Chapter 37: "Tea and Tears"
Upon returning to the Senate floor from their ordeal, all of the Senators who had been taken to Hell participated in an astonishing flurry of social reform legislation reminiscent of the "Hundred Days" of the first administration of Franklin Roosevelt. The Senators wanted to bring the United States into line with the civilized democracies of Western Europe. Many impassioned speeches, even by formerly reactionary Republicans, were made in an effort to convince their colleagues in the House of Representatives to pass the reform bills. They also voted as a block to end all U.S. wars abroad. All troops were to be brought home immediately. It was all for naught. All of the Senators who had been taken on a tour of Hell were arrested under the Patriot Act for collaboration with a known terrorist. From there, it was but a simple step for the courts to order each of them to submit to psychiatric evaluations. One-by-one, each was declared insane and removed from office for incapacity. The courts scattered them in insane asylums throughout the country where they were swiftly forgotten as their seats were filled with new sycophants via elections devoid of passion or substance.
As luck would have it, Alice's favorite Senator, Mr. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, was imprisoned in Alice's old asylum just outside the Rabbit Hole. Every Saturday afternoon, Alice puts on her red dress and brunette wig and goes uptop to visit him. I tag along. Every Saturday she tries to convince him to return to Wonderland with her, and he always refuses. Mr. Sanders claims that the presence of the Senators who traveled to Hell in the insane asylums is a continuous shame to the U.S. government. He hopes for eventual vindication. From a distance I watch as Mr. Sanders gets out his chess set - one of the few possessions he brought with him to the asylum - and methodically sets up the pieces. Amidst games of chess, glasses of iced tea, and an occasional glance in my direction as I wander through the towering trees behind the asylum, Alice and Mr. Sanders share stories and a few tears - silent tears - over the future that might have been.
End of Chapter 37
This story is based on the characters created by American McGee. Electronic Arts (EA) holds the copyrights. The original "Inferno" was, of course, written by Dante.
There's one more chapter. -Nikki