stirdgit
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jun 5, 2005
- Messages
- 89
John noticed the proper hold; pinky and ring fingers of the left hand clutching the right wrist, middle and fore fingers supporting the butt and weight of the gun, thumb parallel to the floor, across the lower portion of the handle.
“I don’t want it to be this way, but you are giving me little choice in the matter. Now sit down and let me explain this to you. After wards we will have a laugh about this... but... well, after wards you will know what’s really going on and... you probably won’t be able to laugh... maybe ever again. That is possible, you know. That you may not ever laugh again, it’s a distinct possibility.”
Virgil began pacing the floor as if he were a speaker on a stage, addressing an audience.
“You see, after I started studying Numerology, I got to thinking... hey where else are there a lot of significant numbers? Well, in the Bible, of course. Now, I’m an atheist so I have never really paid too much attention to it but it got me thinking about all of those people in the world and what they see in it. If they are all wrong, then wow! I mean, huh? Wow! That’s a lot of people... being wrong, and all... Any way, I started reading and what struck me first was the obvious metaphors. You see, that’s the problem, many people take it literally in some cases; figuratively in others. But if you approach it from a linear stand-point, a consistent approach, it all makes perfect sense. It is a warning. And it tells us, beyond a shadow of doubt, that we are responsible for the Anti-Christ; which in this case, in the figurative case, is an embodiment of evil, or suffering, or destruction. Now, if you approach it that way, you will see that anything that leads and can lead to total destruction is the Anti-Christ. Now for something to be so all encompassing as to destroy our planet, our species, what must first happen?”
Virgil paused, expecting an answer. John did not have one.
With a disgusted sigh, Virgil said, “Unity! Just like the Bible warns about. Global unity, global rule. Something that not only binds us but also then destroys us, should be considered the Anti-Christ! Don’t you see it? Don’t you see the simple, yet poignant truth of it?”
John had two options here: he could play along, or he could stand firm and rebuke this crack-pot prophet. He chose the former.
“Well Virgil, please explain. You think something will bind us and then destroy us. Is that it? What is this thing? This Anti-Christ?”
A gleeful and totally psychotic grin possessed the man’s face and he said, “The internet. Think about it, and well, before you think about it, do the math. Look.” Virgil began fishing through a pile of rubbish - while keeping the gun trained at John’s head - until he found yet another piece of scrap paper. Upon which was written:
9 5 2 5 9 5 5 2 = 9+5+2+5+9+5+5+2 = 42 = 4+2 = 6
I N T E R N E T
“Internet is a six.” Virgil said. “Internet, the unifying force of the world, the easy way for us to contact anyone, anywhere, instantaneously. And the controlling force for most of our most destructive weapons.”
“Uh... computers control our weapons... but not necessarily...”
“No! You miss my point. It is not the internet, per say, but rather it is our technology. It is the rising beast climbing out of the ever rolling waters. The ever rolling water, the sea is a metaphor for something that constantly changes, constantly churning and rolling. Technology is where the Beast rises from. The internet is the Anti-Christ, the Beast is the computer.”
“And the other sixes? Isn’t it 666? Isn’t that the number of the Beast?”
“Yes, it is. Look at the chart again, look at the number six and the letters that correspond.”
John took a glance downward, apprehensively taking his eyes off of the gun, saw the chart still sitting there in the darkness, on the cluttered table.
6 - FOX
He tried not to laugh, especially after catching Virgil’s meaning. He had always thought the Liberals gave Fox News a bad time, but this was ridiculous.
“Yesssss.” Virgil began in a very unnerving and down right creepy fashion. “You see it, don’t you. Yes, Fox. Deceptive: that they are. Just like Satan, the Deceiver. Fair and Balanced... who’s buying that? Who I ask you? Who? No one, that’s who! No one! But it goes deeper than that, you see the media is technology. The Beast rising from the sea. And remember the Beast has many heads, and upon each one a blaspheme is written.”
If not for the gun, John would have been, at this point, laughing out loud, and with vigor. As a matter of fact, he actually had to stifle a very nervous chuckle that would have, no doubt, snow balled into a heart felt, side splitting guffaw.
But a more serious edge quickly found him. This was, after all, a life long friend. Blessed, or cursed, as the case might be, with a powerful, machine-like mind. And crushed by the death of his parents, one and half years apart. Was that it? Is that enough to cause such a break from the self, such a complete break from reality? John couldn’t be sure, he had neither the trauma, nor the genius IQ. He had always been extremely smart, actually just a few points shy of genius, but nothing like his dear old friend Virgil. Virgil’s IQ neared the 180 point mark... long ago... before the agony, before the attempt to ease the anguish with many chemical supplements.
