A World without Misery (now with images!)

Chapter 17 - At the Edge of the Oasis (pt1)

Chapter Seventeen: At the Edge of the Oasis

"There's always been a barrier between a man's beliefs and his actions. I don't think there's ever been anyone without this dissonance. It may be seen as one of our flaws, as some intrapersonal hypocrisy, but I think that it's too natural to not be hereditary. It's too common to not be a trait of human nature. This can only mean that we're better off as a species because our hearts and our brains disagree with each other," said a lost soul from the emptiness.

Though the tempest was unusually quiet, countless yells echoed through its endless hollows. Hatasuko could sense that distress still pervaded the abyss of lost souls, especially now that it had so many new victims, but the pressure was not as powerful as before. Hatasuko knew that this meant he was physically close to Vaida, even though he was asleep. Only one voice pressed enough to coherently speak from the edge of the tempest.

"But Kurt, how can hypocrisy be a positive trait? Everyone hates people who preach one code and live another. And rightfully so," Hatasuko replied.

"That's different; you never pushed your moral code onto anyone else. That is the difference between dissonance and hypocrisy. I believe that when we have a dissonant gap between our beliefs and our actions, then that is a way we can reconcile ideals with reality. In a perfect world, you would be able to create a world without misery, and you could do it without ever having to make sacrifices. In a perfect world, you would be able to achieve your dream without having to purge anyone who stands in the way. But that's just not realistic," Kurt explained.

"Why? Why is it unrealistic, Kurt? That's just not fair."

Kurt answered, "It's unrealistic because we can only work without sacrifices in a perfect world, and your dream is to create a perfect world. So in order for us to live in a world where sacrifice is unnecessary, it would already be your dream, and therefore you would have no dream."

"Yeah. I've heard this before. A couple times actually, but I forget where. The privilege of a dream is that it's a fantasy, but if it happens, then it was never truly a dream to begin with. I think it was Lazaro who told me that," Hatasuko muttered.

"That's right. I think that dissonance is crucial to the human condition for that reason. If we never accepted that actions have costs and consequences, then no one would ever make anything. No one would ever try anything. When the heart and the brain disagree, that's just a mediation between ideals and reality. Like a metaphorical handshake."

Hatasuko took a moment to process this. Though Vaida and the tempest had not said anything at all about his decision to kill Adishina's father, he could still feel a lingering sense of guilt. Due to his hatred for his victim, he did not feel apologetic. Instead, he simply felt guilty for going against his own sworn code to never take a human life. His guilt was an apology to himself.

"I suppose that's true. I never actually had a chance, did I? I was meant to break my code since the day I set foot on this path. I want to say that I wish reality wasn't so restrictive. I want to say that I wish reality would let me keep both my dream and my morals. Maybe I'm just acting like a child who wants everything handed to him," Hatasuko said to his ghostly friend.

Kurt chuckled and said, "That may be the case, but you should at least consider the possibility that you haven't done anything wrong. You seem to be operating on the thought that it's always a tragedy for a human life to end. But in reality, I think that there may be some exceptions. For example, your first victim was definitely going to die either way. If anything, you put him out of his misery while also seizing the power you needed to fight an Interfectus. That was justified. As for your second victim, he was a heartless villain. He left his daughter to die just so he could save himself. I am surrounded by the screams in the tempest at all moments; I can assure that they do not hold it against you."