Pax Reborn

By Maggie Lynch

What would you sacrifice to live a peaceful, content life in a community of shared values? Never having to fight, no need for prisons or punishments, never having someone disagree violently. Is it even possible? It is in Concordia.

The peace still held. Not that Tova didn't expect it. After the great war one hundred years ago, Concordia formed a colony with those who valued community and peaceful communication. It was all she knew. On the way to work, she loved hearing the greeting and response of "I'm content" among all the people. It was like pulling a warm blanket around you on a cold evening when the heater couldn't keep up. It reminded her that the community was one and, with each person glowing with contentment, nothing could harm them.

As a new graduate psychologist, Tova learns the cost of keeping the peace when trying to help the "malies'—malcontents—recover from past trauma, and learn to express their feelings without anger or aggression. The work is not easy, but is definitely worthwhile.  Each step puts her on the brink of becoming a malie if she's not careful.

Will she be infected by the malies and rebel? Or will she find a way to preserve the peace for all? Concordia hangs in the balance.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Windtree Press
• Release date: Feb 5, 2025
• ISBN: 9781962065450

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

RESIDENT

Tova carefully put on her dark blue uniform, a long dress that draped her body like an upside-down triangle, wide at the shoulders and slender at the feet. The designated uniform helped to make her feel content, a part of a larger community where everyone was equal, everyone was doing the work of the community and keeping the peace. All genders wore this same uniform during the day. The only differentiator was the sash. Hers was draped from the left shoulder to the right hip, in the spring-green color that signified she was a newly graduated psychiatrist entering her psychiatric residency at the unit in her village.

With the same care, she braided her hair snug across her scalp, bringing the long tail down over her collarbone. This was the decreed hairstyle for all genders working in the psychiatric unit. It had something to do with the belief that long braided hair was soothing to the malies. Short for malcontents, malies was how the residents of Pax Reborn were designated by the doctors and staff. Malies fell along a spectrum, from those who were temporarily malcontent, due to sudden trauma or prolonged grief, to those who expressed far too many emotions in a short period of time and seemed completely uncontrolled. She had to admit, she was a bit afraid to encounter one of the latter. She’d seen pictures and vids during her studies, but that was at a safe non-interactive distance. Now, with her new assignment, she would be amongst them every day.

Her brother, Eoghan, stepped beside her. Are you ready for your first day? His uniform included the same navy blue, upside-down triangle. However, his sash was tied at the waist and secured with a carved wooden fist to signify his occupation as a woodworker. His tools were neatly arranged in a wooden case he carried at his side. His shorn hair was the decreed style of his profession. A practical style to guarantee that no hair would get caught in any equipment. Female woodworkers also had their hair shorn. As with everything in Concordia, all was equal. Equal requirements, equal treatment, equal opportunity, equal pay. It kept the peace.

Were you frightened the first day you apprenticed with the woodworkers? Tova asked.

No. I was confident in my skills. Tools are tools. They don’t change. They don’t talk back to you and they never show any emotion. It is a profession where it’s easy to be content. I could never do what you have chosen. I can’t imagine facing malcontents every day. All those emotions, all those crazy conversations would probably suck me into becoming a malcontent myself.

He stepped out the door. See you at dinner, he said over his shoulder and then stepped into the group of uniformed walkers, all heading to their posts.

She watched and smiled at the neat orderly way that people joined the traffic patterns. She loved hearing the greetings, and the constant answer of: I am content, as the people moved along designated pathways dotted with nice shade trees and glowing balls of glass. No one ever got lost because as you passed one of the balls it would change to your sash color if you were on the right path. If you had strayed, a voice would call you by name and the glass ball displayed an arrow pointing the direction you needed to go.

The peace still held. Not that she didn’t expect it. It had been this way for more than a hundred years. It was all she knew. Hearing the greeting and response of contentment among all the people was like pulling a warm blanket around you on a cold evening when the heater couldn’t keep up. It reminded her that the community was one and, with each person glowing with contentment, nothing could harm them.

Closing the door behind her, Tova stepped out to join all the others. She truly was content on this first day of her new job. She’d worked hard for this opportunity, getting accepted to advanced studies, working on her own emotional management in the process so that she could be a role model for others. The exams had been the hardest she’d ever taken. They were all case studies enacted by paid actors from the local theater company. Some of the actors were so frightening and frustrating that on the final case study, she’d broken down and cried in front of the entire class. She couldn’t seem to stop because she felt so much for the two characters portrayed. She couldn’t remember when or if she had ever cried more than a minute—even as a young child. Crying was an emotion that was a harbinger for a future malcontent diagnosis.

She’d been afraid she’d failed after all those years of classes and preparation. She feared she would be assigned to another profession and have to start over. But the professor said she’d made it farther than 90% of the students. She passed with a score of 90, even with that horrid display of emotion. She’d received her medical degree and was given the uniform of a psychiatric doctor. She’d been so relieved, she’d vowed then to never let a case get her so upset, and definitely never ever cry again over anything. She was ready.

As she made her way along the paths, she looked from side to side to try and catch another new psychiatrist she could befriend. But she saw very few sashes of any new professional and none for psychiatric work. She had no idea how many new psychiatrists were offered positions at Pax Reborn. In fact, she had no idea how many malcontent patients Pax Reborn housed. The institution was never in the news and, except for the occasional celebrated return of a patient to the broader community, most people never thought of it.

Her initial residency hours were only four hours a day during the first six months. The expectation was that in the remaining four hours the intern undertook research and study, and did meticulous prepping for the next day of dealing with patients. She was required to debrief with her supervisor each day and hand over all recordings of her interactions with patients.

Tova had never seen a malie in person before. She’d read all about them in her abnormal psychology book, but she’d never encountered one. In fact, she hadn’t even known they existed until she started her advanced studies in psychology in her fifth year at university. When she learned they existed and were housed in the Pax Reborn facilities, she knew instantly it would be her life’s work to help them toward peace. Her psychology courses did speak of the occasional malie outlier who could not be helped. When all treatments failed, the malie was put into the deep sleep—like an injured pet beyond repair.

The thought of even one Concordian being put down was something she could never imagine being a part of. After all that the founders of Concordia had done to save the people and create the peace, it seemed like a failure to have a single soul who could never rejoin the rest of the community and experience contentment like everyone else. She was determined she would never be a part of that kind of failure. Surely, it was for lack of trying all options.

Tova! Her friend, Maree, waved from where two paths diverged near a forest. Eoghan also waved and then kissed Maree on the cheek before taking his own path. Tova wrinkled her forehead, was that a romantic kiss? No, he’d known Maree growing up like she was another sister.

Maree caught up to Tova and linked arms