Wheat from the Chaff

The forest was serene. Deep within the dark green foliage it was considerably cooler than out on the open terrain. Far from the peering eyes of the tourists there was a hut. For the last two years Thet Win had resided here with his nine bunkmates; three adults and six children.

Mid day break was almost over.  He could tell by the raucous laughter that the soldiers had finished with the girls. He knew he had just a few seconds to get up and stand in front of the hut to be marched back to the roadway where they were working. The four other males were out the doorway ahead of him, he looked back and saw Hla Kyi was having difficulty getting up from the dirt floor, so he went back to help her. She struggled up and with Thet Win’s arm around her, she limped to the door . They made it to the inspection line five seconds late.

Colonel Ye Soe was not pleased. He walked up to Hla Kyi, put his heel soundly to her chest, then pushed her to the hard ground. He turned his attention toward Thet Win, drew back his fist to punch his face, then relaxed and laughed. As soon as his victim relaxed he kneed him in the groin. Ye Soe delighted in the boy's howls of pain as he fell to the ground. The other three soldiers also howled, but with derisive laughter.

At eleven years of age, Thet Win and his entire family had been enlisted into service to their country. His oldest brother had resisted and was shot in front of their humble hut. The rest of the family was tortured into submission by the colonel and his men. The family was separated and sent to various work projects. It was fortunate for Thet Win that his father had been sent to the same road project, but they had not been housed in the same unit. About once a week or so he managed to have a very brief conversation with his father while they toiled in the hot sun on the dusty road. These conversations consisted of encouragement from his father to persevere and to believe they would soon be reunited with their family.

Thet Win became the poster child for optimism among the slaves. When anyone became depressed, Thet Win could inspire them with an optimistic perspective. Initially this annoyed his captors greatly, but Ye Soe pointed out to his men that this little cheerleader bolstered production far better than anyone else could, so they not only allowed, but encouraged his optimism. The soldiers carried a deep resentment towards him for being so privileged but were appeased by the fact that the Colonel liked to keep Thet Wins happiness in check with regular beatings and insults.

In his native Myanmar, Ye Soe proclaimed;” next time I will not be so gentle. The whistle blow, you be here. Get up now!”

The old woman and the young boy got to their feet to march with the others towards the roadway. It was fortuitous for them that the colonel was so  fond of the young girls assigned to their hut, for they were the only ones in the workforce of 800 people who received a break.

Ye Soe was the top ranking officer on the road project, therefor he had many privileges. To reward his men for their hard work he would treat them to a few minutes with his girls every afternoon. He had assigned himself only ten people to watch over, the other men had at least fifty. The groups of “volunteers” had to remain together for security reasons so the two men, three boys and the old lady of Thet Wins hut got a break during the soldiers’ afternoon delight with the four young girls.

As the four soldiers and their charges walked back along the wooded path to the work site they noticed two figures approaching. Thet Win stopped with the others, they had never encountered anyone on their journey to and from work before. All of the soldiers knew not to interfere with Ye Soe and for any civilian getting in his way, it was suicide.

The colonel motioned for two of his soldiers to move forward towards the intruders with rifles drawn, told the third to cover them while he stayed back to guard the slaves. The lead soldier ordered the intruders to halt. They did not so he fired at the bigger one. Nothing happened, every time he pulled the trigger it merely clicked. One of the prisoners, a young boy called Nyein Khin Htway, dove into the bushes. Ye Soe drew a bead on his location and fired. Click! Just like the other soldiers’ gun.

Ye Soe cursed under his breath, he had known the guns were not working for weeks now, up until that moment the volunteers had no clue. He had given strict orders to his men not to fire, the guns were still valuable threats as long as the volunteers were not aware of their impotence.
Thet Win heard the young boy scurry off into the forest and was saddened, for he knew he would be apprehended and severely punished eventually. For now his focus was delivered back to the intruders. He dreaded what would happen next, for as horrible as his life was as a slave, any change was always for the worst.

