Chapter 11: House of Repugnant Lies
The day of Orcille’s presentation at the House of Divine Knowledge had arrived. Darius woke up extra early. It was easy for him because he never really went to sleep. He was too excited and partly anxious about the big day.
Immediately after getting out of bed, Darius went over to poke Demarcus in the back. ‘Oh what! Sure, I’ll get up. Just ten more minutes. I’m not with it yet,’ responded Demarcus in a sleepy daze.
‘You need to be with it. This is the biggest day of our lives,’ said Darius enthusiastically.
‘You have so much energy and passion these days. The Inquisitives have really had an impact on you,’ responded Demarcus while half yawning.
‘They will change Adoy and all of Sapey. We think our lives are good because we don’t understand our true potential,’ said Darius as he glanced upwards with his right fist clenched.
‘Wonderful, but you do realise that his presentation doesn’t start for another three hours,’ replied Demarcus. They paused, looked at each other, and chuckled.
About an hour later, Darius and Demarcus arrived at Denise’s home. Darius shouted up to her apartment, ‘We need to get going. I want us to have front-row seats to the show.’
About fifteen seconds later, Denise walked out onto her apartment’s balcony. She looked down and smiled, ‘Let’s do this.’
Meanwhile, Orcille was just getting out of bed in his apartment. He felt stiff. His body ached all over. He made his way to his bathroom. He opened up his bathroom cabinet. It was full of different medications. He grabbed two syringes and two small vials. He filled both syringes. He rolled up a sleeve of his nightclothes, revealing his heavily scarred arm. He jabbed himself with both syringes. He closed the cabinet. He looked at himself in the mirror for a few seconds.
‘I can do this. I can do this. I can do this. I will make you proud. I swear. I swear,’ he said with a croaky voice that shuddered slightly with pain.
Orcille went into his lounge. He sat cross-legged while the room filled with soothing music. After about thirty minutes, he rose to his feet. He was feeling far more energised. He took a quick shower. He put on his best outfit. He grabbed the material he needed for his presentation. He looked in the mirror one more time before he left. ‘This is it. Today everything will change.’ He was feeling both determined and confident.
Darius, Demarcus, and Denise arrived at the House of Divine Knowledge speaker’s theatre early. They sat in the front row, right in front of the podium. Victor arrived a few minutes later to join them. The rest of the Inquisitives came in shortly afterwards. They were followed by more Sapiens. Over the next twenty minutes, the attendance grew. All the seats were taken. Sapiens were forced to stand.
Orcille walked in. He approached Victor. ‘What an audience! It’s amazing. It’s going to be amazing,’ said Orcille to Victor. Orcille’s hands were slightly shaking.
‘You’re going to do great,’ said Victor to Orcille as he gently patted him on the back. Orcille moved to one side of the theatre as Genève walked on stage.
Genève stood behind the podium. She took a moment to view the huge turnout in the theatre. She turned to her right, where Jaffadella was standing. She gave her a slight nod of approval. She turned to face the large crowd. She slowly raised her hands as a gesture to indicate she wanted silence and was about to speak. She then lowered her arms.
‘Dear Sapiens, thank you for showing up today,’ exclaimed Genève. ‘As most of you know, we have a special speaker for today’s presentation. He is Orcille from the rambunctious community group who like to be referred to as the Inquisitives.’
The Sapiens in the front few rows began to clap loudly. Genève paused until the applause stopped. ‘I will admit I am not a supporter of their views, but I am a supporter of open discussions and freedom of speech and expression. The Inquisitives will not be denied this because they have a different perspective of the world,’ she said forcefully. ‘Without further ado, I would like to welcome Orcille. The stage and the audience are yours,’ she exclaimed energetically. She walked off the stage as Orcille walked on stage and took his position behind the podium.
About half the theatre applauded as he walked on. He took a few moments until the applause stopped. ‘Thank you, Genève, and an even bigger thank you to Jaffadella. This day would not be possible without you,’ said Orcille as he gestured towards the two of them.
Orcille then looked towards the front row and at Victor directly. ‘I am only the messenger. The true mastermind of our movement is Victor.’
Orcille raised his head to focus on the broader audience. ‘I owe him much for his wisdom and leadership. Today, I want to share with all of you what I have learnt from him.’
