Inner Voices: The Awakening

by Barry Alder

  “We'll train you on how to defend yourselves. We'll teach you how to use our weapons. But we also need to create our own weapons. Our weapons will only last a short time and then they can't be replaced. Fortunately, we have the skills to help you create all the weapons you need.”

  “Why?” came an angry voice from the crowd. Jason could not identify who had said it, but by the looks on many people’s faces, it was a common concern.

  “I don’t understand. Why what?”

  “Why do we have to learn the ways of war? You were awakened to defend us. Why do you need us?”

  “I’ve already said why,” Jason replied as calmly as he could. “There need to be people on the barrier all the time, day and night, and others close by to mount an initial defense until the rest of the village comes.”

  “I take it then,” Ka’tel interjected, “that we will have to move the village as well?”

  Jason paused for a moment, and looked to Ka’tel. Once again, he was impressed at how quickly Ka’tel had cut through to the basics.

  “Yes.” he replied slowly. “We need to move the village so that it’s closer to the barrier.”

  A number of voices started talking at once, resulting in a lot of confusion. Jason made a move to quiet them, but Ka’tel motioned for him to wait. It took a few moments, but calm eventually returned to the meeting.

  Ka’tel stood in front of Jason, effectively blocking his view of the meeting. Jason feared he was about to be summarily dismissed, a situation he had not considered.

  “We woke these soldiers to have them defend our village,” Ka’tel started. “We know their ways are not our ways and that how they perceive the world is different from us. I am sure you have many questions, but please let Jason finish. Perhaps the answers to your questions will come in what he has yet to say.”

  This confused Jason even more. He had very little more to say, but Ka’tel seemed to think he had a lot more. Still, he knew he had to continue or he would lose the support from everyone, especially the elders.

  Ka’tel returned to his seat, letting Jason resume his position at the center of the discussion.

  “I believe,” Jason continued, “we have sufficient time to construct the barrier, move the village, and train you properly. Based on the information we gathered, it will be a few months before the advance group from the Empire arrives.”

  Pa’re stood and moved to the front of the gathering, causing Jason to pause.

  “As you all know,” Pa’re stated, “I was initially opposed to waking the soldiers. My fear was that having them here would destroy our way of life. If we follow this plan, that is exactly what will happen. We will no longer be the people we have striven to be. We will become warriors, no different from those who would invade us. In essence, we will have lost the moment we choose this path.”

  Pa’re resumed his seat. There were many nods and murmurs of agreement from the villagers. To Jason, it seemed like most were siding with Pa’re. His only hope was that the village elders would see that his option was really their only path out.

  Mi’kol now stood from amongst the group of elders. All the villagers went silent.

  “Jason. What you propose will end our way of life as we now know it. Some of us feel that by welcoming the Empire, we will be able to maintain our way of life, if not completely, then close to what we have now. We are a poor village and have few resources the Empire is interested in. They believe this is sufficient to be left alone. I tend to agree with that, but before I decide on which path to take, there is something I need to know. Should we follow your path, what are the chances of success?”

  That was the question Jason had been dreading, and was the one question he did not have an answer for. He had hoped all along that no one would ask it, at least not in public, but that obviously was not to be. He paused, licked his lips, and then stood straight.

  “I don’t know,” he said softly, and then continued with a stronger voice, “I have no idea what weapons the Empire has. For all I know, they may be able to easily destroy any barrier we build. In which case, we are lost now, even before starting.”

  He paused to take a slow breath before continuing.

  “But I don't believe they have that capability. Unfortunately, we don't know for sure. In order to find out, I'll be sending a reconnaissance team to one of the Empire’s towns to see what we are up against. Once I know what they have, I’ll be able to come up with a definite plan.”

  “I see,” replied Mi’kol slowly. “So at the moment, much of your planning is based on assumptions about the Empire, and what others have heard about it.”

  Jason knew where this was heading and he didn’t like it a bit. Almost reluctantly, he replied, “Yes.”

  “Do you have faith in your plan?” Mi’kol continued in a voice that was just a question, with no animosity in it.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Do you believe your plan will work?”

  “If my assumptions are correct, and you all help, then, yes, I believe it will work.”

  “That is good,” Mi’kol said in a fatherly voice, and then sat down.

  Jason was now confused and a bit angry. What was it with these people? he thought. They seemed to dwell on the strangest topics and ask the strangest questions. Did they not realize that their very existence depended on what he and his team did?

  Ka’tel again stood to address the villagers.

  “We have much to ponder. We will meet again tomorrow morning to discuss this further.”

  Jason jumped to his feet.

  “Hang on!” he yelled at the elders. “Aren’t you going to make a decision on this now?”

  Ka’tel moved closer to Jason.

  “You have given us much to think about, and each of us needs time to decide.”

  “Do you mean everyone? The whole village?”

  “Yes. It is for each to follow their own path and we all need time now to ponder this.”

