‘Alright ladies, I think we have a plan. Now tell me, does anyone attend a drama class nearby to here?’ asked Jezebel.
‘I do,’ responded a spirit by the name of Mona.
‘When do you next meet, Mona?’
‘Tomorrow afternoon, and I don’t think that we’ll need to observe my class particularly long before trying to make converts. With a few limited exceptions, each of the attendees are incredibly stupid and could be easily led. In the case of the exceptions, they are sure to be intelligent enough to see merit in Lucifer’s proposal when it is put to them,’ declared Mona with confidence.
There was another murmur of approval from the gathering, who certainly liked the sound of making some easy headway.
‘That sounds excellent, Mona. I hereby move that we all attend and that we spend the first meeting observing, just to be safe. Flattery will be a very important weapon for us so, Mona, it would be appreciated if you would attribute the sudden swelling in class numbers to the fact that you have been publishing abroad that this particular class is filled with the brightest and most talented drama students to be found anywhere in the Kingdom,’ requested Jezebel.
‘Consider it done, Jez,’ replied Mona.
‘Oh Mona, you had also best sing the praises of the teacher,’ said Jezebel as an afterthought.
‘Good thinking, Jez, we will definitely need to win her over,’ said Mona, remembering the dominant character of her teacher.
Jezebel, who had been seated, then rose to discuss a subject of particular importance. She paused a moment, looking from side to side to check that the doors were still closed and that there had been no intruders. Once satisfied, she addressed her finest in a soft tone.
‘Now my dear sisters, before we end this meeting, I wish to remind you of a very important matter. As you can imagine, if the finer details of these meetings were ever leaked to those who are not as confident of the virtue of Lucifer’s plan as we are, then it would be very damaging to our cause. For this reason I must insist that the content of these meetings remains strictly confidential,’ she said.
‘What will we do with someone who leaks information?’ demanded Sheila from the front. Sheila was not far behind Jezebel and Joslyn in her decline.
‘Very good Sheila, you certainly have been concentrating hard on your earthly studies,’ replied Jezebel, who was happy to be interrupted with such a wonderful suggestion. ‘Indeed, it would be remiss of us if we didn’t devise a punishment to be inflicted upon anyone who would dare leak information from this most sacred of forums,’ continued Jezebel. ‘Again ladies, I can think of no better way to determine such a punishment than for each of us to throw up some suggestions. Would each of you agree that deferring the punishment until mortality would be most appropriate such that physical pain can be inflicted?’
This idea delighted an audience that had become expert in all forms of earthly mutilation and did not yet know that it was possible to attack a spirit.
‘What about we burn her to death?’ commenced Mona.
‘I vote we stab her repeatedly,’ shouted Sheila, who just loved the thought of performing such an act and secretly hoped that she might be born in the same generation as the offender so that she could attend to the retribution personally.
‘No, that would put her out of her misery Sheila. Why don’t we just cut out her tongue? That will still be painful and it would certainly fix up a snitch,’ ventured Jos.
After a few more diabolical suggestions a vote was taken and Joslyn’s punishment prevailed. Anyone who revealed the content of the meetings, and was caught, would have her tongue cut out in mortality. Although the two thousand attendees were likely to be spread across the total lifespan of mortality, each felt confident that she could influence a convert, one who would live in the same time and place as the snitch, to perform the necessary work of retribution. On this jovial note the meeting ended.
43 a dramatic meeting
At the next drama class, in the dimmest area of the Kingdom, the numbers had swelled appreciably. Previously two thousand spirits had attended, now there was double that number. Of the pre-existing students, none were males. Males in that area of the Kingdom had become so slothful that this was not surprising. Within the Kingdom, sound was not projected by strength or pitch of voice. Hence, sound could be projected to an intimate audience, or a vast congregation, at the preference of the communicator. This was one reason that class sizes ranged anywhere from five hundred to ten thousand spirits.
Another reason was that spirits are not subject to tiredness, hunger, pain or any of the other physical challenges of mortality. Therefore, they could be attentive for very long periods of time. Consequently, the learning needs of a large gathering could be serviced in a class that may run eight or ten mortal hours.
The dividing of classes into groups, each with a group leader, was also common. This allowed for a more customised approach to be adopted as necessary. Each group leader was actually a teacher in training, as this would be their next calling if they desired it, and if they responsibly and capably performed their function as a group leader. All of these things worked well in the lighter areas of the Kingdom, where most students wanted to learn. Unfortunately though, this system was increasingly breaking down in this class. The concentration span of the spirits was shortening due to their increasingly slothful and rebellious nature. The group leaders despised the responsibility, and certainly had no desire to take on any more.
The teacher was herself a drama queen of the highest order. Her name was Madeleine and we have considered her briefly before. She was the partner of Jerome and was one who loved drama both on stage and in life. This certainly played out in her performance as a teacher. She loved centre stage and was very hesitant to relinquish it to anyone. If she suspected for one moment that any one of her students was gaining ground on her talent she immediately victimised them, eroding their confidence until they either resumed a back stage role or left the class. She saw her group leaders as her biggest potential threat, and accordingly, selected the least talented for these positions.
