EROS: The Light Project

FILE 311 - EDITH DANVERS

[...]

I've never been very rule-oriented, I admit. But if I had committed crimes I probably would never have gotten the journalist's card through which I was able to take the best trip of my life, to Japan. A wonderful land that has enchanted me since my childhood, when I used to eat manga instead of breakfast. To be honest, though, I never expected to be arrested on murder charges after my death in Heaven. Yet there I was, held hostage by two guards, facing the real murderer.

Nathan stood on the stage all proud with those giant wings, which had appeared who knows how on his back. The audience had bowed meekly at his feet: they all seemed tremendously frightened by that young boy. Evidently I have always overestimated the power of possessing power; I mean, anthropology teaches us that human beings have always had a tendency to idolize people through myth. And the first step in making someone a myth is to associate his or her image with the Sun, with Nature, with a king -- in short, if we want to say it out of metaphor, with God.

And associating someone with God can be harmful since human beings, although small and insecure, tend to overestimate themselves when they receive approval and veneration from others.

What most leverages the feeling of veneration in psychology is the demonstration of power: probably having wings was enough to be considered such.

Nathan looked around contentedly, and then I saw him take flight: his body rose to the clouds in a lightning-like burst, and he disappeared into the dark night.

The audience looked up and began to stir with shouts and applause.

I felt particularly uncomfortable seeing how much they admired that boy;

however, it is always possible to take advantage of an uncomfortable situation to gain personal gain: thus, when I saw the guards' helmets raised to the sky, I had no particular difficulty in unleashing two heavy elbows on their chests. They relinquished their grip on my wrists for a fraction of a second, which was enough to allow me to free myself. I lowered my back to the floor and grabbed a white pistol clipped to the belt of one of the guards.

-He disarmed me!-.

-Stop her!-.

I don't think I've pushed so many people in my life: my desperate run was continually thwarted by people, but I couldn't afford to miss that chance to escape.

In the meantime, the Arcangels band had taken the stage and was playing the program's theme song:

Happiness is here and now,

Here and now,

Here and now...

I ran without looking over my shoulder, knowing I had my pursuers inches away. My eyes caught a glimpse of a terrace lit by what looked like Christmas lights: inside it, honorable blessed men in robes were animatedly debating.

-I say, is it possible that there are no skin care creams here?!-a girl complained.

-And do we want to talk about the painful spritzers from the bar next door?- added a young man with a large amount of gel smeared on his hair.

I walked briskly into the midst of those blissful people and, catching him by surprise, lifted the girl's robe.

-Oh God!- she screamed in surprise; underneath she was wearing an ugly white tank top.

I wrapped the robe around myself, trying to hide my face, and saw the guards walk past the terrace just taking a quick look from outside.

-Give me back my robe, you idiot- complained the girl.

Apparently I had managed to get away from security, but I needed to find a safe place.

The people on the terrace were already eyeing me suspiciously, so I moved away fairly quickly. As a journalist, it happened to me several times that I ended up in uncomfortable situations and sometimes had to run away, and finding myself in such a corcostanza raised a flicker of nostalgic adrenaline in me. I could have taken the first train and returned to my village, but by then I was wanted and my home would probably be the worst place to hide; yet the train seemed the only way out of that mysterious city that, despite the huge buildings, seemed uninhabited. I was speculating on the quickest way to the station when a familiar call made me immediately change course: