Jack is awoken from his deep slumber by the sound of the alarm bell ringing and pandemonium erupting around him. His fellow seamen are out of their hammocks running around in a hurry and are shouting at each other. Someone grabs his hammock and pulls him out. He hits the floor hard. “Lets go, all men aboard!” Jack stumbles to his feet still half asleep. He makes his way through the chaos, navigating with his hands in the darkness along the corridor that takes him to the massive wooden stairs leading up to the deck. As he reaches the deck he breathes in a long deep breath and is calm for a minute. Since he joined the crew this is his favorite thing to do in the early hours of the morning. The sun is just coming up over the perfectly flat ocean and illuminates the puffy white clouds in a rich golden hue. The wind is chilling his body and he inhales a deep breath of the salty ocean air which is in stark contrast to the sweaty hot conditions below deck. Jack knows that this again, will be a perfect day with perfect weather and no real worries ahead. He is about to smile. Until he turns and is awoken out of his trance. Finally he grasps what is going on, on deck. His fellow crewmen have come to a stand still in formation. In front is the captain. In fact it looks like every person of the entire ship has assembled. Jack hurriedly joins his maintenance crew earning some condescending glances from some of his fellow mates. Some of the men keep looking up and just as Jack follows their gaze he realises what has happened. Nothing else matters anymore as the adrenaline is pumping through his body.
The main sail that was supposed to tower above him is gone. Or rather it has been ripped apart and the larger part is hanging off the side of the ship and is dragging in the water. This also explains the slight tilt to starboard. Observing the damage, it looks like not just the sail broke but the big mast has been damaged as well. The uneasiness rises in Jack, as he knows that the maintenance crew is responsible for the functioning of the sails and its necessary equipment. The department he just started working in. In this moment the captain beings to speak in his far reaching, booming voice.
“Attention.” All men snap to attention. “You can all see what has happened. At some point last night a strong wind ripped through the sail and destroyed it.” The captain looks at the sail and makes his way to the rail to see the part that has gone overboard. The sail flapping in the water like the tail fin of a whale. In slow motion it moves up and down, left and right, ever so slightly changing the heading of the ship. dimaond2
“The sail dragging in the water is changing our course. And without a sail we all know what us going to happen,” the captain proclaims. All men respond in unison, “We will be lost at sea.” “Exactly,” the captain snaps. “So let’s get it out of the water and start fixing it.”
The whole deck moves from a still stand to a hectic chaos in a matter of seconds. There is a struggle to find a piece of the sail to hold onto in order to pull it out. “On my mark, we start pulling,” the captain shouts. “And, pull!”
The whole ship pulls in a uniform motion. The water soaked sturdy fabric makes it very heavy and hard to hold onto with bare hands. But slowly it is moving, pull by pull more of the sail is heaved onto deck. The moment the water soaked part of the sail reaches the men, it begins to slip backwards. Some men are using harpoons and hooks now to reel it in.
“And, pull,” the captain keeps shouting. While the sail is more than half way back in, it keeps ripping apart between the piece that is left hanging on the mast on the one on the deck. On one hand it makes it easier to pull in the sail as it becomes lighter but on the other hand this destroys it even more. Eventually they manage to pull it onto the deck in its entirety, but it is completely split into two.“A ripped sail is not tragic, we have to stitch it up. Maintenance crew, begin repairing the sail,” the captain orders in a calmer voice. Jack and his colleagues get right onto the task of fixing it. Thread and heavy duty needles are brought out.
To work on the sail properly the crew clears the deck of all the debris and pieces of wood that have been ripped from the main mast as the sail was torn apart.
Maintenance Navigator Luis is overseeing the work of his crew with an iron gaze and keeps pushing them. “Without a working sail, we will not be able to move forward or to steer properly. Keep working diligently but quickly. When will it be done?” “Tonight, sir,” one of the men replies.
“Do your best men! I hope that this will be finished this afternoon. Our captain would appreciate it.” The crew look at him and turn back to their work. Annoyed by the added pressure. “Yes sir, they reply.”
For hours the maintenance crew is labouring away in the burning sun. The work is cruel and exhausting. The wet fabric lets their hands swell and the needles keep bending and breaking. Many of the crew have bloody fingers and broken fingernails.
“Jack, how about you move a bit faster,” one of the crew members yells at him as everyone is working as hard as they can while Jack behaves like a complete beginner. Getting along only very slowly and carefully, he is still missing the hard grip.
