Solutions: The Dilemma for the Gods by James Gerard (top 50 books to read .txt) 📕

Since no high priest could observe any transgressions, he began to do the things he wanted to do, and when he wanted to do them.  Every morning extra wood would be chopped and delivered to the walkway of Rita’s cabin.  A bucket of water would be waiting for her at her well.  Any replacement clothing intended for him, given at the times prescribed by the Gods, would sit bundled up safely from the weather and left in front of Rita’s cabin.  Even allotted portions of food would find the way to Rita as well.  Anything and everything Terrance could think of for Rita’s comfort found the way to her cabin.  However, he could not bring himself to seek a face to face meeting with her; shame always steered away the thought.

The blindness freed him from both the daily rituals and the prison of the cabin home.  More and more time spent beyond the gates, to the outer world of the Greater Temple became the norm.  He had seeded and tended to his garden in the midst of the outer world without a word from the Gods.  Terrance lounged on the thrones of the Gods and basked in the sun during summer without a complaint.  He ate freely, taking whatever he wanted, eating as much as he could and threw any leftovers anywhere but the Gods’ secret pasture without any grumblings from the Gods.  Terrance mocked them, laughed at them, and dared them to smite him for his transgressions.  It appeared they were deaf, dumb, and blind.

Just thinking about the newfound freedom brought a smile to the face and a hunger pain to the stomach. The smell of prime rib, taken from the Gods' freezer holding the choicest of meats, its hearty aroma escaping the shell of the cast iron stove, signaled it was almost time to eat.  Two medium pots sat atop the burners.  One contained whole potatoes that had been immersed in boiling water and ready for mashing, the other sautéing sliced carrots, small broccoli bunches, and pearl onions that were simmered to perfection.  Also sitting atop the stove was a small pan simmering the mixture of raw flour, drippings from the roasted prime rib, a pinch of salt and pepper, and diced garlic that came together as homemade gravy.

As Terrance made the final preparations for the feast he could not help but to smile.  He piled a plate with the potatoes whipped with cream and butter and smothering the creamy blend with a ladle full of gravy.  He then carved thick slabs of prime rib and stacked it high on the plate.  Next, crisp vegetables came pouring onto the plate wherever the plate permitted.  He contemplated how it would be taken if any of the children found out he was eating the food for the Gods while a grin went ear to ear.

The food allotted for him was of a much less quality than that provided to the Gods, just less than the quality the children consumed and piles of it lay wasting just behind the cabin.  Terrance discovered the quality the first time he unpackaged the contents of the items he was required to cook and eat.  From what he remembered, it neither had the appearance nor the taste of the food enjoyed as a young boy.  It tasted stale, rubbery, with an unpleasant texture and odor that made it hard to stomach.  But he endured through it then began to thrive on it when he received the food with thanksgiving in his heart.  But under the title and responsibilities of gatekeeper, the Gods’ food was now eaten exclusively.

When he began the duties, the previous gatekeeper had fulfilled most of the requirements as prescribed by the tenets, however, an abundance of food sat on the grounds of the outer world.  Back then he could not be sure if the Gods had consumed all they could devour from the last harvest and left the gatekeeper the remainder to rid the waste or they had yet to come for the rest.  He remembered that the appointed time of reaping was just a month away.  An urge to commit another act of rebellion pestered Terrance’s thoughts.  He figured that the remaining food must be considered a waste and an affront to the Gods.  The requirement to have the waste mixed and then dumped onto the secret pasture prescribed by the tenets would be ignored.  That thought had been temporarily interrupted, the action delayed, once he eyed the packaged and jarred delicacies that had remained from the previous harvest.

Terrance, alone amidst the stacks of food, could not resist the temptation to examine the contents of the many pallets of edibles he had never seen nor tasted.  With pure delight, shouts of joy reverberated throughout the outer world at the discovery of the finest, choicest, most tantalizing meats and cheeses and vegetables and fruits and cookies and cakes and pies and drinks and everything else not available for the children.

An old expression learned from his parents came screaming out of the mouth: “I’ve died and gone to Heaven.”  The memory of the rebellious act, an act with which no punishment ensued, put a smile on his face as the last of the main course was consumed.

