Death of a Hero Part 1
Posted By: stan<rbibler01@hotmail.com>
Date: 02 August 2001, 7:07 am
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I've got a question for you: what happens when the hero dies? There are certain universal laws dealing with the hero of any situation. One of them states that the hero never dies before the resolution of the current problem. But what happens if he does? It seems I'm about to find out.
Now don't worry, I'm not about to meet my demise, but you see, my fearless squad leader is. You see, here we are pinned down under blistering enemy fire, and his dumb self is breaking cover to go pull off some mindless heroics. Not that I have a problem with heroics, I'm all for them, as long as it's not me putting my ass on the line. Some may call that cowardice. I, however, call it intelligence. You see, I don't get the point of risking my life for a cause I don't believe in. It's not rational, it doesn't make sense.
Maybe I'm a bad person. Maybe I was born and raised without the decency and humility of a "good" person. Or maybe the physical make-up of my brain is different from most. Maybe. But that doesn't change the fact that I'm stuck on this damn planet thing, with these damn aliens, my damn soon to be dead sergeant, and this damn mission.
Step Right Up! Defeat The Covenant, Save The Earth! One Dollar Gets You Three Tries! Save the earth. There's a novel idea. Albeit, one that I care nothing about. Why would I? I've never seen the earth. The earth is nothing to me. The Earth is the subject of a thousand nostalgic sputterings spewed at me by my fellow soldiers. The Earth is propaganda; you know, the idea of its destruction is supposed to goad me into fighting. Well, that doesn't work on me. I don't have that kind of fanatical devotion that the others do, Earth-born or not.
You should see these people. To them the Earth is the epitome of perfection. No wrong occurs on Earth, and nothing can be wrong with the Earth. It's pathetic. Most have never even set foot on the Earth, and those who have were too young to remember when they did. Their notions of the Home Planet were implanted by the politicians and commanders, and bolstered by stories of early greatness.
I'll admit, the Earth was once great; the marvel of the universe. No other planets or their populace could compare to its glory. Of course, that was back when there were nine known planets, and only one had life. That all changed. The minute contact was made with another intelligent species, Earths days in the limelight were over. Here was another race of beings so far advanced then our own that, within months of their discovery, the very existence of Earth hung in the balance.
You should have seen how the people fled their precious planet after the discovery. It was as if the Earth was tainted; never to be the same. And this was all before the first attacks. These people didn't fear destruction. They didn't care if the Earth was annihilated. Their perfect vision had been shattered. No longer did they belong to something unique, something un-touched by the corruption of the universe. The Earth was to be swallowed up by a greater, more powerful force, it's people destroyed or merged with the new regime.
Exodus! The earthlings fled, all the while hurling accusations at their leaders for doing nothing to stop the impending doom. They ran, only to come crawling back when they realized not much had changed. I can't say I have much sympathy for these people, and less for their cause.
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