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Uriel Fox and the Problem of Injustice

John Zurn

    Crossing large bodies of water usually didn’t interest Uriel Fox. He couldn’t swim well, and there existed no “off ramps” once he reached the middle of a large lake or river. Yet, his fascination with the city of Prevest on the opposite bank of the Autheron River intrigued him. Years earlier a fellow traveler had mentioned to Uriel that the prosperous city of Prevest controlled a large expanse of rich farmlands along with bountiful forests and streams. Because the city seemed to be largely unknown and isolated from the rest of the country, the citizens created their own laws and customs with little outside interference. Although they didn’t technically own all the land, they extended their control over many miles. Few authorities visited because of the massive size and swift current of the Autheron River, so the inhabitants of Prevest were similar to societies in the dense jungle or High Mountains. They were alone.
    Uriel’s intense curiosity created a deep desire for him to sojourn to the mysterious city of Prevest even if it meant rowing across the mighty Autheron River. The vast waterway was seven miles wide with a deadly current that made it dangerous to navigate safely. Since it would take almost an entire day to cross, Uriel bought a small dinghy and then filled it with food, water, and safety gear. To protect him from the sun, Uriel wore an old fedora hat that covered most of his face and neck.
    Fox, wavering between courage and common sense, launched his rickety craft, but then immediately changed his mind. However, his sense of adventure and discovery, at last, took over. As he proceeded across the river, he secretly hoped that his search for the city of Prevest would lead him to a safe haven where he could spend the rest of his life. He knew he had to find out the truth, so he spent the rest of the day rowing across the massive river while battling the fierce current. By the time twilight appeared, Uriel felt exhausted, but he still proved to be enthusiastic because he could make out the opposite shore of the Autheron River. Although his dinghy had been slowly filling with water since almost the beginning of his journey, the weather-beaten boat had successfully transported Uriel and offered him the hope of a new start.
    Sadly, this scene of relief and accomplishment didn’t last long. As Uriel sat resting on a dead tree limb on the beach, two brutish men who reeked of authority and were brimming with anger, smacked his hat right off his head. Then they glared at Uriel and took him prisoner. Uriel tried to explain, “I just arrived here. I’m just a visitor!”
    The taller officer snapped back, “We’re not stupid. We know exactly why you were wearing that hat!”
    “Yes,” Uriel answered in confusion. “It keeps out the sun.”
    The short officer chuckled, “That’s a likely story. You’re coming with us!”
    Without speaking another word, Uriel found himself with a cloth bag over his head. Before long, he was sitting in a jail cell before he could survey his surroundings. He then felt a man come up from behind, knock him to the ground, and then shave his head. This same man then unceremoniously pushed Uriel out the front door of the police station on to the street.
    Uriel Fox’s first instinct involved returning to his boat and escaping to the other side of the river. However, the thugs who captured him had chopped several large holes in the side of his boat. Fox suspected that he could find a way to freedom through the forest eventually, but for the moment he was a virtual prisoner in a potentially dangerous city. He decided it might be important to explore Prevest and learn about its strange culture.
    Fox observed almost immediately that many citizens he encountered had bald heads like him. Even stranger, everyone who wasn’t bald seemed to have hair at or above his ears. He had heard and seen such distinctions in various places, but these differences were based mostly on race or religion. Yet in Prevest there existed different races with shaved heads and short haircuts. Uriel had also observed a number of churches, temples and synagogues, so race and religion couldn’t be the reasons people were separated into groups.
    Nevertheless, Uriel felt absolutely certain there had to be some logical reason for this cultural behavior, and that arbitrariness didn’t seem likely or possible. He also realized that he’d need to be careful. As a “baldy” as he was called, he knew the authorities had the power to imprison him or even end his life.
    Finally, Uriel overheard an officer confronting a beggar who had just inadvertently knocked over a post office sign that was near the sidewalk. “Hey Baldy,” the officer bellowed. “Yeah, you, lobeless. Watch where you’re walking!”
