Prisoners of Paradise

by Brandon Lars Erikson

  “Ya know…” Tavin said as he twiddled this thumbs, “I’m really not interested in politics…never have been and I really don’t understand any of this shit they are talking about…”

  “Hush,” Cindy said as she put her hand on his arm, “I want to hear this…The Evil is the only connection we have with what is really happening out there…all the other television programs are under the control of the propaganda machine.”

  “Wow,” Tavin smiled and said, “look at you, all educated n’ such. I like a girl with a brain.”

  “Be quite, I need to hear this.”

  The voice from the computer became a bit more firm and almost angry as it said, “The only thing our government has done is help the pseudo-capitalists create a form of economic tyranny. In a society run under pure Capitalist principles, the government would not have given financial or legislative assistance to large corporations claiming that they were too big to fail. Our Moralist High Senators have been making laws under the false pretense that on Ailana, anyone, who is motivated to succeed, will succeed as long as they stand on their own merits. Only those who are already wealthy and politically connected currently succeed on Ailana. Our current government allows for laws and policies to exist that allow big corporations to take advantage of its citizens and act in an immoral and dishonest fashion while they pass off what they are doing as creating a pro-business environment! Capitalism is supposed to be an honest system, and there is no honesty in using your fellow man as a means to gain wealth. Forcing honest people, who only wish to work for a living, to accept low wages and meaningless work that does not give someone the ability to provide for their basic humanoid needs or spiritual fulfillment is not moral. Threatening to fire people if they object to poor working conditions is not honest…cutting their pay and their benefits and then using your power to create an economic system full fear and frustration does not create a moral society. This world should not belong to the wealthy, who claim that they are doing something good for everyone, when in fact they are doing something that is morally wrong, simply because they are only out to benefit themselves! Using your fellow men and women as a means to make yourself rich and comfortable is not acceptable if you conduct your business in a manner that makes the people you share this world with poor and uncomfortable…the humans and native people of this plant deserve better. We can create a world where everyone is rich and comfortable if we just accept the fact that the status quo is simply wrong and then pursue the means to make our world a better place!”

  Tavin joked as he said, “Well, I am in here because I was motivated…I got up real early one morning and started hacking into peoples’ bank accounts. Hey, I did it because I was poor and in need.”

  “Then that makes you a thief,” Cindy said quietly.

  “You have no idea why I am really here, do you, my dear, sweet girl?”

  “Thou shalt not steal…thou shalt not lie, cheat or steal in order to make your way in the world…you broke those Moralist Commandments and that’s why you are in here.”

  “My dear Cindy, you have no idea what I went through to achieve this position within the government. You have no idea…of the true extent of the sins, that were committed, so that I might be cursed…and blessed…with this life I now lead…what you and Captain Kalapana don’t realize is that I’m actually here for a very good reason…”

  Tavin smirked to himself as he felt his mind working differently. His thoughts were becoming happy, yet dark as he said, “like they said…you’re not considered a thief if you’re rich enough to have a lobbyist making sure you have the right High Senator on your side. At the time, I couldn’t afford to donate to the winning political candidate. So I guess that, was what put me here.”

  Cindy just sat there for a moment, listless, yet stoic. “I’m just saying and all,” she reluctantly tried to maintain eye contact with him. “There is something about this guy…I just can’t put my foot on it…but there is definitely something going on in this guy’s head…”

  Tavin smiled, yet managed to ignore her piercing stare while he heard the dissident reporter’s voice. The man, who was giving The Evil’s speech, had a coy tone of voice as he said, “Ever since The Alliance came to Ailana, we have been ruled by, and subjected to, the will of people who claimed to be champions of entrepreneurship. They claimed to be Objectivists. They would go on to tell us that real freedom involves taking personal responsibility for one’s life and not expecting their fellow men and women to support them…these people have deceived us like a wolf in sheep’s clothing. For nearly a century, we have had leaders, who have vilified Immorals, saying that they live as parasites, who only to live off the efforts and affections of their fellow man. Our leaders tell us that those, who are immoral, prey upon and use their fellow man as a means to an end. It doesn’t take much to realize that those, who call themselves Moralists, are at the very least, the most guilty of such immoral behavior…when corporations rely on bailout money, corporate welfare, tax loopholes and a government who stacks the deck in their favor…they are nothing more than second hand people, they are parasites and they do nothing to advance everyone who lives within the society that they exploit for their own selfish means.”

  “Speak the truth…we are tired of all these lies…”

  “Our bullshit filters are getting pretty full of this crap…”

  The young man’s voice was passionate as he said, “Good citizens of Ailana, you have to believe us…these people are destroying this planet and its people. Our government kept us in line while they allowed large banks and corporations to enslave us with debt. The pseudo-capitalists own us because they gave us credit cards and good paying jobs once…and then they took away the jobs…but insisted that we keep the credit cards”

  Cindy and Tavin both sat frozen with confusion and fear as their thoughts became a tsunami of torment.

