When Books Became Legend

Alejandro looked up at the stone building and shivered. He hated the bars against the windows, the bars in front of the doors, the electric barbed wire- all tools to keep people caged. He hated it. But he needed a job, and the prison was hiring and after months and months of rejections, he had no choice.

There was very little opportunity these days. Businesses everywhere were suffering and closing and there didn’t seem to be much of anything around. Restaurants were few and far between except for the occasional fast-food joint and those jobs were primarily run by AI. Schools were a joke where children were learning from computers. There was no need for a human body. Except for the prison. They needed a janitor and Alejandro needed a job and he wanted to take it before they decided to go with a robot instead.

He gulped his nervousness down and walked to the security doors. Side by side were two guards. Both of whom were robots, who looked him over with red eyes.

In a scratchy robotic voice they said, “You may enter.”

Alejandro nodded and walked through the security gate, squinting his eyes against the dark hallway ahead. At the end of the corridor stood a tall man in a suit with a tag that said, Warden.

Alejandro took in the height, the head of light blonde hair, the square sunglasses that were an odd choice considering how dark it was. He approached the Warden and stuck out his hand,

“Hello, I’m Alejandro. Nice to meet you.”

The Warden stared at Aleandro’s hand and then back up at Alejandro’s face. Alejandro’s hand hung out in space and after a few moments Alejandro dropped it back to his side, feeling more uncomfortable by the second.

“I checked your file,” The Warden said flatly, “I didn’t see any issues. You want this job?”

Alejandro hesitated and The Warden raised an eyebrow.

“Yes,” Alejandro said quickly, “Yes of course. I would love to have this job.”

“You’d love to?” The Warden asked with a smirk.

Alejandro’s throat went dry so instead of answering, he just nodded.

The Warden looked him up and down, seeming to take in every detail and Alejandro just stood, staring at the Warden’s glasses. The lenses were so dark that all he could see was his own reflection.

“Ok, follow me,” the Warden said, seeming to be satisfied.

Alejandro followed the Warden down the dark hallway and through a series of double doors. The hallway seemed to stretch on forever and Alejandro wondered how he was supposed to find his way out.

The fluorescent lights above them flickered on and off, and the click of the Warden’s boots echoed as they walked.

Alejandro felt like he was in a horror film. Like at any moment the Warden would turn around and become a monster, gobbling him up or throwing him into a cell, where he would live for all eternity.

The Warden stopped. He turned around. Alejandro could feel himself immediately start to sweat.

“You ok with living here during the week?” the Warden asked.

Alejandro gulped. “Living here? I don’t remember reading that in the job description.”

“It would only be during the week. We’d let you out on weekends,” the Warden responded with a smile that looked more like a grimace.

Alejandro paused.

“If it’s a problem,” the Warden continued with an added edge to his voice, “We can find someone else who doesn’t mind.”

“It’s fine,” Alejandro sputtered, “It’s fine. I can stay during the week.”

The Warden nodded and continued to walk.

Alejandro was beginning to wonder just how much farther it would be when he almost bumped into the Warden’s back. Alejandro looked around the Warden and stared at a large room filled with metal benches and two stairways that led to the first floor of prison cells. Rows and rows and rows of cells that seemed to stretch up and on forever. Alejandro could see men standing against the bars looking down at him. He wondered what they were thinking. He wondered what they did to land themselves here. He was stunned at the silence. It was so quiet he could almost hear them breathing.

“Do not talk to them,” the Warden said, making him jump, “You will clean the floors every morning at 4am before we serve breakfast. Then you will go to the East End and clean the floors there. Do not speak to the inmates. Do not interact in any way. If they ask you a question, you get a guard immediately. Understand?”

Alejandro nodded.

“Good,” the Warden said, “Let me take you to your room.”

They walked through the big hall and turned a corner that led to another hallway with metal doors on each side. 

“Most of these rooms are empty. They used to be for staff, but we no longer have need for that,” the Warden explained.

