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Hopeless Resistance By: Peter on 10/21/2001; 5:46 PM I thought I would give writing a short story a go, as I have not done so for many months. I have now found, as I always have, however, that writing a short story is not not something I am capable of, and that all my stories seem to go on too long. I will add to this later, unless it is clear no one is interested in reading any more. Anyway, here are the first two chapters. I hope you like it. "Push that button, and we all die." "If I do not press it I will die, anyway. What possible reason have I not to end your lives, when my own is over already?" "I can only assure you that we are not your enemy. We fight for the same ends as you. We share the same goals. It is our common enemy that is causing this conflict, and the deaths of us all will strengthen him immensely. Is that what you want?" Doruso's eyes widened. He turned in anger to face his captor, astonished that anyone as apparently intelligent as that could speak such nonsense. "That is the most preposterous gibberish I have ever heard. He declared, smiling with excitement. Do you know I have killed forty men and taken pleasure in not a single death, no matter how much it is deserved? You, on the other hand, your death will be tremendously enjoyable. I will leave this realm laughing when I see that the best the Hated One can manage as his lieutenant is a fool such as you, and that even you cannot prevent your own death, at the hands of a drugged prisoner chained to a wall! You know who I am, you realise I am the only one alive possessing per mens et Tempus videre, yet you honestly believe that I can be brainwashed, convinced by an explanation as ridiculous and feeble as that? Thynos looked at his shoes, and enjoying the moment as much as he was, despite the fear of death at any second, he could not bear the sight of untied laces. He bent over and did them very neatly, neither bow any greater than the other. Doruso was offended by this impassiveness in the face of danger. It was certainly a trait he admired, but one he ridiculously believed only he possessed. This was an arrogance common amongst his people, and even as they were wiped from the Earth one by one, he found that he could not accept humans could do anything better than him, and that any virtue they did not appear immediately to possess was not present within them at all. You are awfully calm for a man who even if he has an ounce of sense knows he will never leave this building alive. Doruso, your threats become less intimidating each time they are repeated yet never carried out. You have been threatening my officials like this for nearly an hour. When you forced them to summon me, you began the same process, yet you never seem that keen on the idea. I can see from the position of your thumb that you do not want to activate the device. What man keeps his trigger finger as far from a gun as he can when serious about carnage? Dropping the slightly sneering tone, Thynos now decided showing respect for his prisoner was the best option, believing he had undermined sufficiently Dorusos belief that he had any power over him. Now listen carefully, Sir, he said in a deep and almost deferential voice, We both understand each other very well. Neither of us wants to die, and both of us, whether we admit it or not, is beginning to see the other as a civilised negotiator and perhaps a useful ally. Doruso was shocked. He had been thinking exactly that, and was in particular beginning to wonder how a highly ranked servant of the Hated One could be a man of such reserve, calm and logic. He was beginning to accept that he might live after all that day, and to hope that the device he so greatly feared, need not be used. What he could not understand was how a simple human could know his thoughts, yet he not could see even when using his maximum pressure, anything much of his captors. He nodded briefly in agreement, and waited for his captor to continue. My name is Thynos. He said, as though greeting a neighbour. I, and we, as an organisation, have been following your steps for some time now. You may not believe this, but it was one of our volunteers who saved you in the Realm of Justice. That saviour was my own father, and his name was Favvos. Doruso secretly cheered inside. Expecting a miserable end to his life only a few minutes ago, he was now facing a man he could surely trust, a man who would indeed be a useful ally. He had never told anyone the name of the mysterious who had saved him, and no one had seen the two of them together between their leaving the Realm of Justice, and the peculiar death of Favvos a day later. Only one who had been involved in rescuing him would know of the name of his saviour. He knew now that he was among friends. Looking down at his food, the famished Doruso quickly reached to pick it up. It was not poisoned, he quickly determined, and swallowed it quickly, even using his teeth to chew the food, rather than liquefying it completely. Had his love-wife seen him eating like a human, he would rather have died than face the embarrassment. But in a cell of them, he felt no shame in biting through everything he put in his mouth. He had always believed that every Ugaenean would chew their food from time to time, whether through laziness, lack of time, the desire to rebel against traditional morality, or simply that the most convenient way to eat was the most simple way in private. This was not the first time he has used his teeth, and he had on many occasions bitten through meal after meal for weeks, then sent a child of his lust-wife to the Realm of Forgiveness to make up for this secret disgrace. He was better than his captors, he quickly reminded himself, and he could be like a piggish human in their presence without them even feeling insulted. He laughed at the thought, and laughed at Thynos, who was actually smiling as he chewed through his food. Each piece of meat he ate was first torn to pieces by his sharp teeth, yet the man saw absolutely nothing wrong with that! How these people managed to rule this planet on their own, he thought, how they managed to develop transportation and space travel and to eventually wipe us out . . . He paused, and thought sadly about all those people who had died. Seven million Ugaeneans had come to Earth. The entire species had sailed to the planet, with what remained of their technology, great works, and politicians, and they offered themselves as helpers. They told the savages they could become great thinkers and writers, they could know truth and justice, they could be peaceful and good, if only they would offer this desperate race a home. Expecting the decision one way or another to be reached in an hour, the Ugaeneans waited patiently in their Vessels of Enlightenment, hoping they had truly found not only a new home, but a new group of loyal servants also. Three revolutions of the planets axis later, Doruso remembered, they still had not made up their mind! Though only sixty years old at the time, and still entirely in the ownership of his parents, he was young enough to sneer with disgust at any race so indecisive. As the apparent leader of Earth described in a recorded message how