Girl in the Arena - Lise Haines [62]
—You just found it?
—I’ve decided to read the whole encyclopedia.
—The good, the bad, and the make-believe?
—Just expanding my mind a little. So this treatise is how they came up with all the Hindu and Buddhist calendars.
—O . . . kay, I said, putting my knife down to give him my full attention. I begin to think this was his second unravel, the first one at that hotel in Rome.
He explained that the Kali Yuga is one of four stages of development the world goes through, each one lasting about four hundred thousand years.
—You’re already into the K’s? I asked.
—I skip around a lot. So it looks like we’re in the Kali Yuga, right now, he said. —The dark age. That’s what they call it, not me.
—The dark age. Nothing would shock.
He leaned near my shoulder, eager for me to read the entry aloud so we could talk about it.
I pushed the finely chopped carrots aside and read to him.
—Rulers will become unreasonable: they will levy taxes unfairly. Rulers will no longer see it their duty to promote spirituality or to protect their subjects: they will become a danger to the world. Avarice and wrath will be common, men will openly display animosity toward each other. People will have thoughts of murder for no justification, and they will see nothing wrong with that mind-set. Family murders will also occur. People will see those who are helpless as easy targets and remove everything from them. Men with false reputation of learning will teach the Truth and the old will betray the senselessness of the young, and the young will betray the dotage of the old. People will not trust a single person in the world, not even their immediate family. Even husband and wife will find contempt in each other. It is believed that sin will increase exponentially, whilst virtue will fade and cease to flourish. Alongside death and famine being everywhere, men will have lustful thoughts and so will women. People will without reason destroy trees and gardens. There will be no respect for animals, and also meat eating will start. People will become addicted to intoxicating drinks. Men will find their jobs stressful and will go to retreats to escape their work. Teachers will no longer be respected and their students will attempt to injure them.
—The whole thing’s kind of spooky, isn’t it? I said.
—Maybe we should stop eating meat.
—You better talk with Allison, I said. —The freezer is half cow.
—We could give it away.
—Before she gets home? I joked.
He got another knife out of the drawer and began to cut up the tomatoes.
—Sure, why not? he said earnestly.
I had this picture of the two of us carrying armloads of wrapped meats out to the sidewalk. Cutlets and ribs, sirloin and rump. Setting up a table and a couple of chairs like a lemonade stand. Handing out everything to passersby. As if we could give away our whole violent culture. Allison would pull up to the house from her shopping trip and scold us fiercely, dying a thousand deaths of humiliation as the neighbors looked on. As he handed a shank to someone, Tommy would try to explain by saying we’re in a bad Yuga.
—She’s at the store buying pork chops for tonight. You might disorient her, I said.
Never being one who wanted to disorient Allison, or even trouble her as far as I could tell, Tommy stopped pursuing this line of thinking.
—You ever wonder if this whole thing, this business . . . , he began.
—What?
—Gladiator sport . . .
I knew what was coming next. I had seen my fifth father, Larry, go through this—the Vietnam vet. He had had that sudden gaping doubt about what he was doing, about the very nature of Glad sport, Glad culture. I was younger then and probably didn’t understand that he was going through a breakdown. I do remember, however, the way Allison talked him down and kept him going long enough for him to die a flawless death in the arena. I don’t mean she wanted him to die, just the opposite. She was worn out from losing husbands by then. But she always held out hope that they would serve out their time and be released to her.
—Some people say Uber’s heart is as dark as