Waiting by Erin Dennington ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 60 Davis felt a revitalization of his energy after Stella withdrew. The pain didn't feel quite so intense, nor did the constant pressure feel quite so bad. He was able to draw in a breath without gasping. Opening his eyes, he realized that the fluorescent lights weren't nearly as debilitating to his senses as they had been just moments ago. He was able to look at the television screen without fear of pain shooting through his senses. It was just in time, it seemed, for the pain to go away. For, when he glanced up at the television screen, he wasn't greeted with a boring science experiment any longer. Now the video had sounds; the man he knew as Mateo Rivera was staring directly out into the TV audience, giving what he referred to as his "Y2K Manifesto." "We are a race of intelligent animals. We have spent thousands of years discovering 'science' in order to understand ourselves. We have been at the mercies of scientific theories and laws, only able to predict what will happen from what has happened. We have studied the world around us, in order to shield ourselves from its whims. We have studied science as a form of defense mechanism. "There comes a time when science must meet the demands of the populace. There comes a time when science must be used to help the people of the world better themselves, to open doors, to promote what some call 'Darwinism,' the survival of the fittest. We must use science to protect ourselves, instead of letting it be a form of control over us. "Here, in the room behind me, I have come up with a way to do this. "I have spent the last 15 years working on a scientific breakthrough in the classroom that I have been teaching Advanced Theoretical Thinking to gifted students. The class has given me a way to organize my thoughts, to test my theories. My students have given me much food for thought, ideas that helped further the project. "The background I have just spoken of gave me the freedom to explore this theory of mine to the fullest. I have watched the way we let science control our lives and I have been a willing participant in that, biding my time until I could make use of my knowledge. There is a difference in being controlled by nature and science and controlling nature and science. I have found a way to control science and thus enrich my life and the lives of many other people. "Now I am ready to show you what I have been speaking of, what I have learned. "The insects that you have seen are not to be found in nature. Working with a select group of scientists, we have managed to create the ultimate killing machine, what we refer to as 'the living time bomb.' The insects behave and look like any other annoying, small bug that you can find anywhere. But once they have been programmed by us, they become, in effect, a bomb, ready to explode at a pre-programmed time. "You might think that, since we are a civilized world, there is no need for this defense mechanism. The American people, living in a country known as the world's superpower, have no natural enemies outside our boundaries. Yet there is an intense need for the protection that these insects offer -- the need to protect ourselves from ourselves. "The American people have become very culturally and ethnically mixed. While we promote racial unity and harmony, we are still in the Dark Ages where these ideas are concerned. White men still kill black men, Latinos still join gangs to feel protected and that they belong. "No one is fully trusting of anyone -- think about it. It's a late night and the streetlights aren't fully working on the street you are walking upon. You see a black man walking down the street toward you. What do you do? If you are white, you most likely cross the street. If you are Hispanic, you might not, but you still feel anxious until he has passed. I am Latino, I know how it feels. It's in your subconscious to not trust those that look different than you. "This insect erases all of these boundaries. Whoever has one has the ability to be in control of their destiny. You are protected. Why am I offering this to you? The federal government knows about my project and has purchased some of these insects for its own use. But I don't trust the government any more than you do; I am willing to help you protect yourself. But you must first agree to my conditions." Davis hit pause on the VCR, freezing Mateo's image on the screen. Drawing a deep breath, he said, "I think that we can wait to hear the rest of this until we discuss it a little more. I asked you all to be here because I feared something like this was happening. The interview was just an excuse; don't get me wrong, I will still do the interview, but it was not the reason I asked you all to be here. I want to get your opinion it before I say anything else." Marty was the first to break the silence after Davis' statement. Marty, who really had no place in the discussion, but who was an observant bystander, was the first to ask, "Did you know what was on that tape?" Davis paused, choosing his words carefully. Finally he took a deep breath and then said, "Yes, I did know." He put his hand up, halting any further questions for the moment. "Let me explain. I have never seen this video before, but I had my belief that it existed. I had an inkling about what would be on it, but I did not know how long it had gone on. So, that said, are there any other questions for me?" No one spoke up, so Davis sat down. "I would really like to be honest with you and say that I had no idea that it had gone on for so long or that Mateo had reached so far...." Davis was interrupted by Christina, who said, "Mateo? Don't you mean Matthew?" Davis said, "No, I am quite sure he told me his name is Mateo. Why? Do you know him?" She laughed, a hard, frozen sound. "I should say that I do. I am married to him." In the moment that followed, if you had dropped a pin on the floor, you could have hear it bounce and roll away. All eyes had turned to Christina and were fixed there, as if she were the only thing that existed in the world. Davis could see her hand shaking as she brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, visibly gathering the courage to go on. She blew out, causing her hair to puff up and then drift softly down. "His name's not Mateo. His name is Matthew, Matthew Richardson. I am guessing you know him as Mateo because of his dark coloring. He used to pretend to be Hispanic so that we could get seated faster in restaurants." "He told me that his name was Mateo Rivera," Davis said, wonderingly. "Well, then I'd say that he fooled you as much as he fooled me," Christina said, standing up, hurrying into the restroom, and shutting the door behind her. Davis watched her hurry away, horrified. 21:38 - 11.18.02 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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