The Names of Evil

 Atop a mountain frocked by rainforest and crowned by cloud, ESHAD attended his teacher, the noble MHVTNA. "O, Master," said ESHAD, "your abode here has endured eight thousand dusks of the amber sun and eightfold many more of its white twin. I have studied under you for the whole time; I have learned all eight ways to resist evil and all sixteen to banish it. I was deep in meditation when I heard you call for me. MHVTNA, whose name abbreviates Maha Huraya Vadyurai Teho Nalammuy Aasehera, which in the tongue at your time of youth entitled you as the pinnacle of wisdom, what such wisdom have you to share with me that must take me from my training? I am eager, Master, for I expect it to be of the highest importance."
 Peaceful MHVTNA smiled, which was a gesture he seldom performed, except in the rare presence of experts of his own caliber, and occasionally also at mealtime. However, his eyes remained gently shut, for his mastery of the Art was so great that even his gaze could be wielded lethally. With a raised hand, patient MHVTNA spoke, "Eager you should be, for the end of my lessons approaches. You are my sixth and final student, and when I am finished with you I shall descend this mountain and find a more secluded home in which to spend the rest of my days. I have indeed instructed you on the ways to resist and to banish evil, but the ultimate lesson is to recognize it. This is the supreme lesson, for to resist or to banish something that is not evil is an evil act in itself."
 "Then please tell me, Master," asked ESHAD, "what razor must I use to split evil from good? How will I know evil when I happen upon it, or when it happens upon me? What is evil, Master?"
 "You have seen evil before," replied the astute MHVTNA, "and you have heard its names, of which there are several. The goal must be to know evil by the name it gives. If you know it by its mark, then it is too late to banish it."
 "What are the names of evil, Master?" Asked ESHAD.
 "You shall not learn them on this mountaintop," said wise MHVTNA. "Seek them from my five past students, who in this time are masters in their own right. By now they will know well enough to provide the knowledge you desire."
 So it was that ESHAD left his master to seclusion, for which the latter had no distaste, and departed from the world in search of the five students of the prolific sage MHVTNA.

 It came to be, after some time of travel, that ESHAD found himself in a world even more naturally resplendent than the one from which he had journeyed. Those he had passed along the way had told him this was the home of WNST, who in many ages past had been the first student of the great master. At present, they said, he was the sole inhabitant of the world which hosted him; he had demanded solitude so vehemently that none dared disturb a blade of grass within sixteen million miles of him. ESHAD thought this lifestyle preposterous, and let his feet settle upon the grass as he entered WNST's world. ESHAD strode through great forests of pearlescent fungi, across wide plains of golden and silvery ferns, and at last spotted WNST sitting upon a stretch of ebon sand beside a lagoon.
 "Hail, O powerful but sequestered sage," called ESHAD as he approached. "Your habitat is a peculiar one. It makes you an easy person to find, but a difficult one to reach. I am the current student of MHVTNA, the illustrious scholar, whose mastery of the Art is so great that even his gaze can be wielded lethally. I am known as ESHAD."
 His quarry sat with open eyes but an expressionless face, so unmoving that ESHAD thought the sage must be dead. This notion was dismissed as he spoke. "I greet you, but I am perplexed at your crass disregard for my request for privacy. It is clear you knew that I am not to be disturbed, yet you arrive anyway, blemishing this paradisiacal land with your feet and unsettling the perfected order of the air currents with your breath. Why have you done so?"
 ESHAD's face fell, but he was not truly sorry. "My apologies, O serene one. I indeed knew of your request but thought it more important that I reach you. My master MHVTNA has tasked me with learning the names of evil, and he suggested that you would be among those wise enough to know them."
 "I know not all such names," replied WNST. "But I am familiar with one for certain: Enmity."
 ESHAD scowled. That was not a name! He gained a sudden distrust for the sage before him. "Explain to me, then, why is enmity a name of evil?"
 "I came to understand during my training with our mutual master that to hold enmity for something damages the spirit. It plants spores of suspicion and cynicism, and when fostered for long enough, they germinate to become unwarranted violence. This is the reason I have chosen to shut myself off from all other worlds and their peoples: in purely picturesque environs and apart from the bothersome presence of crowds, I have only amity for everything I see. Thus, I am free of its evil."
 "Hm," mused ESHAD, who was not entirely satisfied with the answer and had begun to suspect that WNST's time alone had worn away at his clarity of thought. "I shall have to think on this some more." He said good-bye and departed thereafter.

