‘The Dark.’
‘That’s great. I know another witch, my mother-in-law,’ the driver said with a laugh. ‘But she’s already retired, thank God. So why don’t you like the forces of Light?’
I stealthily checked out his aura. No, everything was okay, he was a human being.
‘They get in our way. Tell me, for instance – what’s the most important thing in life for you?’
The driver thought for a second.
‘Just life itself. And for nobody to stop me living it.’
‘That’s right,’ I agreed. ‘Everyone wants to be free, don’t they?’
He nodded.
‘Well, we witches fight for freedom too. For everyone’s right to do what they want.’
‘And what if someone wants to do evil?’
‘That’s his right.’
‘But what if he infringes other people’s rights in the process? Say I stab someone and infringe his rights?’
This was funny. We were straight into the classic dispute on the subject ‘What is the Light and what is the Dark?’ We Dark Ones and those who call themselves the Light Ones – we all brainwash our novices on this subject.
‘If someone tries to infringe your rights, then simply stop them from doing it. You have that right.’
‘I get it. The law of the jungle. Whoever’s stronger is right.’
‘Stronger, cleverer, more farsighted. And it’s not the law of the jungle. It’s just the law of life. Is it ever any different?’
The driver thought about it and shook his head.
‘No, it isn’t. So I have the right to turn off the road somewhere, throw myself on you and rape you?’
‘But are you sure you’re stronger than me?’
We’d just stopped at a red light and the driver looked at me closely. He shook his head.
‘No … I’m not sure. But the reason I don’t attack girls isn’t because they might fight back!’
He was beginning to get a bit nervous. The conversation seemed like a joke, but he could sense that something wasn’t right.
‘It’s also because they might put you in jail,’ I said. ‘And that’s all.’
‘No,’ he said firmly.
‘Yes,’ I said with a smile. ‘That’s exactly the reason. You’re a normal, healthy man, with all the right reactions. But there’s a law, so you prefer not to attack girls, but date them first.’
‘Witch …’ the driver muttered with a crooked smile. He stepped hard on the accelerator.
‘Witch,’ I confirmed. ‘Because I tell the truth and don’t play the hypocrite. After all, everyone wants to be free to live his or her life. To do what they want. Not everything works out, after all, everyone has their own desires – but everyone has the same aspirations. And it’s the clash of these that gives rise to freedom! A harmonious society in which everybody wants to have everything, although they have to come to terms with other people’s desires.’
‘But what about morality?’
‘What morality?’
‘Universal human morality.’
‘What’s that?’
There’s nothing better than forcing someone into a dead-end and making him formulate his question properly. People don’t usually think about the meaning of their words. It seems to them that words convey truth, that when someone hears the word ‘red’ he will think of a ripe raspberry, and not a pool of blood, that the word ‘love’ will bring to mind Shakespeare’s sonnets and not the erotic films of Playboy. And they find themselves baffled when the word they’ve spoken doesn’t evoke the right response.
‘There are basic principles,’ said the driver. ‘Dogmas. Taboos. The … what do they call them … Commandments.’
‘Well?’ I said encouragingly.
‘Thou shalt not steal.’
I laughed. And the driver smiled too.
‘Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife.’ His smile was really broad now.
‘And do you manage it?’
‘Sometimes.’
‘And you even manage not to “covet”? You control your instincts that well?’
‘Witch!’ the driver said enthusiastically. ‘All right, I repent, I repent …’
‘Don’t repent!’ I interrupted. ‘It’s quite normal. It’s freedom! Stealing … and coveting.’
‘Thou shalt not kill!’ the driver declared. ‘Eh? What do you say to that? A universal commandment!’
‘You might as well say “don’t boil a young goat in its mother’s milk”. Do you watch TV and read the newspapers?’ I asked.
‘Sometimes. But I don’t enjoy it.’
‘Then why do you call “Thou shalt not kill” a commandment? Thou shalt not kill … It was in the news this morning – down south they’ve taken another three people hostage and they’re demanding a ransom. They’ve already cut a finger off each of them to show they’re serious about their demands. And one of the hostages, by the way, is a three-year-old girl. They cut her finger off too.’
The driver’s fingers tightened their grip on the wheel and he turned pale.
‘Bastards …’ he hissed. ‘Monsters. Sure I heard that. But they’re scum, they’re inhuman, they have to be to do something like that. I’d strangle them all with my bare hands …’
I kept quiet. The driver’s aura was blazing bright scarlet. I didn’t want him to crash, he was almost out of control. My thrust had been too accurate – he had a little daughter of his own …
‘String them up from the telegraph poles!’ he went on, still raging. ‘Burn them with napalm!’
I kept quiet and waited until the driver had gradually calmed down. Then I asked:
‘Then what about those universal moral commandments? If they gave you a machine gun now, you’d press the trigger without even hesitating.’
‘There aren’t any commandments that apply to monsters!’ the driver snarled. His calm cultured manner had disappeared without trace now! Energy was streaming out of him in all directions … and I soaked it up, quickly replenishing the power that I’d spent earlier that morning.
‘Not even terrorists are monsters,’ I said. ‘They’re human beings. And so are you. And there are no commandments for human beings. That’s a scientifically proven fact.’
As I drew in the energy that was pouring out of him, the driver calmed down. It wouldn’t last long, of course. That evening the pendulum would swing back, and he’d be overcome by rage again. It’s like pumping all the water out of a well very quickly – it comes rushing back in again.
‘But even so, you’re not right,’ he replied more calmly. ‘Logic does exist, of course, yes … But if you compare things with the Middle Ages, then morality has definitely advanced.’
‘Don’t be ridiculous!’ I said, shaking my head. ‘How has it advanced? … Even in the wars back then they had a strict code of honour. A war then was a real war, and kings fought with their armies, risking their thrones and their heads. And now? A big country wants to put pressure on a little one, so it bombs it for three months and gets rid of its outdated armaments at the same time. Not even the soldiers risk their lives! It’s the same as if you drove up onto the pavement and started knocking down pedestrians like skittles.’
‘The code of honour was for the aristocrats,’ the driver objected sharply. ‘The common people died in droves.’
‘And is it any different today?’ I asked. ‘When one oligarch settles scores with another, there’s a certain code of honour that’s observed! Because both of them have goons to kill for them, compromising information about each other, interests in common, family ties. They’re just like the old aristocracy! Kings sitting up to their ears in cabbage. And the common people are trash. A herd of sheep that are good for shearing, but sometimes it’s more profitable to slaughter them. Nothing’s changed. There never were any commandments, and there aren’t any now!’