James's Descent Ch. 08

"And why is nobody contradicting me or giving any challenge? Come on, this isn't the point for you guys to just listen quietly. I can be wrong and I probably am."

"Not when it really matters." Pam commented on his words.

Most were thinking... reflecting on everything he said, trying to find both where he was right... and where he was wrong. But far more came to show the merits of his words. He would face some minor corrections, additions, clarifications... things that caretakers should know. Needed extra rules to not make the spirit of these go down. The man's insistence on challenges did not imply that they needed to discard all comforts. Comfort was the needed reward for those challenges... but it was worth less if one did not work for them.

James saw none rise yet. They wanted more. He might as well give more.

"You know, there is something else in that question of yours. What are our values? The correct wording is 'what does the outsider want of us?'. And, in truth, I just want you guys to have a decent life, let others live a decent life, help them to it, and such. You can discard my words or embrace them, adjust them... does not matter as long as you do right. As long as what we built here is a place where people can have a good life for the work they put in. A world where your lowest is at least capable of having a decent life instead of the continued existence of others' comfort relying on the consumption of people. A world where I would not mind being anywhere in it rather than hoping, striving... yearning.... To be among those who hurt others simply because they can have a nice life and the rest don't. I think it's possible. And apparently, the things that I believe should happen. So go make them happen. If you do that, I'm good."

Most felt put on the spot, their minds read even thoughts they were not aware of. He did not have a zealous following, but pretty much everyone could be thankful for him. And if that was his request... they could work to grant it.

He'd ramble for a couple more hours, specifically at their request, as every time he thought it was enough, they wanted more. It was with reason as the man had seen and thought about a lot of things... he knew all the mistakes they should not commit and even ways to avoid them. James would touch upon the seven sins and how they might interpret sins of their ideology for not following those ideas, but equally, he did not consider them sins... rather consequences, facts... things you cannot avoid. Over more days, his rants on the old world would be almost requested, but he had learned to quiet them down, and keep it to just the learning experience. If there was something else to be applauded it was that he did not try to erase the knowledge of that world to declare this was how it always was. No, it was to be remembered and learned from, even if they were wrong.

And, thankfully, after that couple of hours would they have enough.

*

Despite the bloody cold, James found a mild enjoyment of this act. Or maybe it was because of the freezing temperatures that he did. Snow had set all around them and kept falling from the sky, slowly adding more to be shoveled later if they wanted to get around the settlement more easily. He was out behind his house... their house... chopping wood. If his dad was here he might chastise him about not doing this before the snow had set in. But he was not and the man went through the motion with a reflexive ease. One more bucket and he could feel warmth again. In truth, James liked the cold. Insects fucked off and it was much easier to heat up than to cool down. Just a bit more for the stove.

He'd emerge from the backdoor in a few more minutes to the mildly-warm interior that he planned to make even warmer, a pair of wood-loaded buckets in his hands to bring over to the stove, snow having set on his coat and head cover and face red from the frost. Pami thought he looked particularly manly in that moment as she sat on the bed, covered almost to her eyes.

"Cold out there?" She asked the question full of sarcasm.

"I've seen worse. Could be a blizzard."

"Yeah, we've seen worse too. It was so damn cold where you set us down."

"Apologies, but that was easier than other places."

The man would crouch before the wrought-iron stove to get the fire going again, with only embers left from last night. No coffee break outside today or in any day until spring shows up again. Another season. He was now living at their pace, but the days were just going by... His job was either to advise someone here and there or help the restoration office with reviving old technology. Mostly from what he remembered. A bit of cleaning the ashes away, then put in the wood as he had done a thousand times before. The fire was lit and the big pieces burning before they knew it, conversation helping thoughts of the cold go away.

"You make that look easy. You sure you're not using some power?"

"Nope. This is all me. Used to have this as the job back home. Chop wood, light the fires before everyone comes to work. I got good at it. Ya gotta be merciless with firewood."

