Mesopotamia - The Redeemer Read Online Free PDF Page B

obedience, and boundless patience...”
    Smoke was feeling the test of
patience. The rivulets of sweat that were pouring out of his skin
under the hot sun attracted swarms of flies, which annoyed him to
no end. He restrained himself and did not avert his gaze in order
to see how his colleagues were dealing with the nuisance. He
clenched his jaw and remained planted to the ground, but he could
not focus on Truth's speech. A sense of guilt unsettled him. He was
not worthy of standing next to the other warriors in the parade. He
was surprised when he heard his name.
    “…And Smoke surpassed them all. He
displays great resourcefulness; the manner in which he distributed
his forces and drew out the enemy was genius; and especially his
virtuoso evasion skills, with which we are all familiar, prove time
and time again what we have known all along: Smoke is the most
revered leader among his warriors, the most devoted to our cause.
Thus, he deserves to bear the title of 'deputy'.”
    Smoke was embarrassed. He did not
envision that he was going to be chosen for the position of deputy.
Before the exercise, his chances were indeed higher than the
others, but then the malfunction happened. 'It cannot be that Truth
did not notice the malfunction on his display,' he contemplated.
'And even if he hadn't, it's impossible that he did not later
identify the problem in the computerized investigations following
the exercise.'
    Truth stood opposite him, as if
oblivious to the cloud of flies surrounding him. The crowd cheered
when Truth affixed the yellow lapel on to the front of Smoke's
shiny overalls and stuck it on with a pat. He placed both his hands
on Smoke's head and announced loudly, “In the darkness of the
material we shall know the light!”
    The audience repeated the battle
cry unanimously. “In the darkness of the material we shall know the
light!”
     
    Following the end of the ceremony,
Smoke distanced himself from the well-wishers who sought him out.
He was ashamed of himself. He knew that he was not worthy to lead
after failing to be sufficiently thorough in his technical
inspection before the flight. To make matters worse, he did not
stand up like a true Gnostic ought to do and refuse to accept the
title of deputy. He continued to march toward the outlying
peripheries of the compound until he unintentionally found himself
in the ship's parking lot.
    He searched for a long time in the
bowels of his ship until he found what he was looking for. It was a
button from a pilot's uniform. His conclusion was clear: 'Someone
was here.' Despite the searing pain he felt about the way in which
someone tried to betray him, he felt a sense of relief: at least he
had not won the coveted title illegally.
    Upon his return to his quarters in
the father ship, he was stopped by Shadow, who smiled and patted
his new leadership lapel on his chest. Despite his gloom, Smoke
tried to smile and held his hand out to shake that of his friend,
when he noticed a thin metal pin fastening the straps of the
overalls where a button had popped off under the pressure of
Shadow's belly. At that moment, Smoke vented all of the tension
from the flight along with the fury of his shame, planting a
well-aimed blow on Shadow's chin. The startled Shadow fell to the
ground. The giant tried to get up but Smoke's rage had seemingly
increased his size and he kicked him in the chest, slamming him
onto the ground once more.
    “Smoke!” screamed the startled
Shadow when he managed to catch his breath.
    “Silence, traitor!” Smoke cut him
off.
    “What did you call me?” Shadow's
eyes widened in bewilderment.
    “If it were up to you, I wouldn't
be here.”
    “What are you talking about?”
    Smoke removed the button from his
pocket. “Does this look familiar to you?”
    Smoke instinctively looked down at
the missing button on his flight overalls and then back at
Smoke.
    “I don't know what you were trying
to do, but it didn't work.” Smoke put the button in his