  Almost all the villagers had departed by this point, leaving Jason and his team alone. No one had asked any more questions, although it was evident on some faces that their minds had already been made up.

  Louise moved to Jason’s side.

  “It’s okay Boss, they’ll see this is the only way.”

  “I’m not so sure Lou. You saw their faces.”

  He turned to face her directly.

  “You’ve probably spent the most time in direct contact with them. What do you think they’ll decide?”

  “Hard to say,” she replied slowly. “This village has a very, very loose structure. I’m not even sure the elders are in control, let alone Ka’tel.”

  “How so?”

  “Ka’tel is more like a consultant than an actual leader. Although he has the title ‘village leader’, he does very little leading. He mostly listens to what people say and helps them make their choice. I guess in that respect, he’s more like a psychologist than anything else. As for the other elders, they're the same, no more, no less.”

  This was not what Jason wanted to hear. It left all the decision making to a group vote and it was clear not everyone was supportive of him.

  “Then we’ll have to see what tomorrow brings,” he said to the others. “In the meantime, if there are any villagers you're friendly with, go talk to them. Perhaps we can yet convince them we're right.”

  * * *

  Lara sat quietly at the back of the meeting area as the rest of the villagers left. She didn’t know what to think. All along she had believed that the soldiers could defend the village by themselves, and the villagers would not be brought into the conflict. Now she saw this was not to be the case. This was not what she had intended and now she had no control over it.

  She watched as the soldiers left, all except Jason. She'd heard what they had said and knew Jason was approaching her now to try to convince her of the rightness of his plan.

  “Lara. Do you have a few minutes?”

  He is always so polite, she thought. />
  “Yes. I have some time,” she said softly.

  “I know you’ve heard everything I’ve said, and I’d like to know if you will back me on this.”

  “Yes. I did hear all that you said.”

  She paused, gathering her thoughts.

  “But what Louise said is true. For all our major decisions, we reach a consensus on the path to follow. I believe your plan is what you consider right, and I will back you, but I am only one voice.”

  “Surely your standing in the village will sway others?”

  “Jason. That is not how we do it. Each person is fully responsible for deciding what is best for them. For one path to be followed, all must understand it and agree with it. Sometimes it takes a long time for the person who proposes something to explain it fully to everyone so that they know why it is being proposed, and why the person who proposed it believes it is the right path. Sometimes that person realizes it is not the right path and withdraws the proposal. And many times, the process of defending a path enlightens all parties.”

  Jason shook his head.

  “I don’t see how you ever get anything done then.”

  “We lead a simple life here and the times when differences arise are few. We all trust each other and believe that each truly has the best interests of the village at heart. That is why it works for us.”

  “So everything is decided by consensus?”

  “No, not everything,” she smiled. “Differences between individuals or small groups are resolved between themselves. But sometimes they need the help of my father or other elders.”

  “And what happens if the two sides just don’t come to an agreement?”

  “Then they bring it to the whole village. Having many viewpoints has always resolved the issues.”

  “Has there never been a situation where the two sides could not resolve their differences?”

  “It happens only rarely, and then the two must leave the village.”

  “That seems rather drastic? Why not have the elders impose a solution?”

  “It is drastic, but it underscores the importance of the issue. If each feels so strongly that they would give up their life here rather than work out a solution, then they are given the chance to put that into effect. As for the elders imposing a solution; that would be no solution. The differences would remain but be buried. Distrust and resentment would grow underneath and eventually come to the surface again. The problem would not be resolved, only postponed.”

  Lara noticed a subtle change in Jason’s stance. Perhaps he is beginning to understand, she thought. A warm feeling came over her, much like the feelings she had had when teaching the youngsters.

  “I think you are beginning to understand us.”

  “Yes, I think so. It hasn’t been a method that I’ve been exposed to often in the past, and always in very limited conditions. The organization I belong to… belonged to, was not built on consensus. It was built on the belief that there were people more knowledgeable than you. People who knew better what to do in any given circumstance. Because of that, we placed them in positions of authority and followed their orders believing they knew what was best.”

  Lara had not given much thought to the structure of the organization that Jason had been part of. To her, it seemed like a poor way of doing things, one fraught with conflict and turmoil, and prone to making poor decisions.

  “That does not sound like the best way of doing things.”

  “I can see that in your environment, it might not be. But in battle, you do not have time to reach a consensus or even to gather all the information yourself to make a decision. Our way allows one or a few people that luxury, and the rest of us trust that their expertise and experience will give us the best course of action.”

  Lara laughed. “I’ve never been in battle, but I sense your method makes sense for that situation. After the battle though, do you use a consensus method?”

  “No. Our structure remains in place all the time. Even when there is no active battle, there is always a threat of one, so we need to keep ready all the time.”

  Lara felt a shiver go down her back.

  “How could you survive like that? Surely everyone, or at least someone, could see that that way is so totally against the way the Creator wants, and that you would find a more inclusive way of living?”

  She watched, as Jason seemed to struggle for an answer.

  “Is this troubling you?” she ventured.

