The Imprisoned City
by Stephen M Golden
Copyright
© July 12, 1987
Ever
since the imprisonment of the city by a wall built so long ago, a cloud of
uncertainty hung over its inhabitants.
Would they ever be re-united with their kindred folk? Was their destiny to remain eternally
separated from those they loved? Would
they ever be freed?
At the time of the capture, things
happened too fast. Even though attempts
were made, the populace had no time to adequately defend themselves. The first move of the captors was to remove
the leaders from among the people. They
were separated from the other inhabitants, thereby preventing their instigation
of an uprising. No communication was
permitted between the city and its leaders.
The inhabitants became confused and distressed at their fate.
Before the wall was constructed, they had
not known confinement. They travelled as
they would, conducting business wherever it seemed fit. They were an
ubiquitous race. And yet, they were now
cut off from their freedom. This was
contrary to every principle they had known.
Their goals of achievement were effectively dashed as a result of this
wall.
Nevertheless, activity did not cease. On the contrary, activity kept right on
within the city as it did before. Twenty four hours a day, the city remained alive. In the heart of the city, as in the
outskirts, the residents scurried up and down, first this way then that, more often than not, bumping into one another, and each
politely readjusting his own determined direction, and off they would go. Sometimes it seemed they had no purpose save
that of remaining active. It could even
be described as comical. The running to
and fro, the constant movement day and night, was reminiscent of the flurry of
people on the last shopping day before Christmas -- or perhaps the mad rush of
civilians stocking up on supplies before an invasion. However you might describe it, activity was
at its peak.
What kept the residents going? Why were they willing to continue, even in
the face of the situation? There was
hope: Belief in a supernatural solution to
their problem. Children would ask their
parents, "When will the wall be taken away?" or "Will we ever be
free to see Grandma again?" The
parental reply would always be, "I don't know, my little one. When the timing is right, the wall will be
removed. The gods will work through our
leaders. Our leaders have never failed
us. But until then, we must not lose
spirit, we must not lose faith. It will
happen someday, and when it does, there will be such a time of rejoicing --
such a time of reunion, there will be an explosion of happiness our race has
never before known."
Or perhaps one would say to a friend,
"Has there been any indication of an imminent removal of the
wall?" And the reply might be,
"I have not seen such indication, but we must not be found inactive. When our gods remove the wall and restore our
leaders to their rightful positions among us, we must be ready to put forth our
gallant best to show our appreciation.
Until that day, we must keep our lives filled with hope. That day will be a grand day." "Yes," would come the response,
"it will be a glorious day."
It was a pervasive realization on the part
of the leaders and the residents of the city that someday their gods would free
them from their imprisonment. And life
progressed, and they did not lose hope -- they did not lose faith. They maintained their beliefs even to the
point
where members of other races would have given up. Certainly, there were times when some
residents would begin to lose heart, but they were immediately and confidently
bolstered by the encouragement of others.
They were a strong race; able to bear up under the stress of
imprisonment. They believed their
existence was virtually synonymous with the fundamental existence of the
universe itself. This sense of
importance was felt by every resident of the city, and each remained
ready. And so, time passed: Each day yielding more activity; Each day gave birth to more hope of the
removal of the wall, and the restoration of all things. Each citizen cooperated to
the fullest extent possible.
Truly, they were a people of one mind.
Then finally, one day -- a day otherwise
like every other day, their leaders came crashing through the barrier. Immediately, with much rejoicing and whole
heartedness of effort they began the uprising that, with the further help of
their gods, freed them from captivity.
As the activity increased, the excitement mounted to a critical point
and the city could no longer be contained.
There was a tremendous explosion of intense purpose and happiness -- and
they were free!
These were people whose lifetime existed
in only a matter of minutes.
Circumstances led them to believe in their gods, circumstances led them
to be imprisoned, and circumstances led them to be freed. Now they were saved. But one civilization's salvation can be
another civilization's destruction.
For, the gods involved were totally
unaware of their worshippers. These gods
had no conception of this tiny civilization which had been relying on
them. These gods perceived them only as
radioactive particles inside a critical mass chamber in a nuclear bomb. The detonation mass was injected into the
greater mass of the radioactive material yielding the needed critical level,
and in less than a second there was a reaction which caused a tremendous
explosion. And these gods, who are also
known as man, for the first time in history shed their light, -- their blinding
light, -- their terrible light -- down upon Hiroshima.