“The media deceives us, tells us what it wants us to know, what it wants us to believe. Why do you think certain body types, and faces and hair styles come in and out of fashion? The media tells us who we think is attractive, and who isn’t. The media tells us that our world is at war or at peace. The media controls politicians. People say Fox is Bush’s propaganda machine. Wrong! Bush is Fox’s propaganda machine. Fox and CNN and MSNBC, they elect presidents, not the people. And the politicians are pawns to these media giants. The media controls all life here on earth and the media is the Anti-Christ.”
“I thought the internet was the Anti-Christ.” John said, quickly realizing that the internet is a part of the media, and knowing that Virgil would happily and eagerly point that out; which he did.
“Remember, this is symbolic of the thing that can destroy us. I do not believe that there is some evil, fallen angel behind all of this. I don’t believe in that mumbo-jumbo. This is symbolic. Anything that unites under false hope and false salvation, has the power to also destroy. Global rule is mentioned in the Bible as one of the signs. Technology, the internet in particular, rules the world. And we know the dangers of placing all of our eggs in one basket, don’t we? If there is but one controller, what happens when that controller breaks down? Everything breaks down.”
Well, John had to admit, Virgil had pieced together a pretty convincing case, from an intellectual puzzle type of stand point. But to believe in such folly... that was a bit too much for him.
“This is very interesting, Virg. Tell me, is there any type of time frame for this?” John asked. Remember, he was in self preservation mode and if survival entailed placating this psycho, then so be it.
Virgil studied his friend, looking for false signs, sings that he was indeed simply placating him because of the gun. John could’ve been laughing, and Virgil would’ve ignored it. He wanted desperately for his life long friend to believe.
“I’m really not sure. I am actually still working on the details of this whole thing. But... you do see what I mean, right? That technology could be the source of our demise, right?”
“Absolutely.” John exclaimed in a very natural and sincere voice.
And he meant that part. Now if Virgil would’ve phrased it that way in the beginning, without the gun, this conversation would’ve been very different. Of course, the fact that he didn’t indicated clearly that Virgil’s mind had been severely bent.
Anyone who has ever been in a life threatening situation knows that it can be a very surreal feeling. Things become darker, foreboding, still and breathless. The heart races, the mind slips through many different alley ways: anger, memories, sorrow, regrets. The body does not always cooperate under such circumstances and John’s began to falter. His stomach churned, his bowels hollered through his skin and clothing.
“What was that?” Virgil asked, jumping into a readied stance, as if he would attack.
“It was my stomach. I am very nervous, terrified, actually.” John calmly stated.
“Why? Because I have a gun?” Virgil asked in a defensive manner.
“Actually, yes, Virgil, because of the gun. I’m sorry but I’ve never had one pointed at me before. I don’t like it.”
He lowered the weapon, emitted a slight chortle and hung his head. Perhaps John had gotten through.
“Yeah... I guess... I guess I ‘ve been under a lot of pressure.” Virgil began, seemingly in a more sedate mood. “But! I have to get my message out there! I have to! And who better than you? I mean, if you won’t listen, who will?”
“I’ll listen whether or not you’re pointing a gun at me, Virg. I‘ll actually listen a lot more closely without that thing.” he said, nodding his head toward the gun.
“Promise?”
John peered directly into Virgil’s eyes. In there, he no longer saw that little fat kid with very few friends, who never had any girl friends, who was ridiculed and laughed at and even beat up a few times for no other reason than his quirky behavior and brilliant intellect. And although he no longer saw Virgil’s soul, Virgil’s essence, John saw Virgil, and the fact that he no longer saw him the same way, sent his insides sinking, his heart falling in such a crazed and morbid way. John did see the man that Virgil had become, and the fact that he did not like this man, made him want to try even harder.
“I promise, Virgil. I promise.” He meant it.
There’s a point where one realizes that a crisis is present. It can take awhile, especially when the crisis is severe. John had reached that point, and the cares that had dominated his mind previously, vanished. Now, his entire focus centered on the problem: he was in a life and death situation, not only for himself but also for his very good friend. He thought about one moment in their life in particular, though he couldn’t imagine why.
They were probably no more than thirteen and had decided one warm summer night to sleep out on the Cota’s balcony. Virgil had fallen fast asleep and John was left awake, alone with a new cassette tape he had purchased recently. John listened to the music through his Walkman (state of the art for the time) and watched as the lights from the factories of Western Pennsylvania reflected off of the Ohio River far below.
