The Impossible Death
It was a sort of epiphany, but unlike real epiphanies, she felt betrayed. To be more specific, on the realization of the truth, she felt a sharp stab in her chest. It made her stop for just one second. It made her ponder her entire existence and the existence of the people around her, walking idly in the street.
"Don't you think it's a bit cruel?" Ner asked.
"Cruel? Just because you don't do anything with yours..."
Ner interrupted, "I let them live, the way they want."
"Boring! You are just too afraid to do anything with them. No one will do anything to you. The empathy trials are long gone. Nobody cares about them anymore. Most of Endor don't even look at what they are doing. They are ours to do what we want with them. Everyone is looking at the new toy of the century. However, no matter how great and colorful, Elliria will never be as good of a game as them."
"It's because we abandoned them that they are falling apart. There are still those who care."
"Oh, you must mean the Knights of Empathy. Ugh. They make me want to puke!"
"They want what's right, what's just. We were entrusted with them by our elders."
"You mean our elders were dreadfully bored and decided to do something about it."
"The original manifesto explains it well. The elders wanted to contribute to the betterment of the universe. They wanted to create something that can be inspired and that can be driven," Ner insisted.
"They wanted pets that die.They were so peeved that we can't control how we are created, they wanted to control someone else. It wasn't about the betterment of the universe. Please!"
"Honestly, Nit, I don't know how you can be so devoid of empathy."
"We'll never know now, will we? We Endorians are not much better off then the Earthlings. We, also, don't know who created us, why we were created and why in this manner. Eternal life seems like such a severe punishment for a crime about which we know nothing."
"I believe in the spontaneous creation theory. We were a byproduct of the universe. No one created us."
"And you find solace in this theory?"
"You make it seem as if being alive is such a disastrous notion."
"It's not the alive bit that concerns me, it's the not dying bit. We have been around for thousands of Earthling years. We have watched generations of them annihilated and given life. We have resurrected their planet more times than our total population since spontaneous creation."
"We have abundance and sustainable living. We don't have to worry about providing or working, we can just enjoy living. How is this worse than them? They have to suffer to survive. We just do."
"We choose nothing. We can create nothing in our own world. With all the technology and abundance we have, we can't even leave our planet. Endor is a glorified prison. We eat and never get full, we drink and never get drunk. We can't create other Endorians, we can't have sex. We can't enjoy anything, but everything is so ample. We choose nothing. The only thing we can choose is how they live."
"I refuse to believe in your sad interpretation of life on Endor."
"Just as you refused to read the Book of Impossible Deaths."
"They are myths. Endorians who have tried to kill themselves have returned as monsters. You know what happens to them. Life here is not that bad."
"Yes, but none of them tried the way that is described in the book. They all hesitated. They weren't committed to the idea."
Ner remained unconvinced. They parted ways. Nit felt envious of his friend, being so accepting of his destiny. He wanted to be like him, tried so many times, but he failed every time. He just couldn't disguise reality. Either way, he had already made up his mind.
He was finally able to procure the mixture. He went to the unending stream, just like the book described, stripped to reveal his golden complexion. He dived beneath the crystal white water with the vial. He swam until he reached the cave of creation, the place where Endorians believe their planet was created. It was a tiny crawl place. He could barely fit his lanky body in the tiny cave. He grabbed the vial and put to his mouth, then pressed a button. The contents flooded out and filled his mouth. He then breathed in the water. The cave seemed to swirl around and Nit couldn't ascertain whether he was up or down. He finally drifted away.
When he came to, he could feel the ground beneath his body. He pushed himself off the ground. His vision was still blurry, but he could make out a figure coming towards him. The figure was now close and talking to him.
"A...You...M," was all he could make out. His ears screamed. He couldn't make out what was being said to him. He shook his head to aid his senses. He felt his chest rise in an unfamiliar way, and as something rushed inside him, he lost consciousness.
When he came to, he could feel something soft underneath him. His vision was better, but he couldn't recognize anything around him. It felt familiar, but his brain refused to work. He stretched his hand, something was tied to it, and his hand didn't look quite right.
"Finally, you are awake," he heard someone say. It was a small figure, dressed in white.
"How do you feel?" the figure asked.
"I am..." he stopped. His voice was weird and the language he was speaking wasn't Endorian.
"It's OK. A lot of patients who lose consciousness are perplexed in the beginning. Just take a couple of deep breaths," the figure instructed.
Nit did that. He felt better, but also different. There were so many things going through him, he couldn't quite understand what was happening.
"Sarah," the figure said, "stay with me." The figure snapped its finger before Nit's face.
It all came back to him. It worked. He remembered everything.
Suddenly, there was noise coming from his side.
"Sarah, your heartbeat is bit erratic. Try to calm down. Remember to breathe."
