In the Next Life, Canto III, stanzas 345-349

As he had ordered, so did she obey,
and when he motioned her to take the helm,
she did so, finding to her deep dismay
that even wordless, he could overwhelm.

While Esther kept the course they had begun,
an interval less lengthy than it seemed,
she watched as Ciral’s outlook came undone,
enchanted by the way his forehead gleamed.

When he at last looked up, the gleam had moved
into his eyes, and brightly he declared,
“Again I thank you, Esther, you’ve improved
the quarry that you thought you’d snared.

“I’m human, and I shall no more pretend
that I’m not subject to an inner tide.
It’s part of me, not something I can end
the way I waved away my weaker side.”

Another riddle. This time Esther guessed:
“So you’ll receive the Lord into your heart?
You’re ready, just like that, to be so blest?”
She was ecstatic—this would be her start.

His laugh, though gentle, slipped between her ribs.
“Although I know why God is held so dear,
I can’t believe what I know to be fibs.
I shan’t pretend. Did I not make that clear?

“Your way of thinking wants to replicate.
As well mine does, and I’ll no longer fight
my nature. To be like you is my fate.
This, strangely, is more powerful than spite.

©2011 Louis A. Merrimac

In the Next Life, Canto III, stanzas 369-373

We need to cut this simple girl some slack.
Her teasing in all likelihood was meant
to throw her adversary off the track
so she could have more say which way they went.

To us, it’s obvious that would provoke
someone like Ciral into something rash.
Plus, there was the denial thing she spoke.
Again, his face showed an internal clash.

A finger at each temple, eyes near shut,
he sharply shook his head to cut her off,
then whispered “Tell those things to follow, but
say nothing else until I’m through this trough.”

She felt the muscles in her chest constrict.
She thought of trying to retract the dare.
It would have mattered not. Something had clicked
when she had said he was within compare.

The situation had become so tense,
and Ciral so mysterious, so weird,
had she had hope of gaining influence
by charm or insult, it had disappeared.

©2011 Louis A. Merrimac

In the Next Life, Canto III, stanzas 365-368

“The question is ‘Why should I?’” he rejoined.
“Oh, I can see the urge to proselytize.
A clever phrase is worthless when it’s coined.
It gets its value when it multiplies.

“Like evolution, that procedure needs
something to function as its medium.
I shan’t go into genotypes and seeds.
Let’s just say the arrangement knows my thumb.”

“I’m sensing some resentment in your tone.
Are you perhaps reacting to the pull
by planting yourself firmly in a zone
where portions of your nature now are null?

“Or is it that you’re stretching things a bit?
Do you, in truth, expect me to accept
your word that you can make all persons quit
producing kids? I think you’ve overstepped.”

©2011 Louis A. Merrimac

In the Next Life, Canto III, stanzas 361-364

“I guess you could say it’s a handicap
possessing total objectivity.
You normals are protected by the crap
that filters much of what you hear and see.

“As much as I enjoy this potency,
and really don’t consider it a fault,
it’s scary to imagine more like me.
We’d bring the human species to a halt.

“That will not ever happen; don’t you fret.
I’ve no desire to spread this little germ.
Your people may continue to beget
more carriers of genes (excuse the term).”

“Why not?” asked Esther. “You have worked so hard
to make this. Now it’s out the window thrown?”
She knew that she was letting down her guard
by letting Ciral’s schemes become her own.

©2011 Louis A. Merrimac

In the Next Life, Canto III, stanzas 351-360

By this time he was thoughtful and subdued.
Then suddenly he raised a single brow.
“Enough of my world. You must think me rude.
Let’s talk about life on the inside now.”

“It’s not like that at all; we don’t feel trapped.”
She was unsure of how much to reveal.
She had no secrets, but this guy was apt
to bend her words to fit his crazy spiel.

“We live for God; our hope lies in his grace.
And after that, the Mission,” she explained.
“If we must go, it’s to a better place.
As chosen ones, our rank is preordained.”

When asked how she was chosen, and by whom,
she said her ancestors had volunteered.
“The tubes, however, had but little room.
The founders picked them as the comet neared.”

“This mission that you mentioned—what’s the scoop?
These founders must have forked out lots of cash
just to provide your forebears with a coop.
There wasn’t that much warning of the crash.”

“Society gave them the wherewithal
to start the Mission, and they could predict
that something bad would come—if not that ball,
God’s punishment would have been just as strict.

“The Mission is the reason we’re confined.
The goal was not to save our mortal blood.
The founders were among those left behind
when these arks disappeared beneath the flood.

“We have been charged with keeping lit the flame
of Western culture, that it may be spread
when Earth is ready. That’s our Mission’s aim.
For that the carriers and we were bred.

“The founders by their sacrifice inspired
each generation afterward to keep
the wisdom from the one before acquired.
It will be ready when we make the leap.

“Is it not you who cannot comprehend
a meaning much beyond your puny soul?
With no philosophy that can transcend your skin,
how can you question any others’ goal?”

©2011 Louis A. Merrimac

In the Next Life, Canto III, stanzas 350-356

“More than a clue I claim, and more than close.
You see, that knowledge gap is self-imposed.
It’s really an addiction; the first dose
is given early; then your mind is closed.

“No matter what the culture, minds are weak.
The inability to question rules,
except where I grew up, and that’s a freak.
That works because those folks are total fools.

“Okay, that’s not quite true: I was conceived
because my mother’s options had no range.
With very valid reason, she believed
expiry was the only type of change.

“But then she and her daughter with me fled.
If they had stayed, they would have had more still.
The women of that place are worse than dead
if they attempt to exercise their will.

“By now, some others will have learned to fly.
They’ve learned they can avoid the risk and pain.
To leave is risky, too, I shan’t deny—
perhaps the like of that if they remain.

“The men, to keep their breeding pool intact,
will have tried very keenly to persuade
the women to stay home, and by this act,
those more persuadable are those who’ve stayed.

“A selfish, independent woman might
survive a lengthy time out in the wild,
or she might last no more than overnight,
but either way, she’ll never have a child.”

Breeding pool: Why would the men care about the breeding pool? At this level, aren’t we just talking about sex?

©2011 Louis A. Merrimac

In the Next Life, Canto III, stanzas 345-349

His smile spread out. “You’re puzzled, for you can’t
allow yourself to see what’s manifest.
Like humans all through time, you need to chant
a mantra that must not be put to test.

“This contradiction had to be instilled
before your infant mind learned how to think,
for if it hadn’t, you would see what spilled,
and you would never tolerate the stink.

“Your children will be selfish as they’re born.
They’ll stay that way until made otherwise.
They’ll learn real soon they can’t have all the corn.
It’s part of what we call ‘to socialize’.

“All higher animals will do that much.
They show their offspring limits to their reach.
We humans have to add an extra touch.
Now I know why. Dear Esther, you’re a peach!”

That fuzzy, fleshy fruit, while flattered, felt
herself disturbed by what he said he knew.
“God lets you see no cards but what you’re dealt.
You come too close to claiming you’ve a clue.”

©2011 Louis A. Merrimac