“This is what we have trained for Maintenance Crew, without us the ship would be lost, so let’s make our fellow men proud by getting the sail back up again,” Maintenance Navigator Luis proclaims in his little speech. dimaond2
Jack is sitting in the crew mess having dinner as his name is shouted across the hall. In an instance the lively chatter dies down. “Jack, Maintenance Crew!” He turns and is surprised to look at Maintenance Navigator Luis. “Yes, sir?”
“Follow me. Right now,” the navigator barks in a sharp tone. Jack drops his spoon and leaves the table at once. He follows the navigator from the belly of the ship to the captain’s mess where the captain and the navigators are having dinner. When they enter the conversations stop and everyone is looking at scruffy Jack in his dirty and worn clothes with his swollen hands.
“Jack, nice of you to join us,” the captain utters. “Come with us.” The Captain, Maintenance Navigator Luis and Jack make their way through the mess into the captains quarters. The captain takes seat behind his massive wooden desk and the navigator sits on one of the chairs in front, only Jacks stays standing.
“Please take a seat,” the captain utters, pointing at the only available unoccupied chair. “You are here because of your work. We found rotten wood of the mast today!” “Will, take it easy, not so fast,” the captain responds to the accusations made by the navigator. “Thank you so much for your outstanding work today, Jack.” Jack nods shyly and keeps looking at the navigation charts on the desk. “It is my duty,” he replies. “Nonsense. Look at your hands, all swollen and bloody,” the captain says excited. “Yes,” Jack mutters. “Yes, Captain! Is your reply,” the navigator barks at him. “Yes, Captain.”
“So Jack, why you are here, is to find out why the sail ripped last night and what we can do to prevent this from happening again in the future.” After he finished the captain strokes his full beard and looses the two top buttons of his formal uniform.
The captain points at the navigator. “Will, what do you have?”
“When inspecting the broken parts of the mast I discovered some rotten wood, and it is very likely that the parts where the wood was rotten caused the hooks to fail and freed the sail. This kept going until such a large part was exposed to side winds that the sail could not withstand the force.”
Jack is all quiet and now looks at his hands that are folded in his lap.
“According to Maintenance Navigator Luis you are responsible for the mast and can tell us how the maintenance of it is performed.” Jack nods almost imperceptibly. The navigator barks at him, “Is that a yes?” “Yes,” Jake takes a moment.
“Every team member has a different responsibility. Because the sail is the most important part for our crew the most experienced people work on it. Ropes and pulleys are second and last is the mast. The mast is inspected by looking at it and knocking against the wood to see if there is rot or some other damage.”
“And how would you rate the importance of inspecting the mast, Jack,” the captain asks. “It is the least important part as it is very unlikely to have any flaws.” The captain nods understandingly, “And who is responsible for that?” “It is me, Captain.” “Because you are the least experienced member of the crew?” The captain inquires. “Yes, Captain.” Jake breathes heavily and tries to make himself disappear from the captains quarters.
“I am sorry. I am really sorry. I know that it is my fault that the sail broke. It is my fault that we have gone off course. But it was an accident. The chance that something like this happens is almost impossible. It is the least important part,” Jake cries. “Impossible?” The navigator yells. The captain nods calmly. “And how have you been performing your work? Have you followed the rules and guidelines?” Jack slowly shakes his head.
“No,” the captain asks for clarification.
“No, I think a quick look is enough, the rules require much more work and lead to the same result,” he explains.
“How do you come to that conclusion?”
“It’s obvious, right? The rules are so old and bureaucratic that they have just been made up to create more paperwork. Checking the mast is not that hard.”
“Not that hard, you little arrogant shit. This is why we have rules,” Maintenance Navigator Luis explodes.
The captain raises his hand and immediately quiets the navigator down. “Will, give us a minute.”The navigator looks at the captain offended, but gets up after a short pause and leaves the room.
In a low and calm voice the captain explains: “See Jack, we are not trying to blame this on you. You work for Maintenance Navigator Luis and he works for me. And ultimately I am responsible for everything that happens on this vessel. You don’t just work for me so I can have a comfortable life, I work for you as well and when I do my job well, we all are doing well and we are all having a great voyage. It is not your fault Jack, you are the newest member of our crew and learning takes time and making mistakes is part of the process. But the rules and guidelines have been made by people that have a lot of experience and following them is extremely important. Just because they are old and complicated doesn’t mean they are wrong.”