Nit never had to breathe before. He took a breath. It felt weird.
"Good. Do you know where you are?"
"Yes," Nit said, cheerfully, "Earth!"
"Don't you think it's a bit cruel?" Ner asked.
"Cruel? Just because you don't do anything with yours..."
Ner interrupted, "I let them live, the way they want."
"Boring! You are just too afraid to do anything with them. No one will do anything to you. The empathy trials are long gone. Nobody cares about them anymore. Most of Endor don't even look at what they are doing. They are ours to do what we want with them. Everyone is looking at the new toy of the century. However, no matter how great and colorful, Elliria will never be as good of a game as them."
"It's because we abandoned them that they are falling apart. There are still those who care."
"Oh, you must mean the Knights of Empathy. Ugh. They make me want to puke!"
"They want what's right, what's just. We were entrusted with them by our elders."
"You mean our elders were dreadfully bored and decided to do something about it."
"The original manifesto explains it well. The elders wanted to contribute to the betterment of the universe. They wanted to create something that can be inspired and that can be driven," Ner insisted.
"They wanted pets that die.They were so peeved that we can't control how we are created, they wanted to control someone else. It wasn't about the betterment of the universe. Please!"
"Honestly, Nit, I don't know how you can be so devoid of empathy."
"We'll never know now, will we? We Endorians are not much better off then the Earthlings. We, also, don't know who created us, why we were created and why in this manner. Eternal life seems like such a severe punishment for a crime about which we know nothing."
"I believe in the spontaneous creation theory. We were a byproduct of the universe. No one created us."
"And you find solace in this theory?"
"You make it seem as if being alive is such a disastrous notion."
"It's not the alive bit that concerns me, it's the not dying bit. We have been around for thousands of Earthling years. We have watched generations of them annihilated and given life. We have resurrected their planet more times than our total population since spontaneous creation."
"We have abundance and sustainable living. We don't have to worry about providing or working, we can just enjoy living. How is this worse than them? They have to suffer to survive. We just do."
"We choose nothing. We can create nothing in our own world. With all the technology and abundance we have, we can't even leave our planet. Endor is a glorified prison. We eat and never get full, we drink and never get drunk. We can't create other Endorians, we can't have sex. We can't enjoy anything, but everything is so ample. We choose nothing. The only thing we can choose is how they live."
"I refuse to believe in your sad interpretation of life on Endor."
"Just as you refused to read the Book of Impossible Deaths."
"They are myths. Endorians who have tried to kill themselves have returned as monsters. You know what happens to them. Life here is not that bad."
"Yes, but none of them tried the way that is described in the book. They all hesitated. They weren't committed to the idea."
Ner remained unconvinced. They parted ways. Nit felt envious of his friend, being so accepting of his destiny. He wanted to be like him, tried so many times, but he failed every time. He just couldn't disguise reality. Either way, he had already made up his mind.
He was finally able to procure the mixture. He went to the unending stream, just like the book described, stripped to reveal his golden complexion. He dived beneath the crystal white water with the vial. He swam until he reached the cave of creation, the place where Endorians believe their planet was created. It was a tiny crawl place. He could barely fit his lanky body in the tiny cave. He grabbed the vial and put to his mouth, then pressed a button. The contents flooded out and filled his mouth. He then breathed in the water. The cave seemed to swirl around and Nit couldn't ascertain whether he was up or down. He finally drifted away.
When he came to, he could feel the ground beneath his body. He pushed himself off the ground. His vision was still blurry, but he could make out a figure coming towards him. The figure was now close and talking to him.
"A...You...M," was all he could make out. His ears screamed. He couldn't make out what was being said to him. He shook his head to aid his senses. He felt his chest rise in an unfamiliar way, and as something rushed inside him, he lost consciousness.
When he came to, he could feel something soft underneath him. His vision was better, but he couldn't recognize anything around him. It felt familiar, but his brain refused to work. He stretched his hand, something was tied to it, and his hand didn't look quite right.
"Finally, you are awake," he heard someone say. It was a small figure, dressed in white.
"How do you feel?" the figure asked.
"I am..." he stopped. His voice was weird and the language he was speaking wasn't Endorian.
"It's OK. A lot of patients who lose consciousness are perplexed in the beginning. Just take a couple of deep breaths," the figure instructed.
Nit did that. He felt better, but also different. There were so many things going through him, he couldn't quite understand what was happening.
"Sarah," the figure said, "stay with me." The figure snapped its finger before Nit's face.
It all came back to him. It worked. He remembered everything.
Suddenly, there was noise coming from his side.
"Sarah, your heartbeat is bit erratic. Try to calm down. Remember to breathe."
Nit never had to breathe before. He took a breath. It felt weird.
"Good. Do you know where you are?"
"Yes," Nit said, cheerfully, "Earth!"
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