by Thomas Duffy
“I think the next question could be one that will help us understand you. If you could only save one life whose would it be? Your son's or your ex-wife's?”
“Don't ask me that. That's so unfair.”
“Choose. Choose one and tell us more before the extra credit questions are unleashed. You have to pick one. You cannot use the answer of both. You can only save one life.”
“My ex-wife. I would save her life.”
“Why? What about your son?”
“I think if I let my son die, he would be protected from the knowledge he would learn if he were to grow into an older man. I think Leonardo should die pure in knowledge. Pure in heart. My ex-wife has been through the same lies that I have. Therefore, she knows the bullshit and can somehow accept it. I don't know how she does it but she does. I would choose her life because it is a life that manages to believe all human life has value despite the piles of lies we were told when we younger. Leonardo doesn't have to know how dishonest the world is and how pathetic it is, if I let him die.”
Chapter Forty
“We have some incredibly complex answers here tonight, ladies and gentleman watching at home,” Joe said as he looked at the screen of a tiny camera on a phone situated in front of Finn.
Finn was having a hard time understanding the point of the questions being asked to him. He asked Joe for a glass of water. When Geoffrey brought over a bottled water to Finn per Joe's request, he looked Finn in the eye. Geoffrey was impressed by how tough Finn seemed on the exterior despite all the pain and madness that must have been going on inside his mind.
“It's up to you, Finn. Can you handle the extra credit or should we just score you now?”
“Joe. I want the extra credit and you know it.”
“OK. Extra credit question #1.”
“Weren't there supposed to be more questions in the initial interview? How are we ready for the extra credit so fast?”
“There were more questions but we've scratched some of them since they touch on topics we've already heard you discuss. The last thing we want to do is bore the upper classes with the mundane.”
“I see. What's the extra credit question?”
“Finn. Why do you continue to function with such passion and intensity? Especially when you know the outcome of your fate is most definitely a dire one.”
“That's an easy one, Joe. I want to make my stamp on the world. I want people to know I was here and that I didn't give up as easily as they thought I may have given up. I know people doubted my ability to handle what would have happened if I had interacted with my son. I would never have told my son about the separation laws. I would have simply sat with him for a moment or two which he probably would have forgotten long before he grew to the age where he would learn the truth regarding the separation laws. The joke's on all of you for being the paranoid mother fuckers that you are.”
“I resent that. We're protective of our laws. We want to assure that nobody messes with the rules and changes something that doesn't need changing. That's why we acted on your choice to try to make contact with your son,” Joe said.
“Really, Joe? Is that your opinion?”
“No. It's my dad's. He just typed me what I was saying as I was saying it. In my humble opinion, I think you're too mentally unfit to be a good father. Many great men suffered from mental instability. There's no denying there's a great man within you but it's certainly not the type of man we want in the world taking dangerous risks that could cost us our credibility and our civilization as we know it.”
“That's where you're wrong. I am not mentally unfit. I am mentally fit. Mentally sound is the way you describe somebody who questions the world around them and doesn't accept the deceit, the lies and the bullshit as it is dispersed in the world in which we live.”
“I'm glad you think so. I see a person like that as suicidal.”
“How many more extra credit questions are there?”
“Two more. No scratch that. One more. We have one final question for you, Finn. Do you accept the challenge of answering the most intriguing question of all?”
“Yes, Joe. I do.”
“What do you think the world would have been like for Angela if you were never in it?”
“It would have been horrible. She never would have met a man who was her intellectual equal and would have suffered a life without true love. Without romantic love. Without passionate sex. Our life which we had together was fantastic despite our eventual separation. I feel this whole situation I find myself in now has prepared me to realize how much Angela and I were actually soul mates. I think I speak for Angela too when I say we were soul mates. We were two people who loved each other and were manipulated by the world we were born into. It's the world that hurt our relationship more than anything else. It was that our love for each other was too pure and that purity was destroyed by the fabric of the deceit that was thrust upon us. Shame on you, world. Shame on you, separation laws.”
“You are most definitely a risk taker. You've taken risks with the answers to your questions. You're a well-intentioned human being who sadly doesn't know when to put a sock in it. You run your trap speaking what's going through your head with no idea of how the consequences are going to destroy you. My friend, you are the problem with the world today. People like you. No. Just you. Nobody else is as stupid as you. Point blank.”
“I thought you said at one point that I was intelligent.”
“That's the whole complexity of it. You're half stupid, and half smart. It's unlike anything we've ever encountered. A dumb ass genius who needs to learn the consequences of his actions.”
“What are the consequences? Because I'm sick of this bullshit. I'm mad. I'm pissed. I'm fed up. I'm so sick and tired. And I'm not going to take the bullshit much longer. I'm exhausted.”
“Why do you think you studied so hard as a young man?”
“So I could survive.”
“But what you're doing now is completely the opposite of surviving. You're killing yourself through the words you are speaking. It's so unfair to yourself. It's so not just what you are doing.”
