The Black Notebook's History of Death

The Black Notebook's History of Death

Jacob Olden lived a mostly secluded yet virtuous life. He was taught from a young age to follow his parents’ religion. And as he grew to an adult he lived his beliefs to a high level of fidelity. Few in this day and age live such a consecrated life but to Jacob it was his whole life. Despite this, he lived a somewhat lonely existence in a studio apartment. Jacob one evening as he studiously reviewed for his next Sunday school lesson, heard a knock at the door. Taking a break and marking his place in the reading, he got up and answered the door. On his porch was a short man with slick black hair, a suit, and a suitcase. “Yes, can I help you”, Jacob asked. The man spoke in an unusually deep voice for his size. “Are you Jacob Olden?” “Yes, sir”, Jacob responded. The man continued, “Your Great Uncle Phillip has died and you are one of the people he named in his will”. According to Jacob’s family, Phillip was a carnal man, the family didn't have a lot of contact with. But it would be rude to leave this lawyer on the porch, even as extravagant as he is. “Come on in, take a seat”. “Thank you, replied the man.” He came in and took a seat on the couch. “According to your uncle’s will and testament you have been named a beneficiary of 20,000 dollars.” Jacob thought about the concept. Money is the root of all evil, and can lead to exuberance. But he was also late on his bills and could use the money. Besides, I have lived a good life, I deserve to have a little bit of a reward. The man continued, “However there is a condition to this inheritance”. “An incredibly odd condition”. He took out a small black notebook. “The only condition according to the will is that you must take this notebook and make a willful entry according to the style of the other entries.” He handed over the notebook. It looked old and weathered, the leather although ancient seemed of a high quality. The man closed the briefcase and stood up. “Let us know when you complete the requirement”. The man reached the door. “Let us know when it is complete”. Jacob got up and closed the door behind the lawyer. Then sat back down and looked at the notebook with a measured curiosity. He opened the first page.

Page 1: 3079 BC- China

Death, The bodies are too numerous to be buried. They are sometimes pilled in houses, then the houses burned to protect the living. The rot spread to neighboring villages, killing 5/5 of the infected.

Page 2: 430 BC- Greece

Death, Approximately 100,000 dead in the city of Athens. Barricaded inside the walls of Athens, the people sieged by the spartans. Symptoms include heat in the head, inflammation in the eyes, throat or tongue becoming bloody.

Jacob wondered, what is this book? Why did my uncle have it? It looks like someone made entries about great diseases of the past. Should I be reading this, he thought as he glanced over to where he left his scripture. It's ok, I think, after all scripture talks about horrible epidemics as well. He continued reviewing the entries.

Page 3: AD 250- Roman Empire

Death, Millions dead, more than can be counted. Mass burials are dug and covered in a thin layer of lime. A rudimentary attempt at disinfectant. Then the burials are lit on fire. Victims must survive hemorrhaging and dysentery. Sometimes there died 5,000 a day in the Roman Capitol.

Page 4: AD 1346- Eurasia

Death, The cities rot with the carcasses of the dead. Half the continents pass into the next life. The Black Death. Fleas and Rodents spread the disease due to the unsanitary conditions in our time.

Page 5: AD 1500- America

Death, The smallpox ravaged a continent. Tens of millions dead. Great empires and their history erased. Full recovery is impossible. Other nations rifle through the dead of a once populated continent.

Page 6: AD 1545- Mexico

Death, 15 million dead. Cocoliztli, The Nahuatl word for pest, destroys what is left of the once great civilization of the Mexica. Fever, dehydration. The bodies are heaped in piles, Spanish priests are scarce able to bury all the dead.

Page 7: AD 1918- World

Death, From the trenches of France and Germany. 100 million is the cost of violence. The beds, full of the Spanish Flu. Relief only comes with death, after fever, sores, then death.

Page 8: AD 1981- World

Death, the infected lose their immune systems. Even a common cold can more easily kill a victim. AIDS reaches into all levels of society. 35 million deaths on account of this insidious virus.

Page 9, AD 2014- Africa

Death, there is no cure for it, only containment. A fearful world spends immense resources to contain it. But not before thousands die of hemorrhagic fever. Could continue and worse later.

