The question was whether or not the Edenoi could resist the Terran culture of fear. The problem filled him with dread, another emotion linked to stress. Where was the balance on Earth? Local customs often turned the more efficacious methods of stress release into moral crimes. The Edenoi had long understood that the cure for stress was exposure to the pleasure hormones oxytocin, endorphin, dopamine and serotonin. Sex was certainly the most efficacious. Orgasms were necessary for well being. So were laughter, music and dancing. Yet Tshentso had said that the people to the west had not only prohibited free sexual relations but also banned music, dance, simple tomfoolery and just plain fun, as well as any drug that stimulated the pleasure hormones.
It’s how they control people, she explained. Brutal and simple. The rulers were always exempt from their own rules but they imposed them harshly on their subjects. The religions were the worst. Over time they constructed a complex set of rules governing human behaviour that gave them sole control of pleasure. Indeed, the only place one might legitimately find any solace was in their temples where music and dance was only accepted if it was sacred music, sacred dance. Religious awe became the only legitimate way to release the pleasure hormones.
Clever really. You control people by keeping them in a constant state of doubt and fear and carefully rationing access to the pleasure hormones. Except it was a flawed policy. The human need for pleasure was strong and people always disobeyed. The authorities might establish a network of laws and use coercion to police those laws, but they could always be assured of plenty of work.
It occurred to him then that Tshentso might be planning a complex strategy of not just eliminating physical barriers but also eliminating psychological and cultural barriers. Meme therapy. Just as you improved the genome by removing harmful mutations, you improved the menome by similarly removing harmful ideation.
It was well understood that long-term exposure to stress caused pathological changes to the human genome. Is this what Tshentso had realised - that long-term exposure to stress had caused pathological changes to the human menome?
He looked up at the golden statue of the Buddha against the feature wall. Even this symbol of perfect detachment had been used to control people. Many Buddhist sanghas had been corrupted by power, with the priests creating a religion that gave them power and privilege. Yet Buddhism also contained the antidote. Tantra. The path of pleasure.
But surely Tshentso wasn’t planning a religious crusade? Crusades had been tried before and ultimately failed, the world settling into distinct spheres of influence, each attempt reaching a natural limit.
She must know this.
101
Tshentso
“I hope your journey was easy?” Tshentso asked politely.
“The new road has made it quicker and these new hover cars are a miracle. I am impressed that the Kingdom has been able to rebuild such technology.”
“Good, now let me formally introduce you. This is ambassador Praxiteles Smith. Ambassador Smith, this is the emissary from the Northern States of America, Monsignor Paul Xavier Degas.”
“Yes, after the painter, a distant relative,” said Degas a little too effusively (making Prax immediately doubt his claim).
He looked at the man. He was yet another surprise. He had not expected him to be a priest. He was of moderate height, solidly built and overweight, with a ruddy complexion, red hair and red beard, and wearing the black cossack of his order. “Pleased to meet you finally. You are a priest? Of the Jesu order?”
“Yes, yes, Jesu, Jesuit, although I am actually something of a fraud.”
The man did not explain and Prax understood it was a conversational tactic designed to prompt him to ask.
“I have been attempting to challenge Paul on a number of theological points,” said Tshentso smiling warmly.
Prax nodded. No doubt Tshentso had been humouring the man. The question was, how important a piece was he in the larger game?
“Paul was something of a thorn in the Pope’s foot…” Tshentso explained.
The man laughed. “Yes, an irritant.”
Prax raised an eyebrow, signalling that the man should proceed with the inevitable explanation.
“A theological irritant. When I first met the Kumari she surprised me with the extent of her knowledge regarding the arcane ephemera of Catholic theology. You see, I subscribe to a school of theological thought popular amongst the more educated, scientific minded clergy of the late twentieth century. A concept of God that is not in conflict with science.”
Prax nodded. “Such a concept of God has always existed has it not? I believe you may be alluding to the work of Plotinus, a kind of Christian monism. God as an abstract creative principle rather than a literal, ontological being?”
The man smiled broadly, revealing gaps from two missing teeth. “Good, good. Yes, the logos, God as the ordering principle, yes, yes. Good. Plotinus indeed.”
“So, a Catholic atheist?” said Prax.
“Ah now, yes, touché, and so you understand why I am an irritant.”
“I gather then, that your Pope is more of a literalist?”
The man clapped his hands with delight because Prax had fallen into his rhetorical trap. “No, no, the Pope too is a fraud, as are many in the higher echelons. They have become too cynical to be true believers.”
Prax looked at Tshentso and she seemed bored by their conversation, her mind no doubt working on other problems. “Right, so we can establish that your church is engaged in the politics of preservation, of protecting assets and privilege?”
“Ah well, yes, if one were to take a very cynical view. One might also argue that it provides an essential social function, one not suited to a secular state.”
Prax nodded. The man was playing rhetorical games. Setting up an argument just for the fun of arguing. “And what of this coup? Where is Robert Wolf in all this?”
“Good, good, to the point. But perhaps the Kumari will allow us a more convivial, genteel discussion?”
Tshentso smiled politely. “Of course, please. I still have a bottle or two of that Chinese red you took a liking to.”
