Determining the truth of a situation (and what to take on trust) is a reoccurring theme in the Word Guardians series. In What are the Worlds of the Word Guardians I mentioned that the Word Guardians employ something akin to Star Trek’s Prime directive to determine how to act without influencing readers’ thoughts.
I thought I’d delve into this a little more in this week’s post.
What is truth?
Truth is a very interesting word, it turns out. According to the Mirriam Webster dictionary definition, it relates to determining the facts of a situation, what’s real. But if we think about our own lives, it’s hard to figure this out.
How do we determine the truth of a situation?
We see reports in the news, accusations from someone and then opposing stories that come out over time, courtroom coverage and more. And as bystanders, we know we’re hearing differing viewpoints but what is the objective truth here? We can only typically understand this from the bigger picture, other viewpoints and understanding something about the behavioural patterns of the persons involved. Often, we can’t see this because we’re basing what we believe on what we’ve been told or what’s been reported. We trust that those parties are acting ethically, morally and fairly in how they deliver the news. But how can we verify that too?
Why is the truth important to Word Guardians?
In the Word Guardians books, the Controllers manipulate imaginations. They sow ideas and use those who have been disadvantaged in some way. They’ll pose as someone they are not in order to gain trust and ultimately ask something in return. They’ll encourage others to action by constantly pulling at a wound of disillusionment, inciting them to action. The Word Guardians have to second guess, strive for the bigger picture and rely on their own instincts to figure out what action to take. Yas in particular is good at this (but even she can be fooled).
So… how do Word Guardians determine the truth?
The stories are in magical fantasy worlds (realms), but it’s not so different to what we experience in life. Like the Word Guardians, we should question where information has come from, why it’s been presented a particular way and who it might benefit or impact. It can be overwhelming, but we shouldn’t always just take things on trust.
This answers how the Word Guardians determine the truth but, when taking any action, how do they know that they’re not just being controlling, or manipulating, just like Controllers? Well, you’ll just have to read the Word Guardians series to find out. 🙂
Follow us on social media for the latest news and updates…