Devolution (2 page)

Christian again signaled to the waitress. “What’s she doin’ over there?”

“There was a civil war and Julius Caesar was made dictator for life. The republic was gone forever. The
system
had to change… and it did.”

Christian finally got the pub-maid’s attention. He pointed to his empty glass.

“The empire that followed the civil war did well. It thrived for hundreds of years until weak emperors came to power. The country split in the 4th century and the most powerful nation the world had ever seen was eventually conquered by Germanic tribes.”

“But, that doesn’t make sense,” Christian said. “How can that happen?”

“Well, there are a bunch of theories,” John replied. “As the emperor gained power, the people felt less involved. With less devotion came less willingness to fight for Rome. Others say the empire became too large to secure its own borders, and the taxes they levied on conquered lands were too high, angering the people. Skirmishes disrupted trade and slowed the economy.

“It really was the perfect storm. You had economic decline, Germanic expansion, depopulation due to a plague that killed millions. Rome no longer could sustain a tax base or military. Similar epidemics hit in the third century as well. Their dense population could have made them a victim of their own success.

“One interesting theory is that Rome depended too much on its ability to conquer land and not on sustaining the land it had. The empire didn’t have a strong monetary system to regulate spending or the value of its currency. It depended heavily on gold. As their ability to conquer diminished, so did the supply of gold. They were forced to coin currency with less gold, causing inflation. Citizens began bartering for what they needed, limiting tax revenue.”

“So with less money they couldn’t pay a strong military,” Christian said, quite interested now that the beers arrived.

“As the economy got worse, food became scarce and people left the cities to farm. That created a heavy reliance on slaves, which made a strong middle class impossible. Eventually they fell behind the world in technology. The horseshoe, for example, out of Germania and gave their cavalry a huge advantage.”

“How do you know this?”

“My undergrad was history.”

“Ohhhh,” Christian said, “yeeaahh, I forgot.”

“When a country grows, it depletes its resources. In the case of Rome, they needed more raw materials like grain, metals, and slaves, so they ‘solved’ the problem by conquering more land. That’s not sustainable. As the empire grew, the cost to maintain it also grew. They got so big and weak that any disaster, like a famine, plague, invasion, or rapid inflation would break its back. And there’s your catalyst for revolution.”

Christian set his beer bottle on the table. “There’s got to be a lesson in all that.”

John raised an eyebrow. “Of course, but if we haven’t learned it by now, we never will.”

*

“
’Give me 26 lead soldiers and I will conquer the world.
’ Those words were uttered by a man who did his fair share of altering the map.” Professor Sorenson paced in front of the class, his head down and hands folded behind his back.

“More people have been persuaded by those 26 lead soldiers than by any military. Those little figures are in many ways invincible. But can they conquer the world?”

The old academic removed his spectacles to clean them on his faded flannel shirt. After securing them back on his nose, he cleared his throat.

“Sociology is the study of human behavior. If our goal is to predict behavior, then how do we analyze these 26 lead soldiers? What does their power say about us?”

He stopped again to study the vapid stares of his students, challenging someone to muster the courage to opine.

John thought back to the words of Dean Pricart.
You did the minimum.
He reluctantly raised his hand.

“Yes. Mr. Nolan?”

“I believe that speaks to our need for hope. Rhetoric, regardless of truth or reality, gives us reason to think the future will improve on the present.”

“How so?”

“We want to believe more is possible,” John said, choosing his words carefully. “No one wants change when things are good. During bad times, we look for someone to guide us, and there is never a shortage of power hungry people looking to exploit a crisis. These leaders convince us to follow them to a better future and we are happy to be part of the movement, even if we don’t know where it’s taking us. All the great revolutions throughout history occurred during tough times, when people needed something to believe in. It gives us a sense of personal meaning.”

John paused to collect his thoughts. “Most times what leaders propose has already been tried and oftentimes failed. But when we’re vulnerable, we’re easily manipulated
.
We’re told we can do better. ”

“Keep going with that,” Professor Sorenson encouraged.

“Well, take America, for example. What that country built in a matter of a few centuries was astonishing. However, when they faced a substantial problem, they abandoned the principles that created their prosperity. Real problems take time to fix. It takes effort and hard work—not accounting tricks. America didn’t want to wait, so they voted for politicians that fed off that energy. It was the abandonment of the very system that built that country that tore it apart. No military in the world could have conquered them. Instead, they fought a battle of ideas. The rival armies fought with speeches and pamphlets. A war of words. A war of lead soldiers.”

“So was Karl Marx right?” the professor challenged his student. “Can you really conquer the world with only the 26 letters on a keyboard?”

John nodded. “If they can dismantle the most powerful country the world had ever seen, why not?”

*

“Hey, what are you reading?” John’s dad asked as he entered his son’s room. John was sprawled out on his bed, a book resting against his chest.

He showed his father the cover. “It’s about the fall of Greece. The author claims the pursuit of wealth tore families apart, which led to moral decay.”

“Yeah?” Theodore took a seat at the foot of the bed. “I always thought internal wars did them in.”

John leaned over the far side of the sheets and grabbed a thick book. “This one talks about that.”

Theodore’s smile was more one of pity than pride.
If only he had gotten into that school.

“This author does a great job explaining how influential Greece was. He talks about how they invented democracy, philosophy, astronomy, and advanced mathematics like geometry. They had the world’s first professional military, too.”

Theodore’s smile never faded. It was rare his son got excited about anything.

“It talks about how the wealth and power of Athens attracted the most talented people.” John paged through the book double-checking his facts. “A strong middle class led to advancements in arts, leisure, and education. Boys
and
girls learned how to read, write, and do math. No one else was doing that. As a result, architecture, philosophy, literature, and mathematics thrived. Some of the most influential people of the ancient world—Socrates, Aristotle, Plato, Herodotus—emerged out of 5th century B.C. Greece.”

