I Call the Moon

NaPoWriMo 2025, Day 12

“Your honor,” said Mercury, ” I would like to call Moon to the stand.”
“Very well,” Sun replied.
“Moon,” Mercury spoke gently, “Can you tell us what you have seen
and experienced over the past 5,000 years?”
“Objection, your honor,” pressed the human broligarch.
“How can Mercury ask Moon to say anything meaningful
about everything that happened over five millennia?!?!”
Silence filled the Solar System
as everyone awaited Sun’s response.
“Overruled,” boomed Sun. “You may proceed, Mercury.”
“Thank you, your honor. Moon,” resumed Mercury,
“You may answer the question.”
Moon took a long, deep breath and a full minute passed.
“Thank you your honor,” Moon said. “Thank you, Mercury.
I will tell you what I have seen,
but I will start with what I have experienced.
In two words:

v i c a r i o u s
t r a u m a.

Behind that is shock, sorrow, rage, disbelief, horror, outrage…
I have watched these human parasites
not only plunder, ravage, pollute, and deplete Earth,
but treat the non-human individuals they share the planet with
in the most disgusting and depraved ways imaginable.
Just as shocking is the fact that they do this to one another, as well.
They do it based on manufactured divisions
that I have never been able to fully comprehend:
categories they have created called things like
race, gender, class, religion,
and even though they are all living on the same Earth,
they target one another based on geographic origin,
whether someone moved to a place, and where from…
The list goes on. It seems that the specifics are less important
than simply having an excuse to treat each other in the most
incomprehensibly cruel ways possible,
including to the point of locking people up or killing them.”

Moon paused, as though the account had exhausted them.

I know this is difficult Moon. Are there any patterns you have witnessed
over the course of these millennia?”
“Many,” replied Moon. “But the first that comes to mind,
the one that stands out for the sheer ubiquitous horror of it,
is the way that roughly half of the humans,
who have created a group that they call ‘Men’
have fabricated a durable and successful set of myths
that they use to gain and enforce power over all others,
especially a group of people they have designated as ‘Women,’
as well as people of other genders,
and people who love or have intimate relationships
with other people the Men don’t approve of.
In one of the first stories in this book of myths,
the group of Women is positioned as being
not only gullible and weak,
but as being responsible for the whole of humanity
getting kicked out of some sort of mythical paradise
into a state of constant toil and suffering and death.
This violent faction of Men has, for most of human history,
has held virtually all power,
and continues to hold hostage
the Women and people of other genders hostage
in a state of fear,
due to the unpredictably violent behavior of Men,
and the constant threat of their violence.
They have also been responsible for the majority
of the violence and harm to Earth,
and the slaughter of non-human indivividuals.
I have compiled a list of some of the worst
incidents and events that I have witnessed.”

“Please proceed,” said Sun.

Many years have passed and

Moon is still testifying.