Twenty Seven Years

  Chapter 54 How We Change

  Sitting at the desk and pondering for a long time, Verac decided to take out the hidden theory of equality.

  He has read all the other files, but Chris and Francis spent their lives and only half-finished "Equality", which has been sealed up to now after reading two chapters, and he dare not read it again.

  The light of the desk lamp shone on the "Theory of Equality" on the desk. Verac looked at the notebook with heavy content. After a long time, he turned to the third chapter.

  【Those who would not see the principle of the equality of men should at least admit that there is a principle of the equality of citizens. The equality of citizens I understand means equality in all aspects of criminal law, political law, and civil law in rational terms, and equality in all aspects of personality, dignity, and spirit in emotional terms. (Note: 1)]

  【In fact, if we observe most of the current society from a certain angle, we will find that this kind of civil equality has not only been established in reality, but also promulgated in law. Breci, for example, appears in the international community as a unified whole, a whole ready to defend its own rights, therefore, it is represented by its own army. What, then, are the accepted principles for organizing an army? is equal. Because it can be said that all citizens are subject to military service, and every soldier may become a marshal of Brecy. Of course I know that's not true at all, there is inequality everywhere. (Note: 1)]

  【The rich can be hereditary, and there is no real competition for courage and talent. Some, relying on the privileges of their parents' estates, graduated from school as natural officers, or at least enjoyed a specialized education that paved the way for their advancement, like the nobles of the old regime. On the other hand, the sons of artisans and vineyard workers, however great their talents, however magnificent their natural courage may be, acquire nothing but nothing. (Note: 1)]

  …

   This night, Verak did not sleep.

  He spent a whole night reading the nine chapters of this unfinished book. As expected, this book did not meet his expectations. It seemed to have a magical power. The more he read, the more questions he had, and the more questions he had, he could only find answers by continuing to read.

  It's a pity that this book has only finished Chapter 9 "Three Possibilities of Inequality", and I haven't had time to start writing more content later.

  Chris and Francis made an incisive analysis and cognition of equality in the book, which opened up a whole new world for Verac, but what he wanted to know more urgently was how to change?

  Verak already knows how corrupt and ignorant the flag flying in the current society is, but does knowing what is wrong mean knowing what is right? not at all. Does knowing a mistake mean knowing how to get better? not at all.

  Chris is like a doctor who finds out what kind of disease the patient is suffering from, but everything stops abruptly, and then he can only watch him worsen and die. What's more, the diseases of the world are more complicated and difficult to treat than those of a single person.

   Staring at the last page for a long time, Veraker found that there were traces of being torn, and on the blank page after Chapter 9, there were still words that could be vaguely seen by the light.

  Finding this clue, Verak quickly picked up the book and carefully observed the imprint under the lamp.

  The title imprint on the first line of the blank page, because the font is large, so Veraker can vaguely see that it is the font of "Chapter Ten: How We Change".

  The imprint on the back is not obvious, it can only be seen that it was broken after a few lines were written, and then, the page with the content was torn off.

   Was it torn off by Carmine?

  Verak was the first to have this idea in his mind, but he quickly denied himself.

  No matter which chapter of this book is published, it will cause an uproar. If it was Carmine, why didn't he just tear up this page instead of destroying the entire book?

   Apparently, Chris ripped it up himself. As for why it was torn up, Verak knew it in his heart after looking at the content that only wrote a few lines.

  Chris doesn't know how to change the current situation.

  Chris and Francis, who are gradually regarded as the truth by Verac, are actually still in the groping stage. While marching and protesting, forming an equality association to gather strength, and writing books about equality for the general public, they are still developing in despair.

  Verak remained silent and closed the book.

   The answer he wants to know, Chris and the others also want to know, but everyone is still looking for it now.

  Even Chris and the others didn’t know about it, so Veraker became pessimistic. Some things may never have an answer. If there is no correct answer, how can we judge that the current system is wrong?

   After hiding "Equality" again, Verak lay on the bed.

   At this time, the sky was already slightly bright, and he opened his eyes, staring at the ceiling in a daze.

   He was puzzled.

  Why are there people like Chris in this world?

  Chris gave up a good life to fight for the rights of the bottom people like them who have never been valued. Verac can also understand that this is a kind of greatness.

  But, risking his life to do something that he didn't even know the answer to, Verak didn't understand why Chris would do it. He really wanted to see Chris and ask him, what is this for? You don't even know what the answer is, why do it?

  Thinking about it, tiredness hit, Verak didn't want others to see that he was tired when he was eating breakfast, so he stopped thinking about it and went to sleep with his brain empty.

  August 1st, Tuesday, early in the morning, Verac, who hadn't slept for long, was woken up by the servant, had breakfast with the Thomas family, and returned to the bedroom again.

  Although the crisis has been resolved, Carmine has no intention of rescheduling Verak to go out for activities. Verak didn't dare to ask rashly, for fear of arousing Carmine's vigilance.

   Now it is not easy to even meet Daniel. Verak cannot receive any information from the outside world, so he can't do anything.

   With nothing to do, Verak returned to the room and the first thing he did was to catch up on his sleep. After sleeping until noon, after lunch, Verak was no longer sleepy, and he didn't even have the simplest way to pass the time.

  He didn't know when he started to be unable to bear this seemingly comfortable life.

  Standing in front of the window and distracted for a long time, Veraker's brain twitched, and he took out "Equality" again, turned to the end of Chapter Nine, and repeatedly looked at the bigger questions raised by Chris in the last written content.

   After watching for a long time, Verak looked up at the time, unexpectedly more than an hour had passed.

  He wanted to know the answer too much.

  So, by mistake, I picked up the pen and re-wrote the title on the blank page.

  【Chapter Ten: How do we change? 】

  —

  Note 1: The content is deleted from "On Equality" written by Pierre Leroux

  (end of this chapter)