A Spit In The Eye - For The Benefit Of Mankind (34 page)

In not
too long a time

John
returned with 2 other leaders that I knew, Kenneth and Leonard, and
they were carrying bags heavy with food stuffs

John made
sound

*

‘
Are you ready to go, Hope?’

*

I nodded
my head

*

‘
You remember Kenneth and Leonard do you not?’

*

I DO

IT IS NICE TO SEE YOU AGAIN KENNETH AND LEONARD

*

They
intimated that it was nice to meet me again

*

‘
Then let us be on our way.’

*

John
turned and led the way with me behind him and Kenneth and Leonard
following me

We
stepped into a passageway with long rails on the floor and wooden
boxes upon wheels upon it

It took
some time to manoeuvre through the crowd of villagers who were
there to see us off

But

Eventually

We made
it to the boxes

Where 2
large men stood by the lever that powered it

I touched
Johns shoulder and her turned to face me

*

I CAN POWER THESE BOXES BETTER THAN HUMANS

I DO NOT TIRE

I DO NOT REQUIRE A STOP

FOR FOOD

OR REST

*

John,
Kenneth and Leonard stared at me

Then at
each other

Then they
put their heads very close together and made quiet
sounds

Eventually

John
looked up at me with a wide smile on his face

*

‘
Hope that is another wonderful gesture by you. If you would
power the carriages we would be most grateful, but you must stop
when we tell you to stop.’

*

OF COURSE

JOHN

*

While
John and Kenneth and Leonard were facing me

Susan and
Ann

Climbed
aboard another carriage and sat with arms folded

Looking
directly ahead

John and
the other leaders turned to face them

*

‘
Susan, Ann, you cannot accompany us. This is a trip for
leaders only.’

*

It was
Kenneth who made sound

But Susan
and Ann turned to look at him and they had expressions of deep
determination on their faces

*

‘
If you try and remove us from this carriage, Kenneth, we
shall make a noise that will be heard in the next village. Everyone
wants us to attend Hope’s meeting with the Government so that we
can report back what happened in layman’s language, rather than
with the pontificated words that leaders would use. We are going
with you, get used to it.’

*

Both
women turned to face ahead again and John and the other leaders
looked one to the other and decided that an argument with women of
such standing was not in their best interest

John
turned to me

*

‘
When you are ready to take the lever, Hope.’

*

I climbed
up on to the platform that held the lever and the two burly humans
climbed off and I took hold of it and pressed it down and the
carriages began to move forward

Many
members of the human community shouted and cheered and waved their
right hands and I lifted my silver hand in return

I powered
the carriages forward and in quick time we were deep into the
amazing passageways the underground humans had
constructed

And we
travelled from village to village and were received with much
cheering and many palm shakes and many hugs and more carriages were
added and more leaders climbed aboard and more women joined Susan
and Ann and more arguments were won by them

Each link
up of carriages meant a new lever that would be worked by large men
but I easily powered the carriages forward until there were 100
Humans sitting in the little carriages

The mood
was joyous

Humans
laughed and sang and ate their food

And I saw
wondrous underground waterfalls and rivers and many lighted
villages full of happy free Humans

And to
all

I was a
hero

To
all

Who stood
and looked at me with smiling faces

I had
become legend in their stories and tales

And this
thought made me most happy

And we
moved along their rail lines until we arrived at a great series of
platforms at which stood many carriages and many

Many

Humans

It
was

So John
informed me

The
terminus

All
Humans climbed out of my carriages and many others gathered around
me and shook my palm and hugged me and made great sound one to the
other

Ahead of
us stood a huge passageway

John
informed me that it was a tunnel that linked the land of Gland to
another land

Ance

And
compared to the passageways we had travelled for so long

It was
massive

And there
were many walking into the tunnel that connected two
lands

Susan and
Ann came to me and held my hands and that made me most
joyous

And
together

The 3 of
us skipped along the long platform

Skipping
being a talent that children had taught me

And they
laughed and laughed and the moment was quite wonderful

We
entered the large tunnel and Susan explained where we were
going

*

‘
Our Government resides in this tunnel. They live down here,
their quarters are down here beneath the seas and our parliament is
here too. It is where great decisions of our people are taken,
which are then communicated throughout the villages of the linked
continents by radio signal so that all will know. It has been this
way since humans decided to hide beneath the surface, but now that
you have measured out safe routes for our people to move on the
surface, those problems are being solved. You have achieved
wondrous events, Hope, and we hope our Government gives you due
reward.’

*

I DESERVE NO REWARD

SUSAN

FOR ALL THAT I DID

I DID FOR LITTLE EVE

WHO DID NOT DESERVE TO DIE IN THE WAY THAT SHE DID

IT MAKES ME GREATLY SADDENED TO REALIZE THAT SHE IS NOT HERE
WITH US TO ENJOY THESE MOMENTS

THAT SHE NEVER GOT TO SEE THE SUN AND THE MOON AND THE
STARS

OR SEE THE ANIMALS OF THE FIELDS

OR TOUCH THE TIPS OF THE GRASSES OR TO HUG A TREE

THAT IS SOMETHING THAT MAKES ME GREATLY SADDENED

*

‘
But as compensation for that great sadness, Hope, look at all
the happy faces on those humans you have aided, the ones you have
helped to a better life. Please be cheered by that
sight.’