"Well, sorry I'm not helping, but..."

She gestured towards her stomach, which now had inflated once more in a familiar sensation to the girl... though this time it was taking much longer than before. No more three-month pregnancies, no more children growing up in a couple of years. The slow way, the natural way. Pam almost wanted to reverse that.... It felt so much easier when the days of waddling around were over before she knew it.

James did not resent her for that. Nope, this was one of those moments to hold up to gender roles. Once the fire was going, he'd go get their coffee ready, but this time they'd use the stove rather than the usual plate. A slower mug of coffee, but one to feel a tad nicer. Once the kettle was on, he'd return to bed for a good ten minutes of laying down before he had to watch it. The man liked to pamper his pregnant wife. His arm would come around her to let the girl rest on his chest. Such a comfy position. She thought he had such a soft chest.

"I'm still surprised you agreed to have another. I mean, you must have had more babies than mother. Or almost... she had a few going before."

"Yeah, and she had twins. Last one, but... I wanted to raise one with you."

"Have me around this time to help them up." Beat. "You know, I keep having that manly feeling of absolutely losing it over you being pregnant."

"You look pretty calm to me."

"I guess we had enough excitement to make this feel like nothing. But it's still something. Also... you know I keep it cool under pressure."

"Your crisis is our catastrophe." She gave him a chuckle. "Good. You can help out when the time comes. Bet Fi would love to help out on this one. She's getting really determined with her doctor thing. But I feel like she's doing stuff on the side."

"Seems like she's trying to do her own research on all the stuff we now need. Bigger settlements present different challenges."

That it did. Such a concentration of people gave rise to particular new issues, with combat wounds no longer being a weekly occurrence and things such as disease, childbirth, and toothaches becoming the main troubles of the astorians. James himself needed so much dental work that his daughter was amazed at how he could go on like that. When every visit to a dentist costs 5% of your monthly earnings, you learn to just endure.

After approximately ten minutes, the man picked up the sounds of the kettle starting to boil, rising to deal with it before their stove was covered in that brew. Today they'd enjoy coffee in bed... very carefully. James would enjoy his smoking later. No more smokes for Pam until that pregnancy was done, to her thorough dislike. Can't have the baby come out wrong or thirsting for a ciggy. The man knew why you held off on things that fuck with your brain chemistry during the times when that brain is still developing.

But it was looking.... Like he was going to enjoy it. Even these hard times were not unwelcome, as the cold made more people gather in the great hall, leading to far more conversations and other interactions, enjoying the fruits of previous labor that were increasing by the day. The first playback device was reverse-engineered from memory and James gave them over a hundred movies to watch... some of those being porn, but most were decent hits he thought this culture needed. Stories of people showing bravery, intelligence... and great comedies. Nice things to watch when the outside was so unpleasant.

Soon would come the anniversary of one year since their arrival, a time that they decided would mark their calendar. The planet of New Astoria had a similar enough orbit, perhaps a godsend to have exactly 360 days on the dot for its year with none of the leap year crap. Months would come at 30 days exactly and weeks to 5 days. But these notions would not last... one day they would have to abandon the calendar altogether...

Time rolled on.

*

Marcus was unsure of how the man would respond to the document. His office was clean, sparsely-decorated, and served for little more than private meetings or help with organization. The mayor was at the moment the "supreme leader" of these people, but his job was incredibly lacking in having to lead. Most of the time he was just deciding on the will of the people. It was a sort of democracy, though much more in-depth on how he had to care about what those beneath him said. Sometimes he thought that he had no real "authority" and could be replaced by a computer. And on other days he found his role to be needed.

Across from him, on the other side of the desk laden with papers and a few welcoming drinks, James was reading a 12-page essay on why they should have everything go back to "normal", with none of the new additions he made. It was in-depth on not just the usefulness of those things he discarded, but on the philosophical weight of it... how the people needed the challenge. Finally... the outsider would erupt into laughter which Marcus found hard to gauge if this was the kind of laugh to say "What absolute idiots" or if he was feeling genuine joy.

