The GOD Box

by Melissa Horan

  …

  Before the war had come, a group rose up in America, with some counterparts in Europe. They threw their phones away, their computers… in essence they were battling for traditional communication. The idea was that they would be in a pop culture society, but would be encouraging better relationships by requiring people to contact them face to face. But it was hard. A flat world with connections everywhere meant that they had to give up many other relationships. It was like a religion, and some were dedicated to the cause but nearly went mad and some, the weaker sort, gave up after a week or two; after the zeal wore off. Everything they never saw or heard about life was not within their capability to cope with when they were left naked like that.

  …

  Gabe was preparing himself for what they might see this time around with flashbacks of each previous time; things that got better, and habits that slipped away.

  Four things had become Gabe’s criteria for a satisfactory society:

  Are opportunities equal among every race and gender? Was there any persecution or separation?

  Is there intentional and fair economic interaction?

  Is there a community participating in raising children into the workforce? (He was less concerned with formal education, because it would (1) come with the industrial growth, or (2) be rendered inert because of a successful informal education.)

  Lastly, what did they worship? (This last question is a curious one because it isn’t measurable like it should have been, but there was value in it.)

  Those four things suggested a level enough playing field. Who knew what would happen after all of those questions were answered acceptably. And then, should Jonathan and Gabe remain there to monitor that it kept up? Human nature was bound to mess up an imperfect system. But, if the system was perfect, could they, or would they want to mess it up? Would time erode the simplicity of the organization to fulfill the desire to search, to progress? Of course it would. It would have to change. As much as government liked to think that micromanaging was their job, it wasn’t, and Gabe had no desire to represent any type of government. Gabe wondered if he was truly willing to accept that eventual failure; that someone somewhere would step out of bounds.

  …

  The first time, naturally, they thought (or hoped) they would fix everything with the ‘proper’ government. One war; their first (of many), had begun over that issue. Luckily, so soon in the civilization (soon meaning the second week), they didn’t have any weapons. Unintelligent fighting with rocks and fists didn’t kill as many as it wearied. Despite the complaints of a few, they took a vote and ended up with a slightly altered version of democracy. Go figure.

  Second time, there were quite a bit fewer of them and so they banded together at the start. The group consisted of the less ambitious adults and their children; the ones who survived by being agreeable but still active. They attempted more of a communal beginning while they were small, having first daily, then weekly meetings as a full group. Once homes were started and irrigation planned, there began to be problems – mine-yours-ours issues. Some sort of judicial system was required. Within a few months it spiraled out of control – lines drawn literally and figuratively.

  Third time was rough. Per the previous system of dividing land and work, an oligarchy of sorts was formed. They became intensely stratified and stopped helping the idler of the groups, seeing them as a lower class, certain crops then failed because they didn’t have the help they needed. It became more intentional to have children to grant them the support they needed in the fields, which also became a sign of the stratification. The Fourth time Gabe and Jonathan were cloned and called upon, it was to assist in a war. They had become a notorious legend after they died without starting over; sought after for power. It made it easy to restart because there was already chaos. However, because they had lived longer as a society there were many more people. Several cities had been formed, so it became a matter of deception, and of being double agents.

  Gah! Distracting himself from reliving all of his deaths, which he was bound to do in these reminiscent moments, he turned back to Dane and May’s conversation. Dane had turned around and was walking backwards. Gabe tried to hurry up to catch a few points in their discussion, but it was short lived…

  “So…” Jonathan began loudly making it clear he wanted to say something “important”.

  He had the bad habit of talking too much when he was bored. Gabe wished he would just shut up. Who was Gabe kidding? Jonathan has no self-control for that kind of thing. So he started talking… Gabe was irritated because he was almost enjoying the conversation in front of him.

  Jonathan continued, “You wanted to know about us and why we did this, let’s see if I can paint a picture for you.”

  They already have a picture, Jonathan, and it looks like freaking Picasso.

  Gabe prayed he would be smarter than to start at the very beginning; that brought up too many questions. Even in the chapter of the book he skimmed they were questioning their origins, which did make him nervous but luckily it was so early and even in the book was such an offhand comment that they might be able to ultimately fabricate something in place, or make it unimportant. “Once upon a time there were hundreds of countries all over the world. Each country had their own governments – some of which took hundreds of years to formulate. Though, they were never really formulated, everyone was always trying to fix it.”

  “That sounds similar to something… but can’t put my finger on it.” Miek smirked.

  Jonathan continued as if he hadn’t heard, because didn’t care, “Democracy, Monarchy, Oligarchy, Dictatorships… economic ideas by our lifetime were only mixed economies and command economies.”

  “Question!” Miek clapped his hands together enthusiastically and waited for permission.

  “Yes?” Jonathan asked, terse that his monologue was interrupted again.

  “What do any and all of those words mean? Besides democracy, I mean. We have a democracy.”

  “Do you?” Gabe asked curiously and skeptically, though not expecting an answer.

