by Michelle Norton

It started with the coffee cups.

At first companies were content just to slap a logo onto the cardboard holders that the coffee shops used. Then they moved to the coffee cups themselves. Over the years, new legislation passed which forced businesses to buy special licenses in order to advertise on their own products, and have them in their stores. You could not wash your face without staring at hologram ads in mirror. You could not take a piss without reading why you should buy turkey. Kids’ backpacks were arranged on store shelves by brand-then by advertiser. Engravers did not ask the name of the happy couple to put on stemware but rather what type of interests they had so the right advertisements would be engraved on their wedding trinkets.

I think it was a children’s group that lobbied for the space. Some poor mamma wanted a place for her little Jimmy-whatsisface safe from the primaries of advertising, but as all good ideas go, the marketers got a hold of it. They brought in artists and advertisers to design and market the project-then the lobbyists got involved.

The mess we ended up with was a concrete park; a circle of eight-inch thick wall, which spiraled down into the ground. A person could enter the walled spiral path from only the East side. Oh, it wasn’t long, probably about four loops. Once you were inside of it, you could not see the outside world except for a twisty lollipop patch of blue. In the nicely placed blue lights, you stood beside a marble pillar, not just any pillar but different kinds of marble patched together like stained glass. There were no words.

This is where I came in, Hal; that’s me. I got myself retired from the army through a series of mishaps, which ended in a few broken bones, mostly mine. When I got back stateside, I found I couldn’t blink thanks to the glaring lights which surrounded my once modest hometown. So, when the monument needed a watchman I applied.

As you might expect such a place didn’t get a lot visitors. Still my little guard tower was funded by the government; a cushy civil servant job. At first, I did a lot of crossword puzzles. My job description entailed very little; answer questions, pick up trash and don’t let anyone post anything. My tower was placed on top of the wall so I could see into the monument. I expanded my awareness by feeding the birds and reading dirty novels.

.