‘Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.’ Confucius
Another consequential event of this time was the death of a young woman known as Lu Lu, who had a huge rooftop garden growing strawberries and various greens for the community. She had recently tried to leave her husband, who was controlling, threatening, and becoming violent. A husband, with a displeasing smile, who believed that he was the rightful leader of the Sydney Settlement, who was known to sleep on a bed of nails, engage in firewalking, and plunge into winter waters to train himself for office….or takeover. He was one of those people that would lash out with violence if you looked at him the wrong way, who constantly felt disrespected and his importance not recognised. A wild dog in a small cage.
In the beginning, she thought she could ‘fix him’ (especially after the incident with the kangaroo), though he was careful to lock himself away from healthy, wholesome, and moderate influences. Then he had tried to isolate her from her loving grandfather, took her possessions, and mocked her walk, her looks, and beliefs. Recently, she had managed to give birth to a much-wanted child, of whom he had developed a smouldering jealousy. He would regard an innocent question with suspicion and general nastiness, or he would foam with rage. Did he fall on his head, or was he bad or mad?
Lu Lu wasn’t perfect; no one is (even you). We all have habits, foibles, and strange ways that annoy and of which we are mostly oblivious. Our struggles due to inbuilt attributes are mostly unseen by others, and we may also be unaware of where the problem lies. We may feel guilt and shame for things we can’t change and blame others for things they cannot change. But did Lu Lu deserve what happened? No. No one does.
It is true that while love and relationships require generosity, risk, and a willingness to make mistakes and forgive, many fall into transactional calculations about what is being given and got in return, without a real awareness of our differing strengths and weaknesses, which ideally should be complemented, supported, and viewed with understanding.
Some people, though, are simply unreasonable and self-centred, requiring unquestioning slaves to attend to their egotistical needs. In this case, run.
One day Lu Lu asked if he would look after their child while she watered the plants, and he’d replied that ‘Men don’t babysit kids.’ He also refused to wash dishes or do laundry, and when she complained, he said she was ‘being dramatic.’
Lu Lu realised too late that she couldn’t turn her husband into a calm, sensible and caring man. She’d made a huge mistake and then paid with her life.
Helen was outraged by her friend Lu Lu’s death, and she started saying that she didn’t believe in marriage anymore, which offended Dion, who missed his husband every day. Helen and Dion didn’t talk for one week, which upset everyone and added to the feeling of disquiet.
There had also been a falling out between Helen and Lu Lu at the time, which made Helen feel even more wretched. The tiff was over Lu Lu’s man.
Helen, who had spent her youth reading Pride and Prejudice with Lu Lu. Swooning over Mr Darcy (and revelling in the ripper satire), couldn’t believe Lu-lu settled for someone worse than Mr Collins. Before she had stormed out, Helen had yelled, ‘Do I even know you?’
Finally, Ardent took Helen and Dion aside and said that ‘marriage could be happy and fulfilling when a couple works together and when they appreciate and value their partner. This goes for friends and cousins too,’ he added. ‘Also, love, being loyal, committed, forgiving, and kind to the other person is integral.’
Helen and Dion hugged, made up, and cried oodles of tears. Panda interpreted the speech as a marriage proposal (she had read too many romance stories and was in love with love), and she and Ardent became engaged, to the delight of all. Except Cantilever.
The thought of Ardent being married somehow dumbstruck me, as I had thought of him like his own universe and Panda as another planet, with different atmospheres and ecosystems. But maybe that was a good thing, who knows? Not me.
I also overheard Panda telling Ardent enthusiastically that if they had a child, then they must practice ‘unconditional love.’ Valour poked his head between the pair and said that such an idea was akin to fundamentalism: not wanting to know what was true. ‘Valour, the amour assassin,’ intoned Helen when I told her. ‘In the days before, he would have had an AI partner.’ That was a bit rough, I thought, since I didn’t see anyone in hot pursuit of Helen as a love interest. I noticed that a lot of people insult or queen it over others to make themselves feel more superior, smarter or more moral. It’s so common, it’s boring.
As it turned out, Cantilever had been both a victim and perpetrator of bullying. When she was growing up, her behaviour was perceived as contrary to the ideal of her religious community, and she was bullied and berated: rumours and criticism swirled around her until she made her getaway.
She struggled with social relationships and found it difficult to trust others. Under the guidance of an older lawyer, she studied the law and developed some confidence in herself, but Cantilever would spend days depressed, withdrawn, and alone.
