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zeugma by Gerald Finlay
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Rated "G" by the Author.
A young Anglican priest delayed in a Middle East country is requested to talk to a prisoner on death row--with two days to live.
Zeugma,
I arrived in a taxi and an apprehensive mood. This was new ground for me and I was more than a little worried. The prison looked frightening from the outside; I wondered what it would be like on the inside. This place was for the bad boys with a capital B.
The request had come at very short notice---would I be prepared to talk to a guy with only a couple of days to live---convicted for murder and just about everything else you could think of. I hesitated before answering, and hated myself for it---without asking any questions I agreed. You will realise now why I was a little apprehensive.
I cannot imagine how anyone could break out of here, it being nearly impossible to get in, I was assured however that prisoners had indeed escaped. After numerous checks and locks, I eventually arrived at my destination. I was looking into a very grubby room. There was a long table with a guard at either end, at the far side of the table sat the guy who I had presumably come to see. He was shackled, hand, foot and waist. I entered the room and the door was locked behind me, I would be lying if I told you I wasn’t frightened---I was petrified.
One of the guards pointed to the vacant chair and I sat down.
‘I am Charles Picard; I understand you asked to see me’. I was directing this question at the shackled prisoner whilst trying not to display any nervousness.
‘It’s okay you can speak’ interrupted one of the guards looking at the prisoner.
‘Well not exactly’---I didn’t ask for you personally, but I am sure you will do okay’. ‘Well let’s start with your name’
‘It’s Robert Cando’. ‘Okay Robert would you like to be the one to tell me why I am here’
‘Can I have some privacy to speak with this guy please’ this question was directed at
the guards. One of the guards left the room, when he returned a few moments later
he indicated to the other guard and they both left the room---but not before showing me an alarm button just under the table top. The prisoner was still shackled.
‘Okay Robert, I will try to make this easy for you. You have had a lifetime of crime culminating in a murder. You have been sentenced to death---there is no appeal.
You have two days to live---the reality of death has just started to sink in, you are looking now for a glimmer of hope---hence my presence here; am I right so far?
‘Yea, pretty much so.’
‘I have to ask this Robert, why me? It is only by chance that I am in this country. You could have asked for a Rabbi, a Muslim priest, a Buddhist, a Catholic, indeed any of a score of religious priests in these parts to speak with---and you choose an Anglican--- who just happens to be in this country because of travel problems’
‘Just let’s say I like the English, I reckon you will do fine’.
Robert was fifty two years old---I had some details in a folder I had been given. He didn’t look like a murderer or indeed a criminal, but he clearly was. I was thirty one, not qualified for long, very inexperienced---and only in this country because of travel problems. I had been working in a war zone to gain (I had been told) some valuable experience. Whether I had gained any valuable experience I do not know, but I most certainly had my eyes open. I can say without doubt that there is much spiritual feeling (and talk) in a war zone; I was both surprised and busy. For some military reason there had been disruption to civil flights---I had at least two days to wait. I don’t know why or how I was summonsed to this place---somebody obviously knew my movements.
‘Okay Robert let’s cut to the chase, what is it that you want from me? If you give me a clue and don’t try to waffle me I will try to help you.’
‘The vilest offender will be forgiven if he repents---what does that mean? Is there any hope for me, what does hell mean?’
‘Hell is not a place of punishment Robert; it is nothing to be afraid of. Hell is just like being in a deep sleep with no dreams---no awareness, nothing.’
‘So what is the punishment?’
‘The punishment is that you will never experience anything else.’
‘I cannot get my head around that’
‘Well then it is Hell for you my friend---full stop.’
‘Is it possible for me to avoid Hell?’
‘Well you have left it a bit late, and have a lot of explaining to do. If you truly repent and are willing to face your punishment---it may be possible, but let me tell you there will be no fooling anyone. You may have read or heard of “As you sow so shall you reap” and Vengeance is mine says the Lord” He means it; there will be no easy ride’.
‘Yes I have been reading that book over the last couple of days---I must admit I cannot understand it’.
‘Well let me try and explain Robert’…
I had to be careful now, I didn’t want to get too complicated and confuse Robert.
I had had a relatively recent education and my explanations would be probably more in line with what someone like Robert could identify with.
