THE MARK

We know, because we feel it in our own improving souls: redemption is possible. But who is truly redeemed, and who is only pretending? Good murderers and bad murderers look too much alike, and so we wait for the invention of telepathic machines, which could see into the minds of the seemingly repentant; wait, for the permanent tattoos we can etch upon the skins of those who are faking; wait, until we may build our prison for the branded few whose filthy souls stare us squarely in our faces, their shadows giving our light its stark brilliance; we will shine so brightly on the other side of the walls.