Free Monthly #26 A Major's Lesson
Major Clyde, philosophical soldier, has an idealistic military concept
Introduction
I have said that with Emergence: Fall of the West I would take a break and move on to other stories. The Emergence Duology is, at the core, the story of Tory. As much as I love her and Franklin, they deserve to live in as much normalcy as can be expected. However, as anyone who’s read Fall of the West or any of the 21st Century Short Stories knows, there are other people with stories to share. While I am primarily focused on a different universe (or alternate timeline???) for the time being, I do have some ideas for where the World of Emergence will go when I return to it.
While part of the World of Emergence, this short story shifts the focus away from downbeat geopolitical and ideological messes of Earth to upbeat futurism! However, that doesn’t mean there can’t be a little conflict and some small ideological messes along the way!
The World of Emergence | A Major’s Lesson
The assembly was a customary affair for all ships before a sendoff. We assumed it would be quick and clear like the colony spaceships. They typically contained a clear mission directive and the hopes of the leader. Most leaders were too nervous for more before interstellar travel. Our ship, however, was a military vessel being sent to protect a colony from some native threat. Major Clyde watched as we assembled in the mess hall in an orderly fashion. When movement ceased, Major Clyde stepped up on the stage and spoke.
“You are soldiers, not philosophers. I find this to be a problem and I intend to convince you the best soldiers are well-studied in the arts and philosophy and not just the normative academy subjects of strategy and combat. That is my goal before we arrive at our destination and I will start you on that path with this:
“They say there are sides to history, and that each side is clear. Everyone knows which side is right and which is wrong. They are wrong. There are no sides to history, only lessons. Lessons from history written by the victors. Everything else is a lie meant to divide us, part of the game played to control us. It is one thing to speak within the game to convince people to look for something more… and another to speak within the game to keep people stuck in the systematic oppression the game perpetrates.
“Nothing is as cold and dark, as lonely and immutable, as the mere reality of history. There are no sides to history. Those who claim to be on the right side are always on the wrong side. And those who claim others are on the wrong side will inevitably be on the wrong side of history. This is an axiom. This is how the world works. It has been true for millennia and it is just as true now.
“There are many characteristics that seem irredeemable, but there are only perspectives and lenses to view these characteristics in. All perspective leads to the end state; the most objective of facts: there is no right or wrong, no good or evil, no left or right. These are all made up and determined by subjective opinions. They are lies we tell ourselves that define the world. These lies are so deeply ingrained that many believe they are objective. I tell you know, they are not.
“As soldiers, it is our duty to rely on objective logistical realities and individualist determinism in a balanced duality. To break the carefully trained order in our organization is to risk the lives of our fellow soldiers, to engage in an act of treason. To rely too much on our self-preservation or opinion, our subjectivity, is destroy what community and collective power we possess. We must trust that we have been trained to know when it is time for more of one or the other. We must trust one another, and put our faith in each other for our lives are in the hands of one another. Together, we keep ourselves from flailing in the solar winds of interstellar space as individuals, believing we are doing what is right.
“This is most obvious when watching a supervillain fight a superhero, or learning about total war, or even about the mundane things like arithmetic. The supervillain is doing what they must to accomplish their mission, whether it manifests as revenge against those who committed a perceived injustice, or to ‘save the world’ from some other perceived evil. Rare is the villain that believes they’re the bad guy. To summarize their goals in an archetype is to call them ‘one who seeks to change the world through a certain perspective’.
“Total war is much the same. Sure, fighting the fascists and communists of the 20th century was the lesser of two evils, believing one side was right and the other wrong, but how many innocent bystanders had to die to win those wars? How many people who were only slaves to the state or non-participants in the political climate of that era?
“And I haven’t forgotten about that controversial comment regarding arithmetic. We all know mathematics is flawed. It is based on a system that’s unable to weed out irrationality in a subject that must have only rational truths. Historically, our culture used a base ten structure for our mathematic system and, while easy for everyone to understand, it’s unnatural for the universe. It’s a manmade concept which colludes and corrupts our minds. Our computer systems have manufactured ways to solve this, but we have yet to comprehend them. We trust that our systems can keep us on course. In other words, we know our computers, the artificial life they are, is intelligent. We believe humans are smart, that we have power, because we have reduced that which mustn’t be reduced, subjugated that which mustn’t be subjugated, and simplified that which is infinitely more complex so that we feel better about ourselves.
“Let me break it to you. Humans have little power. As individuals, we are weak. We’re one of the weakest entities in the galaxy, if not the universe. We mean nothing and have nothing. We are nothing. The only redeeming quality that humanity possesses is our ability to change, to adapt, to improve ourselves. When we work together, we manifest more power than even the largest star. And even that quality has two fundamental weaknesses-evolution and time. None of us have either on our side.
“And that’s the problem! That is why you’re all here today, with me. If we want to write history, we must first win it. If we want to be victors, we must know our flaws. We must accept them. We must know our enemy as thoroughly as they know themselves, and through that knowledge, we will find a weakness. With that knowledge, we will adapt, we will evolve. We’ll better ourselves and write history along the way.”
A long pause followed Major Clyde’s final words. We were at attention so we dared not clap, which felt like the right course of action in the face of such a speech. Instead, we looked forward, stoic and stiff, just as we were taught. The major stepped down and we all swayed as the ship engines roared and we jolted into faster than light travel. The shift into FTL meant that everyone and everything we left behind would be gone when we returned. Even with our speed, years would pass on earth before we’d arrive at our destination.
We were the first military vessel to leave the solar system, Sol, and use FTL technology. Our orders were to defeat an enemy attacking one of our first colonies. The Illuminated Remnant believed the planet was uninhabited by complex life. They were wrong.
We were dismissed and everyone gathered near the windows of the mess hall. The darkness ebbed and flowed before us like time itself was parting. It was, in a way. That was an immutable fact of FTL. Time was a fabric within the universe. We could manipulate its threads and pass through it like butter under a hot knife. Speed of light was no longer our limit. Our only limitation in speed was how fast our engines could propel the ship to our destination while maintaining the protective bubble surrounding the ship.
The protective bubble distorted what we could see in the window. To our eyes, it appeared as if the universe was being cut open at the bow of our ship. To our aft, the universe seemed to rush back together as each wave of light darted across our view. All we knew was behind us, soon to be history as we accelerated into the future.
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