💾 Archived View for germination.systems › ~vidak › old-blog › 2010-10-23-rete-mirabile.gemini captured on 2022-04-28 at 17:51:56. Gemini links have been rewritten to link to archived content
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generator: pandoc
title: '2010-10-23-rete-mirabile'
viewport: 'width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0, user-scalable=yes'
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The gun shook in Sherpie's hand, and the Minister still cradled the
switch in his hands. The Minister looked at the window and then back and
Sherpie, and then moved to throw the switch.
"No!"
The Minister then seemed to remember the gun, furrowing his brow at the
floor.
"Don't do it Noska - don't do it, how can you do it Noska?"
"Well I just -"
"No you fool! We'll have all our lives to answer for this! Stop this
Noska - just let them have the damn mountain ranges, we - we'll just
give -"
"That's exactly what we can't do, Sherpie: we can't give them anything.
If they never listened to reason what would stop them from building up
and just starting up again later?"
Sherpie's face grew red and the gun drew lines in the air, Sherpie's
eyes beginning to stream in desperate frustration.
"Please Noska," Sherpie sobbed. "Just no - we can't do this."
"But we can," the Minister gestured with the switch.
"No!"
"This isn't about us."
"But that's the point Noska! This isn't about us! All the people, Noska
- think of all the people! And not just them but the way everyone else
will live; they won't be living! Everyone will exist like rats! What
have we got now! And what will happen after *all*Â of it ends? How do we
know we'll be better off? How can we risk living any more like slaves
than we -"
"But that's the *idea*," the Minister clenched the switch tighter.
Sherpie's eyes grew livid with fear. "But - but - bu-"
Sherpie stopped when he saw a shape in the doorway. The two by the
window were faced by Shrendig, rasping slightly. Everyone froze.
Shrendig seemed to look at Sherpie after a moment, and began to walk
towards the Minister's desk.
"No! No!" Sherpie pointed the gun at the soldier and she stopped in the
middle of the room. Pausing for a moment Shrendig retrieved a holstered
pistol and held it at her waist.
Sherpie's arm grew heavy from its extended extension, and it trailed
ever greater circles in the air with the gun, Sherpie's wrist at the end
impossible to tighten.
It was then when Shrendig shot Sherpie, and he crumbled faceless and
bloody at the Minister's feet. Shrendig reached over the room
impatiently to the Minister's hands and tightly clasped the switch
closed with the Minister's thumb.
The two seemed to grow weightless, and the room felt bigger. The sun
emerged from behind a cloud and harsh white light arrested the room,
colouring it ablaze with shadows.