Chapter 31. Breaching Boundaries.

March 31, 2006

"I'm not Michele Tosi if our state isn't in a state of war in the near future: in that very state where the only parity will be the stupidity of the rulers of those states!"

"And how did you manage to understand that? Based on what features of the existing order of things did you draw such conclusions?" asked his thirty-six-year-old friend Michele Tosi, with genuine curiosity and a certain degree of disbelief. The superbly-built man, both physically and, most importantly, spiritually, was named Dario Longhi, and he was thirty-nine years old. At the time described, when the day was heading towards its sunset, gradually handing over the reins to the gradually maturing night, Michele Tosi and Dario Longhi, two representatives of the human race, whose formal friendly connection was born from the fact that they studied in the same, well-known law college in those parts, were leisurely strolling barefoot on a sandy beach, completely strewn with sharp shells, indulging in all sorts of digressions and reflections.

"Didn't you hear how many streets are going to be renamed in our city? How many administrative-territorial units are changing not only their own name, but also their own boundaries? Haven't you thought about why this is necessary? When a state begins to rename streets, know that there will soon be a war there..."

"The government has a somewhat different opinion: it claims..."

"History has proven that any restrictions on the natural rights of man invariably lead to revolutions, uprisings, and wars. The criteria for these restrictions on natural rights do not matter in the slightest. What was the reason for the persecution, contempt, and need that were endured for hundreds of years by all those whom we now honor with special reverence in the face of philosophical and political saints? As for our government, it claims that everything, thanks to its influence and impact, is excellent and prudent in our state. But in order to prove or disprove this, it needs to conduct a certain experiment on itself: it needs to imagine in its mind that for some reason, all representatives of the current government will have to resign their powers in a single moment, after which they will be held accountable for their own actions or inactions. If any of them, and especially those who sit at the top of the pyramid of power, are held accountable, then this will mean that the state is moving in the right direction, for within its limits, there are truly law enforcement agencies that are not dependent on any influence, be it financial, political, or physical.

However, this will not happen in the near future. The loss of power for them is tantamount to the loss of freedom and, perhaps, even life. Using any pretext, they will maintain their power and extend it, even if the price is the lives and deaths of millions—even if the price is the division of a single people into right and wrong. As if they were naive and uncomprehending cattle on a farm, they divide people into fertile and barren groups based on their loyalty not to the state, but to the government, and then, having once again convinced themselves of their own strength, they deliberately destroy both the former and the latter... A few nobodies, yet to what extent do they excite minds and hearts!... Sometimes an impression involuntarily arises in my mind that I am a citizen of some ethereal state, for which the greatest value is statistical data, which, in turn, is tirelessly formed and compared into a relatively attractive appearance for someone more powerful and influential—of course, with the aim of gaining their own benefits. All this statistics is an extraordinarily lovely candy wrapper that hides emptiness within its depths. It is served on an exceptionally exquisite dish—a considerable amount of money is demanded for it. Those who buy it love nothing more than to taste this emptiness—their entire world order and all their worldview are built on it. Their essence is buying and selling: they especially love to sell emptiness—including words. Their goals are base, mercenary, and truly vicious—none of them will do a good deed for free or because of a sensual impulse of the soul..."

"And isn't a person in this world, just like any government, defined by their own goals? If you want to know what kind of person is in front of you, you shouldn't ask where they work, what they're interested in, or how they spend their free time. Ask what their goals are in this life and what they want to achieve here. Words and actions, as well as their opposite, are tools for achieving a result—the goal is one's own vision of the final, desired outcome. If, for example, a certain person defines their goal as the final result of creating a unique scientific concept, then this, of course, is a great person. The ways or methods can only determine the qualitative indicators and characteristics of this greatness: positive or negative... By the way, Michele, I saw Alexa yesterday... we met in the park... it seemed to me as if I had met one of my memories... she was so blooming, so lovely... I remembered how I was in love with her and to what extent that feeling was sweet... she wanted to meet me, but I refused her, even though this time a truly extraordinary interest towards that possible future meeting came from her being..."

"The deepest and most plausible self-deception in this life is the feeling of love..." Michele Tosi said, sighing heavily and barely audibly.

"You're right, dear Michele, you're right... But... but she was perfect... she was perfect... For the sake of her loveliness and charm, at one time I was even ready to part with my own freedom, and accordingly, to betray the destiny assigned to me by the Almighty—for her sake, I was ready to marry her..."

"And never for yourself... You know, dear Dario, trust me, a person who has lived more than one day within the limits of that very confinement called marriage... getting married is no better than joining a political party: that action never passes without a trace..."