The Reactionaries
Coterie of the Xaositects
The Reactionaries are what the brave cutters in the Xaositects who subscribe to Varpar Hogar’s barmy idea have chosen to call themselves. Some of them enjoy the chaos of the situation, others like doing the opposite of what they’re told to do. Some even go as far as doing exactly what they think they should, knowing the opposite’ll happen, and maybe the opposite again. It’s a complex business, contrariness.
Even stranger, for each Reactionary in the Xaositects, there seems to be one in the Guvners. These bloods catalogue and test the theory, measuring their actions and reactions to see whether the contrariness holds constant, and if so, whether it’ll oscillate more than once. Could life be a continual movement between two opposite states, and if so, how does one alter the amplitude and frequency of such oscillations?
As the small groups of Reactionaries grow, the more conservative thinkers in both factions grow worried. The Xaositect high-ups wonder if their younger members’re being influenced towards lawfulness by this ex-Guvner. It was fun letting him in but perhaps the idea’s not a good one any more, and the success they’ve enjoyed’s about to go sour. But then they’re back on the inescapable ring of Varpar’s strange logic.
Meanwhile, the Guvners dislike the spread of disorder and breaking of protocol. Was inviting Varpar back a good idea? Will he come back, and more importantly, do they really want him back? His theories seem to be true, but only if they’re proved by the anti-contrary logic of the Fraternity; surely this is the opposite of itself? Frankly, it makes many heads hurt just to think of it all.
And in the middle is Varpar. His theory seems to be excellent, and he’s both sought after by and at the same time rejected by two opposing factions. Maybe it’s time he started out on his own…or would that herald certain disaster? He could even forget the whole idea…but then, would it bounce back again?
It’s surely an impossible quandary.
There are truths but no Truth.
—Varpar Hogar
I can perfectly well assert two completely contradictory things, and be right in both cases.
One ought not to weigh one’s insights against one another—each is a life for itself.
See also Visionaries: Varpar Hogar
Source: Jon Winter-Holt, mimir.net