  Jonathan lumbered on, “Well, the government wasn’t doing any good. They didn’t understand. People are only productions of their experiences, and their genetics. I was trying to explain that. But, they didn’t get it. Medicine hadn’t worked because it didn’t take into account individual memories and basic biology. People can be helped, but programs and welfare, and every other bloody invention to get people to be “better” wasn’t the solution. Here, have a pamphlet, call this number, go to this therapist! Bah! No. Change their memory. See, episodic memory can be changed. The hard part was the Semantic memory. A false memory isn’t strong enough to change facts and views of the world by itself.”

  May seemed contemplative but didn’t have a chance to speak before Jonathan was off again.

  “People began to see their memory like a book, or a movie; like a circumstance beyond their control. Plastic surgery for the brain, you know? Memories became less of who we are and more of why we are. ‘Whos’ can’t be changed, but ‘whys’ can be. Changed memories to change habits. Everyone wanted it. It wasn’t until poverty, joblessness, and rebellion broke out that this topic began to really matter to the population at large, and the government. People finally started to research it in-depth, well, I say started, that’s not true, I’d been researching for a long time …”

  And he kept going… and going…

  It was night time and nothing could be seen in the distance; had to have been near midnight. Even if they were going to find the town tonight they weren’t going to be able to see it. Gabe hated the darkness.

  Jonathan had said his fill finally and was not prepared for the questions and aghast comments after he was done. He thought he made plenty of sense…

  Gabe just thought that that’s what you get for blabbing a bunch of information before you really know much about the company you’re in. Serves him right and Gabe wasn’t going to help one bit. Gabe wasn’t a
ny less irate than Jonathan, he just actually possessed the skill to keep his mouth shut. Not to mention the few slip-ups that Jonathan had. These were bright kids, surely the said slip-ups didn’t go unnoticed. Gabe fumed silently for another half hour or so before May started to ask him questions.

  “Gabe, what was your family like?” Her warm voice drifted back like it belonged in the night air.

  “That topic won’t improve my mood.” Gabe said placidly. He didn’t like the night time, and was exerting all his energy to purge that from his mind.

  Then May was quiet. Gabe frowned and felt grumpy again.

  He was more out of breath than before. Maybe that’s why she stopped the interrogation. He wondered why they didn’t stop for water for the last several hours, but then realized how unsafe that would be. Wait, no it wouldn’t be dangerous… right? However, he now felt like he was going to pass out. The longest he’d spent on this continent at once was six months, and so still the habitat surprised him and he had to continually remind himself where he was. What he wouldn’t do for a glass of water from the tap right now. Why was he so damn old? His feeble body couldn’t take this.

  Samson made a comment about the stars to Dane from the back. Dane responded, “yeah, we’re almost there.”

  Miek was jumping up and down, “mm… water sounds so great right now!”

  His enthusiasm might have made Gabe chuckle if… well… it might have. Gabe checked his watch. It was nearing two in the morning. The tiredness of his body would have suggested later, and his vision would have suggested earlier. He was alarmed how well he could see. Repeated blinking didn’t give him any more clues as to whether his eyes had adjusted, or the moon was really that bright.

  They were coming up on the south-west side of the city. A few lights were on in the friendly-looking town. There was no organization of the housing layout and seemed that there were few recognizable land boundaries between them. All of the buildings were one story only, and most were the size of a master bedroom. Wow. Gabe thought, they finally figured it was easier to build for necessity. Impressive.

  A few minutes later in the moonlight they walked up to a house, and then passed it, walked to another one, passed it, then the third was bigger. It was the biggest house in the area and was mingled with all the smaller houses on an unordered semi-street. The doors of all the houses didn’t even face the same direction. A feeling of ease was in the air and it seemed to come from the lack of a housing association. This would have been a nightmare for twenty-second century real-estate. Dane clearly knew the pathways through the houses perfectly. It was at this large log cabin that they stopped.

  Dane trotted non-chalantly and still full of energy up the few steps. At least two candles were still lit in the place and a slow conversation hesitated when Dane rapt on the door in a jovial rhythm. Then the conversation continued and someone laughed. One of the voices seemed to be moving closer to the door. Dane smiled a half smile, apparently recognizing the voices and took the prerogative to open the door. Someone had already beat him to it, however.

  “Hey! Who’s there, creeping around?!”

  “Gretchen, it’s m-“

  “Dane?!” She must have recognized his voice and took in so much air from her gasp Gabe was surprised she didn’t choke. By the sounds and the dim light she’d grabbed him around the neck by his shirt and pulled him toward her face – about a half foot lower than his normal height.

  “I don’t care how old you are! You ought to be smacked. Go see your mother, right now!”

  Dane smiled broadly, laughing, and looked younger than yet in the flicker of the candle light. During their day-long stroll, Gabe came to understand about Dane, that despite his sarcasm, he was a very optimistic person. Frighteningly, to Gabe himself, he could see why people enjoyed being around him. When she let go he asked if they had beds available. This must have been an inn.

  “How many do you need?” Gretchen asked in her raspy, high, and tenacious voice then remembered how mad she was and said, “I’ll worry about that, you go home!”

  At that, Dane, still smiling broadly, turned and tilted his head in a shrug and said, “I’ll see you all in the morning.”