‘You may think we all have everything we could possibly need and even want. The “rights” ensure we have nice, comfortable homes, healthy food, clean water, security, and healthcare when we need it. If we want more than that, we have “privileges”. When we contribute to society, we are rewarded with opportunities to acquire luxuries, travel to other regions, and have fun holidays. Doesn’t that sound great?’ declared Orcille.
The theatre was filled with applause. Orcille paused. He looked around and then focused on Victor. Victor nodded in approval. The applause died down. Orcille continued, ‘What if I told you that all of this means very little if we are missing an essential aspect of life? That essential aspect is freedom.’
Orcille paused to gauge the reaction of the room. It was mostly silent. He raised his voice and said, ‘It is freedom.’ He briefly paused again and then continued. ‘From the very day we are born to the last day of our lives, we are controlled. We are taken to childcare to be looked after by strangers. We are forced to attend school for twelve years. We are taught that this is the only way. Therefore, we believe it is. There is no room for our own thoughts,’ he blurted out.
A mumbling sound was heard from the audience. Orcille looked from side to side. He took a deep breath and continued. ‘When we leave school, there is no freedom. We accept what we are given. Freedom is not treated as a “right”. It is not even treated as a “privilege”. That is because you were meant to never know it even existed.’
Genève began to feel uneasy but did not interrupt.
‘Our regions were not designed to keep us safe. They were designed to keep us imprisoned,’ stated Orcille.
A voice blurts out from the audience. ‘The walls protect us from the wastelands. Without them, the toxicity would enter our homes.’
Orcille grinned and responded. ‘Do you really think a twenty-metre wall is going to stop toxic air and water from entering our region?’
‘It does. The water in the region is filtered and cleaned, and the toxic air is dense; it does not rise more than a few metres off the ground,’ replied the voice from the crowd.
Orcille continued to grin and said in response, ‘I get it. They teach that to everyone in school, university, and even in this most revered establishment. There is no alternative education. There is no real science. Well, not for any of you.’
Orcille reached into his bag and pulled out a sealed beaker containing a slightly brownish gas. ‘This is the toxic gas that we have all been told about,’ he proclaimed.
The audience gasped in horror. ‘I will demonstrate right now that everything you have ever been told is a lie,’ shouted Orcille. ‘This is not the House of Divine Knowledge. It is the House of Repugnant Lies,’ he shouted with all his might.
The audience erupted. Some shouted angry and vulgar comments. Some shouted praise. Genève rose to her feet to calm the audience and to end Orcille’s presentation. Orcille knew he had to act now. He raised the beaker above his head and slammed it down onto the stage. It shattered, and the gas immediately escaped.
The theatre was filled with screams. Some Sapiens fell to the floor, others tried to scramble to the exits, some climbed on chairs, and some froze in fear. Orcille stood still as the brown gas rose up into the air around him. Within a few seconds, it had dissipated and could no longer be seen.
The panic in the theatre continued. Darius and Demarcus did not move, but they were incredibly nervous. Victor reassured them that it was going to be fine. Denise sat calmly, looking up at Orcille. Orcille looked straight back at her. He tilted his head sideways and grinned.
Enforcers ran onto the stage. They grabbed Orcille hard and escorted him to the back exit of the theatre. He maintained eye contact with Denise as he was pulled away. It was strange, as he had never looked her in the eyes before. The theatre soon cleared, but the chaos continued outside.
Sapiens were running around frantically, shouting and screaming. The media were there to film the events of the day. There had never been such commotion in Adoy or anywhere in Sapey in recent memory.
Jacob, Janice, and Darlene rushed over to Demarcus and Darius. The boys welcomed them with open arms. Jacob wanted them to return home. Darius insisted he stay with Denise and Victor.
Once they had left the theatre, Denise, Darius, and Victor walked towards the Agriculture Zone to get away from the chaos. They initially walked in silence. Darius broke the silence with a comment. ‘Did that go well or badly?’ he asked.
Both Darius and Denise looked towards Victor. Victor responded, ‘With change comes chaos. Some Sapiens can absorb things better. Others become afraid. We need to be patient.’
‘Will we face any repercussions because of today’s events?’ inquired Darius.
‘The darkest hours come before dawn,’ replied Victor.
Denise shrugged her shoulders and sighed.
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