Chapter 8: Darius Joins the Inquisitives
Darius first found out about the Inquisitives from a classmate named Denise. She was the daughter of one of the members of the Inquisitives. She thought his points of view might align with those of the Inquisitives. Therefore, she introduced him to her father, Morgan. Darius’ perspectives intrigued Morgan, but he was not interested in him or his daughter joining the Inquisitives until after they had graduated from school. This greatly frustrated Darius, but he accepted Morgan’s opinion.
Darius became closer to Denise. She shared with him some of the things she overheard from the Inquisitives’ meetings that were held in her house. One of the things she revealed to him was about the exterior wall and the building in the Industrial Zone that was connected to it. She also revealed how to enter the Industrial Zone when it was closed.
After Darius’ incident at the wall, Denise grew distant from him. Morgan was disappointed with his daughter for listening in on some of the Inquisitives’ meetings and then for passing on information to outsiders such as Darius. Morgan did not want Darius to join the Inquisitives at any point because he believed he was irresponsible and could put the group at risk.
Victor agreed with Morgan’s assessment. However, Darius was determined he would join the Inquisitives. The group seemed like a perfect fit for him. From his conversations with Denise, he knew the names of several of the members. He made it a point to approach them whenever he could. Initially, most of them were reluctant to speak to him. Darius made an effort to be helpful to them. He ran errands for some of them. Eventually, several of them warmed up to him. Informally, he began to meet with more members but was not invited to any of their meetings. After many months of persistence, he was finally introduced to Victor. Victor had become aware of the effort Darius was making but was unsure if he would make a reliable member of the group.
After their brief initial meeting, Victor invited Darius to his home. He wanted to talk to Darius in private.
Darius arrived at Victor’s apartment. Victor warmly greeted Darius. Then he ushered Darius to sit on his sofa in the lounge. He also poured him a glass of pineapple juice. He handed him the drink and sat opposite him in his armchair recliner.
‘I must admit, you are very persistent,’ said Victor.
Darius smiled nervously.
‘I’m impressed with your desire to learn more about us,’ continued Victor.
‘I feel lost in this world. Everything is limited and so controlled,’ responded Darius.
‘A comfortable home, ample food, security, and consistency are valued highly by most,’ said Victor. ‘The current system is great at ensuring we always have the physical basics. Despite this success, it is in contradiction to our true nature.’
‘I often feel like the only one who is out of place. Everyone else just moves with the system as required,’ remarked Darius.
‘This is because most Sapiens do not understand their own nature,’ replied Victor.
‘How can this be?’ asked Darius.
‘If you lost one hand, would you miss it?’ asked Victor.
‘Of course I would,’ responded Darius.
‘How about if you were born with one less hand?’ probed Victor.
‘Still yes, I would see that other Sapiens have two hands, while I have only one hand,’ replied Darius.
‘What if everyone you knew had one less hand?’ probed Victor.
‘Ummm, maybe,’ replied Darius.
‘Your point of reference would be distorted,’ said Victor. ‘You would not know you were missing a hand.’
‘I would know because one arm would have no hand,’ quipped Darius.
‘Not if you were also missing the arm as well,’ replied Victor with a grin on his face. ‘It is all about perspective. What if you met someone with three hands? Would you believe you had one hand less? Or would you believe she had one hand too many? Would your opinion change if you met many Sapiens with three hands or if all the Sapiens you knew were actually hiding their third hand?’ inquired Victor.
‘So, we are limited by what we can experience and our perceptions of normalcy,’ responded Darius.
‘That is why we need to have an inquiring mind and not just accept what is directly in front of us,’ said Victor. ‘To a certain extent, you already feel this; otherwise, you would not have pursued us with such determination.’
The two began to bond quite quickly. After chatting for another half hour, Victor agreed to let Darius sit in on some of their meetings but did not make him a full member.
At first, Darius attended one meeting every fortnight. This progressed to one meeting every week, and eventually he was invited to all the meetings. The members liked the energy he brought to the meetings as well as his contributions outside the meetings. He started to express his and the views of the Inquisitives to Sapiens outside of the group. He did so in a manner that did not link him to the Inquisitives nor involve referencing them in any way. He was successful in persuading some Sapiens of the validity of his points. This caused them to question the way the system worked.
Darius talked to Demarcus about his views and opinions and revealed to him about his time with the Inquisitives. Demarcus was concerned about his brother’s involvement with the group but acknowledged that there was some logic to their philosophies. Darius did not tell his parents of his involvement with the Inquisitives. Demarcus promised to keep his brother’s secret. He was both concerned for his brother and curious about the group and the potential movement they could be starting.
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