Radar on :
Hey, you used an < hr > tag!
Sunday, June 24. 2007Preface
OK. So, I've decided that I ought to try to finish the story that I originally called "The Nature of Things" (I've changed the name now. It's now called, "A Defense of My Life, by Jonathan Bicara). I'm picking it up again, but I'm not picking it up exactly where I left off. Instead, I've decided that things will make the most sense when the story's finished if I give you a little bit of a preface. So, without further ado, here is the preface.
The prisoner stood before me, tall and proud, ignoring the sounds that echoed through the cavern. Hundreds of people gathered under the floating globe lights, all of them, like me, looking at the prisoner. Some were mourning. Others looked angry. None looked emotionless. We all knew who he was, but as a matter of procedure, the bailiff called out: "Prisoner, please state your name." "I am Jonathan Bicara." "Jonathan Bicara, you are hereby charged with treason. How do you plead?" "I don't know." The bailiff looked perplexed, and glanced up at me. "Jon, please," I said, "are you guilty or not?" The prisoner took a deep breath, and spoke loudly. "Guilt is a feeling, not a state of being. Yes, I did commit the crime that you are accusing me of committing, but no, I do not feel any guilt for my actions." A murmur rushed through the crowd. Some of those present hissed through their teeth. One woman even rushed forward and tried to spit in Jonathan's face, but she was stopped by the guards.
"With your permission, your majesty," Jonathan bowed his head, and walked to his table. A small book, dog-eared and worn, sat on the table. He picked it up, and walked forward. Kneeling, he placed it in my hand. "This is my defense. I am now ready to face execution." My voice shook as I said, "are you guilty?" "I committed the crime. I will face the consequence." Tears sprang to my eyes as I said, "Jonathan Bicara, I sentence you to death by sword. You will die tonight by the light of the full moon." Some may say that our ways are barbaric, but I believe that the man who pronounces the sentence must also enforce it. Glancing up into the star-studded sky, I blinked back tears. The moon looked down, impassive and cold. The man who knelt before me, bound hand and foot, with powerful spell blockers on either side, was my friend. I cared for him, almost as a son. He raised his face to look at me, and I saw tears streaming down his face. I raised my sword high over my head, and whispered, "Jonathan, I'm sorry it has to end this way." It was several weeks before I could bring myself to open his book. Trackbacks
Trackback specific URI for this entry
Comments
Display comments as
(Linear | Threaded)
Radar on :
Jonathon is dead?!!!! How could you? I feel so lost right now.
On an editorial note: you have an extra "and" at the end (bound hand and and foot). Johnny Elbows on :
Thanks for catching that.
MG on :
Well that makes things interesting, doesn't it?
Ancient of Days on :
Is this the same narrator? If so, it seems a bit odd to me that he thinks of Jonathon "almost as a son"...I had the impression they were of roughly the same age?
Anonymous on :
No, it's not the same narrator. Jonathan *is* the narrator for all of the other episodes, that's why the story has the subtitle "by Jonathan Bicara." This episode is simply designed to explain what happened to Jonathan after he could no longer tell his own story.
Ancient of Days on :
Thanks. That makes a lot more sense.
|
Items of InterestTrekWest5 Subscriber Count: Syndicate This Blog |