  “No. It’s just that the topic of religion is something I haven’t thought about in quite a while.”

  “It’s not religion. It is the way of the Creator.”

  “To me, that’s a religion and any religion has flaws.”

  She was about to ask “what flaws,” but he continued.

  “They’re all too interested in keeping ‘their way’ going and ‘untarnished.’ They don’t listen to anyone else and they certainly don’t try to understand the other side.”

  She heard anger creep into Jason’s voice and knew this was a topic that brought back bad memories.

  “It must have been difficult living there,” she said softly.

  “Not really,” he replied, calm returning to his voice. “It was just the way it was. We grew up with it, and it was our normal state of being.”

  Her heart raced and she wanted to cry out, “that’s not normal!”, but held her tongue. It was not for her to judge the world he was from.

  There were a few minutes of silence before Jason spoke again.

  “So, what do you think the village will decide?”

  “I feel that unless they truly believe in you and your plan, they will oppose it.”

  “Even if it means being overrun by the Empire?”

  “Even if it means being overrun by the Empire,” she replied flatly.

  Lara could see a look of dejection cross Jason’s face. It was almost as though he knew a piece of his soul had been taken away. She wanted to cry for him, to hold him and tell him everything would work out okay, that the Creator would protect them all, but held back. This was his path to walk, his choice to make, and she could only be there to support him in what he did. And she suddenly realized she loved him.

  Chapter 6

  It was a little before dawn when the soldiers met at Jason’s hut. The looks in their eyes did not bode well.

  "Did any of you find someone to back us?" he asked.

  Silence.

  “What do we do now Boss?” asked Pete.

  Jason was quiet for a moment before replying.

  “There still may be one person in the village who will back us, and that is all we need. I’m sure that, eventually, we’ll be able to show them that ours is the best way.”

  “I’m not so sure of that,” Louise commented, moving closer to Jason.

  “Why?”

  “What we are going to do runs against their core values. I heard there was a lot of discussion about waking us. I’m also sure not everyone fully supported the final choice, even though they say they do everything by consensus.”

  Jason thought back to what Pa’re had said on the trip to the city. Louise was right. It would be a difficult sell. He looked at the floor, lost in thought for a moment.

  “Okay, Lou. Any suggestions?”

  She looked at him and slowly shook her head.

  “Unfortunately, none that I can think of at the moment.”

  “Perhaps if we had them participate in all of the planning?” Hong suggested, a tinge of hope in his voice.

  “Yes, and then make the decision to go or not go later?” Richard added.

  “That might work,” Louise replied slowly, looking at Jason.

  “It’s a good backup strategy. Good thinking,” Jason said as he looked and nodded to each of the suggesters.

  “Any other ideas?” he asked of the rest. No one answered.

  “Okay. Grab some breakfast and meet back here in an hour. I think it’s important we arrive at the meeting as a group. And don’t talk to
any of them about this.”

  Grunts and murmurs of agreement came from some of them as they slowly left the hut. Jason paused and looked skyward. The sun was just starting to rise in the east, but had not cleared the mountains yet, and its warm rays were reflecting off the few clouds that drifted overhead. At another time and another place, he thought, it would have heralded a good day.

  * * *

  As the team approached the village meeting place, Jason saw the villagers were more subdued than normal. A feeling of foreboding slipped into his stomach.

  Ka’tel approached Jason directly, with Lara following, head down.

  “I am sorry Jason, but the village has decided that what you want us to do is not in keeping with our philosophy.”

  Jason was caught off guard. He had not expected that they would have decided without them there.

  “Your philosophy!” Jason replied angrily. “Your philosophy is going to get you invaded and possibly killed. I don’t see THAT as a good philosophy. It certainly isn’t one that is going to live long.”

  “It may seem that way from your viewpoint, but that is our decision,” replied Ka’tel coolly.

  Jason turned toward Lara.

  “Yours too?” he asked more softly.

  Her face was painted with conflict. Jason saw immediately that she was being torn by opposing forces within her, and immediately felt sorry for asking the question. Finally she spoke, almost in a whisper.

  “Yes. My decision is the same as the rest.”

  Jason stared at her. Of all the people he expected to turn on him, it wasn’t Lara. He felt an immense disappointment, bordering on anger, at her. After all, she was the reason he was here.

  Ka’tel was about to say something but Jason cut him off with a wave of his hand.

  “I can see we’re not wanted here anymore,” he said loudly, and then turned to his team. “Pack up. We leave in ten minutes.”

  He strode quickly out of the meeting area before anyone could confront him on his decision. The team members followed quickly, but their faces showed they were as caught off guard by his decision as the villagers were. Some of the villagers murmured amongst themselves, obviously confused as to what happened.

  Ka’tel looked at Lara questioningly.

  “I’m sorry, Father. I don’t know why they’ve done this.”

  “Then I should find out.”

  Ka’tel moved quickly and caught up with Jason.

  “Jason. One minute please,” he pleaded.