THE GREAT CLEANSING
BY
ROBERT WALLACE PAOLINELLI
Science
fiction works of literature and of the cinema often portray grotesque creatures
and human-like creatures from outer space as dangerous, as typified in the
genre of monster(s)-from-outer-space films and similar novels and short
stories.
However, the
past few years films and books have been portraying space visitors as benevolent--even
to be pitied and protected as exemplified in the films "ET" and
"Starman." I am glad this change has
happened. As a writer I am inspired to write a story
based on the complete goodness of some space visitors, wherein they are most
willing and able to reverse the calamities besetting the planet and the Human
Condition. The star visitors literally heal and cleanse the planet:--
The air is
cleaned; smog and other airborne toxic mists vanish. There is no threat to
humans or to the environment from filthy air.
The pollution
in the waters is also cleaned. Every drop of moisture has
been rid of every atom of man-made pollution and once more both humans and
animals can again drink deeply and freely from any stream, lake, pond, fountain
or river, for all sources of water above and below ground have been made pure
and everyone is happy that the waters have also been returned to such a pure
state.
Then the
visitors healed billions of people of every malady and disease known--and
unknown--to modern science. No errant microbes were dangerous; no disease could
take root in or on the human body. Every
kind of cancer was elimina- ted; AIDS vanished; typhoid, cholera, polio, dementia,
insanity and schizophrenia were also eliminated. There were no more headaches,
no soreness, no bursitis or arthritis; no internal
organ dysfunctioned or malfunctioned. Every organ was
filled with health and everyone was healthy; no longer was there any need for
medical doctors, hospitals, clinics and medicines. Gradually all the doctors
and nurses were forced to retire; hospitals all over the world closed, so too
pharmacies and pharmaceutical companies and other industries connected to
so-called health maintenance. Millions of people were let go and the
universities closed down their medical schools, nursing schools, dental schools
and schools of pharmacy.
People who had
lost their vision or who had been born blind had their vision restored and
blindness disappeared from the roster of human maladies.
Those who had
lost limbs or who had been born without a limb or limbs were all treated by the
star people and there was no longer any need for prosthetics of any kind. No
canes, crutches were needed. All former amputees and limbless people had arms
and legs restored; even the fingerless and earless--even the noseless were treated. Every lack and deformity was dealt
with.
All the fields and forests and mountains and plains and deserts were
made pure; and all the creatures of the earth, in the sea and of the air were
made pure. All animals and plants used as food were free from pollutants.
The space
visitors rid the Human Condition of all its physical and environmental ills;
however, when an old woman asked that her soul be made pure by their cosmic
powers, the space visitors were at a loss, for they had no power to cleanse the
soul.
After a while the star men left Earth and flew off into space never
more to be seen.
After a while those who had lost materially were angry. In spite of
the obvious benefit of the universal cleansing, those who had had positions of
authority or who had had riches felt left out and neglected. And
their discontent was voiced loudly and people of small intelligence began to beleive that they too had lost something because of the
Great Cleansing, i.e. a way to earn money.
In the early
days of the Great Purification, people didn't work much and stores gave food
away; but now that the shock of being liberated from most of the torments of
the Human Condition was wearing off, many people didn't think they were as well
off as they had been before the Great Cleansing.
The automobile manufacturers took a beating because as soon as the
clouds of smog were eliminated and blue skies could be seen and the air was
clean, people didn't use their cars; but now the auto giants and their workers
were unemployed; but most people didn't want automobiles anymore; nevertheless,
there were enough people who believed otherwise to make a difference and to
make trouble.
Of course--and
it goes without belaboring the issue much to say that--the petroleum industry,
from top to bottom was also shut down; and the benefits notwithstanding, the
petroleum industry wanted to get back into action and make some money. The earth was clean they said. They would be
careful and not spill a drop of petroleum--so went their arguments.
Eventually the
whole world was against itself.
No one really remembers who fired the first shot and there is no
record of the release of the first chemical warfare bomb; and there is no
record to show which sinking tanker sent thousands and thousands of barrels of
petroleum to float atop the seas and eventually reach shore where it killed
birds, aquatic mammals, sea plants and ruined the oyster beds of the coastal
oyster farms.
When the first
wounded soldiers discovered there were no medical personnel or medicines to
treat their wounds, they mutinied and many more were wounded or mutilated.
The rotting
corpses invited new diseases and in not too long a time people began to get
sick and feel great pain; boils and rashes and lesions began on the skin;
kidneys failed, hearts stopped, lungs filled with puss, blood did not circulate
in the body and once again people were losing limbs
and vision.
Several generations after the Great Cleansing the planet was more
or less where it was before the great event; however, there were people here
and there who had been able to hold onto some land in its pristine states and
they did what they could to protect it, but by and large the smogs and toxic rains returned; the waters were again
dirty, the land littered with junk and pesticides and herbicides.
The industrial
powers were back in business and people were making money again.
When a couple
of centuries had passed there was an oral tradition
about the Great Cleansing. But there were several
opinions about it: some said there was no evidence and could not be believed;
some said it might have been possible, but not likely; many dismissed it out of
hand calling it a fairy tale or myth; some people had no opinion about it one
way or another.
Ultimately the good deeds done by the star visitors went
completely unappreciated and fell to the wayside, and the Human Condition
continued; everything seemed to be normal and the movie industry started making
films about evil space visitors again. And another old
woman began to ask how she could cleanse her soul, but no one could answer her.
Yes, that is
the story I think I would write--but it has already been written.
November 2nd, 1997
San Francisco