*

HUMANS DO MAKE MY HAPPY

SUSAN

AND I LIKE TO SEE THEIR HAPPY FACES

AND I LIKE TO DANCE AS LITTLE EVE DID

AND I LIKE TO SKIP

AND I MUCH ADMIRE YOUNG

MUSCULAR

YOUNG MEN

MUCH LIKE THOSE MEN THAT YOU AND ANN ARE TO MARRY

*

And Susan
and Ann gasped a loud noise and began to laugh

*

‘
Eve really did infect you, didn’t she?’

*

HER DNA HAS TAKEN OVER MY WHOLE SYSTEM AND I OFTEN EXPERIENCE
FEELINGS TO WHICH I CAN DISCOVER NO ANSWER

*

The women
laughed again

*

‘
That sounds just like a young woman.’

*

And Susan
laughed greatest of all

Until
John joined us and informed that we were approaching the great area
of parliament and that they Humans should desist with all their
tomfoolery

And so it
was that many Humans stepped into a huge dome with many sitting
positions and John and Michael and Leonard and Susan and Ann took
their places and I stood alone on the great floor of the
dome

Around a
circular base stood 101 seats at which the Government would
see

Though
all the seats were vacant at that time

Many
hundreds of Humans climbed into the seats that stacked up all
around up to the top of the dome

One
entrance being open for Humans to attend

The other
side having only narrow passageways

Though
some Humans did exit from them

All was
orderly and calm

There was
no shouting or loud noise as I had experienced with the Humans in
the fortress

And
eventually all fell to quietness and expectation

And the
Government filed in from the passageways

All
wearing coloured gowns

One after
the other

Until all 101 were stood before seats and the Human who sat in
the 101
^st
seat lifted his arms and lowered them again and all
sat

The 101
^st
looked directly at me

*

‘
You are the machine OR33140, the one given the title
Hope?’

*

I AM

*

‘
The members of the Government welcome you.’

*

THANK YOU

*

And I
bowed from my middle to show respect to them all

*

The 101
^st
unrolled a parchment that had laid before him and
he began to quote from it

*

‘
You began a revolution because of the death of a girl called
Eve, is this correct?’

*

THAT IS CORRECT

*

‘
And you overcame many armed machines and freed ten thousand
humans from a prison where they had been held for over one hundred
years.’

*

YES

*

‘
And you did these deeds single-handedly, you had no
assistance from any other, either machine or human.’

*

I LAUNCHED A REVOLUTION ALL ON MY OWN BECAUSE OF THE ANGER I
FELT AT THE MURDER OF LITTLE EVE

I HAD NO ASSISTANCE

NO OTHER

MACHINE

OR HUMAN

AIDED ME

*

‘
Then you discovered an underground community, is this not
so?’

*

I SPENT MY ENTIRE EXISTENCE MAPPING LAND AROUND THE PRISON FOR
HIGH OFFICE

IT IS THE EQUIVALENT OF YOUR GOVERNMENT

BUT IT IS NOT HUMAN

IT IS A MACHINE

A MASSIVE MACHINE

WITH MANY PROBLEM SOLVING ABILITIES

THAT HUMANS CONSTRUCTED TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM OF A HEATING
EARTH

WE ARE ALL AWARE OF THE OUTCOME OF THAT SOLVING

THE MACHINE DECLARED WAR ON HUMANS

AND AFTER 25 DECADES YOU WERE DEFEATED

I THOUGH HIGH OFFICE WANTED ME TO MAP THE LAND SO THAT THEY
COULD SEE

THROUGH MY OBSERVATIONS AND RECORDINGS HOW THE LAND RECOVERED
FROM THE WARS

BUT 1 DAY I REALIZED THAT HIGH OFFICE WAS SEARCHING FOR
HUMANS

IT HAD BEEN USING MY ABILITIES FOR 100 YEARS TO SEARCH FOR
THEM

AND I BECAME MOST ANGRY AT THAT

SO I SET OUT TO DISCOVER WHERE HUMANS MAY BE
EXISTING

NO MACHINES WERE ALLOWED INTO CAVES SO I THOUGHT I WOULD
INVESTIGATE

I DISCOVERED FREE HUMANS LIVING IN THE CAVES

AND MADE DECISION TO UNITE BOTH THE HUMANS FROM THE PRISON AND
THE FREE HUMANS

I ACCOMPLISHED THIS ACT

*

‘
Yes, and that is why many humans now regard you as a hero, a
wonderful machine that united humans from above and below the
surface of the earth. Not only that, but we believe you have mapped
out safe routes for humans to travel from cave to cave. For the
first time, humans can walk in free air, they can see the sun and
hear the birds and see animals of the fields that are not
contaminated, as we once believed, and they can see the moon and
the stars. This is so, is it not?