The Other

My dearest reader,

I understand that it has been a while since I last wrote to you. And I would just like to reassure you that I wouldn’t neglect my personal dedication due to any foolish reason, but a glories burden of responsibility. I was approached to complete a special task and shortly after my acceptance of this quest I came to a terrifying realization, that our indulgence will become nothing more than a liability. In order for me to go out into the Barren I’ll need to keep my wits about me. I shudder at the thought of losing you and how you’ve become so therapeutic for me this last year. You’ve helped me balanced my thoughts and brought me confidence. Still, I need to keep to the plan, and if this will be our last meeting, at the risk of sounding redundant, I’ll start at the beginning; at least from my understanding.

I recall many times that my grandfather would sit me down and tell my stories of when he was a young boy. He would go into great depth about running through green fields with blue skies that sounded the Earth. How he and his friends would point images out of the white cotton clouds that lingered in that brilliant blue sky. He explained to me that the only thing that would dear separate the green earth from the blue heavens would be the red mountains. Now they all blind together in the Barren as the dust blows in the wind.

Like a thief, the Other arrived in the quiet of the night. Their attack took us by surprise and our armed forces crumbled like a dry cracker. We had no time to make an offensive attack. We went from defend to how do we survive in a matter of hours. They came, they destroyed, and now they feed off of our planet as we sit in this Utopia that was perfectly designed for us. This false hope is more of an imprisonment then a paradise. We all get our fair share. We all get our protein loafs, we all get our hydro gels, and those that are lucky get fresh produce. Yes, we are all equal in eyes of the Other.

My grandfather explained to me that after the fall we gained two main political parties. The first one was called Libertatem Conquisitor, which roughly translates to Freedom Seekers. The second on was simply called Pax, which roughly translated to Peace. The Libertatem Conquisitor fought for the independence of mankind. Burden with the realization that we would never have a fighting chance if we continued to eat off of the hand of the Other. They chanted the words of an American founding father, Patrick Henry, “Give me Liberty, or give me death!”

The Pax party fought for coexistence. They believed that if assimilated into their culture, adopting and sharing the best parts of both species, we would become a better version of ourselves. However, after the Other placed us in these dome cities we’ve hardly seen them. Their presence in the dome is vague except for their ships hovering over the glass ceilings. Our only real contact with them is through the monitors and through their appointed ambassadors. These ambassadors watch over specific sections of the domes with air of authority.

In the beginning the Libertatem Conquisitor blazed with great momentum. They had many battles and won great victories, unfortunately at the cost of many lives. The Pax Party took advantage of these tragedies calling the brave souls that were lost victims. They shouted that the dead were misled by the Libertatem and each battle, won or lost, only put fire in between the species and bodies in the ground. Slowly the Libertatem Conquisitor Party members were ostracized by their neighbors. As the party grew weaker their flags were torn and their party houses burnt to the ground, but their dreams stayed alive.

Needless to say, the Pax party grew stronger and eventually became the only political party that speaks on the behalf of the Other. Every ambassador that is appointed is out of the Pax party. By the time the Pax party convinced the Other to build the dome cities my grandfather was already a man with a child on the way. The domes were a symbol of peace, according to the Pax. They were to free us from the harsh environment the Earth became after the fall. As soon as mankind moved into the domes we stopped working for companies and corporations. I personally didn’t know what those where or even heard those words spoken before my grandfather. Schools were simplified to teach as basic skills as possible. Children were to learn how to read, write, basic math, and different levels of agronomy. Only advance forms of science is permitted under special circumstance. Usually it is the children of the ambassadors that get to learn those skills.

Many humans labor in the fields with farming and different forms of agriculture. Some spend their days in the hydroponic towers. We don’t work for companies any more but we still do our part to get our fair share. We are all equal in the eyes of the Other. As my grandfather was welcoming his third child, my dad, the domes were starting to become overpopulated. Shortly after my aunt was born, my grandfather’s fourth child, the Other attempted to place a cap on how many children humans could have. They learnt quickly that human beings were created to procreate and the thinning of our share was the punishment for our nature. By the time I was born many children were deficient in many vitamins and nutrients. These deficiencies were the cause of many birth defects and an increase in cancer.

