Majgen Ch. 019

"We are trying to keep it contained," he stated.

"Trying and failing miserably," added Majgen.

With the Path came increased perceptive abilities. No other Follower of the Path had attained the continuous unusual perception which Majgen possessed. Yet, most Followers now and then experienced - ever so briefly - to sense like Majgen did. In such moments they could gain memories not offered - even through a mind shield. This way the knowledge that Majgen, a mere human, was the Founder slowly spread amongst the Followers of the Path of the Heart.

"I know that you and the others have started asking all who know to not attend gatherings," said Majgen. "I want you to stop doing that. You should not try to isolate those who know from others, it is not fair to them." Majgen sensed what Mooje was about to reply, and forestalled his objection, "I don't want you to set up separate gatherings for those who know either."

"But it would only be temporary, Maijien. Just until things are safer for you."

"It would be wrong, Mooje. I don't want the Path to be split into sections. The Path is for everyone who wants it. We are not to be split apart in strange groups and affiliations. No matter what we are, or who we are, when we of the Path meet to share then we are equals. All welcomed as who we are."

'All welcomed as who we are.' Majgen's words echoed in Mooje's mind.

"Mooje, you are staring at me that way again." Majgen said it with a smile to lessen the rude impact of the rebuttal. She regularly educated her friends on perceiving her as a person rather than a revered entity.

Mooje shook himself out of the reverie and returned his attention to the plants. With some of his reaching limbs covered in mud he commented, "You shouldn't really blame me for that relapse. You were using very flowery words, Maijien."

"Flowery even?" asked Majgen. "I guess I had best stop talking before you mistake me for one of the plants and decide to cover my legs with the carefully gathered shit from cold-blooded herbivorous animals."

"Droppings, Maijien, in gardening we call it droppings."

"Well, I call it shit, and you are covered with it." Majgen grinned mischievously, for making such a rude joke on her friend. Mooje didn't quite understand what the joke was though.

Yijejos didn't understand human lavatory jokes. The view on lavatory functions was quite different between the two species. The human omnivorous digestive system -- that allowed them to eat both meat and vegetative food -- required a spatially well-defined symbiosis with microorganisms. Some of the microorganisms required late in the digestive system, would be harmful if present in more than trace amounts in the earlier parts of their digestion. Thus biologically, human faeces was unsanitary for humans.

Culturally, this gave rise to faecal jokes, as well as frequently occurring referrals to shit when speaking of derogatory matters in a less formal language.

Unlike humans, yijejos were fully herbivorous. Symbiosis with microorganisms was well-defined in their digestive systems too, but their balance with those symbionts was less fragile than was the case for humans. The microorganisms in yijejo droppings were not harmful to a yijejo if ingested orally in large amounts. In fact, yijejos could gain a certain amount of nourishment from eating yijejo shit.

When a human said 'go eat shit' to another it was a meaningless insult. If a yijejo said it to another it was a comment related to poverty, or to a lack of willingness to spend money. A good example would be the phrase: 'If it is too expensive, you can go eat shit.' If a human said this to another, the 'go eat shit' part would be meaningless - yet derogatory. Whereas amongst yijejos it would be a reality, a possible alternate way to sate immediate hunger.

At Majgen's time, however, the human and the yijejoan usage of the term 'go eat shit' had one common denominator - both were considered derogatory; in the human version because of a metaphoric referral to something unsanitary; in the yijejo version as a referral to an act related to poverty, hence connected to the very lowest social status.

----=(o)=----

Majgen and her friends had several rows regarding her wish to aid strangers in finding the Path. She agreed that any Follower meeting her might guess she was the Founder. Majgen also agreed that visitors who didn't guess her secret would wish to speak of the human who knew the Path so well.

The disagreement resided on the topic of whether or not it was worth the risk.

In the end Majgen's friends convinced her to only see to those who already knew her secret. Majgen demanded, though, that she would see people who had stumbled across it inadvertently too, not only those who had been told.

Peace did not return with that matter settled, though. A topic for even greater dispute was how to keep the secret of the Founder's identity from spreading amongst random Followers. Her friends wanted to push a separation of those who knew and those who didn't. Their insistence infuriated Majgen to the point of screaming obscenities.

