03/03/2026 • Frank Benjamin Horn Hartvedt
Jeg skrev første utgave av romanen Way allerede rundt milleniumsskiftet. En stund etter dette utvidet og bearbeidet jeg teksten, og flere år senere, i 2007, ferdigstilte jeg romanen og publiserte den på det daværende nettstedet world-wide-way.com.
Her følger et utdrag fra romanen:
«Our class liked Sven Mark, even if he was about as spontaneous as a whale. I liked him too, but he was stubborn. During the course of three years, I had called him a murderer more than once, and every time he had declared himself innocent, even though he had an alibi that was extremely thin, which he never had any intention of fattening up. At least not in class. I was informed I could pay him a visit at home, but that didn’t work out either. Every day was dedicated to party meetings, the sports team or bridge, and when the remaining hours were to be used, it was much more tempting to use them with his wife of many years than with accusations that didn’t threaten to result in a considerable maximum penalty. He hoped this didn’t seem too brutal to a young and ambitious social critic. «Luckily, there isn’t a prison sentence for teaching,» Sven said smiling. «What an honourable culture we have,» he continued mockingly.
Once I stood in the hallway talking with him. I had to smile even though my judgement was solid. How could he, every year, strangle young Da Vincis, and still be able to calmly eat sandwiches in the teacher’s lounge? He wasn’t at all bothered by an upset stomach – quite the opposite – he saw his deeds as invaluable services. Sven Mark was a sympathetic man, but he contributed to dangerous ideas … . Daily he ruined royal human potential by talking about Nato exercises, the media’s role in politics and ocean currents – things we had already covered two or three times before during our years in school. Didn’t he understand that enough identical introductions into the importance of the role of spore plants in the plant kingdom could make the most motivated student into a laid-back industrial worker with no interest in developing themselves? Sven thought that general knowledge made us fit to observe and extend the social contract, and that was all well and good, but he was mistaken if he also considered the school to be a farm for producing talent and a Judea for those who wanted to sharpen their skills.
«What is it you want then, Terry? An elite school for you and three others?» Mark wasn’t really interested in the answer. He knew what I wanted. Now, he just wanted a little entertainment in the form of the mediocre thoughts of boys. I didn’t think it was very friendly to remind me of the unenviable fates of those like Edward Bloom.
«I think that the social contract is a brilliant idea, too,» I said. «And I like that we have a school that sees to it that we adapt to this contract, but what in the world do woodwork and correctly washed dishes have to do with this adaptation?» I asked him, and suggested sports fishing and «How to Create a Proper Stamp Collection» as supplements to the curriculum.
Mark’s colleagues had prepared things poorly, I could tell. What is the minimum level a citizen must be at in order to call himself fit for daily life? It was a question that should have been the focus when the school system was founded. Then subjects like English, social studies and natural science should pop up, along with an evaluation of what might be considered reasonable to do with the last two mentioned subjects of the curriculum regarding what was sufficient for one to manage in society. I was more convinced than I had been in a long time.
«After that, Sven, you service-oriented people could have used your time to establish an evaluation system in order to establish when the student had reached the minimum requirement. It’s so simple, Sven!» I said joyously.
Sven grinned warmly. He thought that I was a young, fascist pup who should be tamed with a few electric shocks.
«You do see that we get a lot of sad people here, don’t you?» He stole a glance at me, and continued to smile warmly. Oh yeah – I knew that I swore in his socialist church which was very fond of its members. The word «differentiation» was worse than «damn» or «hell», and therefore, should never be said in his presence. I asked him to get a hold of himself. When was he going to stop pretending that everyone was the same? Why obstruct an entire class when three of them were ready to go up a level? Yes, we should treat the ones left behind humanely, and not create bad feelings that made the hearts of small people bleed. I shook my head. What kind of utterly boring approach was this? Why not focus on Per’s presentation positively, rather than as a demon out to crush Paul’s self-image?