“I thought I was going to survive in a fair world when I was a young man. This is anything but a fair world.”
“Life's not fair. A lesson I think most human beings comprehended when they were six years old.”
“Life was fair at six years old. Despite the minor lies which we didn't know were being told to us, it seemed fair. Life. Take away the separation laws, we had our innocence. Having our innocence was kind of fair. At least I think it was.”
“Our viewers are in the process of making a decision as to what will become of you, Finn. Please stand by as results are tabulated and choices are made.”
For a few moments, there was dead silence as everybody in the house was interested in what their elders were going to decide regarding Finn's fate. Joe saw a message come in to his phone. As he read it, he knew the results were quite interesting. It was a decision he was surprised his elders made.
“What's the verdict, Joe?”
“This is quite interesting. Have you heard the story of Jesus Christ, Finn?”
“Why? I think you know they taught us about him at some point.”
“Well. I wouldn't know what was taught to common folk. I think you're going to get a chance to follow in Christ's footsteps from what I'm reading on my messages.”
“I'm going to die and see if he's waiting?”
“Even better. For our viewing pleasure, you are going to be crucified.”
“Define that word. Crucified.”
“Put to death the old-fashioned way.”
“Why the old-fashioned way? Why not just put a bullet in my head?”
“You've earned the death you will receive. It's not by gun, not by hanging, not by injection, it's crucifixion. I have nothing to do with that. Our viewing score have been tabulated and the decision has been made. You're officially the legend nobody will ever know about except us. Geoffrey
get two wooden boards from the basement.”
“Are you sure? Do we even have them? Isn't this a little harsh?”
“Geoffrey, stop feeling sorry for this piece of shit. He doesn't understand the concept of shutting the fuck up and, unanimously, it has been decided that Finn will pay for his actions in the worst way possible.”
“Was nothing I said even worth saying in the interview?”
“Nothing made the viewers ultimately feel any sympathy for you. They may have understood why you felt the way you did but, let's face it, the viewers don't want to sacrifice their cushy lifestyles to embrace the views of some raving lunatic.”
“Joe. I'm very disappointed.”
“I think that you had it all, Finn. All the things the common man could have and you blew them. You let them slide through your fingers.”
Chapter Forty-One
Finn was pondering the thought of an actual crucifixion as Geoffrey was in the basement looking for wooden boards. Anna was starting at Finn and wondering if this was all going to happen in the very home they were currently in. Anna saw a tear in Finn's left eye. She could tell he was sorry for what he had done wrong even though she knew Finn would probably never admit how wrong he was in trying to contact Leonardo.
As thoughts of Angela saturated his mind, Finn sat still on the sofa afraid of what was to become of him. He knew he had come to a pivotal time in his life where he would have to face his fate but he was never more afraid in his whole life. Jenny's eyes looked over at Joe then back to Finn.
“Shouldn't he take his suit off, Joe?”
“Why do you say that, Jenny?”
“He's going to be given the fate of Jesus Christ. No cause for celebration there unless he's a God and is going to rise from the dead. We all know that's not really going to happen. Let him die comfortably.”
“Take your jacket off, Finn. Do like she tells you while I find out the logistics of this fate you're about to endure,” Joe said.
“Can't I teach you calculus before I die?”
“Stop the shit, Finn. That subject is useless in the real world. At least for us anyway.”
“But, Jenny. It's not. There is true value in mathematics. True need. I can show you how to use it practically.”
“We're not interested. You can't sell us anything, Finn.”
“Jenny, you remind me of my wife, Angela.”
“You mean your ex-wife, Angela?”
“She's my wife. Humor me for now, please. Give me the benefit so I can die knowing that I wasn't a complete loser in life.”
“You're losing pretty big now, Finn,” Joe stated.
“I can't find board to crucify Finn on. I'm sorry,” Geoffrey said as he came back to the main room of the house.
“Let the man sleep. I've been told our folks are sending supplies via overnight delivery. Finn, you lucky bastard. You're going to get another night's sleep before you meet your fate.”
“Thank you for that. I want to dream of my wife a little more. I miss her so much. Any chance of seeing her again?”
“We're past that point in your life. You're at death's door now.”
“Can I call her? Just once. Please, Joe?”
“Absolutely not. She's functioning back in the real world. She knows about your fate but can't do anything about it because if she opens her mouth, a worse fate would await her. She's trying to move on like nothing ever happened. Give the poor woman a break. Oh, Finn, did you ever do anything right in your life for all your book smarts?”
“Angela was what I did right.”
“But, you divorced her. You even fucked that up.”
“I know. I know, Joe. I did. Big time.”
“Get ready for the last full night's sleep of your life, Finn. It's a gift. Enjoy it. Dream well.”
“Thanks Joe,” Finn said as he put his head down on a pillow in the small bed in the room he was directed to which had no windows. Joe locked the door as he went down the hallway to sleep in his own room.
