The Free Radical

In the most ancient of times, the People knew their home as just The Land, for the monsters were small and few in number. No one thought the monsters could ever become a problem.

Because the People were kind, they let the monsters be. Had it not been so, the People themselves would have become the monsters… and then the monsters would have been many indeed.

But the monsters were monsters; there was no changing that seeming fact… and monsters like to feed on people.

At first, it happened rarely… then occasionally… and finally regularly. The monsters began eating the People. And the monsters grew in both size and number.

The People became alarmed, and the children were suddenly all frightened of monsters. Something had to be done.

The People began to fight back. A few among them learned how to slay the monsters in great numbers and became the champions of the People. As champions, they were revered and thought to be special. And the methods the champions used to slay monsters became well-guarded secrets.

With the coming of the secrets, a strange darkness descended on The Land. Shadows grew bigger… and it seemed as though the sight of the People grew dimmer. The monsters found many new places to hide.

The monsters grew again in number and in strength in the darkness. There were not enough champions to keep them contained; the secrets for slaying monsters were not at all well known… and the champions would not tell for fear of losing their livelihood. Slowly, over a long period of time, The Land became known as The Land of Monsters.

The most ancient times were largely forgotten.

As the ages passed, it seemed clear to everyone that the monsters were winning. Soon the whole land would be overtaken… and there would be only monsters left!

But it was even worse than that! Monsters eat people… and when all the People have been eaten, the monsters too would starve and die out… and then all of The Land would be a dead and empty thing!

It was a dire situation. And hardly anyone anymore remembered how to slay monsters. Everyone was afraid to venture into the darkness; it was considered bad luck to even peer into shadows. And there, in all the hidden places, the monsters still thrived… and the People were diminished. And in their diminishment, the People learned to become more like monsters… and everyone began eating everyone– monsters and people alike.

Truly, it was The Land of Monsters!

But then, from necessity, a new kind of champion was born. There arose among the People a few who learned to see in the dark, a few who could stand in the shadows… and not be eaten. It seemed that the monsters found them to be unpalatable. The monsters did not like the taste of their light. And many of the most monstrous people did not like them either.

But when light stands in shadow, the darkness disappears. The ones with the inner light ventured fearlessly into all the dark places… causing all of the shadow-places to recede. And they taught the ways of the inner light to anyone who would listen; it was way too good to be kept secret.

Soon, there were very few places left for the monsters– or monstrous people– to hide. And what’s more, there was no way to hide all the ways that monsters could be slain. There were hardly any secrets left… and monsters need secrets– for the dark and hidden places where they’d congregate and breed.

Through the People learning to shine their inner light and sharing, The Land became bright again… so bright that there was really just one secret left; it was the monsters’ very last secret. And it was this: monsters didn’t need to eat people to begin with. Eating each other was a big fat lie! There was no need for it.

Finally, the People thrived in the light… and the monsters joined them… and nobody ate anyone anymore.