«Not considering your rebellious offspring, it’s easy to shape a young boy’s perspective,» I said somewhat carefully. «Encourage Paul to challenge Per and then back him up and follow-up regularly. When Per, and after a while, Paul, have the basics down, they’ll decide themselves how they will use their allotted 80 years,» I added, being willing to assume that Raymond’s gloomy predictions were correct. Seen in this light, the many school years of immaterial subjects and repetition became even more aggravating.
Mark listened, apparently not entirely uninterested.
«It doesn’t matter if they’re twelve, sixteen or eighteen years old. When Per and Paul have the necessary foundation, these two precious people with very little time will decide for themselves what they want to specialize in,» I pointed out, and added that when the choice was made, Sven and company could create a quota system where those with the best grades would be granted their first choices. We certainly couldn’t have a situation where almost all of the people quoted clauses to empty courtrooms, and just three policemen wouldn’t be a powerful enough force in the fight against bad people.
«Is that right?» replied an easily amused teacher, who immediately advised me to make the Proverbs of Solomon my first priority from that time forward.
«You’re a little naive, young Way. You’ve been clever so far. You’ve responded to my questions before I’ve asked them, and we predictably ended up where we are now. But now, my young man, it’s about time for the finale.»
Sven turned his nose towards the teacher’s lounge at the end of the hallway. He continued to talk as he calmly strolled towards his colleagues with a curious Terry at his side.
«Just as I am a giant in the educational field, young man, so is a twelve year old a little young to understand legal methods and critically apply the law to a comprehensive precedent,» he clucked, and said hello to one of the students who passed us. It was friendly and entirely acceptable mockery. Mark was making a little fun of me. And it was disappointing. Not because I felt hurt. Mark’s sarcasm was loveable. The disappointment was because the ace up the sleeve turned out to be just a three of clubs. The social democrat loved his fellow man, but didn’t have a lot of faith in him.
«Standards of maturity are defined by those who create the viewpoints,» I said, and asked him to stop for a second.
I looked at him intensely, unsmilingly. What kind of logic says that a person had to be nineteen years old to practice law? Sven squinted at me. He wasn’t smiling either.
«Prepare the child on the new system from the time that they’re born, and the person will be adaptable. Your educational experiences aren’t relevant here, Sven. You can’t evaluate the objects of a newly created system on the basis of the conduct towards the objects in the old system. The toddlers in Terry Way’s ideal situation would take on the assignments with a far more goal-oriented focus because the goal would be defined and impressed upon them, and within their range. You know very well that motivation and a competitive spirit are found out there among children far younger than twelve years old, Sven. Stop killing, using myths as your alibi!»
I looked Sven straight in the eyes. I wondered once in a while if I could seem threatening sometimes. Still, my intention was only to share my understanding of things. I continued.
«Now you’re thinking about talking about developmental play for kids, right? For you, it’s unheard of that civilized nations in other parts of the world can allow children as young as fourteen go to business meetings, complete with briefcases and business suits. You’re not interested in whether or not the boy or girl has the social and educational capabilities to fill such a role. He or she should climb trees and play house and be healthy people. When are you going to stop defining ‘quality time’, Sven? When are you going to start seriously encouraging your grandchildren to learn from all areas of life so that they can define ‘quality time’ themselves?»
I spoke quietly, but with determination. Sven scrutinized me.
«I hear what you’re saying, Way,» he said quietly. The conversation had been unusually long. Normally, Mark would have been in the teacher’s lounge ages ago, discussing the last bridge night with Andrews. Now he wanted more than anything else to be serious.
«Never think that theories are beautiful things, Terry. The day that you see Per and Paul enjoying each other’s company without Paul hurting Per because he is envious of him, and without a Thomas or a Jimmy showing up who cries themselves to sleep because spelling is just as difficult as it was five years before that, then you can look at me confidently. It won’t be rude and intolerable then. But by all means, Terry, think a little bit more, and feel free to be arrogant when you cut down ideas and institutions. But be wary of overconfident thoughts about – let me quote you – «precious people.»
He gave me a clap on the shoulder and disappeared into the teacher’s lounge. That made me angry. Even if the next day he went a long way in making it up with some good jokes, I never forgot that nauseating «love for humankind» that strangled humankind.»