The Veil of Ignorance
by
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The Captain’s explanation, although accurate, has a ring of regret, as if the crew’s effectiveness and efficiency should be questioned.
Dr. Finkel decides to move the conversation along with a calculated yet risky observation.
“Captain, may I correct you. The exercise room has evidence of some sort of struggle. There seems to be blood there as well.”
“Yes, Doctor. I agree. That’s right,” he says. His discontent seems more of a setback now as he shakes his head sideways almost in near defeat. His eyebrows tighten around his nose showing a double crease in his forehead.
Captain Alexandrous strokes his short gray beard, the way you do when you are deeply thinking about something, nervous about something, or even trying to conceal something. His eyes turn to a sullen appearance, almost brooding.
Dr. Finkel notices the unusual dour appearance, but hesitates to inquire. Some things are best just left alone, he considers. He might have taken too much liberty with his observations already.
Captain Alexandrous drops his hand from his chin, and then, takes a deep breath. “What’s done is done. Two more cruises and I’m retired.”
His comments seem to be those from a man alone, not talking to anyone, but rather in contemplation. His barrel chest gives way to an unexpected cough, followed by release of internal gas from his rear side. The accompanying sound embarrasses the Captain more than the Doctor.
“Pardon me,” the Captain says, not accustomed to asking for forgiveness.
“Natures way of clearing the passages,” the Doctor replies.
There is silence between the two veteran professionals who have been cruising together for close to nine years.
Their relationship started when the Surprendre’s regular physician took sick, unexpectedly, and a substitute was needed quickly. The Ship’s Director of Talent located Dr. Finkel through his professional network, and soon he became the permanent Ship’s physician. He and the Captain hit it off immediately. The Doctor quickly figured out his boss’s autocratic leadership style and settled into it. That pleased the Captain.
However, recently, say within the last few months, Dr. Finkel began to notice a change in his boss’s demeanor. Although always stern, running the Ship by the book, he seemed to be preoccupied with other issues. And, not one to openly communicate his personal feelings, even with a friend as Dr. Finkel, the Captain often seemed to be miles away in his thoughts. Whether he was fantasizing or simply engrossed in more important concerns, he seemed to be lost in a world of his own. Dr. Finkel was worried, but knew better than to pry.
Dr. Finkel is about to leave the Captain’s room when his friend unexpectedly says, “Can I have your opinion on an issue?”
Dr. Finkel frowns his forehead from the surprised question. “Of course.”
“Sit down, please,” the Captain says with unaccustomed courtesy.
The Doctor complies, now sensing something important is to happen.
“Um, Um. Have you ever wondered about your place in the world?”
“Uh, I’m not sure what you mean, Captain.” A strange question, thinks the Doctor.
The Captain continues as if no question was asked. “No one absolutely knows how he stands amongst his fellow men. Think about that for a minute, Doctor. The artificial barriers society imposes on us are simply that. Synthetic indicators of how we measure up to one another. Who is the ultimate arbiter, the go-between, to decide right from wrong, best to worse? Is there a grading criterion? If there is, where does it reside? Who developed it? Speaking for myself, I’ v never seen it or, as a matter of fact, been introduced to the judge. Have you?”
The pause in speech is not meant to be a signal for Dr. Finkel to speak. He knows that, and doesn’t say anything. He waits for the Captain to continue talking on the unusual topic. He does.
“Life is all recorded someplace on a tape or CD, symbolically or for real. I’m not sure which. It doesn’t matter. And now, the play button has been pushed. It’s an illusion, a mere figment of our imagination. Some might call this the ultimate deception, tricking us to believe that we are free willed, able to make our own independent and informed decisions. It is not. It is simply an appearance. My friend, we are deluded to think otherwise. Yes, the ultimate con. We all caught in it, don’t know about it, but are the effect of it.”
