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A Possible Future For Earth
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A Possible Future For Earth |
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fractal007 Senior Member
since 2000-06-01
Posts 1958 |
PLEASE NOTE: This may not all fit into one post. In all the previews, it does not... Also, I am not condeming Christianity. I am condeming the Christian extreme right. In fact, I am a Christian. Attic "Can you remember how it used to be?" I whispered to Seth, my younger brother. We were huddled in our attic, as the police made their usual search of our house. Being of the forbidden kind, we were prime targets of the police. They regularly searched our house for us. I was very surprised that they had yet to discover us. "Vaguely," Seth responded. He was such an innocent child. His vocabulary was quite high for his age of only 12 years. "There were no police," I whispered. "You could do whatever you wanted -- believe whatever you wanted." "But now," Seth picked up where I left off. "We have to hide. Why do they care about what we believe? It doesn't make any sense!" "Shh!" I said. "I can hear something." I heard the tap of footsteps coming up the attic ladder. I held my breath. Sweat poured down my face. Seth was deathly silent. This happened every time they came. They always came up the ladder, and they always checked for us. But they never found us; we hid too well. "Jane and Seth McDonald?" A policeman asked. "Yes." I said. It was too late to pretend that we weren't here. It was obvious that the policeman could see us. "You have been found guilty of decieving the state into satanism." The policeman said. "Come forth and be apprehended." We had little choice, but to comply, as the officer had trained a pistol on us. I stood up, holding Seth's hand. "Where are your parents, Jane?" the officer asked. "Dead," I responded. "Two police officers came and shot them in the street for crimes against humanity, last year." The officer's face showed no sign of emotion, as he said, "Oh, I see." We were both apprehended. Handcuffs were clamped around our wrists, and we were lead down the ladder, at gunpoint. Two other officers waited for us at the bottom. They had an air of fear toward us, as they backed away from the base of the ladder in order to give us ample space. I looked around at the walls of my house for the last time. So many memories flooded my mind. I could see the kitchen down the hallway, where my mother and I used to discuss how wonderful it was in the old days when we had rights. I could still remember the words of my mother, whenever she put me to bed. 'Never forget that you are human too. No matter what they might tell you, no one can take that away from you. Goodnight, my sweet daughter.' Tears were now coming to my eyes. I missed her so much. I missed the lessons in human rights that my father used to give Seth and I, on those summer evenings, when there was still light, and we could stay up later. "Don't cry," Seth whispered to me in an attempt to comfort me. "Yes," The officer said. "Ladies may only cry in the presence of other ladies. It is not advisable for you to demonstrate the weakness of your gender here." Interrogation We were lead out to two police cruisers which were parked outside the house. I was instructed to enter the one in front, while Seth was told to sit in the one behind. I knew what was going to happen next. A policeman trained a taser on me, through the cars window. Sitting beside me was a rather homely looking lady. She was dressed in the regular attire which was becoming of a lady in these times. She wore a plain, pink coloured skirt, with a blue plaid blouse. Her hair was neatly curled, and she wore horn rimmed glasses. "Do you know what you have done, young lady?" The woman asked me. "Yes," I began in the usual fashion, which was becoming of a lady, "I have led the state into satanism and anarchy. I have arrogantly presumed that I, being a lady, have the same rights that a man has." "And why, young lady, did you feel this way?" She asked. "I, being a lady, and therefore very suseptable to corruption by the enemy," I began, "was brainwashed by Satan, as I slept." "And do you feel that you are ready to rejoin society?" The lady asked. In the past, my interrogators had never asked me this question. I thought I might as well take a chance. "Yes. I believe---" WOP! I was zapped by the taser. "No, young lady," The woman said, in a soothing voice, "You are not ready. You must be purged of the enemy. Shall we go then, and have you cleaned up?" Not wanting to be zapped again by the tazer, I answered in the most high spirited voice I could muster. "Yes, oh that would be wonderful!" "Good girl." The woman answered. "Now, I have a gift for you." She presented me with a brand new copy of the New Young Earth Translation of the Holy Bible: 14th Revision. As we left I reminisced about the Bible. With every new release, it was getting thinner and thinner. I could even recall seeing some of the verses altered in certain parts. But I knew that if I spoke up about this, I'd likely be excecuted in the streets, for all to see, as an example. The Cleansing After a long drive through the country, we arrived at a large church. Very few had actually seen this building, let alone entered it. It was for only a chosen few. It was for the lost. We stepped out of the police cruiser. I was surprised to see that the policemen weren't training their weapons on us at all. In fact, the only threatening gesture they now made was simply an occasional glare. "Come, children" the lady who'd been sitting beside me said. "We must go into the Lord's house." As we approached the building, I could see a sign hanging over the front door. It read: I am lost I need to be found I am blind We approached the steps which lead to the entrance. They were made of a beautiful marble, which was crowned in gold. As we entered, I looked behind me, and saw that the police officers had disappeared, and the lady was now walking off to attend to some other bussiness. I was about to consider escape when I noticed several security cameras lining the ceiling. We walked onward through a large hall, past several rooms. Some of them were closed, others open. I could hear bits and pieces of the conversations in each room as I walked past. "What do you say to a woman