  Gabe was in a foul mood. He hated intruding first of all, second, didn’t like sleeping in unfamiliar houses. Gabe couldn’t quite see Gretchen, but was interested to determine her age and wanted to know how she knew Dane.

  Dane waddled his way past everyone who had unwisely clambered on the four stairs. He whispered something to May who laughed. Before the bottom he almost tripped. May followed Dane down the stairs and while Samson, Jonathan, and Miek pushed to get inside the inn, Gabe was craning to see the couple. He wanted to find some more hint of what their relationship was. But they just talked and he couldn’t hear them, and then they turned and started walking away.

  Dane disappeared into the night and the rest were led into one big room with six cots that would not keep bugs out. Oh, wait. There were none around here, anyway. Three of the cots were taken, which meant one of the group would have to sleep on the floor. Surely they had enough manners to let the old, weak, and disfigured people have the beds…

  Samson and Miek caught eyes with a silent challenge, and raced for the same cot. Some how they landed perfectly on it, wobbling this way and that. Miek was half under Samson who was much broader, though still thin. In the time they had before tipping over, Miek put his hand on Samson’s chest and said,

  “Have I ever told you how much I like you Samson?” He paused, looking sincerely into Samson’s eyes, “’cause it’s like… a lot.”

  …talk about a bromance…

  Samson leaned over and tipped them both off. They both laughed – which surprised Gabe who had yet to see Samson smile. They picked themselves up off the floor and left out of a back door that led back outside.

  Jonathan tried to look for a bathroom, which was only slightly idiotic as it was such a natural habit for them. Instead he was directed to the jungle out back with hesitant confusion from Gretchen. He asked if there was water to drink from. She said yes, again with confusion, adding there was a stream running behind her house. The others had made their way out there for water and relieving themselves.

  As Gabe headed out the door he heard the woman waking someone up and telling them they had to move because they have customers. She asked a question that Gabe wasn’t sure was addressed to him, but she repeated with a snappy, “Hey! That girl coming back?”

  Gabe made a stank face and said quietly, “hell if I know.” And walked out the door.

  Water. Cold water. In the dark there were sounds of people urinating in the dirt a little ways off. After some time, all the movement started filtering off. What a predicament Gabe was in; too embarrassed with too many people around, but fearful of the things he can’t see, and feeling security in numbers was certainly helpful in distracting him from sounds. Jonathan must’ve taken his sleeping pill and was now walking back. The old man didn’t want to say anything to show his fear, especially when Jonathan was in such an insolent mood as he was now. It’s okay, it’s just nature. The longer you wait, the more agony you will be in, he thought.

  Hurriedly, he went to the bathroom where he was, made a bit of a mess about it as he was prone to do anyway, then afraid to get water rushed back inside, slipping to his knees part of the way. When he made it in he was out of breath, but luckily no one asked questions and feeling around, he found an open cot, took great care in getting inside of it then lay awake for some two more hours, fearful of the voices and movement still happening in the house – and then, if that wasn’t bad enough, hating himself for it all.

  Too scared to get a drink of water? What’s wrong with you old man? He thought to himself. For the nature lover he was, it just sounded stupid. The darkness pressed on him like a dark down comforter. He was feeling smothered. Without the moon, he could hardly see a thing. It was eerie without the sound of crickets or birds. Even the wind was still tonight.

  How gorg
eous and mysterious nature was, even considered intelligent, whether conscious or not. Like it was it’s own power. It seemed to him that even thinking these things was dangerous, however, as if they would know he was holding something back from them. Better to just pretend anything other than nature never existed. And that is exactly what he did until he started finding the science to prove it, which is beneficial because it also happens to be true. So I’m a paranoid, depressive, insomniac… at least I’m not vainly delusional. Gabe sighed. He remembered that he was still not asleep. Shame. The next option was just to convince himself that it was okay if he didn’t go to sleep. All he really wanted was to relax, that’s all…

  May came in about an hour later. She spoke kindly with Gretchen, getting some background story about her. Turns out she was the mother of Dane’s best friend, Darian. May said she met Darian once or twice and spoke very kindly about him. Gabe couldn’t tell if May was just being nice or if she actually liked the guy. Gretchen apologized and said that Darian was out of town doing some mapping and research.

  For Gabe, thoughts started coming in and out of focus and he could see sleep coming. And then the sun came up, but he didn’t see it. The nice thing for Gabe was that when he slept deeply, he could be pronounced dead. When he woke around noon there was loud chatter down the hall. The old man seemed to forget he was in a cot and lost his balance, spinning around, still landing on his feet, but latching to the twisted cot with his arms and fingers, giving himself rope burn in a few places. When he was basically steady, but crouching he tipped forward in such agony as he hadn’t had in a long time. His head was killing him and he realized he was completely dry and his lips were splitting. No water, bad move. Oh, why was he such a juvenile?!

  He didn’t stay standing for too long because the room was spinning and he fell over. Ou. Luckily it was a busy household and a little girl and boy whose features he could hardly make out, were walking by and saw him and asked him if he was okay. He told them he needed Jonathan. They looked between each other then back at him and ran to get the lady of the household, who in turn got May, who in turn got Jonathan.