Prax looked puzzled. He had heard of French wine but not Chinese. Degas sensed the opportunity for an explanation. “In the early twenty-first century wealthy Chinese became wine connoisseurs. They began to invest huge sums of their new wealth in the great brands. A few began to set up their own vineyards and hire vintners from France, Germany, Italy, Australia, all the great wine growing regions. Soon they were producing some very good wines. They still do. I am rather partial to a Sichuan Merlot. I understand there is an open trade route between the border of Tibet and southern China.”
“They do not consider us a threat,” said Tshentso as she directed the Monsignor to a comfortable chair and rang a bell to summon a young nun. “They are focused on internecine warfare with their northern neighbour, a matter involving the rejection of an alliance through marriage. The Chinese are so focused on their dynastic squabbles that they have not noticed we have increased the number of merchants and missionaries in the south. It will not be the first time a ruler has lost territory due to incompetence.”
Degas laughed. “I once tried to challenge the Kumari to a light hearted game of chess. I had no chance.”
Tshentso frowned. She was warning him that she was growing impatient.
“Yes, yes, of course, to the business of diplomacy. Wolf is safe. I have word that he is in the province of Alberta gathering support for a counterstrike.”
Tshentso caught and held his gaze. She softened her voice and used his first name. “Paul, will he succeed?”
The man’s demeanour changed immediately. It was clear that she had long ago planted a trigger to focus his attention and his devotion. “Yes Kumari, in time. But it will be sooner if the Edenoi are able to offer some help.”
“And in exchange will he grant us full diplomatic access and guarantee security?”
“I truly believe so.”
“Good. Then you understand why Ambassador Smith is here. He will undertake the formal negotiations on Eden’s behalf.” Tshentso looked at Prax and held his gaze. Her eyes were hypnotic and she searched him for any signs of doubt or concern. He met her gaze without flinching. If he dared guess her thoughts it would be that they had been offered an opportunity. What better way to forge an alliance than through removing a common obstacle? “And Paul, it would not be wise for Wolf to betray our trust. You understand what is at stake?”
The man nodded with total obedience.
“Good, now I have other business to attend. Enjoy your wine and fill the Ambassador in with the current state of play.”
She left promptly and Degas watched her until she left. When he returned his gaze to Prax he looked uncomfortable. “The Kumari speaks very highly of you. She tells me you recently spent time in a religious order?”
Prax nodded. It was unnecessary praise. Clearly the Monsignor was attempting to curry favour, but why? He could ask Tshentso later but he guessed that she would expect him to work it out for himself. “More like a philosophical school fashioned after the Greeks and Hindus,” Prax replied.
“So you are familiar with the Greeks and hence your reference to Plotinus?” Degas nodded his head as he made the obvious connection.
“Indeed, where would Christian theology be without Plato, Aristotle and Plotinus? You must be familiar with the opinion that Jesus himself was influenced by Greek philosophy, especially the Stoics? In fact the idea of a master with disciples is a Greek idea with no precedent in Judaism,” Prax observed.
“Yes, yes, indeed. It is all too easily forgotten that the religious texts of the era were written in Greek. Yes, yes, as much as certain types of renegade sects favour the Semitic narrative of the Old Testament, Christianity was always a product of the Greco-Roman world. Good, good. Perhaps we have at least some things in common, despite our birth on quite different planets. I must admit I am impressed with the knowledge of our long lost Edenoi cousins.”
“We were able to conserve a considerable database in our AI. Everything that had been stored digitally on Earth until our departure.”
“Much of which has since been lost on Earth. There were a few of us attempting to preserve the great libraries. As much as we could. I have spoken to the Kumari about my greatest wish, that the great libraries be restored. She is in full agreement. But in order to do that we need stable governments run by benign rulers. I think you might appreciate that the Roman Catholic Church has persisted for close to two thousand years and that we have seen many governments, and even nations, rise and fall. For all it’s many faults, it has been a source of continuity.”
“So let me guess. You belong to a faction within the Jesuits?”
“Good, yes, indeed, a humanist faction that has taken upon itself the task of preserving scientific and artistic knowledge. You seem to be aware that the various orders devoted themselves to specific missions, some to feed the poor, some to tend to the sick, some to look after orphans, some to teach and educate, believing that knowledge was the best cure for poverty and sickness.”
“I am curious. When did you first meet an Edenoi? You seem to know us reasonably well?”
“I suppose in part by accident and in part by logical inevitability. One of your early emissaries, Jean-Anton Sauvaterre…”
He tried not to react to the mention of Jean-Anton. He knew him well, a direct patrilineal descendent of a Cricket, Jules Sauvaterre. The last he had heard was that Jean-Anton had taken a sabbatical from his administrative role to pursue his love of sailing.
“Although that may not have been his real name… He was seeking out educated men. He found our little group at Princeton. At first he didn’t reveal who he was or where he was from, but the time soon came for him to reveal his true purpose.”
“And if I may ask, how did you react?”
