Caged

For the past few minutes I have sat completely silent and completely still watching my pet hamster desperately attempt to gnaw at the cold aluminum cage. His teeth are not nearly a match for the hard metal, at most he could do is chip away at the yellow paint and even in that regard he struggles. When finally he gives up he retreats to the corner as if to contemplate another idea. Finally coming to some epiphany the hamster furiously digs away at the wood chips beneath him and clear to the bottom of the translucent green plastic. I do not know for how long but he clawed at that solid floor gaining absolutely no progress. He even proceeded to climb the metal cage and begin clawing at the purple plastic top. Such a desperate attempt at freedom was quite striking to witness.

This whole thing proceeds to repeat itself for what feels like an hour, again no progress is made. The sad reality is that this is not the first occurrence. Every day for the same amount of time this small animal attempts to escape. He hits the exact same points for the same amount of time. But he will never escape, the cage is his prison and his home. Still though he  tries but the fate is always the same and he will continue his pointless attempts up until the day he dies.

Sometimes I wonder if there is a human soul within him, a person of an evil nature forced to spend his next life as a hamster. Perhaps that is why he tries to bite me every time I stick my hand in his cage. I don't blame him though, that fate would be terrible. For the rest of his life he will be confined to this terribly colored cage that will sit upon the same counter in the same room and under the ownership of me, his god-devil. I say that because without me he would not be fed, hydrated, sheltered and protected from the exposure to danger. In the same act of kindness I also show him hell through the same brand of food fed to him day after day with no change willing to initiate within. He will drink tap water for the rest of his life and only have it replenished when I see that it is getting low.

What drives this small creature to get up every day with a new strength to try again? Does he remember the utter failure of the life before him? But I cannot let you go dear friend! You would surely die at the hands of some predator, most likely a cat from next door. You were born and raised in a nursery until you came to sit upon my counter, how would know how to survive out there? But he does not think about what he would do because that is so far out of reach he has no sense of it. All he knows is to escape and as sad as it may seem he will never see the fulfillment of his mission. He will not only die here, but he will die here with disappointment. And I? I will move on, probably get another hamster and he will be forgotten. How tragic.

At times I can empathize with his pain for I too feel confined to my world. Do not get me wrong, the earth is full of amazing sites to be seen but that is not what I desire. I do not wish to see a world that has already been seen. I want to drift among the stars and galaxies, seeing the far reaches of space. Just like the hamster I do not wish to be confined to the present, I every day by means of my education desperately attempt to break free from this prison of ignorance. I must escape and only through knowledge can I break free from my cage. Only through expanding my mind and my capabilities can I refuse the monotony and ask why. Unlike the hamster I have the amazing ability to be cognitive. I learn and adapt and seek my escape not by clawing at the plastic or turning my back but by analyzing the strength of the material and the optimal way to manipulate that material's properties to my advantage.

Being human in that regard is a perk, but still I see the members of my own species resign to accept their existence. They have willingly allowed themselves to continue their life of ignorance. Do they not see the autonomy in their conformity? Ignorance and stupidity are the weapons of the powerful to impugn the weak. How skillful they were in their enterprise for watch how the people acquiesce to them in droves! No need to trick and remain subtle, nowadays people are begging to join the cult. Like hamsters all of them! These are the ones content with the hard tap water and monotony of their lives. These are the ones that refuse to question their realities. They are content because they are told they are content. But I wont. I will not be content with my reality because I am intent on escaping. I will unravel the secrets of the universe, I will uncover unimaginable reaches and bear witness to the beauty of space as it is before my own eyes. The stars will dance with me among the far reaches of space. The different chemicals burning in the hearts of stars create a light show that extends in an infinite distance in infinite directions. Distant explosions echo through the vacancies and bring forth a wave of force. Millions, nay trillions and more atoms are spread throughout the universe in every direction. The very building blocks to make life are birthed right before my eyes and with this scene I am not content, I am happy.

I do not think that the hamster requires internal strength to desperately escape. He is just an animal with a small brain, I doubt he even remembers the previous day. Maybe in the sense of certain neurological retainers like smell and taste but he is stupid and does not formulate the type of thoughts humans do. Still there is no doubt that his suffering is terrible. Besides the point that he is probably not even aware he is suffering, the very idea of his existence is terrible. To forever live in his prison confined to a defined volume and a way of living sounds like hell. It is hell. Only getting fresh water when I deem necessary and even worse having to live out his existence alone without a companion, what hell! I have willingly allowed this creature to suffer this terrible fate simply because I have decided that any alternate reality for him would be worse. I, a kind and cruel master, decides his fate. Even God gave man free will, the right to live and die by ones one decisions, but I am not as benevolent as God. Do you see it? Do you see the contradiction though between our relationships? I can always come to one conclusion, can you see where it leads?

C.R.