Saturday, April 10, 2010

In the Next Life, Canto I, stanzas 90-93

Okay, now you’re in charge of those who guard
the systems that deliver things up high.
Quite suddenly, your task has gotten hard.
This is the most important thing to fly.

You’re not expecting sabotage, of course;
your chief concern is theft of isotopes.
A lunatic would not know how to force
the failure of a job like this (one hopes).

So here you are: The launch is in a week.
Tomorrow the uranium arrives.
A bunch of nuts comes swimming up the creek,
equipped with wire snips and pocket knives.

They’re brought before you, heretofore unhurt.
They’re frightened, yet determined not to cry.
Beneath each wetsuit is a printed shirt
“The world will end real soon, and you may die”.


©2010 Louis A. Merrimac

Now you’re in charge: And now we’re back in the second person, but the reader is an actual character and no longer sympathetic to the founders. It’s no wonder people get confused by this passage.
A lunatic would not know: And the authorities would assume that a sane person would have no incentive to commit such a crime. This reinforces the impression that the founders are responsible for what follows.
“…you may die”: I obtained a pamphlet with a title similar to this from a deprogrammed Subgenius.

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