Juli Zeh - The Method

Mia watches as Kramer settles into the pose of an orator. He presses his chin to his chest, encourages his eyebrows to rise up and down expressively, and shifts his weight in order to gesticulate freely with his right arm.

‘Take a look at the history books,’ he says. ‘You’ll see what happens when humans become infatuated with their physical ills. Barely fifty years ago, children were proud of scraped knees. Fully grown men and women drew hearts on each other’s plaster casts. Everyone complained about hay fever, back pain and indigestion, when all they wanted was attention — undeserved attention. Physical suffering was a serious topic of conversation. A visit to the doctor’s became a national sport. Illness was proof of one’s existence, as if people had to suffer to know they were alive. For centuries, people worshipped weakness; it even became the basis of a world religion. People knelt before pictures of an anorexic, bearded masochist with barbed wire on his head and blood flowing down his cheeks. The pride of the sick, the sanctity of the sick, the narcissism of the sick; these were the vices that poisoned humanity from the inside.’

‘Life,’ says Mia breezily, ‘begins at the height of its power. From birth, it’s a steady decline towards the end. The dramaturgy is all wrong.’

‘ D’accord . But in modern society, rather than worship the error, we correct it: we’ve identified the problem, and there’s no going back. How could anyone in this day and age argue rationally against seeing good health as the norm? Optimal functionality without weakness or impairment — health is the only possible ideal.’

‘Bravo, Kramer.’ Mia smiles like a contented cat and takes a sip of hot water. ‘If my hands were free, I’d applaud. Kramer number 1 is an excellent demagogue, but Kramer number 2 thinks any given system is as good as the next. First we called it Christianity, then democracy, and now we call it the Method. Always claiming an absolute truth, always wanting absolute Good, and always foisting itself on the rest of the world. It’s all religion. Why would an unbeliever like you want to fight in defence of the latest manifestation of the same old mistake?’

‘Very sharp — but be careful not to cut yourself, Frau Holl. Shall I save you the trouble of dissecting me further and give you an honest response?’

Kramer abandons his orator’s pose, rests his elbows on his knees and turns his palms towards the ceiling. He looks like a person trying to look like a person speaking from the heart. ‘In all honesty,’ he says, ‘I despise the antiquated inheritance of the bourgeois Enlightenment, the backwardness of libertarian thought. I can’t abide the childish pride of political partisans who insist on playing the hero. The people who complain about authority are simply too stupid, lazy or arrogant to appropriate the power they need to be effective. They stand on the sidelines and holler about injustice because they see the world as one big sour grape. But offer one of these self-declared revolutionaries a position of authority within the hated edifice, and I guarantee he’ll shut up and get on with the job. What does it tell us about our fellow humans, Frau Holl? They’re only too happy to claim that black is white when it plays to their vanity.’

‘Well, well,’ says Mia, smiling more broadly. ‘It’s astonishing how certain generalisations acquire a personal cast.’

‘The impetus for progress,’ says Kramer, ignoring Mia’s last remark, ‘comes from two things: society’s hubris and the individual’s need to prove himself. Every epoch in human history has claimed hundreds of thousands, if not millions of victims because people can’t resolve themselves to settle for the status quo. The Method is a perfectly good system; there’s no need to replace it with anything else.’

‘Surely you’re not serious? After everything that’s happened.’

‘Come on, Mia, you’re not that petty. A personal tragedy doesn’t make a political crisis. Every form of government claims the odd casualty, as I’m sure you’re aware. Despite what happened to your brother, the Method is far and away the fairest, most reliable system in history. Why are you looking at me so fiercely? Surely you don’t believe in a political paradise on Earth?’

‘I’m not looking at you fiercely,’ says Mia. ‘I’m just intrigued. By the way, I’m at a slight advantage: I’ve given up on reason. I’ve learned to think with my heart.’

‘How sweet! I didn’t have you down as a sensitive girl. You’ve changed, Mia. I don’t know whether I should be sorry or pleased. A few days ago, I almost thought we were kindred spirits.’

‘I’d be honoured to have as little in common with you as possible.’

‘As you like. But maybe you’d care to tell me what your newly discovered heart is thinking?’

‘It’s thinking about freedom.’

Kramer presses an index finger to his temple and groans.

‘I didn’t mean to give you a headache,’ says Mia, ‘but don’t worry, you passed.’

‘Passed what?’

‘The test.’ Mia arches her back and stretches luxuriantly. ‘Would you like the results? You have recognised that you’re intelligent — too intelligent to make binding, final and irreversible decisions. In other words, your intelligence debars you from power. Which is why you’ve nailed your pride and your sense of self-worth to the Method. You’re a partisan, too, Herr Kramer. A partisan on the side of the status quo. It makes you an absolutely reliable enemy of mine.’

‘I don’t think you’ll be short of enemies in future.’

‘In that case, you should count yourself lucky that I decided to talk to you ; I’m sure you’ll be able to find a place for this episode in the chronicle of your importance. For my part, I only want you as my mouthpiece. You’ll need a pen and paper. I’m relying on you as a man of honour to cite me directly.’

Kramer roars with laughter, then falls silent. He opens his mouth, starts to say something, and stops. For a few seconds it seems as though he might lose his self-control. The look that he bestows on Mia betrays a readiness to use physical violence. Little by little, the threat melts into a mocking grin, and Kramer lowers his head.

‘Second category?’ enquires Mia solicitously.

‘Second category,’ says Kramer, looking for paper and pen.

‘My apologies, Mia,’ says the ideal inamorata. ‘Moritz would have loved this.’

I REFUSE TO trust a society that is made up of humans and based on a fear of what is human. I refuse to trust a civilisation that has sold out the mind to the body. I refuse to trust a body that represents a collective vision of a normalised body rather than my own flesh, my own blood. I refuse to trust a definition of normality based on good health. I refuse to trust a definition of health based on normality. I refuse to trust a system of government based on logical fallacies. I refuse to trust an idea of safety that claims to be the definitive answer without disclosing what the question is. I refuse to trust a philosophical system that holds existential debate to be over and done with. I refuse to trust an ethical framework that opts for ‘functional’ and ‘non-functional’ rather than confronting the paradox of good and evil. I refuse to trust a legal system that derives its success from controlling every aspect of its citizens’ lives. I refuse to trust a population that believes total transparency exposes only those with something to hide. I refuse to trust the Method for valuing a person’s DNA over his word. I refuse to trust the common good for seeing individuality as an unjustifiable expense. I refuse to trust personal interest that is merely a variation on a collective theme. I refuse to trust a political system that draws its popularity entirely from the promise of a life free of risk. I refuse to trust natural sciences that repudiate free will. I refuse to trust a notion of love that casts itself as the product of two optimally suited immune systems. I refuse to trust parents who see tree houses as accidents waiting to happen and pets as carriers of disease. I refuse to trust a system that claims to know better than I do what is good for me. I refuse to trust the person who took down the sign at the gates to humanity that said: ‘Caution! Life leads to death!’