A Visitor to the Future - 64 - Positions and Interests
"Well," said one of the older men, rising from his seat at the Norannist table, "I would like to make our rejection of proposal six clear. We feel that it is contrary to the spirit of Norannism." He sat down again.
"Deacon Fasten," said Silence, "Thank you for the first contribution in this session. Could you explain why, for the benefit of all parties here today?"
He seemed to grumble a little to himself, and moved as if he were about to stand again - but abandoned the motion and remained seated. "The proposal suggests that both parties should re-create the University whole in separate locations. According to our beliefs, it is not only the building that is important, it is its place, location, and history. There is only one true University. Any building that we re-created would be a facsimile, not worthy of reverence. Does that make our position clear?"
Silence looked around the other groups as if inviting any questions. There seemed to be a small amount of whispering about the subject in the Rheolist group, on which Silence fixed his gaze.
"Advocates Juliet and Yaci, do you have any clarifying questions about the Deacon's statement?" he asked.
Advocate Juliet was a striking woman with a tattoo of a large whale's tail that covered her neck and vanished beneath her clothing. It was illuminated from behind somehow, standing out in a pale pink light. "We were only discussing how such a stance seems to contradict other Norannist writings, but if that is the Deacon's position, so be it."
The Norannist table seemed somewhat riled up by the comment, "Please, by all means," said the Deacon, sneering, "Tell us what our own scripture is supposed to say."
Silence cut off the interaction. "This chain of conversation is not helpful for any of the parties. As we have previously established, the Norannists have stated that they will not consider appeals made to religious dogma by the Rheolist advocates. We agreed that such methods were off limits. Please stick to presenting your own viewpoints and focus on the reconciliation aspect which has been the focus of my coaching over the past few weeks."
Both the Rheolist and Norannist parties grew silent for a beat. The green-badged University advocates looked between both of the other tables, very much seeming like a neutral group stuck in the middle of an argument for the moment.
"This is impossible," said Yaci of the Rheolists - a towering figure of a man with a curly black beard. "How are we supposed to come to an agreement with these... people... when both of our aims are incompatible?" It had seemed for a moment like he was going to us another word instead of 'people'. "No matter what we propose, the Norannists seem to find some flaw with it."
"Please," said Silence, "I understand this is frustrating, but I feel that the dialogue of the past few days has been very productive, even if it is yet to present an acceptable solution. On that point, I think it may be worth recapping the work that we did on positions versus interests last week," said Silence. He waved a hand and a large, flat blue wall began to rise out of the group behind him. Text began to fill the screen, leaving a basic table filled with Verrin script. I pulled out my tablet and asked the Consortium to provide me with an English version.
| Rheolists | Norannists | University |
|---|---|---|
| Establish the University as a Rheolist heritage site. | Establish the University as a Norannist heritage site. | No position. |
| Prevent the use of the site by the Norannists. | Prevent the use of the site by the Rheolists. | Allow the public as a whole to continue enjoyment of the University campus. |
There was a large, red circle which had been drawn around the four Rheolist and Norannist positions, and large red script which read, INCOMPATIBLE.
"As both parties agreed, these positions are incompatible," said Silence, tapping the red text with one finger, "But that does not mean that this arbitration is doomed to fail. You must move away from these negotiating positions and begin to think of interests instead. I would like all three groups to spend the next ten minutes to try and come up with a statement of your interests, instead of your position. What is the motivation behind your overall position? That is actually your interest. University advocates, I suspect you already have a statement of interest - if so, please take a short, ten minute break."
I watched as over the next ten minutes, the different groups began to discuss among themselves. Silence had been spot-on, the University advocates, being practised hands at this sort of thing, had already established what their interest was. Silence moved between the groups, asking clarifying questions and spending an equal amount of time with both the Norannist and Rheolist tables. After exactly ten minutes, he reconvened the session.
"Thank you for your participation in that exercise," said Silence, "Deacon, would you be kind enough to read out what your group has come up with?"
The Deacon did stand again for this statement, reading from a tablet device not too different to my own. "To protect the cultural and historical significance of the University for the benefit of future generations of Norannists." He sat down again, satisfied.
"Thank you. And Yaci, if you wouldn't mind?"
The towering man also stood up, standing easily over two metres tall. "To preserve the University as a place of respect for the origins of the Rheolist philosophy."
"And Thomas, of the University advocates?"
Thomas was smartly dressed in a long-sleeved shirt and bow-tie, his green badge pinned to his collar. "To preserve the University for students and residents as a neutral place of learning for all."
"Now, please could one of the groups here provide me with an answer as to why I had you carry out that exercise?" asked Silence.
Juliet of the Rheolists spoke up, but did not stand. "Our interests are actually fairly similar - when we begin to ignore the distaste that our groups seem to have for each other."
Silence nodded. "Now, I would like all three groups to come together and discuss some of the proposals that the University team made yesterday. Please keep the interests of your group, not your previous positions, in mind. I will return in an hour - please also feel free to take a break at quarter-to the hour for fifteen minutes."
With that, Silence turned his back on the groups and began walking towards me, a small smile visible on his synthetic lips.