38

When the frost thawed a little, the prisoners were brought out again for work. Hope was renewed among the escapees. Brains started to fret, and impatient voices demanded to move on to action. Democracy had to survive. This meant that provisionally it had to return to the cells. Democracy needed to have access to three meals a day and the 18 degrees Celsius guaranteed in prison cells. But how many people could return to their cells? And for how many people was this acually a morally acceptable choice? The voices discussed these matters at length. How many of them and who exactly would be chosen to be sent back to the other side? Being sent back wasn’t easy. The prisoners would be working hard, so those chosen would need to be healthy. They started a list of volunteers. All members of the community put themselves on the list, as before. ‘Shameful,’ a few voices mumbled, ‘how can it possibly occur in a democracy for all people to be sometimes ill, other times healthy?’ The lucid voices opined that the number of people about to go to the other side shouldn’t be over ten. Otherwise it could be too risky. The guards might start to suspect something. The community would also risk a lot if it were to lose too many of its members. Ten people going would also mean ten new, released individuals. Above all, however, these ten newly released people would represent uncertain human matter. Their integration had to be slow, they needed to be initiated into the free world. The community had no right to jeopardize its powers of assimilation. In short, ten people would suffice. Of course, these ten people would trigger other sets of ten, chosen in due course. Provided the frost didn’t return, ten people could basically go to recuperate every so many days. And if those released were assimilated without glitches, the number of places available for recuperation could increase. To how many? To fifteen, twenty at most. One shouldn’t overdo such things. The guards were perfidious, and could always lay on an ambush or suchlike.

For the first time the selection of those to be sent away was not by drawing lots. The more lucid voices felt that they deserved a reward. Democracy could afford to offer rewards. Some minds had pondered over this more than others and had thought about the glory and survival of democracy. It was proposed that ten of these minds that had totally given themselves over to the principle should be selected. A few voices on the brink of madness kept on hissing and clicking their tongues in discontent. The lucid voices snarled at the voices on the brink of madness. Why would the voices on the brink of madness keep hissing and whistling and snorting? They had no reason to despair. Sooner or later, everyone would make it to the recovery stage. The principle ensures access to RECOVERY for everyone. The fact that, at the moment, only the first ten people would make it to the place where everyone would get to in due course, shouldn’t constitute a reason for animosity. ‘Spite has nothing to do with the dignity of a free mind,’ one of the most lucid voices concluded. ‘Right?’ the same voice asked around, and the ten minds lined up to re-enter their cells hastened to respond by squirting out the word YES.