Dragons' Truth

Chapter 15

Permalink for this paragraph 0 The dragons waiting outside knew instantly that this was so.  Bryyt had been correct, Larry had shared the true sight with each of them.  They had seen and understood the entire exchange, and knew what must next be done.  One by one they closed their eyes, and by the time the last pair of eyes was closed, not a dragon remained in the enclave.  Merle flew down into the cave to speak to Larry.

Permalink for this paragraph 0 “How do you think this is going to go?”  Merle’s voice startled Larry, who had been carefully conjuring the broken scroll jars back to their former ancient but whole states.

Permalink for this paragraph 0 “Do you mean to ask how I think humanity will deal with the dragons attempts to help, considering the last four days?”  Larry sighed, replacing a scroll within a reconstituted jar and sealing it with a warm breath and a blot of wax that melted into place.  “It depends on a lot of things.  Eventually we’ll get everything straightened out, but at first there will be doubt and apprehension.  Would you trust a loathed enemy who had killed your family and friends and burned down your house to help you rebuild that very house?”

Permalink for this paragraph 0 “Probably not.”  Merle began to do what he could to help with restoring the cave to its proper state.

Permalink for this paragraph 0 “But we have an advantage, you see, because of the sight.  Most of the dragons have moved directly to the leaders of the world.  By now, most of them have the full and true sight, and are beginning to see and understand all that had happened.  With those leaders’ communication with their people, things will go a lot smoother than if the geographically more efficient method the dragons had been used to were used.  Since each being with the full and true sight can share it easily with any other being with a soul, it will start slow and grow quickly, and soon enough, everyone everywhere will understand.”

Permalink for this paragraph 0 “What about those who, like Bryyt, refuse to face the truth?”

Permalink for this paragraph 0 “That is a question I do not have an answer for.  With old dragons, it was easy, because they could see that the things they were holding on to were no longer possible, and had no choice but to give up living.  With humanity, few are old enough that they are surviving on the power of their spirit alone.  They may see that they are clutching false beliefs, but have enough physical strength to hold onto their lives.”

Permalink for this paragraph 0 “With full and true sight, they will see everything you do, they will see all the ways the universe can be bent and influenced by ‘magic’, and they will have all the power, instantly, of a long-studied wizard.”

Permalink for this paragraph 0 “But so will everyone around them.  Control of space and time and energy, the connection to the entire force of the total universe that we all share, this virtual omnipotence that we have always had a connection to… it is not a tool for creating a power struggle or for putting some in power and others in oppression when it is shared equally by all.”

Permalink for this paragraph 0 “And until it is shared by all, who is going to protect those who understand and agree from those who see the truth and lash out against it?”

Permalink for this paragraph 0 “We are.”  Larry put the finishing touches on the final scroll jug and surveyed the well-organized room before him, now a resource for all, man and dragon alike.  “All of us who understand and agree.  All of us whose drive it is to make the world a right place to live, and to bring all of man and all dragons together into harmony.  All of us who would be struck out against, it is our job to protect the untouched, and to touch them with the truth.”

Permalink for this paragraph 0 “That is an easy thing to say, and a harder thing to do.”

Permalink for this paragraph 0 “I know you did everything the hard way, Merle, but it doesn’t have to be that way.  You saw how I took to it all.  I learned everything you took eight thousand years researching in under a century.  Magic, dragon history and culture and philosophy, everything.  And you saw how the first dragons reacted to the full and true sight.  Already having an idea of how to use it to seek out the truth, they very quickly saw the error and horror of what they had been snatched away from, with their own sight.  Humanity, most of whom have never had a glimpse into pure, unadulterated truth, will not know how to see specific answers right away.  It will take some getting used to.  But they will each get a handle on it in their own time and in their own way.”

Permalink for this paragraph 0 “There will be problems.”