The Warden stopped in front of one of the metal doors and pushed it open to reveal a small bed, dresser, and desk. It was tiny. Not much bigger than a cell.

“Here you are,” the Warden said, “In the dresser you’ll find your uniform and clean underwear and socks. Also, a toothbrush, toothpaste, and soap for the shower which is two doors down. Breakfast is at 6, Lunch is at noon, dinner is at 7 and lights out at 10. Make sure you’re back here by then because we lock the doors.”

“You lock the doors?” Alejandro asked before he could stop himself.

“Is that a problem?” the Warden asked, the edge in his voice returning.

“No, no. Not at all,” Alejandro quickly responded.

“Good,” the Warden said, “Now. Let’s talk schedule.”

The Warden reiterated the 4am start time, followed by the East End, then the West End, showing each section on a map that was painted against the wall. Alejandro thought this was odd, but said nothing.

The Warden explained that meals were served promptly and that Alejandro was to go the cafeteria for each one and bring his food back to his room to eat. Eating with inmates or other staff was strictly forbidden. There was to be no interaction of any kind. This was of course to prevent problems, the Warden explained.

“Humans are bound to have conflict if brought together,” the Warden said and Alejandro wondered if the man was actually a robot, but decided it was best to keep all thoughts to himself.

“Well,” the Warden said, “Let’s go eat.”

Alejandro followed the Warden to the cafeteria, another large room with lines and lines of metal tables where the prisoners already sat. Eating in silence.

Sectioned off was a small area that the Warden pointed to.

“You get your food there,” the Warden said.

Alejandro walked over where a plate of food was already waiting for him at the counter. There was no one else there.

“Well, go eat in your room and then you can come back here to clean. Understand?” the Warden asked and Alejandro nodded.

“Good,” the Warden said and left, leaving Alejandro alone.

Alejandro looked around at the inmates, who occasionally glanced up at him but then quickly looked away. The robot guards seemed to be staring at Alejandro, wondering what he was still doing there, so he quickly walked back to his room.

The food was horrible like he expected it would be. When he was finished, he brushed his teeth, put on his uniform and went back to the cafeteria that was now empty and where a mop and bucket were waiting for him.

He cleaned, trying to ignore the eyes of the robot guards.

He finished and went back to his room. It was now lights out and Alejandro tried not to think about how deep underground he was, how trapped.

He laid down on the uncomfortable mattress and tried to sleep. He tossed and turned and his sleep was punctuated with nightmares of red eyes.

He woke with a start and stared into the darkness of his room.

He sighed and got up, wondering what he was going to do if he had to go the bathroom in the middle of the night. Hold it, he thought.

He paced his room, stopping in front of the painted map on the wall. He ran his hand over the paint, stopping when he felt sharp ridges. Pulling his hand back, he stared at the map. He touched it again, and pressed against the ridges, jumping back when the wall began to move.

I should stop, he thought. I should just go back to sleep, he thought.

But instead of doing what he knew he should do, he pressed the wall further and when a gap appeared, he pressed against it and the wall moved just enough for him to walk through.

He stood in another room. He slid his hands against the wall, hoping for a light and found it.

He gasped at what he saw.

Against the walls and piled on the floor were books. Stacks upon stacks of books.

Alejandro hadn’t seen a book in decades. He couldn’t even remember how they felt.

The Book Banning had begun so long ago, beginning with children’s books. It was slow at first. One book here. Another book there. The defense was always that the book contained content unsuitable for children. Violence. Magic. Sex. But then they started banning books that featured Black children, Brown children, Asian children. Any child who wasn’t White. They started banning books that featured Muslim children or Jewish children or Hindu children. Any children who weren’t Christian. They started banning books that even mentioned the words Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, or the most dreaded one of all: Trans. The amount of banned books continued to grow, but for a while it was only in select states and cities. There were places where you could still find whatever you wanted. But slowly, so slowly, it started to change. It wasn’t that most people wanted to ban books, quite the opposite. It was just that the people who did want to ban books were so loud. They were louder than the ones who didn’t. They were less polite. More persistent. And they pushed and pushed and pushed until they got what they wanted. And then there were groups who said that books weren’t ecofriendly, that it was better to just read off screens. But then the stories started to change. They were edited so much that they weren’t the same story anymore. And people became annoyed because there were advertisements between each chapter. It got to the point that no one really read and by the time physical books were banned altogether, no one seemed to notice or care. 

