First Words by Mark GrealishSUMMARY: For the Mars flash-fiction contest.. . . so putting that aisde for a moment, take the New People's mindset: yes or no,
black or white, with absolutely no moral middle ground. The Reformed
Government teaches them almost from birth (and deny that this is a
masterstroke!) to reject uncertainties, the unknown and to act decisively with
what they know. And told to accept that Mars is the fertile new frontier and
part of China's future, they simply accept this and reject all else.
Why Mars, you ask? I can recount any number of extreme third-hand anecdotes
about their mindset; fathers killing children on a word from their Organizer,
wifes disowning husbands, people spontaneously dropping dead. You've read it
all in mailing lists. I've always felt that the people in these tales have some
inherent phychosis or reason for their actions. Killing your damned child? Christ.
I like to think that even the most extreme ''Zhuan Ren'' has a sense of right and
wrong. I spoke with Hao on Sunday last about Mars and prodded him about the first landings, enough to bring him out of his normal shell:
"So tell me," I ask Hao, "it will be thirty years in August since the rst
landfall. Do you plan to celebrate it?"
Hao sips his coffee thoughtfully before answering, "No."
"That's it? No."
"Yes. No." Hao smiles peevishly at me, but I take it as a sign to continue.
"Why not? Xian Chaoyong was. . . " I trail off as Hao holds up his hand.
"Xian Chaoyong betrayed my nation."
"So have you," I shoot back.
Hao shakes his head minutely at this, "I betrayed my government. There
are distinctions."
Now it's my turn to shake my head, "I fail to see. . . " I
flail about for a
word, ". . . parity. Parity between what Chaoyong did and you did, and
distinctions between betrayals. . . "
Hao nods like he expects this, "To explain distinctions, I will say this:
Governments forgive, nations do not. On the matter of parity, you are
correct to say that there is none. I acted as a concerned father to an unruly
child, and took action to give it what it needed, not what it wanted.
Although slow at first, the child will soon see the wisdom of my actions,
such as my government has. Chaoyong took the dreams of my nation in his
hand and crushed them into the red soil beneath his feet, never to be
forgiven or forgotten."
Hao looks away, angry, so I try a new tack. " 'Here is no water but only
rock/Rock and no water and the sandy road/The road winding aboveamong the mountains/Which are mountains of rock without water.' "
Hao suddenly rises to leave, "Lies," he says curtly over his shoulder to me. "Lies about Huoxing."
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