by S J Amit
“With a fence and with strings that you can’t see or feel?”
“Julian,” her smile shrunk at once, “Countless Anteballegarian adults have travelled through the Land of the Mosaic before arriving here, and you too shall return here, once you realize the pinecone apothecary doesn’t exist. Under the guidance of the Academic Caesars in The Palace of Wisdom, we have prepared a curriculum which will prevent them from the pain of wandering around the land without direction, without reason, without knowing where they’re heading.”
“The Academic Caesars?”
“Very nice people.” Her eyes calmed down a bit and she smiled again. “You can meet them down the street. They carry the burden of governing over the wisdom. They’ll be glad to meet you and to explain the importance of their work to someone like yourself.”
The Anteballegarian school yard was no different from any other, except for the matter of the invisible strings, and her explanations about the Caesars, which I couldn’t figure out.
“The Academic Caesars went to the Research Dukes who found the reasons for things,” she continued. “The Research Dukes gave their findings to the Science Nobles, who then deciphered the findings. The Science Nobles transferred all of the information to the Technology Knights, who then developed the invisible strings. But I won’t tire you with the details right now. You can meet them all on the main path, over at the next junction of streets.”
Trumpets and drums could be heard in the open air. Dozens of men and women went out to the yard, and hundreds of kids stood motionless in their spots. Choopster came up to me and clung to my leg, pressed her head against my hip and didn’t move.
“What’s happening?”
“We prepare them well before every class, they are our future generation!”
Some of the men and women who came out of the building stood by the shed at the center of the yard, some stood by the circle, and others dispersed around the poles. The music changed into a soft hum of flutes, and the children marched in our direction, passed by us and went into the hallway that we had just left. Only a few dozen children remained in the yard, and they assembled into a number of long rows by the side of the shed.
“Why are they staying outside?” I glanced at Ingrid.
“The majority of children is well prepared for every lesson on every school day. Those who went inside have passed all the preparations enough times and have become good children, they no longer need re-preparation like the ones who have stayed outside,” she pointed at the rows of children. “These ones are still not ready to study properly.”
The man standing in front of the rows of children by the shed opened a narrow black door, and one of the rows marched inside. The children went in one after the other and he shut the door behind them.
“What’s in there?”
“That’s the Room of Darkness.” She indicated for Choopster to join one of the rows, but Choopster wouldn’t budge and clung to my leg even tighter. “The Research Dukes found that the gray bricks contain a substance which dims bravery and fixates the fear in the mind. For the benefit of proper order, they must be taught to fear at an early stage, because at their current phase courage confuses them. We want to prevent them from as many future risks and dangers as possible.” She advanced towards the room and gestured for me to follow. “When this process happens in complete darkness, it makes them forget any sort of talent or imagination which make them ask unnecessary questions during their time in school. At a certain stage, just like all the good children, without courage, they’ll independently give up the option of using them.”
Screams could be heard from the room, growing louder than the sound of flutes in the yard for a few moments, dull bangs on the inner walls joined in, and slowly all of the noises from the room quietened down until they ceased entirely. The woman standing at the other side of the shed opened another black door. The children came out shaken and looking terrified as they walked with difficulty and dispersed in all directions. Three men and three women immediately went over and gathered them back into a group. They accompanied them and walked alongside them. Another row of children entered the room, and the man and woman who stood by the doors shut them both simultaneously.
“Where are they going now?” I looked at the children as they walked towards the round structure with a frozen look on their faces.
“To the Dream Erasing Well.” After the children had organized themselves around the round structure of bricks, Ingrid and I walked over and stood a few feet away from them. The structure looked wider from up close and it was filled with water. “Despite the dark room’s process of forgetting, we’ve noticed that the children still have the ability to develop dreams in their thoughts. These can remind them of their imagination and talents, damaging everything we’ve already accomplished, so this is precisely the right time to dip them.” One after the other, the children were thrown into the water by the men and women. I was shocked, I couldn’t get a word out, and Ingrid continued talking. “The Science Nobles discovered that if we stop the river’s water and leave it to stand for a long time in this well, the substance in the gray bricks penetrates the water and succeeds in stopping the creation of dreams, but only for a limited time. With each dip, that timeframe lengthens, and so we were asked to thoroughly dip the children in the water immediately after the forgetting process, so that they don’t become distracted by nonsense.”