Of the two intruders, only one was human, the other had two arms and two legs but was some sort of a machine, yet it moved with the grace of a dancer and the swiftness of a tiger. It stood before the entourage as if it were surveying them, its human companion lingering a few feet behind. The machine raised its arms as the soldiers stood in awe, petrified with fear. In an instant, the four soldiers dissolved into thin air.

It was not until the soldiers had disappeared that the human approached the group. He spoke perfectly in the native tongue; “my name is Morgan, I have been sent to inform you that your captors have been extradited. You are free to join the other liberated peoples at the roadway if you prefer, or we could transport you to any location of your choosing.”

He walked over to Hla Kyi;” you look to be in need of some patching up, I am a doctor of sorts, please allow me to help you." He examined her briefly, then turned to the rest of the captives; "don’t be alarmed people, I am sending her to the clinic straightaway, it might be advisable for the rest of you to get checked out also.” Hla Kyi dematerialized in the same fashion as the soldiers.

Thet Win walked up to the man and demanded; “did my father send you? He told me many days ago, soon we would be rescued by an angel. Of course I did not believe him. I never do. I think he is a dreamer.”

“So it was your father I talked to then.” The man stated calmly. Since the day he started his liberation maneuvers Morgan had learned that any link to communication with liberated slaves should be heartily embraced, most of them had been living in a deep state of oppression for so long that instant freedom startled them. Once any type of bond was established, the rendezvous with freedom became much more lubricated.

“Would you like to go see him now?” He turned to the rest of the group and stated;”Would the rest of you like to visit your loved ones?” He placed his hand on Gort’s back. “Consider my friend here your own personal rickshaw. Where would you like to go?”

“I would like to see my father, my mother and my sisters again kind sir.” Thet Win chimed gleefully.

“Your wish is my command. As soon as we figure out where they all are, each of you can have a family reunion.”

~

On an ice shelf in Antarctica a way station had been constructed. The domed structure was a city under glass with almost the same size as Philadelphia. During the endless nights of August the city was a beacon of light that could be viewed from thousands of miles into space.

The most difficult  procedure for any creature of the realm was to interface with those who refused to LISTEN. Shaq was the oldest and most experienced of the entourage. He had no patience for these extremely raw creatures. He warned his shipmates that this planets inhabitants were far too primitive to be embraced by the realm, but Nibu had convinced the entire coalition that these barbarians could be indoctrinated easily enough. Being a good father, Shaq now put forth every effort to actualizing Nibu’s expectations regardless of his previous stance.

In a far corner of the city was an area designated for new arrivals. Humans were always extremely disoriented after being beamed across the planet for the first time, this safe room existed to minimize this unsettling phenomena.

One moment Ye Soe was walking through the forest with his men and their charges, the next he found himself standing in a large room staring at an alien. He had no weapons to draw, so he hurtled himself towards the apparition.

Shaq preferred opaque mode when dealing with new arrivals, translucent PHILS only served to further disorient his clientele. After Ye Soe bounced off him, the alien offered his hand to help him up. Ye Soe backed away on all fours. Shaq strode over to a conference table and said over his shoulder;” we have a few things to go over. Let me know when you feel like talking.”

Shaq threw his feet up on the desk and flicked on his u-pod. The sounds that emanated from it were indecipherable to the humans standing a few feet away.

Ye Soe gathered his merry men into a football like huddle and started calling a play. From across the room Shaq muted his machine;”whatever you’re conspiring to do is certainly destined for failure. Will you please join me at the table? I have a few options for you to consider.”


Ye Soe walked towards the table placing himself between the alien and his men. “I will have you know that my men and I would choose to die before we will submit to your will.”

“If you so wish, it could be easily arranged and would make matters much simpler for me. You may even choose the method of your cessation of life. Just say the word and it will be done. There is no room in life for those who do not want it. Also, FYI, my personal desires are completely irrelevant in this matter, I am merely interpreting the natural law of the universe.”

“Of course there are other options for you.” Shaq said as he turned back to his u-pod.

A soldier stepped from behind the colonel and shouted;”Kill me now! I have come from a long line of warriors and I will not be subjected to the humiliation of capture! Kill me now, I do not care how!”