Permalink for this paragraph 0 “Undoubtedly.  I’m not saying there won’t be problems.  But there will be solutions, too.  Just as the United States faced economic upheaval as the basic teachings spread across the land and citizens everywhere began to stop doing what they didn’t want to do and began to do what they really did, there is a natural balance to be reached.  The difficulty will only exist until those who choose to try to deny the truth that exists before them either bend and accept the incontrovertible and universal truth, or pass away as Bryyt did.”

Permalink for this paragraph 0 “How long do you think that will take?  Bryyt fought for three thousand years.  Clearly this new level of power and light is greater than anything experienced by dragon or man before; how much damage, how much struggle, how much pain will these hard-headed people be able to give us?”

Permalink for this paragraph 0 “Remember, everyone will have access to the same power, the same truth.  That means that the playing field will be level again, not just for man, but between man and dragon alike.  Logically, since those who deny the truth in part will be denying themselves access to part or all of the universal power, they will actually be no match for those with a clear and unadulterated vision of the truth and pure access to the source of power.  Anything they can do from their limited scope will be less in one way or another than what someone with unlimited potential can do to stop them from acting altogether.”

Permalink for this paragraph 0 “But what if those who deny the truth outnumber those who accept it?”

Permalink for this paragraph 0 “I don’t believe that will be the case.  Sure, each being in the universe with a soul has free will to do and believe as they choose, but along with that choice comes a direct connection to the truth from the inside.  Since their new vision will simply mirror what they have known from inside all along, what being can deny the truth for long?  And then they will not only be able to see the truth with their full and true sight, but with the basic sight they were born with; they will see people working together in understanding, working towards a common goal and a common truth.  They will know each others’ heart, see each others’ spirit and intent.  Lying is impossible when those you try to lie to can see the truth conflict with your words.”

Permalink for this paragraph 0 Merle wasn’t sure he understood, so he tried it.  “Snow is hot.”  He could see the meaning of his words extending out from him towards Larry, but he could also see that it was in exact dissonance with the light of the truth.  In this way, that sentence appeared as a dark mist against a white sky before him.  He tried something more complicated.  “I am alive, I am a man, I am a dragon, I like to eat, I am a flower, I am speaking…” And as the words escaped his lips and mind, they resonated out across his full and true sight towards Larry.  Clear and bright and true, then fuzzy and dim, then clear but red instead of a shade of grey, then black again and clear, and last a mist of light white, the colors and patterns representing the connections in his mind and their relationships with the universal truth.  “I really can see, instantly and clearly, what is true and what is not, as I say it.”  A bright line across a bright background.

Permalink for this paragraph 0 “Yes, and as man and dragon learn side by side what they are seeing, they will not be vulnerable to lies or deceit ever again.”  Larry moved to Merle’s side.  “Let me show you something that may blow your mind.”  Larry closed his eyes, Merle knew to follow suit.  When they opened their eyes, they were in a prison cell block.

Permalink for this paragraph 0 “Why did you bring me here?”

Permalink for this paragraph 0 “Watch and listen.  None of these men yet see the truth, but you can.  Pay attention.”

Permalink for this paragraph 0 Larry flew back and forth, up and up and up until he had all of the prisoners’ attention.  The noise grew from a low murmur when they had first arrived to a raucous jubilance of shouts and calls and screaming.  Larry let out a long line of fire that burned from one end of the cellblock to the other, and shouted out in his most fearsome dragon voice, in plain English, “SILENCE!”  Silence certainly followed.

Permalink for this paragraph 0 Larry continued in English, but in tones just low enough to be heard from every cell, “If there is any man here who is innocent of the crimes they were convicted for, speak now!”  The noise level grew again to its former din, men yelling and screaming and pleading and joking from every cell, every man claiming innocence, it seemed.

Permalink for this paragraph 0 But Merle got the picture.  He could see their voices against the background of universal truth.  Most of the noise, as it echoed out with the rest, came out as a black cloud, all joining together with no definition because it was all the same type of lie.  But there were three thin lines of white inching their way through the noise, two on the ground level and one on the third level.  The brilliance might not have been so bright, but against the black lies being spewed out from every other being present, the light of the truth stood out like a beacon.

