Kim is leaving for work and Owen is in his rainforest with canopy and sound, no less. Carol is getting breakfast. The start of another busy day.
I had forgotten how it is. Most everyone is occupied with being busy, a part of modern life – better than sitting in a cave and being apprehensive about what is out there. That is a form of busyness too. The rainforest sounds are cleaned up from the droning reality of millions of insects.
You just deleted a sentence or two because you see this can easily lead down the road of good attentions. Place it here as a reminder of how human being can be when they want to make things better.
“Modern society is cleaned up too, except for a few odds and ends, probably the same five percent one finds in a traditional public school.” [Deleted]
I do not know the answer as how to make the world better, but as soon as I saw these lines (thinking of the general field of public education in the United States) I knew it was a wrong path to begin, even in a fiction. – rho
Mid-afternoon. Owen is awake in the rainforest with noises. Carol is finishing the wash, the dishwasher is on, so when Kim and Paul come home things will be in pretty good shape. Let’s get to the scene while we can. >
You have reached the end of the scene.
It was not what I expected.
It is a scene about circumstance as much as anything else, orndorff.
How does this related to the foreign Dead? [I paused.] Oh. I had not thought that.
Scene 5
I don’t know what Sophia wants to see me about. I was going to have lunch with Agathia. She glanced into the front window of the Mikroikia from across Eleusis and saw Salaman was about to leave. As she had not been seen she turned and walked the other way already angry at herself for having done that. Where am I going? She stopped, waited momentarily then retraced her steps and crossed the street without hesitation.
Once inside she spotted Sophia who, looking towards the entrance, stood. The two women headed to the small back room where they found the old chairs and table. After the hello’s each sat with a memory assembled glass of favorite wine and sat back savoring the taste.
This simple pleasure of relaxation was so habitual that neither considered the other to be empty handed. None of the Dead appeared to consider it at all. After all, it was the company and the illusion of ambience and memory of good tastes that was important in sharing a meal. Most refreshment sharing is a personal subjective reality based on gustatory and amicable pleasures. That is the usual social element at the table, but not this one.
“I already had a lunch set up, Sophia. What is this about?”
“It is not about lunch. You can see Agathia later. I need to know where you stand on searching for the other Dead among us?”
“It is hard to imagine other people, foreigners would want to be here in the first place. Even with loved ones involved, this is not their culture,” said Cassandra without hesitation.
“You don’t feel love brings a stronger attachment than culture?”
“I was not thinking about it in that way. It is hard to say which is stronger love or hate.”
“Hate takes a toll in all the vices.”
“Hate is hate, Sophia. That is all there is to it.”
“What about Envy?”
“There is nothing for anyone to be envious of in Elysium. We are comfortable here, just as the Dead of another tribe or culture is comfortable where they are.” Cassandra paused, glancing at the door to see if others had been invited. “Greed and Pride are not normal occurrences here. Though I think men are more prideful than women, even Here.”
“I tend to agree. Men are more lustful too, they demand a particular dominance in their thinking among men as well as women.”
“They are closer to the lower animals, less civil.”
So, then, thought Sophia. Perhaps if there are foreign Dead somewhere in Elysium, it is more likely that they are women. She stated, “Men are more hateful than women.”
“I don’t think so, but they are fuller of Pride. At least they show themselves to be. Even in Elysium you can see it. Mario, for instance, enjoys his station as second in command, but somewhere within him he would just as soon be in your position.”
“I had not thought that, Cassandra. I do not really think of him as second. He is an equal partner.”
“That’s how many women think, Sophia. They make themselves equal to men and believe it is true, and believe men think it is true also. If most men had their druthers, they would say they are equal to women, and a little more than equal when push comes to shove. Even here in Elysium.”
Sophia’s only comment was, “We are tolerated.”
“Foreigners could be tolerated too,” said Cassandra on a positive note. “I take that as a sign other Dead could be among us, although in privacy, only with specific friends and family.”
“Everyone has herorhis own privacy space. I have always thought it for our individual selves. We need to rest from others, even Here. We need to be alone to think and to grow within.”
“Then, Greeks in love, romantically or in friendship, may harbor foreign guests from time to time. No one would ever know.”
Cassandra laughed at the thought with the realization that neither she nor Sophia was or never had been tied to any foreigner to the point they would be allowed into their privacy chambers. And, she suddenly realized more time had gone by than she thought. It was like we were discussing these foreigners in slow motion.
Suddenly, Thales walked through the doorway, said “Hello,” and looked for a chair.
“Where is Mario,” asked Sophia without surprise.
“He stopped at the bar. Aeneas had come in a half a block ahead of us.”
“Aeneas is not invited to this meeting, Thales.”
“Oh.” He thought with some anger and embarrassment, why then did you have the meeting here rather than in your private quarters? “Well, we thought he was and said something to him.”
“Why did he not come in then, with you?” asked Sophia in somewhat of a command voice.
“Aeneas was about to explain something to Mario. I just decided to come on in, as it appeared private.” Thales paused awkwardly then smiled politely and said, “I’ll go retrieve some extra chairs.”
Momentarily he came back with one chair for himself. “They disappeared. I don’t know whether they just walked out or what.”
***
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