The Mystic Paradigm: An Evolutionary Novel (5 page)

Chapter 8

The Council of Elders

and the Collective

Soon after reading the first two journals, Talis scheduled a time to meet with the Council of Elders to discuss what he had found. Even though he was somewhat reluctant, he had contacted the elder Michael and had told him of the mysterious journal entries. The Council wanted to see him right away.

Talis had never realized the importance that Grandfather had to the Council. He had led a somewhat quiet life, volunteering occasionally to help at schools or community events, yet did not attend many public meetings. Talis was somewhat surprised the Council was so interested in the journals. What did they know that he didn’t? Regardless, he trusted them to help him and to protect the general good of society. The only thing he regretted is that he did not have Jasmine by his side to steady him. He had tried to contact her before he left, but was only able to leave a message.

Talis had been to a few meetings of the Council, which were open to all, yet he knew about them mostly through his education. The Council of Elders was part of the new form of government that had been organized a few years after the revolution. It had replaced the older form of democracy which had caused such imbalance and chaos in earlier times. Each council comprised of elders elected by the larger society and by the smaller village-based councils. It was a regional collective, which was based on consensus and equality. It was a higher form of democracy, in which the first guiding principle was providing for all people’s basic needs: housing, food, clean water, health care, free education and personal freedom. These basics were a given right for all citizens. This goal was valued over rules, laws and a competitive economic system in which there were unequal classes of people.

As Talis boarded the maglev train for the Council chambers, he thought deeply about how this new system had changed their way of life. He had discussed the old competitive systems with Grandfather and couldn’t make sense of it.
How did these older systems ever work?
he thought to himself. Although it wasn’t a perfect system, their new way had brought overall peace and stability to the world.

Most of the new world was governed on a smaller grassroots level, giving local citizens the direct power to make decisions. The older centralized systems of government and commerce had been dissolved. Local decision-making and regional-based economics kept the new systems in balance. All people had a say in governmental and economic issues.

Talis had studied the old political system of the former United States in his school. Gone were the days of special interest lobbyists and money controlling the system. This was no longer allowed, nor was it desired. The Elders were chosen by their community groups. Local citizens and smaller village councils made local policy and put forth recommendations to the larger regional councils. Laws were very few as they were usually not necessary. Principles put forth to guide society were instead the preferred means of policy making. Their open and diverse education system gave people the tools to decide what was best for each community. It wasn’t a flawless process; at times decision-making could be very slow. Yet it worked well for the most part, keeping government truly controlled by its citizens. Talis and his generation had known no other way.

Talis looked out his train window at all the beauty he passed by. Green space dominated the landscape as many areas had been returned to its natural state. Trees and open space were complimented by small sustainable communities. Life was abundant and people in this area lived well.

Not far from Joshua’s home, Talis’s village was located near the old town of Salem, the former capital of Oregon. Much like Portland, it had also been broken up into smaller ecovillages. The former state of Oregon was now part of the Cascadia Bioregion in the Western Collective. Although divided into smaller regions, it consisted of most of the Pacific Northwest of what had been part of the former United States. Bioregions were areas in which the land was naturally connected by watersheds, mountains and flora. This was a natural division that helped with efficiency of trade, agriculture, economics and government. Each bioregion was in many ways a separate entity, yet all cooperated fully with the other regions. Smaller regional government worked better for the world as policies and decisions were made at the local level by those that lived there. To deal with world issues, the various regional councils openly communicated and cooperated with each other as needed. To aid in the ongoing peace and to care for the important issues of the larger world, there were several universal principles agreed upon by all of the regional collectives of the United Continents.

When Talis had studied economics at the regional university, he had learned of the older 20
th
century systems. Economies were now locally controlled, with cooperation between the various regions of the world. He often wondered how the economic world had ever functioned using the old models. In the current system there were no large corporations or centralized government entities that controlled the economy. Large financial institutions as well as national and multi-national corporations were dissolved soon after the revolution. They were all broken apart into smaller locally-controlled entities. The national and international stock markets were also dissolved. Profit made on speculative gain was no longer accepted. Investments could be made and a certain amount of fair ethical profit was allowed, but this was controlled on the regional levels. Grassroots local democracy was part of the new economic model.

Talis still remembered how his grandfather would marvel at all that had been accomplished since the revolution. Control of industries and business was given back to the local regions and the local citizens. The guiding principles of economic equality along with strong environmental philosophies worked hand-in-hand with making money. Profit was not valued as much as service to others and to the good of the community and the world. Many businesses were worker-owned. Industry and business operated under a stable state philosophy in which the impact of money, products and production were balanced with the overall environmental and societal impact. Wages were also equalized so that profit was shared by all. People could earn more than others and some still did, but there was no longer a wealthy elite class that controlled the economy. The new economic principles focused on fair distribution of wealth.

Grandfather had been particularly proud of stopping what had been called the “military industrial complex”. He often said to Talis. “That one thing changed the world.” The destructive relationship that he spoke of between war and business dissolved soon after the revolution. It had been over 60 years since any war had occurred. Military conflict was no longer desirable or profitable. Large national armies were disbanded, and instead local regions organized citizen service units to help when needed. Most regions had very little trouble with violence or power struggles. Money and resources had been put to use in more helpful ways. These monetary shifts and philosophical changes had also helped provide the budgets needed to meet the basic needs of the people. Talis was very proud of the work they had done in this century.