Generally, she had developed into a guarded and sarcastic person who tried very hard to improve herself and do better, but she was lacking the skills to really connect to other people, and she felt that at heart that others despised her. She was bullied by her own mind.
In her isolated brain, Cantilever had developed intense feelings for Ardent. She could see, though, that Panda was the object of his esteem and desire.
Cantilever began to slowly terrorise, hound, and discompose Panda in any way she could, under the radar of being noticed by the others. She left a dead rat in Panda’s sleeping bag, she placed dog poo on her favourite shoes, spread rumours wherever she went, and implied in conversation, when Panda was present, that she was stupid and unattractive. She also told Panda to, ‘eat whatever she liked,’ obviously hoping that she would get fat.
Panda noticed Cantilever’s campaign, but when she mentioned it to Ardent, he was at a loss, as he had not noticed Cantilever’s subtle menacing methods of causing emotional pain. This then caused sadness in Panda, who felt alone and not believed.
Ardent, Panda, and Cantilever would moan, whine, and complain to Dion, who tried to sympathise, but no one was happy. Hell is other people, of course.
Ardent’s lack of insight about Cantilever’s bullying of Panda caused Panda feelings of loneliness and relationship anger, which were heading towards bitterness. But Ardent could not help his unconscious ignorance.
Cantilever watched on in glee as Ardent and Panda’s relationship seemed to falter and she put more effort into mocking Panda. I could see the hurt in Panda’s eyes, and I was sorry to see such a joyful, lively, and caring person seem to shrivel and shrink.
Panda’s suffering caused by Ardent’s ignorance came to an end when he admitted that he was unaware of Cantilever’s nastiness but he was willing to learn, listen, and understand the situation. He said that she should regard him like a person with a sight impediment, who needed help to see.
Ardent then advertised in the newspaper that he would be making a speech in the Town Hall, where the acoustics were good.
When the day came, Ardent stood there under the ornate crumbling ceiling, holding the attention of the small crowd, and talked about the importance of a respectful culture of civility and inclusion. He said that we lived in this community, and so we have an obligation to it. ‘…there is no place in our settlement for aggressive or humiliating behaviours designed to make others look foolish and do harm. We would not tolerate the bullying and social isolation of others without a good reason. And everyone must be treated with dignity.’
He then went on to announce that a workshop of civility training would commence to emphasise the importance of respectful communication. ‘Insults, intimidation, exclusion, and manipulation are unacceptable. ‘Order, justice, and freedom can only come about with freedom from bullying and violence.’
Ardent continued, ‘We expect good citizenship, which means showing respect, willingness to compromise, and listening to others. This does not mean that you cannot critique or advocate for yourself. It simply means that we must respect our fellow citizens. Always remember that what you want may collide with what another wants, and so, you may need to moderate yourself. Not everyone can have what they want in a community, as people's wants and desires may be incompatible. Keep your vulgarity, bad language, and terrible behaviour at home. Or, even better, come to our workshops to learn social skills.’
After this, Dr Arty, with his aluminium hair shining, gave a talk about helping others in need, ‘especially strangers.’
‘A traveller found a person robbed and almost dead on the side of the road, and others had passed by him. with no mercy or compassion. The traveller did not know the man, but he took care of him and saved his life. We must not live for ourselves, but for our neighbours,’ he thundered.
I’d never heard this story before, and I enjoyed it, and it made me thoughtful about my own actions. Dion dismissed it as a ‘didactic tale’ and said that it ‘was annoying …to have a moral lesson shoved down our throat.’
Arty also told me that ‘we are all fallen.’ I didn’t know anything about that, but I thought that all of us were half-formed and struggling to work out how to live in this world, and so we were bound to go the wrong way sometimes and make mistakes. So we should probably forgive ourselves and others if they made some missteps.
Helen stood, as though about to take flight, and said that she would say the first part of a poem, and it was up to us if we were interested to find and read the rest:
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don’t give way to hating,
Some comedian yowled, ‘Keeping your head when the world goes to pot, just shows that ‘ya don’t know what’s happening!’
‘It’s about endurance, patience, and maturity, dorkhead! ‘Moderate your feelings and thoughts. If you are betrayed, fail, or win big, continue to be levelheaded. It’s a no-brainer, champ!’
We filed outside then, in a reflective and introspective mood. Though, I heard someone say that the theme was ‘…all very decline of the Roman Empire. That outmoded concept, that the loss of civic virtue among its citizens led to collapse.’