“How does one react to having an alien reveal himself?” The Monsignor laughed. “Shocked, delighted, privileged. You see; our group knew that interstellar travel had been accomplished in the early twenty-first century, that man had walked on the moon in the twentieth and sent mechanical devices throughout the solar system, which is, I suppose, why he revealed himself to us in particular. But we had no idea you could or would ever return, or even that you had survived. In many ways, you had been forgotten.”
“I have been told that knowledge of the migration was suppressed?”
“Yes, by some. The reality was more complex. You will be familiar with the concept of cognitive dissonance?”
Prax nodded. “Indeed; very familiar, the reality of interstellar travel would have been in conflict with many worldviews.”
“Yes, indeed, it was. There are a number of ways the uneducated mind deals with cognitive conflict. One way is through suppression. The conflicting fact is simply ignored. The other way is through appropriation. The conflicting fact is reinterpreted to fit the pre-existing worldview. It was not so much that there was a coordinated effort to suppress the information. It was more the case that some people refused to believe it and so turned to those people who offered a reassuring counter explanation. This is the way it has always been. There is an aspect of human psychology that is deeply conservative. So there was an explosion of groups opposed to the simple facts exposed by interstellar travel: life is abundant; we are not unique; we can define who we are. These ideas became anathema.”
“And would I be correct in assuming that this was a factor in the schism?”
“Yes, the final straw, although the seeds had been planted long ago… It was the attempted assassination of the conservative pope John Paul the Third.”
“Yes, I read some of this history. He was elected as a reaction to a succession of radical popes, the Franciscan revolution.”
“Good, good. Yes. In the early twenty-first century Pope Francis attacked the greed of capitalism and the corruption of the Vatican. Conservative Catholics around the world, those with deep ties to business, were very concerned. Action was taken. Internal tensions mounted. Cracks appeared.”
“He was a Jesuit?”
“Yes. There was an attempt to isolate the Jesuit order and restore the conservative feudal vision of the church. I am sure you a very familiar with the historic link between the clergy and the aristocracy?”
Prax nodded. It was standard history.
“The conservative orders wanted a return to the historical compromise where the elites protected the assets of the church and in return the church gave moral legitimacy to the elites. Both benefitted from the exploitation of the common man, one as a source cheap labour and the other as a passive congregation. But I wonder if you can guess what threat the existence of Eden really represents?”
Prax smiled. Degas was clever and clearly wanted to engage Prax in a test of wit, but what he asked was well understood on Eden. “That Paradise is real and access is not controlled by the church.”
The Monsignor smiled and nodded.
Prax continued. “It has often been remarked that the church aided the exploitation of the oppressed by bribing them with a place in Paradise. If they were good, tolerated their Earthly suffering and obeyed their masters, they would be rewarded with a place in Paradise.”
The Monsignor rubbed his hands with delight. “That is the core tension within the church. Between those who argued that Jesus said feed the poor and heal the sick in this life and those who argued that he demanded obedience and faith on the promise that suffering would end in a future life.”
“Well, I can understand why our mysterious emissary, this Jean-Anton, decided to trust your group. He would have been sent to find allies. So, might I presume that those opposed to diplomatic relations with Eden are linked to these conservative factions?”
Degas curled his lips in a conspiratorial smile. “It’s quite simple really. They get all their power from claiming they hold the keys to Paradise. Then you come along and not only do you come from Paradise itself, you prove that mankind itse
lf holds the only keys necessary, scientific knowledge, the only thing that has ever made a real difference. Prayer doesn’t cure people of disease. Medical science does. Hope doesn’t feed the poor. Agricultural science does. Singing hymns doesn’t provide protection from the elements. That honour goes to the engineering and material sciences. And now it is science that has discovered Paradise on a distant planet. This represents an existential threat like no other.”
Prax looked down at the Monsignor’s feet. He was wearing sandals and one toenail was discoloured from a fungal infection, something that could be easily fixed. “Surely they understand we can be of great benefit to Earth, that our science is far superior?”
“Yes and no. The Kumari has made it quite clear that like all governments, you hold your cards close to your chest. They suspect this and it makes them very fearful. This fear engenders irrational responses. Again we return to the problem of cognitive dissonance. They have preferred to believe that they can defeat you. There has been a noted increase in talk of the Day of Judgment. You will be painted as agents of the devil. Some already believe this will be a holy war.”
A holy war? The words sent a chill of dread through his body. It was all suddenly very real. He was on Earth talking to a Terran, a representative of a great religious power. He began to see that the greatest weapon of those that opposed the Edenoi were myths. They could tell their followers that the Edenoi were demons, sub-human. It had worked many times in the past. They might be able to physically defeat the Terrans but the real battle would be over hearts and minds.
“And this Robert Wolf? What is your assessment of his character?”
Degas nodded and considered his words carefully. “Tough but fair. His family have had to fight to gain the power they hold. Their enemies are brutal and the Wolf family has always responded with equal brutality. If you cross him he will end your life. But he is also an honourable man who would prefer to end the cycle of violence. Thus he can be very loyal and generous to his friends and allies. He is a big man in every sense. Physically big, a bear of a man, but also very generous. He understands that if humanity is to have any future it has to be recivilised.”
Paradise Reclaimed Page 73