The End of Ego - Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The Master Designer, who never lost track of a single design, could not stand to see such a precious masterpiece fall apart.  In the course of her life, He had reached out and upgraded Jan’s design so that she would function according to his original plan.  First, there was Jan A, then Jan B, then Jan AB, then Jan ABC, and finally, his best version… Jan C. In this version, the Master upgraded Jan’s vision so that she could see things for what they really were.  He cleaned out her ears so that she could hear the truth and tune out deception.  Her worn-out heavy heart was replaced with one so light, Jan felt like she was floating. Finally, The Master ran a virus check, and sure enough found Ego lurking in the place meant to contain her soul. There he was lounging on top of the mountain of garbage that Jan had stored up over the years. In one fell swoop, the Master shoved Ego off his trashy throne along with all the junk files – into the garbage heap where they belonged.

“Ego!  What a fool you are to think that you have any real power over my creations.”  Ego did not answer, because as far as the Master was concerned, he had no voice.

The Master set Jan down, good as new.  She ticked and tocked and whizzed and pinged and whooshed and zwheeeeeed and beautiful beams of light radiated everywhere.  Jan had never felt so good, and she thanked her Master from the bottom of her new, feather-light heart.

“It is my delight to restore you my dear one. You are now as good as new.  But Jan!  Beware of Ego.  He is not going down without a fight, and you are in for a battle royale.  I’m not kidding – this guy is ruthless.  Before long, he’ll slither out of the garbage, and try to wriggle his way back into your life.”

“The good news is that I have programmed you with all the necessary tools to defeat him.  There is a suit of armour at your disposal, so put it on every day.  Remember the instruction book I gave you when I first planted you on the Earth?  Read it! Every day.  Everything you need to know is in there.  And of course, if there’s anything you need, just ask.  I’m never far away.”

Jan smiled and was about to run off and carry on with her life, but then realized that she had no idea where she was going. That stopped her dead in her tracks. 

Right or left? This way or that way? Up? Down? In or Out?  Jan turned back to the Master and gave him a quizzical “What now?” kind of look. 

The Master smiled and said, “Don’t fear.  I have a great plan for you. A plan for you to flourish, not to flounder. Right now, I want you to rest and acquaint yourself with your new-found strengths.  Everything you need to fulfil my plan is included in your new program.  There’s gadgets galore, and you’ll need some time to figure out how they work.  I’ll send some of my helpers to guide you through the instruction book. In the meantime, watch out for Ego.  He’s sneaky and he’s always on the prowl.” With that, the Master returned to His workshop. 

Ego, scaredy-cat that he was, had been cowering behind a slimy pile of guilt.  As soon as the Master’s back was turned, he sidled over to Jan and whispered in her ear, “I see you are fresh out of fear… let’s go shopping, I know a great place where we can go!”