Deeptale I
by
Per Jespersen
Once upon a time there was a small
electronic chip. It was quite new and was lying on a long shelf in a clever
doctor’s room at the hospital. He was a very clever doctor indeed – and his
desk was filled up with printed papers, and he was reading one of the most
important papers – the one that came from the authorities. That was why it was
so important. There were seals on it – and gold in the corners of it –
therefore, the doctor took on his best glasses. They were very expensive, and
he only used them in important situations. He took them on, checked his tie and
shirt, combed his hair and read.
A clever doctor with a governmental paper
in his hand. Oh, this is serious. And the small chip knew what it was all
about. It felt so proud, because it had an important future to look forward to.
The doctor was reading, and the chip was quiet. Was it going to be the next?
Waiting for a new baby to be born? So that its mission could be fulfilled?
The doctor got up, put his expensive
glasses back on the desk on the top of the most important papers. He was proud,
too – because he was the doctor appointed to start a new area: putting
electronic chips into the necks of all new-born babies. This was the best
moment in his whole life as a doctor. Oh, he looked forward to tell is wife,
who was a kind, but very ambitious lady indeed, because she had married a
clever doctor.
And the small chip felt so nervous, that
it was ready to jump down from the shelf to the clever doctor’s desk. How
strange, that it could be nervous, as it had no heart, no veins, but only
digitalized elements. But it was nervous, anyway, and as it saw the doctor
coming closer to the shelf, its digitalized soul was almost jumping out of it.
And then – a new baby was born. Everybody
could hear the crying, and everybody was so happy. A baby again – a baby again
-- a new citizen for the country. All the nurses danced down the halls of the
hospital, and the clever doctor was close to dancing himself. But he was too
clever for that – he knew that his new carier would start today. And the mall
chip was full of joy. Now it was close to starting its carier, too. It was so
splendid.
The doctor came closer to the shelf,
looking for the right chip for the new-born boy. It was supposed to watch this
boy for his whole lifetime, and it was supposed to send a message to the
governmental centre for new citizens every hour of the day.
The small chip watched the doctor -- and
believe me: he went up to the shelf and chose exactly our small chip,
whispering, “You are going to do the work for the governmental centre and for
me, so that the centre will always know what this little boy is doing and where
he is. I am so happy! Finally my cleverness turns into reality!”
The doctor took the small chip and carried
it carefully and happily to the room, in which the new baby boy was born. And
she small chip was injected into the neck of the beautiful new boy, and our
chip felt the warmth of the boy’s blood. It was so splendid, and the doctor
went happily out of the room, while all the nurses clapped their hands.
The doctor’s cleverness had turned into
reality, and the governmental intelligence had had a new victory!
And months went by, and the boy grew in
his sleep, and the moon sent her splendid beams through the windows right to
the face of the sleeping baby boy. And our small chip was patiently waiting for
the boy to grow so old, that he could move around, so it could report to the
governmental centre. Oh, the poor chip could hardly wait. Poor chip! A year is
a very long time – even for digitalized chips!
So the chip fell asleep until years
passed. But it was awakened by the governmental centre when the boy was brought
to school for the first time. Now it was time to work and report!
The boy went into the classroom, smiling
proudly. The first day in school is really something. Oh, my goodness – do you
remember your first day at school? I do, and I will never forget it. Neither
will the boy of our story. There was a wonderful girl in his class. She had yellow
hair and eyes as blue as the ocean, and the boy fell in love.
“Now is the time for me to report,” the
chip thought, and it digitalized itself to send its first message to the
governmental centre. It was really hard work!
But it had a strange feeling. What a chip!
In fact, it had a very bad conscience, because it saw the beautiful smile from
the blue-eyed girl. Oh, what a smile! She was in love, too. She saw a pretty
boy with brown eyes and hair as black as the night itself. Who could not fall
in love, seeing that?
“Has she a chip, too,” it asked itself.
“Is she reported, too?” It certainly did not like it. It was a terrible thing
to do to report such a thing as innocent love. Poor chip! A bad conscience is a
terrible thing. You kow that, do you not?
What would you do, if you were a
digitalized chip supposed to be reporting to a governmental centre, and you
were put into the body of a sweet boy by the most clever doctor of the country?
What would you have done?
Day after day the small electronic chip saw
the innocent love growing between the two children. And the beauty took over
the cleverness and the logic. Was love not much bigger than hat? Was logic not
the smallest part of a boy’s and a girl’s love?
Oh, there was a decision to make. And it
is pretty tough to do that!
But the small chip did it. One morning
after having seen the boy’s beautiful dreams with yellow-haired girls,
butterflies with yellow wings, and the next day’s yellow sunshine mirrored in
the girl’s hair – oh, believe me: it jumped out of the neck of the boy right in
the doorway of the school. And watch: a chip was jumping out of the girl’s neck
as well. Both children took to their necks, screaming, “What happened?” They
both heard a strange metallic sound on the stairs to the classroom.
And believe me: the boy took the girl’s
hand, and they stepped into the classroom together, and all the classmates
clapped their hands.
This was really a happy ending, was it
not?
True and unreported love!
Innocent love!
Privacy!
Timesquare,
Randerup, Denmark
and
Liceo
Internacional, Quito