Veil (92 page)

“An ability? That would be your choice of
what we as a world have learned through Veil? We all have an
ability?”

“Yes, definitely and please, let me
explain.”

“By all means.”

“In the world you and I were raised in,
abilities were valued if they either produced something, or if they
generated a profit. If your ability didn’t create something or make
money, it was more likely dismissed as merely your personality.
Maybe it was disregarded as one of your idiosyncrasies, one of your
quirks. It wasn’t seen for what it truly was. While some people can
be good at singing, dancing, inventing, writing, fighting, playing
an instrument, swimming, debating or say, journalism…”

“Some of us, hopefully.”

“Yes, some … well those are all abilities
that created something or could generate a profit for someone.
Those kinds of abilities are still highly regarded, as seen by the
prevalence of certain Velebrities. I’m sure, being such a highly
regarded journalist, there are quite a number of people shadowing
you right now to experience this interview for themselves later.
Not only because you are interviewing me per say, but also because
you are such a highly regarded journalist.”

“A few hundred million shadowers, give or
take.”

“Precisely. But there are other abilities out
there. Abilities that have always been overlooked and taken for
granted. Now that Veil has begun unmasking those abilities, they
have begun taking the forefront in society. People’s unique
abilities are starting to be experienced by others firsthand and
therefore, they are being valued much more.”

“I’m guessing you already have some examples
of these abilities?”

“Sure, it’s why I’m here. Someone’s ability
might be to love really, really well. To feel love deeper somehow,
with every fiber of their being. Their capacity for love could feel
more expansive. Compared to others, someone simply may love better.
Through Veil, when others are exposed to that greater capacity for
love, they will be drawn to it. More and more people will be drawn
to it more and more often.

“Another’s ability might be hearing and
appreciating music differently than most people
.
They might hear it differently than a lot of people,
and music might sound much richer somehow through their ears.
Combine that person’s ability with a particular musician, and it
might be the perfect fusion for some Veilers, so they might be
disillusioned once the Veil ends, and once they hear music through
their own ears. Veilers might feel compelled to Veil that person
again and, in essence, keep chasing that musical high.”

“Interesting, because I’ve read accounts of
what you’re describing, the other day, in fact.”

“Yes, it’s out there. While I might not
participate in Veil, I certainly stay apprised of all Veil’s
developments, its permutations, its applications. The phenomenon
we’re discussing touches almost every aspect of our lives.
Including physical health, Christiane. For instance, there might be
a Veiler who is not only able to maintain their health, diet, and
exercise but also reach a life balance of those elements, so they
are able to feel healthy. They might be able to feel healthier than
most people are accustomed to feeling.”

“Sorry to interrupt, but they feel
healthier?”

“Very much so, I’ve seen it happen already.
Like the adage ‘Healthier Is Happier’. Look at one of the most
Veiled and renowned New Veil World Velebrities, Steve Cook. On the
surface, Steve appears to be a previously unknown, relatively
random fitness expert and model, who just so happens to have an
aesthetically pleasing body, which millions of people aspire to or
appreciate. So, it would make sense that millions upon millions of
people would want to Veil with him to get a chance to see what it’s
like to be him, which could be for varying reasons. They could do
so to gain firsthand insight into his fitness routine. They might
shadow him to understand his diet. Or to experience his
weightlifting approach and form. Or to feel exactly how each of his
muscles responds. Or they could do so to experience what it’s like
to be that aesthetically pleasing and therefore, garner so much
attention and attraction. From both sexes, mind you. Heck, they
could shadow him simply for the chance to see him nude, even if
through his own eyes. If, of course, Steve allows that to happen.
Veilers always have a choice regarding the parts of themselves that
they allow their shadowers to experience”

“Oh yes, of course. Certainly. My Veils
always end once my interviews end, so I understand what you
mean.”

“Precisely, and just like there could be
hundreds of reasons why Veilers shadow you, there could be hundreds
of reasons why so many people shadow Steve Cook, and most times it
would prove to be for a combination of reasons. However, that
doesn’t explain away why he’s one of the few who’s risen to the top
of the New Veil World. Numbers alone don’t necessarily explain why
someone becomes a Velebrity. If you listen closely to what’s being
said about the experience of Veiling with him, or if you dissect
the data flowing into social-networking and VeilTrackers from the
vNet, it quickly becomes quite clear how, through Steve, people
have experienced a physically healthy, happy, balanced state of
being they’ve been unable or unwilling to attain themselves. Now,
there will be people who seek different forms of happiness and
health, such as spiritual or sexual, and there are already
Velebrities who reflect those things as well. Steve is but one
example, but he’s a good example, because you have to look deeper
to see what people are truly gaining from repeatedly, sometimes
obsessively, Veiling him. While one would hope those shadowers
learn from Steve and apply it to themselves, it may or may not
always be the case. Being Steve might motivate some, while it might
stagnate others.

“Still, the fact remains. Steve became one of
the forefront Velebrities because his ability to feel physically
healthy greatly surpasses how most people are accustomed to
feeling. He is healthy, he is strong, his physique is the pinnacle
of ideal. Steve comfortably, and without judgment, welcomes
admiration from people who are attracted to his aesthetic. He then
channels that attraction into a way to motivate and educate others
and himself. Plus, Steve comfortably gives admiration to people
whose aesthetics attract him, without perceiving it as a threat to
his masculinity or sexuality, which sadly was quite rare PreVeil.
When Veilers—male and female alike—encounter Steve Cook, the
experience of
being him
is magnetic, seductive, and
liberating. He breaks boundaries: physical, egotistical, sexual,
and even gender lines.

