Download the Book - Islam and Science Fiction

Following our graduation, Zeid and I began our formal training
as Defenders of the Revolution, or what the rest of the world calls
terrorists. Initially, we studied doctrine. Pavlov would have
recognized the study methods. Like one of his dogs trained to salivate
at the sound of a bell, we were conditioned to spout rhetoric in
response to any number of stimuli. Our reward was lavish praise from
our instructors for each correct response.
We moved on to tactical exercises, which consisted primarily of
training in skills needed for assassinations and gaining control of
ships and aircraft. We spent a considerable amount of time learning
the methods of intimidation that allow a small band to control a large
number of people. It became easy once we realized what cowards
most infidels are, and how affected they are by death or the threat of
it. A typical exercise might start with a number of melon-headed
mannequins seated in rows of folding chairs: it was great fun to blast
the heads off of a few to start the exercise, sending a shower of
melon-rind, flesh, and seeds through the air. One could just imagine
the cooperation such persuasion could foster.
Then came the counter-revolution, which washed over the
country like a tidal wave. We were powerless to stop it. Deluded by
promises of an easy life, and a return of the "benefits" of outside
culture, the population was seduced into backing the son of the former
Shah. These were desperate times, and they called for strong action.
Our first assignment was a simple one, and not too far outside of
our experience: we took control of a bus in the bastard state of Israel-
Palestine. In exchange for the lives of the Palestinian workers on the
bus, whom we considered to be collaborators of the worst sort, we
took the mayor, a noted figure in the reconciliation of Palestinians and
the Zionists. What we left of him wasn't a pretty sight.
Following that, we took an Italian airliner. After landing it in the
desert of Libya, we destroyed it and most of the two hundred and
seventy occupants with a bomb. In that one attack, we managed to
retaliate against Italy for assisting the Shah, embarrass the Secretary
General (a Libyan), and instigate a reprisal by the European Defense
Alliance against Syria, who had not had any role at all in it. The mess
that stirred up served to deepen the schism between Muslims and the
west for years.
Zeid and I were honored by Shia Ali for our role in the hijacking
of the airliner. I basked in the glory, but Zeid was deeply troubled by
it. He retired to his home for a month, where he immersed himself in
the Koran. I tried to make him understand the justice in what we had
done, but for every bit of rhetoric I offered, he would counter with a
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