Gift: Unchain that slave! E-Book

Giovanni Bonelli

• Herausgeber: Giovanni Bonelli
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023

Beschreibung

A gift for you, the first part of the novel Unchain that slave!
Naples, Marrakech, and Mexico City.
A journey through Europe, Africa, and Latin America to try to defeat Moloch, the god of conformity and power who, in various forms, has oppressed humanity for centuries.

"As if books
hadn’t already caused him enough trouble until that moment. In fact, he had read quite a few, and society frowned upon that.
To tell the truth, though, more than the act of reading itself, what they always reproached him for was his tendency to confuse books with reality.
Since his school days, other friends of his also read books.
But once they closed the book, everything ended there, like a simple and harmless pastime.
Luca, on the other hand, always tried to connect what he had read with the world around him, with his experiences, with the people he knew.
Yet, teachers, counselors, and all authorities had explained to him more than once how wrong and dangerous that behavior was.
In the end, they couldn’t overlook it anymore, and the process was triggered. After all, he had become a law specialist, a future lawyer. Such inclinations could be tolerated in individuals living on the fringes of society, but certainly not in those destined to be part of the ruling class."

website: http://www.giovannibonelli.com

Leseprobe

UNCHAIN THAT SLAVE!

A GIFT FOR YOU.

What you are reading is the first part of the novel The Journey of Freedom. It is a gift for you, reader-writer to reader, and I hope you can appreciate it.

 Happy reading,

Giovanni

PART ONE

THE NEW CULT

CHAPTER 1  

Work Sets You Free  

The regime at that center wasn’t particularly harsh. In fact, technically speaking, it wasn’t even a detention facility. Because in the absolutely free and advanced societies of the twenty-second century, prisons were merely a sad relic of the past, something to be studied in history books as a distant memory. In-depth studies of the brain had finally clarified what psychologists had already suspected with their approximate analyses back in the twentieth century: free will was merely an illusion, and human behavior was determined, like any other event in the universe, by cause and effect mechanisms. Consequently, there were no guilt or guilty parties, no crimes or criminals, but only causes to understand and effects to prevent. Although to a lesser extent than in the past, antisocial behaviors still persisted. Therefore, there were facilities where individuals who exhibited attitudes deemed incompatible with public order could be contained and, ideally, rehabilitated. Among these individuals was Luca, a man barely in his thirties, classified as “moderately dangerous.”  

It was a cool summer morning, and Luca felt full of energy. Ever since he had been assigned to the care center, the sight of the great Moloch always filled him with a sense of well-being. Especially when the idol didn't fix him with an inquisitive gaze, when it didn't turn black and simply smiled, emanating a bright blue light.  

Like everyone else, he had always had a small one since he was a child. A statuette just over an inch tall, to be constantly worn around the neck, attached to a gold chain. It was, they said, tradition, and no one would have dreamed of breaking it. Generally, the necklace was given by relatives after the welcoming ceremony, which took place when they turned three years old. The statuette, on the other hand, was provided by the spiritual advisor of the area, who officiated the ritual upon families' request. From the day of initiation, it was no longer advised to leave the house without it. But, in any case, no one would dare to do so, as great was the sense of well-being and security that little accessory offered. The institute's statue was a larger replica of his pendant. There were others, in every place of social gathering, from schools to temples to courts. But that Moloch was certainly the biggest and most powerful he had ever seen.  

A collective, hyper-energetic Moloch meant to help those guests in need of care.  

As he walked away from the grand hall, the idol continued to gaze at him serenely. It was a good omen.  

He could face his day with optimism.  

◆◆◆

He entered the wing of the institute designated for his work. He had been assigned a clerk position.  

To be honest, it wasn’t rewarding, but neither was it demanding.  

In the end, as in all bureaucratic jobs, the real difficulty was accepting the fact that he was wasting his time on essentially useless activities, purposely created to generate employment in a society that was now almost completely automated. He shared the room with a colleague, a fat and bald man who seemed well integrated into the environment. Roberto was twenty years older than him and, consequently, considered himself a seasoned man.  

He had adapted well to the center, where he had accommodation and a secure job. That’s why he had no desire to be set free.  

“Good morning, Roberto. How’s it going today?”  

“Do you see my personal Moloch? Blue, bright, and shining. It couldn’t be better. Because I don’t care about the guards, the superiors, or anything else. As long as I’m in good standing with Moloch, everything is fine.”  

“Good for you! I haven’t accepted yet the fact that they’ve thrown me in here. I can’t stand this type of work. It either bores me or stresses me out, and at night I keep dreaming about all these damn electronic forms. As a child, I thought I was meant for something else!”  

As he said these words, the idol hanging around his neck began to emit heat, warning him that something was wrong. Luca took it out from under his shirt and looked at it: it had turned gray, and feeling guilty, he was overwhelmed with a deep sense of sadness.  

“You shouldn’t think that way. These negative thoughts only harm your well-being,” reproached Roberto. “Look at your Moloch! You wouldn’t want it to turn black this early in the morning!”  

“Maybe you’re right. Every time I ask myself these questions, the statuette turns dark. When I was a child and believed everything my parents told me, it didn’t happen. I always remember it being blue and shining.”  

“Those were the good times, don’t even mention it. I, to be honest, wasn’t one of the lucky ones born with Moloch. When it arrived, I was around ten years old. Since then, I started feeling really good. Of course, at that age, it would turn gray from time to time. It’s natural, sometimes kids mess something up. And I was quite mischievous. But, overall, Moloch gave me tranquility.”  

“Yeah, I don’t understand how people used to live before the aliens bestowed it upon humanity.”  

“How did they manage? Let me tell you! Wars, violence, drugs, suffering, murders. Life was a true hell. My grandparents told me about it.”  

“Yes, they explained it to us at school too. Everything was going wrong until they appeared.”  

“Praise be to them,” exclaimed Roberto, looking up at the sky.  

“Praise be to them,” Luca replied mechanically and without conviction. “But do you remember how it happened?”  

“Yes, as I told you, when the flying saucers appeared, I was almost ten years old. At first, I remember not everyone believed in the holy prophets. My father, in particular, may their souls forgive him, couldn’t stand them. Every time a prophet appeared on TV, he would start cursing the most obscene things. But he was a strange man, what could we do? My mother always told him to calm down, that sooner or later he would say one word too many in public. And indeed…”  

“And what happened?”