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Chava · Joined: 20 Sep 2005 Posts: 5 Location: Denmark

A light circles the camp. It circles again and again denying anyone the
satisfaction of undisturbed sleep. It shines through the meticulously
placed window as to catch every breath of light that might want to disrupt
the insiders.

The light itself is led by Peetr. He has to stand in the damned light tower
from 22 at night until 4 in the morning. He has to stand there, turning the
light around and around. With some luck he might one day be promoted
to senior light shifter. However, so far he can only call him self, Peetr the
Centre Tower Light Shifter. That’s not a very attractive title to offer a
future wife, and so Peetr continues to stand from 22 to 4, turning the light,
disturbing the insiders.

The particular girl Peetr would like to impress goes by the name of Veera.
She works in the commanders’ office. Her job is to clear the breakfast
table. What she really wants to do is to sit in the office, typing the
important work documents, and recording the insiders’ actions. But she
can’t do that, because it’s a man’s job. She fancies the handsome
sergeant, who in turn doesn’t even look at her. In return she picks on that
little Peetr who is ever so persistent in his courteous attempts of
impressing her. Calling him lazy and unworthy of her. So poor Peetr is
determined to do his job well, even if it means he must stand upright for 6
hours in blistering cold. And because he does his work so well, the
insiders can never rest they’re tired eyes, or continue their lives in the
solitude to which they have been condemned.

The sergeant which never even looks at Veera has a hard task. It is his
job to ensure that the insiders have as miserable a time as possible. His
job to ensure that they’re mental health never reaches a state capable of
calculating an escape. Right now he is walking to the commanders’ office,
in which he will find only Veera, contemptuously cleaning the table, while
trying to carry the breakfast plate. The commander will not be there, for
he is otherwise engaged. This is perhaps a good thing, for he will not like
the news he is about to be given by the handsome sergeant. Two insiders
did not survive the night.

The commander is visiting the doctor. Doctor Reinov is at best what you
might call a mediocre dentist, but yet, it is to him that everyone must go
for assistance, in matter ranging from burning fever, to complicated
surgery. The commander has pains in his chest, Doctor Reinov analyses
the problem to the conclusion that his blood pressure is to low, and that
not enough blood is reaching his heart. Not to worry, he feeds him some
pills that most certainly will put up the pressure. Jokingly he adds,
“Perhaps you should go shout at somebody?”. The commander would
probably have killed the doctor on the spot had he known that in 13
minutes he would drop dead of a heart attack, caused by massive
coronary heart disease. However, he trusts the doctor who has been
assigned by the government, and therefore must be qualified.

The doctor cleans his tools, he knows he should not be here, he knows he
is not qualified, and he knows that there is something very wrong with the
commander. However he cannot tell him so because he is silenced by the
government. They have his wife in their custody, they have commanded
him to do their biding, or she dies.

Five minutes after the commander has left the office he meets Veera, who
is bent forward cleaning the floor, he feels his blood pump faster. When
he reaches the office, 3 minutes later, the sergeant informs him of the
deaths. For two minutes he contemplates the situation, and then starts
shouting at the poor sergeant who knows, he will have to punish
somebody other than himself so that he can regain his dignity. 1 minute
later the sergeant goes to the telephone to inform the government that
there have been three casualties in the camp that night.

Veera is fuming, the sergeant not only noticed her but also proceeded to
complain about her slow working progress, and having met her in the
corridor for the second time that morning, he fired her, for no reason
other than his own bad mood. Peetr sees her and flings his usual
comment. She glares at him and shouts at him to mind his own *******
business. Peetr is heart broken. That night the insiders get no sleep at all.
As the light circles and circles…

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