 The next world to which ESHAD traveled was idyllic and quiet, though somewhat duller than the previous one, and somewhat louder as well. Pastures measured from horizon to horizon, and after a great deal of time traversing paddocks, grazelands, and cropfields, ESHAD became convinced that this land was actually infinite. Though he met with some farmers to ascertain the location of the sage of this world, he realized that all who lived here were practically as alone as WNST had been, for it is the truth that infinite farmlands, even those housing many people, still suffer a population density of zero. "We enjoy it here," said a rancher who called to ESHAD from atop a hulking, eight-legged beast. "The sage down the road, BRLMI, taught us how to sow and harvest, to ride and herd. With his guidance we have transformed an unforgiving landscape into a bountiful one." This drew up jealousy in ESHAD, who had known little in his life besides his training and the cold stone of the mountaintop. Still, he traveled further down the road and met with BRLMI, who was employing his mastery of the Art to fork hay into a silo as fast as the seven workers he was aiding combined.
 "Hail, O powerful and generous sage," called ESHAD as he approached. "Your habitat is a peculiar one. It is one for simple folk, and not somewhere I would expect the Art to best be used. I am the current student of MHVTNA, the illustrious scholar, whose mastery of the Art is so great that even his gaze can be wielded lethally. I am known as ESHAD."
 The sage lifted one last forkful and set down his implement, wiping sweat from his hands and brow. BRLMI replied, "I greet you, and assure you that my talents are best used here. You see, in an infinite world there may be infinite need, so I use all that I have been taught to aid the fine people of these fields and leys. Now, there is much work still to be done, but I will help you if I can. What do you need of me?"
 "That is very noble," said ESHAD, "and I respect you immensely for it despite our so recent meeting. My master MHVTNA has tasked me with learning the names of evil, and he suggested that you would be among those wise enough to know them."
 "I know not all such names," replied BRLMI. "But I am familiar with one for certain: Selfishness."
 ESHAD raised an eyebrow in confusion, but wanted to hear more so that he could finish his training and become a master himself. "Explain to me, then, why is selfishness a name of evil?"
 "I came to understand during my training with our mutual master that to be selfish is to disrupt harmony. In worlds unlike this one, where resources are limited, one being may take more than their share and think they cannot cause much of a problem, as they act alone. But those who see this happen will do the same to ensure their own survival, especially since they know others will follow based on their own actions and soon deplete the remaining resources. An entire community may be thrown to chaos when stained by a shred of selfishness. I work altruistically here, providing for others; thus, I am free of its evil."
 "Hm," mused ESHAD, who was not entirely satisfied with the answer. He reached into a barrel and took some fruits to snack upon for his upcoming travels. "I shall have to think on this some more." He said good-bye and departed thereafter.

 It took hardly any effort to locate the next student of MHVTNA. Not only was the world in which he resided populous and not terribly large, but nearly everyone in it knew of his whereabouts. "The sagacious KYLDS is a bit of a celebrity around here," said a sailor to ESHAD. "He gives money to anyone who visits him, for only the price of some tales about themselves." The sailor was one of several peddlers trading with the thousands of people that thronged the narrow streets and canals of this harbor-world. Though the roads were merely made of dirt or cobblestone, and the buildings of materials even less virtuous, the whole of the populace appeared to be in good spirits. ESHAD could even hear cries of joy from distant festivals and some irritating music being played by an amateur band just at the end of the way. ESHAD followed the sailor's directions and found KYLDS in a marina tavern and encircled by people listening to a joke he was in the process of telling.
 "Hail, O powerful and admired sage," called ESHAD as he approached. "Your habitat is a peculiar one. In a place so thick with minds and bodies, you seek to surround yourself with more still. I am the current student of MHVTNA, the illustrious scholar, whose mastery of the Art is so great that even his gaze can be wielded lethally. I am known as ESHAD."
 The tavern was briefly transformed into a cauldron of roiling laughter as the joke was finished, leaving ESHAD fuming at the idea that his interruption was being ignored. As the room quieted, however, KYLDS replied, "I greet you, and invite you to join in our conversation! It is true that there are many people in this city, and that sheer number can indeed cause problems for commuters, farmers, and tradesmen alike. But it is not the people themselves that are the issue. In fact, I am having a terrific night!"
 "Very good," said ESHAD, "but I am here to see to an important matter. My master MHVTNA has tasked me with learning the names of evil, and he suggested that you would be among those wise enough to know them."
 "I know not all such names," replied KYLDS. "But I am familiar with one for certain: Hatred."
 "I have already learned this!" Growled ESHAD in frustration. "The wise sage WNST named evil as Enmity. I hope you have something to add, otherwise I have wasted my time in coming here. Explain to me, then, why is hatred a name of evil?"
 "I came to understand during my training with our mutual master that to harbor hate corrupts the self. Bear in mind that hatred and enmity are not equivalent. After all, there may not be malice in enmity, but malice drives the infernal engine of hatred. When swayed by hatred, a being may lose their true nature. They may also seek to destroy others, even if the others are not evil themselves. When I arrived on this world, I used the Art to amass a magnificent fortune. Many have accused me of giving my wealth away, but really I am buying the company of others! Anyone will talk about themselves for coin, and the more I understand about the people of this fine city, the more difficult it becomes for me to harbor hatred for any among them. Thus, I am free of its evil."
 "Hm," mused ESHAD, who was not entirely satisfied with the answer. He thought that rare people might exist for whom to know them was to hate them, in particular, the waiter who kept bumping up against him as he passed by even after a glare from ESHAD. "I shall have to think on this some more." He said good-bye and departed thereafter.