Alejandro had loved books as a child. Making friends didn’t come easily to him, so books kept him company. He got lost in the worlds of Narnia and Mordor and Neverland. He could disappear into the words and imagine a better world. A more courageous world. When his parents took away his books, he cried for a week straight. They explained it was safer this way. It was safer to obey, to not stand out, to just be quiet. And that’s what he’d done. And now here he stood in front of long, lost friends and he didn’t know he was crying until he felt the wetness on his cheeks.

He ran his hands over the books, not believing what he saw, what he felt. He paused when he saw Autobiography of Malcolm X. He had heard of this book, of Malcolm X but he was surprised to find it here. He was surprised this room, this library was here at all.

He grabbed it and began to read, so lost in his discovery that he forgot where he was, where he was supposed to be. He grabbed Paolo Friere’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Julia Alvarez’s In the Time of the Butterflies, James Baldwin’s The Fire Next Time. He even found children's books The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle, The Napping House by Audrey Wood, I Am Jazz by Jazz Jennings.

He read and lost track of time and when the Warden was standing over him, Alejandro was too lost in the books to even notice.

“I see you found our library,” the Warden said.

Alejandro jumped and stared up.

“I-I-…” Alejandro stammered, but eventually gave up.

“It’s a criminal offense what you’re doing,” the Warden said.

“Why is it even here?” Alejandro asked, the words leaving his lips before he thought about it.

The Warden paused and stared at Alejandro for a few moments. And then he smirked.

“They wanted to save it. As a relic, I suppose. I suggested they burn them along with the rest, considering how risky some of these books were, but they refused. Saying that at least some history needed to be restored. But now, thanks to you, I can burn it. I can burn it like I should have done in the first place. Get up.”

Alejandro stood, still holding the books in his hands. The Warden grabbed them and threw them against the wall. He pushed Alejandro toward the two robot guards that were standing at the doorway; grabbed a bottle of kerosene one of the guards was holding, poured it over the books and lit them on fire.

They stood watching the flames rise, Alejandro doing his best to hold back tears.

They left when there was nothing but a pile of ashes. They brought Alejandro to a cell and the Warden smiled at him behind the bars.

“I had a feeling you’d end up with us,” the Warden said, “I knew you were trouble.”

“Then why hire me?” Alejandro asked.

“Can’t have the likes of you out in the world,” the Warden responded. He took off his glasses and Alejandro was a little surprised to see human eyes staring back at him.

“You thought I was a robot?” the Warden asked.

Alejandro didn’t respond.

“Sometimes I wish I was,” the Warden continued, “Humans are chaotic, making rash decisions and never doing what’s right for them. If we just obey, everything will be fine, don’t you see?” The Warden smiled, knowing that Alejandro wouldn’t answer. He put back on his glasses and walked away.

Alejandro sat on the prison bed.

“What’d you do?” came a soft voice.

He stood and walked to the bars, looking to his left and seeing a face peering out from the cell next to his.

“I found a library,” Alejandro whispered back.

“A library? What was that like?” the inmate asked, his voice rising in excitement.

Alejandro smiled and put his finger to his lips. The inmate nodded.

Alejandro whispered to the inmate what he had found and the words he had read. He tried to tell the prisoner word for word each one, paraphrasing only when he needed to.

The prisoner listened with rapt attention and the next day told another prisoner who told another who told another, and Alejandro could feel a wave of change coming. He could hear the whispers at night, he could feel the shift in the atmosphere, the bounce of the prisoners’ steps. Something was happening. And not even the Warden could stop the rapid fire of the words from spreading.