Hi Steemers! I am happy to present my new anarchy themed novel! I will post the entire book for free via steemit posts, a chapter or two at a time.
Title: Will
Genre: Science Fiction, Political Thriller, Comedy
Synopsis: Early 30th Century Earth is literally divided by a mysterious wall. On the dark side of the wall, millions suffer from mind control, despotic rulers, war, pain, and suffering. On the light side of the wall, it is the complete opposite. There is peace, freedom, and prosperity. One day a man from the dark side manages to get to the other side, a fateful event which will change the world forever.
Happy Reading! Please share!
Please note: To begin reading from the beginning, refer to my earlier steemit posts or download the book for free on my blog @ Makingtheoligarchyobsolete.blogspot.com
Chapter 9
Mama Mari stood all of a whopping five feet tall and still had the frame of a little ballerina, albeit one with eighty something years. She looked sweet and innocent, wearing huge spectacles over her bright, soft blue eyes. Looks can be deceiving, however, as she had a sharp mind and tongue, never one to shy away from a good argument. In contrast, she also possessed a charm and magnetism about her that was quite unique. Everybody loved her. She also had a mind blowing number of abilities which and skills which she put to good use over the years, helping to provide for a large family. It was this fantastic human being who came out to greet the travelers as they approached the front door of the cabin.
“You looked a little shaky on the landing there, Jovius. Maybe I’ll show you how it’s done before you leave tomorrow,” Mari mocked her friend with a smile. “Oh, come on,” Jovius defended himself, “That was textbook!” They had a warm embrace and then she commented that he had brought some visitors. “Yeah, I hope that’s ok,” Jovius said. “Yeah, that’s fine, as long as they don’t mind sleeping with the goats,” she suggested with a chuckle. “I’m Mari. Jovius, where are your manners? Introduce us!” Jovius let out a sigh and introduced his companions, saving the best for last. “I’m honored to bring you, for the first time ever, a man from the other side of the wall!” Mari laughed a cute little old lady type of laugh and said, “Well, really! This ought to be quite the entertaining evening! I can’t wait to hear about the other side!” Vintage gave a formal and courteous smile and said he would be happy to tell all sorts of things about the other side. “Great,” Mari exclaimed, “It should make for an unforgettable tragic comedy!” Puzzled, Vintage asked what exactly she meant by ‘tragic comedy’. “Don’t worry, you’ll learn,” Mari confidently declared.
“Well, come on inside, make yourselves comfortable, and meet the family,” Mari invited with a sparkling smile as she motioned towards the front door. The cabin was quite large and made of marvelous cypress. It was obvious that it had been around for quite a while as it looked a bit worn, which made the charming, rustic appeal all the more prevalent.
As they entered, the inside was even more inviting. Hardwood floors, a strong fire burning in the antique fireplace, lots of hand made furniture, and a fine collection of colorful drawings decorating the wall. Vintage was caught with his mouth gaping open at the fine dwelling. “What a marvelous place!” Sophia was the first to express. All nodded in agreement. “Places like this don’t exist where I come from,” Vintage lamented as he gawked around. Mari put a hand on her hip, raised an eyebrow and asked why not. “Where I come from, opportunities to study and work are only available in cities, so that’s where everyone lives.” Mari sighed and shook her head in disgust. “That’s a shame.”
Suddenly, a little boy ran towards the group in a flash and stopped on a dime next to Mari, grinning from ear to ear. “Visitors!” he jubilantly yelled. “That’s right, you love visitors, huh?” Mari asked as she patted the boy on the head. “Yes, Great Mari, yes!” he confirmed. Mari laughed and told everyone that he called her that because she was his great grandmother. “And I thought it was because of your infinite wisdom,” Jovius teased. Not to be outdone, Mari replied, “No, that’s why you call me that!” Ray exclaimed that Jovius had met his match and that it was for the best. “His name is Sol,” Mari informed the group. Everyone introduced themselves and the boy was quite cordial with them. Mari urged the boy, “Sol, why don’t you go and get some snacks for our guests. I know you’re awful proud of your work. Run on and get some plates ready and we’ll go sit by the fire.” Sol happily complied and ran off towards the kitchen.