Her desire to take centre stage meant that she was happy to do so at the expense of others, and increasingly she resorted to cruel attacks as a means of grabbing the limelight. At its peak her class had over four thousand students however, due primarily to Madeleine’s teaching methods, her numbers had dwindled gradually down to two thousand. This she attributed to a complete lack of dramatic talent throughout the Kingdom.
Even Madeleine was surprised to see the numbers in her class swell to such an extent, but as a true professional, she didn’t allow this to be displayed in her demeanour.
Before class Mona had taken a moment to apprise Jezebel as to the character of the teacher, and Jezebel was very quick to finalise her appraisal over the course of the next few hours. That leader among women quickly realised that gaining the support of the teacher was going to be absolutely crucial to their success. If the teacher could be gained, she had such a hold on the remaining class members that each of the followers was likely to join also.
The members who had remained in that particular class did so because they genuinely believed that their own talent was vastly inferior to that of the esteemed teacher. Madeleine had trodden on the class members who had stuck with her so regularly, and skilfully, that ultimately she had attained a measure of respect by reducing the self-esteem of her students.
In her brief character analysis, Jezebel also surmised that flattery would be essential to manipulating Madeleine. As a consequence, she went more promptly to work than had previously been planned.
‘Madeleine, I have been to drama classes all over the Kingdom and finally I have found what I’ve been looking for,’ commenced Jezebel.
‘Oh?’ responded Madeleine in her best ‘do tell’ tone.
‘Yes, not one of the classes that I’ve attended in the past has captured my imagination. As I sat in each forum of ‘so called’ drama, I thought to myself that surely there
must be a superior master or mistress of drama somewhere that I could learn from, but alas each time I was disappointed. Now, however, I feel truly grateful as it is clear that I have finally found true greatness.’
Jezebel laid it on thick and, having assessed her prey for just half a class, saw no danger in doing so. Her assessment was correct and by the end of the class Jezebel, Joslyn, Mona, Sheila and sixteen others from amongst their numbers had been appointed as group leaders, adding to the twenty group leaders who were already in place. The result was forty groups of one hundred students, with one group leader over each group.
Initially, Madeleine had thought to appoint the new group leaders to preside over the new students. This however, would not have suited Jezebel’s purposes as she wanted the two thousand existing students to mix and mingle with her forces. Therefore, she utilised her skill to correct this situation.
‘Madeleine, I’m just a little bit concerned about the proposed structure of the groups,’ she said quietly, ensuring that she did not publicly challenge the teacher’s authority.
‘Oh?’ responded Madeleine in her best ‘you dare to challenge my authority’ tone.
‘Yes, I’m afraid that we are just so far behind the students that you have trained. We have so much to learn, and if your talented pupils could just be mingled amongst us I’m sure that we would progress so much more quickly,’ continued Jezebel.
She deduced that the teacher was a fragile character and had been informed by Mona that she didn’t seem to like anyone progressing too quickly. For this reason, Jezebel added a final comment to reassure the piece of putty that she was squeezing and manipulating within the palm of her evil hand.
‘Of course Madeleine, none of us has any chance of ever approaching your brilliance, but if we could just be given the best chance of making progress, however meagre that progress may seem in your sight.’
‘Well maybe you are right, Jezebel,’ responded Madeleine quietly before projecting her voice to address the entire class.
‘Alright ladies, I’ve changed my mind. I think it would be best if each group had fifty of my students and fifty of the new students. This will allow my pre-existing students to pass on all that they have learned,’ stated Madeleine in a queenly fashion.
That day Madeleine had walked into the studio standing five foot ten inches and would exit feeling twice that height.
Over the coming weeks, Jezebel and her band were incredibly successful. They played on the slothful and gullible nature of the less intelligent spirits, and on the pride of those who were just a touch more intelligent. Over that very short period of time the entire class was introduced to the rebel cause, including the esteemed leader, Madeleine, and her partner Jerome, who had already attended a couple of meetings previously.
The next task of extracting her band from the class without offending the delicate ego of Madeleine was far more challenging. Jezebel was very wary of the hold that Madeleine still had over her students. She was confident that, with time, the hold could be broken and that commitment to the rebel plan would exceed any other hold upon the new converts. Certainly though, there was a real danger that if Madeleine was offended on the way out, all of their good work would be undone. This particular quandary tested Jezebel, and for a time it appeared that extracting her two thousand without offending the teacher was an impossible task. Ultimately though, a solution struck her. Having come upon the solution she allowed her band to attend a couple more classes before requesting a private audience with her esteemed teacher.
‘Madeleine, I want to thank you for all that you have done for us. I simply cannot believe the progress that we have made in your class over the last few weeks!’ began Jezebel enthusiastically.
‘Oh that is fine Jezebel, I’m just glad that my methods are finally being recognised,’ responded Madeleine, placing great emphasis upon the 'finally' so as to underscore the patience that she had had to exercise over many years.
Although a smirk threatened to express itself upon her facial features, Jezebel managed to overcome this inclination for the benefit of her greater purpose.