Jacob turned the page, it was blank. Jacob looked back at the intense pages that he had just read. He felt uncomfortable. He thought about the history that he had just read. Did his uncle want him to record a disease in my time? He couldn't think of anything specific. The last major disease threat had been Ebola. Jacob wondered about answers. He wasn't a vain man, not like everyone else in society. But he also wanted the money, after all, I will donate some to tithing. And maybe even be able to find a girlfriend that shares my values. He opened up a laptop and started to search for someone local that could tell him more about the book. Hopefully there was someone that could help him understand it better. Then he could possibly claim the 20,000 dollars sooner rather than later. Within a few minutes he found a link to a local antique shop that also deals in old books. That night, he struggled to sleep, thinking about the strange book, diseases, but mostly about what he could do with the money. With only an hour or so of sleep, at 9 am he left his home and rode the bus to a stop near the antique shop. On the way, he looked around at the other passengers. Jacob considered how his lifestyle credited him to be more deserving of receiving this bounty of money. He could buy a car with that, then he wouldn't have to ride the bus with the riff raff. He exited the bus and walked a few minutes to the antique shop. As he entered, he noticed an enormous collection of various trinkets. Some looked old, some new. Or restored, he thought. Behind a counter there was a tall lanky man with round glasses. He was looking at Jacob, “Can I help you?” he asked. “Yes”, Jacob replied, “I have an old notebook that I hope you can help me with.” “Of course”, he responded. Jacob hesitated then hands over the book, nervous to give up the book even for a moment. The tall man takes the book, opens it and starts to read. “Fascinating”, he says as he reads some of the pages. He reads through the rest. “This is a very interesting piece”. Jacob nods. The man reopens the book and puts it on the desk. He takes out a magnifying glass from below the counter. “Sometimes with a closer look you can learn more about these old unique books.” He looked at the first page with the glass, a little surprised he looked closer. “How did they do that”, He said to himself. Jacob responded, “do what?” “The lines are not solid markings, there are small spaces, but I can't make it out with a magnifying glass”, he responded. “One moment”, he said. Jacob watched as the man crossed the room and picked up off a shelf what looked like an old microscope. It was old and made of what looked like brass. Coming back to the desk, he carefully moves a page up onto the viewing area. He looks through the glass and then looks up surprised back at Jacob. “I think I can make out the lines, I think, I think there are names written”. Jacob was confused, “How can you see names”? The store owner responds, “they are so small that with the naked eye it looks like solid lines. However inside the words there are names there”. “Can I look?”, Asked Jacob The man moves out of the way and gestures for Jacob to look. Jacob looks through the lense, there are very tiny miniscule names that make up the lines of the ink on the page. He can just barely make out one of them on the first page. Wa Chen, or maybe it is Wu Chang. It's hard to tell with how small the words are written. Jacob didn't know what to think, and the store owner looked just as astounded. “Where did you get this?” The store owner asked. Jacob replied, just a tad bit suspiciously at the man. He didn't want to give up what he deserved. “It's a family heirloom”. “That is definitely a unique family heirloom.” “Would you like to sell it?” Jacob thought about the offer a little, “Probably but I don’t own it yet”, Jacob lied. “When I do fully receive ownership, I will definitely be back.” “Do so, I will give you top dollar for such a rare German Item”. Hesitating, Jacob said, “German”? “Yes of course”, “replied the store owner”. “That is the language it is written in.” Momentarily surprised he stifled his reaction and said, “Wow, I will definitely be back later”. Jacob turned around and left the store thinking. If it was written in German, why did he read it in English? I guess it is not as important as the fact that I can get even more money out of this. I will collect the 20,000 then I will return, he thought. Jacob went back to his studio apartment, thinking of money and how he could finally get a girlfriend that will see his value, that also holds his beliefs. He got home and took his scripture off his study table. He attempted to put it on the shelf, but incorrectly and it fell to the floor. Jacob barely noticed. He opened up the notebook on his study table. He stared at it thinking. It held his whole attention, it was his whole life. He looked at a clock. 10pm. How did it get so late? He had church tomorrow, but it is probably ok to skip this one time. After all, he deserved this. He pulled out a pen. What if I write something randomly about a made up disease, then get credit. He tried to write, but the ink soaked into the page. He pulled back the pen. Then he started to see letters forming at the top of the page.

It read,

Page 10: 2020- World

Death,

It stopped there. This was strange but Jacob no longer cared. He only thought about the life that he had earned after all these years. He tried to write until letters stopped magically appearing on the page.

Page 10: 2020- World

Death, The disease that leaders pretend doesn't exist. Spreads across the globe, killing millions. It causes chaos and disruptions in its wake. Overwhelms the lungs along with many other symptoms. The destroying angel flies across the world. It's name, COVID 19.