Everyone followed their quaint host towards an open area where there were a variety of sofas, chairs, footstools, and a sprinkling of other furnishings and decorations, both modern and antique. On the floor was an old bearskin rug which looked as if it could come alive at any moment. A warm glow from the fireplace gave the room the feeling that you had stepped back in time, very far back indeed. Everyone was taking a seat when their hostess spoke with a bit of urgency, “Just to give you a fair warning,” as she held up a wrinkled old hand towards Vintage, “You’re about to sit in the experimental chair.” He was literally just an inch or two away from landing in the chair and stopped cold upon hearing the warning. In mid-sit he thought it would be pertinent to ask, “Is it ok if I sit in the experimental chair?” “Oh yes,” she assured, “It’s just that my grandson just brought it today, and we’re not sure if it’s gonna work too well or not, but go ahead, you’re welcome to it. You can be our guinea pig, isn’t that exciting?” A bit flustered, but not to be frightened by an inanimate object, Vintage smiled and finished sitting down into the large green chair. Ray smirked and asked the obvious question of what the experiment was. Mari proudly announced that the chair was a prototype for medical purposes. She claimed that it had sensor technology that could adjust the chair to fit everyone’s specific spine and posture. Also, if it sensed that your spine was out of alignment since your last sitting, it would make the proper adjustments for you. “The best part is, it has a pop up machine gun with silencer,” she said with a straight face while looking Vintage in the eye. “It has voice commands if you’d like to give it a try.” Turning a strange shade of gray, Vintage volunteered, “Maybe I’ll just sit on the floor. The bearskin looks quite comfortable, actually.” The old lady burst out laughing. “I’m just joking about the machine gun, but go ahead and give the spinal adjustment a shot.” Sweating a bit and grimacing, Vintage politely declined.
“So there stranger, why do they call you Vintage? You don’t look that old to me,” she engaged her rare guest from another world. Snickering a bit, Ray gave the answer. “Jovius generously bestowed that elegant name on our friend here.” Intrigued, the old lady confronted Jovius very directly. “Dare I ask two questions? Number one, why was it necessary to give him a name? Did he lose it on the trip over? Number two, why a silly name like Vintage? Jovius, sometimes I can’t believe people actually pay you to talk.” Everyone had a good chuckle on Jovius’ dime, including Jovius himself. The old lady didn’t pull any punches, that’s for sure. “Actually, the reasoning was quite logical,” Jovius said in a playfully defensive manner. “Enlighten me,” the old woman insisted. “He had a number. Over there, over the wall, that’s how they are. Everyone has numbers, not names,” Jovius explained. A look of disgust came over the sweet lady’s wrinkled face. “How absolutely deplorable! Calling people numbers, as if they’re part of some lifeless equation.” Jovius saw that Vintage was a bit taken aback by this comment and tried to offer a smidge of consolation. “Don’t take it personally, she does it to everyone.” “So why the name Vintage?” she persisted. Sophia rolled her eyes and answered, “Because his number is 2001, and Jovius thought since that was a great year for wine, that the name made sense, for some reason.” Mari thought this to be extremely comical and wondered aloud how Jovius knew that 2001 was such a great year for wine. That was centuries ago! Jovius proudly said that he’d read it in a book, a very knowledgeable book actually, specifically about the history of wine.
Sol came back into the room, this time with his hands full. He was proudly carrying two small platters of meat, cheese, and crackers. He set one platter on one end of the long synthetic coffee table and the other platter on the opposite end. The boy smiled and commanded, “Split table, one left and one right.” The table split in two. It then rolled closer to where the guests were seated to give them an easier reach at each platter. “Go ahead and dig in!” the boy excitedly encouraged the crowd. They obliged and in an impatiently curious manner Sol asked what they thought of the food. Everyone gave high compliments. Sol then proudly announced that he had made the sausage and cheese himself. “Under his Uncle’s tutelage, mind you,” Mari observed. Vintage thought to himself how odd it was that a child could learn such a skill so young. It was forbidden for children to do manual labor where he came from, except in times of emergency. How could a child learn anything if he was laboring all day? “It’s quite delicious, I’m very impressed, Sol,” Sophia complimented the young artisan. “How old are you?” Sol answered with a respectful smile, “I’m nine, but I’ll be ten next month.”
