Race to the bottom

Archibald Drakeford or Archie, as the few people who knew him well would call him, was sitting in his private jet, looking wistfully out of the window, the sun was hitting his pale, sunken cheeks and he felt a wave of positivity wash over. He watched thoughtfully as the sea turned to land and back to sea again, he could see all the life beneath him from this perspective, seagulls swooping, waves crashing, he even felt like he could sense all the creatures in the ocean living, eating, thinking, fighting for survival. 'What a thing life is' Archibald thought.

"How many is this now?" Archibald said to his long-time personal assistant Jenson.

"This would be the ninth, Sir" Jenson responded tiredly.

"And where is this one? Archibald asked

"This would be…" Jenson checked his notes "Ah, this would be a shaman located in a particularly remote area of Mongolia Sir"

"And what kind of poultice or herb is he going to recommend? "

Archibald scoffed.

Archibald had been diagnosed with a particularly aggressive, terminal, neurological condition known as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. In his search for any form of cure, he had traveled the world, after realizing none was forthcoming from any of the team of doctors and neurologists he had assembled.

"And what the hell is a Shaman going to do?" Archibald said annoyed with Jenson.

"Well at this point I fear nothing, Sir," Jenson said sorrowfully "but he came highly recommended. Word of his work has popped up throughout our travels, Sir. So I thought we'd at least give him a try last."

"Last, you mean this is my last chance?" Archibald said his voice cracking.

"Your last chance to find some peace perhaps, Sir" Jenson said looking at his feet.

The plane landed in a dusty rundown airport, Archie was quickly bundled into a beat-up 4x4, and driven through some of the most uncomfortable, unconditioned terrain he had ever experienced for four hours. Archie was beckoned into the Shaman's hut, which was filled with a mixture of fine-smelling mist and fire smoke, and seated. Jenson hovered awkwardly behind him.

The Shaman walked in wearing some traditional hooded garb, but Archie could make out beneath it a tatty band T-shirt of some sort. The shaman sat directly opposite Archie and lifted his hood. Archie was shocked and furious when he saw the 20-something-year-old boy staring back at him.

"You seek a cure," the Shaman said. "Yes!" Archie said with both a tone of pleading and frustration.

Jenson stepped in "If you know of a cure, young man, then please give it to us so we can send it to the lab for testing"

"This is not a cure for your body," the shaman said with a solemn wisdom far exceeding his youthful appearance "But it will, in time, heal your soul and prepare you for wherever your body carries you next"

"Just get on with it so we can leave," Jenson said

The Shaman leaned into Archie closer and closer, until their noses touched, fixing his eyes the entire time. Archie thought their eyeballs might touch, but he couldn't pull his head back. The shaman started silently mouthing something to Archie. Jenson leaned in closer trying to hear what was being said, but no sound was coming out. Jenson looked at Archie, worriedly but he was transfixed, He had a look of peace on his face and a deep sense of joy radiated from him.

Back on the plane now. Archie hadn't spoken for the entire return Journey, and Jenson had honored that in silence up until now.

"What did he say to you back there?" Jenson asked softly.

Archibald was still in a catatonic state of peace and contemplation.

"Assemble my children Jenson," Archibald said "I need to meet with them"

The Meeting

In Archibald's 5000 square foot estate, Jenson had arranged a meeting table with 5 places, one for Archibald at the head, one for Jenson beside him, and 3 for each of Archibald's children. Jack the oldest child at 27 was, what he would consider an entrepreneur/broker/trader/investor. He was clean-cut and ruggedly handsome with exceptional bone structure. Rose, the middle child, was 25 and on her way to becoming London's newest 'it girl,' she was beautiful under a heavy veneer of expensive cosmetic treatment and clothing. She considered herself a fashion guru, socialite, and model. But her real fame had come from being photographed with an extensive list of rockstars, actors, and sports personalities at various events. And Barney the youngest child at 20 was a film and book critic and wrote an online blog about the latest fantasy board games. He had a 'fuller' build than Jack but with similar facial features that he covered up with an unkempt beard and mid-length hair.

Jenson went up to summon Archibald from his bed, "they'll be here in 25 minutes, Sir" Jenson said softly "Would you like a glass of water?".

Jenson had become a full-time carer for Mr Drakeford over the past few months as his condition slowly declined. Archibald's body had maintained its health but his mind was noticeably failing.

