Finding out where Heath and Marie live would be a trivial task for the
authorities of the Kansas City Police Department. The rest of the team can’t
go back there, and if they manage to break Heath and Angela out of the
holding cells—or even if they fail in the attempt—they never will again.
Fortunately, while Marie never had any intention of breaking the law before,
she devised ways of protecting her assets. The two of them are basically
survivalists, and they own a small patch of land on the outskirts of town
where they buried a secret bunker. Once the other four reunited at the
rendezvous point, they traveled there together to discuss recent events, and
formulate a plan. Marie asked Mateo not to mention anything about feeling
the pull of their pattern until they could solve this first problem, and he
agreed to that with no controversy.
The laws in this reality are very different. It’s been a long and deadly
road that got civilization to this point, and they’re paranoid about going
backwards. Many separate religions have similar ideas. In fact, a cursory
glance at each one might lead an outsider to believe that they all
originated from the same few ancient events, and branched out from there.
This may be true, but it’s caused hostility either way. One might think that
these cross-denominational similarities would help people find common
ground, but historically, they’ve only stirred up resentment. It would be
unthinkable and impossible to combine their faiths into one, so the fact
that they all think they’re right, and they’re right about the same thing,
just means that this town ain’t big enough for the both of us. Because one
of the major things they have in common is that a select few elite should be
in charge of all others, and the crux of the competing religions is that
everyone thinks they’re that elite.
While Heath works in information technology, religious studies is a passion
of his on the side, and he dedicates his free time to finding a way out of
these conflicts. WWVII is perpetually around the corner. Each peacetime is
met with another war, and a lot of people want to put a stop to it. Even
significant instigators of war don’t really want to do it anymore, they
always just feel compelled to compete against the others, who they think
aren’t as enlightened and peaceful as them. Scholars came up with a term to
describe it, which is Radical Defensivism, noting that it leads to some form
of offensivism if left unchecked. But don’t let anyone hear you say that,
because suggesting to an individual or group that they’re morally wrong for
wanting to protect themselves is considered, on its own, an act of offensive
aggression, and will only give them the excuse they were looking for to
retaliate.
According to current religious laws, freedom of religious pursuits is
protected above all else, but there are limits. Religious practice cannot
involve speaking ill of someone else’s beliefs, nor overly promoting one’s
own beliefs. That’s what Heath did that has got him in so much trouble. And
because he is known in certain circles as someone who attempts to solve the
antagonism from a practical and academic standpoint, it’s going to be so
much worse for him. And it could put his scholarly peaceful movement in
danger, so if his colleagues don’t denounce him and his actions as ironic,
they risk destroying their own reputation. They can’t allow one of their own
to be labeled a hypocrite, so they have to excise him from all association.
Whether he is freed or not, his dream of being a meaningful force for good
in this way is over. But there is some hope, because there’s a way to get
him out, and it has to do with that first class of religious laws.
By arresting him in the first place, the authorities also risk their
reputation. They are not meant to be above the laws, so if they deliberately
antagonize someone for their beliefs, they enter a gray area. In fact, the
entire thing is a gray area. It might be one’s belief that they ought to be
able to demean and argue against other people’s beliefs. There is no way to
satisfy some kind of moral imperative when it comes to something like this.
The concept itself is self-contradictory. You can’t be intolerant of
religiously intolerant people that claim their intolerance is a tenet of
their religion. The team could make the case that the cops were being the
hypocrites. Heath was shouting his intolerance in the middle of the night in
an industrial area where no one else was around. Only the authorities heard
his words, so they would have to testify against him in a personal capacity
in order to make the arrest stick. If they choose not to—which would be in
their best political interests—he should be free to go. He’ll still have to
be shunned by his community, but he’ll be able to go home. Angela should be
able to go home too, as long as she can successfully convince them that
she’s actually Marie.
“So, we’re not breaking them out?” Leona asks.
“We should do this the right way,” Marie replies.
“There’s a problem,” Ramses points out. “None of us has an identity. That’s
why Angela took your place, instead of claiming to be herself. You can’t
argue on behalf of either of them, because one of you isn’t supposed to
exist.”
Marie nods, “that’s why I’m not going to be the one going down there to
argue on their behalf. We’re going to need outside help, from someone I hope
we can trust.”
“Hope?” Mateo questions.
“Nothing in life is certain, Mateo, not even death or taxes. We should have
all learned that by now. I will say that this guy is our best chance, and he
has a...”
“A what?” Leona presses.
“He and Heath have history.”
“What kind of history?”
Marie takes a breath. “They were married before us. He believes that I stole
Heath from him, and he’s been trying to steal him back ever since. He won’t
want to help me, but he’ll want to help Heath. I just hope that side of him
overpowers the other.”
“Great,” Leona declares, “let’s go now.”
“He travels during the week for work,” Marie explains. “I don’t usually know
where, but I know he won’t be back until Friday.”
“What happens to our friends in the meantime?”
“The holding cells are actually rather comfortable; it’s a religious thing,
so they’re not being tortured in there, or anything. This reality does not
guarantee speedy due process. I doubt the pigs will do anything with them
until next week. You take the good with the bad.”
“One day it will all be the good,” Mateo muses. He didn’t mean to say it, it
just came out, and no one has the heart to dispute it. Though many strange
things have happened over the years. It could happen again.