    Could it be that simple? Uriel thought to himself. People with no visible ear lobes were treated as inferior to citizens with large detached ear lobes. Are there two groups of people separated because of their ears?
    Now Uriel understood why his hat had been thrown to the ground. The officers believed he had been attempting to hide his tiny attached ear lobes. Fox now needed to test his theory. He surreptiously studied the bald citizens and noticed they did indeed all have very small ear lobes that were attached to their ears. As he pondered this absurdity, Uriel also discovered that citizens with large detached ear lobes sported a modest head of hair, and they seemed self-confident to the point of arrogance. These citizens also enjoyed privileges only enjoyed by their group. All the good jobs like business ownership, government positions, and law enforcement proved to be reserved for people with full ear lobes.
    Yet, all the citizens with shaved heads as a means of identification of their ears, seemed to occupy the lowest positons in society. Employment like waste disposal, animal control, and exterminator jobs were examples of the kind of employment they could secure. These jobs provided workers with very low wages and benefits and almost no money for essentials like housing. These underprivileged people also lived in poor areas with little access to medical care. This led to a higher death rates and suicide completions.
    This horrible situation appeared to be intolerable to Uriel, but he had no realistic solution for the injustice of it all. Reason and diplomacy seemed to be out of the question, and because of his status as an inferior person, he might get into serious trouble for speaking out. Fox felt certain that he would eventually need to escape from Prevest, but he first needed to learn more about the geography of the area.
    Uriel had read in the newspaper about several terrorist groups who had struck at night by slashing off the ears of several prominent leaders. They were arrested and executed without a trial. No matter if he frustrated or angry, Fox knew he could never participate in acts of such physical violence. It simply didn’t exist as option.
    The insidious injustices that Uriel continued to encounter forced him to venture to the library in order to determine the history of Prevest. He realized he needed to be better informed. However, even at the library he faced confrontation. There actually existed two libraries, and when Uriel walked into the modern one, he was rudely redirected to the “Baldy” library.
    Fox decided to enter the run down library in the poor section of the city, so he could sort out the facts. Unfortunately, the truth could not be discovered. To put it simply, in the history books, the privileged class of Prevest- who possessed large detached ear lobes - lived as heroes, leaders, and builders. The no lobe citizens, however, played the roles associated with gratitude and humility. The inequality proved to be more than Uriel could take. Or so he thought.
    The very next afternoon while Uriel was hiking past the post office, he witnessed an incident that made the library information seem even more damning. As he passed by one citizen who appeared to be a member of the privileged class, Uriel noticed the man seemed nervous. Suddenly, an officer ran up behind him, pulled a wig off his head and then ripped off the victim’s artificial ears. The unfortunate soul was hustled away, and Uriel never saw him again.
    The Prevest society, Fox concluded, turned out to be barbaric with no belief in justice or even fairness. He now realized escape remained his only option, and he needed to leave the city soon. There could be nothing substantive Uriel could do, and it seemed likely he would get into more trouble himself.
    However, Uriel had even more immediate concerns. He hadn’t eaten in days, and long ago, he promised himself he would never beg or rummage through trash receptacles again. He decided to ask other “inferior” citizens for help. He wandered past the shabby apartment high rises until he came upon two men who appeared to be headed for work. No longer caring about pleasantries, Uriel asserted, “Is there any work around here? I haven’t eaten in two days.”
    The men seemed sympathetic and even grateful. “Our friend is ill,” one of the men volunteered. “He’s going to lose his job if someone doesn’t’ fill in for him.”
    “Thank you!” Uriel blurted out. “I’ll do it!”
    “You don’t even know what this job is,” the other man challenged.
    “It doesn’t matter. I need to work,” Fox pleaded.
    “Then come with us,” the first man replied.
    “Thanks again,” Uriel repeated and then asked. “But what if your boss realizes that I’m replacing your friend?”
    “Oh, we all look the same to the bosses,” the second man replied sarcastically. “As long as you don’t try to speak to the high and mighty “Big Lobe” bosses, you’ll do fine. Now come on, we don’t want to be late.”
