Summary: She has the thought. He has the speech. And when they collide, only truth remains.
He had noted her suggestions without much ado or any further discussions. Her principles radically differed from his or his architects for that matter. The old age home was going to be designed in the way she had recommended. Her thought process had nagged him for all of two days. He had grudgingly accepted it because in the end it had all reduced to profitability of the endeavor and the concise of the section of the society to which he was foreign to. It was one line that had actually refused to leave him.
"It is good for the society", was what she had said. The underlying words of abstract truth had not escaped him. Though she was only in her late teens, she had an uncanny perception about things which almost everyone of her age even failed to notice. Maybe because she was forced to grow up, he consoled himself.
She had uttered the same line again when they were driving back to their office after a long day of meeting with the client. The girl generally did not speak much about morals or social equations. He assumed that it was because of the kind of life she lead and the things she had to go through. But he was curious as to know what her thought process was really like. So he spoke.
"You were quite lyrical two days back, preaching us what is good for an old age home and what is not", he started casually. She looked at him in mild surprise. She hadn't realized that he would still be gung ho about it.
"What I spoke that afternoon was a mere reflection of a society that is slowly turning into dystopia. My suggestions were clearly in the lines of highlighting a truth which you see as an abstract concept while I see it as a necessity", she replied. He glanced at her and took in her relaxed state. The way she spoke about things made her look even more innocent and nave but the ideology screamed of maturity. She was a conundrum he couldn't solve. But that was exactly what made his life all the more interesting after their life got hopelessly intertwined.
"Easy there girl. You almost speak like a well written brochure of an NGO trying to roach funds from a bunch of altruists. My intent wasn't that; words that people utter and try to effortlessly drive to be the perfect citizens of a specific society. What you did with the design proposal was that, is it not?"
No, she hadn't. She had no hidden agenda when she mentioned those suggestions. He knew it very well. But he wanted to understand the girl more, a little better than others; a little better than herself too. He was making an unnecessary implication just to see what she thought about things he was interested in.
"The fundamental belief which lies in this society is that, everyone is aware of the truth in its rawest form. Everyone does know what is good for the society and what isn't. The corruption of the thought influenced by various factors, over the span of a person's lifetime is what truly screws up ones moral and the way truth exists. It is not that the truth is completely lost. No, that never happens. It gets mutated. My intent was not to show an aspect of myself for evaluation of my humanity by you or by my peers present in that meeting; it was a natural reflex of what I believe as truth." She wasn't emotional nor was she agitated. The calmness in her voice didn't fail to surprise him. She had successfully rebuked him.
"One of the final steps of enforcing this truth, so that the society continue to exist in a state of bliss and unchanging state, or in your words, good society, is using violence to mark your belief into everyone's brain; violence or moral intimidation or even declaring someone insane to those who do not wish to align their thought process with yours or your perfect solution. Without much scope of freewill, the tangents the society can take are fairly reduced thus leading the society to maintain a consistent equilibrium."
The glance she shot him was unreadable. He wondered if he had crossed the line. He breathed a silent sigh of relief when she looked thoughtful and not agitated.
"You cannot possibly mix individualism and freewill. You are talking like an extremist who am not sure if you are trying to be or you are truly one in reality. Because what you mentioned is like taking pulse of the society and baseline that as the truth. Glorifying into individual vibes from a specific section of society and accepting it as something 'good' would surely turn our society to the ones ruled by wolves where every man acts like an errant wolf towards another man. Both individualism and freewill have to be exercised with caution and well within the set legal boundaries."
She very easily called on her brother's psychotic extremist beliefs and expressed her dislike obviously. Of course she does; he tried to kill her after all, his mind rebuked. There were times when her face looked haunted as if her past was bombarding on her consciousness from all directions. In those moments he burdened her with extra work so that she couldn't practically offered to think of anything else other than work. She was annoyed with him for the first couple of times but she had realized what his true intentions were for which she was grateful.
"We aren't talking about those people here, are we? It is about finding a temporary relief in the way we operate things and improving only that area for the betterment. You suggested to make a really, really good old age home and perhaps the next time we present a design for old age home, it will be better than what we did. But the underlying issue, the reason why we are building an old age home in the first place, is lost in censorship of goodness and vastly satisfying a specific section of the society." He chanced a glance at her and found her looking at him intently. He could see that she had an answer. But he also knew that she wouldn't be able to present a convincing line of argument in this case.
It was simple, really. She was a person who honestly wanted to do good to and in the society. There were no pre-calculated moves to ensure a success in that direction nor did she walk on eggshells for a guaranteed outcome.
She just was.
"Sir, we cannot and it is also impossible to say if collectivism or individualism or extremist way of thinking is the way to judge or operate an abstract society. Society, like a human, is continuously evolving and is changing itself with every small decision or a major blow for the betterment of lifestyle and just not economic conditions. The society which you belong is greatly different from mine; but it doesn't mean that they can't cross path and merge or clash violently. But in their own individualistic definitions, they thrive to improve the life conditions of the people in it."
He stared at her. It was impossible not to. A year less of her age, he would have called her a child. In his point of view, sometimes she still was. But there were many times when she proved him wrong and he saw her as a woman.
But in that instance, she was everything he wanted.
"Let's call it a stalemate?" No, he wasn't conceding; merely acknowledging her intelligence.
"Only if you buy me an ice-cream. Double scoop. With lots of dry fruits." She instantly negotiated. He chuckled and shook his head as she fantasized verbally about the cold treat she was going to get.
Yes, she was everything he wanted.
Sookie
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