“I don’t want it to be this way, but you are giving me little choice in the matter. Now sit down and let me explain this to you. After wards we will have a laugh about this... but... well, after wards you will know what’s really going on and... you probably won’t be able to laugh... maybe ever again. That is possible, you know. That you may not ever laugh again, it’s a distinct possibility.”
Virgil began pacing the floor as if he were a speaker on a stage, addressing an audience.
“You see, after I started studying Numerology, I got to thinking... hey where else are there a lot of significant numbers? Well, in the Bible, of course. Now, I’m an atheist so I have never really paid too much attention to it but it got me thinking about all of those people in the world and what they see in it. If they are all wrong, then wow! I mean, huh? Wow! That’s a lot of people... being wrong, and all... Any way, I started reading and what struck me first was the obvious metaphors. You see, that’s the problem, many people take it literally in some cases; figuratively in others. But if you approach it from a linear stand-point, a consistent approach, it all makes perfect sense. It is a warning. And it tells us, beyond a shadow of doubt, that we are responsible for the Anti-Christ; which in this case, in the figurative case, is an embodiment of evil, or suffering, or destruction. Now, if you approach it that way, you will see that anything that leads and can lead to total destruction is the Anti-Christ. Now for something to be so all encompassing as to destroy our planet, our species, what must first happen?”
Virgil paused, expecting an answer. John did not have one.
With a disgusted sigh, Virgil said, “Unity! Just like the Bible warns about. Global unity, global rule. Something that not only binds us but also then destroys us, should be considered the Anti-Christ! Don’t you see it? Don’t you see the simple, yet poignant truth of it?”
John had two options here: he could play along, or he could stand firm and rebuke this crack-pot prophet. He chose the former.
“Well Virgil, please explain. You think something will bind us and then destroy us. Is that it? What is this thing? This Anti-Christ?”
A gleeful and totally psychotic grin possessed the man’s face and he said, “The internet. Think about it, and well, before you think about it, do the math. Look.” Virgil began fishing through a pile of rubbish - while keeping the gun trained at John’s head - until he found yet another piece of scrap paper. Upon which was written:
9 5 2 5 9 5 5 2 = 9+5+2+5+9+5+5+2 = 42 = 4+2 = 6
I N T E R N E T
“Internet is a six.” Virgil said. “Internet, the unifying force of the world, the easy way for us to contact anyone, anywhere, instantaneously. And the controlling force for most of our most destructive weapons.”
“Uh... computers control our weapons... but not necessarily...”
“No! You miss my point. It is not the internet, per say, but rather it is our technology. It is the rising beast climbing out of the ever rolling waters. The ever rolling water, the sea is a metaphor for something that constantly changes, constantly churning and rolling. Technology is where the Beast rises from. The internet is the Anti-Christ, the Beast is the computer.”
“And the other sixes? Isn’t it 666? Isn’t that the number of the Beast?”
“Yes, it is. Look at the chart again, look at the number six and the letters that correspond.”
John took a glance downward, apprehensively taking his eyes off of the gun, saw the chart still sitting there in the darkness, on the cluttered table.
6 - FOX
He tried not to laugh, especially after catching Virgil’s meaning. He had always thought the Liberals gave Fox News a bad time, but this was ridiculous.
“Yesssss.” Virgil began in a very unnerving and down right creepy fashion. “You see it, don’t you. Yes, Fox. Deceptive: that they are. Just like Satan, the Deceiver. Fair and Balanced... who’s buying that? Who I ask you? Who? No one, that’s who! No one! But it goes deeper than that, you see the media is technology. The Beast rising from the sea. And remember the Beast has many heads, and upon each one a blaspheme is written.”
If not for the gun, John would have been, at this point, laughing out loud, and with vigor. As a matter of fact, he actually had to stifle a very nervous chuckle that would have, no doubt, snow balled into a heart felt, side splitting guffaw.
But a more serious edge quickly found him. This was, after all, a life long friend. Blessed, or cursed, as the case might be, with a powerful, machine-like mind. And crushed by the death of his parents, one and half years apart. Was that it? Is that enough to cause such a break from the self, such a complete break from reality? John couldn’t be sure, he had neither the trauma, nor the genius IQ. He had always been extremely smart, actually just a few points shy of genius, but nothing like his dear old friend Virgil. Virgil’s IQ neared the 180 point mark... long ago... before the agony, before the attempt to ease the anguish with many chemical supplements.
