Give Evil A Fair Go!

The Day Watch, Sergei Lukyanenko





I have a problem with Evil. Not in the philosophical or theological sense (if there is a God, how can there be Evil in the world?) but in just how bad evil is. Rubbish, in fact. In popular culture, Evil leers menacingly, it heralds the coming of the apocalypse, the demise of man and hobbitkind. But for all its bluster, it never delivers. No matter how insurmountable the odds, Good always prevails.



Now, I know that the struggle between Good and Evil is often the subject of morality tales, which, by their very nature, are dedicated to the promotion of Good. In this case, Evil is scuppered from the start. But, let's be fair. In popular culture, can't we even the odds a bit - can't we give Evil a fair go?



In Sergei Lukyanenko's The Night Watch Trilogy , I believe I've finally found a text, which does just that. For starters, Evil isn't labelled with that pejorative term. Instead it's 'Dark', while Good is 'Light'. The author toys with preconceptions, mixing terms usually associated with one camp or the other. So, the Dark side is The Day Watch, keeping a check on the Light, while the Light is The Night Watch.



Lukyanenko invites the reader to identify with both sides because within every human there is both Dark and Light. The 'Others' (powerful, immortal beings who start off as humans) choose to align themselves to the Dark or Light when they come of age. It makes no bones either way, provided the balance between the two sides is maintained.



I found myself identifying strongly with the Dark Ones. Unrestricted, they value freedom and individuality above all else. They chose the night as their time because the night is all about freedom, in contrast to the day, when duty and responsibility prevail. Their favourite city is Prague, with all its terrible, gothic beauty. They grab life by the balls, squeezing every last drop of enjoyment and pleasure. Their only wish is to be left alone to do so. Their only rule is that no one should restrict another's freedom. They keep it simple.



The Light Ones, in contrast, are all about imposing moral frameworks on all mankind. They profess to care more. They're not profligate. They feel they are better than the Dark Ones and always seek to keep them down.



They imagine that the Dark Ones are always trying to get one over on them for the 'Dark Cause', when, in fact, the Dark Ones are only really interested in pursuing their own individual pleasures. So much so that the Dark Ones tend to tiptoe round the Light Ones, if ever they find themselves in conversation, lest the Light Ones take umbrage at some imagined egregious affront!



The Light Ones seem to complicate things. Their ideals are hard to live up to. The path of the Dark Ones seems much more fun.



A parallel could be drawn with everyday life, in which we're constantly making trade-off decisions between what we ought to do and what we want to do: the eternal struggle between duty and pleasure.



I vote for pleasure, for irresponsibility and freedom! If my fun doesn't curb your search for pleasure, is that so evil? Er, I'll get my (long, leather, vampish) coat...