Shaq pressed a button on his u-pod and the soldier instantly fell to the plush carpet. Shaq looked at the other soldiers; “I assure you it was painless, but he will begin to ripen rather quickly if I do not remove him”. He pressed another button and the soldier de-materialized.

He looked at the three remaining men. “Anyone else?” They all stood in silence, stunned by the easy execution of their comrade. The colonel stood, arms akimbo, attempting to stare down the alien with all the machismo he could muster. Shaq had skipped that class so the entire effort on the colonel’s part was completely in vain. After a moment one of the soldiers approached Shaq and began to weep.

“I don’t want to die. I have a wife and a daughter. I know I have done some terrible things but I truly do not wish to be executed here, now.” He fell to his knees and began to sob hysterically while his compatriots looked on in disgust at his cowardice.

“Of course you don’t want to do die. No rational being does. That being said, I am going to recommend you for rehabilitation. Have a nice day.” With a push of a key the man was gone.

The colonel and his right hand man were still standing defiantly, arms folded, legs apart. They were both shaking their heads in disgust at their former partner who had just become a traitor to their country.

Shaq shut the lid on his u-pod, got up and walked over to the two soldiers. “Guess it looks like you two aren’t going to negotiate and I’m not going to waste any more time convincing you, there are millions of folks to be processed through here. So, here are your options: death like your first friend, rehab like your second, although I doubt that I could recommend you, one needs at least a scintilla of remorse to build upon and as yet I have not detected a smidgeon of that. Number three would be rehabitation, we could find you a world outside of the realm, and the last one; I could just open the door right there and welcome you to Oz.”

Shaq returned to the table and put his feet back up. “You have five minutes until I decide for you.”

The colonel finally walked to the table, leaned across it and said;”I think I would prefer you should return me home.”

“Well, my friend, that is never going to happen, we missed you on the first sweep so you were out there causing trouble a lot longer than you should have been.”

“What gives you the right to kidnap me? To take me from my home and threaten me?”

Shaq stared right through Ye Soe; “this is humorous. Firstly, I have no rights regarding you, this is purely procedure, and secondly, you have no respect for rights anyway.”

“Individual rights must often be sacrificed for the greater good.” Ye Soe countered.

“How true, and also precisely the rationality that brought you here; the greater good.”

“I don’t know what you are talking about. I was talking about the greater good of my country.”

Shaq got up from the table and leaned across it to the soldier; “and what country would that be? Your country disbanded weeks ago. It is obvious that your ‘road project’ was being run solely for your personal amusement.”

“Our leaders have temporarily lost control, my road will be ready for them when they return to power.”

“I feel foolish talking to you, it is obvious that you cannot LISTEN. You are just not equipped to participate in the realm. The time has come for you to make a decision, allow me to review your choices.”

“Rehabitation; a lovely plan. We will transport you to a world where you can reside with people just like yourself. Of course since you have chosen to live outside the realm you will have to forfeit all the financial benefits and health plan. Hey, win some lose some. At least you will be able to live your ridiculously short life exactly in the manner you so choose without having to adhere to our silly little ‘life is sacred’ nuisances.”

“If you are afraid of space travel you can remain here in Oz. Just say open sesame and that door will fly open and you can spend the rest of your days in this fine city we have built for your less evolved brethren. It’s a real melting pot too, there are murderers, rapists and assaulters of all walks. The only thing you all have in common is a complete lack of respect for life.”

“We have a complete laissez-faire policy towards both Oz and out-world planets. Murderers can get raped and rapists can get murdered. It’s quite a fine system of checks and balances. Eventually you will all die and your feudal warlord system with it. Very tidy"”

“At any point in time you can request cessation of life, which of course is irrevocable. Rehabilitation is a long arduous process. As I have explained earlier, you must be approved to commence that process, at this point, neither of you qualify. You have about thirty seconds to make your decision, so what will it be; death, space or the default Oz, I have already spent way too much time on you.”

Ye Soe conferred with his sycophant, then turned to Shaq and stated; “Send us to a new world, you have completely destroyed this one.”

With a touch of a key the two men disappeared, Shaq resumed his position at the center of the room and within seconds a new batch from South America arrived.
"Another day, another diatribe"; he thought to himself.