"My own words thrown back at me! And by my own children. I see Fiona had plenty of contributions to it. She has this particular style I can recognize."

Okay, he was amused in a good way. Quite happy with their defiance.

"I've read it twice. Personally, I kind of like the changes. And yet they don't."

"Too strange for most, I guess. But she's got a point. I'm messing with systems that were established in time to great thought and with so much interdependence.... Who knows what I fucked up. Even if things work out."

"So... guess we're back to normal? Is normal like back on the lost world or.... The others?"

"The others. Technically, the lost worlds had some stuff that was far easier and they're requesting that stuff be changed too. Okay, I guess we got our foothold. I might have to assist a bit to help them adjust... but, fine. Though, we'll have to set a date for that change. Can't have two people in the middle of dirty fun suddenly find that crap makes them vomit hard."

"Yes, that would be best. How about one more year and midnight of the new year is when you change it back?"

"Your idea or theirs?" That was delivered with a smirk. James liked to remind the man of his position. He was just a relay.

"Mine, for now. But I'll ask down and they'll ask along. You know... I feel like this system is not the best. Kinda slow to reach a decision if we have to ask everyone every time... think if we added two more layers... it could take months to reach any sort of decision."

"Faster than Congress. But I think you have an idea there. You make a decision and send it further down for approval. It's okay, it gets done... no.... You see about it. And yeah, sometimes you will have to do some decisions by yourself. The point is to be in touch with the people that the second part is almost a formality. Almost."

They were starting to grow. And with it, came problems. Already some were not being helpful.... The first criminal elements. While they asked for James's advice, they always considered it with a grain of salt. His recommendation was to not waste resources on keeping people alive. See who is actually sorry and might turn a new leaf... and see who is going to get out and do the exact same thing again. For those, end it right then and there. Marcus found some wisdom in the decision.... He saw plenty of people who saw prison as some formality. Just a few years and they get back out to do it again, learning from their capture on what not to do. The mobsters who kept ruling from behind prison bars or the politicians who were given a luxury hotel rather than a punishment. He knew enough of how the old world worked... their world was not that different from his, just more advanced, but with the same problems.

"On another topic for today... we're going to have to set down laws. Though, I don't quite know how we're going to work as a government if you expect people to just... defy us."

"Religion is not law. Religion is guidance for when law stops doing what it's supposed to do... or when it can't precisely rule on something. No matter how many laws you make, you can't keep people good. Law is just what you put in so people can work together."

"So... put down laws, but expect people to break them if it works against them."

"Correct. You can't just expect people to go along because you told them to. And it's important to be open to feedback. Even if that feedback might be violent. Heck, if you block any sort of non-violent means of defiance, you're only gonna see the violent one. No matter how hard you try to stamp that out." Beat. "And then there's me."

"Yes." A sigh. This was going to be difficult. But it had to be. "Well, do you have any suggestions where to go with our first laws? Other than the obvious?"

"Actually... I do have some ideas. Just a second..."

James thought that the document had some good ideas. But despite those good ideas, the people who were supposed to follow it had fallen hard. Maybe this was a second attempt. He willed something into existence, a piece of paper that was not as ancient as it tried to look like... a modern copy of a copy of a copy. A text that started with "We the People". His chair was moved so they both read it at once. Though already there were things to strike out.

"Okay, no congress, no senate, none of that stuff. They're supposed to be things to keep each other in check, but it just led to influence trading, petty squabbles, and a hundred people doing nothing. If there's any, it's your community to hold you accountable."

"Any term limits?" Marcus looked over the document, thinking how it might be ironic to use this.

"I'd say no... as long as people want you. I've seen them used for good and ill, forcing someone good out because they were there too long... and others staying because nobody was able to get them out."

