The two officers met by the evening’s setting light.
“How are things going for you in the battlefield?” asked the one wearing the red badge.
“Rather well. As you know, our battalion works communications, and we have nearly full control over them. We’ve created confusion and have thwarted some of the enemy’s advances,” explained the one wearing the yellow badge.
“Our task is hand-to-hand combat. Even though our number are greater and, I think, so are our strategies, their tiny forces have managed to keep us from advancing at our desired pace.”
“And what do you make of those outposts being built by our opponents?”
“Yeah… At first they weren’t much of a concern, but now they start to multiply, and they’ll soon become a problem. They are true fortresses, quite protected. Their soldiers go in there in order to recover and draw their minds away from the battle only to later emerge with renewed strength to continue fighting. We don’t know what actually happens inside those places because we can’t manage to infiltrate them, despite our attempts. But if more of them continue to go up, we’ll end up surrounded, and we must keep that from happening no matter what.”
“I suspect our Supreme Commander is planning a surprise of some sort. He’s never lacked the resources. There’s a reason he has called in all the generals and officers for this meeting. We should be headed back to our positions tomorrow.”
“Yes. Know the enemy’s plans beforehand is quite an advantage for us, especially since they can only guess our plans based on our actions. In that sense they’ve always been somewhat naive.”
“I think it’s time to meet with the generals in the conference room.”
They both headed in that direction as they reminisced on their experiences during the now lengthy war and chuckled at their enemies’ inefficiency. In the room, they joined a host of high-ranking officers who were engaged in light-hearted chatter. The lights dimmed and everyone took their seats in front of a gigantic screen.
“Do they really not know that we can see them and hear their plans?” whispered the one with the red badge to his comrade.
“I’ve come to the conclusion that they actually don’t care. Like we were saying, there’s a certain candidness and naiveite about their operations which baffles me.”
The screen turned on. Almost as if staring at a mirror, they saw a multitude of their enemies gathered like they were, waiting to receive instructions regarding their battle plans. Their leader, a representative of the adversary’s Supreme Commander himself, prepared to share some news. He was a centennial man who in his old age moved with some difficulty. Upon seeing him, the watchers exchanged a glance of disdain mixed with inner cheer.
“Today we announce plans to construct a temple in each of these 15 locations: Reynosa, Mexico; Chorrillos, Peru; Rivera, Uruguay; Campo Grande, Brazil; Porto, Portugal; Uyo, Nigeria; San Jose del Monte, Philippines; Nouméa, New Caledonia; Liverpool, Australia; Caldwell, Idaho; Flagstaff, Arizona; Rapid City, South Dakota; Greenville, South Carolina; Norfolk, Virginia; Spanish Fork, Utah…”
As the list progressed, the looks of disdain began to disappear, and the cheerful smiles gradually became looks of serious concern…
Mario Montani
(montaniflessia@yahoo.com.ar)
lives in Bahía Blanca,
Argentina.
Gabriel González Núñez trains
translators and interpreters at
the University of Texas
Rio Grande Valley
