But the masters know that some societies are burdened with wars, geographically inconveniences, or even an eternal oppressor that controls the game, so they feel empathy and compassion. This is because firstly, true masters understand that usually, breaking up from the crowd is an individual choice. Sometimes, however, there are unbearable circumstances that cannot be overcome. For those unfortunate individuals whose dire misfortune placed them in desperate situations, we must show humanity. Secondly, and most importantly, because true masters understand that masters can exist against all odds in oppressed societies, they are hidden to protect their lives and the lives of their families.
The oppressor tends to lower the intellects of the oppressed so he can control them with ease, or just to satisfy his ego and be known as the wise, ultimate leader that no one can match. Because of that, masters are his personal enemies, and cruelly hunting them down is his deepest and darkest secret passion. For those reasons, we must show the deepest respect for those masters, as they are keeping the mastery of their fields hidden to protect their entourage from retaliation. We should never doubt that because nature always brings the best of us out of nowhere. From the highest mountain to the deepest desert, masters have always existed and will continue to exist.
This is not romantic humanism; this is just the reality of our world. Therefore, for every master who is hidden his knowledge to protect his entourage, I salute you, as knowledge with responsibility is the ultimate mastery.
Mastery is just the beginning because the true strength of mastery is that the same process can be replicated in another field. For example, there is a small story of a running champion who lost his legs after a traumatic car crash. Everyone pitied him as his world had been completely destroyed, or at least that’s what they thought. Some people thought that he may soon commit suicide, as they speculated that he wouldn’t be able to cope with his new life. They believed that running was everything he was.
He came back later and won the world championship of archery.
Mastery always goes through the same pattern. First, you must be attracted to the thing that you want to work on. Then, you must find a master or a connoisseur who will show you how to do it correctly. After that, you will do and redo it a million times as it gives you joy or satisfies an impulsive behavior. In the last phase, you will start to develop your own style as you diverge from your master’s style. Mastery – it gives you the method to create the best of anything, art, sports performance, engineering, and even friendship; all the best things in this life respond to the same method of the making – mastery.
My perfect candidate was in a high-security prison, charged with high treason. He had disobeyed the AI’s prediction to complete the mission regardless of the casualties. In the report, it says that he withdrew after losing nine men. Disobeying a direct order issued by an AI prediction is suicide. I thought that you needed immense courage to do that, but also, and most importantly, you need to have the heart to sacrifice yourself for your men. Knowing that he could finish the mission and be decorated, knowing that this is what is done in war, winning is essential, no matter what the human losses are – knowing all that and then deciding to throw everything he’d worked for his whole life out the window was admirable. A man like that shouldn’t stay in prison. He had mastery in war, but he was in the wrong era. It is that simple.
I saw Dismar as the supreme warrior, the hero of an old empire, on horseback, leading his soldiers who would give their lives for him as they know that he will never betray or desert them. But, unfortunately, he was born in the AI age where disobeying a direct order from a computer is high treason.
During his prison time, his marriage, which was already rocky, ended up being destroyed. I released him from prison to an empty life. But less than a year and according to my direct orders, he was able to rejoin the army. He still doesn't know it was me. He thinks it’s was a national pardon. After that, I sent him to a special unit called “The Puppets.” They train with the AI soldiers so they can learn how the army expects humans to behave. After four months of intensive training, he gained back his skills and reflexes. Now he is a 36-year-old driver and father of a young girl that he sees twice a month. After the divorce, the mother took the kid, and Dismar didn't want to fight the case. He wanted the best for his little girl. That's why he chose to be out of her life. A broken soldier can teach nothing to a kid.
The big doors of the headquarters of the military commandment opened wide for us. Dismar parked the car under the building, gently wished me good luck as an honest courtesy. I appreciated that, and
