Beauty Kills the Beast

The Time Traveler (fragments of a story) A vast horizon extended in front of his eyes. Most of what he could see was water, clear pure water. He had learned that it had not always been like this. Once land had occupied the place of ocean, and one could go from place to place without the need to take a ship or plane. That might have been neat, he thought with a smile. Global warming had changed the face of the world. Storms and destruction had shaped it differently, as did society’s brutal behavior. That had been long ago, though, now just part of tales and history, almost forgotten. ... The world he knew was at peace and everybody lived in accord. It was said that society had fallen into corruption, hate, and crass materialism. Money and war had been the mindset, until all was lost and nothing could continue as it was. It was said that new philosophies and cultural believes had emerged in the underground, unnoticed at first, to give birth to a new era of harmony, love and gratefulness. The new societal structure had forgotten about politics, corporations, and individual interests, and all was run in communal agreement for the good of all. Nothing of what history told was practiced anymore. There was no communism, socialism or technocracy, only a true sense of democracy prevailed that cared for everybody. After centuries of decline, civilization had begun to develop new beliefs and people’s mindset evolved into one of respect, care and enlightenment. There was education for all, and all had equal access to knowledge. Everyone had the same rights, and all enjoyed an occupation of their choice. Communities were auto-sufficient, everything was recycled and nothing went to waist. Piece had reigned for ages now and prosperity was at hand for everyone. It was a new era of glory and respect, where light and truth were valued over everything else and a high spiritual energy gave force to all good. He was a content child, almost a man now, close to an age where he could decide what he would like to learn and experience in preparation for adulthood. His family was proud of him, a sensitive soul, a thoughtful son, a faithful friend, grateful, charitable, respectful and honest. But most of youth was like him, ready to learn and help and experience the best of life. One could say motivation was their motto, and a strong sense of respect for what they could offer drove their everyday lives. School was interactive and gave youngsters the opportunity to explore and experience diverse scenarios to acquire knowledge and become acquainted with life and its challenges. He had many friends, who, like himself, were full of curiosity. They liked to create things, sometimes composing music to cheer the elderly, sometimes cooking a banquet for all those who celebrated a birthday that day, building a submarine to learn about the underwater world, or farming a self-sustaining vegetable garden to feed the community. They had so much fun with their projects that they sometimes forgot about time, or that they had to eat and sleep. But everyone rejoiced in their positive energy, and they were a joy to be around. Reflecting on their forgetfulness about time and motivated by their curiosity to know what had been or could be, lately they had been working on a time machine. It was unthinkable to experiment with life-forms, though, so their self-sustaining vegetables would have to be their instruments of proof. An uncertain thing, to work with lettuces and tomatoes and have them travel through time and space, but the friends’ positive attitude kept them always motivated and moving forward. They had been experimenting for a while with the time machine with no major results. Lettuces were sent to the future and came back rotten and destroyed, and when sent to the past they returned as seeds. A few days back they had amazed themselves with a tomato that had appeared on one of the boy’s pillows. The day they ran the experiment, they laughed loudly remembering the encounter and realizing it came from the future, and that it had been them sending it there. They were eager to try with themselves, yet afraid they might die in the attempt. So, they continued exploring, tweaking and making changes to their great creation. … The day came when they felt ready to experiment with themselves. It was sunny outside and a lovely breeze refreshed the air. One of his friends had signed up to travel to the future. So, they made all calculations and arrangements, and set him to travel. Sweat run along his forehead, he was excited but so nervous. Of course, he was! Wouldn’t you be nervous undertaking such an adventure? They sent him off, a hundred years ahead of their time. One month passed and, as planned, they retrieved him from his travels. He appeared in the room happy and rested with gifts from his encounters from the future. His experience had been so positive, and people he found in the future so receptive, he had a happy heart and lots of hope in what was to come. Everyone rejoiced in the success and went on to their next assignment. The boy was as nervous as his friend was, but as hopeful as he was, too. He would make a difference, and everybody would greet him kindly, or so he hoped, and off he went to our present time. He woke up lying on a hard surface, rough and gray, to one side a green surface that resembled a carpet and made his skin itch, to the other, a long stripe of a darker surface painted with white and yellow lines. Loud machines raced by, making funny noises and leaving behind an unpleasant smell. Tall walls framed the whole and some roofs poked up from the other side. …