The Rill of Death
Excerpt from Zygors Don't:
“Tell me something,” Whitey said.
“What?”
“What the hell does Rill of Death mean?”
Bull turned now and looked at Whitey, his eyes glazed as though in a trance, repeating a memorized script. “A rill is a small stream. It runs unseen, unnoticed as it works its way slowly and carefully along the ground. Whereas a big river would be noticed and maybe damned up, no one notices the little stream. But the stream is poisoned to those who should drink of it. It can’t be stopped, just keeps going, it’s the Rill of Death.”
Sounded like preaching to Whitey. He only understood that they were fighting back now. It was a war. It was a secret war. They were fighting the vermin. It all made sense the way the Reverend told it. In the beginning, the men who went to the meetings had all been separate, struggling alone, alone against the vermin, surrounded and fighting losing battles.
The Reverend had organized them, had defined the enemy. Now they came together, learned that they were united in their sameness, learned that they were all of the same ilk. They had a common group identity and nothing was more important than the group. They had been raped, abused, their rightful place in the world stolen by the vermin. But now they were organized, under the guidance of the Reverend. And anyone outside of that group was the enemy. The vermin.
Commentary:
The ‘Rill of Death’ as an organization is more than just a metaphor for ‘the group’ as in undiversified groupism. It is also an anagram which gives it more symbolic meaning.
In order for groupism to take hold, there must be outsiders. It doesn’t matter if the outsiders are of a different class, ethnic group or nationality or a different religion. It doesn’t matter if the group difference is made up arbitrarily. The only thing that matters is that they can be defined as a different group which is responsible for all ills – 'the vermin' is the Rill's metaphor for 'the outsiders'.
The weakness of the individual is the strength of the group:
‘In the beginning, the men who went to the meetings had all been separate, struggling alone, alone against the vermin, surrounded and fighting losing battles.’
Diversity is the enemy of groupism. Sameness and conformity is the glue of groupism:
‘Now they came together, learned that they were united in their sameness, learned that they were all of the same ilk.’