Another, who looked like a resurrected Dame Edna, without the glamour, and falling to pieces, murmured, ‘I was simply born here. It was not my choice. I did not give my consent. I resent the idea that we are like a family with unchosen obligations.’
‘I just wish the government would quit pressuring me,’ growled another in a seductive voice.
‘These code of conduct thingos are just trying to limit my freedom of speech!’ Another proclaimed.
‘Yeah, remember back in the day when the authoritarian wokesters were constantly policing speech and threatening everyone…’ An older lady in a wheelchair murmured quietly whilst looking about in fear.
A lanky girl with thick glasses falling down came loping towards us, asking excitedly, ‘Where’s Panda? We’ve got our first message on the telegraph.’
Tom and Valour began hopping about in a feverish manner. ‘Wow! I made a crystal radio once, and I learned Morse code, where the alphabet and numbers are coded as rhythmic short signals and long signals, to transmit messages over distances using sound, light, or radio waves. But this is really exciting!’ Valour cried.
Panda appeared then, looking tired, but she sparked up at the lanky girl’s message. Tom, Valour, and I traipsed behind Panda and the girl as they shuffled down the street.
We came to an underground railway tunnel, and Panda picked up an old kerosene lantern, which she lit and and we began walking along between disintegrating train tracks, into the dark.
‘My mother said before she died,’ Panda looked out to the light, ‘that it was terrible watching everything that had been built by many generations falling apart and being able to do nothing except watch on. The first train connecting Sydney and Parramatta ran in 1855. How could we ever rebuild what we had?’
‘Nothing fell apart,’ said the lanky girl. ’They were broken apart.’
‘You are right, but we must not despair. We must work hard and keep going.’ Panda replied as we came out of the dark tunnel to see a late afternoon sky. But we all jumped back in shock as a pack of wild dogs blazed past us.
‘That’s strange,’ Panda said, ‘…. and they seem to be going somewhere in a hurry.’
‘Look!’ I cried, pointing at the beautiful soaring bird with a large wingspan.
‘That’s a Wandering Albatros,’ Panda replied, ‘What a beautiful and graceful sight!’
We arrived at a small squat building near the water, waved to an ancient mariner, and entered to see a room where a man was hunched over a strange machine of wheels, wires, and buttons.
‘Hi Gary, what have you got?’ Panda asked.
‘Well, our first real message is from Agra. He says that one of their young scientists found an old research paper claiming that certain forms of calcium and magnesium oxide added to the soil can suck up carbon dioxide (CO2). A group of volunteers now wants to travel about the country and the globe and encourage others to spread these easily obtainable minerals, which could bind billions of tonnes of atmospheric CO2 in a year.’
‘Who and where is Argra?’ blurted, Valour.
‘Argra is one of the leaders of the Medlow Bath community,’ Gary said patiently.
Panda looked like she was deep in thought, so Tom asked, ‘How did you get the message?’
‘People worked in difficult and dangerous conditions stringing iron wire between wooden frames, over a distance, to carry electrical pulses,’ Gary answered. Then continued. "We've connected many batteries for the telegraph, of about 2-volts, to maintain the circuit, and used old clockwork gears. Clear glass cylindrical jars contain copper-zinc electrodes at the bottom, and zinc electrodes at the top. Copper sulphate goes to the bottom and Zinc Sulphate floats on top of it.’
Tom and Valour were speechless, their mouths open and eyes boggled.
‘This is the most exciting thing that I’ve heard for a while….I mean, other than my marriage proposal,’ Panda beamed. ‘We need to get this moving. It really provides hope for a better future if we can sequester some of this carbon. We need plenty of volunteers. It is dangerous work, though, with all the Sovereigns.’
‘I would like to volunteer,’ Tom announced.
Immediately my heart began thumping. What would I do without Tom?
With her eye on me, Panda replied in a non-committal way, ‘We’ll see. But it would be good if you could travel up to that settlement and see if you can make yourself useful.’
Valour squeaked, ‘I can’t go. Living here has been the first stability that I have had in my life, and this reliable, predictable life has become important to me.’
Panda patted his hand. ‘You can stay here and help me, if you would prefer.’
Valour nodded.
Tom looked at Valour in surprise but stepped forward. ‘I am willing to go. I want to do some real work towards better times.’
I knew how Valour felt. I was not brave. I wanted to go home to the Springwood cave, but I knew that nothing would change if we didn’t take personal risks, so I said, ‘I will go, too.’
© Copyright 2025 Democritus Jones