I am Tetsuo
I'm fourteen years old, alone in the common room at Ronald McDonald House
Watching Akira on a large television with the volume low
Tetsuo is in the hospital and something is happening
He doesn't understand
and he is terrified
Later on, at the stadium, Tetsuo's body has betrayed him altogether
A malignant expanse, growing and stretching exponentially
His friend is trying to help him, but what's happening is too big
It defies comprehension
Just like the body, there is a limit to what the mind can encompass
All I know is, if you think you're in control of either one
You're wrong
Because there's a four year old girl in a hospital bed nearby
Whose body has betrayed her, too
And all I can do is turn the channel
You might call it a failure of imagination; or perhaps a success
Either way, my mind won't break through that thin veneer of fiction
To confront the reality directly
So instead I'm away in the Deep South
And the Misfit asks, "Does that seem right to you?
That some folks suffer a heap while others don't suffer at all?"
No, it doesn't seem right at all
But this is the best I can do right now
It may be true that none of us are free of suffering
But there's damn sure a scale
Do you think the people of Omelas suffer
When they learn about the girl?
When the long night stretches out ahead of them and they lie awake with the knowledge that she is there
In the darkness
Betrayed once more?
They may suffer in their newfound awareness, whether they walk away or not
But not as much as the girl
Who they still haven't freed
Who can't just walk away
Don't walk away from her
And think yourself righteous
Stay, stay, stay and sing the buildings apart
Cast aside the doubt and declare with all the love you can summon: "I am Tetsuo"
The new universe is not made for your sake, but for hers