As Archibald slowly made his way downstairs, he could hear his three children nattering to each other in anticipation as to what this was all about. "Morning children," Archibald said "and thank you for all coming, as you know, I am not long for this world. But I don't want to leave it before I have shared with you all one beautiful thing that I have learned and that I feel will serve you all well in your lives. However I cannot simply explain this discovery to you, this is something you each must learn for yourselves. To do that I have instructed Jenson to close your access to the family business accounts for 3 months. In this time I want you each to find a way to live that ensures you don't reach the end of your life regretting it, as I am now. You must try to live with clarity, compassion, generosity, and love. I want you to see the world for what it is, not for what you can get from it. Beyond that, I cannot tell you anymore, that you have whatever money is currently in your respective bank accounts to achieve these goals. 

Archibald slumped off back upstairs.

"He's lost it," Jack said "He'll see us starve"

"Why would he treat his daughter this way!" said Rose

"Is Dad ok?" Barney said looking at Jenson "he seems a bit off, what happened in Mongolia?"

"You know what he wants don't you?" Jack said standing up and waving his arms around "He's losing it, and he's been spending all this time around some sort of international hippy cult, and they've convinced him that money is the route of all evil so he just wants to see which of us can disregard our fame and success the most, and who can survive without money. It's a goddamn race to the bottom!"

"And whoever wins inherits it all," said Rose with a glint in her eye.

"That doesn't seem fair," said Barney "Who determines the 'winner'?"

"I think he just wants you to learn to not expect things in this world" Butted in Jenson "that nothing just materializes. Be it the things you think you need, or inner peace and understanding, it all takes effort and time. I've been instructed to come and find you wherever you 'find' yourself in 3 months."

Jacks Journey

Jack left the house in a hurry, still considering this a literal race. He jumped in his brand-new BMW, put it in drive, and set off. Half an hour into racing through the city and out onto the open road, Jack thought to himself ‘Right plan of action’ but there was no plan. ‘Just get out there in amongst it’ Jack thought, ‘see the world through new eyes’. But that was still not a plan. Jack pulled his car over and sat for a while. ‘what do I need ‘ Jack thought ‘Are some absolute no-hopers’ Some people I can educate and help them see what life is all about, I can teach them how to make money, therefore demonstrating my generosity, compassion, clarity and ‘love?’ That’s a no brainer’. Jack set off to a part of town he knew to be filled with absolute degenerates and deplorables.

He parked up outside a park, in an area known for its crime rate, and waited until it started to get dark. His first hope of a ‘target audience’ for his ‘life-altering experiment’ came in the form of a group of young men, walking purposefully with hoods up. Jack watched closely as they approached another man lying in the street, with a jacket over his head. ‘Robbery? Drug deal? Or some kind of assault’ Jack thought. As he watched the men crouched down and handed something to the sleeping man ‘Drugs?’ Jack thought

Jack felt a pang of fear as he opened the car door and prepared to approach. As he walked closer to the group he saw they were handing the sleeping man a sandwich and a bottle.

As it later transpired the young men were quite friendly, they were bringing some food and a drink to an unwell friend, and for personal reasons refused to go to the doctor.

After Jacks's initial attempts of trying to convince them of the error of their ways and encourage them to sign up for business school, they started to ask Jack for money, which Jack refused, They then invited Jack to a party they were all going, at a friend’s house. Jack thought there might be more opportunity there to interact and meet with some more of the city's less fortunates.

Roses Journey

Rose traipsed out of the meeting in a huff. She had thought that, when her father had told them he wanted them to all meet up, he would be doing so to explain how the estate was to be divided among them and how long he had left. Instead, he sends them all off on some wild mystical goose hunt. Along with the added insult of implying they were all vapid, self-centered individuals with no substance or charity. She could believe that of her brothers, but she was an artist for Christ's sake, who frequently sent messages out on her social media platform condemning, or promoting the latest cause. What more could she do, she was just one woman.

Rose set in motion a plan that, at least in her mind, would benefit her, as well as meet some of her father’s criteria. She would get into contact with the last man she truly loved, and leverage reconciliation, on the pretense that she was mortified by her father’s imminent passing. Boris was her old love from the last years of high school and they had stayed together for 3 years past graduation. He was a nice man, nothing exceptional, but one she had been truly in love with up until the day he left to pursue a degree in some sort of nature or ecology-based thing she didn’t get.

Boris answered her call and was genuinely saddened to learn of Archie’s illness. He and his family had always been close with Archie, literally and figuratively, they were neighbors. Rose and Boris met up in the local park and the old flame reignited almost immediately. They went back to his house for dinner, rose was expecting more, but Boris had an evening talk to give at the local university. Something that he did voluntarily between research trips to obscure and remote locations.

Rose spent the next evening with Boris and the next week, she had almost completely forgotten about what pointless self-obsessed journey her father had sent her on. And had begun to settle into a comfortable long-term relationship with Boris.

