Sunday 27 October 2013

#54 - Forbidden Charta



Today’s words: Diversify, Example, Laniary, Charta

Word count: 615

Completion time: 1 hour

Summary: The head of a major food co-operation finds a document condemning the consumption of animals.

This could have been done so SO much better with actual facts and stuff and it does nothing for veganism but it’s essay time at uni and this was the best I could come up with right now... But hey, this is supposed to be improvised, right? And it really was!

--

“We can’t let anyone see this,” the head of the food company whispered, looking over the charta that her assistant had found tucked away in the archived section of the building. “Why was this even here? Destroy it, immediately,” she handed it to the perplexed-looking assistant, pressing it into his palm like he was a baby likely to drop it, “and if you find any more of its kind, dispose of them in the same manner, do I make myself clear?”

“This is an extraordinary revelation, though,” the assistant protested, staring at the tattered parchment like it had come straight from another planet. “If this got out, especially to groups like Animal Aid or Peta, hell, if it got out to one vegan or vegetarian, it could have a massive impact on everything and everyone; it’d spread like wildfire.” He held the charta next to his face. “The laniary argument would be blown out of the water, for one.”

“The what?” The word appeared to her like a bad smell.

“Laniary...you know,” he lowered his arm, “canine, pointed teeth.”

“Speak English, then.” She fixed him with a look she’d give to a badly behaved dog. “I can’t keep up with this science mumbo jumbo you come out with at the most inconvenient of times.”
“Yes, anyway...sorry,” he quickly apologised, realising how rude he sounded. “As I was saying, the argument that humans have canines meant for meat, that humans were in fact designed to eat meat, would never have a leg to stand on. Like, think, why do humans kill animals anyway? Because they can’t talk? Because we’re used to it? If we really take time to question the reality--”

“This is why you need to get rid of it, it’s corrupting you already!” she hissed, putting both hands on his shoulders and guiding him towards the door. “I don’t care how, just, for God’s sake...” she fumbled around in her pocket and produced a lighter, struggling to light it with unsteady hands. “Fuck it, I’ll destroy it myself.”

He shrugged himself free of her like ‘crazy’ was contagious. “We’re inside!”

Moaning loudly, she threw her hands up and spun around to face the floor-to-ceiling window that looked onto the car park. “Look, the more we diversify humans from pigs and cows and sheep and whatever else, the more money we make, the more we are allowed the freedom to kill them and turn them into our product which is...?” she turned and raised her eyebrows expectantly, making hand gestures meant to hurry him up.

“Um...lip-smackingly good?”

“Bingo. I will not risk it coming out that animals and humans used to live in ‘harmony’ together...”

“For years and years!”

She stared at him, unreceptive and through gritted teeth continued: “... Until, due to a massive crop failure, one of the villagers proposed that they cook and eat the livestock, and why? Because they saw them as inferior beings just because they didn’t share the same language.”

The assistant held the charta up to read from it. “Then, said villagers who indulged in the murder were...called forth and executed by the head of the village,” he flicked his eyes up to look over the top of the paper, “or so it says.”

“Animals are for eating, it was perfectly justified.”

He sighed, exasperated. “Well apparently, we’re not supposed to be eating meat.”

“If that is in fact a genuine article from history!” she snatched it from him. “You’re wavering.” Shoving past him, she strode into the hall, clutching the charta so hard that it was beyond creased. “I’ll burn it myself...and then I’ll buy twice as much meat when the day is over. Fucking hippies.”

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