Monterey 1990

In the distance off in the fields the machines harvest food aplenty for all. It's a beautiful day. The wind blows softly through the flowers. Birds sing in the trees. Across these beautiful fields we fly. There is no site of life in these fields but finally we abruptly hit civilization. Neat identical houses in grids of concrete roads.

We come to a row of long buildings and come through a window...

The older man venomounsly whispers... "Airman Mantooth, your sideburns are not within the 3/4 quarter inch regulation. This insubordination is the disobeyence of a direct order as per reg 5:24/03. I can have you put in jail for this."

The older man turns to Kessinger, "Hall Leader, was Airman Mantooth notified by you that his hair was out of regulation?"

"Yes sir, I notified him last week," lied Airman Kessinger.

"Is this true Airman Mantooth?" asks the older man.

Airman Mantooth thinks, 'Telling the truth (that Kessinger never said any such thing, not to mention no one was actually aware of any such regulation) would not work. It would be disasterous to do... but why exactly Mantooth could not put his finger on it... but he had learned that this was how it was.'

"Sir, I had no money to get a haircut."

The older man stared like to bore holes through him then asks, "In the future you make sure to ask your hall leader for money if you can't afford a haircut."

Some few additional threats made on his life later and the two leave the older man's office.

"Well I thought that went rather well," says Kessinger.

Mantooth snorts in disgust amazed that Kessinger would even speak to him after his betrayal.

Kessinger thinks, 'Well of course I had to save myself as anyone would do. No hard feelings...'

They come up to the chow hall line as the bell strikes 13. "ding a ring!!" Everyone simultaneously jumps in the air with a half twist to the right and a flourish of their right arm to the sky. Except Miranda who's flourish is hesitant and too parallel. Over the loud speaker:

"Airman Miranda, report to the office at 4:30pm."

Miranda turns pale and his fellows immediately move away from him.

Upstairs an airman sobs uncontrollably in his room, splits open his veins and looks out the window in the distance at the beautiful fields in the distance. He sees the machines. In the early morning when the wind was right you could even hear them. He does not know, nor wonder what they do; what they're for.