79.

   We landed at the giant’s feet with Claudia’s story weighing heavily on me. I gazed at the giant. What civilization could have made such a thing? How could it disappear without a trace and leave only this one enigma as proof of its existence? What would we leave for future generations to marvel at, to admire, to hide the petty vindictiveness, the violence and greed behind ours and all societies? Is there really any hope for us? We think of ourselves as being at the top of the tree of life but maybe we are its biggest joke.
   Pat looked at Claudia warmly. “Why didn’t you make your balloon of general’s skins?”
   “The generals are still very much with us.”, said Claudia. “They never go away. They are out of power now, but they stand on the sidelines waiting.”
   Claudia took my hand. “Life can turn on a dime, Oliver. One minute you are free, relishing life and what it will offer you. You think what you want to think, say what you want to say, go whereever you wish. The next minute you are alone in a tiny cell with a hood over your head trembling in fear for what is coming. If you think you are immune from these horrors in America, you are very much mistaken. Your freedom is ebbing away.”
   I turned from Claudia and stared at the geoglyph that stretched out before us and climbed the hill above us. It was other worldly, alone in the middle of the desert, silent, brooding, waiting. Boris had sent us to this giant, but it lay before us mute. I looked at the map. It told us of a cave in the hills.