The captain pauses and looks at Jack who is clasping his hands and is still looking down to the floor.
“I know captain, but I look at all the paperwork and just get bored. This is not for me.”
The captain sits in his chair leaned back and his hands folded observing Jack. “Interesting, why do you think that is?”
“I guess I am just more the physical guy.”
The captain bursts into a chuckle. “Jack, you are skinny as a bone and terrible when it comes to the simplest tasks. You are not physically gifted. But anyway. Discipline and following the rules is the only way our vessel can work and you need to adapt to it. You need to learn the rules. From now on you will follow and shadow Maintenance Navigator Luis and learn what it takes to make bureaucracy and rules.” dimaond2
“Everyone,” Maintenance Navigator Luis yells. “From now on Jack will be my assistant, and if he tells you to do something, it comes from me. So do as he says, if you like it or not. I certainly don’t.”
“Follow me.”
As they enter the Maintenance Navigator Quarters, Jack is surprised how crowded and small everything is. Not the pomp and glamour he had expected.
“This is where we work, you can move some of the files and there should be a chair somewhere under all this mess. This will be your chair and we will share the small desk,” the navigator explains.
He turns around and points at the bunk beds in the corridor next to the door.
“The top one is for you, get your stuff and move in here.”
Jack is unsure. “Now?”
“Now? No, now we need to work, get some writing materials.”
Jack sits down and the navigator adds: “From now on you will have dinner with me and the other navigators in the captains mess. There is a dinner jacket in the closet.”
Jack prepares a notepad and pen.
“Actually, having an assistant might bring a bit more order into this whole department. We need to revise the work schedule for the coming weeks and we need to figure out where we can get the mast fixed and if we need a new sail.”
Jake looks at him, bored.
“What,” the Navigator asks.
“Its just that I don’t like paperwork and making up rules. I like doing stuff, working physically, something where you …”
Maintenance Navigator Luis raises his hand and stop him mid sentence.
“Me too, every human prefers simple work, this is why chopping wood is so popular, but don’t be fooled. We are doing the real work here. The bigger the ship the more complex the organisational structures need to be. What good is it to have a bunch of strong men walking around if there is no structure to guide them? How are we ever gonna achieve the big goals if there is no organisation?” dimaond2
A rope is put around his mouth. He tries to resist but three people are constraining him. His crew mates. He can’t scream, he can’t escape.
They start beating him. The whole crew is in on it. First in the stomach, but with increasing rage they hit him in the head. His eye begins to bleed.
He falls to the ground and the three holding him let go. Jack touches his chest, blood is streaming from it, his new white shirt all drenched and there is this burn sensation of alcohol entering his wounds. He screams and wails on the floor while he is holding up hands. Jack removes the rope and holds his hands in front of his face for protection.
“Stop. Stop it. You are seeing it all wrong. I am on your side. I am one of you,” he pleads.
“Us don’t wear fancy jackets.”
“Wait. See, I can make life better for all of us. I know our conditions and with my position I can change things. You have no clue how the navigators and the captain live. This fancy jacket? I have it because I dine with these rich assholes at night. And they don’t eat the shit we are being served. They have their own cook. They drink wine and whiskey where we only have stale water and bad rum. They waste so much.”
Jack opens his jacket and shards of glass fall out. “See I stole this Whiskey for you. But it is ruined now. There is a big disconnect between our leaders and the people who do the actual work. They enjoy the spoils that we work for, without doing any work themselves. I can help you to make things better. But I need your help to do that,” Jack exposits.
The cabin is quiet and all the man are staring at him until one voice breaks the silence.
“Whout kinda help?”
“You guys see, the maintenance crew is the least popular on the whole ship. Even though we are keeping everything running and enabling everyone else to live. We are the people they don’t want to see but we are the ones that they need and can’t live without. We are all strong capable men that could do so much more. It is not us that are the problem, but the planning and organisation is a disaster. I need your support, I need your motivation and commitment to do your job better then you have ever done. Maybe even a bit better. I am assisting the navigator now, with my organisation and your motivation we can change our conditions. So that the next Maintenance Navigator will be a person who takes care of his crew and values the work we do. But I need your full support,” Jack pleads.
Silence. Nothing but silence for what seems like the whole night. Jack can taste blood and sweat, how he hates this crowded quarters.
