Bernard Beckett: Genesis

That night he returned to the cave, this time with water, food, and blankets. Over the next day he nursed the traveller back to a state of health where she could sit up, and in faltering English, tell him the story of her past.

EXAMINER: You said before that there are two versions of this story. Tell us more about the second.

ANAXIMANDER: From the outset, investigators were suspicious of Adam’s story: his thorough knowledge of the gate security and terrain below the cliff face, the plausibility of the story he presented to the substitute, the way in which he manipulated Joseph. There were those who suggested that the entire action was premeditated and that the arrival of the traveller had been planned in advance. In the shock that followed the announcement that the security perimeter had finally been breached, the most complex and paranoid theories were advanced.

EXAMINER: But you discount them?

ANAXIMANDER: I do.

EXAMINER: Why?

ANAXIMANDER: History has shown us the futility of the conspiracy theory. Complexity gives rise to error, and in error we grow our prejudice.

EXAMINER: You sound like Pericles.

ANAXIMANDER: The words maybe his, but the sentiments are my own. In Adam’s case, I think it is better that we believe it happened as he told it. A simple human reaction to an unfolding situation. Conspiracy theory would have us believe it could not have happened any other way. That the whole event was premeditated and controlled. But the vessel was a small and battered single mast. How did it find its way to just the right watchtower at just the right time? And how was the detailed information needed for this feat ever conveyed? No reasonable method has ever been suggested. Although the reaction of the central control to the incident was largely procedural, there was much room for variation. The availability of substitutes dictates the time taken for them to arrive. It took fifteen minutes, but it could just as easily have been two minutes, or an hour. If he’d had a chance to plan it, Adam would have had food and clothing and medical supplies waiting for the arrival of the girl, but we know it was, in part, his hurried purchasing of this equipment the next day that triggered suspicions. No, I believe it happened as Adam told us. He looked into her eyes, and he felt he had to act.

EXAMINER: And didhe?

ANAXIMANDER: Did he what?

EXAMINER: Did he have to act?

ANAXIMANDER: I think that’s something on which every individual has to form their own opinion.

EXAMINER: A drifting stranger arrives from a land known to have been exposed to the most devastating plague in human history. There are strict instructions regarding correct procedure. And on an emotional whim, Adam chooses to kill his friend and risk the safety of his entire community. Can we clarify, please, that you believe there is more than one way of judging these actions?

Anax hesitated. She was not prepared for this line of questioning. Her specialist subject was history, not ethics. She could explain the process by which the evidence had been painstakingly put together as Adam’s story, but she could not propose a method by which that story should be judged. She had her own opinions, of course. Everybody did. Who hadn’t had this discussion, in their homes, their schools, their entertainment centers? But she wasn’t prepared to defend them, not on the record. She wasn’t qualified to defend them. Pericles had told her to answer each question as fully and truthfully as she could. He had told her they would try to unsettle her. That they would surprise her with the angles they took. She proceeded with the greatest care.

ANAXIMANDER: I think it is well known that there is a range of sympathies across the community. And I don’t think this should surprise us, given the prominent place Adam holds in our history. I think it is understandable, that some would interpret his actions as heroic. I think there is an urge in us to do this.

EXAMINER: And do you have that urge?

ANAXIMANDER: I am saying we all have that urge. Your question, I think, is whether I consider it an urge to be embraced or one to be controlled. Adam felt a sense of great empathy for the helpless traveler. He had been instructed to put that empathy aside, and the reasons for that instruction were sound. While he may have believed the threat of plague had passed, it was unreasonable for him to take it upon himself to make such a decision on behalf of the nation. He was no expert in virology. Nevertheless, I believe those who feel the urge to understand Adam’s heroism instinctively understand the importance of empathy. For a society to function successfully perhaps there needs to be a level of empathy which cannot be corrupted.

For the first time the change in all three Examiners was perceptible. They straightened. The leader loomed taller, their eyes burned more intensely.

EXAMINER: Are you saying a society wracked by plague is preferable to one wracked by indifference?

ANAXIMANDER: That is a good way of framing the question.

EXAMINER: And your answer?

ANAXIMANDER: I think, in the circumstances, it is impossible to justify the romanticism of Adams actions, although, given our history, we all have cause to be thankful for them.

Silence. They wanted her to say more, but Anax knew she had dodged a bullet and stood quietly before the panel, determined not to step back into its path.

EXAMINER: An interesting answer.

ANAXIMANDER: It was an interesting question.

EXAMINER: You will have been following the time carefully, I am sure. The first hour of the examination is now complete. From time to time, we will ask you to step outside into the waiting room, so that the panel can further plan the direction of the interview.

ANAXIMANDER: And you would like me to do that now?

EXAMINER: Ifyou don’t mind.

ANAXIMANDER: And in terms oftime?

EXAMINER: The clocks will be stopped.

Anax felt the doors slide open behind her. Another unexpected development. One down, four to go, she told herself, stay calm. A guard stood at the waiting room door, to make sure she made no attempt to communicate with the outside world, she assumed. He was older than her. She looked at him and smiled. He turned away.

Anax tried to use the time to her advantage. Truth was, the break had come at just the right moment. She had lied to them. She didn’t know it until she was forced to say it aloud, and the feeling was so strange she doubted it had gone unnoticed. Yes, Adam’s actions were romantic, irrational, unjustifiable. And yet, when forced to comment, Anax had spoken a lie.

She did not know whether she would have done the same thing had she been up in the watchtower, she just knew Adam wasn’t wrong to have done it. She tried to swallow back this new and dangerous knowledge and focus on what was coming next: surely the details of Adam’s arrest and subsequent trial. She reminded herself she was prepared. She reminded herself how much success meant to her, how much it would mean to see Pericles’ face when she delivered the news.

“Do you know how long they’re going to be?” Anax asked, after half an hour had passed with no word being sent through. The guard turned to her. From his expression, she could see he had not been expecting her to speak.

“How should I know that?” His voice was surprisingly soft and quiet. Not like a guard at all.

“I just thought, if you did this often…”

“I’ve never been here before,” he told her. “It’s my first time.”

“But you are watching me?”

“What?” Confusion tightened his features.

“You’re a guard, right? You’re here to make sure I don’t try to communicate.”

“How could you?” he replied. “The building is under full surveillance. All electronic traffic is tied down.”