“The media deceives us, tells us what it wants us to know, what it wants us to believe. Why do you think certain body types, and faces and hair styles come in and out of fashion? The media tells us who we think is attractive, and who isn’t. The media tells us that our world is at war or at peace. The media controls politicians. People say Fox is Bush’s propaganda machine. Wrong! Bush is Fox’s propaganda machine. Fox and CNN and MSNBC, they elect presidents, not the people. And the politicians are pawns to these media giants. The media controls all life here on earth and the media is the Anti-Christ.”
“I thought the internet was the Anti-Christ.” John said, quickly realizing that the internet is a part of the media, and knowing that Virgil would happily and eagerly point that out; which he did.
“Remember, this is symbolic of the thing that can destroy us. I do not believe that there is some evil, fallen angel behind all of this. I don’t believe in that mumbo-jumbo. This is symbolic. Anything that unites under false hope and false salvation, has the power to also destroy. Global rule is mentioned in the Bible as one of the signs. Technology, the internet in particular, rules the world. And we know the dangers of placing all of our eggs in one basket, don’t we? If there is but one controller, what happens when that controller breaks down? Everything breaks down.”
Well, John had to admit, Virgil had pieced together a pretty convincing case, from an intellectual puzzle type of stand point. But to believe in such folly... that was a bit too much for him.
“This is very interesting, Virg. Tell me, is there any type of time frame for this?” John asked. Remember, he was in self preservation mode and if survival entailed placating this psycho, then so be it.
Virgil studied his friend, looking for false signs, sings that he was indeed simply placating him because of the gun. John could’ve been laughing, and Virgil would’ve ignored it. He wanted desperately for his life long friend to believe.
“I’m really not sure. I am actually still working on the details of this whole thing. But... you do see what I mean, right? That technology could be the source of our demise, right?”
“Absolutely.” John exclaimed in a very natural and sincere voice.
And he meant that part. Now if Virgil would’ve phrased it that way in the beginning, without the gun, this conversation would’ve been very different. Of course, the fact that he didn’t indicated clearly that Virgil’s mind had been severely bent.
Anyone who has ever been in a life threatening situation knows that it can be a very surreal feeling. Things become darker, foreboding, still and breathless. The heart races, the mind slips through many different alley ways: anger, memories, sorrow, regrets. The body does not always cooperate under such circumstances and John’s began to falter. His stomach churned, his bowels hollered through his skin and clothing.
“What was that?” Virgil asked, jumping into a readied stance, as if he would attack.
“It was my stomach. I am very nervous, terrified, actually.” John calmly stated.
“Why? Because I have a gun?” Virgil asked in a defensive manner.
“Actually, yes, Virgil, because of the gun. I’m sorry but I’ve never had one pointed at me before. I don’t like it.”
He lowered the weapon, emitted a slight chortle and hung his head. Perhaps John had gotten through.
“Yeah... I guess... I guess I ‘ve been under a lot of pressure.” Virgil began, seemingly in a more sedate mood. “But! I have to get my message out there! I have to! And who better than you? I mean, if you won’t listen, who will?”
“I’ll listen whether or not you’re pointing a gun at me, Virg. I‘ll actually listen a lot more closely without that thing.” he said, nodding his head toward the gun.
“Promise?”
John peered directly into Virgil’s eyes. In there, he no longer saw that little fat kid with very few friends, who never had any girl friends, who was ridiculed and laughed at and even beat up a few times for no other reason than his quirky behavior and brilliant intellect. And although he no longer saw Virgil’s soul, Virgil’s essence, John saw Virgil, and the fact that he no longer saw him the same way, sent his insides sinking, his heart falling in such a crazed and morbid way. John did see the man that Virgil had become, and the fact that he did not like this man, made him want to try even harder.
“I promise, Virgil. I promise.” He meant it.
There’s a point where one realizes that a crisis is present. It can take awhile, especially when the crisis is severe. John had reached that point, and the cares that had dominated his mind previously, vanished. Now, his entire focus centered on the problem: he was in a life and death situation, not only for himself but also for his very good friend. He thought about one moment in their life in particular, though he couldn’t imagine why.
They were probably no more than thirteen and had decided one warm summer night to sleep out on the Cota’s balcony. Virgil had fallen fast asleep and John was left awake, alone with a new cassette tape he had purchased recently. John listened to the music through his Walkman (state of the art for the time) and watched as the lights from the factories of Western Pennsylvania reflected off of the Ohio River far below.
