Oxygénia

over time. Every now and then, the lessons were interrupted, and a
monotonous voice was heard. The text sounded very familiar to
ORO and the other children. It was the same that they had heard
for years, before their segregation, down in the city of the Trunk
Bearers: "At the beginning, God created the sky and under the sky
Oxygénia. God is gracious and powerful. He created a wonderful
world..." These were religious lessons, morals education and citizen
education at the same time. It was what had to be burned down so
much into the heart and the brain that there was no doubt about it,
so one didn't need to think about it, and also wasn't allowed to do
so. The oxygen would be distributed by the godly mercy and
wisdom: down in the concrete cities through the godly umbilical
cord, up here in the City of the Rememberers, as a special favor,
more plentiful, and this had to be thanked for by devotion and work
for the community, according to best knowledge by every single one.
And one was only permitted to think about his work, using the
godly mercy for anything else would be a mortal sin.
And the young student soon got to learn about the punishment
for sinners. When he took his seat in the learning room in front of
the machine, he got a band of steel around his wrist. And from time
to time, the machine smuggled something between the tasks to test
the student. When solving a biological problem, the screen before
OROs eyes began to flicker, and the image of another boy appeared.
And the image asked: "Who's to tell that you have to learn right
now, when you'd much rather get up and play? Who is this god
that's bossing around? Why doesn't he appear to us?"
ORO put down his pen and stared at the screen thoughtfully.
The next moment, he felt a strong electric jolt at his wrist, and
again, he heard a voice: "God sees and knows everything. I, ORO
91, used the blessful oxygen that is invigorating my brain for sinful
thoughts. Forgive me, my Lord, have mercy with me and don't
throw me back into the concrete city between the Trunk Bearers."
"Have mercy, my Lord, and don't throw me down because of my
sins amongst those who mustn't occupy themselves with science,
who mustn't drink to their desire and mustn't make love to each
other, don't push me out of the chosen ones. I will be obeying and
devote." ORO learned this until he grew up and the teaching
machine told him that this had been the last task he had to solve,
tomorrow he already had to report at the Central Square of the city
from where a moving sidewalk would bring him to the clinic which
was assigned to him as his working place. The metal band was
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