"Maijien," said Inee, after she had accused them all of being unguarded eggs for the third time in one argument, even though she didn't know what it meant, "since you refuse to be our leader, you really have no right to tell us how to control the Path."

"Is that extortion, Inee?" asked Majgen. "Are you saying you will only do what is right, if I assume the role of leader?"

"It is not extortion. I am simply stating that if you won't lead us, you shouldn't tell us what to do."

"Really." Majgen's eyes narrowed, as she moved them from one to the other. "There is still something I can do, without assuming leadership."

Her friends remained quiet, not understanding where she was headed.

"I can simply remove your incentive for this wrong-doing."

Joone offered his love an insecure smile. "How do you intend to do that, Maijien?"

"I can call a news agency, inform them who I am, what the Path of the Heart is, and that it was I who founded it."

"That would be insane!" protested Inee.

"You can't be serious," stated Ene.

"Look at me, Ene. Feel me, Ene, then you will know I am serious," said Majgen. "I would rather reveal the secret myself than split the Path into two factions to keep it safe." Majgen turned her attention from Ene to Inee. "I am not insane, Inee. It is true that in the beginning, I did not understand what the Path of the Heart truly is. But, I do now. I will not let you set it off to a corrupted and crippled start. It would be against everything I believe in."

"You shouldn't risk yourself, Maijien." Joone's statement sounded more like a plea.

"Joone, my love," she replied, "around ten thousand follow the Path of the Heart now. Several Followers, who are well experienced in matters of mathematics, has independently concluded that the Path spreads exponentially. With a doubling time of less than three days." Majgen referred to yijejoan days, the doubling time had been estimated to about 2.5 yijejo days (21 human days). "If this is true, then in a few days there will be twenty-thousand Followers."

Majgen had calculated on the numbers in human time measures too, and came to think of what she had found,'If this exponential spread continues the Path will have more than a million Followers in half a year. By that time it will be impossible for the Path to remain mostly unnoticed as it is now.'

"I know that several of you had romantic ideas," continued Majgen with a softer tone of voice, "of slowly expanding your personal understanding of the Heart, of slowly sharing this with others. To slowly and peacefully make the Path spread across the universe over multiple generations. But, that is not what is happening. The path is spreading like a disease, friends. A very infectious disease."

"How can you compare it to a disease?" Niinon was baffled by Majgen's choice of words.

"The Path is not a disease, Niinon. It is a cure. But, how will one who has not felt the Path recognise that?" Majgen looked at her friends with sad compassion. "Sooner or later, you will hear the Path of the Heart referred to as a disease. When those it has not reached hear of how it spreads -- hear of how strangely devoted new Followers are to this trend -- then they will quite easily use and accept a word like disease."

Her friends winced when she used the phrase 'strangely devoted'. Majgen even noticed a flare of anger in them when she used the word 'trend'.

"You think I devaluate the Path by using such words." Majgen closed her eyes and reached towards her friends empathically.'Feel what I feel, see what I see.'

"Whatever is said, words are words."'The Path speaks not with words.' "Do not fall into the trap of believing what the Path truly is could be less by words uttered."'What we see, what we feel, what our hearts know.' "Glory lies within."'Truth and honesty lies within.' "Words are outside. Words can spread lies."'The heart cannot.' "You will hear untrue words, that are spoken in earnest."'Ignorance, innocently unknowing.'

" 'Promise me,' " she pleaded, with words and emotion. "Promise me that you will never use lies to protect the Path. Promise me that you will remain true till the end. Whichever lies will arise against the Path, promise me you will not fight it with lies too. Promise me you will defend the Path only with truth and love, never with violence. Promise you will never defend the Path for pride, and never for glory." Majgen went quiet a moment. " 'Most of all promise me that you will never, for any reason, force the Path upon any who does not want it.' "

Her friends looked at her quizzically.

"I don't understand, Maijien," admitted Inee.

Majgen sighed, she easily perceived that none of her friends understood. "It has to do with politics, and how politics corrupts. It has to do with power. At this time the Path is small, but it will grow large and strong. Gaining power corrupts, fear of losing power corrupts too. The Path is not a political organisation, but eventually the Path will have political significance, one way or the other."

