Within the Walls of Hell by Taniform Martin Wanki Page B

that it opened and let you in is a clear indication that you are in the right place, which was dictated by the kind of life you led down there.
    Vladimir: So what is this place?
    William : This section where we are now is where all queries are taken care of. That is, if you feel you are in this place unjustly. After any clarifications, you would be asked to go inland.
    Vladimir: ( Gripped by panic ) And if after verification, you realize that someone does not deserve to be here, would you open the gate and let him or her out?
    Messenger : My master never makes mistakes. But if you have any doubts, we are going to examine your life down there together. Let’ see, do you feel deep within you that you did your job properly?
    Vladimir : I think so because that must be the reason why I rose to the rank of a colonel.
    Messenger : Well, that was the appreciation of your superiors. What about the ordinary people? Did they appreciate you?
    Vladimir : To be honest, not very much.
    Messenger : That shows that there was a problem. The common people who appreciated you were just a handful. Do you know why things were that way? It was because you loved easy work and always sought the easy way out of situations. That is to say that whenever a crime was committed and the perpetrators left the scene without leaving anything which you could use to get to them, you became worried of your dignity. You were always afraid to be called incompetent by the population. So you devised a means to always get out. If the victim of the crime suspected anyone, you did everything to see that he or she was pined down whether he or she was guilty or not. Investigating to see whether the victim of the crime’s suspicions had any grounds was not very important. Where the victim of the crime could not think of any suspects, you found one yourself by planting incriminating evidence on any victim you picked with the help of your friends and you used physical torture to force him or her admit. When that was done, you always invited TV cameras and paraded the ‘criminals’. That was how the authorities remarked you and you gained eventual promotions. Do you know how many innocent people you sent to prison and who are still there?
    Vladimir : I might have been doing all that but I abandoned that practice after a while. You know that perfection is not human and if only a handful of people appreciated me, it was because no one man can please everybody. Besides, many people had problems with the law which I represented.
    Messenger: My master does to expect perfection from any human. He is aware of Everyman’s short comings. But on the other hand, He wants Everyman to put in his or her best in any work that is at the service of humanity. Did you put in your best?
    Vladimir: We-e-e-e-l-l-l-l-l-l, I think I did.
    Messenger: You are accepting with less conviction which means that you yourself are not sure. Let’s see, what happened between you and John McLean?
    Vladimir: He was my neighbor and I had a dream house I wanted to build for myself. My piece of land was small and I asked him to sell his to me and obtain another one else where. But he refused saying that he wasn’t going to do it even if I paid him the world’s money. I-I –I ….
    Messenger: Finding yourself in a position of strength, you seized the land. Since your own land was small, why didn’t you sell it to go and buy one elsewhere much bigger? Do you know what became of your neighbor as a result of your action?
    Vladimir : ( Remains silent)
    Messenger : Well, he was forced to go back to his village where he sunk into frustration and finally died of stress. You took away the only hope he had for his wife and children. Let’s leave your neighbor aside…. What about George Kim?
    Vladimir : A lady mistakenly accused him of unlawfully taking her radio set. I picked him up and locked him in my cell. After some investigation, it was established that George had an