💾 Archived View for tilde.club › ~filip › text › the_penitent › 002_no_consequences.gmi captured on 2022-07-16 at 14:03:22. Gemini links have been rewritten to link to archived content
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#### BEGIN TRANSMISSION #################################### It has been weeks since my great transgression. Right after I made the transmission, I was called to come to The Farms. A terrible malfunction they said - the irrigation system has stopped. My heart almost stopped as well. I was convinced this was a divine punishment for what I've done and is merely a sign of our imminent demise. It turned out the mal- function was no malfunction at all - a new hand has closed the main valve instead of the one he was told. It all lasted under an hour but I felt like I aged a good decade. That night I slept like a baby. However it was not the sleep of righteous but of those whose death was, through no action of theirs, postponed at the very last minute. I was still terrified of what might happen to us as a consequence of my transgression. Will I go to The Maker being responsible for death of thousands? For the death of all humanity?! I felt sick. I tried to ease my conscious by prayer. I couldn't go to confess - I'm certain The Priest would have ordered me dead the moment he heard me - but I attended all services. Mu sudden zealotry has not gone unnoticed and I realized I realized I was being looked at with great suspicion. As days passed without The Apocalypse in sight my fear slowly shifted it focus from heavenly to earthly things. I was now afraid I'll be found out and punished not by God but by The Priest, and the more I though about it, forgive me Lord for saying this, the latter seemed worse. Fortunately I thought of a solution that went charmingly well. I went to the conf- ession and told The Priest I was tormented by visions of The Master burning in Hell, being punished for taking pleasure in his work with the machines. I also confessed I sinned in the same way - I was fascinated by some machinery (I think I mentioned some contraption in The Engine Room) and diagnosed it without the apparent need. He liked what he heard so much that he gave me very little penitence and was happy thinking the only remaining Technician was a God-fearing man who does what he does purely out of duty. It seemed I have escaped punishment yet again. As days continue to pass I was calming down and started to return to more ration thought. Surely I panicked? I reacted out of superstition. God doesn't care about some dusty radio device. I've let The Priest's incessant preaching get to me. Looking at it from now I'm ashamed of how I carried myself. No matter, it is all "water under the bridge" as the ancient saying goes (I should look up what exactly is `the bridge`). A few days ago I convinced myself - there were no conse- quences because I did nothing wrong at all! I did not trans- gress God's Law, only a silly superstition of The Priests. I should keep exploring! I think I found a way to justify vis- thing The Hall of The Computer more often without raising much suspicion. I think I'll try to open The Database. The Master was vocal about it being something we can only use in the most dire circumstances but I'm sure it is just another lie forced upon us by The Priest. After all, he said the same think about the relics. And The Sacrifice is nowhere in sight I might as well continue "talking" with The Void. I cannot risk going to the confession anytime soon. This "con- versation" is all the talking I'll be able to do in the for- eseeable future. #### END TRANSMISSION ######################################