THE VISION OF THE MARTYR FRED · AS EXPURGATED FOR THE
CENTRALIANS
Born to be HarriersThe Capital of Paradise
Chapter 9
In Paradise,
2There will be vast territories and treasures and pleasures galore,
3dRipe for the plucking by good Harriers everywhere.
4And it may please at least a few of you to know that in Paradise,
5There will still be a city called aPhiladelphia,
6Which will be a shining jewel in the bcrown of Harry,
7And just possibly the Capital of Paradise.
8cIn Philadelphia, everything will keep on going for a long long time,
9But it’s people will become used to decline and decay as a basic fact of life.
10They will go to work every morning,
11Just like they do now,
12And they will get married,
13And have families,
14Just like they do now,
15And they will spend their lives pretty much the same way they do now,
16Running errands from dawn to dusk,
17And spend long hours at work meeting deadlines for meaningless fire drills,
18And fixing the screen door latch,
19And arranging furtive sexual liaisons,
20And carting their kids from one organized activity to another,
21And getting wasted as often as they can,
22And piling into the care once a year for a three thousand mile vacation in the station wagon,
23A lot like they do now.
24And truly, there won’t be a lot of bliss,
25In case you thought that’s what Harry was promising,
26Because in spite of Harry’s Consolation,
27Which will be as abundant as the air we breathe,
28There will still be fear,
29And dread,
30And hatred,
31And envy,
32And jealousy,
33And violence,
34And all the other things that have always tormented people,
35From day one.
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Chapter 9 / 29