"Taxes?"

"How about you don't just take a cut of everything and rather propose projects and have people pitch in? Those are your taxes. If nobody wants to help... maybe you shouldn't do it."

It sounded stupid. People might just refuse to pay for other things that might not be immediately beneficial to them... or even to those that were. But somewhere in there was a wisdom. The mayor had heard the sayings. The man was not stupid for no reason. A large part of the document had to be discarded. It just spoke of senators and rules for them, how to set laws, and such. Laws should be set by the leaders at the decision of their community, meaning you could have laws just for a community and laws to affect everyone, but those were wished by those under them... see what people need and want and serve on that.

More and more the document seemed useless, as much as the outsider hoped it could be a great guideline. Maybe this was the reality of government... you just had to be specific on all the wording and outline everything. He did not do that, just giving vague directions for people to interpret their way and do their way, trusting in their skill and wisdom. The opposite of how governments work. Usually, they had to give precise commands and had the power of law to punish if those were not followed exactly, even if they had no damned idea what was further down the line. What can the ruler of a billion people say of the troubles his people have?

"Hm. This part. Who will judge things and such?"

"I suppose that eventually, we will need some sort of law enforcement. Ideally, we want to keep those separate, but not too separate. Also, none of that thing of law enforcement investigating themselves. If any complaint emerges, someone else completely separate does it."

"And you might propose they function on the community system as well."

"Hey, it sounds like a good idea to me. But it's your call. I'm just the advisor. But my advice is to NOT become the guy calling all the shots. You need some division or it's all gonna become incestuous in the bad way."

And they got to the good part.... The part that James was interested in. Though he wanted to elaborate on these, reword them... make them clear on how to do them and not do them.

"Alright... this part. Freedom of expression and religion, opinion... all that. You know there are technically laws that break this one. Can't have an opinion against this, can't have an opinion that does not do this, can't follow that religion. No, I want this to be abso-fucking-lute. You've got the right to any opinion, even if it's against someone else. It's natural. People come into conflict. If I ever see a law saying you can't hold a particular thought I am cutting the guy who made it in half and those who enforce it in four bits."

"Noted. So, the first Grand Rule is that there will be no law, no suppression of any kind nor consequence merely for holding a thought or opinion, whichever it may be, even if it is against a group, an idea... or a god."

"Defiance is sacred. Sure, what you do with those thoughts is another thing, but you can't fucking arrest people just for saying you're an idiot. Oh, same with speech. Yeah, words can lead to things, but those are actions someone decided on. It is your right to flip off a cop and any who pursues any sort of consequence just for that deserves to get shot."

"Which leads us to the second rule..." Marcus thought that one might be a favorite.

"Word this one like it's for children. Everyone, everywhere, at any time, under any circumstance, during any event, no matter fucking what... has a right to guns. And they are here not for hunting, not for wall decoration, not for locking in a safe that you have to secure with fifteen government-approved locks... no, guns are there to shoot cops when they break any of these rules. If anyone tries to take away guns, they deserve to be shot and if ANYONE forbids people from having guns I will personally shove their legs up their ass while they still have them attached. Note that down." James had quite the passion in his words.

"Some might argue that's a safety issue."

"It's a safety issue to tyrants. Do your job right and no one will use them against you. And if you're worried that this will give criminals easy access to guns, well it also gives it to everyone else which means those criminals are gonna get fucking shot."

"Then we have our second Grand Rule. There will be no consequence, legal or otherwise to people having guns as they are the tools of defiance needed to keep a government honest."

"If you have some cop say they arrested some guy or shot them because they felt unsafe about them having a weapon, just shoot them on the spot. And I do mean on the spot."

Deep breath from James. He needed a bit of calm. He saw too many breakings of this rule. He had a long list of people that needed to be shot... a list he had not yet started working on. Someday he might forget his old world, but such anger stays with you. Thankfully, the third took them in another direction.