Before Vintage could remark on the ability of the child at such a tender age, Mari beat him to the punch. “So I’m curious how you made it over that wall.” “He doesn’t remember,” Jovius mentioned as he gleefully chomped on a mouthful of food. “I didn’t know you were his official spokesman, Jovius,” the old stalwart said in a blistering tone. “Mari, I have a question for you,” Ray interjected. “Do you know how old the wall is or who built it?” Mari gave an ironic laugh and answered, “Good lord, sunshine, just how old do you think I am?” Shaking his head and grinning, Ray said that he didn’t mean it in that way. He was just curious if she had any information about the wall. Nobody he knew had any information about who built the wall or when it was constructed, or why it was built, for that matter. There were no accurate historical records that he knew of, but that didn’t mean that they didn’t exist somewhere. All he knew was that it spanned the circumference of the Earth, stretched far into space, and deep under the oceans. This made it impenetrable to those without advanced technology. He thought Mari could shed some light on the subject. It couldn’t hurt to ask. “That’s an interesting question to ask our guest here, though,” Mari said thoughtfully. Vintage shrugged his shoulders and said that, as far as he knew, there were no records of the wall’s construction on his side of the planet, either. However, in school they learned that the great wall was there for their protection from the chaos of the other side. They just didn’t know when or how it was built, but it served this grand purpose of security nonetheless.
“What we do know,” a new voice came from behind the group, “Is that it was built sometime after the 21st century after the catastrophe.” Heads turned as a tall, slim character approached them. Mari introduced the newcomer as her son, Tesla. Tesla directed his attention towards Vintage as he took a seat on the bearskin rug. “I’m awfully curious about how things work on your side of the world.” Vintage asked why that was. Tesla answered with a sly grin, “Cause as far as we know, it’s a miracle any life even exists over there.” Vintage raised an eyebrow and asked, “How do you mean?” “Before we answer questions like that, perhaps you could answer a few for us, if you’d be so inclined,” Tesla propositioned in a genteel manner.
Tesla first asked what region the newcomer was from. He said he was from the western region known as The Democratic Free State. “In my opinion,” he added, “It’s the finest region in the world.” Tesla tugged at his gray whiskers and asked for a further explanation of how many regions there were and how they were politically oriented. “First of all, there are three regions. The one in the Northeast is called The Royal Region. A second located in the Southeast is named the Divine Nation.” All were listening attentively and Jovius began to snicker a bit, but was quickly checked by Ray with an elbow to the ribs. Mari broke in and requested Vintage to explain what exactly a democratic free state was. He then went on to tell the crowd that where he came from there were elections every ten years for president and representatives.
“Who is the current president of your region?” asked Sophia. Before an answer could come, Mari inquired as to what exactly a president was and what functions he served. Taking a deep breath and his eyes becoming wide, Vintage claimed that there were too many functions to name! However, the most important were to approve laws, to protect the people, and to handle foreign relations. “So he tells you what to do and what not to do,” Jovius stated bluntly. “I wouldn’t put it like that, all laws are for the safety and security of the people.” “Like the one making coffee illegal?” Jovius grinned and fired back. Mari had a fit at hearing this and exclaimed, “Coffee, illegal!” Before Vintage could get a word out, Mari continued, “I’ve been drinking coffee over seventy years. Do I look like I’m safe and secure?” Not sure how to react, Vintage stuttered a bit before Tesla came to his rescue. “Ok, mom, let the man speak. You can say your piece later.” Turning back to their guest, Tesla said apologetically, “Sorry about that, she sure loves her coffee.” Vintage laughed an uncomfortable laugh and responded, “I understand. It is quite a fine drink, actually.”
“So what is the president’s name?” Sophia asked. “Tyran Max is president right now.” Ray asked how long a term was. Much to everyone’s amazement, the answer was ten years. Ray then asked what purpose the representatives served. “Their job is to make laws and submit them for approval to the president,” Vintage proudly responded. Jovius couldn’t help himself and smarted, “So they tell you what to do, too?” Everyone couldn’t help but laugh at this bitter truth.
If you like what you just read, you can find more of my writings for free on my blog. makingtheoligarchyobsolete.blogspot.com
You can get a paperback version @
http://www.lulu.com/shop/todd-borho/will/paperback/product-22837973.html