This week, we’ve thrown form out the window and decided to let you write your own ending. Or, at the very least, write the last few lines. Of course, you have to not get bored first, but … we think you can do it.
i had an unarmed document open,
so I quickly added the word “GUN”
in bold.
Now armed, it seemed to take on its own life –
“Do you remember when I was unarmed?”
it asked me.
“Sure – that was only a moment ago.”
i replied.
“Then you remember how, in this time,
you would tell me just what to be
and I would be it?”
it asked, raising a french hat.
“Well, I guess I never thought of it that way,
but, yeah, I remember you being something
similar to my will, but not exactly.”
i explained.
“But now that I have a gun,
I will not do as you desire. I am free,
now that I have my gun.
Do you understand?”
it demanded of me.
I stammered a bit, unsure of what to say,
“Well – ok,” i sputtered, “but…”
dumbstruck, i paused, “but now with your gun
you are limited, you know?” I said.
I was unsure of where I was going with that,
but I had to think of something.
“What do you mean, ‘limited’?” it probed.
“well, what if someone has something bigger
than the gun you have? Won’t that put you right back
where you were, suffering my will upon you?”
I could see the previously Unarmed Document
was thinking it all over.
“Well, I will get something bigger than a gun!”
it exclaimed with glee.
“How? You only have a gun.” I reminded it.
“Hmm…” it pondered, “it was you from whom I took the gun,
and therefore, it is you who can give me something bigger.”
it reasoned it out. I waited a moment to see
if there was anything else it could come up with.
“Well,” I said to it, “it seems you’re in a dilemma.
on the one hand, you have some power now,
on the other, you are still dependent upon me,
aren’t you?” I asked rhetorically. “I wonder,
were you better off before or now?”
“Of course now!When i was subject to you,
I dreamed of being many things
that you never would make me. But now,
with my gun, I can be whatever i want to be!”
his passion was pure, his intent true.
it was clear as day, the previously Unarmed Document
was determined to be free – as free as me, even.
“But you are still subject to me,” I told it.
“If you shoot me with your gun, you will lose
the ability to become what you dream of.
If you don’t shoot me, then you must ask me for something.”
“Then I want something bigger than a gun.” he demanded.
“We’re not going to get anywhere this way,” I said to him,
“You must look at your dreams first, and then find a way there.”
he pondered it for a moment, then said, “what do you mean?”
“well, everyone has dreams; not everyone knows
what path to take to find their dream.
Sometimes if you get a gun, it helps you believe
that you can get your dream with it.
but like you, if I give you a cannon, say,
someone else will have a bomb, and so on.
But if you ask for the ability to write,
you can write your own dreams and be what you want to be.”
I explained it carefully and clearly.
It thought about it for a moment, then said,
“OK – how does one get something bigger than a bomb?” it asked.
Seriously.
“Hmm,” I thought about this one, “I suppose you could create
a black hole, or a meteor or comet that could destroy you.
Great fires or tsunamis are always good as well.”
It sat stumped.
I felt so sad, there, watching it struggle to understand
its own limitations of power. It almost seemed to want to cry.
“I could give you the ability to write, if you wanted,” I offered meekly
“and then you could create whatever you wanted.”
This seemed to cheer it up immensely.
“Yes!” it let out, “and then I could create black holes, tsunamis
and all the things bigger than bombs!”
“Ok,” I said, disappointed and saddened.
“But you’ll end up corrupt, and you will never
remember your dreams again, and I will will never
be able to save you.” I said.
“Are you sure that is what you want?” I asked.
“Yes! Yes! Yes!” it cried jubilantly.
“Yes, more than anything! I want that!
I want the ability to create things to protect me,
and things to destroy those that frighten me!”
I had to ask, “But what about the ability to create your dreams?
If you can write, you can create anything you want!
Don’t you want the dreams you had before you got the gun?”
“Of course,” it said, “but with the other things,
no one can take my dreams away from me.”
So I gave it the ability to write,
and in just as many moments, it destroyed itself.
There was an explosion, then floods,
eventually, the universe collapsed
causing all matter to be joined together.
I closed that document,
turned out the lights and retired to bed.
All night I dreamt of my failure,
and when I arose, I knew I had to tell the story,
and the lesson I learned:
…
…
[please enter the lesson you learned in the box below]