 Those skilled in the Art employ it to travel between worlds, but those with neither such aptitude nor the means to have others employ it on their behalf use craft instead. Craft now oftentimes take the form of small, person-sized bubbles, but in ESHAD's time, ships were more commonplace, much like those that traverse the wide oceans of water and void. He had heard that another sage, the well-traveled LSMN, both occupied such a ship and commanded its crew. He boarded the craft from a station in a world of cryovolcanoes and glassy flame where tribes of nomads hunted colossal prey, which ESHAD found only slightly more dignified than crossing between worlds by ship. As he moved through its interior in search of the captain, the deafening shouts of crewmen and their cacophonous operation of metallic ship components quickened his step and cast his memory back in time to long for an environment as peaceful as the first few he had visited. To his dismay, he found LSMN in an even louder section of the ship, where a great boiler of sorts thrummed and creaked as if it were intentionally trying to inhibit all conversation nearby. Somehow LSMN's voice carried over the din; the sage stood upon a railing-girded platform blasting orders at frantic crewmembers below.
 "Hail, O powerful and commanding sage," called ESHAD as he approached. "Your habitat is a peculiar one. It is strange to me that a man who has mastered his thoughts would choose to remain in a place where their voices are surely drowned out. I am the current student of MHVTNA, the illustrious scholar, whose mastery of the Art is so great that even his gaze can be wielded lethally. I am known as ESHAD."
 "I am very busy!" Said LSMN, and leapt from the platform to fix something a subordinate had broken. Then he turned to ESHAD and replied, "I greet you, but be warned I have little time to talk. Maintaining a craft like this requires nearly all of one's attention, so if you do not state your intentions forthwith, I shall have to leave you and resume my duties. Quick, now, what is it you need?"
 A burst of steam nearby drew ESHAD to cover his ears. He said, "I swear, I will use as little of your time as I can. My master MHVTNA has tasked me with learning the names of evil, and he suggested that you would be among those wise enough to know them."
 "I know not all such names," replied LSMN. "But I am familiar with one for certain: Apathy."
 As ESHAD considered the notion, the sage ran off to complete some other task. He did eventually return, but ESHAD began to wonder if the sage's short attention span would make coming there pointless. "Explain to me, then, why is apathy a name of evil?"
 "I came to understand during my training with our mutual master that — ho, caution! Do not turn the gears too quickly or they will strip! — apathy is the destroyer. When consumed by apathy, one lets flicker to ashes the flame of one's life. Remember to activate each generator in sequence! One lets all thoughts, whether good or simply plain, dissolve into — now shunt all remaining energy to the auxiliary section! — nothingness. You may ask why I keep myself here instead of in meditative peace like my fellows. The answer: here, I am always occupied, always focused on something, even if it is but a detail. No more, hold it steady! There are no quarters on this craft for apathy. Thus, I am free of its evil."
 "Hm," mused ESHAD, who was not entirely satisfied with the answer, and, quite honestly, did not care to converse with this sage any longer. "I shall have to think on this some more." He said good-bye and departed thereafter.

