What For

We didn't know what to call it. I guess you could say it was like getting from Point A to Point B in an instant. Suddenly you're here and then, even faster than an instant, you were there. No one could explain it. And really, we knew what it was. But we didn't want to call it what it was because it sounded so stupid, no one wants to call it that. No one wants to say those words. So mostly we kept it to ourselves. We knew it was there, but we didn't mention it. It just was. But then, slowly, everyone started talking about it. And when that happened, well, it was horrible. Everyone could be anywhere at any given moment. You could be expected halfway around the world and back again in only a few minutes. It was exciting for some, for those that don't get out, those that would never see anything of the world. But me, traveled, learned, a man of the world, what was I to do? The world was suddenly populated by nothing but men of the world, we were all instantly the same. We could be anywhere. And not only that, not just the notion that we had the possibility to be anywhere, but the reality of it. Never knowing quite who was around each corner, lurking down each hallway. You could walk into a room filled with one crowd and leave it filled with another. This never happened in a pure sense I suppose. Some people are intent on staying with their own. I was never resigned to stay with my own, but I was content with it. I certainly didn't want to be around just anyone. I wanted some modicum of choice, something on which to grasp, some frail idea of me being me. And what did this say for crime, what for love? What was to be done with responsibility? It didn't take long for people to realize exactly how much power they had, how much they could gain, how much they could ruin. It didn't take long for the bodies to pile up, for beds to be filled with philanderers, for things to go missing. Cars, cash, jewelry, clothes, food, hair, pictures, paper, antiques, children, animals, anything, anything that wasn't nailed down and even those items weren't off limits. The work became too much for the police, how could it not? And so people did what people do and they took to the streets. It was the age of the vigilante, but there were too many factions, too many imposters, too many languages. By the time something was reported it was already too late. None of it did any good. It was chaos. And then, of course, in an instant, it was over.

When your fantasy becomes reality you get bored. You get angry. If anything is possible there is no point. That's a horrible realization to have, and we all had it together. People will tell you that we're good. That we are born this way. People will tell you that we all want what's best for each other, we just go about it in different ways. No. Not true. I'm here to tell you it's not true. Because I've seen it, I've seen what it does to people. I've seen the greed, and the lust, and the corruption, and the apathy. I've seen the hordes doing it just because they can, not because they want to, not because there's anything to be gained. But because if you can, and you don't, well, like I said, what's the point?