Read Online Louse by David Grand - Free Book Online

me, but I’ve had enough of this,” Mr. Bender breaks in. “Let’s just get this over with. You two act as though there is some chivalry involved in this.”
    â€œShut your mouth, Mr. Bender,” Mr. Sherwood orders.
    â€œThis is ridiculous. There’s no reasoning with him,” Mr. Bender continues on defiantly. “You act as though he is going to give us what you want on his own free will. He is stubborn, more stubborn than you.”
    â€œI think the young man is correct in his assessment, Mr. Sherwood,” Poppy replies. “You two would do well to listen to the younger ones.”
    â€œWe should be rid of him once and for all,” Mr. Bender continues.
    â€œYes, very clever, Mr. Bender. I like your style,” Poppy declares. “You have chosen well, Mr. Sherwood.”
    â€œBut really, Herbert, what’s keeping us from it?” the doctor asks.
    â€œI don’t know. You seem ready for the worst of all outcomes. This one you could be sure of.”
    â€œPlease, H. H.,” Mr. Sherwood intones.
    â€œWhat is it you’re afraid of?” Mr. Bender demands.
    A moment of silence passes.
    â€œHe claims that if we were to harm him, the Head Engineer can and will destroy G. and Paradise as well. We believe he has a cache of explosives to do as he says.”
    Mr. Bender doesn’t say anything at first.
    â€œIt’s a bluff,” he finally asserts. “If he destroys G. and Paradise, he will destroy everything.”
    â€œLook at him,” Dr. Barnum says.
    â€œYes, look at me, Mr. Bender,” Poppy says.
    Another moment of silence passes.
    Mr. Bender is speechless.
    â€œAnd now that’s he’s managed to launder the accumulated wealth of G. from our accounts into his private coffers, he’ll have his vision,” Mr. Sherwood surrenders.
    â€œParadise Beyond Paradise…,” Dr. Barnum broods.
    â€œWasn’t Paradise enough for you?” Mr. Sherwood asks.
    â€œNo,” Poppy says. “It wasn’t Paradise enough.”
    â€œI’ve had it,” Mr. Bender declares somewhat more timidly than before.
    â€œEnough,” Mr. Sherwood affirms.
    â€œEnough,” Dr. Barnum agrees.
    And with that the voices disappear as mysteriously as they appeared. I lean my head toward the door to see if I can hear anything else. But the hall is perfectly still. Some sounds drift from the kitchen where I can hear Ms. Lonesome cleaning something in the sink. And then suddenly, the door to Poppy’s chambers opens. Mr. Bender, Dr. Barnum, and Mr. Godmeyer exit and storm down the wing in the same manner that they arrived.

7. PARADISE BEYOND PARADISE—DECLARATION OF PRINCIPLES
    Dear Members of the Board of Directors:
    We, Homo sapiens, rule the world. We rule by destroying that within the reach of our hands to create the unreal illusion of our destinies. In part, this is because our brains in proportion to our bodies are large and are growing ever larger to parallel the exponential rate of our expanded consciousness. Our instincts, more than any other creature’s, more than in any other time, are becoming fashioned in the shape of what we once defined as God’s. Though we may be in the form of animals, die like animals, decay like animals, we are no longer animals in thought. Only when we remind ourselves. Millions of years of an evolutionary fallacy have shaped us into creatures who grow in concordance with belief as opposed to necessity, therefore, disassociating our consciousness from our physicality. Primarily, our belief has been in our inner selves, in what we perceive, and not in those invisible external forces that shape us. Yes, it is true, that we react when darkness envelops us,when fear grips our imaginations, causing us to grunt, howl, and shriek like the presyllabic animals that we once were. However, when the danger is gone we return to our cages and revel in the reflections of our human form,