Permalink for this paragraph 0 Merle moved to one of the men telling the truth and looked him in the eye as he transformed from the form of a dragon which he had just been, to his natural form of a man.  He was better at the transformation than he had once been, and appeared fully clothed rather than nude at first.  He did not break eye contact with the now silent man, and did not notice that all who had witnessed his transformation had fallen silent.

Permalink for this paragraph 0 “You truly are innocent.”

Permalink for this paragraph 0 “Yes.”

Permalink for this paragraph 0 “She lied, she said it was rape, but it wasn’t.  She left you that morning because she found what she thought was another woman’s scent on the clothes in your closet, and to get back at you she reported that you had raped her.”

Permalink for this paragraph 0 “It was perfume I had bought for her birthday.  She showed up unexpectedly that night and I spilled it, trying to hide it.  She wouldn’t believe me, and I couldn’t prove my case because I couldn’t afford a better lawyer.”

Permalink for this paragraph 0 “I know.”  Merle gestured with his hand, and while the cell door swung open, the man’s cellmate was frozen in place.  “Come out.”  The man stepped out cautiously towards Merle, and did not flinch away as darkness began to glow towards him from the dark centers of Merle’s otherwise human eyes.  In seconds, the man understood, could see the truth.

Permalink for this paragraph 0 “Thank you, Merle.  Thank you.  I’ll let the others know.”  The man gestured at the prison door and as it closed, he stepped towards his former cellmate, still imprisoned, and darkness flowed out of the freed man’s eyes.  Merle moved to the other prisoner who was innocent on the ground floor.

Permalink for this paragraph 0 “You, too are innocent.”  Thanks were being muttered from the other side of the hall as the freed man shared the truth with each prisoner, one by one.

Permalink for this paragraph 0 “Yes.”

Permalink for this paragraph 0 “The cheese was next to the marinara sauce, which was free, and you thought that both dipping sauces were complimentary with your purchase.  You didn’t mean to steal the cheese.”

Permalink for this paragraph 0 “When I learned, as I was walking away, that the cheese was twenty-five cents, I tried to hand the cashier a quarter.  She wouldn’t take it.  She insisted I had stolen the cheese.”

Permalink for this paragraph 0 “I know.”  Merle gestured at the man, really young enough to be considered a boy, and pulled him through the cell door as though neither was real and the boy was standing eye to eye with him.  Merle shared the truth, and the boy began immediately to share it with the other prisoners, without more than a muttered thank you.

Permalink for this paragraph 0 Merle regained his dragon form, still pink after all these years despite his now knowing why that difference could be changed, and took to the air.  This cellblock of the prison was now nearly silent as every prisoner watched the two freed prisoners move from cell to cell in awe.  They were free, but not making a break for it, and the others simply didn’t know what to think.  Dragons they could accept before prisoners eschewing a chance at escape.

Permalink for this paragraph 0 “I see what you mean.  The justice system will be turned on its ear.”

Permalink for this paragraph 0 “What system?  Everyone will know right from wrong.  Everyone will know truth from lie.  It will be impossible to get away with a crime, because everyone will see through to the truth.  And better than that, watch those who had been criminals through and through just moments ago, how they change with just a glimpse of the truth, without a chance to get used to it and understand it.”

Permalink for this paragraph 0 “They’ve stopped radiating clouds of black.  The whole character of their person is changing as they find themselves connected with their true spirits…  it’s beautiful!”

Permalink for this paragraph 0 “And this is just the beginning, just a small example.  This is taking place all over the world.  Every dragon left alive is spreading the truth, and everyone they’ve already influenced is influencing more.  And it’s faster than you see here, because whereas there are still only the two people spreading the truth here, everywhere else, each new connected person is able to connect others right away, and the truth spreads exponentially.”

Permalink for this paragraph 0 “With just a look.  In just a second.”  Merle marveled, “I spent eight millennia working and never saw it, and now it’s spreading faster than the common cold to every being with a soul, and they don’t have to do a thing…  Amazing.”