As I was a young boy I remember the day my grandfather was taken out into the Barren. They said he and many others like him were too old to live in the dome. That they had to go to a better place in order for them to get the care they deserved. I cried then and I cry now. As I write this I can still feel his powerful hands on my shoulders and his lips on my forehead. By the time I became a teenager I was more fascinated by the increase in deficiencies in children and cancer in my people more than anything else. I began to read more but unfortunately I was limited by the types of books we keep in the dome.

Slowly I began to sneak out to the ruin cities of the Barren. There I discovered buildings completely dedicated to books with many different topics. Some of these books were rotten and some were even eaten by bugs. Still I digested as many books as possible, or as time could allow. The rapid seasonal changes and the wind storms made it difficult to stay out for prolong periods of time, but I took advantage of ever second. As winter emerged I decided to sneak some of the books back into the dome with me.

As you may recall this is around the time that I discovered my grandfather’s journals. As I was looking for a secure place to hide the books I stumbled across a notch in the corner floor. I lift up a single wooden plank and found a metal box tucked into the Earth. Upon opening it and browsing through the journals I was amazed to discover that my grandfather wasn’t only a member of the Libertatem but was one of their generals. In his journals he detailed how the Pax Party didn’t just want to coexist with the Other but made a terrifying deal with them as well. Unfortunately he didn’t describe the details of the deal out of fear that his journals would be discovered. However, he did mention that after the Libertatem Party houses were destroyed the remaining members went underground with plans to emerge like a phoenix once again.

After a few years of studying his journals and reading countless books a realization struck me like lightening to the brain. A small symbol of a flamed torch with a crescent moon in the flame, this symbol was scattered through the journals. At that point I know, with conviction, that I’ve seen this symbol before. There was a hooded man that lived on the other side of the dome and I recall him having a tattoo. This symbol was on his right wrist and I recall it so vividly, because he is the only human I’ve seen with a tattoo. Suddenly an obsession overtook me and I knew that I needed to find him. After days of searching I located him near a food distribution site. Like a predator I watched him, and followed him ever place he went. After hours of wondering he finally headed back to his place of residence. He took his time opening the door and after he walked in he kept the door open. I knew then that the open door was an invitation. Perplexed and a bit terrified I swallowed my fear and walked through the doorway myself. The cool air of his residence chilled the sweat piercing through my skin.

There I found him sitting in the middle of the room with only silence surrounding us. He spoke, “Give me liberty…” In excitement I responded, “…or give me death!” That’s when he exposed his face, I saw an older man with silver hair, tinted skin and a scare from his ear to his neck. He proceeded to explained everything to me. The hooded man not only knew of my grandfather, but he also knew that I snuck out into the Barren. That night, under the cover of darkness, we went out into the Barren together.

He led me to an underground chamber near the building of books. As we entered the Chamber of rock and earth he reviled to me the detail of the deal the Pax Party made and what happens when the elderly are taken. The Pax Party was established with just the idea of peace and living separately from the Other, but upon the realization that the Other will never be defeated, the party decided that coexistence would be the best goal. The Pax Party took it upon themselves to investigate the battles and discovered that not every human body was counted for. In fact, they found that the Other were collecting bodies as well. They sent out a scout to investigate more and when she returned she confirmed that the Other were in fact collecting the survivors. When asked why she stated that the Other were using human bodies to incubate their eggs.

The President of the Pax Party arranged a secret meeting with multiple high ranking leaders of the Other. That’s when the deal was made. The humans would stop fighting and the Other would be able to take the elderly. Shortly after that meeting the Libertatem were systematically dismantled and the dome cities were built. The Other were able to get the bodies they needed and the humans got to believe they lived in peace. After many meeting with the hooded man he finally asked me if I wanted to join the Libertatem and I became a recruiter. The next phase of my responsibility will be going out into the Barren from dome to dome to ignite the flames once again.

I must spread the word that the resistance has begun. Before I left the chambers this evening the hooded man handed me a hart shaped locket and instructed me to open it. I recognized the faces of my grandparents immediately; however, the hooded man explained that the pictures were of a Libertatem general and the scout that the Pax Party sent out. This locket has become my flame.

My dearest reader, this may be our final goodbye, but this is far from the end!