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AIEL [SETTING: Ishamael's office as Acting CEO of the Darkfriends, in the absence of the Chairman of the Board, Mister Great Lord of the Dark himself! (His friends call him "Great Lord" for short). Or at least, this is the T'A'R manifestation of that office, since Ishy is still bound in the flesh for the time being.] [Aiel enters. She is naturally wearing cadin'sor and a black veil to conceal her features. Let's face it, she knows perfectly well that never in a million years would Ishamael be AFRAID of a single nonchanneler even if she had her veil drawn up as if ready for battle. He'll understand she just didn't want to run any risk of being identified by the crowd out in the waiting room.] ISHAMAEL: Welcome! How goes the Great Work in the Three-fold land? AIEL: Fairly well . . . we have not yet been able to make the custom of gai'shain become PERMANENT instead of for a single year, but we keep trying! There's a woman named Sevanna, the young bride of the Shaido clan chief, who, while not one of us, is receptive to certain quiet suggestions. She is currently trying to identify which of two brothers is likelier to survive the passage through Rhuidean so that when her aging husband dies, she will be prepared to retain a position of power in the new regime. ISHAMAEL: Still young, you say? Good! Gives us plenty of time to plant the idea of changing the gai'shain rules, if opportunity arises . . . AIEL: On the bright side, occasionally trespassers in the Three-fold Land (or peddlers and such who were welcome to pass through, but then were caught stealing or committing other major crimes) are sold into slavery at the Sharan border. Little by little, we are making the thought of slavery more acceptable to the Aiel mentality. ISHAMAEL (rubbing his hands together with glee): Aw, sweet slavery! The Seanchan fell for it, the Sharans fell for it, the Aiel are teetering on the brink . . . slavery always sounds like a wonderful idea, unless you think you're liable to end up as the one in chains instead of the one holding the whip and giving orders! If only I could figure out how those idiots west of the Dragonwall and east of the Aryth Ocean have managed to completely avoid the idea of human beings as property under any circumstances. Have they no imagination? AIEL: I wouldn't know, Great Lord. We still keep music very scarce . . . no man of my people would dream of singing anything whatsoever, except battle chants or the occasional funeral dirge. Unless of course he's a warrior and is taken gai'shain by a Maiden, in which case they teach him to sing other things for their amusement. A few musical instruments are used, but people don't generally sing along . . . ISHAMAEL: I swore I would wipe out folk music if it was the last thing I did! Among the Aiel, I appear to have just about achieved it. That still leaves other cultures to shred, but it's a start! Gives people too much hope for the future, too much insight into the problems of their ancestors, and otherwise makes them THINK too much . . . but battle chants are just plain STUPID! Glorifying slaughter . . . just the thing to make them run headlong into a hopeless battle. Is is the society of Stone Dogs who have already sworn an oath "never to retreat"? AIEL: That's the ones. ISHAMAEL [chuckling to himself]: Amazing the things mere mortals will fall for, if you convince them it makes them something Elite, much better than the fools around them! By the way, what is the current viewpoint of the Aiel toward the Cairhienin? AIEL: The very viewpoint you so strongly encouraged, Great Lord! If a wetlander king broke the old oaths and chopped down Avendoraldera, then ALL the men, women, and children of his land should be treated as oathbreakers and treekillers! The guilt falls upon ALL of them if their leader neglected his duty! ISHAMAEL: And how do the Taardad feel about the way their former clan chief, young Janduin, neglected HIS duties? First by letting a pregnant woman stay west of the Dragonwall when she should have been sent back to safety by all custom; second by abandoning his responsibilities as clan chief after she died, and just walking away? Do all Taardad feel shamed and guilty because of this? AIEL (very firmly): Of course not! Totally different situation! A Clan Chief's actions do NOT affect the moral condition of the other members of his clan! Each Aiel is responsible for his (or her) OWN choices, and no one else's, but wetlanders are all tarred with the same brush! ISHAMAEL [laughing long and hard]: Hypocrisy is such a BEAUTIFUL thing to see, don't you agree? AIEL: On that note, I should add that with every generation the dicates of ji'e'toh grow a little heavier to bear. Just as an example, for quite some time it's been a grave insult, tantamount to a challenge to a duel, to mention a man's mother-in-law or father-in-law to him if he didn't raise the subject first. Such a stupid little rule, so easily broken by mischance . . . ISHAMAEL: One of these days we shall finally achieve my dream . . . a system of "honor and obligation" which is SO massively complicated, so out of touch with reality, that it will be IMPOSSIBLE for any normal adult Aiel to get through a single day of normal social interaction without breaking at least ONE rule! At that point, they will hopefully toss the whole system in the rubbish heap and say, "Heck with it, I QUIT! Who needs honor and obligation anyway?" [AIEL maintains a discreet silence.] ISHAMAEL: Don't you agree? [More silence] ISHAMAEL [sharply]: What's wrong? You don't think it will happen? AIEL [tentatively]: Great Lord, I'm not sure you properly appreciate how STUBBORN my people are about sticking to a tradition for better or for worse, once it's been accepted. If they all entangled in blood feuds with one another simultaneously, they will STILL be true to their proud warrior traditions as a matter of pride! [ISHAMAEL starts to snap at her, then reconsiders.] ISHAMAEL [muttering to himself]: Warrior tradition . . . PRIDE in it . . . yes, that's the ticket! Got to render a devastating blow to their self-esteem in order to soften them up for other changes! [Raises his voice] Do the Wise ones and clan chiefs still refuse to discuss whatever it is they learn on their trips to Rhuidean? AIEL: Absolutely. ISHAMAEL: Good! Then it will come as a TOTAL shock to the rest of the Aiel! As if it made a particle of difference what one's distant ancestors were doing over three thousand years ago, or even thirty years ago! Pacifists, sadists, plagiarists . . . what's the difference? MY ancestors were mostly medical types who, instead of charging high fees for their great strength in Healing and thus becoming filthy rich very quickly, dedicated themselves (SHUDDER) to charity work among the poor and downtrodden! There's no money in that! But did I let THEIR insanity stop me from making a calm, rational decision to join the Great Lord of the Dark's forces and work my way up to Nae'blis? No, I OVERCAME my unfortunate family background for GOOD! [Pauses for breath, and the fires that were shooting three inches out of his eyesockets subside a little, back to a more (pardon the expression) "normal" condition)]. AIEL [looking a trifle intimidated, as if she's not absolutely certain Ishy meant her to hear such a personal revelation, and is afraid to draw attention to the fact that it stil happened]: Er, Great Lord, perhaps I should just be hurrying back to my body now . . . before one of the dreamwalking Wise Ones happens to notice something wrong? ISHAMAEL: Run along, Melindhra! I know where to find you when I want you! On your way out, send in the Cairhienin chap, will you? AIEL [shocked]: ME? Speak to a TREEKILLER? ISHAMAEL [those flames are roaring out of his face again]: JUST DO IT! |