Talis lost track of time thinking about all these things. He suddenly realized that he had reached his destination, arriving at the Council chambers late in the afternoon. The sun sparkled on the surface of the reflecting pool that stretched in front of the commons. As Talis entered the Council chambers he was met by Michael and Tythia, Grandfather’s friends from the reflection. They smiled and warmly embraced Talis.

“Welcome my son,” Tythia said. “We are glad that you are here. We have much to discuss I hear?”

“Yes, I thought it important to share my grandfather’s writings with the Council as you had requested. There are questions that I can’t seem to answer.”

Michael smiled nervously and added. “Yes, as I mentioned earlier, I feel there are some important issues that we may be able to help you with.”

And with that they entered the chambers where the other members were waiting.

Each member was sitting around a large, round wooden table. The table itself was beautifully handcrafted and was pleasant for Talis to sit at. The members cordially greeted Talis as he sat down to discuss the journal. As was customary in Council gatherings, they began the meeting with silent meditation. Talis enjoyed this time to breathe and let go of his nervousness. He thought about his grandfather and for a moment he felt his presence. As the meditation ended, the Council focused their attention on the matter at hand. Talis felt a strong sense of urgency among them.

Marias, the current speaker of the Council, took a long drink of water and looked around the chamber before he focused on speaking to Talis.

“Talis Dueter, thank you for coming before us. We are most anxious to discuss your grandfather’s journal. He was a respected member of our society and he is missed. Please feel relaxed as we are here to share with you. Please tell us what bothers you and what brings you to us.”

Talis took a few breaths as he was still a bit nervous and somewhat cautious of what he should tell them.

“My grandfather had told me that I would find certain hidden truths that I was to share. He had never discussed this until close to his passing. I have read the journals and found them to be somewhat disturbing.”

“Disturbing?” Marias asked in an alarmed tone. “In what way?” There were whispers from several of the Council members as Talis focused on explaining in more detail.

“There seems to be a conflict inside the original collective that concerned my grandfather. The Mystic Collective had grown weary of keeping the high energy so steady during the initial uprising. There were signs of stress and disagreement among them. What bothered me the most were his writings about the mystic known as Lillian.”

The room grew silent and the energy intense. Talis kept his composure. He became slightly agitated because of the thick tension he felt from the others.

There was a long pause, then Michael spoke. “Talis, are you aware of what happened with Lillian and several of the Mystic Order?”

Talis felt confused. Had he not remembered this part of the revolution? He answered slowly. “No, I am not familiar other than I know their energy is what helped transform our society.”

Tythia, fidgeting with her notes so as to hide her nervousness, spoke to Talis directly. “Lillian was a powerful mystic, yet little is known of her whereabouts after those first months of the revolution. We are not exactly sure of how it happened, but she and several of the other high mystics disappeared right after the initial energy shift.”

Talis tried to comprehend what had been said, but was having a difficult time. “Disappeared? What do you mean?”

Marias felt he should take over the discussion before it went too far. “We do not know what happened, only that it did. We have heard many stories about this. Some say they were taken by the opposition. Some say they grew tired and simply walked away. Others say that they did not return from the other side while holding the high energy. Regardless, it was a setback for the revolution and for a short time we almost did not succeed.”

Talis slumped in his chair and looked down at the table. He was surprised. “Didn’t succeed? You mean the revolution?”

“Yes, it was not until we re-stabilized the energy field with the help of the remaining mystics and some activists—such as your grandfather—that we were able to find peace among our people. This took many weeks and caused the uprising to become violent in certain regions. This did not help in our nonviolent revolution, of course, so we had to take quick action to save ourselves from failure. We are not sure how exactly we stabilized the situation; it was probably a combination of things. As Elders, we still have various opinions. What matters, though, is that we did finally turn the tables and succeed in establishing peace again. You being here is proof of that.”

Talis took a long drink of water from the pitcher before him. His head was spinning and he took a moment to process what he was hearing. It did fit with what he had read in the first journals and the way his grandfather had described his concern and stress over the situation. Talis knew he had one journal to finish. Would that provide the answers to what had happened? The third journal had been slightly damaged and he had entrusted its repair to an expert craftsperson. The repair would be a delicate process and would take a few weeks. He spoke slowly and softly, almost with apprehension.

“As most of you know, I have one journal to finish. I assume it would it be helpful to the Council to know what it says?” The energy was intense and the Council was dead silent. Talis didn’t know what to do.

After a long pause Marias spoke once again. He looked quickly around at the others then turned his glance directly toward Talis. “My son Talis, it is of upmost importance that we learn all we can from the journals. To this day we do not know what caused the disappearance and what saved us in the end. We understand the seers at the University are also interested, as parts of this time period have been lost in their visions. To solve that mystery would bring an understanding to all that we have been through and all that we continue to work for.”

Talis understood the weight of his job, yet he was also confused why no one knew what had happened during this time. And why was there so much nervousness? He thought about what he should say. He had nothing to hide, but something didn’t quite add up.

He decided to trust them for now and make the appropriate response. “I will do my best to help solve this mystery. I will return to you as soon as I am able to read the journal.” In truth, he needed to talk to Jasmine and Joshua before he did anything else.