How to Write Killer Prose (13)

Ultraviolence

           

Violence, like a diamond, is forever. Even if the act is random, it ties its participants together, because it can never be undone, just as words can never be unsaid. Whether it's a mother slapping a child, or a sniper shooting a president, a violent act transmits waves of consequence. Echoes that will sound forever in the minds of all involved.

            As human beings, we know this. We know that there is no free lunch. We know that every action is followed by a reaction. Yet violence persists, because every perpetrator tells himself or herself, even as the clouds darken overhead: Not Me. I will not become the victim of my own act. I will walk away unscathed, my problem solved.