Subj: Where do we go from here?
Date: Febuary 10, 2000 (4:50:06 AM)
From: Quixote
I'm going to tell you about a place far, far, far away.
It's a place of many white buildings on top of a hill, with a sign that reads,
"Welcome to hell." They say that one day this sign was knocked down, but the
memory of it and what it signified was not knocked down, and I doubt that it
ever will be. This groups of white buildings was out of place among the
dirty shacks and barns that surrounded it. But it was OK because there was a
fence around the perimeter, separating the clean from the unclean, the good
from the bad, the imaginary from reality. Whether this fence served to keep
the clean in, or the dirt out, or whether it was simply a way of marking
where one world ended and another began, is uncertain. One thing, however,
is for certain: That this place was unlike any other. Nowhere else could
such an acute contrast be observed between the natural and the constructed,
the light and the dark, the truth and not the truth.
There were many inhabitants to these white building on top of a hill,
with a big white sign that reads, "Welcome to hell". These inhabitants were
mostly confined to the area immediately surrounding the white buildings. Few
dared to cross the border into the dangerous land beyond, and when they did,
it was a rare occurrence. For their lives in the place of the white
buildings was a simple sequence of events, ever unchanging. Each day began
with the inevitable waking up from a deep sleep. However a few brave souls,
every so often, dared to break this part of the schedule. It was a long, and
sometimes grueling ordeal, but some, whether through necessity or some other
hidden motive, managed to overcome the circumstances, to be the exception to
the rule. This was done by evading sleep, and by doing so, one successfully
evade waking up. This rebellious action was inevitably punished by an
earlier bedtime the following night. This was done in an effort to make up
for the lost sleep that the persons had suffered, because the supervisors
cared.
The next step in the daily routine consisted of a breakfast. The
inhabitants would groggily roll out of their cozy beds, and exit the white
buildings into the early morning. Some days, they were met by the sweet
smell of freshly budding roses, and the cool morning dew still fresh on the
leaves. Other days they were met by the dank smell of nothing, and the
dryness that can only be compared to the dryness of death. They would
quickly proceed from one white building to another where they would be given
insufficient, and outright unpleasant nourishment. Yet a few brave souls
sometimes dared to break this seemingly unimportant segment of the daily
events, usually not the same ones who had broken the previous since they were
high on their accomplishment and caffeine. Those who did not attend this
prestigious event would usually substitute sleep for it, and such a
rebellious action was punished by being confined to a white building for the
duration of the day. This was done in an effort to allow the individual to
catch up on his or her sleep, which was obviously lacking because they had
been unable to awaken in time to attend breakfast. This was done because the
supervisors cared.
The third step was hours of forced learning. All were forced to attend.
But still, a select few managed to break the schedule in this area too. On
rare occasions, it was done by managing to catch a sickness, but what was
more often the case was being present in body, but actually being far off in
distant lands, engulfed by thoughts and dreams of freedom and happiness. The
punishment for this, was to simply bring the student back to the occurrences
of the classroom, bringing an abrupt end to any thoughts, no matter how
pleasurable, no matter how important This was done in order to limit the
amount of unproductive thinking because the supervisors cared about the
inhabitants futures.
After these hours of relentlessly seeking knowledge, the inhabitants were
given freedom to roam the land within the boundaries. Some would drink the
delicious beverages provided by some of the designated merchant inhabitants.
Some would sit and observe the athlete inhabitants in their scheduled
practice. Some would wander aimlessly searching for something and nothing
all at the same time. Many took advantage of these times to further their
social interaction with other inhabitants. This proved to be on of the most
pleasurable aspects of the place of all the white buildings on top of the
hill, with the big white sign that read, "Welcome to hell". Although, this
time was relatively free and fun, some still found t necessary to not
participate. Some would cross over, under, or through the fence, and proceed
into the uncharted wastelands beyond. Days in this wasteland were spent
walking along the narrow paths, surrounded by vegetation, or swimming in the
muddy water that ran sometimes slowly, sometimes quickly, through narrow
creek beds and shallow pools. However, nothing compares to the feeling of
elation that one experiences as he walks past the big white sign that reads,
"Welcome to hell", and then continues on the march down the hill, up the
next, back down it, and up a third, finally reaching his destination, The
Town. This was a place that was filled with inexplicable opportunities.