‘First thing then Robert, there is no magic involved in what I will tell you... Whatever you have read or been told---if it involves magic, forget it. Nothing happens without a cause. To put that as simply as possible, for something to happen someone or thing has to do something to produce an effect. You will probably be aware of Einstein’s famous equation E=MC2, it means you can get mass from energy, and energy from mass but you cannot get anything from nothing. It seems strange to me that scientists hold Mr Einstein in high esteem---yet will not accept his theory. They still seem to be convinced that our universe came about from nothing exploding. Are you still with me?’
‘Yes I think so but I am not too sure what this has got to do with the book.’
‘Okay I will come to that now. Let’s forget about the old book, it would take far longer than we have for me to try to explain that to you. We will look at the new book. Two thousand years ago not many folk could read---never mind write, they had to be spoken to in a way they could understand. That is the same book that we read today just as it was written. No wonder people have difficulty accepting what they read. Some of it really does seem like magic. If we had a similar visit today do you think it would resemble in any way that visit of long ago? In the last one hundred of those two thousand years we developed the ability to do all the things depicted in the book and many more; for example, making the blind see, a procedure carried out everyday. Bringing the dead back to life, another frequent and everyday occurrence. These thing would have seemed unbelievable two thousand years ago---and indeed still did until relatively recently. So we will forget magic and look at logic.’
At this point the guards returned and indicated my time was up. I had been with Robert for two hours. He had apparently other things to deal with. He only had one full day to go and two nights; the execution was to be at 7am. I was offered a small room to stay in if I required, I accepted, it would mean more time with Robert tomorrow.
----------------
‘Did you sleep okay Robert?’
‘No not at all’.
‘Well I am not surprised---a rather stupid question, are you ready to continue then, we may not have much time left to talk?’
‘Yes please let’s go for it’.
‘It is my believe that we are not here by accident Robert, so that means there must have been a cause, which produced an effect---and we are the final result of that effect. I know this may be difficult Robert but just hang on a little longer. Don’t harbour any thought of an old man sat on a cloud playing a harp---it didn’t work that way. I want you to look at things from a more modern view point.
‘Now Robert think of this, knowing what we have achieved on Earth in just two hundred years; just what could have been achieved by life on another universe maybe two thousand years older that ours---or maybe two million years older, the time is irrelevant. Our creator I believe is alive and well on one such universe. What of this creator? Well he will be a scientist, engineer, biologist, designer and architect and also have numerous other skills. He will have a team of experts working, with skills we could not even dream about. His objective to create a place with beings in the ultimate form---his form. It is not difficult to understand that after his amazing work, when things started to go wrong he tried to correct it. It had to be done to our time scale not his---hence the writing in the book.
‘Everyone born since he achieved our perfection of form will have been carefully logged from birth. Each individual will have a DNA thread; at death any one individual could be recreated exactly to fit any time scale--- a perfect person.
You may be able to see the analogy now Robert. No different really to what is in the book, only presented in a modern way.
‘He doesn’t want people who haven’t lived up to his requirements---which by the way have not been too high. But like it says in the book; he did send us a life line. Now that’s all I have to say Robert, I have been as honest as I can. You may have a chance but is it is now over to you. You will have to decide what you want to believe---if in fact you believe anything at all. Anyway I want to thank you for listening to me.’
‘Can I just ask you this Charles, what happens to people of other religions?’
‘Each must follow the tenets of his own believes, I personally think that all decent humans will be okay, but I’m afraid that leaves many who will be heading for the long sleep’.
I had a plane to catch; the guards had come to take Robert back to whatever he had to do. I said goodbye. I was allowed to approach Robert before I left the room. We shook hands; he whispered to me ‘thank-you, I am glad it was you that came’.
I didn’t offer a prayer or a blessing, I knew that was not for Robert---but I had a feeling that he might just make it.
Histories of the world are generally written to either celebrate technology and science, or to herald doom. My book examines the path of the spirit in the onward rush.
This combined narrative dialogue and play is about the uncreated, unborn and undying transcendent Self of God-consciousness and Buddha-nature. It describes an odyssey of transcendent Consciousness Awakening and Remembrance.
Histories of the world are generally written to either celebrate technology and science, or to herald doom. My book examines the path of the spirit in the onward rush.
