Page 88 of The Seducer
“We don’t know for sure. Humanity has always been curious by nature. We suspect that they were more occupied by seeingwhatthey could invent instead of asking themselves if theyshould.”
I wasn’t sure why she was telling me all this, but I liked her soft voice and the way she spoke to me as if I was an adult. Being twelve, I hated it when people spoke as if I was slow-thinking, just because I was young. Samone made me feel good about myself.
“You may wonder why I am talking to you about all of this,” she said as if she had read my mind. “But it’s simply to underline how history has shown us that humans are capable of doing horrible things to themselves and others. That’s why our leaders in the Council are chosen with great care from among those who exhibit high morals and integrity.”
“You want me to become a Council member?”
“No.” She smiled. “I’m here to talk to you about becoming a priestess, like me.”
My eyes flew to her tattoos and I smiled.
“Just like Council members, priestesses are chosen as children too. While Council members learn about laws and human rights, we have a different focus.”
I tilted my head, listening with full attention.
“Our real title is spiritual counselors, but people kept referring to us as priestesses and somewhere along the way we adopted that title, although it isn’t very accurate since we don’t practice religion,” Samone pointed out.
“What is religion?” I asked.
“That’s a good question,” she said and leaned back. “It’s a doctrine that prescribes a way of living built on rituals created to give a sense of security.”
“I don’t understand,” I admitted, but Samone just smiled patiently and explained. “In the olden days people would live their lives depending on which religion they were born into. Some had rituals that included when and what to eat, what clothes to wear, how often to pray, who to socialize with, and who to marry. Often the priests would tell horrible stories about awful things that would happen if people broke these traditions.”
“Was it true?” I asked with a small frown.
“No, but it was a way for the priests to gain control, and unfortunately it divided people because every religion claimed to be the right one, and the others to be wrong.”
I wrinkled my nose. “That’s silly.”
Samone nodded. “Yes. Some believers were extreme and killed people in the name of their religion. Others broke free and became agnostics who claimed neither faith nor disbelief in a God. Or they became atheists who dismissed religion and swore by science only.” She angled her head with a sad expression. “Many atheists were just as divisive and some were even arrogant because they saw themselves as superior to the religious believers, whom they called degrading names.”
“Like what?” I asked.
“Mostly they saw religious people as naïve and mindless sheep. Today we don’t judge that harshly.” Samone smiled at me. “We understand that there were many beautiful parts of religion that people enjoyed, such as a strong community and a sense of connection.” She paused and looked at me. “That was the part that people missed when all religions were banned after the war.”
I didn’t know what to say, so I waited for her to continue.
“The thing is…” Samone sighed. “When you study religion you’ll see that there is a pattern. No, let me phrase it in a different way. There’s a root. It’s almost like a message was delivered to humanity and it became the foundation of all religions before it was shaped by different agendas.”
I sat up straighter. “What was that message?”
Samone smiled again. “Kindness and love.” Lifting her hand, she tucked a strand of my red hair behind my ear. “The Christians said, ‘In everything, do to others as you would have them do to you,’ the Buddhists said, ‘Treat not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful,’ the Hindus said, ‘This is the sum of duty, do not do to others what would cause pain to you.” Samone looked up as if to remember. “And the Muslims said ‘Wish for others what you wish for yourself.” She looked at me with a serious expression. “It’s the same in all religions, but maybe my favorite is from Judaism where a prophet said, ‘What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbors; this is the whole Torah, the rest is commentary.’”
“What is the Torah?”
“A religious rule book that offered comfort to the believers of that faith. The Christians had a book they called the Bible, the Muslims called their book the Koran.”
“I see.”
“Athena, people have a need for connection and community. That will never change. Modern people don’t live by religious ideas anymore. That doesn’t mean we are better than the ones who did. You have to remember what drew people to religion in the first place was always the core message about kindness and love.
“If you choose to become a priestess, you’ll have to carry that message in your heart and take on a destiny of servicing people when they are in need of guidance. I will teach you everything I know, and some day you will pass it on.”
I nodded with eagerness, thinking that the way this woman radiated kindness and beauty, she was everything I wanted to be.
“Take some time to think about it,” she insisted. “It’s not easy to put your own needs aside.”
The sound of a distant male voice had me looking up. “I need you, Athena. Come back to me, come on, baby, wake up.” I knew that voice but I couldn’t place it.