‘Madeleine, I must explain something to you,’ Jezebel said seriously, employing just a little of her own dramatic talent to remain sober when desperately she wanted to mock.
‘Go ahead, if you must,’ the teacher replied with a dramatic air.
‘There is something in my character that requires that I share anything good that I have discovered with others,’ Jezebel lied.
‘Oh I see,’ replied Madeleine, not really seeing, because such a quality had ceased to be found in her own character. Jezebel continued, now fully in character and with all jocularity competently suppressed.
‘So at this time I find myself very conflicted. A part of me wants to be selfish and to continue in your class so that I can continue to grow, but the other part of me insists that I must share what I have found with others. This latter emotion has finally prevailed and I feel that it would simply be too selfish of me not to share your greatness with others of my sisters and brothers throughout the Kingdom.’
‘So what are you proposing, Jezebel?’ enquired Madeleine. A certain sharpness in her tone warned Jezebel that she needed to perform this extraction very skilfully and carefully.
‘Madeleine, I really feel that we owe it to you, and also to all of the other students of drama within the Kingdom, to leave your class and attempt to impart your methods to others,’ continued Jezebel.
Madeleine didn’t like this idea for two reasons. Firstly, she loved the larger class, and particularly the lip service that she was paid by the newcomers. Secondly, she was not overly enthusiastic about raising the general level of skill in the field of drama throughout the Kingdom, lest others may approach her greatness. Despite these significant reservations, she allowed Jezebel to continue as she had actually come to like her. Indeed, she was a living example of the premise that flattery will get you everywhere.
Jezebel had foreseen that Madeleine would be concerned about both of these issues and she set to work making less seem like more, a specialty of hers.
‘I was thinking that we might call the methods that we will take to other classes ‘Madame Madeleine’s teaching program’, and if you can possibly fit it into your incredibly busy schedule, you could honour the other classes with the occasional visit,’ proposed Jezebel.
Now the proposition was starting to sound more appealing to Madame Madeleine, and thankfully for Jezebel, Madeleine’s theatrical talent was not sufficient to hide this from her.
Suitably encouraged, she proceeded with her carefully prepared proposal. ‘Of the girls that came with me to your class, fifteen hundred have learned so quickly under your brilliant tutelage that they could be a most valuable asset in introducing your methods to other classes. The other five hundred will need a bit more time under your wing before they can do you justice.’
Madeleine liked the idea of retaining five hundred girls to continue to provide her lip service, and to remind her of her brilliance, as Jezebel had suspected. Jezebel considered a partial extraction wise to assist in Madeleine’s comedown from the lofty heights to which she had been propelled. As always though, there was also an ulterior motive. The five hundred who were to remain, were to be responsible for ensuring that the two thousand new converts continued to grow in their devotion to their cause. A full withdrawal at this stage would be fraught with danger, and it was possible that their victory would be short lived if a portion of her troops did not remain to shore up the territory gained.
The combination of the five hundred who were to remain, and the thought of her name being carried throughout all of the drama classes and theatres within the Kingdom, was enough to satisfy the teacher. There was however, just one more matter upon which Jezebel would need to satisfy her and again the temptress was ready.
‘Alright Jezebel, I can see merit in your plan, but why don’t you take some of the original students with you and leave more of the newcomers with me to fur
ther develop their skills? As you have pointed out, my long-term students have had such a very long time to benefit from my methods,’ pointed out the teacher insightfully.
‘You are very sharp, Madame Madeleine. Yes of course there is great merit in that idea, but I do have just one concern,’ commenced Jezebel, as though she had been labouring on that very point for some time.
‘What is that, Jezebel?’ replied Madeleine, some of her old sharpness returning as she didn't like to be challenged, even when such a challenge was introduced gently.
‘Well, not all teachers are as magnanimous as you are, Madame Madeleine. I know it only too well from the many drama classes that I have attended in the past. I’m just a little concerned that if your long term students were to attend other classes, and start promoting your methods, the jealous teachers and group leaders within those classes may attempt to discredit them.'
'How could they, Jezebel?' asked the teacher.
'Madeleine, I'm concerned that they may argue that your students have not had the privilege of observing alternate teaching methods and, as such, are not fit to judge whether they have been well taught or not.'
The teacher’s face distorted with rage at the thought. Jezebel continued though.
'On the other hand, if it is just we newer girls who are promoting your methods, then we can overcome this argument by pointing out that we have attended, and been disappointed by, numerous other drama classes over many years.’
Upon hearing this reasoning, Madeleine calmed back down. Competition and jealousy were two matters with which she was intimately acquainted, so she understood the wisdom of Jezebel’s approach immediately and took comfort therefrom.
‘Yes Jezebel, I see what you mean. Maybe it would be wise to adopt your approach so that there can be no suggestion of bias.’
‘Oh thank you Madame Madeleine, I am relieved that you have been so very understanding. I will speak to the other girls and we will begin considering how best to approach the spreading of your methods,’ said Jezebel with feigned excitement.
Premortal Page 15