Genesis

by Bernard Beckett

EXAMINER: A drifting stranger arrives from a land known to have been exposed to the most devastating plague in human history. There are strict instructions regarding correct procedure. And on an emotional whim, Adam chooses to kill his friend and risk the safety of his entire community. Can we clarify, please, that you believe there is more than one way of judging these actions? Anax hesitated. She was not prepared for this line of questioning. Her specialist subject was history, not ethics. She could explain the process by which the evidence had been painstakingly put together as Adam’s story, but she could not propose a method by which that story should be judged. She had her own opinions, of course. Everybody did. Who hadn’t had this discussion, in their homes, their schools, their entertainment centres? But she wasn’t prepared to defend them, not on the record. She wasn’t qualified to defend them. Pericles had told her to answer each question as fully and truthfully as she could. He had told her they would try to unsettle her. That they would surprise her with the angles they took. She proceeded with the greatest care.