There were shops and restaurants and houses and buildings that weren't white,
a wondrous place. However, none were given too long to linger in any of
these pleasures, and that in itself was punishment enough, the undeserved
punishment of return to the structure, an abrupt halt to any enjoyment. This
was done because the supervisors cared.
The next event was a supper. All the inhabitants were herded together
from their various places, and brought into a white building for nourishment,
almost as unsatisfying as that of the early morning. Some of the
inhabitants, however, were too involved in their previous activities to
pursue nourishment, and so they neglected to attend this scheduled event.
The punishment for this was either confinement to a white building or clean
up duty, or even a composite of the two. This was done because the
supervisors cared.
The evenings were cooler than the rest of the day, and were spent in a
variety of ways. Some were forced to attend extra optional study sessions
because of their failure to meet the standards in their education. The rest
of the inhabitants, excluding those who were confined to the white buildings,
were able to spend the evenings as they chose, as long as they stayed within
the selected boundaries. Some chose to spend this time in athletic
recreation, while others chose to continue in their effort to socialize, and
consume beverages, and roam from designated area to designated areas.
Whichever activity was chosen, the permissible area was very restricted. If
any dared to venture beyond the fence into the darkness they ran the risk of
being evicted from the oasis, the paradise of white buildings on top of the
hill. with a big white sign that read, "Welcome to hell". Although this is
all some wanted in the first place, they were inexplicably held there with
some unconscious desire to stay. Failure to recognize the boundaries set up
within the perimeter of the white buildings was less severely punished by,
once again, confinement to a white building. These boundaries were enforced
in order to protect the inhabitants from the unspeakable dangers and evils
that lurked beyond what was set apart by the safety of the lights. And this
was done because the supervisors cared.
The next even on the agenda was for all the inhabitants to be dispersed
into the various white buildings. Once there, the long process of
preparation for sleep took place. Community showers served as a means to
cool down and clean off after the trials of the day, and also as a median for
important bonding between the inhabitants. Time in the bathroom was never
spent solely in conducting bathroom procedures. There was always
conversation or other activity to provide entertainment. After a brief
session of spiritual guidance, meager yet delicious nourishment was served
out. This was gratefully consumed, yet some still longed for more. This
often led to the concoction of some strange food substances, some good and
some bad. But either way, it was consumed and enjoyed. The remainder of the
time before sleep was spent in several various ways, but most of them
involved some form of socializing with the other inhabitants of the specific
white building. Failure to arrive on time to the white buildings or any of
the functions that took place therein was punished by early entry the
following night. This was to allow ample time for all of the procedures to
be done punctually and properly because the supervisors cared.
The final even was the falling asleep. However a few brave souls would
sometimes dare to disregard his requirement. This resulted in either a later
falling asleep, or eventual violation of the first scheduled event, waking
up. The reason for this was simple. Either they had some activity that they
needed to complete or they simply were not tired. The punishment for this
rebellious action was inevitably punishment by an earlier bedtime the
following night. This was done in an effort to make up for the lost sleep
that the persons had suffered, because the supervisors cared.
In this life of incessant monotony and presheduled activities, an
individual rarely had the burden of thinking for his or her self. One needed
not plan out the day or even think about what to do in the following weeks.
Everything necessary for this utopian lifestyle was easily accessible, and it
was the same for everyone. An inhabitant needed have no worries about what
would become of him if he failed or succeeded. The rewards were few, and the
punishments, although plentiful, were always known, and never ultimately
devastating. A person had enough food, no matter how unpleasant, enough
shelter, whether it was too much or not is uncertain, and the supervisors
cared. Friends were always plentiful and close by. One needn't ever worry
about what was beyond the fences, or about tomorrow, today, or yesterday
because they were all the same. And the outside world was only a figment of
each individuals imagination. No matter how limiting or unjust it may have
seemed, there was all the simplicity and security in the world in those white
buildings on top of the hill with the white sign in from that read, "Welcome
to hell", and now I can't help but wonder if hell is really all that bad.
