Within the Walls of Hell (11 page)

Carlos
: How?

Messenger
: Through the criticisms of those human right organizations, through the likes of Goodwill Johnson, through the journalist you considered as your worst enemies and those opposition leaders whom you killed and imprisoned. Strangely enough, you brandished those that opposed you as terrorists and enemies of the state. Those that succeeded to run away from you and died in exile were again declared as national heroes by you. You called them nation builders and fighters for change and justice whereas, in their live time, you called them enemies. All those who helped to track down your enemies and eliminated them were awarded medals and referred to as nationalists. Those who doctored election results and proclaimed you winner all the times were called patriots. When some of them died, you organized lavished state funerals in their honor with the tax payer's money whereas the tax payer wallowed in abject poverty. What would you call all that? Politics? Do you think my master was going to be pleased with such a way of doing things?

Carlos
: Why did He not strike me dead or incapacitate me with a serious illness. It would have stopped me from doing such things?

Messenger
: My Master would never do a thing like that. If He did that, He would have been interfering with your free will. You knew what was right and wrong but you let your love for money and power blind your sense of service to humanity. You did all what you did out of your free will. You had the choice to either treat your people the way you did or to treat them with all their human dignity in tact. You preferred to treat them like sub-humans. Some of your ministers went as far as owning brothels where young girls who were jobless were turned into sex slaves. They were chained to beds and rich foreigners who came into your country for business or international conferences were given the rights to do whatever they pleased with the young girls after they had paid huge sums of money. The young girls never saw the money which was paid because it was transferred straight into the accounts of your ministers. The worse thing was that some of the young girls used were as young as 12. You were aware of it and even slept with some of them too. Each time you left your palace and had to spend the night in some other part, town or village of your country, your men went to primary or secondary schools and sometimes universities and pulled out the most beautiful ones for you to spend the nights with. Those girls who were used as sex objects belonged to the vulnerable group. You were supposed to be a father and protector to them and punish all those who abused or tried to abuse them. Instead, you went …. (
Carlos Interrupts
)

Carlos
: Please, can I say something?

Messenger
: I know what you want to say. You want to say that you didn't know what you were doing was wrong. You and I know that is not true. You knew what you were doing. If you didn't know, why did you get your rubber-stamp House of Representatives to vote a law which stated that you could not be prosecuted for any crimes committed while you were in office? Why did you get them to vote a law which gave you immunity from prosecution? It was because you knew that most of what you were doing to your people was not correct and you were afraid that in the case where you were one day ousted, you would be asked to render an account. Well, here, the story is different. There is no immunity here. You answer for all the crimes your immunity protected you from once you get here. Everyman must render account.

Carlos
: Is there absolutely nothing that can be done for me?

Messenger
: Before you interrupted me, I was about to say that you had a friend in a neighboring country who wanted to become president using unorthodox means and you accepted to help him. You saw it as an opportunity to get a share in the mineral wealth of that country. Your friend accepted to give you 30% of what you wanted if you helped him. You were never tired of amassing money and helped in toppling a government which my master's people chose to lead them. You sponsored a civil war in which billions were spent and thousands of people were killed while three-quarters of your own people lived in abject poverty. There again, you had a choice to either protect the interest of thousands by refusing to assist your friend take power through the use of force or to ignore the interest of thousands to serve the interest of one man. You preferred to serve the interest of one man. What happened to the displaced, women children and the old men and women did not matter to you. You also had the choice to use the tax payer's money to reduce the high rate of infant mortality or reduce the high rate of mothers dying at child birth. But you preferred to use the money in buying arms to use in maintaining yourself in power. You had the choice to use the tax payer's money to improve on the reputation of your country for having the lowest life expectancy in the whole world. But you preferred to use the money in enjoying yourself in luxurious hotels in foreign countries. Did you ask if there is nothing which can be done for you? Well, kings, presidents and rulers of that world below your feet are known to live in all sorts of luxuries, enjoying all pomp and wealth. They are known to have taken everything for themselves, leaving their people in misery and poverty. They live in costly palaces surrounded by guards and servants. They block roads for their poor citizens for hours before and after their arrivals at ceremonies. The country or state is more or less considered as their private property. My master is greater than any of them. Yet he shouldered the burden of His subjects and paid the ultimate price to save them. Did you shoulder the burden of your people?

Carlos
: (
Remains silent
)

Messenger
: That silence speaks for itself. You burdened them with heavy taxes and used the money they contributed to enjoy yourself and make them feel how powerful and important you were. Well, landing here is the ultimate price and to answer your question, presently, I'm afraid there nothing that can be done for you. As you can now see, my master created you without your consent but he can't save you without your consent.

(
Exit Messenger alongside William, Stone and Sandi
)

Carlos
: (
Breaks down completely and sobs bitterly)

 

 

 

 

As the scene opens Vladimir is sitting in his own room and all the rest except Carlos make their entrance into his room.

