Once, there was a Society.  Each member was designed with purpose, and was responsible for performing his or her natural assignment. While members differed in shapes, sizes, smells, and colors, they were equal. Not one member mattered more than the other, and not one assignment was more valuable than the next. While cooperation was critical, the Society’s success was dependent on each member individually, and their competency in completing their assigned task every day; every hour; every second.

All assignments, while unique, were necessary to the maintenance of order and function within the Society. Assignments included censorship, time management, distribution of resources, domestic and foreign defense, imports, exports, infrastructure, and much more.

Obviously, these assignments were monotonous, and to us, sound exhausting. Members of this Society, however, were designed to perform with impulsion, without question, and without even the slightest error.  In fact, the very notions of error and question were forbidden in the Society. To its members, they were unfathomable. 

Members of the Society did not have time for extra-curricular activities. They did not have time for family. They didn’t have time to put up their feet after a long day in the office. They were created for, and defined by, their work. No holidays, no work parties, no coffee breaks. No exceptions.

Members included E. Ye, responsible for detection of foreign activity; H. Eart, distributor and collector of valuable resources, and L. Iver, responsible for censorship of impurities that managed to filtrate inside. While these members knew better than to engage in trivial activities like socialization, they understood and appreciated the duties preformed by one another. Each knew the other by name and assignment, and respected their contribution to the Society’s cause. What that was, nobody knew.

 As time progressed, there was one member whose assignment (as Waste Management Assistant) became obsolete. With all the spare time on his hands, A. Ppendix became erratic and unpredictable. He allowed vices such as callousness and impetuosity get the better of him. His mind yearned for stimulation and he became curious about the forbidden concepts. Other members became intrigued by A. Ppendix’s behaviour, and allowed concentration on their own assignments to waver. Unpredictability, like error, was foreign to them, and therefore enticing. As the members lost consolidation, the Society began to falter.

Suddenly, A. Ppendix became so consumed by boredom that he exploded in an abrupt rage. The members had never experienced failure, let alone crisis, and plummeted into a state of turmoil. H.Eart found herself unable to keep up with the demands of the other members, and worked herself to the point of collapse. As foreigners began to infiltrate, L.Iver and K.Idney became too overwhelmed, and they too succumbed to exhaustion. One by one, the members fell into depletion. A. Ppendix, eventually realizing the seriousness of his action, attempted to mend himself, but it was too late. Once he committed the crime, the Society was damaged forever.

UPDATE: With help from beyond, the Society survived the attack. A. Ppendix was apprehended and forcibly removed, never to be seen again. While the members found comfort in this, A.Ppendix’s crime continues to haunt them today: “For, once a story is told, it cannot be called back” (King 10).

Perhaps it is obvious that I came up with this rendition of Leslie Silko’s story while I was in the hospital with Appendicitis. I could not breathe the word “evil” without associating it with my current (painful) state. In truth, my appendix did not actually burst, and I did not really go into organ failure, but, a story about a routine appendectomy would likely not be very stimulating for the people I chose to share this with.  This assignment allowed me to embellish a personal experience in order to translate my recent battle with “evil” to my audience.

On the topic of differentiating story and experience, “Sundance Films” recently released a seminar that engages with concepts of character and self within storytelling.  Writers such as Mindy Kaling, Kirsten Wiig, and Lena Dunham express the problematic tendency of people to “equate the words that are coming from their characters’ mouths with some real life [personal] philosophy ” (Dunham 1:48). Storytelling, as an artistic form of entertainment, relies on embellishment and creativity as a means of enticing an audience and encouraging their engagement.

While there were definitely some challenges (such as discovering my creativity window is only open between the god-forsaken hours of 1-4 a.m.) I really enjoyed the creative aspects of this assignment.

King, Thomas. The Truth About Stories: A Native Narrative. Toronto: House of Anansi Press, 2003. Print.

“Power of Story: Serious Ladies at 2015 Sundance Film Festival.” 25 January, 2015. Youtube. Web.