Within the Walls of Hell (5 page)

Messenger
: Because you did not consider some of your brothers as human beings, you created an organization through which you tried to undo what my master came down there in person and established. You tried to do away with the one thing the world desperately needed and still needs…love. When my master created man, He gave to him ten commands which He wanted man to carry out so as to glorify Him. It seemed man could not understand the commands and had difficulties practicing them. So after a while, my master decided to come down there in person and during His stay there he decided to summarize His ten commands to just two. The two commands were all centered around one thing only….love. That is, love for Him our master and love for our fellow human being which he sowed in the hearts of men. You tried to uproot it through your ideology of hate and separation which you spread around the world. By doing that, do you know how many people you sent down the path of destruction? Did you ever sit back and think of its impact in human relationship? It almost destroyed what my master established. By planting the seed of love in the heart of Man, my master wanted him to see his fellow kind as a brother, sister, neighbor or friend. And what did you and your ideology do? Your preaching led to the history of lynching in America where killing somebody because he or she looked different became a favorite sport. It also led to the execution of over six million people from the same household in Germany during the second world war, the mass deportation of Chechens in the former USSR out of pure hatred for them, massive killings in the Balkans especially Serbia, the Rwandan genocide, many terrorist attacks around the world etc. In some countries some people kill others for a reason as minute as ‘he or she physically looks different.' That was not what my master wanted. What He wanted to see was love like the one among a football team made up of players from different nationalities when a goal is scored….the innocent love among children when they are playing. The irony of all what you did was to carry your gospel of hate and separation right inside houses of prayer where the walls of separation, class distinction, social status, race and ethnic differences had to be torn down. The house of prayer was supposed to be a sacred sanctuary where only those who recognized my master in everyone came for worship. The most aching of what you did was that you implanted your seeds of destruction even in the hearts of innocent children. It is a terrible thing to mislead children. It was better you were never born.

Stone
: (
Raises his head and looks at messenger
) That last statement shows that you've condemned me already and I don't think you are in a position to do that. It is our master to come and condemn me.

Messenger
: That was not the only disheartening thing you did. The government knew that you were a farmer out to curb hunger but what they didn't know was that you cultivated more than just crops. You farmed what was used to produce cocaine and marketed it all over the world. You knew the bad and addictive effects of such a drug. You knew that those who consumed that product did not do so for medical reasons but used it to escape from the difficulties of life. Yet you went ahead to make money out of it at the expense of human life. Those who tested it became addicted to it and used it to auto destroy themselves. Men, women, children…. That was not different from suicide and you assisted them by providing what was needed to take their lives. You who provide the destructive ingredients are as guilty as the one who uses them for self destruction. Of course, you were not interested in the bad effects of cocaine but in the money you generated from it. You used it to fund your organization and gave the seeds to others in different countries. Today in many countries, people fight and kill each other over it. Combating the production and consumption of cocaine is proving really difficult. With the advent of technology, some of your followers catch people who look different, execute them, while at the same time, video tape their acts and then post them on the internet. When they leave that world, they would account for their acts. However, do you think my master would be happy with you for doing such things? Yet you want my master to come here? He does not come here. But if he were to come, he would ask you just one question. “What did you do with the children I sent to you?” What would you tell Him? Would you tell Him that you turned them into objects of hate and destruction? Is that what you want Him to come and hear? He will never come here. The fact that, that door opened and let you in is a clear indication that He did not approve of your actions. He created all human beings with the differences which lay only in what your eyes could see and gave them different personalities. You were supposed not to merely tolerate them but love them and never let unity pass you by. That was what you were supposed to do. Did you do that?

Stone:
(
remains silent
)

Messenger
: Any man who follows your preaching and hate another man for whatever reason has a case file here in the world beyond to face. When my master came down there he asked Everyman to love his neighbor as himself. That was a divine command and an open door for you to use in entering (
pointing
) that golden city over there. It was made on the basis that every human person intrinsically commands some respect no matter his or her size, age, race, or position in work or society. Take away that respect and you reduce the individual to a beast. So what you had to do was tear down the walls which might have been erected between you on the basis of color, race, religion, sex, material and economic status. That is to say that the fact that you were an employer was not supposed to make your employee a lesser human being. In the same vein, a house owner should not consider his or her tenants as mere beggars; a house man or wife should not consider her housemaid little less than a slave; a political, traditional, religious or public authority should not bring his or her subjects to the level of mere listeners who are never heard.

 

 

Exits the room leaving stone and Sandi

 

 

 

 

Still in Stone's room

 

 

Stone
: (
To Sandi
) why are you staring at me like that?

