“It’s a primitive trick of bending light, Mr. Conner. That’s only technical knowledge. Your question is not germane.”
“What would be a better one?”
“Perhaps one that helps to uncover the roots of human violence, since that is the greatest obstacle to a peaceful human future.”
“Not all humans are violent.”
“That’s right, Mr. Conner, and in them humanity’s promise lives, but enough are violent to keep your world in perpetual chaos.”
“We discourage violence, and have laws against it.”
“Is that the official line, Mr. Conner?”
“No, it isn’t. It’s based on our traditions of law and morality that have taken centuries to establish.”
“And they will take centuries more to reestablish once they’re lost.”
“Then why don’t you help us try to keep them from being lost?”
“The peril and confusion of your world is of your own making. Only you can choose to leave it behind. You can start by looking at the way you speak. Humans use a vocabulary that eventually weaves itself out into the reality of war and violent conflict.”
“How do you mean?”
“When is the last time you heard someone use the word enemy, Mr. Conner? We’re you shocked when you heard the word spoken by one human being to describe another? Or did you simply accept it unquestioningly? To accept casual use of that word is to casually accept the faulty premise it implies. You speak, and think in categories that you uncritically accept at face value. Repeated human speech produces the human reality it describes. After you speak about war, tell stories about war, memorialize war, and exalt those who engage in war, is it any wonder that you eventually wage war? You are still enthralled by primitive mythologies of conquest and valor, and your slavish adherence to these archaic notions of heroism and martial sacrifice is what conditions you to irrational fear and the aggression it spawns.”
“Most human beings don’t want violence. The overwhelming majority want peace,” the Vice President says.
“Do they?”
“Yes, I believe that.”
“Then why do they flock in droves to see the countlessly reenacted scenes of criminal violence rife in your media culture? Why is the plight of so many women in your world one of abuse and intimidation? If as you say, the overwhelming majority of people in your world want peace, Mr. Conner, then why don’t they embrace peace in their own lives?”
“Peace is something we’re still striving for. The fact that we haven’t attained it yet doesn’t mean it’s something we don’t want or value. We don’t want violence in our world.”
“You traffic in violence. For you it’s a commodity, simply another commercial product that you market and sell for profit. The ubiquitous image of the physically dominant male is central in your stories, and fables. Even after all the needless anguish he brings to your world, he is given tribute, and lauded as heroic. Those celebrated action figures and military heroes that are portrayed as saving your world are in reality the greatest threat to its future.
As the Vice President pauses, he looks away for a moment and sees Ken Myers sitting between his wife, Carol, and Allen Forbes, his assigned Secret Service agent, and he also notices a change in the President’s facial and body posture, as if he suddenly remembered something of consequence. The President’s bearing and physical demeanor seems to awaken from the passive stillness that he so oddly exhibited before this moment. Hearing the President speak to his wife, he clearly hears him say to her,
“Carol, I want you to go to a hotel and get some rest. You’ve been here for over twenty-four hours now. Please.”
“When will I hear from you?” Carol asks.
“Soon, I promise.”
“Okay”
Turning to Secret Service Agent Allen Forbes, who has been with him for most of the twenty-nine hours that have passed since this unlikely drama began, the President asks, “Allen will you please escort my wife to a hotel where she can get a good night’s sleep?”
“Are you staying here, Sir?”
“Yes. Don’t worry about me, Allen. With all these Secret Service people around here, what could happen?”
“Sir—”
“Please do this for me, Allen.”
“Yes, Sir, I will.”
“Thank you. Remember, Allen, whatever happens, it’s all for the best.”
At this all three rise from their seats. As the President kisses his wife goodbye, he tells her, “I’m so glad we had that long talk this morning.”
“So am I.”
“I’ll talk to you soon, Carol. I love you.”