“Ingrid, stop for a minute, I just want to understand what you--“
“With the correct education and training, the dreams will not interrupt them in the future either. Look.” She pointed at the children as they slowly climbed out of the well, wet and panting. “If some of them occasionally get a dream or two which damages what they’ve learned here, it’ll dissipate and become expunged from their thoughts very quickly. After so many dips, none of them will be able to hold onto their own dream for a lengthy time period, thinking that they can turn it into reality.” She stroked one the children’s heads as he got out of the well. “After all, we don’t want them growing up and running around like mad people around Anteballegaria.”
The dark room door opened and another row of dazed children came out of it. The adults who stood around the well approached them, and another man and woman led the wet children to the other side of the yard, towards the metal poles with the dark cables between them. They stopped not too far from the poles, and organized the children in a line. When the children had stood in place without moving, the man and the woman spread copper wires between where the children were standing and the poles. The sound of flutes intensified and their beat accelerated.
“What’s going on here?” I raised my voice.
“The Technology Knights have created an electric carpet to help the children overcome their turbulent emotions. This way we can adjust everyone’s personality identically, and organize their emotional structure in a unified way. Do you understand how much this will help them in life, now and in the future?” She indicated for me to follow her again as she started walking. “We have to make sure their instincts and inner voices don’t stir up their emotions again every so often,” she added as we advanced. “Only when they become the same, feel the same things and think the same way, will they manage not to interrupt one another in obtaining proper wisdom, and maybe one day they too will be able to proudly wear the label on their capes.”
Each child crossed their arms with the child next to them along the line, and they all marched ahead in one straight line. Little sparks flew with each step they took, and they rushed to cross the yard towards the poles. When they arrived, they stood like zombies, hardly able to move, shocked, stunned, wet, their hair raised.
“Well, can you see any difference between them now?” She gave me a proud look. “Now all that’s left is to play their favorite game! We just have to hang them up to dry and play the rope game.”
“What?!”
The man
and the woman tied wide belts around the children’s waists, and hung five of them on the first cable. The cable stretched a bit and the children slid to the middle between the two poles and stabilized in the center, their feet occasionally touching the ground. The adults went to the two rows of poles on either sides of the ropes, and each of them stood near a pole. They grabbed something with both hands and aimed it up to the tip of the pole, looked at each other, and then simultaneously lit a giant flame with the fire burners they held.
“What are you doing?!” I shouted and pressed Choopster tightly to me.
“Look at how much they’re enjoying themselves, while also learning from the flames about playing it safe and not passing the safety limits.” She applauded them. “The game is that they have to try and keep away from the edges the whole time, and they can’t let go of both hands until they reach the last cable. If they release their hands, the rope holding them from their waist will pull them backwards to the first cable.” She stopped talking for a moment. “You know, Julian, I’m always surprised by how much wisdom is in this game, it’s simply remarkable how quickly they get used to the idea that the safest way to survive is to stay in the center and hardly move.”
Two children managed to pass to the second cable, and struggled with each other a bit until they steadied themselves in the middle, keeping a distance from the flames. The three who remained on the previous cable also struggled with each other. Immediately two more children were hung next to them, and the five steadied themselves again in the center of the cable.
“Look at them fighting in order to remain safe,” Ingrid said with delight. “Look at how much they don’t want to put themselves at risk. They understand that their success isn’t measured independently, but only in relation to whomever is beside them.”
