In the early days - yes, I am afraid that I am old enough to
remember them - we thought the Zones would kill us. Maybe some would think me
lucky to last long enough to become as infirm as I am, maybe I do too
sometimes… Anyway, child that I was then, that prospect of struggling in a
desperate future seemed an exciting one, something to wish for, even. I had a habit of waiting until my
parents’ snores became loud enough to conceal the creak of hinge and floorboard.
I would then creep to our television to fill my eyes with the apocalyptic
vistas of Hollywood and other faraway filmlands that my parents kept stashed
away, unaware that I knew of them and where to find them, along with romances I
scorned in the way children do. This future seemed a playground to me. No
rules, no parents, no police.
This future did come - has come - though not quite for the
reasons we thought. The Zones were a rumour first, then an open secret, then
they were all but impossible to hide, no matter how those in charge tried. The
heat, the light, the sparks in the air and the electric in our limbs meant
secrets were impossible. Besides, we knew secrets, we lived them, we read them
- sometimes we kept them. Ah, but I must get to the point I suppose. As much as
this may be for myself, I should also consider any poor soul who reads this and
expects to be entertained and informed. To you I say, bear with me! In time,
these embellishments will move my narrative forward, like our wanderings will seek
to bring hope to our Home. Some things I do not wish to repeat, and will not,
but what I will tell you will be a truth.
We thought the Zones would kill us, but, of course, it was
us. After all, what were the Zones other than a resource? And what else did the
machinery of our civilization endeavour to do other than devour resources to
feed the bloated rich at the expense of the land and people?
The blame was put on the stalkers of course, but what were they compared to those
with contracts? My parents were stalkers so you will forgive me for defending
them. The coal was mined, the oil drilled, reactors burned, trees cleared, the Zones
scoured. Gold cost lives, as did silver, crystal, and gems. The secrets of the Zones
demanded a similar blood price. The people paid it out of necessity; the
contractors in search of profit. The world began to burn, and the Zones began
to grow
We ran from the fires. We ran from the creeping dangers of
the Zones. Worst of all, we ran from the soldiers’ bullets. All those above us
could do was tighten their fists, so we turned to one another. Some dug down,
some built bulwarks up, all sought to weather the siege of desperate oligarchs
and an angry planet that afflicted us. We knew we needed every bit of will and
strength and ingenuity and kindness if we were to last. We tried to keep
contact with one another, to continue to assist and encourage as much as we could, but, slowly, the lights went out and the night drew
in. I won’t revisit that long night except to say that we were all, without a
doubt, heroic. It was a quiet heroism, it was what we needed. But what went on
then is done. Not all of us would wake to see the sunrise, but enough of us did.
That alone is proof enough that we put our faith in the right things.
We need to keep that faith. Our home is failing and cannot
last as a closed system. It was never closed, truth be told. The ghosts are
evidence enough of that. We have taken our first steps out, into the wastes,
into the Zones. We aim to find our lost kin. We aim to preserve life and
environment. I will go with them. I’m old as I say but the years have chipped
away at any cowardice. I have lived. So what if I am to die? So what if my
death brings word of our kin, or food to make the children smile
Anyway, this is a world without rules, without parents,
without police. I am - I must admit - excited.
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