the avenger

by nick nelson

all living creatures have been betrayed. they were born to live and love and be free. but have been forced to fight and hate and serve death. how has this happened? one day, in a village in the hills of the great desert empire, a worker ant had a vision. the worker ant was employed in a great factory making swords and javelins and arrows for the army of the great desert empire. at midday, the ant was one of a platoon of workers being herded out of the factory for lunch and daily exercise. a dark cloud passed over the sun, just above the highest hill on the horizon of the desert. the ant took the occasion to step out of line and walk into the desert. he had often wondered who was responsible for the way the world was - why it was organized into empires who spent all their energy into making weapons, planning war on each other, and occasionally even going to war. and who fed their members only enough to give them the strength to work in the weapons factories, or to train for the coming warfare, or to work on the. farms that produced the food for the soldiers and workers. was it one, or was it many? was it the emperors themselves, of the rival empires? or was there a mister big, or great evil one, who ruled the emperors? or were there invisible hordes behind the emperors, or the great evil one , ready to thunder down upon any workers or soldiers or drones who rebelled? one, or many? the ant wandered deeper into the desert and met a locust, who lived as a hermit beside a small water hole. the ant asked the locust the question? one, or many? who should i seek? on who should i claim the vengeance of the generations of cheated ones? you can only search, replied the locust. but when you have found the answer, you will only have begun. the ant continued across the desert.

the prophet

by nick nelson

for thousands of years, prophets and wise men crossed the land, offering prophecies and parables that their followers could interpret as they wished. a prophecy, a story, a dream foretold could have many meanings. the prophets disappeared down the roads, into the deserts and the mountains. the roads, the deserts, and the mountains, and the stars and skies above them, remained. another prophet appeared. with him, things were a little different. he said, darkness will cover the earth, and darkness covered the earth. he pointed to a mountain, and said, that mountain will crumble, and the mountain crumbled. he pointed to a city and said, that city will be destroyed by an earthquake, and the city was destroyed by an earthquake. he said, the sky will be filled with flying snakes, and the sky was filled with flying snakes. he said, the empress of the east will give birth to a three-headed bat, and the empress of the east gave birth to a three-headed bat. he said, the emperor of the west will be turned into an oyster, and the emperor of the west was turned into an oyster. people flocked to hear the words of the prophet. from the highest mountain, he delivered his final message. give up all that you have, he declared. and make ready, for in a thousand years such things will happen as have never been dreamed of. then the prophet disappeared. many who heard his words, took heed, and gave up all that they had. but a thousand years is a long time. after two hundred years, the prophet had all but been forgotten, and no original followers, who had taken his word to heart, remained. after four hundred years, only a handful of believers remained. after six hundred years, only one remains. there are still four hundred years to go.