  “They took away my job…”

  “They took away my credit card and told me that I still had to pay the bill…even though I had no money…

  “…cause I ain’t got no job…”

  “They sent me to prison…”

  “…that’s why I work here now…”

  “Damn it! What the hell did I do to my life?”

  “Is this my fault? Am I in jail for being in debt?”

  The young man’s passionate voice touched them both as he said, “A true entrepreneur is an Objectivist, as well as a Capitalist…and the true Capitalists have a moral code. There are truly moral corporations operating within our galaxy, please don’t get us wrong…but on Ailana, we have been plagued with financial institutions and industries that misused the government’s financial and legislative support to enrich stockholders and once the shoddy loans and investment schemes caused the bubble to burst, taxpayers of Ailana have had to foot the bill for the bailouts and suffer from the loss of employment and financial stability…”

  “…the bastards…”

  “…a true democracy…led by truly moral people, and a democracy, with true Capitalism, would not have corporations and individuals, who scheme with a government, in order to rid the playing field of potential competition or to enrich themselves. A truly moral government would not allow someone to conduct their business in a manner that steals from people and degrades the environment which everyone must have for their personal benefit. A truly moral government would not allow banks and corporations to create poverty and social distress just so that the government can claim it gives its Capitalists the freedom to conduct business. Good people of Ailana, you must realize what is happening on our planet! We have people here with power and money, who claim to be moral, while they do things that are immoral! We have people in our government, who claim to be operating with the interests of everyone in mind, while they secretly make deals only meant to serve their own self-interests!”

  “Ya know,” Tavin said as he shook his head with disbelief. “I j
ust don’t understand anything these people are getting at…it seems that all they do is bitch and moan about things that are completely out of our control. I mean, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer…that’s just the way it is. Am I right?”

  “It doesn’t have to be that way,” Cindy said as she appeared to be getting more comfortable in the modest chair. “If people live by a code of values…then life doesn’t have to be nasty, brutish and short…and despite what those Moralists tell you, one of the best ways a corporation can benefit a society is by paying taxes.”

  “Taxes? But that’s theft?” Tavin tried as hard as he could to not sound confused.

  “Taxes do not necessarily translate into money wasted by the government…taxes mean paychecks for teachers and money for school maintenance…all kinds of good social programs can be created when corporations pay taxes. The money they pay in taxes can be made up many times over when poor people are eventually able to get off welfare and make money for themselves. Welfare abuse is a bad thing but welfare and social programs more often create stable people, who have the education and means to either start their own business or go work for those tax paying corporations. Even better yet, corporations benefit greatly when people can afford to purchase their products and services. Taxes can make all that possible. Taxes become wasted money when they are used to punish people and keep them in prison. People in prison don’t work, they don’t buy products and services and most importantly of all…people in prison don’t pay taxes and don’t vote. The Moralists have been using the term selfish all wrong when it comes to taxes.”

  He wrinkled his forehead in confusion as he said, “So shouldn’t be selfish…and the reason why my ass landed in prison…was because I was selfish?”

  “No silly,” Cindy said as she patted his arm again.

  Tavin felt his heart racing with anticipation as a strange feeling of happiness spread through his body.

  Cindy gave him a kind look as she said, “There is a big difference in pursing your self-interests at the expense of others and being selfish. People think that a brute who robs, murders and steals to obtain his needs and desires does so out of selfish impulses. A truly selfish person lives by a code…one which says that their life does not belong to others…nor does anyone else’s life belong to them. You shouldn’t expect your fellow men and women to live solely for your benefit…like the way a slave has to live for its master…and thus, it is reasonable to expect such respect from your fellow men and women. A selfish person is interested in the pursuit of their own freedom and happiness…but doesn’t jeopardize someone else’s freedom in order to obtain those things…the point The Evil is trying to make is that we have corporations and politicians on this planet who are doing just that.”

  Tavin still appeared confused as he said, “So being selfish is good?”

  Cindy’s eyes glazed over as she said, “It can be…being selfish can lead to invention…it can lead to discovery…it can lead to a better way of doing things. Those that are forced to live for the sake of the group…those who become enslaved by their community…or those people, who can only obtain their self-esteem and sense of worth from being accepted by others, are often cut off from their ability to innovate and improve something…and now…I realize why I am here…”

  Tavin became suddenly interested, “I thought you were here because you got caught with illegal drugs and alcohol…I thought you were a booze-hound, who went through rehab here, and got a job in the morgue as part of your probation.”

