The Dusk of Competition

“Everybody wins,” I said. “That’s the fourth habit, right? Think Win/Win.”

“Exactly,” said Iman. “It’s been a hard concept for humanity to grasp. Even before Jesus brought up what’s come to be known as The Golden Rule, your higher thinkers have realized the benefit of looking out for your neighbor.”

“However,” added Yewell, “the majority of your population does not consist of higher thinkers.” He nodded to the right with a little shift of his oblong head.

Photo by Ramzi Hashisho

I looked into the vast expanse of the nebulous void. Off in the distance, a pin prick of light emerged, growing bigger as it came toward us. As it grew nearer, I could make out the color of green. There was movement, and I soon realized that they were human figures. As the light from the image began to overtake me, it was coated with red. Suddenly, I was immersed in the light of movement in color.

I looked up to see a large man running directly at me. He was clad in what appeared to be armor, but what stood out more was the broad sword that he held over his angry face. With a vicious yell, he swung. I ducked as the sword whooshed over my head and I heard it clash behind me. Rolling onto my back, I saw another warrior who held a similar sword with slightly different armor on. The two men swung on each other again and again, swords emitting sparks and clashes as I cowered underneath the battle.

Iman and Yewell poked their heads from behind the warriors as the fight raged on.

“Not a pretty sight, is it?” Iman said.

As the warriors attacked one another, their movements should have knocked the two aliens over or at least gouged into their flesh. Instead, they seemed to be holographic, moving through them without even a flinch. I looked around me and similar battles raged across the grassy valley. Dozens of men, hundreds even, engaged in bloody warfare as the green of the meadow was tinged and overcome with the blood of violence.

“What the hell?!” I yelled.

“We figured the void was making you a bit lethargic,” explained Yewell.

“Well, how about a little warning next time?” I said.

“And miss the look of surprise on your face?”

The aliens came to help me up as the warriors battled on. Though I knew that what I was seeing wasn’t real, I still found myself ducking to escape the blows.

“So, seriously, what gives? What’s with the whole gladiator thing?”

“This, unfortunately, is what humanity often refers to as ‘negotiations,’” said Iman.

The larger of the two gladiators landed a fatal blow to his opponent, a hideous sound emerging from him as he slid off of the blood-drenched blade and fell to the ground.

“Not a whole lot of room for compromise,” added Yewell.

“I should say not,” I said. “What’s this have to do with being interdependent?”

“Not a whole lot,” said Iman. “That’s why we’re showing it to you. It’s often easier to define something by what it is not before addressing what it actually is.”

“This,” Yewell said, motioning to a gladiator being decapitated by his enemy, “not so much win/win.”

“Yeesh!” was all I could get out.

“Like we mentioned,” Iman said, “this is the way a good part of humanity sees conflict resolution. In order to get what you want, there must be a battle. Over 95% of your civilized communities have engaged in some sort of warfare.”

“And if it’s not a battle to the death,” added Yewell, “it’s a least a battle to defeat where there is only one victor.”

Another gladiator rushed right at us, his sword held over his shoulder. I froze as he swung it around, directly at my head. As it came toward me, the red-tinged sword seemed to melt and wrap around is hand as his armor fell away and formed a perimeter behind him. The grass beneath our feet faded to an off white that I saw very closely as I dropped to my knees and he swung over my head. As he connected with his rival, I noticed the difference in the sound of the impact and the roar of applause caused me to look up and see that I was in the middle of a boxing match.

Iman and Yewell sat on the ropes, watching the fight.

“It’s not quite as final,” said Yewell, “but it’s still the same mentality. One of them has to lose in order for one of them to win.”

“Today, the majority of your conflict resolution is still based in the idea of competition,” Iman explained. “However, many of you are finally beginning to open up to the realization that it doesn’t have to be that way.”

“But this is such a big part of our culture?” I said. “Not just in boxing, but in all of our sports and means of progress. I mean, we use the concept in spelling bees, game shows, so much of what we do. Baseball is still referred to as the American pastime. One team’s got to win and one’s got to lose. That’s how we establish dominance.”

“However, you’re at a point where many of you are no longer interested in dominance,” said Iman. “You are striving for excellence. That is where this higher thinking is taking you. You are realizing that in an abundant universe, the idea that there can only be one winner is a complete falsity.”

“Besides, no one ever said that your culture as you know it was going to last forever,” added Yewell. “Look at the Mayans, the Incans, and the Roman Empire. Your culture will only last as long as it serves a purpose. Considering the new mentality that so many of you are striving for, we predict that things are going to change drastically for you over the next short while.”

“Didn’t the Mayans say the world was going to end in 2012?” I asked. “That doesn’t necessarily glow with the radiance of Win/Win for me.”

“The end of the world is not always what you think that it is,” said Iman. In a flash, we were back in the safe expanse of the nebulous void.