A Cog In The Machine

• Sarah Walker, Grade 9
• Short Story
• 2011

Sometimes I wish Good always won. If he did, I would not be where I am today: a slave for Evil. A cog in the machine. This is the tale of when Good lost to Evil.

It was just another ordinary day, well as ordinary as a day can be when you are a brain. Floating in my tank watching all the systems work together harmoniously. Each system is displayed on its own screen and it’s my job to make sure all of the systems function and work together properly. It’s a busy and highly stressful job being the brain.

Around 2 hours after lunchtime, I was watching all the micro villi pass the food down the line. As the last morsel of food was sent into the large intestine, I noticed that something was happening in the moral section. Good and Evil were fighting. I automatically found myself creeping closer and closer until I was pressed against the glass. This fight was more violent, more ferocious than any fight before. I was afraid. Good was struggling.

As Evil’s minions swarmed Good, I saw his chest rise as he took in a breath, the last breath he ever took. With this breath he yelled “I will always be there even if you don’t see me.”

These words seemed to have triggered a deafening bang, blinding lights and smoke so thick that the screen turned completely white. Gradually the smoke lifted and I could see the silhouette of Evil and his minions standing in the same circle they were in before. All of the minions had a shocked expression on their faces and it was like they all had put identical masks on their faces. The only expression that was different was Evil’s face. His face was similar to an abstract painting in the way you could not really tell what it means. It took me a minute or two to find the cause of these emotions. Or maybe I should say what was not there. I had realized Good was no longer there. He had vanished. That was 10 years ago.

Today, I sit in my tank but it is not the same as it was. My tank is now home to many creatures, little fish like things. They keep me company. They are the only living things I have seen for 10 years unless you count Evil, but to me he is just the cruel taskmaster. My tank used to sparkle and glisten but these days I am lucky to see past the filthy algae that covers the glass. I am now unable to undertake necessary calculations or even perform simple tasks because I no longer have a clear outlook on life. I swear the algae is at least two centimeters thick. Not a day goes past where I do not wish that Good was still here and that Good had won. If he did, I would not be a slave for Evil. A cog in the machine.