Sunday, June 27, 2010

A Battle of Intellect

Something a little more lighthearted in between my two stories of the world which was destroyed by the falling of the sky. I've changed the name out of respect, most Greek names are very long and interchangeable anyway sure.

John Papadopoulos is a man who my friends added whilst on my Facebook some time ago for the purpose of trolling and whatnot. Today however, he noticed something which I wrote on my info section over a year ago. For those of you too lazy to return to my Facebook page which you probably got this link off, under political views it reads: All Greek People Are Gay - FACT! At 17:45 on Sunday June 27th 2010, John Papadopoulos seemed to take some offence to this:

17:45 John
All greek people are gay
I don't agree with this

17:47 Me
but you're gay
and greek
and i must admit you're the only greek person i know
i mean i understand greece has probably the richest history and culture of any country in the world
and that without them who knows what the world would be like today
but oscar wilde had a wife... clearly throughout history all greek people have been as gay as christmas

18:04 John
....
you know that's not true

18:05 Me
listen chap
i really think it is
in generations to come everyone will look back and realise how right i am

18:06 John
you better reconsider before i give you a right bollocking
So every single male person in Greece is gay?
That's fucking ridiculous
you homophobic twit

18:07 Me
hey i'm not homophobic or anything
or racist
i love the greeks, they're one of my favourite peoples, probably my favourite besides the finns
but its just my working theory that they are all gay

18:07 John
Look, okay
I realise ancient Athens had quite a reputation for pederasty and gay love
but that doesn't mean nowadays it's still relevant

18:10 John
Are you saying my Greek father was gay??
Oh no, I won't have that at all
or my grandfather
that's downright insulting

18:11 Me
john some of these claims you are making are very outrageous

18:11 John
what claims??

18:13 John
I will simply not accept your prepostorus claim that all Greek males like other males
that is not, never has been and never will be true
DEAL WITH IT

18:16 Me
are you saying that there's not even the slimmest chance that this is true? i mean, all humans are predisposed to be somewhat attracted to both sexes, i just feel greeks feel that slightly stronger than most

18:16 John
Why would they!?

18:17 Me
you'd be amazed at how relevant an upbringing in a certain nationality or culture can be mr papadopoulos

18:18 John
It's clear you have an issue with Greece and its people for some reason ... have a bad experience with one?

18:18 Me
i don't... i really don't
i love greek people

18:19 John
hah

18:19 Me
i used to always pick greece in rome: total war

18:19 John
... oh so that's okay

18:19 Me
despite their lack of heavy cavalry

18:21 John
I know SEVERAL Greek people who are not even remotely gay or likely to be

18:21 Me
well their clearly the exception that proves the rule
several out of 11,000,000

18:22 John
btw anyone ever tell you you're hot?
I saw your pics
quite attractive
thought you should know

Thursday, June 17, 2010

To Die Alone

It had been probably 6 months since he began this trek and maybe 2 years since the sky had lowered and daytime had left. Tonight (what used to be 'day' was always night) was especially dark and bitter. He walked along what could have been the grassiest of fields but was now nothing but scorched earth, black and ruined and indistinguishable from any other place he had been. He wore his mask which was now as ragged as his old, smelly rags that hung off his malnourished body. His once trimmed hair was long and unruly and he he had grown a beard which seemed to all but enforce the state that all affairs had fallen into, but in his bright green eyes there remained what was either hope or madness.

Day 673 or 520: no sleep again last night. strong winds and no chance of shelter means that continuing walking was inevitable. food has been completely gone for 3 weeks, had this been before the sky fell i believe i would be dead, but after so long in these conditions i believe my body and mind are much harder and i am only beginning to feel the strain. whiskey is about to run out, finished maybe my whole final flask today and am quite drunk. if those from where i came saw they would be 'disappointed,' but i continue as if i were sober. why not be drunk in such awful times, such an awful place.

losing hope in search for hospital 12. my earliest memory after the sky falling is the survivors talking of 12, how 12 was salviation, how one day there would be a complete march to 12. but they began to bear their unbearable surroundings and it became clear no march would ever be made and they would die in the rut that they had created. so i marched alone for 12. my compass told me i headed north which means i was actually travelling south. geomorphological acceleration, or reversal, i try to say it allowed but my words are just slurred and my voice unfamiliar as it is the first time i've spoke in weeks.

Day 674 or 521: joy of joys! easier conditions and a depot of well preserved food today. i was not myself but still walking when i stumbled over a black box. it was well hidden and i struggled to see it even in front of my face. i opened the box and it was a bounty of canned goods. i was so tired eating that i cannot even fathom what it could have been, i just ate and ate without even considering the dangers of re-feeding myself so suddenly. after an unknown period of time the food was gone, so i continued to walk for a distance till i felt comfortably tired and collapsed into a much needed sound sleep.

Day 675 or 522: another mind blowing day, as if my mind wasn't blew enough already! after one of my longest walks in weeks i saw a dent on the horizon, a little black mark piercing the sky which was instead of black the deepest shade of blue. my hopes i held out for this were soon confirmed when i saw an old, completely ruined road sign in which all that could be made out was "12." i was there! my anticipation was only overcame with fatigue, after writing this i will surely fall asleep and tomorrow make for the salvation which has been keeping me running on empty for so long. my ruined body will finally rest after achieving what my stubborn mind had insisted upon for so long.

The next day he approached the hospital. The building was dilapidated but in much better shape than most other things since the sky fell. All was quiet for him as he approached the outside to discover the door was locked. He contemplated waiting here, but the wind which was gathering force encouraged him to shoulder the door in and enter, it was a wonder he had any power in his body left to do this. The fabled hospital was apparently empty, chairs, beds and gurneys sprawled across the old halls. Up and up he thought, what awaits him must be on the top floor. He climbed the staircase 7 times, or 8 times, he couldn't keep track of anything anymore except the desire he had to reach the top. The top floor had only one long corridor that led to a room at the end, the door slightly ajar. Who awaited him here? He walked down, all of a sudden aware of his skinny arms with sunken skin that was covered in dirt moving at his sides. He watched his hands open the door back even further. He entered the room. He observed.

There was only two chairs in this large room. One was a large recliner in which sat a dead, bearded man. His eyes were wide open, gigantic and red. Even though he was clearly dead for some time, his hands seemed to grip onto the arm rests of the chair, and his horrible stare was directed at the other seat in the room, direclty opposite him and only a few feet away. This would have been such a horrifying thing to observe if the disappointment of the scene hadn't drove the observer completely insane. He walked over and took the seat opposite the bearded man, sat back and looked into his eyes. Sometime later he died of fatigue or heartbreak.


And what a shame, no one will remember his name.