Her friends still didn't understand.

'This will be difficult,' realised Majgen.

From her time with Ottearon Weissme, and with Baglian too, she had gained a profound social and political understanding. Her friends were empaths, they understood individuals better than random non-empaths would. Since they had gained the Path they had started understanding individuals better than most empaths too. But they had no understanding of the psychology of masses, nor the psychology of power.

'Their innate naivety in regard to yijejoan politics will make it even harder,' she thought.'Myths do have a strong effect on perception. What we believe, and what we know, those two concepts are so hard to keep apart.'

----=(o)=----

Imaun, Winin of Oaaa, sat comfortably in one of the Gathering Building's leisure rooms, peacefully contemplating. Two others were in the room too, also peacefully contemplating.

'The gatherings of the Path of the Heart are always so peaceful,' thought Imaun.'Even when people talk and joke there is such a peaceful feel to everything.' Like his parents, siblings, and other relatives, Imaun regularly attended Gatherings of the Heart.'The quiet revolution. No one ever refers to it with such words, though.'

At Gatherings of the Heart, he saw unusually few of those amongst the Eieie. Being an extremely high-ranked Eieie himself, he had trouble understanding why.'Shouldn't we of the Eieie be the ones most prone to see and accept this Path?'

There would always be more enigmas than time to contemplate them. But some riddles were more interesting than others, of course. Some closer to Heart than others.

'We of the Eieie know so much of the mind, and of empathy. Yet, the Path is harder for us to find. Why?'

When first introduced to the Path, Imaun had felt like a whole new world had opened to him. One he never knew he had always longed for. He had been swept away in it. But, he had known all along that he wasn't losing his footing, he was gaining it. The Path was in him now.

Yet, something was missing.

'I stopped evolving.' Imaun took a deep breath.'With the Path comes increased sensitivity. My sensitivity has increased. My perceptivity is greater than ever. But...' He found himself blocked, in his attempts to find words for his feelings.'Blocked. That is the word. I am blocked. I can't seem to move further, and I know there is more.'

Others too had an understanding of Imaun's struggle with truly finding the Path. Various members of his family had tried to comfort him, had told him it would come eventually.

'There is no rank within the Path, but I know -- even if no one has designated me as such -- that I am a novice at this.' Imaun pushed the aggravating thought away. It was a frustrating feeling. Knowing there was something he wanted, and that it was practically within his reach, yet not knowing exactly what it was - or how to get it.

----=(o)=----

'This part is so sad,' thought Majgen. Tears attempted to leave her eyes.

Joone moved his reaching limbs around her, to hold her even closer. "It has a happy ending you know," he whispered.

"Be quiet, don't ruin the movie."

Joone laughed at her complaint. "You know how it is going to end. The Legend of Princess Owane always ends the same way."

"Stop laughing, Love. I'll get motionsickness." Majgen's voice shook from her body being shaken in tune with the ripples of Joone's laughter.

"My apologies." Joone's laughter made his voice shake too. He did his best to stop laughing, however, and soon his laughter was a pleasant vibration beneath Majgen's body, rather than rigourous shaking.

"Rewind to where the sun rises, and the cameras zoom in on Mun. That actor plays the part of Mun really well. I want to see the whole stretch at once without interruptions."

"Your desires decide my destiny, Love," laughed Joone, and rewound to the spot Majgen had mentioned.

"I love you so much, Ji," said Princess Owane pressing against her beloved's body.

"I love you more than life, Owane," said Lord Ji, holding her tight. "Even if we had not mated my love for you would have lived forever, Princess."

"So would mine for you, Ji. It still makes me happy though, that now our bodies will love each other forever too, same as our minds."

"Me too, my mate, me too."

The cameras zoomed in on Lord Ji's shoulders to show the blue markings under his skin, marking the biological destruction of pheromone glands.

"You know," said Joone. "Right after a mating the markings aren't blue, they are dark purple. It isn't until after a couple of miuis that the colour fades to blue."

"Be quiet! I want to watch the movie," complained Majgen.

"I'm just saying that..."

"Sssh," Majgen resorted to a hissing human hushing sound, while focusing on the movie.

After Ji and Owane had whispered several love declarations to each other, the camera slowly moved away from their freshly mated bodies. The camera swept over the ground a bit, to move slowly upwards, giving a view of the horizon and the glorious sight of a rising sun.

Then the view swerved around to zoom in at a yijejo standing at a good distance from the newly mated couple. It was Mun, the loyal Royal Guard who had helped his princess escape to mate the love of her life, Lord Ji.

Even at a distance it was obvious he was crying. His body shook in that manner which was easily discerned from laughter. The camera slowly zoomed in on him, in tune with sunlight hitting him. His upper body was naked, apart from a blanket which he held against his abdomen.

'And why would his upper body be naked? He should be wearing his armour.' thought Joone, but didn't mention this unrealistic fictional liberty to Majgen.

The view became clearer, revealing male mating markings on the Royal Guard's chest. Explaining his distress.

'Poor Mun,' thought Majgen.'Doomed to spend the rest of his life mated to a woman who isn't mated to him, and isn't in love with him either.'

A tear managed to escape one of Majgen's eyes, as she watched Mun put his armour on, meticulously tightening each piece in place to fully hide the markings.

"No one need ever know my pain," said Mun. "I will not let my misery detract from my Princess's happiness."

Joone was, yet again, tempted to remind Majgen that Mun too would get his happiness before the story ended. The two heroes and the heroine had yet many perils and struggles ahead of them, though, before the Princess would learn of Mun's agony and mate him too. This time, Joone controlled his urges, and let Majgen enjoy the movie in quiet.

Two hours later the movie ended with a happy image of the two heroes and the heroine beginning their happy ever after, as mates and co-mates.

"That was a really good movie," said Majgen, and leaned further back to snuggle against Joone's chest.

"I've seen better," admitted Joone. "In my opinion the Legend of Princess Owane is better represented in dancing shows than in movies."

"Well, I loved it."

"And I love you," said Joone. He slipped a reaching limb up under her blouse and caressed the soft skin on her belly.

"I love you too." Majgen closed her eyes and enjoyed his warmth, his touch, and his empathic presence.

Joone moved his limb higher, to find a breast. He enjoyed the surge of lust going through her as he found both a breast and its nipple.

"Well, aren't you being naughty now?" said Majgen, teasingly encouraging him to play. When she didn't want that kind of attention she would either say it directly or gently pull his limbs away from sensitive places.

Joone smiled and caught both her arms with other limbs.

"If I am, what will you do about it?"

"Not a whole lot, I guess," laughed Majgen, but still tried to pull her arms free, as Joone slipped a second limb under her blouse.

'I love you,' transmitted Majgen.'More, please more.'

"Turn your senses off, Love," whispered Joone. "Let's play."

His love loved to play with him, and he loved to feel her ecstasy. At night they were the only two people in the world, and the world was the halls and rooms of the Winin's home.

Majgen turned her empathic senses off and smiled expectantly awaiting to learn what game Joone would create for her pleasure. She knew he often stole inspiration directly from her mind, but with her senses off she never knew what he would steal and what he would make up himself. Playing without being able to sense his emotions and plans was a special thrill.

Joone didn't disappoint, the game was thrilling, but never went too far. Joone never did. He never left her mind while they were intimate - whether they played games or made love.

Afterwards, they cuddled again. Majgen exhausted and happy; Joone relaxed and happy. They joined minds to wordlessly express their feelings for each other and remained that way together until Majgen dozed off.

While his love slept, Joone tailored - designed patterns and figures suitable for clothing, and sew small patches to test new ideas. He couldn't work for real, because of spending all night, every night, with his treasured Maijien. He missed his old work sometimes, a little, but considered his career as a high quality tailor a very small sacrifice to pay for what he had gained.

Love.

Love and the unique privilege of filling the role as lover in Maijien's life. He loved her immensely, but even if his love had been less vigourous, he would still have accepted that place in her life. Apart from being his friend, and his love, she was Maijien the Founder. He worshipped her.