half the planet was bitterly opposed to what they saw as alien invasion, and how they were claiming that the other side was trying to change the war rules in the middle of the game. He then said that he personally wanted very much to give them asylum, and a home, and that along with his people, he very much wanted to use their technology to bring about peace. Amusingly, he interpreted peace as the total destruction of all life on the other side of the planet. Asylum!! his father had scoffed at the time. These idiots will be our slaves within a year! The entire vessel broke out into cheers of laughter and optimism as they saw this could only be absolutely true. When the science minister came to the top of the ship to announce in a speech on the planets history and people that the reason no one lived on the southern hemisphere of the world was that the humans themselves had blown it up in some sort of sport called war, he could hardly believe the reaction as he saw hundreds of attentive Ugaeneans literally rolling around with laughter, unable to believe their luck. He knew then that the days of running around the galaxy in a space vessel were over. His people had found a home and a group of aliens so clearly inferior that they would seem like gods to them. He knew he could now have friends and a happy future, and that the next few centuries of his life would be very happy indeed. And he was correct. He grew up a happy man. The leader of the Western side of the Earth, representing a force called NATO, accepted the Ugaedeans request for asylum, and quickly they were given homes right across the west of the Earth, with no families split up and no one forced into any particular country. Not only did Doruso find the Earth a more open and wondrous place than either his homeworld or the Vessel of Enlightenment on which he had spent most of his life, but he actually found life itself more enjoyable. Even the air was easier to breathe, as the proportion off the air taken up by oxygen was so much smaller. The side effects all of his people faced; occasional fainting, a little light-headedness now and then, counted for nothing when Doruso arrived, and since then he loved every day on Earth. And his father was indeed right in his predictions. The leader of NATO had asked for the most advanced weaponry available, but all the Ugaedeans could manage was a simple explanation that they had no need for weapons. They did not fight and they were able to outwit any enemy. The furious NATO leader went berserk: You little worms! he cried, shaking, Every day the Islamic Peoples Foundation makes fresh gains, in terms of territory and of converts from our side. We cannot win this war except in the form of a miracle, something our side does not even believe in. You came nonetheless and you implied all our prayers had been answered, and now I find you are nothing but slugs to eat our mens food and take their homes? The Emperor of Ugaedea was not taken aback or even startled. He simply pointed to another man, standing close to him. This, he said, is the Peacemaker of eternity. We have no need for your generals for we dop not fight these wars. The violent on our world are simply exported to the Realm of Justice, where their urges are punished and exhausted. The Peacemaker of eternity was not a gentlemen, or an object, but a hole on the air. Had the NATO leader more experience, he would recognise what he saw as a portal, but he did not. He simply sat open mouthed gazing at the hole. Do you believe in law and in peace? the Emperor declared, his eyes extremely wide. I do, of course I do. He replied, less than convincingly. Are you willing to stake your life on this? It is extremely important that you are sure. The NATO leader thought hard and again agreed, honestly believing in his own goodness. Very well, said the Emperor. He moved his hand towards the sky, and the portal rose, flying very high, and stretching all the way. This continued for nearly a minute, before finally it stayed in position, an immense hole, so high in the sky that it almost left the atmosphere, yet so large that all on the Earth could see it, appearing to them to be a strange celestial body, looking about half the size of the moon. After a few more seconds, it became clear what was to go on. Across the globe, men and women of all ages were lifted off their feet and carried, as if by a hurricane, towards the portal. Millions of people were sucked in, from both sides of the war, and of all ages and races. After this monumental massacre, the Emperor looked at the NATO leader with satisfaction. I did it. he said, proudly. Now all those who desire war or crime are in the Realm of Justice. He smiled in triumph at the silent, amazed politician. The . . . . the realm of . . . Justice?! Realising a more human analogy was necessary, he simply said, Hell. Prison. Call it what you will. The point is the problem is solved, and all on this Earth are free. Use this portal every year, and there will never be any wars. There will be no crime. Earth will be forever free.
RE: Hopeless Resistance By: Richard Davidson on 1/5/2001; 3:34 PM Peter: First of all, I am no critic. I don't like critics, and I'm not aware of any valid function they perform. That said, your story is quite interesting, and imaginative. I will continue to read. It seems like there's some analogies going on in there. You're an Englishman, aren't you? Just curious. Keep writing, Richard
RE: Hopeless Resistance By: Peter on 1/5/2001; 7:28 PM I am indeed. How did you guess? :) Peter.
RE: Hopeless Resistance By: Richard Davidson on 1/5/2001; 9:57 PM Being a Scotsman myself, (although born in the USA,) I'm pretty good at spotting the English. I grew up on the Beatles, Pink Floyd, Monty Python, Benny Hill, and of course, Dr. Who. I find the English very charming, and for the most part, better qualified at using the English language than most, so if I ever pick on them for being "too uptight," I do so fondly. They are definately the only people in the world who, during WWII, actually took a moment before launching a nasty artillery barrage to have tea. You can't imagine how bad THAT scared the Nazis! I heard the Italians would surrender just upon hearing the whistle of the kettle. (That's a joke, please Italians, forgive me. I'm a huge Roberto Benigni fan.) You'll often be surprised by the people who will argue with you on the internet. I'm stubborn as a mule about my opinions, but I'm a pretty friendly person, overall. Being a comic, I do find it necessary to be a little sarcastic sometimes, but I do try not to step on anybody TOO hard. Also, your colourful spelling gives you away. Scout's honour. Peace.
RE: Hopeless Resistance By: Mark Morgan on 1/5/2001; 10:49 PM Nice piece, Peter. Could you do me a favor and post a bio so I can add it to your author page? Again, I apologize for the error message; there is a bug of some sort (I think) in the query engine, which is what generates the lists of stories for those pages. I know they're working on it.
RE: Hopeless Resistance By: Chie Theresa Fujioka on 1/6/2001; 12:54 AM it is fun to spice words up with colour and flavour... but everyone at school picks on me for it...
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