There was a town here once.

Not too long ago, Gopherly was a 
thriving little community, with all 
kinds of colorful characters who 
regularly occupied its public spaces 
and made it a very pleasant place to 
live. We knew each other. We learned 
from each other. