally well-maintained wooden buildings he had seen in the earlier villages. He could easily imagine a picture of this ci
ty to replace any picture of Renaissance European cities in the history books he had read while in school.
The sights, the sounds, even the smells of Eunan were different than any city he had ever been in. The main street was lined with market stalls selling produce and items of every imaginable quality and quantity. There were fruits and vegetables he knew and ones that he didn't. Herbs gave off exotic fragrances that made his mouth water or stung his nose.
The mass of people thrummed, watching, browsing, judging. Customers haggled for a bargain. The mass of people was impressive, and for a moment, Steve could imagine this scene to take place in some farming community in the United States. These people were happy and carefree, haggling for lower prices, or laughing and joking with friends or acquaintances.
Children laughed loudly as they raced through the mass of people, chasing one another. Those that noticed the Noble stepped back and looked from afar with awe, a look the pilot had seen whenever a major sport's star or celebrity was caught in public daylight. He glanced at Liane to see how she reacted.
People stepped aside for them – for her, he corrected – and she was gracious in passing. Whenever she caught a glimpse of a gawking child, she would grace them with a small smile and an almost imperceptible dip of her head. Almost immediately the children would proclaim loudly that they were the one the Noble had graced with a smile, and not the others.
Children would be children still, Steve thought. These people certainly didn't act oppressed or neglected, as he had first imagined. Deep into his thoughts, the duo walked. Liane suddenly excused herself and approached one of the stalls.
Curious, he followed her. The Pillar lifted two pears from the stall's display. “May I have the price for these?” Liane asked politely of the man selling his produce, preparing to use the bargaining technique she had learned as a child.
The man didn't bat an eye. “One copper for the two, My Lady,” he said politely.
Apparently, the farmers near the capital tried to overcharge the Nobility, or the capital's prices were just higher. Liane immediately lifted two more pears, and dropped two coppers into the man's hand. “Thank you.”
“You're welcome, My Lady,” he said politely, and looked for his next customer.
With three pears obediently floating in mid-air, Liane bit into one using her free hand and chewed thoughtfully. Judging from the fruit vendor's reaction, he was used to dealing with Nobility. On the other hand, his prices were what she had considered normal for Commoners. Every vendor in the capital at least doubled those when dealing with Nobility, and she had been expecting the same thing here.
It was most curious. Her thoughts were interrupted when Steve drew her attention. “You must really love pears,” he said.
The Pillar shrugged, not wanting to discuss her favorite vice. “It is healthy,” she answered, hoping that would shut down the conversation before it started. For a moment, she thought he would stay on the topic regardless. Deftly, she changed direction, forcing him to step up to catch up.
“Where are we going, anyway?” he asked after he was next to her once more.
“There is a Pillar house not far from here. We can get a hot meal and room for the night there, and resume our voyage to the Capital tomorrow,” she told him, picking up her pace once more. She wanted to get to the house, change her clothes, get a full meal, and rest in a comfortable bed. A good shower would help her feel clean after traveling for quite some time on magic and mere water.
He didn't reply, and she took his silence as either agreement or acceptance. “There are a few things you should know,” Liane pressed on. “First of all, should you meet other Nobles, you should not speak unless spoken to. If you are spoken to, address the Noble as My Lord or My Lady. Remain respectful of the Nobility and Kiria, do not become your usual abrasive self. If you break those rules, it is very likely that the Noble in question will have you flogged, most are not as forgiving or understanding as I am.”
Steve stared at her, his face displaying his shock. “That...” he started to say, gearing up for a derogatory comment, before catching himself. He drew a deep breath, calmed himself, and tried again. “You use corporal punishment in Kiria?”
Liane allowed a small smile to twitch on her lips. He was learning, and she was glad for it. Despite his somewhat outspoken nature, he was good company. Most of the time. “You do not punish infractions in your country?” she asked in turn.
“We incarcerate criminals,” the pilot answered. “We've decided that physical punishments are... inhumane.”
Liane cocked her head, thinking that over. “Kiria takes the position that locking up a criminal with other criminals is counter-productive. They tend to fester and learn from each other. Having a criminal receive fifty lashes leaves a long-lasting memory, does not remove the person from his life, and does not allow him the opportunity to learn new tricks to his craft from other criminals.”
Steve nodded thoughtfully. “Still, physical punishment... Most countries seem to think it is inhumane, it's what I've always been taught.” He was silent for a few moments, while Liane guided them to the Upper City of Eunan. It was far, far smaller than the Upper City of the Capital city, housing only a few government buildings and town houses for those Nobles that governed the area.
As they entered the expansive avenues of the Upper City, Steve turned to her once more. “Can I actually get physical punishment for breaking the rules you've just told me? And the only reason I haven't been so far is because you decided not to punish me?” He tried sounding calm, but Liane's Decorum-trained ears could pick up on the undercurrent of worry.
“We have strict rules of behavior,” Liane explained. “As magic is a tool that is very easily capable of taking life, rules and regulations were put in place to prevent needless deaths. As such, Commoners are expected to remain polite to a Noble at all times, and punishments were put in place to restrain the Nobility from exacting overly harsh punishments. The rule about not insulting Kiria is one of common sense. Kiria is our country, one should not insult it.”
Steve was thoughtful, and Liane felt curious. “You seem to be thinking deeply on something.”
The pilot nodded. “The flag of our nation is sometimes defaced or burnt in protest. There have been cries to prosecute those that do it, but our government has always said that it was covered by our freedom of speech. I can see both points, I suppose. It's your country, it's something to be proud of; not something that should be insulted. On the other hand, freedom of speech is probably our highest good, so where do you limit one or the other?”
“We do not have any laws regarding freedom of speech,” Liane said after a moment. “Such laws would not last long, as Decorum would supersede them, as would laws regarding the nation or interaction between Nobility and Commoners, and so on. Too much of our way of life is regulated to avoid offense in the face of magic. One must always take into account that the Nobility are armed at all times with a weapon that will react to a mere thought, word, or motion.”
The foreigner nodded thoughtfully, beginning to understand where the restrictions in the Kirian nation came from. He frowned slightly, and looked at her. “Everything you've said so far is about Commoners toward Nobles,” he said. “What about Nobles? What prevents them from abusing their power?”
Liane seemed to straighten. “Nobles are held to higher standards. Hundreds of years ago, the Emperor at the time decreed that the Nobility held an exemplary position, and must therefore be held to higher standards. A Noble found abusing their position will be punished severely, in the worst cases resulting in an execution. As Pillar, I am sometimes called upon to investigate such accusations.” She glanced at the pilot. “Should a Noble be found guilty, the punishments are usually severe enough to make them wish they were merely being flogged.”
Steve swallowed deeply, and nodded his understanding. He didn't know what to say. What could one say, really, when one heard a nation's ruling class was held to higher standards and worse punishm
ents?
“We have arrived,” Liane announced, walking up to a large town house. “Please keep in mind the rules I have outlined. I would not wish for you to be hurt.”
Steve nodded. “Thank you. My Lady,” he tacked on at the last moment. Liane gave him a single dip of her head, and opened the door. She could feel the magical protections on the property bounce against her core, verifying her identity before allowing her access.
The pilot followed right behind, somewhat nervous and apprehensive, feeling as if he were about to walk into a den of hungry lions. All he could do was follow Liane's directions and hope for the best.
Liane sighed when the cool inside air washed over her. Next to her, Steve looked visibly surprised at the difference in temperature. She elected not to say anything when a servant was ready to accept their outside clothing. Handing her outer robes to the man, Liane placed her staff on the weapon's rack with a practiced motion.
While the first servant stowed their equipment, a second one preceded them to the main drawing room. The Pillar commended the foreign visitor for adhering to the rules she had outlined. He remained behind her, didn't talk to her, and remained silent. She knew he would have questions, and she was glad for him not voicing them.