“However, this trend isn’t unique to only
him, and it will keep happening: people will become known for their
particular abilities when their abilities transcend those of so
many others. Abilities we might never have been able to comprehend
in the past. If you pay attention to VeilTrackers, the things
Veilers say about Steve mirror what is being said about other
Velebrities. Velebrities provide exposure to an ability that
greatly surpasses that of most others. It simply depends on what
ability or abilities a Veiler is drawn to. Heck Christiane, someone
might be really good at
being
loved. Being loved might
simply come more naturally and effortlessly to them and Veilers
might be drawn to that.”

“Ok, I have to interrupt you again on that
one. You’re saying the act of being loved can be seen as an
ability?”

“Oh, without a doubt. It’s a little like
being able to take a compliment. Some people are much more adept at
it than others, for whatever reasons. Allowing oneself to be loved
isn’t always easy, quite the opposite a lot of times, in fact. A
lot of people, many without realizing it, don’t want to need love.
They don’t want to need love at all. This was especially true in a
lot of PreVeil males. The need itself for love was, and in some
small part still is, seen as a weakness; it is viewed as being
somehow impotently vulnerable. The more someone is put off by or
makes light of strong emotions being expressed by others, the more
difficult it is for them feel or express profound emotions. That
translates into a difficulty in allowing oneself to be loved.

“A lot of ideal relationships occur when a
person who is really good at loving and one who is really good at
being loved collide. There of course are going to be some
exchanging of the roles, a reciprocity love requires, but one does
tend to be one or the other most of the time. PreVeil, these roles
were dichotomized along gender lines, with the male or masculine
role seen as more adept at providing the feeling of love and the
female or feminine role seen as more adept at receiving the feeling
of love. The archetypal and parodied chivalrous man and needy
woman.”

“Hmmm, I’m not sure everyone would agree with
that, Ken. Speaking for myself, as a woman, and my perception of
how things were and still are, it seems women are the ones who are
more outwardly loving, more nurturing. Wouldn’t you say it’s women
whom generally talk about love, display love, and express
love.”

“Well, Christiane, I would respond to that in
a few ways, which doesn’t imply either of us are right or wrong.
First, loving and nurturing are two completely different aspects,
and I would agree that women are better nurturers. For sure, I
agree with that. However, I differ from you in my interpretation of
what you identify as women expressing love. I tend to interpret
that behavior as women desiring love. Like you said, and it goes to
the core of what I’m saying, I interpret their behavior as
indicative of them seeking love. Undoubtedly, to me, in the typical
PreVeil relationship, the masculine role was seen as
provider
—even the provider of love, while the feminine was
seen as the
receiver
—even the receiver of love. Whether or
not that was surface appearance and more complicated behind the
scenes is a discussion for another time. While my interpretations
might put-off or offend some, it’s simply how I viewed gender
dynamics PreVeil and how I view them PostVeil. I’m not saying it’s
right or wrong, and I think the equalizing, unifying trend Veil has
started is characteristic of the fact that our evolution is pushing
us beyond such rigid, arbitrary boundaries.”

“It’s funny that you bring up the equalizing,
unifying aspect of Veil, Ken. Because, I suspect most of my viewers
and Veilers might’ve expected you to identify that aspect of Veil
as the biggest lesson of Veil itself.”

“Oh no doubt, it’s an evolution, for sure.
But to me that’s an outcome, not a lesson. Besides, it leads my
mind straight back to ability. Veil’s outcome—the psychosocial
evolution it has caused—actually frees people and allows them to
become their ability to a much greater extent. For example,
PostVeil, with gender lines and roles blurring tremendously, people
seem to feel freer to identify with their abilities more than with
their sex or gender. The same is true for race. The New Veil World
has seen the content of one’s character, their specific personal
abilities, take precedence over arbitrary, rapidly dissolving
identities such as race, nationality, religion, class, sex or
gender.

“So this lesson, this deeper understanding
of, and appreciation for, our individual abilities, that’s what
you, Dr. Ken Wise, see as the best thing to come from Veil? That’s
what you see as the inherent good in Veil?”

“Oh, I never said it was good. I never once
said it was good or bad. I simply said it was the main lesson Veil
has taught us. It might very well be Veil’s undoing. It might be
our
undoing.”

“I think it’s time. She asked to see
you.”

“She’s asked to see me before. What, is she
going to turn into The Widow Who Cried Wolf every few years up in
here?”

“This is serious, Hunter. You haven’t been to
her wing of the house or seen her for probably over a year. She’s
bad.”

“Jesus,” he groaned, ripped the collar from
his neck
,
and tossed it on his bed. He
snapped his fingers a few times and flagged Roy over to help him
up. Once Roy helped him stand and make his way over to his walker,
Hunter pushed him away.

“I’ve got it now. Fuck. You’re so damn
clingy. Go put a chair by her bed and tell her I’ll be there in a
bit. If she can hang on that fucking long. If not, oh well.
Sayonara, Suren.”