Chapter 19

A hundred new students stood in the administration building waiting to hear a short speech. There were slight murmurs as people talked in low voices with each other. Some were skeptical that John was the Grand Druid, but most accepted it as fact. Among the crowd were people who had claimed to be Druids and Wiccans. A few just believed in a higher power, but had no fixed belief system.

The route here had been surprising for most of the students. The intelligence tests that formed the basis of entry into the school had been easy. Far more difficult had been the interviews with the faculty members, many of whom where Druids. The questions had been extremely personal and more than one potential student had pulled out because of an interview.

A common characteristic of the students was that they were bright, but had a troubled background. Many had graduated high school in the lower half of their class. They were also unable to pay for an education at a regular school. This was their last chance for a college education and many were desperate.

There were slightly more females than males. This had not been intentional, but John had actually been pleased. Two male students would have three female roommates. He hoped those particular students would be able to cope.

John, dressed in his brown robe, walked to a podium and faced the students. It was suddenly quiet. He quickly looked over the student body, pleased with the number of initial students. He had not expected so many students the first year the college was opened.

He cleared his throat, “I’m John Carter, the Grand Druid. Everyone in this room has an IQ greater than the 98th percentile. You are about to enter an educational endeavor that shall challenge that IQ to its limits.”

“You shall learn mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, geology, logic, literature, history, philosophy, esthetics, psychology, computer science, and sociology. Then you shall specialize in one of those areas. Your first four years shall cover the basics in every branch of science, mathematics, and humanities. Your last two years shall be spent getting specialized. Every year you will have self-defense training.”

“Throughout your educational experience, you shall learn how to be a Druid. The first year shall be the hardest for many of you. This is the year that you learn our first rule: ‘if it harms none, then do it.’ Believe me when I say that it’s a far more complex and limiting of a rule than it sounds.”

“You will find yourself becoming upset, irritated, or angry when someone does something that actually harms no one. The fact that you are angry is your problem, and not theirs. You can’t tell them not to do it, because it is allowed. You will also find yourself doing things that you think nothing about, but which actually causes harm. Others will call you on it, and you will be angry. Again, that is your problem, because what you have done is not allowed.”

“We have a fixed program here, but you shall find that it’s much more multidisciplinary than most university programs. Classes are arranged as quarters, and you will stay here, full time, year ‘round. Each class is one hour long and is given five days a week. You will have eight classes a day. Classes start at nine and end at nine.”

“Your role as a Druid, when you leave here, shall be to advise others. To do so, you must know more than they know. You must be able to think through things more clearly than others can. That is the goal of the education you will receive here.”

“At the end of your sojourn here, you shall present yourself to the Gods and Goddesses. If they deem you worthy, you shall become a Druid. You shall join the ranks of other Druids and be treated as an equal.” As John spoke, a line of robed individuals entered the room. There were three hundred Druids, all wearing the medallions of a God or Goddess. He pointed to the Druids, “These are recognized Druids. You will know them by the medallions they wear around their neck.”

He turned to face the Druids assembled in the room. He removed the medallion from under his robe. He set it outside the robe, “Druids! From hence forth, you shall wear your robes at all times, and your medallion will be displayed outside of your robe. It’s up to us, the recognized Druids, to create a reputation that shall serve as a foundation for our students. We have to gain the prestige that shall force the powerful to seek out the opinions of Druids.”

He smiled at the students. “For the next hour you may talk to any Druid in this room. You can ask any question of them that you may wish.”

The students stood where they were for several minutes, unsure what they were to do. Finally, a couple of the Druids went to a few of the students and pulled them away from the others. Other students took the hint and moved to where the Druids stood. One student headed straight to a Druid that was accompanied by a bear. It took some time, but eventually, all of the students had a chance to talk with one or more Druids.

One student came up to John. He challenged John, “Why are you the Grand Druid?”

“I’m the first Druid in eight hundred years to serve all of the Gods and Goddesses.”

“How am I supposed to believe that?”

“Check out my medallion. You will see that it is made of three medallions.”

The student frowned, “So what? You could have gotten that out of a cracker jack box.”

“Look at it carefully.”

The student lifted it and looked at it. He had seen hundreds of medallions on gold chains. The images on medallions were very suggestive of erotic subjects. Anyone with a little money could buy one. “Okay.”

“Try to remove it.”

The medallion slipped out of his fingers. No matter how much he tried, he could not grasp the medallion. He looked at John in wonder, “I can’t hold onto it.”

“It was put around my neck by the Two-Sided One. It can’t be removed. Each medallion around the neck of a Druid is the same. No one can remove it except for a God or Goddess.”

The student stared at John realizing that this was a serious group. They really did serve the Gods and Goddesses. He asked, “Did it hurt?”

“You are dealing with the forces of nature. They are powerful, and we are mortal.”