Finn found himself falling asleep in a matter of moments. He was so frightened but so exhausted. He was in need of seeing Angela. He wondered what his life could have been like if he knew Leonardo as an older man. Finn wondered about his own parents and the lack of respect he felt he had given them during his life. Finn realized now that a parent's love for a child is strong and unconditional. Finn didn't do much for his son as far as he was concerned. Finn knew he was simply the biological father of a child in a society where educators raise other people's children. Finn knew that he provided his son with intelligence. Finn found that quality the most important one he knew that both he and his son possessed.
His dream during the time he slept consisted of another evening on a date with Angela. A date which never happened. A perfect date. A date where intelligent topics were discussed such as the meaning of life and what each other's pet peeves were. This time felt longer than it actually lasted. Finn enjoyed being in a dreaming state for as long as he possibly could.
When he finally awoke, he saw Geoffrey nailing two piece of wood together in the shape of a cross. Joe was sleeping on the couch and the two teenage girls were seated at the breakfast table enjoying pancakes. Finn was considering trying to run away from this house. He figured that even though he had nowhere to go, it would be more admirable to at least try to save his life.
“It's nice to see you awake again,” Geoffrey said as he continued nailing together a large cross which Finn was going to be hung on.
“How many days do I have left?”
“This is your last day. We will have a breakfast, a lunch and then the last supper before your crucifixion.”
“Geoffrey, don't you feel a little embarrassed trying to put together a cross. Jesus Christ was from a time so long ago. I don't even think what you're doing has any relevance in modern society today.”
“I am just doing what I've been told from my elders.”
“Your elders? Or your family?”
“Both, actually.”
“Do I get to have any of those pancakes the girls have on the table over there?”
“Of course. If you want pancakes. They're kind of low scale for a last breakfast though. We were thinking something more noteworthy for your final breakfast.”
“I don't think it's good to be hung on a cross on a full stomach.”
“I don't believe you'll be up there too long. Joe will probably put a bullet in your head after we've made the example out of you that we're trying to make.”
Chapter Forty-Two
Hours passed. Finn soon found it time to eat lunch but could hardly eat any of the things that were offered to him by the teenagers. Finn demanded that the teenagers go get him fast food or a chicken cutlet hero somewhere.
“There's no fast food in our world. Sure, there is “fast” food but not that junk that the common people eat. It's officially been proven that shit food takes 10 years off the average life,” Joe said.
“I just want to enjoy my last lunch, damn it!”
“Shut up, Finn and eat a slice of pizza, have a bowl of soup. There are plenty of options we've given you.”
“I think it's funny you guys would put a Ramen noodle soup on the menu of a man who is being condemned to death,” Finn said after looking at the seemingly available options.
“That's our Ramen noodle soup. You can't have it. That's how we stay thin and how we eat when we're not hungry,” Jenny said.
“I think that interview that was conducted was total bullshit. I want another interview.”
“Get real. You're unbelievable, Finn. You were asked, you answered, you were scored. That's the end of the story. Face the consequences of the actions you have acted upon which were so inappropriate they make us all sick at night.”
“Nicely put, Joe. They make you sick because they threaten your security, financial or otherwise.”
“You want to make it to the last supper? Because I can put you out of your misery right this very minute.”
�
��No, Joe. I'll shut up. Quiet I'll be. Because, quietly, I will face the fate that was decided on by you spoiled brats. No, I'm sorry. You “noble” teenagers who know shit about the real world.”
“Our parents and their colleagues decided your fate. Not us,” Jenny informed him.
“You could persuade them to stop what they're doing.”
“Actually, we can't. What is happening is happening for the good of society. Society needs to function successfully or there would be chaos. You create chaos. If you just solved your mathematical equations, you would have been OK. You had to be a hero. Heroes are made to be destroyed.”
“If that's true, Joe, then who is meant to survive?”
“People who play by the rules. People who do what they're told. People must obey the same way that dogs obey their masters. Unless you're wealthy enough, of course, to do otherwise. You could have been a contender, Finn.”
“But, now, I'm being hung on a cross.”
“I think the cross will be ready soon. I'm going to make sure Geoffrey has some nails. It's going to be brutal, Finn,” Joe said.
“I just want my last supper and then you can do what you have to do to me.”
“We've decided on a meal for you, Finn,” Jenny said.
“What have you chosen for me?”
“A meal which would have something poisonous in it but taste absolutely scrumptious going down so you can leave us easily. We don't want to see you suffer.”
“Thanks, Jenny. I appreciate that. I do have one question, guys. It's about Angela. If she knows about the truth, then why is she allowed to live and not me?”
“Angela knows but so much. She knows a little. She doesn't know everything. If she did, we couldn't allow her to live either. We wanted you to know everything because, let's face it, you have a pair of balls on you that Angela could never have.”
“I see, Joe. But, this makes so little sense to me. What about Leonardo? Will he ever know anything about his parents?”
“I thought we covered this already. Leonardo will probably never know about the separation. He'll probably never learn of the opposite sex and he'll never procreate and I think that's a good thing.”