“What is the unspeakable word?”

At first, I did not wish to think of it. I did not wish to discover the single word that is not in the language of men.

I was curious. I had no intention of upsetting my brothers nor the Council. I wanted to learn more, so I read those scraps of old manuscripts and those fragments on the ancient stones that I gathered, and I found it. I unearthed the Unspeakable Word.

I shall be sent to burn at the stake for my transgression, but I do not care. I have fought against saying it, but now it is said. 

“You shall be burned at the stake,” said Solidarity 6-4580.

“Yes,” agreed the rest of the World Council of Scholars, “you shall be burned at the stake.”

And I smiled in answer, for they did not understand that I did not regret my transgression of repeating the Unspeakable Word. My discovery gave me an understanding of the false brotherhood and sisterhood that the Council has instilled in us. They have lied to us. I wanted to free my brothers and sisters from their control, but I was to be burned at the stake.

To preclude the spread of my discovery, they tore out my tongue. I could speak no longer. My tunic was torn and stained with brown stains which had been blood. They sent me to the City for everyone to watch. All hope to free my brothers was destroyed.

Walking to the pyre, I searched among the faces of the crowd. Many of my brothers and sisters looked disturbed. They were afraid of me, afraid of my transgression. If only they understood that I wished to set them free. I did not care. I did not have to care. I would be burned alive for every one of them to watch within minutes.

They tightly tied me in chains so that I could no longer move. They added more wood to the pyre. I watched the distressed faces of my brothers and sisters in the crowd await my death. There was no curiosity in those faces, no anger, and no mercy.

I locked eyes with one of my brothers. He looked both puzzled, yet scared at the same time. I felt compelled to keep my eyes locked on his. He was different from the others. I could sense it. I stared directly into his soul as if doing this would make him understand why I was to be burned. No one would understand the corruption of the council, unless they went against their brothers and sisters and discovered the unspeakable word, such as I did. I wanted him to understand. I wanted to save my helpless brothers and sisters and therefore needed my revelation to be passed on. I did not care that I was to die, I just wanted to save my brothers and sisters from absolute control.

It was clear to me that he was puzzled. It was most definitely clear that he was also horrified by me. I tried to engrave my thoughts into his mind through our prolonged eye contact. The innocent, unaware look on his face gave the notion that he still did not yet understand. For I had been accused of a great transgression. No one would ever know what I knew nor would they ever willingly listen or understand because they already knew what they needed to know. I was a threat to their distasteful, simple lives.

“Silence yourselves,” directed Harmony 9-3174, “bestowed upon us is an unhinged transgressor. They threatened the lives of their brothers and sisters and uttered the Unspeakable Word. They prioritized their own desires over the needs of their brothers and sisters. Such a dirtied and corrupted mind cannot be saved. We are to eliminate the source of this corruption to prevent the spread of this disease.”

“Show no mercy to this transgressor for he has threatened us all,” added Unity 5-6809, “for they are not in the right of their mind. Their judgment has been eaten away by this disease. We must eliminate the source. Anyone who contests the execution of this transgressor may perish with them.”

With complete ignorance to the commentary of the Council, I kept my eyes locked on my brother. I had given him the name of “The Different One.” My eyes were fixed on him. He was disturbed. It seemed as though he was uncomfortable with the fact that I was to be burned before he could understand what it was I was trying to etch into his mind. I had longed to tell The Different One about my discovery. He gave the impression that he would understand, based on his disturbance to my planned execution. I needed him to continue what I was to leave behind.

“For everyone in the crowd, direct all attention to the pyre,” stated a voice on the city’s intercom.

A tall, skinny member of the Council set a torch on fire towards the back of the crowd. He walked steadily in my direction. 

There was no longer any hope to free my brothers and sisters. I abruptly broke the prolonged eye contact with The Different One. I wished for him to be able to gather this word from me. There was no longer any hope for him to understand. I was to be burned at any moment. 

The tall, skinny member of the Council had already made his way to me. He launched the torch onto the pyre. I could feel my skin start to blister as the fire got bigger and spread closer to me. In the crowd, my brothers and sisters seemed like they were filled with content at the sight of my combustion. I could see the reflection of the bright, red flames in their eyes, as my skin was slowly and painfully melting off.

I wanted nothing more than to be dead. I could never be willingly able to live in such a society where my entire life was controlled by a corrupt and dishonest government. Why would they keep such a secret from my brothers and sisters? Why would they despise anyone who discovered the Unspeakable Word with good intentions such as I? What else were they hiding?

No one would ever know.