    By the time the three men reached the entrance to a modern looking hospital, Uriel figured out their task. He soon recognized medical waste that appeared at the basement elevator door in high rolling dumpsters. Fox followed his friends who rolled the dumpsters out of the garage and on to a filthy delivery truck. With only two seats in the truck, Uriel needed to stand in the back and monitor the dumpsters, so they remained secure.
    The three men ended the first leg of their journey on the bank of the Autheron River where they loaded the dumpsters on to a long flat boat. When they had piloted the boat about two miles out and five miles down current, they dumped the rancid dumpsters overboard and watched them sink thirty feet to the bottom.
    Fox watched carefully as the truck began its return trip to the hospital. He left the back doors open, in order to air the truck out. But he also waited to make his escape. He knew very well if he remained in Prevest, the city officials would arrest him for some paltry reason, or he might succumb from the filthy conditions that he was now forced to face daily. At his first opportunity, he jumped from the truck and raced toward the nearby forest.
    Uriel ignored all his own common sense rules about hiking only at night, and he ran until dawn, but then continued hiking for two more days. Although he felt exhausted and famished, he made do with berries and stream water to help sustain him through his difficult trek through the forest.
    Finally, Uriel recognized signs of a small town at the edge of the massive wood. He cautiously walked until he arrived at a road on the outskirts of the village. After his recent experiences in Prevest, he decided to remain wary. He hid behind a willow tree and waited. He knew from his recent experiences that he must watch for anything that might be out of place. Before long a young teenage boy appeared and simply sat down next to him.
    “Who are you?” Uriel asked simply.
    “My name is Victin,” the boy replied. “Please don’t tell anyone that I’m here.”
    “I won’t. I promise.” the older man replied honestly. “But tell me why you want to hide here?”
    “I have red hair,” the boy offered. “I colored it blonde almost two months ago. But now the red hair is starting to bleed through again.”
    Uriel then asked a question, but he really didn’t want to know the answer. “I’m not from around here,” he stated. “Explain about your red hair to me.”
    Victin genuinely realized that Uriel represented no threat, so he began to tell his story.
    “Citizens with red hair are almost always terminated at birth. Only black, brown, and blonde hair is legal. Red haired people have historically been the cause of the decline of our native land. The most desired hair color is black because they are the town’s leaders. Only black haired citizens are fit to rule over all other residents.”
    Uriel listened in disbelief. Finally he asked Victin, “Why are you still alive, if you have red hair ?”
    “My hair turned red after I turned about four years old.” Victin answered. “My family created a forbidden natural dye that concealed my true identity. So for my whole life I’ve lived two identities, but my red hair is my genuine self.”
    “Where will you go now?” Uriel asked with concern in his voice.
    “What do you mean?” the boy replied. “There are few good places to hide. Every other town is probably worse.”
    “I see,” Fox answered thoughtfully. “But what if you get caught? Won’t they execute you?”
    “I don’t know if any other red haired people have lived the same way that I have.” Victin asserted. “I will reveal my secret at the right time. I’ll probably be accepted then. For now, I must be patient.”
    Uriel didn’t respond to Victin’s dangerous statement of purpose. He felt helpless, and he realized his own waning determination couldn’t inspire the boy. So after saying their goodbyes and fearing the worst for Victin, Uriel headed to the river bank and hiked as far away as possible from the dreadful places he had just visited. Uriel’s earlier sojourn across the Autheron River had demonstrated once again that the world seemed to be unjust if not wicked.
    Then, for the first time a unique idea occurred to Fox. If every place could be described as wicked, then perhaps his own beliefs might be somehow warped and incorrect. Maybe he, himself, was judging the world instead of fully participating in it. It seemed vaguely plausible that the world might be different than his subjective experience. Perhaps. Nevertheless, Uriel Fox remained determined to seek out his own sense of morality while helping others when possible. What else could he do?

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