For desert, Terrance decided on the chocolate chip cookies.  It was a package that was snuck in the daily food box just a few days ago.  He washed the little round gems down with a mug of steaming black coffee.  He had searched diligently in the outer world, searched in the past the many pallets for the freshest treats, tastiest cookies that were mainly reserved for the Gods, but he never did find any that could be compared with the chocolate morsels that found their way to him.  The last remembrance of such treats took the thoughts away to past days of the solemn feast.  That was the last time he could remember such a treat.  But even those cookies could not compare with the cookies he just ate.

He viewed the stowed cookies as an act of defiance, a transgression that defied the tenets of the Gods.  But more than that, the subtle nature of the act spoke of dissatisfaction.  Rebellion, apparently, was brewing in the thoughts of some of the children.  Even in the articles of clothing that too had been recently stowed in an occasional box spoke of rebellion.  The boots, the overcoat, the jacket had the appearance of rejected items not worthy to be worn by the children, but beneath the tattered look was the finest leather, silk and cotton carefully tanned and cut and weaved and stitched into apparel that kept the biting cold away.  Even the scarf, worn under the overcoat so as not to alert any of the children, was so finely made and had a sweet scent like that of the wild spring flowers that bloomed in the fields surrounding the secret pasture and provided unbelievable warmth.

As he finished the coffee, Terrance could sense the coming of the end but could not tell how much longer.  As much as the temptation to speak out the allegations of things witnessed occupied the thoughts, he resisted such temptation and decided to wait it out until the Gods were forced to make the first move.  Until then, the outward appearance of obedience to the children would be followed to the letter.

 After the prescribed morning ritual, Terrance hiked to the Greater Temple to occupy the rest of the day.  The day before most of the wasted food was dumped onto the surface of the secret pasture, but some still remained.  He figured to finish dumping the rest of the garbage well before sunset and then to take the time to plan out all the unwritten maintenance for the following day’s work.

At first the Gods spared him of the most complicated work which was in the maintenance of all the motorized vehicles and equipment.  But when they were seemingly reluctant as of late to provide their presence for such maintenance he stepped in and took over.  Not that he wanted to intervene, but the equipment was needed to perform the duties he chose to carry out.  And while the maintenance work was somewhat simple it would be much later before he discovered how exactly they worked.

No one knew how the machines worked; For no one was allowed an intimate examination of their inner workings.  The high priests and children just knew that they were there at the time of emergence.  It was only after he began the duties of gatekeeper that the operating instructions for the various mechanized equipment was discovered. But the machines and vehicles were just not intended to ease the burdens of the gatekeeper, but the children as well.

His parents had made him aware that the assigned children mostly manipulated hand operated machines and tools and all other items to fashion the various materials into form.  However, the Gods provided some power equipment that was stored at the Greater Temple.  It was the equipment that was most needed to build the infrastructue and dwellings needed for the children after the emergence.

At the time of emergence, when the children of the Gods first surfaced at the sight of the first shining light sitting atop a pinnacle of the Greater Temple, a signal from the Gods that all was right with the good world, every conceivable tool, hand operated machine, motorized heavy equipment and vehicles, materials, and instructions had been already set on the ground waiting for the children to erect the dwellings that made up the town.  Each specific building, its use prescribed by the tenets, consisted of prefabricated wooden sheets with wiring and conduits already installed between the gaps of the outer and inner shells.  The Gods provided the power equipment to move and to erect that which could not be lifted by the power of muscle or pulleys or winches.

The power from the Gods provided light in the night, heat during the winter, and cool air during the summer.  The power, as written in the tenets, flowed from the Guardian of the Gods occupying the inner rooms of the inner world through a system of overhead cables and wires throughout the town and just awaited the connections.  Heated and cool air flowed through a system of conduits that were buried beneath the top soil of the good world and connected to the separate dwellings and buildings.  Metal pipes too were buried and delivered both hot and cold water, while other pipes removed the filth of the children.

Staring at the piles of waste, Terrannce wondered how the Gods prepared and cooked the food.  He wondered if their cooking methods were much like the cooking method he was accustomed to.  The memories of his mother standing over a cast iron stove attentively preparing the meals for her family came into mind.  All of a sudden thoughts of