A Question of Pride complete novel free to read VK

"You will likewise know that men draw upon themselves their own misfortunes voluntarily, and of their own free choice. Unhappy they are! They neither see nor understand that their good is near them".

The golden verses of Pythagoras.

…….

There he is! The man responsible for his pain, just in front of his eyes, close enough to hurt him with his avenging hands, the detective unlock the old revolver; the sound bounced on the walls of the dark room, the inanimate object is ready to act too. Now, all the fury that has gnawed him out his heart for more than a decade, it's ready to explode.

A candle illuminates the face of the murderer; he's younger than he thought, the man has a copy of the forbidden novel, he is reading it; the book feeds him. Hey! Said the detective

The man moves away his eyes from the novel, and says: Hello, detective, do you remember how you came here…?

ACT 1: Nigredo.

Mad as hell, Scott faces the traffic jam. He cursed, like the other drivers, spitting out his frustrations over an abstract and invisible enemy that doesn't reply. His soul rots more and more. The memory of his lost family, and his dead son, overwhelms him; Scott, the tough detective that fights for the primary law, is now about to cry. But he prefers to swallow the pain, like a man does it, just as his father, and the regime, taught him.

Over the past fifteen years the pain has become his everyday breakfast, and the air that he breathes; so the detective is used to the constant presence of the darkness around him, and the bitter sweet flavor of the melancholia on his dry mouth. Oh, my boy, he said with tears on his eyes.

The headquarters of the regime's police is a big dark pyramid. This structure measures more than 60 meters high, and it can be seen from every corner of the capital city. The top of the pyramid is gold as the sun on a summer solstice, and symbolizes the pervasive control that has the regime over its citizen.

The dark structure causes the panic among the citizens; the pyramid is like a beast about to attack, a beast that you can't stare at, because she would interpret it as an affront to its dominance.

The entrance of the Pyramid is a huge revolving door, on the top of it; there's a gold roman fasces, and above the roman antique weapon, there's a phrase written on gold letters that says: "Obedentia civium, urbis felicitas".

Every day, Scott tries to understand the meaning of that phrase, but as usual, he can't. Maybe I'm not supposed to understand it, maybe its meaning only can being understood it by a small portion of the society, he thought. Suddenly, a regime's drone landed in front of the detective, you got new orders, said the machine with a metallic soulless voice, then the ship spits out a piece of paper, Scott took it; "PRIMIRY LAW HAS BEEN BROKEN: SOMEBODY HAS READ THE FORBIDDEN NOVEL. GO TO THE CUBE. INTERVIEW THE LAST DISOBEDIENT CRIMINAL. GO GET INFORMATION". After reading the piece of paper a tear came out from the detective eye. Fifteen years ago, Scott was the cop who caught the last disobedient criminal and puts him on jail, while his little boy was killed by a pedophile.

The worst thing of been a regime official is; I don't even know the title of the banned book or the plot of the history, Scott thought, because the leaders don't want that its subordinates know anything about the law. To be ignorant is to be obedient, they always said.

ACT 2: Albedo.

The dark pyramid is not the only structure that can be seen in every corner of the city, the dark cube; the regime's prison also can be observed in everywhere. The cube also caused fear and respect among the citizens, because if the pyramid is the beast, the cube is the hell where the beast spits out its victims.

A revolving door is also the entrance of the state prison. Above the dark door of the cubic structure there's a silver roman fasces, and above it there's a phrase that says: "Obscuris vera involvens". Scott always thinks about darkness and madness when he read that sentence, but he doesn't know why.

The interior of the prison is shining; white walls, white floor. The detective is driven quickly by a soldier wearing a black uniform, through those white corridors to the site of the interview. You got ten minutes, said the military when they arrived.

Scott found the inmate sitting on a chair; the man is naked, and he got a silver device, that look like a spider, covering his mouth. Oh, God! Scott said.

-You got only five minutes! – said a male voice that came out from an intercom located on a corner of the room.

-But the other guy said: ten minutes…! – Scott replied.

-You heard!!

-Jesus! This in unbelievable! - Scott protested while he sits on a chair in front of the prisoner.

-It's nice to meet you again, detective… It's been… 15 years! Am I wrong? The inmate said. His voice sounds funny because the device on his mouth.

-You are not wrong.

-What else do you need from me? You already took my youth and my freedom.

-I didn't take anything from you. I just followed orders!

-Yeah, sure, you are just an orders follower; you don't own your mind. – The prisoner said with condescension.

-Be careful of what you said, you are talking with an officer of the law!

-ok, ok, my bad…

-Someone has read the forbidden novel… - Scott said while he settles on the chair.

The inmate laughs by a few seconds. But his laughter gets interrupted by an electric discharge that came out of the device on his mouth.

-Stop! – Scott screamed. The punishment ceased.

-I want to know if you know something about it. – Scott asked to the man.

-Look at me, detective! I've been locked here more than a decade, without a trial!! And my only sin against the almighty regime was to read a novel! I know noting, detective! – Another discharge, the man vomits.

-Stop!! Stop! I need to talk with him!!

The discharge stopped.