The Ones Who Walk Away

Have you ever read the short story by Ursula K. Le Guin, The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas? It further illustrates the message I was alluding to in yesterday’s post. If you haven’t read it (or if you would like to read it again, as I did), click on the linked title above. It’s a fairly quick read and yet opens a world of thought about demagogues and other beasts.

I tried my hand at writing a follow-up short-short story. Thanks for indulging me. Comments welcome, as always.

What happens to the ones who walk away? Suppose they find each other and start a new community, Salemo. These new citizens scheme and plan how to repair, to make right the city they abandoned. Omelas, the one whose citizens had, for generations, tacitly agreed to torture a single child at all times. Rumor has it that some of the many children who are chosen for the foul basement closet eventually get transferred out. To a special home or institution, a place where the deranged imbeciles can retire when they outgrow childhood. Here they are kept alive somehow, maybe on intravenous drips. Perhaps attendants periodically flip them over in their beds, a feeble attempt to stem infection from the inevitable sores. Further stories suggest the chosen child is typically left to die with no human intervention at all. After the amount of time it would take for the child to starve itself to death, a few obedient citizens of Omelas would come in and dispose of the ruined body. They would then ready the room for the next occupant. The Salemoans had actually completed successful kidnappings of the trapped child. But another unfortunate boy or girl was always in the wings. A replacement offering to the city of conditional joy. So, whether by fatal neglect or compassionate ‘rescue,’ the tragic child situation is handled. The terrible room is routinely emptied then quickly filled. A perennial maintenance plan to keep the vibrant city alive. The ones who walk away can never forget what they left behind. The guilt they were never allowed in Omelas hits them full-on in Salemo.