Continuing with one of the themes in The Sun God’s Heir
trilogy, power continues to fascinate me. So many questions. If we have so much
of it, and we do if we measure it in total rather than by each, why aren’t we
(again I’m exploring a gross generalization) happier. In this global we, I include the fabulously
wealthy among us as well as the power mongers and dictators. What is power?
There are a couple of definitions, but I’ll use this one which deals more with
social situations than the ability to do work:
Power is the capacity or ability to direct or influence the
behavior of others or the course of events.
An easy answer would be survival. In the good old Cro-Magnon
days, a single human even armed, was not very high up on the actuarial scale.
Two or more was the imperative. I imagine the big question was “Do we fight or
run,” with the Super Bowl ring going to the winning answer. With two people,
you might have two answers. With three, depending on their ethnicity, who knows
how many. I’m being very positive here.
As a believer in reincarnation, I’m pretty sure I’ve had the
opportunity to make mistakes in many of the various tribes we’ve separated
into. So here’s where consensus makes its first appearance. Did those early
humans use logic. Probably not. Might definitely made right, but might still
had to pound people into consensus and when individual might (power) was light
on the intelligence side, and became Bantha poo doo, a new might became the
consensus maker.
So influencing the behavior of others is a survival trait. A
survival trait that evolves based on success. Somebody thought of that one.
What’s his name, oh yes, Darwin. So does the accrual of power as a positive
evolutionary trait continue forever, or does it reach a place where something
different than the ability to influence others passes it in evolutionary power.
Is there a location on the power graph where more power becomes less useful
toward specific outcome. In this case happiness. By the way, happiness is
totally in the eye of the beholder. Depending on the mental, emotional, and
psychopathic setup of the individual, I’m certain that happiness is widely
different. Since I’m exploring power, I’ll leave the definitions of why employ
it once physical survival is assured, for later.
Power is the application of energy. The accumulation of
energy is required. I will define energy as anything that causes movement. I
may dabble in layman’s quantum explanations and ask forgiveness up front. Just
consider this an exercise in science fiction. Here’s my premise:
Power as a means to effect an end grows inversely
proportional at a certain point on the continuum when every other downstream
vibration of its use is not or cannot be taken into consideration. In English; unless
you know where every vibration of the rock you throw into the pond is going,
you can’t know if throwing that rock will help you or hinder you.
The protagonist and antagonist in The Sun God’s Heir: Return
were brothers and disciples of an enlightened pharaoh. The power that each can
potentially wield is orders of magnitude above that of their fellow men. True
power begins to seek the consensus of the universe before throwing the stone
into the pond. It is the path of connecting with that consensus that really
jump starts evolution.
In The Sun God’s Heir: Return, one character forces his way
back into embodiment while the other has incarnated naturally. One remembers
the power gained in an earlier incarnation, the other must remember in order to
have a chance at defending himself and those he loves. Fortunately this journey
takes place in the latter part of the 17th century, a time of
pirates, of exploration, and great change. If you were good with a rapier, not
a bad time to be alive. If you could wield the powers of earth, water, air, and
fire, and if you were the only one, well, the possibilities for acquiring
power, the ability to direct or influence others, was unlimited. Unless it
wasn’t.
