Chapter 156

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Eve had off on Sunday July 9th. The guards let her in the rec-room for three hours. The tv was on, showing the news. Eve noticed it was a Sunday morning news show, yet it was past noon. More than three hours since this show aired. Either it was a repeat, or Park was censoring their news. Eve tried to change the channel, same program. She hoped they'd talk about the arrest of general Douglas. Some workers said he was becoming a symbol, possibly even a martyr, for the secessionists. This news program was discussing Mason's said Jed. Jed apparently wanted to join the army. If the militias did try to sieze the shelters, he wanted to fight them. But his father was commander-in-chief, thus far Mason denied his son permission. The news also interviewed euthanasia activist Hailey. Now Hailey ran a pro-suicide website. The website helped people come together to die gave them encouragement rather than recommend getting help. Some actually considered these suicide pacts romantic. Hailey had devoted herself to this after her son's suicide, she didn't seem afraid that her daughter might follow in her brother's footsteps. Hailey said she hoped if her daughter did this, she would feel comfortable enough to talk with her mother about this. The website was libertarian, advocated that a person had an absolute right to do what they wanted with their own bodies. One guy in the rec-room commented that Park was showing them these stories for a reason. Jed Mason wanting to do his part could inspire them to enlist, or at least collect as much oil as they could for the Arks. And by showing a person fighting for their right to die, that could inspire them to end their own lives. Suicie wasn't to uncommon here. And if ELE hit, Park didn't seem to want many convicts on the Arks.

After the rec-room Eve was permitted to check a book out from the library. She got a collection of poems. As she read this book in her cell she came across "The Second Coming" by William Butler Yeats. The poem described a world where things were so bad, things falling apart, that surely something woul come to improve things. Then the author wondered, what if what comes next is even worse than this? Eve was suprised when she read the last lines. "And what rough beast, it's hour come round at last, slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?" So that's where that expression came from. On Monday July 10th Eve was eating breakfast with Jessie. She knew he read a lot in prison, and she was excited about the poems she'd just read.

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Eve: Did you ever read "The Second Comin?"

Jessie: Yeah, by Yeats. Great poem.

Eve: I've heard the expression "Slouching towards Bethlehem" for well over a year now, and I just found out where it came from.

Jessie: Yeats wrote it in 1919 in Ireland.

Eve: So he was talking about world war I?

Jessie: It's horrors were fresh on everyone's mind. England had won the war, ut it cost them a lot in blood and treasure. They were unable to maintain too active control of their empire. This led to national liberation ovements in Africa, the middle east, Ireland.

Eve: That's what he meant by something coming to make things better.

Jessie: Yeah. He was optimistic about freedom for Ireland. But the Irish Republican Army was using methods that bordered on terrorism. Yeats was worried about what might happen when these guys controlled the government.

Eve: He was worried that they'd be even worse than England.

Jessie: All that reflected in such a short poem. Is it any wonder why Yeats was Ireland's poet lauriette?

Eve: I'm understanding why people use that expression. We just got through this horrible, things are about to change, hopefully for the better.

Jessie: Time will tell.