Adam in Eden

Chapter 18

“Nobody better try to take my place. Don’t even think about it.”

“‘Don’t even think about it?’ He knows everything.”

“Even what I’m thinking to myself?”

“Everything, I’m telling you, the guy’s a mind reader.”

“Isn’t loyalty enough?”

“No no no, not at all. The more loyal you are, the more expendable you’re gonna be. Or, I don’t know, less trustworthy or something.”

“So, how is that different from being with the opposition?”

“Not so very different. But if you’re with the opposition, you’re safer than if you’re a collaborator.”

“So, loyalty isn’t enough?”

“It’s just better to sacrifice people who are loyal than for the leader to sacrifice himself or be sacrificed by them. The supreme ruler can’t tolerate anybody surpassing him. Nobody is allowed to go off on his own.”

“What happened with Largo?”

“They locked him up. Then they paid him a visit in jail and said, ‘If you confess, you can save yourself.’ He confessed, and they put him in front of a firing squad.”

“Where did they bury him?”

“In an unmarked grave.”

“But he was part of our history; he deserves to be remembered. .”

“He was exiled from history.”

“And Bobby, what happened to Bobby?”

“They took away his privileges. He confessed his errors.”

“Did they shoot him, too?”

“Nope, these days he’s a gondolier in Xochimilco. He’s on what they call ‘the pajama plan.’ Instead of executing you, they turn you into a gardener, a chauffeur, a. .”

“A gondolier in Xochimilco.”

“‘Nobody better try to take my place.’ That’s clear.”

“But he’s about to turn ninety-nine.”

“‘Don’t even think about it—’”

“Don’t even don’t even don’t even. .”

“Think about it think about it think about it. .”

“Adam Gorozpe is the ruler of Mexico for life.”

I woke up with a start unable to breathe. I touched my forehead. A nightmare.