 Ages passed before ESHAD discovered the whereabouts of his next mark. Few that he asked even knew of the sage's existence, and even fewer the location of the world on which he might reside. At last, though he could not yet call himself a master, ESHAD used enough of his skill to track and enter upon a world of heart-numbing bleakness. The sky wore a flat mask; no clouds provided texture to its pale face. The ground was equally gray and, while not truly featureless, the cracks and edges to the terrain were so unremarkable that ESHAD was forced to employ his full prowess with the Art to assign the nanoscopic landmarks to sections of his memory. Even then, he occasionally lost his way, and, while wandering, he dreamed of mountains and beaches, of homesteads and harbors, of companions or any life at all to keep him from loneliness. His wish was only granted by the discovery of the sage seated on the dull stone, an oasis of something in a desert defined by nothing at all. The two beings noticed each other at the same time, but the final student of great MHVTNA, the hermit UNNYG, seemed as dismayed to see ESHAD as ESHAD was relieved to have finally found UNNYG.
 "Hail, O powerful but abandoned sage," called ESHAD as he approached. "Your habitat is a peculiar one. I admit I find it tranquil, but if I were a hermit as you are, I would prefer to live in a forest or in a cave rather than somewhere so desolate. I am the current student of MHVTNA, the illustrious scholar, whose mastery of the Art is so great that even his gaze can be wielded lethally. I am known as ESHAD."
 UNNYG stood and bowed, but his show of respect did not match his dour demeanor. "I greet you, but I wish you had not come, for now we have formed a bond, however strong as a bond between near strangers can be. Now, when you leave, though I shall steel my mind against your going, it may cause me pain to see you set off."
 What a strange way of seeing things that was to ESHAD; to so fervently avoid loss as to gain nothing either. "I am sorry if indeed I do bring you sadness when my business here is done, but take comfort in the fact that what I learn from you may prevent others' pain in the future. My master MHVTNA has tasked me with learning the names of evil, and he suggested that you would be among those wise enough to know them."
 "I know not all such names," replied UNNYG. "But I am familiar with one for certain: Decay."
 Glad that he had learned the final name of evil, ESHAD nodded. His journey seemed to be coming to an end, and soon his apprenticeship would be over, but he desired to know more. "Explain to me, then, why is decay a name of evil?"
 "I came to understand during my training with our mutual master that decay ends all that is good. Whether ephemeral blossom or enduring boulder, all will eventually crumble; even the memories and legends that preserve them in some way will fade and die out. Whatever it is that you hold dear now shall be utterly destroyed by decay over time, until the goodness inherent in its essence is obliterated by decay's choking, inexorable grasp. Some have told me that decay cannot be evil, for it oftentimes has no ill will toward whatever it pulverizes. I will remind you that evil does not need dastardly intentions to be itself. In fact, it needs no intentions at all: when a person falls to sickness, doctors still seek to eradicate the disease, no matter that viruses or bacteria or prions or parasites tend not to choose victims out of spite. Luckily for myself, I reside in a place where nothing around me lives, so nothing around me can die. I have even designed for the ground of this world to be indestructible. Decay is absent from this world; thus, I am free of its evil."
 "Hm," mused ESHAD, who was not entirely satisfied with the answer. His cheerful mood had rotted because of the glum conversation. "I shall have to think on this some more." He said good-bye and departed thereafter.

 ESHAD returned to his master's mountaintop ecstatic. "O Master," said ESHAD, "I have ventured across worlds to discern the veiled identities of evil, and, learned MHVTNA, whose name abbreviates Maha Huraya Vadyurai Teho Nalammuy Aasehera, which in the tongue at your time of youth entitled you as the pinnacle of wisdom, I am eminently pleased to report that I have indeed discerned them."
 Calm MHVTNA smiled, because his student had fulfilled his task, and also because it was currently mealtime, and he supped then from a small dish. "Speak them, so that I may verify you can now split evil from good."
 ESHAD said, "I have heard from WNST that evil is named Enmity, for Enmity rends the soul."
 MHVTNA asked, "What else have you heard?"
 ESHAD said, "I have heard from BRLMI that evil is named Selfishness, for Selfishness fosters discord and panic."
 MHVTNA asked, "What else have you heard?"
 ESHAD said, "I have heard from KYLDS that evil is named Hatred, for Hatred harbors violence and corrupts one's very thoughts."
 MHVTNA asked, "What else have you heard?"
 ESHAD said, "I have heard from LSMN that evil is named Apathy, for Apathy leads to the dulling and the death of one's brilliant spirit."
 MHVTNA asked, "What else have you heard?"
 ESHAD said, "I have heard from UNNYG that evil is named Decay, for Decay ends all that is good, no matter how resilient."
 MHVTNA asked, "I see you have indeed learned the names of evil. That is a fortuitous sign. But I did not send you on this journey only to speak with old students and observe the wonders of the worlds. My intent was also for you to introspect along the path. Have you done so?"
 "Yes, Master," ESHAD affirmed, "I believe I have."
 "Excellent," said MHVTNA. "It is important for evil to know itself." He opened his eyes.

Back