  “I remember now…”

  Tavin looked confused as he said, “Remember what?”

  Cindy began to whisper and stare off into space as she said, “I remember what he told me…how he told me…that I was being placed here until I learned how to play nicely with others…he told me I was anti-social…he told me that I needed to recognize that there are things in this world more important than my desires and ambitions…”

  “Holy shit…this chick is crazy…and not only is that sexy…it might be useful later…”

  Tavin cleared his throat as he pushed a button on his keyboard which shut down the monitor, “I’m sorry Cindy…but we can’t get caught watching this…I mean porn is one thing, but if someone walks in here and we are watching something being put out by wanted revolutionaries…”

  Cindy didn’t look at him as she appeared to shutter as she said, “You’re right, Tavin…we need to be good…I don’t want him coming here…please, Tavin…don’t let him take me again…”

  “O.K…you’re starting to creep me out a bit, Cindy,” Tavin said as he changed the channel on the monitor, “How about some cartoons then?”

  Cindy exhaled and rubbed her eyes, “You’re actually a nice guy, Tavin…when I first met me…I mean, when I first met you…I used to think you were a complete and total tool. But I think I like you a lot better now…and sometimes, I feel like I used to be a whole other person before I started knowing you…I can tell that you are one of the good guys, Tavin. Some guys are jackasses…I mean…I would never date you, Tavin…”

  “Uh-huh…yeah. Right…I guess I don’t blame you for…”

  “But you are a really nice guy…”

  “A lot of people say that about me,” Tavin said with a smirk as his mind raced with much different thoughts, “And I bet you’re gonna love what I am going to do later…”

  Location: The Maka Kilo Apartment Building.

  Ailanian Standard Time: 0200 Hours.

  The man with the gray beard sat hunched over his small, cluttered desk, staring at his monitor. He felt a tear fall down his cheek as he saw himself speaking to a crowd of people. He remembered how sad he felt that day as he heard himself saying, “Jacob believed in many things that cannot be proven. Thus, to counter the rumors and misinformation he has helped to create, we have decided to discontinue our publication, and will from now encourage our fellow activists to follow only peaceful means to change what we believe is wrong with our world, and not go around spreading tales about how the Ailanian government wishes to become a totalitarian regime through mind control methods or by turning people into cyborgs, which would go against a treaty our government just helped ratify. We want to be truthful and honest while we help to bring about change.”

  The man with the gray beard felt his heart aching with fear as he heard the sound of his bedroom door being kicked in. He cringed as he heard the sound of metal being scraped against metal. He held his breath and closed his eyes as he slowly turned around on his chair. When he opened his eyes again, he felt his blood burning with fear as he found himself looking into the fiery, red eyes of a man dressed in black.

  “I suppose a deal is a deal,” The man with the gray beard said as he slowly stood up, appearing to surrender, knowing that these were his last moments of life. “I am one of those you seek…a Prisoner of Paradise…and I shall die so that others may someday wake up as see the truth. Please…make it quick…make it painless.”

  The man in black began to walk over to his tall, gray bearded target. He raised his fist and began to calculate where he would stick his blade, so that he could to honor his defenseless victim’s last request.

  “Ah hah!” The bearded man shouted as he pointed his fingers at his attacker.

  There was the sound of small, popping explosions.

  The man in black suddenly stopped as he realized that the bearded man had quickly raised his right hand and had extended his fingers towards him. At first, he thought nothing of it, no danger signs registered in his cyborg brain, until he realized that three tiny cables were shooting out of the bearded man’s fingertips.

  “HA!” The bearded man laughed as he saw his cables sticking into the face of his attacker. He then quickly pointed his other hand towards his computer and prayed as he shot another cable from his index finger and into a port in computer’s the LCE driver.

  The electricity coming from t
wo of the cables temporarily paralyzed the man in black as the other cable began to download all kinds of vital information from his brain’s digital processor. The information flowed from the man in black’s brain through the bearded man’s cranial computer system and directly into the computer on the cluttered desk.

  The bearded man felt a bit of electrical ecstasy as he saw digital images and encrypted messages, which revealed details about a secret plan to steal a bomb from The Military. He smiled as he saw the instructions someone would need to follow so that they could smuggle that bomb into the Kaiser Field Stadium.

  The man in black struggled with the paralysis the encrypted data was causing him.

  The man with the gray beard started to laugh as he saw the schematics someone else would need to follow in order to implant the detonator’s computer system with all kinds of information about another secret plan. His eyes lit up with hope as he realized this data could potentially be used as evidence for the acquittal of certain people, and the condemnation of others, if the information, which was now flowing through him, and making its way onto the Ailanian Wide Web, could end up in the right hands.