with two black eyes?" I heard in one. The voices faded before I could hear the answer to the joke. I looked over at Seth. His face was slightly cringed. "What did they do to you in that car?" I asked him. Before he could answer, a man wearing a black tuxedo approached us, saying, "Good evening!" "Hello," I said, making a curtsy. "Young lady." He nodded his head in respect. "If you'll both come this way, I'll show you to your quarters." We followed him right and down a long narrow corridor. I was quite surprised to see someone paying me such respect. He must have been a new recruit. I had very rarely seen such chivalrous deeds done by a man. It was usually the women's job to pay respect and homage to the men. We came to the end of the hallway, and I was instructed to enter the room on the left, while Seth was taken back down the hallway. I was very worried about what would happen to him. They would probably interrogate him, looking for excuses to torture him. The world was all so chaotic in these times. I entered the room to find it rather small, but still livable. There was a television set mounted on a small arm which could be rotated about a night table beside the head of the bed. I turned it on. Instantly I was assaulted by what so many believed to be enlightening words. I flipped through the channels, in an attempt to find something which was entertaining, and didn't involve someone trying to sell me something. "The gay agenda is all around us." a female talkshow host said. "I know," came the response from a rather attractive looking woman. "We have to protect ourselves!" The voices were all dubbed. I knew, from watching the program in the past, that the talkshow was called Current Events In the World Today. But I had vague memories of seeing a talkshow just like this one, when I was young. The show had been called Oprah. I changed the channel. "You want to get rid of termites in your house?" An older looking man in a business suit asked. "Well, then buy this holy and annointed oil, for the low, low price of only 50 dollars! Then all you have to do is pour it on your front porch!" After flipping through about 50 more channels, I finally came to something which was remotely entertaining. I came to the weather channel. It was the only channel on the air which did not spew forth with some religious retoric. Although the weatherman always said things like "Hopefully the Good Lord will give us rain", it was not laced with any stereotyping or biases, other than a belief in God. I was okay with believing in God. In fact, I used to always read my Bible and pray, before the Conservative Revival of American Patriarchy began. After that, I was forced to hand over my NIV Bible(now called the Old Agenda Translation) to the authorities, and was given instead, the Young Earth Translation. After that, my faith started to waiver. My mother told me not to believe anything that society was telling us. She was a very wise woman. My father was also very helpful. He'd memorized much of the NIV before the Revival. Every night, he'd tell us stories from that translation. He'd tell us about Esther, the queen, or about Mary Magdalene, who was forgiven by Jesus Christ even thought she lived a completely sinful life. These stories were now removed from the Bible. They weren't part of the scriptures, some said. Others said that they were ancient forgeries. I turned off the television, and prayed. "Dear God," I said. "Please remove this blindfold from the hearts of the people. Let them see who you really are. Deliver me from their hands. Deliver my brother from their hands. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray, Amen." As a woman, I was supposed to say "I humbly come before you, a member of the inferior gender, and pray this to you, Amen" at the end of my prayers. But I was alone now, with God. There were no others to please in this room. Someday we would be free. Someday we would be able to read the Word of God, as it was originally written. I opened my Bible and read Revelation 22:18, the last verse: "Blessed by the man who takes away all that is deceptive from this book. Blessed be the woman who makes no protest to the wisdom of men. Blessed be the man who loves God. Blessed be the woman who loves men." I was to be stripped of my 'rebellious nature', here in this place. But in my heart, I was already free. I loved God, not men. I had already been cleansed by Jesus Christ on the hill of Calvary. [This message has been edited by fractal007 (edited 11-25-2000).] |
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Dusk Treader
Moderator
Senior Member
since 1999-06-18
Posts 1187St. Paul, MN |
What a great tale you've woven! It reminds me of the Nazis and the holocaust. This was truly frightening, though we barely give it thought anymore the loss of our freedom would be a horrible price. Wonderful storytelling here I'd definetly be pleased to see more of your work! Abrahm Simons "I'm not sick, but I'm not well, and I'm so hot, cause I'm in Hell." - Harvey Danger |
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&dispose Junior Member
since 2000-01-30
Posts 18 |
This is a great story. I applaude you for your condemnation of fundamentalism and for the well thought out story. I am also a Christian and am in no way offended by this story, and those that are can shove it up their a*s. "Ask the sheep, for their beliefs. Do you kill on God's command?" - Megadeth, Holy Wars... |
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Dawn Eclipse Senior Member
since 2000-01-31
Posts 637The Horsehead Nebula |
Wonderful tale. As with Dusk Treader, it reminded me of the holocaust. I loved the message it sent. Thanks for the read.  "Forget regret, or life is yours to miss. No other course, no other way... No day but today" ~Broadway Musical RENT~ *Cassandra Roseen* |
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dgvarner Member Elite
since 2000-05-13
Posts 3552High Springs, Florida |
wow... i was on my way to bed, but this story wouldnt let go of me... how frightening to think my religious beliefs may one day be controlled by someone other than myself.. at least, outwardly.. very well written story...as i said..it truly drew me in.. great work hugs, g "maybe one day we can turn and face our fears maybe one day we can reach out through our tears..." -a grant |
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