“Sounds like a plan.”
Jack nods and tries to get up in relieve. A hand stretches out towards him. Another, and another and another. Until the whole crew is there for him.
“Thank you,” he says. dimaond2
“If we would stop doing our job, the whole ship would fall apart and everyone would die. We can destroy them, meaning we can control them,” Jack explains while sitting on the floor surrounded by the entire maintenance crew.
He continues: “The last few months have been great, our work has been on point and at dinner I can see all the praise Maintenance Navigator Luis earns for this improved performance. He really thinks that this is his own doing. But it is not. I control it. I have started changing the reports to the captain, underpromising and overdelivering. But the main reason why we are doing so well is because you have been working for a purpose.”
“But we haven’t seen any improvements in our lives,” someone interrupts.
Jack nods slowly. “I know, this takes more time. Currently it all stops at Maintenance Navigator Luis. But let me tell you about the ultimate goal. An idea I had. The ultimate freedom will be to decide where the voyage is going! Our work would be to reach our goal.”
“Yea, we would only work for ourselves.”
“Enough with these boring and conservative voyages,” someone yells.
“But how do we do that,” a voice objects.
“Crew, the system is broken. The navigators and the captain are asleep on the rudder. I don’t think they know where we are going. They are not doing their job while we are doing ours to the breaking point. We need to make a bid for the Maintenance Navigator position to get a seat on the table. From now on it is not just enough to do excellent work because this is only expected and exploited. We need to do become radical. From now on, each person needs to reduce their effort so that eventually all maintenance will fail and we have the power to change the navigator position. This is very dangerous and considered mutiny, but this is the cost of our freedom. Just think about all the places we can go to if we have won the battle.”
The whole crew sits around him tightly in silence.
The silence is broken by a quiet and sullen reply: “We are with you, whatever it takes.”
“Yes, but I think you should be our next navigator, Jack. You know how it all works and you have brought us thus far.”
Jack nods and replies: “In a few months when we have manipulated maintenance enough, I will make a bid for the Maintenance Navigator position. And one fine morning I will not give you your days instructions, but tell you to stop the system and when this moment comes we are close to making our voices heard.”
The crew knocks on the floor in unison. dimaond2
The waves are moving the ship slowly up and down. The maintenance crew quarters are hot and sweaty as always. The hammocks are moving in unison with the waves through the night.
“Halt the system,” whispers a distant, soft voice. “Today is the day.”
Everyone is asleep.
“Come in,” the captain responds to a knock the door.
“Jack great to see you.”
Jack steps into the captain’s quarters and sits in front of the big desk.
“How can I help you,” the Captain asks.
“We have to wait another moment. For Will.”
A few minutes later Will rushes in. Jack jumps up and lets him take his chair while he keeps a standing position between the two.
“So Jack, tell us why we are here?”
“We are here because I wanted to thank you for believing in me and giving me a chance to not be the lowest guy in the maintenance department forever, but to confront my discomforts and grow with them.”
The captain and the navigator look at each other in agreement and nod.
“It was a pleasure, you are a very sharp and hard working person, if someone pushes you,” the navigator interrupts.
“Through my hard work and taking on a lot of responsibility from Will I came to realise how important my department really is. It is always talked about in these dismissive tones, we don’t provide food, do trade or navigate. But what we do allows everyone else to provide food, do trade or navigate.”
Jack pauses for a second.
“We are the foundation everything else is build upon, and still we are treated like we are disposable, our living conditions are bad, our food is always mouldy and our freedoms are limited. What I want to do is to use my standing to change this and get some appreciation for our work.”
The captain and the navigator look at each other and the captain slowly nods at Will. I told you so, is what his expression is saying.
In a low and calm voice the captain begins to speak: “That is a very keen observation, Jack. You are absolutely right, everyone on this vessel is only able to do their jobs because of the maintenance department. And I can understand that it can feel frustrating to do such important work and not be recognised for it. What do you demand?”
Jack looks at the captain with surprise as he did not expect to get this far with his claim.
“I want to be instated as Maintenance Navigator and use my position to improve my crews condition, and with improved conditions we are able to do better work benefiting everyone.”
As soon as Jack had finished his sentence Will interrupts. “Fuck. Captain you were right. Jack you are a parasite. I showed you everything and gave you trust, and now you want to take my job?”
