Vengeance


    "You--what are you trying to do?  With this--"
    "This tool you have created, to reach into the minds of billions--"
    "The *hearts* of billions!"
    "--has too much potential to let you waste it."
    "What?  What higher purpose could there be than--"
    "Meaningless platitudes?"
    "How dare you call spreading happiness meaningless!"
    "I dare because of who I am."
    "I cannot believe that even *you* would be that heartless.  I did not want
to do this, but--"
    "Do what you must."
    A low chanting.  Then a swirling of images, back past the cares of adult
life, to the joyous, unencumbered days of...cliques and outcasts, storms of
emotion in spasmodically expanding frames of flesh and the heavy weight of
sheer opinion--
    "Come on.  You would challenge *me* with such a pathetic gambit?"
    "...I know there is happiness somewhere inside you.  A memory--"
    "You should know me better than that."
    "You have to stop this.  I don't know what you intend, but--"
    "I will continue, unless you can stop me."
    More whispered words.  Back further, to memories of sunshine and freedom,
to--unknowing but always experienced, the clutch of difference, as a young boy
barred from the most basic--
    "Done already?  Pathetic.
    "...What are you trying to accomplish?"
    "Isn't it obvious?"
    "Tell me anyway."
    "Justice."
    "...Justice?"
    "Of course.  That all be balanced."
    "...You will--"
    "You know what I will do."
    "I cannot allow this.  There must be some memory you have--"
    A final plea to the world, to everything.  Back, through the mists of
memory to half-known dawn years, mists of sleep...Young girls beautiful as
angels.  With wings and halos, of felt and sparkles...and then the growing
concern, confusion, but always far too late as there was nothing but ashes
left...
    "There.  Interested in my first memory, were you?  Now you know.  Only a
dream, but it still--huh.  ...Ah, well.  I guess since I've had so long to
get used to it..."
    He nudged the curled-up, whimpering form with one foot.  Then he stepped
past and walked on to change the world.


=====

Author's note

...okay. I guess that was...pretentious. But...hell. I wrote it anyway. So
there.

So who are these people? Well, a while ago I had an idea for a story focusing
on some people who discover magic. Everyone was based on someone I knew. That
idea got eventually adapted into another story, which you may know about...

So...if you thought you knew who these characters are...you're not *that* far
off...

Anyway, the whole thing is sort of based on actual stuff. Some of you may
have heard the 'ice cream truck' story, which inspired a particular HHH
chapter...'barred from the most basic'...and so on. You can figure it out.

John Evans
jevans@alum.mit.edu

The Sunburst Project, Week 7
http://www.chaoseed.com/btr/sbp/
4/27/00