Sandi
: Because of all what that Messenger said to you. Are you convinced of all the transgressions he said you committed?

Stone:
Why do you ask? Is it because I kept arguing? It is in my nature to argue even when I know that what is being said is true. Of course I am convinced. I did all those things he said but it's too late now to make amends.

Sandi:
(
Extending the hand
) I'm called Sandi:

Stone
: (
Takes the handshake
) and I'm Stone.

Sandi
: Nice meeting you stone.

Stone:
(
Furious
) Did I just hear you say nice? What is nice about this encounter? It seems you do not still know what you are in. You are in this hole meant for rats with no prospects of ever getting out and you are talking about nice?

Sandi
: (
Startled
) Hei! Hei! Hei! Brother, I'm not responsible for your being here and don't see why you want to take it out on me.

Stone
: (
Calms down
) Sorry about that. You know it's not easy to be living in affluence and within a twinkle of an eye you find yourself with nothing and being forced to answer tough questions. It really makes me nervous. Sorry about that.

Sandi
: It's ok. Since you cannot have what you want here, like what you can find.

Stone
: You know quite much about me concerning how I got here. What did you do that landed you here?

Sandi
: I did some things which I've come to realize were really terrible.

Stone:
What kind of terrible things are you talking about?

Sandi
: I killed young girls who disobey my orders by going to school and women who were already professionals and refused to quit jobs I considered to be for men. I equally killed people who were not of my religion and members of my religion who collaborated with them.

Stone:
What did you have against girl children going to school and educated women occupying posts of responsibility?

Sandi:
My spiritual leader told me that girls who went to school opposed their husbands. They were supposed to be seen and not to be heard and education was changing all that. The women who held posts of responsibility became models for others who aspired to become like them. When we asked them to quit their jobs, it was intended to kill the aspirations of those who wanted to be like them. They were a threat to our authority as men and we couldn't just let that happen.

Stone
: …. And those who did not belong to your religion?

Sandi:
They were considered as infidels who could not inherit the kingdom of our creator. We had to eliminate them so that only those who were considered worthy were allowed to live. That messenger told me that I had no right to do all those things.

Stone
: I disagree with the fact that ALL what we did was wrong. At least we did some dignified things which have to be considered.

Sandi
: If your problem is with the word ‘All', it does not matter. But I think most of what we did was wrong. I think that messenger was right otherwise why are we here?

Stone
: (
Remains silent for a while in a pensive mood
) I think we are brothers in crime.

Sandi
: What do you mean by brothers in crime?

Stone
: I mean we had a lot in common. We were afraid of anything that was different, we killed people, we wanted to maintain our supremacy and last but not the least, we were all afraid of change and used all the means at our disposal to combat it. But unfortunately change was the only thing that remained permanent. Now that we are speaking, all what we fought to preserve is fast being relegated in to the backyard of history.

 

(
As they sit talking, they can see Messenger and another person pass outside heading to another room
).

 

Sandi
: I think we should go and see that guy who has just walked in.

Stone
: That's a good idea. I think we can forget about thirst and hunger if we are constantly busy. Let's go

 

 

They both Exit.

 

 

 

 

 

Messenger
: (
Introduces William to his room
)

William
: (
Enters the room. There is nothing as furniture. There walls are perforated and the floor is very dusty. William goes in reluctantly and stands in the middle of the room peering around with a very disgusting look on his face
).

Messenger
: That is where you will have to put up.

William
: Please, is there no other room better than this one?

Messenger
: I'm afraid not. You sent absolutely nothing here for us to prepare for your coming.

 

Enter Stone and Sandi while Messenger exits.

 

William
: (
Looks very afraid and runs to one end of the room
) who are you guys and what do you want?

Stone:
Don't be afraid. We are not going to hurt you. I'm called Stone. (
Pointing to Sandi
) and this is Sandi: We are your neighbors. We arrived here…. (
Can't say when exactly
) since there is only continuous day light here, it's difficult to say when we came. But he came first and I came after him.

William
: (
feels less threatened and introduces himself
). My name is William. When I saw you guys walk in here, I thought you were coming to torture me.

Sandi:
Well as you can see, we are not torturers. Did the Messenger tell you why you were sent in here? We all know that you are not happy to be in a place like this. No normal person will.

William
: I don't need him to tell me why I'm supposed to be here. I know why I'm here.

Sandi
and
Stone
: (
Surprised…simultaneously
) you know why you are here? How?

William
: In that world down there, I was master of the law. I knew what was morally right and morally wrong. I was charged with deciding the fate of people who were accused or suspected of committing crimes.

Stone
: Are you telling us that you made the conscious decision to come to this place?