 

 

Vladimir
: (
To Stone
) I'm sure (
Pointing to the Messenger
) that guy is your servant but I found his behavior very strange. He said nothing and remained quiet like a grave as he came to get me from the gate. He only acts. All through my life I had met people with different behaviors and I took them the way they were. I think I will have to tolerate him too. By the way, my name is Vladimir.

Stone:
My name is stone and (
pointing
) this is Sandi and William. That one you have referred to is really a servant but not my servant.

Vladimir
: He is a servant and whether he is your servant or not is not very important. Tell me, what is this place? Is it an inn or a resting place where people come and rest before continuing on their journey?

Stone:
It is called the Land of Eternal Discomfort.

Vladimir:
(
Smiles
) it's true that I've heard a good number of strange names in my life but that one is of another level. Couldn't you find a name better than that one to call this place?

William
: Well, sometimes names are not just names but they actually tie with reality. How do you find the place?

Vladimir
: The place is very hot and does not look at all like a resting place. But it is at least better than many places I lived and spent nights in, in my career as a man in uniform. Thanks to the nature of my job, I could survive anywhere. But for the intense heat, this place is not at all bad to me.

William
: Well, good for you. You must really be the lucky one. I'm sure you were told down there that there were some two places people go to when they leave that world down there. Even if you never went to any house of prayer, you certainly heard from people in the street or at the barracks where you worked.

Vladimir:
Yes I frequented the prayer house a lot. I went on week days and on weekends. I was told that there were two places, one for those who spent their lives doing what was good and dedicated themselves to the service of humanity while the other was meant for those who did all sorts of things that were not morally acceptable. The name that was given to the place good people go to was ‘Land of Eternal Happiness' while the one for those who did terrible things was called Hell. No man in his right senses would prefer a place like that. I was told that nothing there goes the right way and the place is terribly hot. On the other hand, I was told that the place where good people go is bright and shinny like gold. Yes, (
pointing
) like that one over there. (
With an astonished look
) But then the distance to that place looks so short and I don't understand why we have to make a stop over here.

William:
Well, as you can see, this is neither an inn nor a sort of resting place. I'm sure you were also told down there that where you go after leaving that world depended on how you spent your life down there. In other words, you had to use the life down there to prepare for the one thereafter.

Messenger
: (
Pointing
) Are you sure the life you led down there made you worthy for that kingdom over there?

Vladimir:
I'm sure… but wait a minute… why are you asking me that kind of a question? You are just a messenger… what do you know about living a worthy life or not?

Stone:
(
Referring to the Messenger
) He knows more than you could possibly think or imagine. He is a Servant but not an ordinary servant. (
Pointing
) He works for the King of that kingdom over there where you are so desperate to get to.

William
: If you say that you are worthy of that kingdom, that gate into this place wouldn't have opened to let you in. The fact that it opened and let you in is a clear indication that you are in the right place, which was dictated by the kind of life you led down there.

Vladimir:
So what is this place?

William
: This section where we are now is where all queries are taken care of. That is, if you feel you are in this place unjustly. After any clarifications, you would be asked to go inland.

Vladimir:
(
Gripped by panic
) And if after verification, you realize that someone does not deserve to be here, would you open the gate and let him or her out?

Messenger
: My master never makes mistakes. But if you have any doubts, we are going to examine your life down there together. Let' see, do you feel deep within you that you did your job properly?

Vladimir
: I think so because that must be the reason why I rose to the rank of a colonel.

Messenger
: Well, that was the appreciation of your superiors. What about the ordinary people? Did they appreciate you?

Vladimir
: To be honest, not very much.

Messenger
: That shows that there was a problem. The common people who appreciated you were just a handful. Do you know why things were that way? It was because you loved easy work and always sought the easy way out of situations. That is to say that whenever a crime was committed and the perpetrators left the scene without leaving anything which you could use to get to them, you became worried of your dignity. You were always afraid to be called incompetent by the population. So you devised a means to always get out. If the victim of the crime suspected anyone, you did everything to see that he or she was pined down whether he or she was guilty or not. Investigating to see whether the victim of the crime's suspicions had any grounds was not very important. Where the victim of the crime could not think of any suspects, you found one yourself by planting incriminating evidence on any victim you picked with the help of your friends and you used physical torture to force him or her admit. When that was done, you always invited TV cameras and paraded the ‘criminals'. That was how the authorities remarked you and you gained eventual promotions. Do you know how many innocent people you sent to prison and who are still there?

Vladimir
: I might have been doing all that but I abandoned that practice after a while. You know that perfection is not human and if only a handful of people appreciated me, it was because no one man can please everybody. Besides, many people had problems with the law which I represented.

Messenger:
My master does to expect perfection from any human. He is aware of Everyman's short comings. But on the other hand, He wants Everyman to put in his or her best in any work that is at the service of humanity. Did you put in your best?