Permalink for this paragraph 0 “You … you weren’t ready for it six hundred years ago, and then you learned the incomplete and partially skewed version that the dragons had, and that had practically locked you into that incomplete basis.  Like what happened with the Buddhists; they had a skewed perspective and it kept them from reaching enlightenment.  It wouldn’t have mattered how much more work you’d put into it, from that basis you wouldn’t have been able to see where you’d gone wrong; the tools you had for determining right from wrong were based in a flawed philosophy.”

Permalink for this paragraph 0 “Well of course I can see that now… my whole life filtered against a background of absolute truth, I can see every misstep, every place I ought to have done something else or not done something that changed the way things came out…  But I don’t feel any different for it.  So if I’m the same person I was before, does that mean all these criminals are the same people they were before?  Won’t they keep behaving the way they did before, whether or not they know incontrovertibly that it is wrong and they cannot get away with it?”

Permalink for this paragraph 0 “That is a question that only experience will answer for us, and one that may best be answered after the rest of the world is connected to the truth and has worked to build the nurturing and beautiful world that it can become.  If they are welcomed with open arms into paradise, and they can see for themselves that it is the truth, not a trap or a game, perhaps they will be able to adjust to a life without crime.”

Permalink for this paragraph 0 “But … what will people consider a crime?  What will happen to all the existing and conflicting laws of all the countries around the world?”

Permalink for this paragraph 0 “That will be up to their citizens, but as you have seen, justice is no longer a complicated matter with shades of grey.  Every being in the universe knows right from wrong.  They always have.  And with every being on Earth connected to universal truth and the completeness of vision, there will be no way for anyone to hide the wrong things they do.  The existing judicial systems simply make no sense.  But each country, each jurisdiction will have to have the right to choose to give it up on their own.  It may just fade away, from disuse as people may no longer bother to try to commit crimes against one another.”

Permalink for this paragraph 0 “I don’t understand why they would stop committing crimes just because they can see the truth.”

Permalink for this paragraph 0 “That isn’t the limit of it.  By seeing the truth, whole and complete, of the entire universe, they see every ounce of power and energy at their disposal, and their place in the total scheme of things.  Just as we can move from one place to another with the power of thought and move solid objects by interacting with them not by force but by finesse, so will everyone have these abilities and more.  What is the source of crime?  If it is out of unfulfilled needs, simply tapping into the universal infinite source of all life can now fulfill those needs.  If it is from a misunderstanding, each position will be instantly communicated in fullness to everyone involved, and clarity can be found.  If it is out of irrationality, everyone will know that it is, and if knowing their irrationality does not stop the irrational one, those around them with their understanding and infinite power certainly can, before any harm can be done.”

Permalink for this paragraph 0 “And what do we do with those who remain irrational?  Who deny the truth, who choose to act without heed for it?  What can be done with them?”

Permalink for this paragraph 0 “The same as can be done with any other, just to communicate with them, teach them, help them to understand what they are seeing, what it all means, and what possibilities exist for them if they simply reach out towards their true desires.”

Permalink for this paragraph 0 “And if their true desires are for evil things?  If what they want the most out of life is for harm to come to others?”

Permalink for this paragraph 0 “Harming others is not an end in itself, it is a means to an end.  What they truly desire is something beyond that, and with their sight they will see that.  And with guidance, they will be able to see beyond their foreshortened desire to the actual ends they seek and the path that is best and easiest to it.”

Permalink for this paragraph 0 The cellblock around them was silent.  Every prisoner had seen the truth, and was contemplating it.  Some of them faded away, turning to dust as they saw that their lives no longer had any reason to go on, but most began to see that there existed a real purpose for them beyond what they had known or believed could be true.  The two freed prisoners knew without asking what they should do next, and they showed the guards the truth, and together with the guards, shared the truth with the rest of the prison.  Merle and Larry flew out and away, neither speaking for a while as they enjoyed the sun on their backs and the wind on their scales and skin.