IF YOU HAVEN'T HEARD ABOUT THE ALMIGHTY CAPTAIN, THAT PROBABLY MEANS YOU ARE DEAD AND DEAF.
IF YOU'RE NOT, YET YOU STILL DON'T KNOW WHO I'M TALKING ABOUT – WELL, I PITY YOU, 'CAUSE YOUR LIFE MUST BE EMPTY WITHOUT THE LIGHT OF ULTIMATE TRUTH.
BUT DO NOT WORRY, I SHALL SAVE YOU FROM YOUR MISERY AND ENLIGHTEN YOU WITH MY WORDS OF WISDOM.
NO NEED TO THANK ME, BE GRATEFUL TO THE CAPTAIN. I AM BUT A GEAR IN HIS AMAZING PLAN.
YEAH, HE HAS A PLAN FOR ALL OF US. A PLAN EVEN FOR THE WHOLE UNIVERSE! AFTER ALL, HE CLEANED UP THE FILTHY WORLD AND MADE IT A BETTER PLACE, WHERE CONFUSION NO LONGER EXISTS. EVERYTHING IS SO CLEAR AND SO SIMPLE NOW.
I DON'T REMEMBER HOW THINGS USED TO BE, BUT CAPTAIN TOLD ME, THERE WERE LOTS OF LIES BACK THEN. I BELIEVE HIM. NOT ONLY BECAUSE I BELIEVE IN ALL THE THINGS HE SAYS, BUT BECAUSE I HAVE A PROOF. MR SNIPPY.
EVERY SINGLE WORD THAT COMES FROM SNIPPY'S MOUTH IS EITHER FALSE OR STUPID. CAPTAIN TAUGHT ME RIGHT FROM WRONG, SO NO ONE CAN MISGUIDE ME.
WHAT IS RIGHT, YOU MAY ASK. I'LL TELL YOU, SINCE YOU HAVEN'T REALISED IT YET. DOING WHAT THE INFALLIBLE CAPTAIN WANTS YOU TO DO IS GOOD. ALL OTHER PATHS LEAD NOWHERE. CAPTAIN WILL KNOW IF YOU DO NOT OBEY HIM. HE WILL PUNISH THOSE WHO DESERVE IT. YOU MUST NOT DISAPPOINT HIM.
ONCE, I HAVE DONE THAT, AND I REGRETTED IT FOR A LONG, LONG TIME.
AT THAT TIME, SNIPPY KEPT TELLING ME THAT I DIDN'T HAVE TO LISTEN TO CAPTAIN'S ORDERS.
"ALL HUMAN BEINGS ARE BORN FREE!" HE SAID.
HE WAS RIGHT, THOUGH HE JUST DIDN'T GET IT. CAPTAIN WAS BORN AS A LITTLE GIRL. IS HE STILL A LITTLE GIRL? NO! HE'S THE CAPTAIN! SO, IF I WAS BORN AS A FREE MAN, I AM FREE TO BE OCCUPIED BY CAPTAIN'S TRUTHS.
TO BE SURE, I ASKED SNIPPY WHAT HE MEANT BY "FREE".
"BEING ABLE TO DO WHATEVER YOU WANT TO DO," WAS HIS ANSWER.
SILLY SNIPER, HE DIDN'T EVEN MAKE ANY SENSE. HE SHOULD HAVE KNOWN THAT I WANT TO FOLLOW ORDERS. I HAVE CHOSEN TO STAY BESIDE CAPTAIN UNTIL THE END OF MY LIFE. THAT DECISION SPARED ME ALL THE OTHER CHOICES. SERVING MY CAPTAIN IS THE GREATEST HONOR, BUT NO ONE EVER SAID IT WOULD BE EASY.
WHERE WOULD I BE NOW, WITHOUT CAPTAIN'S ORDERS? MOST LIKELY DEAD, JUST LIKE THE DUST PEOPLE. THE DUST PEOPLE WERE NONBELIEVERS, LIKE THAT SNICKY SNIPER - THEY ARE TROUBLEMAKERS. I CANNOT SEE THEM, BUT STILL I CAN HEAR THEM LOUD AND CLEAR. THEY LIKE TO COME UNINVITED, WHISPERING HORRIBLE THINGS, OR SHOUTING AT ME.
"YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE LISTENED!"
WHAT DO THEY KNOW? THERE IS NOTHING WRONG IN LISTENING TO CAPTAIN. THEY DON'T UNDERSTAND IT.
SOMETIMES, IT FEELS LIKE MY HEAD IS GOING TO POP. THESE VOICES ARE THUMBTACKS – TINY, SHARP AND COLD. I TRIED TO EXPLAIN MYSELF, BUT THEY PRETENDED NOT TO HEAR ME.
ONLY CAPTAIN KNOWS HOW TO HUSH THEM. WHEN HE SPEAKS, ALL NOISES ARE GONE FOR A MOMENT. WHEN HE MOVES CLOSER, ALL PROBLEMS ARE WASHED AWAY. THE POWER HE POSSESSES IS TERRIFIC. IT CAN HEAL, BUT IT CAN KILL AS WELL. I'M ALMOST AFRAID, THAT ONE DAY, IT WILL BURN ME.
I WISH I COULD MAKE CAPTAIN FLY AGAIN. THEN HE WILL KNOW THE JOY OF BEING SO HIGH. THIS TIME, OUR FLIGHT WILL BE SAFE. I PROMISE!
THE DIAMOND SKY IS WAITING FOR US.
Special thanks to all the minions on the RA Forum - for being so awesome!