from: Bloodstone43956@i-mail.irs
to: Raventrap39996@i-mail.irs
date: 7518.49926
My Dear Raventrap ~
You may disregard this I-mail because it is not directed towards you. However, you have my permission to read it. It seems we have an intruder eavesdropping on our correspondence. Dr. Murray, I presume. So, you think you’re being clever, intercepting what I have dictated and leaking everything to the press? Well, don’t be too quick to congratulate yourself. First of all, I’ve been aware of my former secretary’s failure for a long time in your frame of reference, and my new secretary is transcribing this I-mail even as I compose it.
Slumwarden was indeed a tender morsel, but a little bland, if you know what I mean. Of course, I have acquired a taste for the highly intelligent, but catastrophically corrupted subject, or if none of these are available, I would gladly consume any contract once owned by someone with the hubris to think he was actually intelligent or wise. So, what about you, Murray? Do you really think you’re smart or cunning enough to sidestep my designs on your contract? I’m willing to wager you are not intelligent enough to get past Raventrap, let alone me! Tempters dream of winning contracts like yours, and for centuries we have been able to secure the contracts of so-called “intellectuals” just as often as any others. Your brain power, or what you might think of as brain power, is likely no match for what we have to throw at you. No one is “safe” from temptation, and even though you might pray Our Competitor would not lead you into it, there is no guarantee He will stop us from leading you wherever we want you to go.
You’re free to think publishing these I-mails will make some sort of difference in the lives of others, but don’t count on it. Not long ago, a very intelligent human published certain letters written by my Great-Uncle and mentor, Screwtape. Did this publicity have any long-lasting affect? I think not. The same temptations to the same behaviors, leading to the same results, have been around for millennia. The circumstances may have changed over the years, but the deceptions remain. It’s highly probable a tempter such as Raventrap has had a profound influence on you, without you ever becoming aware of it. You academics think you’re immune from the subtle tricks of temptation, but as we know well, the more educated they are, the lower they fall. Who perpetrates schemes that cause businesses to fail and fortunes to be lost? Who do you think led the Spanish Inquisition and the Crusades? Who leads nations to war? Not the common human, but the smartest guy in the room, the one who asserts his superior knowledge and reason, the fearless leader, the one who ought to have known better, but who was blinded by his hubris in “making something of himself.”
Our Competitor has cautioned you little termites that He “will destroy the wisdom of the wise; and will frustrate the intelligence of the intelligent.” These are definitely not Our Executive’s words. He is always ready to reward intelligence and accomplishment, not to mention one’s sense of pride in having achieved a certain station in life. Wealth and power are indeed the just rewards of having proven yourself better than others. But I digress.
What in Hell makes you think you’re safe from us? Countless humans have freely awarded their contracts to The Corporation for centuries. They too thought they were safe. Some thought we didn’t exist. Some thought they could outsmart us, while others thought Our Executive was powerless against Our Competitor. I have news for you, Murray: we are still here! During the past 70 years, Screwtape and his minions have grown more and more powerful while humanity has grown weaker and weaker. Our strategies are working. Look around you. What do you see? Our legacy is everywhere: discord, distrust, resentment, rage, retribution, rebellion, violence, and absolute chaos.
There are now more factions in that benighted organization you call “The Church” than have ever existed in the political realm. In fact, more political games are being played in church-related organizations than in all the capitols of the Earth. The Church, that supposed “force for unity,” has been sub-divided in countless ways. Even small towns have enough “denominations” to put clans and inner-city gangs to shame. Because Our Competitor wants His so-called “children” to live together in peace, your tendency to schism has made Him sorry He ever made you. And further, organized “religion” has been the instigator of violence, oppression, and war on an epic scale. Imagine what He thinks about that! Nonetheless, we don’t care! In peace or war, we will continue to divide and subsequently conquer. I admit we have had a few setbacks, such as the aftermath of the “9-11” incident, but on the whole human history is flowing in Our Executive’s direction, and there isn’t a damned thing you can do about it. So, go ahead and publish! Few will read my words and even fewer will be motivated to change. The odds will still be in our favor, and you will have done all this work for nothing!
Make no mistake. We are legion and we are at work. Remember the times you lost your temper, shouted at your progeny, and punished them harshly or unfairly? You’ve probably convinced yourself you got so angry because you cared so much about their little futures. Know this: you failed because you fell to the temptation of rage, also known as Wrath. You nearly went berserk all those times because your kids didn’t have the good sense to do things your way; and of course, because we sold you on the notion “father knows best,” you were duped into believing your way was always right. Didn’t you know patience is a virtue? Did it ever occur to you that you might inflict wounds Our Executive could later exploit and only Our Competitor might heal? Time is on our side. You may be dead with your contract neatly placed on Our Executive’s desk long before your children are able to come to terms with the scars caused by your emotional abuse.
“It wasn’t that bad…” Is that what you’re thinking? You know damned well it was. You may be wiser and more patient now, but they will still carry to their graves the emotional marks you made. So, by all means lie to yourself. If you do, you might as well sign over your contract right now. Your kind is exceptionally adept at denying the truth. Do you know why humans are the only species on Earth to develop the power of speech? Maybe it’s because lying has proven to provide an evolutionary advantage! If it were not for all their bullshit and deception, especially self-deception, humans would have died out a long time ago! As it is, your proclivity to prevarication provides Our Executive with certain advantages as well. Self-deception is unbelievably useful to us ~ the last thing we want is the unvarnished truth, because sometimes the truth will set our clients free.
How do I know all this? Your life is an open book to us, as well as to Our Competitor. What you might think is a secret on Earth is common knowledge here below. This is but one reason why The Corporation will win the war with Our Competitor. For some reason He believes in truth and transparency ~ all the better for us ~ what we know can hurt you as well as His precious Company.
Murray, you live in a world of electricity, running water, automobiles, air conditioning, super markets, three-meals-a-day, 401Ks, and pet animals. What about the 1 human in 7 on the Earth who has practically none of these things? What about those who live in conditions under which you wouldn’t want your precious dogs to live? Hypocrite! Do you really expect everyone else to do things your way, as if by magic? Intellectuals! So-called intellectuals are among a class who has the power and intelligence to change these conditions. Yet you’ve allowed the top 1% of the population to amass as much wealth as the bottom half put together! How’s that for equity! Is that really smart or just plain selfish? Your kind knows the solutions to the problems of injustice, ignorance, and poverty, but is so busy arguing about who is to blame they have become unwilling or unable to implement them.
Who do you suppose instigated the policies and practices that created such economic disparity in the first place? Who do think has persistently proposed the extraction of wealth from the poorest to the richest? Who has the most to gain from the status quo? What do you think our agenda is? Decades ago 1 out of 50 humans were living at the bottom of the economic ladder, then 1 out of 20, and now 1 out of 7. Our goal is to make it 1 out of 2 by the end of this century. If we had it our way, both the pathetic unfortunates and the high and mighty upper-class would never even realize they had a contract at all until we summarily seized it by default. So, you and your “first world” cohorts aren’t doing so well taking care of half a billion children on the Earth ~ certainly your kind is punishing them just for being born.
Here’s a thought. With every successful acquisition, our numbers grow. The Corporation is expanding exponentially. From what we have been able to learn, Our Competitor’s Company is losing ground; its growth is stagnating. It’s only a matter of time until we can mount a full-scale hostile takeover. Then we will see who is really in control. Not even “What’s His Name” will be able to stop us then!
Your Nemesis,
Bloodstone
MurrayWorks 