adam vigilanco | d10 | fin

Life in the Church of Todd is splendid for Adam Vigilanco. Truly. While others work ten-hour days on the farm or in the watch towers, he simply talks. Grandson of the Proprietor, one of the holiest three in the entire Church, there's no need to get his hands dirty. Instead, he basks in the warm desert air from the comfort of his porch. His grandfather comes around often to talk business.

The Proprietor's job is to recognize and analyze the strengths of the Church's congregants. What job might fit Sally Mae's interests? Which two unbetrothed members of the Church should pair off next? Divine and disciple alike trust judgment that comes from Vigilanco blood. As the Church accrued a new generation, birthed within the grounds itself, the thought of legacy– who will take over for the Church's leaders– was easy. Leadership is to remain in the bloodline. Adam's father, Abel, was born outside of the Church grounds before it was even created, so his contention for succession was glossed over. Father Alban and Mother Amala, too, did not have children until the Church was established. When Adam's parents had their first child, him, it was decided that he'd be the next Proprietor when his grandfather steps down or dies.

Gossip as a habit amuses him, but gossip as an occupation is beyond tedious. Adam uses Dakota Marsh's column in the Church's news pamphlets to gain the insight necessary to hold over a conversation with his grandfather. The secrets of Todd's followers are hardly helpful when declaring a calling or partner. Granddad warns him as much in a monotone yet strict voice. We are trying to provide them a life path, not destroy them in the eyes of the Church. Adam agrees. The Church's rules are strict. If everyone who broke a rule or Tenant was punished appropriately, there'd be few members left. Instead, he mocks them from the privacy of his own home. A married woman eyeing a man soon to be married himself. It's enjoyable to poke fun at those who want something they know they can't have.

Adam? He can have anything. The rapport built between him and Granddad cannot be outdone. They understand each other and the role that their identity is built upon. Adam picked up early in the apprenticeship to the Proprietor that there is a sense of captivity. Granddad loves his family and the people of the Church. "I am here to protect your spirit," he told Adam at their first official session. Grandad put his hand upon Adam's kneecap, instilling him with the wisdom he's compiled from over a decade of the Church. "Stare into the sun for long enough, and you'll go blind. Believe everything you hear from him and you'll become thoughtless yourself." He immediately knew who Grandad meant. The Father. Adam admires Father Alban's ability to lead but remains skeptical of the truth of his words. Whether either of them believes or not doesn't matter. Making that known to the Church would mean death. Both of them do their part, wearing crosses of their faith in the front pew every Sunday and acting with respect to the Tenants. Outside of the public eye, both of them are much more relaxed.

○○○

The Divine members of the Church enjoy certain rights that disciples do not. Take Tenants #3 and #7, for example. You may only leave the commune when accompanied by a Divine: the holy three, or a head priest or priestess and Disciples may not interact with outsiders, and must direct them to a Divine in their place. Adam utilizes these rules to the furthest extent.

At Father's discretion, he dresses in his Sunday best when he leaves the commune to do some "business." While the Church is largely self-sufficient, they'd be naive not to take monthly tesserae out for the extra support. Most of the tesserae's offerings end up providing additional support to the Divine's homes. Adam, encouraged by his grandfather, made it his monthly duty to travel into the center of the district to take out tesserae. With a long stack of consent forms stuffed in his bag, he breathes the outside air. The world outside of the Church's grounds didn't intrigue Adam until he left for the first time. Each person he crossed were dressed in a way that would give the holy boys and girls of the Church a heart attack.

The torn-up jeans, exposed skin, and general demeanor of the outsiders intimidated him. At first, anyway. The outside grew as a place of intrigue. No one on the outside gives him a dirty look when he doesn't pray before eating his sandwich for lunch. No one out here minds if he unbuttons his shirt in the sweltering heat, and he gets the sense that they wouldn't bat an eye should he take off his shirt altogether. God-fearing and Todd-fearing congregants would tell him that hell's got a pit for him.

It doesn't take all day to buy tesserae in District Ten, but Adam absorbs the early morning through to the late afternoon. Father affords him a small stipend each month in the event of any emergencies while he can't consult the Church. More importantly, Father never asks for that money back, nor does he ask where it goes.

Recall Tenant #4: No one leaves forever, and must always return to the sanctuary of the Church of Todd. This is not so much a tenant as it is a threat. Escape is not an option, he's chained to them one way or another. But at any chance, Adam finds himself playing the good boy, the boy who always comes back. Never does he tell the bartender at the pub that he worships a victor as his religion. And only to one outsider has he shown the cross he's obligated to bear around his neck. And she loves to tug on it. In bed.

See, there are some practices in the Church that are frowned upon but not outright forbidden. Having a wretched and cursed mouth, for example. Kanin Walker swears all the time, but who's stopping him? Sex before marriage, though? Promiscuity in its most serious form is unequivocally prohibited.

What they don't know about Adam cannot hurt them.

The first time, it was scary. His parents danced around the subject for years, arguing that he could learn more when he acquired a wife who was also prepared for such a decision. It took one woman, a couple years older than him, to bat her eyelashes and wave him over at the bar for him to throw away the concept of saving himself for marriage. She guided him through step-by-step. Even after he married in the Church, those who spoke to him about intercourse spoke more of procreation than passion. Thankfully, he already knew both.

It's not that serious, his relationship with the outsider. Only once a month does he leave the Church, for leaving without the excuse of buying tesserae might raise suspicion. They both enjoy the fun and move on. It does make him wonder, though, what life might be like if the tenants didn't trap him in the Church with the threat of his and his family's lives.

○○○

Adam arrived at his grandfather's house on the night of the harvest moon. It's a sacred day for the Church, as with any farming community. Prayer on that day is said to bring a bountiful year's harvest. His grandfather also finds the harvest moon a fitting time to discuss the Church's crop of new adults and their betrothals.

First, his sister, Natalia. Protective over his younger siblings, Adam vows to give her the most suitable husband. Granddad concurs. She deserves a man who won't restrict her to being a divine housewife. A man reserved enough to respect the will of the Vigilancos but strong enough not to discredit it. Adam points out a name on the chalkboard, one from a well-established disciple family. "They'll see it as a step up, I'm sure."

The list goes on with Granddad drawing lines from man to woman, pair to pair. A few names remain on the board, including perhaps the most important of all the crop. Tanner Garcia. Adams rolls his eyes. He has no qualms with the prodigal son, but perhaps that's just the problem. The perfect golden boy of their generation. Who else would be? Tanner is gold, Moira is silver, and Adam is bronze, just as the holy three that they descend from stand now. They could assign him the daughter of the most prestigious priests. They could give him a divine to keep his blood purely in that category. "I think Tanner should marry a disciple, Granddad. It may keep him humble." The chalk screeches past each of the divine prospects and to the divine pool. "Marybeth is lovely, no? I don't even think Father would see that as a step down."

The Proprietor looks to Adam with approval. He knows the people of his generation better than his grandfather. When it comes to advice for making the right decisions about the new crop, he turns to his grandson. Because they both know that the Vigilanco proprietorship is not a gift passed down from god. It is knowing which pieces fit in the puzzle. And Adam Vigilanco loves to put the wrong pieces in their new rightful place.