“Why Greece?” Theo asked.

“That’s the really interesting part. In Greece, at that time, the laws changed. Up until then only free, land-owning, native-born men could be citizens entitled to full protection of the law. When that law expanded to include more people, Greece thrived. It was the first experiment in individualism and it worked brilliantly. For the first time in human history, potential was unleashed. Prior to that, people were held back by authoritative rulers who refused to limit their own power by allowing their subjects to acquire their own. And you’re right, eventually, constant fighting between city-states caused the birthrate to plummet since men at war could not reproduce. Their aging population made them vulnerable and Rome conquered them.

“There is another theory that makes sense. A lot of people argue that life became too good. Greece became too wealthy and the people were unwilling to sacrifice their quality of life by fighting to maintain it. Once families didn’t need to stay together to survive, society decayed.”

“Is there a way to use this stuff in your thesis?”

“That would be nice,” John replied wistfully.

*

That evening the Nolan family gathered in the dining room for dinner. Theodore always sat at the table’s head, near his grandfather’s rustic oak clock. John’s mother, Charlotte, settled across from her husband, half-blocking a wall full of family pictures. Theodore smiled as his twin daughters entered through the hallway. To his right, John squeezed his slender frame by a window that overlooked the community.

The Nolans, like many of their neighbors, were implants from America. Instability had convinced the family to relocate to Great Britain from Pennsylvania when John was an infant. Their house, a modest gray-white cape-cod with groomed landscaping, was a near duplicate of the home they’d left behind. It had once stuck out in the quiet Cambridge suburb. Now, it simply blended in among the classical wood/stone European architecture and new American-influences.

John’s father, an unremarkable, yet caring man, was a school teacher of 31 years. His profession had spared the family from the tough economic times that had befallen the country. Charlotte had worked until John was born. Now, with three kids in university, money was tight.

John was the oldest of the three Nolan children. His sisters, Elizabeth (Lizzy) and Rose, were two years younger, and not at all similar to John. He struggled to maintain decent grades, while they would graduate with distinction. John usually kept to himself, while the girls struggled to choose which parties deserved their attention. At school and in life, John blended in and his future was uncertain. The twins were on a field hockey scholarship to Saint Mary’s College of London. The freshmen marketing majors were destined for careers in the corporate world.

Rose placed her silverware on her plate and wiped her mouth before she spoke. “Do you know what you are doing for your thesis yet, John?”

“No.” He piled a forkful of mashed potatoes on some bread. In mid-chew he mumbled, “Dad had an interesting idea of combining history with sociology.”

“What are the requirements?”

“I need to pick an aspect of society and predict how behavioral patterns will evolve.”

“Are you leaning towards anything?” Charlotte asked, raising her glass of red wine—her only vice.

“Not yet.”

“So, you need a topic by the end of this semester,” Lizzy said, “and you have nothing?”

John cut a piece of his pork with the side of his fork. Her questions required no answer.

“When’s it due?” Lizzy prodded.

“End of next semester.”

Charlotte stood and walked into the kitchen to pour another glass of wine. “Why don’t you do something on technology?” she suggested.

Theodore eyed his wife as if to say,
That’s your last, right?
But he couldn’t be too critical. There weren’t many 50-year-old women who looked like Charlotte. Toned and tanned, despite the English weather, with glossy dark hair and straight, white teeth, it was obvious where her daughters acquired their vanity. At times, Charlotte was even mistaken for the third daughter—a notion that never sat well with the twins.

“I had thought of that,” John said, careful not to hurt his mother’s feelings.

“What about drinking laws?” Rose offered. She loved giving advice.

Lizzy shot her a nod of approval. “Yeah, that’s good.”

“That seems hard,” John said. “Plus, I don’t know anything about law.”

“Well, what about government?” his father said, reaching for the pepper.

BEEEEEP! BEEEEEEP!

A piercing tone shot through the kitchen and into the dining room. The British News Network alert siren was used sparingly.
Hopefully, this was merely a test.

“We have breaking news,”
the impassioned voice of the newscaster announced.
“At this hour, terrorists have stormed the House of Commons and have taken four unidentified members of Parliament hostage. It is not known how they entered the building, but sources say they are heavily armed. Initial reports put the number of terrorists around twelve. We have a crew heading to the scene and will have more information as it becomes available. Stay with the British News Network as this situation unfolds. ”

The family sat in a somber silence, John’s issues a distant memory. The focus instead turned to Charlotte, whose brother was a sitting member of the House of Parliament. Wide eyed and unable to vocalize their concerns, the family’s appetite vanished. Naturally, they feared the worst.

Theodore took the lead and stood up, pushing in his chair. His family followed him into the family room. Without a word, they sat down on the couch and turned on the television.

“…not yet know who the hostages are.”
The reporter stood in front of Westminster, the seat of government in the UK. In the background, dozens of law enforcement officers were perched behind armored vehicles, their rifles fixed upon the building. Flashing lights and police tape distracted the attention, but the reporter’s words cut through the chaos.
“Police are telling us the group responsible is a terrorist organization known as the LAF, Loyalist Ali Front.”
The faint sound of sirens emerged from the background as reinforcements approached.
“The building is surrounded.”

*

“How did this happen!?” yelled Colonel Levanetz. The broad, daunting soldier dressed in fatigues seethed with anger. “We had them tapped. We should have known this.” He slammed his fist against the heavily armored truck he stood behind.

“A-A code of some sort,” the specialist sputtered. “They never mentioned this in our surveillance.”

“This does not happen without planning!” the colonel raged. This failure fell upon
his
head.