~

Khin Thida had been suffering from Stockholm Syndrome for many years. He had angered Colonel Ye Soe to the point of being arrested, imprisoned and psychologically abused for months before succumbing to the syndrome which had shaped his life for the last three years. It took the trauma of alien abduction to release the genuine personna that had been shielded under the many layers of oppression the colonel had inflicted upon him in that time. The sudden realization that he was truly not the man the Colonel had turned him into is what caused him to break down in tears in front of Shaq in Antarctica.

The aliens had bestowed humanity with highly advanced techniques and procedures that neutralized this, and most other infirmities, in a matter of hours. After one day at the clinic, Khin Thida was his former self. He was delivered to his wife, who had faithfully clung to the belief that he would someday return, along with his small children who barely knew him. It was a day of rejoicing for the entire village.

~

The Bhabha clinic in Mumbai was one of over 100 massive hospitals worldwide that trained physicians and treated the many infirmities of the planets residents. Accelerated training of the advanced healing methods of the realm was implemented throughout the network.

It was here that Chamique administered to Hla Kyi’s numerous wounds and injuries. When younger, Hla Kyi had been repeatedly raped and tortured, as she grew older her punishment had dwindled to mere beatings. She had bones mending improperly, she had more scar than healthy tissue, and had more maladies than she could remember. Her defiant will to survive in the face of extreme adversity had carried her through the torment and agony foisted upon her. Her children and grandchildren were about to become re-acquainted with a woman who was ten times more fit than one the junta conscripted a decade earlier.

There was an immeasurable plethora of fulfillment felt by Chamique for the amount of healing she was able to perform on the creatures of Earth. The 800 that had been transported to the clinic from Myanmar today were all in pitiful shape, but she and her staff had made them good as new, physically and psychologically. Over 2500 people had come in to take their loved ones home, but the one that touched her soul the deepest was the boy they called Thet Win.

Young ones were very rare in the realm, she found them enchanting.

Thet Win refused to be treated until he was assured that all his bunkmates were fine. He insisted on visiting Hla Kyi personally to be assured that she would be okay. Protecting her from the savagery of the guards had been his prime directive during his interment. During his brief time with Chamique he managed to hug her no less then fifteen times in a touching expression of gratitude that was foreign to her culture, but an affectation that she decidedly enjoyed.

~

The ‘dead’ man found himself back in the forest. As he slowly came to, he realized it was not his familiar haunt. It was dark, but he recognized the first inkling of sunlight beginning to appear on the eastern horizon. The air was eerily silent. None of the sounds of nature were apparent in any way; no insects, birds or wildlife that he was accustomed to at this time of day. He was alone. He recalled asking the alien to kill him, he did not want to live in captivity.

He realized he was now residing in his Chikai  Bardo and soon he would move into Nirvana. He lapsed into a meditative state as pure as any he had since childhood. He dwelled there for quite some time.

A commotion in the nearby brush snapped him out of his trance. When he looked up he saw a man, a white man, creeping towards him. He jumped up to confront him but the other man was bigger, stronger and had gotten the jump on him, the man soon had him pinned to the forest floor.
“Welcome to Melee. You happened along at a most opportune moment. There’s a skirmish brewing and I am in dire need of a few good men.” He held a makeshift knife to his neck and stated;” be a good little chink and do what I say. If you don’t fight me, you and me will get along just fine.” The man tied his wrists tightly and his ankles loosely with some sort of vine and made him march back to his ramshackle hut, then threw him in a pit with two other captives.

“We’ll all go over battle plans over lunch. You can think about it over breakfast.” With that he threw some rotting fruit into the hole. The other two men scrambled to it and fought over each scrap.

Not Nirvana, he thought.
~
By the time the Colonel and his companion were transported to Melee, dawn had shed some light upon the landscape. They found themselves in a clearing next to a tropical forest. The silence was deafening. In the distance the men could see smoke ascending to the sky. It appeared to be smoke from a campfire. With assent as silent as the morning air they began their journey towards the settlement.

The colonel was excited that he had been given a second chance to exert his will upon the people of this strange new world.