Slowly all of the children passed from cable to cable between the flames, once a boy on his own, once a girl, then two at the same time, then three. Some were pulled back immediately when their hands released the cable, and had to start again at the first poles. But eventually, everyone got off the last cable. They marched in exhaustion and with an indifferent gaze to the center of the yard. The adults in the yard applauded and cheered them until the children looked up in the direction of the applause, some of them even smiled and waved towards the adults, who were so happy to encourage them.
“You see, Julian, these are brilliant children who can overcome anything, and it’s a lot less threatening than it looks. Once they have finished their school course, they will have adjusted to the Anteballegarian daily life, and will proudly display any success of theirs.” She joined in the applause. “They need to know that the majority’s opinion of them is what will dictate their lives’ meaning in Anteballegaria, and so it’s important that as many people as possible will see them existing, approve of them and think of them as good enough to be adults here. Success alone isn’t enough, it must be accompanied by validation from those who surround you.” The applause started subsiding. “Without acknowledgement from others, they’ll wander aimlessly around Anteballegaria, they won’t find peace and they surely won’t have full rights like everyone else here.”
The sound of flutes softened. Three women and one man approached the children at the center of the yard, hugged them, grouped them and helped them go into the school structure, while another group of children walked from the poles to the center of the yard. They were applauded too, and a moment before the first group entered the school hall, a few children left the group and walked in various directions. The man and three women who accompanied them seemed a little surprised. They went over to them and led them to the other side of the school structure.
I wanted to leave the place, but I couldn’t help myself. “Where are they taking them?” I pointed as they disappeared around the structure.
“They too want to be as successful as the rest, they just find it more difficult sometimes,” Ingrid glanced at Choopster. “They surely don’t want to be bad children, but they most likely have a birth defect, one which we haven’t yet managed to figure out, a defect which makes them occasionally suffer from loss of orientation within the school grounds, making them lose their focus. So, we’ve managed to find a way to relieve them. Each of them gets a little injection, which at first makes them unable to move, and then helps them find the right train of thought to lead them in between the walls, so they can focus and only busy themselves with what’s required, even without successfully passing the preparations. That’s the most important thing of all.” Her eyes followed the second group as they were taken from the center of the yard, passed by us and entered the school. “We try to administer it as seldomly as possible, as the substance can harm the children’s health. But how can we compare between a little temporary damage to health, and the great danger to the children if they don’t finish the course like everyone else, and feel like they’re damaged forever.”
I looked at Choopster, she wouldn’t leave my side or let go of my hand for even a minute, I felt helpless in front of her. The flute music in the background, which had been calming to begin with, now seemed as disturbing as continuous torture. I looked at the yard, the gray building, the fence, the shed of gray bricks, the well, the copper wires, the ropes on the poles, the groups of children which were still outside.
“Ingrid,” I sighed softly, “before she re-joins you, maybe she should meet her parents first, don’t you think?”
She didn’t answer me and just stroked Choopster’s head.
“I really do apologize. It’s just that I promised her I’d take her to them,” I smiled and clenched my teeth. I went closer to her ear. “Can you release that thing from her leg?” I said quietly.
“Actually that’s a bit problematic,” she gave me a piercing look. “We don’t tend to release children who have entered the school gates before they undergo all of the preparations for class.”
I looked into her eyes. Looked at her shiny, pulled back hair. She wasn’t smiling like she had before. Choopster looked towards the hallway we had come from. I trusted Kelemance to come to our rescue if Ingrid were to insist on detaining Choopster. “Ingrid,” I looked back at her intensely, “All I’m saying is that we’d better manage to get to them. After all, you said it yourself, if she isn’t registered as a child in Anteballegaria then you won’t know how to relate to her. Isn’t it a shame to waste your precious time?”
She remained silent again, passed her hands over her face, intertwined her palms and pressed them to her chest. Her serious facial expression softened a bit. “Maybe you really ought to go to her parents first,” she gave a big grin again. “It’s true, she isn’t on the list yet.” She shook her head, as though wanting to empty it of pestering thoughts, and then leaned down to Choopster’s leg and released it.