The student walked off. He decided to test what John had told him and visited another Druid asking if he could try to remove the medallion. Again, he found that he couldn’t do it. Several other students heard the exchange and looked in wonder.

Another student came to John. She looked around nervously before asking, “How much do you make?”

John laughed, “I make a lot more than I actually need. I give almost 98% of it away.”

“Oh, does that mean I have to live a life of poverty?”

John laughed, “No. I make over a billion a year. I give most of it away, but I’m nowhere near the poverty level.”

“Oh, do all Druids make that much?”

“No. All of them are more than satisfied with what they earn. Even the ones that don’t make much are quite satisfied with their lifestyle.”

The woman looked at John with a funny expression, “They settle for satisfaction?”

“Settle? No, that is not the word I would use. I would say they all achieve satisfaction. Anything beyond that is wasted effort.”

She frowned, “I want a lot.”

John stated, “I can write you check for a million. If that isn’t enough, I can make it ten million. If that still isn’t enough, I can make it a hundred million. Are you satisfied?”

“Huh?”

“Are you satisfied?”

“No. I’m excited.”

“What will it take to satisfy you?”

“I guess ten million.”

“Okay, you got it.” John stated. “Are you satisfied?”

“Ah, I don’t know.” The young lady was very confused. She didn’t know if he was seriously offering her ten million dollars, or not. “I guess so.”

John asked, “Now what?”

“What do you mean, now what?”

“So, what are you going to do now that you have enough money to satisfy you?”

He pulled out a checkbook and scribbled out a check for ten million dollars. He handed it to her.

“I guess I will go to school.” She looked at the check in disbelief. She was now worth ten million dollars. She could buy a big house, a fancy car, and never have to work a day in her life. She felt unhappy, but couldn’t put her finger on it.

“What? You aren’t satisfied yet?”

She was silent for a moment as she explored her feelings. She wondered what she would do once she left here. She had always been ambitious, but now the goal of her ambition had been taken from her. “I guess not.”

“So I guess that money isn’t the source of satisfaction that you thought it would be. Pity, you have enough of it, that you should be satisfied.”

“I guess not.”

“Satisfaction is difficult to achieve. It requires that you know what your needs are, and to understand the source of your desires.”

The student looked at the check. She couldn’t believe what she was about to do, but she knew that the check meant nothing to her. She tried to hand it back to John, “I can’t take it.”

“Yes, you can. Maybe when you graduate, you will cash it and use it wisely.” John looked at her, “I hope that you will have learned a little more about satisfaction by then.”

The student walked away after thanking him profusely. She noticed that the check was post dated for the date that she would graduate. She stood across the room looking at him in shock. She put the check in her pocket.

John smiled as another student approached him. The student asked, “What level of education do you have?”

“I have a doctorate in physics,” replied John. He was often surprised when people didn’t associate him with the invention of the Fusion Battery or the Fusion Cell.

“Almost all of the Druids have advanced degrees. Why?”

“To advise others, you must know more than they do.”

“You said that before. Who do you advise?”

“The FBI and the Atomic Energy Commission.”

“Oh,” replied the student. He had found it incredible that these people were so powerful, and yet he had never heard of them. He thought he kept up with current events. It was strange that he hadn’t recognized any of the individuals.

“Did you ask other Druids that question?”

“Yes, I did. They all are active advisers to some government agency.”

John asked, “Who do they advise?”

“I found Druids that advise the army, the navy, the IRS, the CIA, NASA, the President, Congress, and the National Science Foundation.”

“That is a pretty impressive group, wouldn’t you say?”

“Yes.”

John smiled, “Any other questions?”

“No, Sir. Thank you for answering my questions.”

John watched as the students walked around asking various questions of the Druids. Most of the questions were simple, but a few were tough. More than one Druid answered that he didn’t know the answer. That answer tended to surprise the students. There were questions all Druids refused to answer. One such question concerned the nature of their meeting with the God or Goddess they served.

He spotted Kelly across the room and waved to her. Ed was standing near her and turned around at a word from her. Ed waved back. He wondered where little Beth was. He knew Beth would be with Ling or Linda, but he had no idea where they had settled.

When the hour had finished, John called the room back to order. “Students, please return to your original locations. Druids, you may leave now.”

It took several minutes for the students to gather in front of him. The Druids didn’t take half that long to leave the room. Individually, each one turned and left the room at their own pace. He turned back to the students and smiled, “I shall lead you to your new quarters. You will find that all of your needs shall be taken care of while you are here.”

He led the students into a hallway between the administration building and the first-year dorm rooms. When all of the students had entered the hallway, John stopped and turned around. The doors behind the students closed. As his medallion started to get warmer, John stated, “Okay, along the walls you will find boxes. Would you please take a box right now?”