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About the Book
Meet Tommy Hogan. He is an outstanding University educator who loves what he does and is good at it, until one day a female student falsely accuses him of sexual harassment. He unsuccessfully argues with the University’s Administration of his innocence, claiming she solicited him for sex in exchange for a passing grade. He did not accept the quid pro quo exchange, but the University was more interested in limiting its liabilities. The few social friends he had and the colleagues he associated with on campus prior to the alleged incident soon distance themselves from him. Needing work and with no supplemental savings available, he resigns himself to teaching online through the Internet, something he finds too solitary. He misses the face-to-face exchange with students. Feeling isolated, alone, and confused, he questions his life and wonders if he will find comfort, happiness, and love. His vulnerabilities surface, as he easily becomes a target by those seeking revenge, greed, and status at the expense of others. Tommy Hogan, once an easy going and self-assured single man, becomes embroiled in life and death situations, until he finally removes the veil that shrouds his ignorance.
About the Author
Antonio F. Vianna
Antonio F. Vianna holds a B. S. Degree in Biology from Union College (Schenectady, New York), a M. M. from Northwestern University (Evanston, Illinois), and is a former Officer in the United States Air Force. He is frequently on television and radio offering practical tips for taking charge of your career. He is a Faculty member and Head Area Chair with the University of Phoenix teaching business and management courses. He lives in Carlsbad, California. Other books published with AuthorHouse include:
Vianna’s Career Management and Employee Portfolio Tool Kit Workbook posits that your career is a dynamic process that requires constant reevaluation and fine-tuning as experience dictates. With practical exercises focusing on his model, Five Sigma of Success, this Workbook helps the first-time job seeker, those reentering the workforce or changing jobs/careers, and those currently employed who seek advancement evaluate who they are, what they want to be, and how to get there. This is a must-have book.
In Leader Champions: Secrets of Success, Vianna teams up with Dr. Mark B. Silber to create a dynamic text about your choices for leader champion actions. Their goal focuses on what it means to be a leader in the 21st Century and what some practical techniques used by those who have made it to that exclusive suite. This is a no-nonsense text to stimulate your leadership, human relations, and personal growth competencies.
Switching to fiction, Vianna’s A Tale from a Ghost Dance centers on the title’s reference to the ancient Native American ceremonial dance where the spirits of the ancestors are called upon for their wisdom and advice. But, in this tale, it is an Anglo woman executive who has unwanted visionary powers. The protagonist, Victoria, is a high-powered marketing executive who does not accept her gift until she encounters a Native American elder, Joseph. However, some tribal members resent Victoria. These ensure intra-tribal conflicts as well as mysterious circumstances involving one of her clients that place her life and others in peril.
In The In-ter-view, Vianna turns something as ordinary as a job interview into a life and death drama. Laura Simmons is interviewing with Fred Wheeler and Associates when a disgruntled former employee bursts in and takes her and seven others hostage. As the action plays out, each character reveals his/her true self and demonstrates how each individual reacts under duress. It soon becomes evident if they want to survive the ordeal, this disparate group must become a cohesive force.
The backdrop of Talking Rain is a twenty-year-old murder case that sent a man to death row. One evening, however, alone, with no one left to talk with, Lucy Lodine unexpectedly walks into Precinct 21 to break her silence. She confesses to the murder, unsuccessfully convincing the authorities that her husband on death row is innocent of the crime. When people who had been involved in the crime start to die, she gets the authorities’ attention, particularly of Detective Jack Bogle. Mix in academic rivalry, problem gambling, an alleged affair, and a callow policewoman with her on-again off-again reporter, and you have an incredible topsy-turvy ride.
What if your darkest secret was about to be uncovered? What would you do? This is the theme of Uncovered Secrets, a mystery novel that takes place in a local movie theater. Blend in a ghost, the theater’s sexy and manipulative employee, the theater’s film projectionist, a callous cop, the theater’s manager who shows signs of being in a profession too long, a brash young female executive, and an emotionally needy woman. The final secrets are revealed on North County Airport Road.
In Midnight Blue, after two bodies are exhumed, the police begin to suspect foul play and question their original findings. Were lies purposely told and the real suspects purposely not questioned? Throw into the mix a love affair between a cop and the daughter of the prime suspect, and you have a story you will want to read straight through.