Kelemance was waiting for us by the gate, and the second we got out he turned to leave. “It’s pretty late, we need to get going,” he said, and after that didn’t say a single word, and I didn’t either. The further we walked on the path, the more Choopster’s face relaxed from tension, and her footsteps became lighter again. Kelemance stopped for a moment and gave her back her bag. The traffic in front of us and on the lanes that crossed us grew busier as we advanced. A wagon with two harnessed deer came towards us. The coachman held the reins that were attached to the deer’s horns with one hand, and poked them with a sharpened rod with his other hand. The wagon was packed full of cages one on top of the other, and in them there were squirrels, rabbits, ducks, monkeys and other animals I didn’t manage to identify, all going wild. Kelemance raised his hand, and the animals pressed against the sides of the cages and went quiet all at once. When the wagon passed by us the animals looked at us, and the coachman turned his torso back, lifted his hat and waved hello to us with a smile.
“How can you not hear them?” Kelemance mumbled and slowly lowered his hand when the coachman turned back around. He covered his eyes and then his mouth. “They’re talkin
g to you,” his voice choked. I hadn’t seen or heard him this upset until now.
“Everything alright?” I looked at him frightenedly.
“The sounds of emotions are the primal words, they preceded the human language. All living creatures, both in the Land of the Mosaic and in faraway lands, communicate with the sounds of emotions.” He choked up again. “The people who have come here from faraway lands are skilled at silencing the sounds of emotions when those clash with their daily lives. They brought over a skill which they refer to as Enlightenment.” He pointed in the direction that the wagon went around the bend of the path. “This is how they do it, condescending over other creatures with an indifferent and civilized smile which merely covers evil and cruelty. But in the Land of the Mosaic all living elements are intertwined, they’re of equal value and importance. Therefore, if the sounds of emotions are no longer heard, and animals are considered as objects, it’s only a matter of time before humans will be considered as objects too.” He fell silent for a moment. “Come on,” he placed his hand on Choopster’s head, “your parents are waiting for you.” He continued walking and we followed him.
Choopster quickly got between us, holding Kelemance’s hand on one side and mine on the other as we walked. “So, do you walk this whole way every day?” I said, wanting to relieve the tension, not to let the discomfort affect us. I also searched for Kelemance’s look, but neither of them spoke or turned their heads, as though they didn’t want to prevent each other from feeling the discomfort. “This is what I’m used to, I just…” I mumbled apologetically and tried to laugh. Again, they didn’t react. After a few moments I tried to be quiet too, not to escape the distress, and slowly, the further we walked, the more the distress sunk into the horizon.
On both sides of the path there were structures with different heights and widths, different shapes of roofs and colors of walls. Alleyways and lanes curved and disappeared between the structures. The path became very wide, and we arrived at a major junction. The road which crossed the junction was much wider than the path we were walking on, and very busy too. The sounds of human footsteps, hooves clinking on the ground and a mixture of words all blended together in the background, and over that the noise of hammers hitting metal at a nearby building could be heard. The smell of smoke and scorched meat penetrated through the waves of urine and fume scents which arrived intermittently from various directions. Carriages and wagons passed by us from our left and our right, harnessed to deer, horses, zebras. There were even a few rhinoceros, which left me wide-eyed. The passers-by rushed on their way with stressed expressions, immersed in their own affairs. Whistles, screams and crowing sounds made me lift my gaze to the windows of a structure on our left. I could see pink bodies hanging through the glass, but I couldn’t really make out if they were plucked poultry or little pink pigs, or something else. We carefully crossed the road through all the wagons, trying hard not to step into the filthy little puddles which had either white and gray feathers floating on them, or red-pink-brown pieces of meat. After passing a few more buildings to the left of the path, we walked by marble stairs which led to an entrance into a tall structure that was fancier than the rest. Above its giant gate there was large lettering carved into the wall, decorated with shiny stones: “The Anteballegarian Palace of Wisdom”.