“What,” Jack interrupts.
The captain speaks calmly: “Jack, you are still young and arrogant. There is so much you still need to learn. For example that your scheming with your fellow crew is not a secret and that maybe the things you see on the surface are not all there is. What makes you think you could be a better navigator?
“Since I started working as his assistant I have taken over almost all his duties. I organise and plan the work and the maintenance, I write up all the reports, I present them. Will just sits around and does nothing all day. This is why the maintenance has improved so much in the last few months. Because of me and the honest work of my crew.”
“These are valid arguments, but it is not just about doing better work. Maintenance has been doing its job for a very long time. Excellence is not necessarily something we need in an area where we just keep the system going, we can do with the bare minimum.”
Jack nods. “See, the crew is loyal to me and we have been plotting this. For weeks now we have neglected maintenance. Everything is about to come to a full stop making this ship impossible to function. If you want to avoid disaster today I suggest you make me an offer.”
The captain begins to smile. “I like how you work Jack. You are very determined. Will what do you think?”
“I fucking hate it, you knew it from the start and Jack you are making me look really bad.”
“Would you be willing to leave your position as an active navigator in order to give Jack a shot? Of course you would keep all your privileges.”
Will looks at Jack and finally turns to the captain.
“If you demand it, I will do it.”
“But only, if he accepts the truth.” dimaond2
“This room is off limits to everyone except me and the navigators. This is where our course is determined. If you want to be a navigator you have to know the truth and keep it a secret. If any non navigators learns of it, it will destroy him and maybe the entire vessel. This is the most important thing in your life. Your world will never be the same after. Do you understand this?”
The captain stands in front of a beautifully decorated wooden double door.
“Yes,” Jack answers without hesitation.
“I have come this far, I am ready.”
The captain nods and opens the doors. Jack walks in and the captain follows him.
It is a big room all the way in the back of the ship, with boarded-up windows on three sides that are facing the ocean, and a giant massive wooden table in the middle of the room. The dark and hazy atmosphere make it hard to see, the only light is coming from gaps in the window boards that project beams of sunlight on the floor which are dancing about with the sway of the waves. Only after the captain has lit some of the candles on the table, Jack can take in the whole room. The captain is sitting on the head of the table with his legs and hands folded. He is watching Jack how he walks around the room in awe. Never has he imagined being in here. So many ideas and theories he had proven completely wrong in an instance.
In a soft and calm voice the captain asks: “What do you think?”
“I expected it to be more messy, more maps and books. More paper. But it is very clean. It does not look like there is a lot of navigating going on here.” Jack looks around, as someone would do who is searching for something. “And where is the steering wheel?”
“Very good! This is the truth you need to learn. There is no steering wheel, because there is no rudder. This vessel cannot be controlled.”
“Why don’t you sit down?”
Jack slumps down into a chair on the opposite end and is dead quiet.
“Call it faith, or destiny or what other word you can come up with, but no one knows where the vessel is going and what we are going to discover. There is no plan. There is no control. No one knows the future. Our actions have minute influences on our course. Your little accident with the sail ever so slightly changed it.”
Jake looks at the captain solemnly and burst out: “But what are all the Navigators for?”
“They are keeping the ship going. See, they are not navigating the vessel, but have a far more demanding and complex task, navigating the people. Keeping the delicate balance we rely on for our survival. They manage the complexities that arise with human life. And once in a while a random occurrence, like your little mutiny, will thrust this vessel into getting dangerously close to people discovering what is really going on. I myself come from maintenance and can relate to your circumstances Jack. I get you, that is why you are here right now. But let me tell you, there is no system to destroy or evil to conquer. There is nothing, every change and every revolution just becomes part of the new establishment. We are all doing our best. No matter how tiny the action, it eventually impacts our collective outcome, but there is no one in control. This is the truth.”
During a long pause Jack stares the captain into the eyes and the captain stares back at him. Jack knows that he is speaking the truth.
“It can’t be. I have so many ideas on how to improve our circumstances. To organise things better. A better life for all.”
The captain nods in agreement. “So do all people, but seeing the difference between right and wrong, between fair and unfair is not enough. All our intellectual theoretical constructs need to work in this random organic reality. What we have is the best functioning version, and it can be improved upon, just not very drastically. Do you want to help me navigate our crew to better shores?”
Jack looks at the captain for a long time and finally nods ever so slightly.
The End