Chapter Four - John Murphy
"You said, 'preparing for the ground.' Isn't that right? What does that mean?"
(Murphy)'s voice changed, becoming more serious. However, his sarcastic posture remained, and strongly so. He was still sprawled on my bed like he owned the place.
I was sitting, and I adopted a more relaxed position, leaning back against the cold metal wall. I looked at (Murphy) and said calmly, "You're the one acting strange. Especially after Mr. (Kane) beat you so badly you might not even remember what we're talking about."
I saw him look at me, his hands clenching into fists on his lap. But not because he was ready to attack. It was because he seemed to be remembering something from the past. Anyway, I was imagining the memories he was recalling—(the time he was beaten in class by Mr. Kane). That had been established in the show's second-season flashbacks, and I still remembered it, especially since I had watched (Murphy)'s character a lot.
On the other hand, he sighed. A heavy, exasperated sound. He lowered his head for a moment, then raised it again, and this time his trademark sarcastic smile was back. It was as if everything I'd said a minute ago had disappeared.
But I noticed his serious eyes didn't look like they'd forgotten what I'd just said. Instead, he seemed to have thought of something new. So he took on a deceptively relaxed pose and said in a provocative voice, "Do you think we're going to live after we go to Earth? I think you've gone crazy from the contraband. What do you say you give me some? Might make me chill out too, just like you."
(Okay, he's acting true to form. Sarcastic, provocative, but smart. He's thinking about survival.)
I decided to take advantage of this. So I said clearly and frankly, "Yes. I don't think we'll die if we go to Earth."
It hadn't been announced yet that the hundred people were going to Earth. Our group (which included me) had been taken by the Ark's leaders to attend these classes to prepare us. But it hadn't been announced where we were going. Most of the not-so-bright people in the group of a hundred didn't know we were going to Earth.
But with one look, I knew the person in front of me was too smart not to know we were going to Earth. So there was no need to hide anything from the start. There was nothing to hide from someone as smart as (Murphy).
"And how are we going to live? Are you going to wear anti-radiation suits? Do you think there's life on Earth after all this time? It hasn't been 100 years since the nuclear blast. The radiation on Earth is still… the only thing we'll find there after the ship crashes is one thing: death."
Frankly, what he said was extremely realistic. Brutally, scientifically honest. In the end, radiation on that scale, which covered the planet, couldn't disappear in 100 years. It might take thousands of years to fade to levels where entities could adapt. But for life to thrive? That would take much longer.
But anyway, for me, I knew the Earth at this moment was uninhabitable. At least for ordinary humans.
But unlike ordinary humans, the individuals on the Ark—and those currently on Earth who are called Grounders, at least that's what they're called in the show—had adapted in some way. Those on the Ark had bodies that evolved due to solar radiation in space, while those on Earth evolved due to the environment and genetic factors adapted to the ground-level radiation.
But in reality, the Earth now still had radiation levels too high for ordinary humans to live. At least, in Mount Weather, people were still hiding there, unable to go outside due to the intense radiation, living in an organized way.
Of course, all this information wasn't important right now. At least not to (Murphy). At least, I wasn't going to say it at this time. Everything has its place, right?
"You look quiet," (Murphy) said to me after noticing I had been silent for a short while. He seemed to expect me to say something else. But in the end, there were limits to what I should say. The (Jordan Peterson) I was now needed some time to adapt enough to know what to say, right?
"This is funny. It looks like you've frozen, like what happens to cats when their tails get stepped on," he said, a cruel edge to his amusement.
Then he said to me in a firm voice, "But in the end, I'm still curious. Did you find out we're going to Earth, or did you deduce it like I did?"
Of course, when he asked me this question, I looked at him too. And perhaps because my face at that moment was both serious and sarcastic to the same degree, he didn't seem able to see what I was hiding. He could only see one thing: the sarcastic smile on my face.
"What do you say you guess?" I decided to be ambiguous.
On the other hand, (Murphy) had gotten up from the bed. The mattress let out a soft sproing as his weight left it. He walked to the door. But before opening it, he looked at me over his shoulder as he turned. He smiled a cryptic smile before leaving without saying another word.
I looked at the door for a minute after he left.
Finally, I said to the empty room, "Well, that was interesting. I didn't expect to get this much excitement from a main character of the show in such a short time."
The silence that followed felt heavier, filled with the unspoken understanding that the game had just gotten more complicated. (Murphy) was on the scent of something. And I was right in the middle of it.
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End of Chapter.
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Transmission from a Hidden Corner:
The mind games have begun!(Murphy)'s radar is pinged, and (Jordan) is playing it cool(ish). Was that the right move, being cryptic with the king of sarcasm? What do you think (Murphy) is planning now? Is he a potential ally, a definite threat, or just a chaotic wildcard? And with the drop approaching, how will our hero prep for the literal fall? Sound off in the comments section!