Peace Army Read Online Free PDF Page B

to change that.” Avery pulled his face down to hers and kissed his eyes. She knew he was too tired for more than a few kisses and pushed him back to his pillow.
    “What, can’t the best specimen of manhood around get a little bit of loving?”
    “Mmm. Not tonight,” Avery grew serious again. “Can I ask you something?”
    “Sure, babe. Anything you want to know. All you have to do is ask,” Grant muttered as he settled back to his side of the bed. This was his favorite part of the evening. Settling down with the woman he loved, just talking. Of course, it usually happened after they made love—but he wasn’t one to complain as long as it wasn’t an every night occurrence.
    “What do you miss most about your old life?” Avery asked. Her voice was now calm and hushed. “We never talk about it, and I want to know.”
    “Really? That’s what you want to talk about? With all that’s going on lately, you want to know about the ‘old days?’” Grant chuckled. His own thoughts had been of the ‘old days’ lately and he didn’t have to think about his answer too much.
    “Yes, really. What do you miss the most? The women?” she asked teasingly.
    Grant laughed and shook his head.
    “No, not the women. Truth is, I didn’t know that many. My days were spent in the Army, which was a man’s world. More then than now, believe it or not. I’m sure the women were great—I just never had time to find anyone like you.” Grant couldn’t see it, but he could imagine Avery rolling her eyes.
    “Whatever,” she said, confirming the invisible eye roll. “Okay, not the women. So, what do you miss?”
    Grant took a few seconds to order his thoughts.
    “I miss the little things. I miss the taste of a good cigar. I miss playing poker with my friends. I miss football, rock music, jalapenos—”
    “I have no idea what you just said.”
    “Okay, let me see… I miss color on the walls. All the walls here are the same dull shade of gray. I miss the clothes I used to wear. I miss having some actual flavor in the food I eat. Nutrition is well and good, but what about adding some spice every now and then? How does that keep a person from leading a Peaceful life, huh? I don’t get that one at all.
    “Probably more than anything, I miss the way that we were all individuals . We weren’t part of some collective consciousness with the singular goal of propagating the human—excuse me—the Peaceful human existence. Everyone dressed the way they wanted to dress, ate what they liked to eat, and spoke how they were raised to speak. We didn’t have to speak a ‘standard’ language in public, and we certainly weren’t limited to six distinct Cultures back then.” Grant paused and tried to rein in his passion for the world he was born into. His anger for the world he now lived in. Could not.
    “Avery, there were nearly seven thousand different languages spoken on Earth back then.”
    “Seven thousand ?” Avery asked. Her voice reflected her disbelief.
    “Yes, almost seven thousand—not the hundred or so that exist now! And there were hundreds of different cultures, each with their own traditions and beliefs. That’s what I miss most. The ability to travel from one place in the world to another and be immediately surrounded by differences. Differences in architecture, language, food, clothing, holidays!
    “Those hundreds of cultures have blended into six ! And those six are just watered-down versions of the most common characteristics the larger groups shared. What we once referred to as a melting pot has finally come to a boil. We share a common language. Dress the same way. The buildings look the same. Our differences have become so minute, there’s not much difference between a farmer who lives fifty miles away from one who lives three thousand.”
    Grant took a breath and consciously calmed himself. He had not voiced his thoughts before, but now that he had, it was hard to control.
    “People have given up so much