Barneys Journey

Barney spent the first week after the meeting, frantically researching Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease online; he trawled the web and his blog community for answers to no avail. Barney spent the next week falling into a deep depression, that left him questioning his own life and achievements, which sent him deeper into a depression that cycled over and over in his head relentlessly. Until he eventually decided to take a trip with the last of his savings he booked a 6-week cruise across northern Europe, past the Nordic countries, and the northern length of Russia, ending at the eastern tip of Alaska.

Barney met a host of fascinating people on the cruise and at each of the many stops along the way. But the whole time he couldn’t shake the feeling that something could be done about his father’s illness, and questioned, in his mind, what his father had meant when they last spoke. Barney would often sit out on the deck during these times, and as the frigid Siberian wind blew, he could feel a tear freeze on his face, that was normally the time he would get back on board.

Jensons Re-consolidation

Jenson started up his laptop and checked all 3 trackers that were put in a ring that Archie had given each of them, Archie had explained the importance of the rings and how much it would mean to him if they wore them.

Barney

First Jenson set off to locate Barney, the furthest away, he had found himself in northern Mongolia. Barney had disembarked his cruise at the most westerly point and had traveled through the arid frozen wilderness, spending his savings on buses, and taxis and hiring locals to transport him to Mongolia. With the vague recollection that that was where his father had gone to find the shaman.

Jenson was forced to almost retake the steps of that fateful trip he had taken with Archie precisely. He found Barney in a Bar in a small village in Mongolia. He was sitting by himself reading a book about philosophy; he looked up when he heard Jenson walk in.

“I couldn’t find it,” Barney said in a weepy tone. “I don’t know where it is, I don’t know where the shaman is, it’s not in any of these books” Barney started to sob uncontrollably.

“Come on Barney I’ll take you home,” Jenson said, he put his arm around Barney and led him back to the plane.

Rose

Rose was sitting down for dinner with Boris when she heard a knock on the door.

“Who’s that!?” said Boris.

Boris had shown another side to himself since Rose had moved in with him, h was still as sweet as ever but had started to become paranoid and tempestuous. Which Rose had found exciting at first but was now starting to become bored with.

“I’ll check,” Rose said

Rose opened the door to Jenson with a big smile.

“How have you been love?” Jenson said.

“Oh my god I had forgotten,” Rose said flabbergasted, “has it been 3 months already?”

“Of course,” Jenson said “How did you forget”

“It’s been a crazy 3 months Jenks,” Rose said fondly “We got engaged!”

“Congratulations” Jenson

“And we’ve just found out we’re pregnant!” Rose squealed

”Would you be able to come back to the house with me Rose?” Jenson said

Boris overheard “Remember it’s the last episode tonight babe!”

“It won’t take long,” Jenson said

He and Rose shuffled out before Boris could say anything “Be back soon babe” Rose called back

Jack

Jenson struggled to locate Jack, he found the tracker in a pile of stuff someone had left in a rundown squat.

“Were you goin through my stuff, man!?”

Jenson swung around defensively.

“I’m looking for Jack Drakesford, do you know him?” Jenson enquired.

“No, man, get the shit outta my house,”

“I didn’t know this was your house,” Jenson said “There was no door”

“Who is it, Caleb?”

Jenson recognized the voice immediately, although it had lost all its clarity, and now sounded raspy and weak.

“Jack!” Jenson called back ecstatic to see him.

Jack was now very thin, and despite his good looks still being intact he looked half the man he once was.

“Come with me Jack” Jenson said softly

Regroup

Around the table again, all 4 sat, each looking altered to their core. Apart from Jenson who just looked tired.

“Where’s dad” said Barney

“He’s no longer with us Barney” Jenson sighed “But he was quite insistent that I followed through with his last wishes. You have all strove in different directions to find the core of who you are”

Jenson looked at Jack, who was nodding off and only occasionally half opening his eyes, with great sadness “Some of you have found love” Jenson looked at Rose who was texting Boris a request to record the last episode, “and some have found answers”

Jenson looked at Barney who looked more confused than ever. “But none of you truly understood what your father wanted of you.”

Each of them looked back at Jenson with anger and amazement at what he was saying.

“Hey man, I found the goddamn answer to life and happiness and all that shit,” Jack said slurring his words “And it comes in a little brown bag, man”

“I’ve found the answer to my life,” said Rose “And his Name is Boris, and our child is going to be beautiful and we’re going to get married and we’ll be together forever” Rose screeched in a disbelieving tone.

“I have a deeper understanding than I ever have,” Barney said teary-eyed “I have traveled long and far, I have read every book on philosophy I could find, I even met the Shamans brother!.” Everyone looked shocked “He said he’s a charlatan.”

Jenson looked back at them all and smirked a wry knowing smile.

“If that’s what you want to believe, then you all win.” Jenson grinned “But that’s not what he meant.”

The end