>>5978416“...conquered the world.” Professor Eszter did not return your knowing glance. Strange, you had always remembered his staunch atheism, no, antitheism. How he used to launch into rants against religion and spirituality when you had just wanted him to look over a paragraph in your honour thesis. “The late Mrs Thornton, peace be upon her soul, was indeed the salt, the yeast of our community. Her whole life could be gathered into two words: reaching out...”
“And so just as the last Adam's life is not an exception but the blueprint, so is his Resurrection not merely a historical accident, confined by time, but indeed points inexorably forward to our eventual reunion with the Lord, for all eternity... Amen.” Only half of the Credo could be dredged in time, forcing you to fill in the rest with lullaby vowels. You took in another view of the park. This time something stuck out.
On the edge, where green meets gray, two men stood statuette, defined less by their own lack of movement but rather by the movement all around them. Over their heads, a massive golf umbrella blocked out the mild reflected sunlight. The one encased in business suit and tie looked strangely familiar, and it is he who attracted all your attention then. But now, looking back, the other man holding the umbrella was perhaps interesting in his own right. His military uniform bore a striking similarity to Directorate colours, and his face, his face-
Shave the moustache, fill in the creases, paper over the age spots, could it be? You open your eyes. Yes, it is. Straight out of that park, sitting right across from you, still awaiting an answer. “Memory. They are all barren rocks to me. What did he see worth dying for?”
He turned aside and started cursing, “Six men died, and for fucking what? A soul search. Touching union, ain't it, made on top of bones!” Silas impatiently coughed, “Johnson, let me remind you that it was those men who tied their own knots. If we didn't strangle them, the Naval Court will do it for us anyway. Discipline is the strength of the Navy.”
The aluminium table shuddered and strained under the full fury of Tim's fist. “That is Not. The. Point. Those men deserved to be heard. To have one final chance to defend themselves. Without rights, without freedom, we are no better than the Qyngurs. In fact, seeing the current state of this damn Directorate,” he channelled the remains of his fury into one last push, “We might as well...” Still not enough.
So that is what this all boiled down to. Tim's sister lost her job due to an extrajudicial decision. The mutineers lost their lives on the same account. How could you not have seen the parallels earlier. Softly, insistently, someone knocks on the door. Must be Frank returning from his raid behind enemy lines.
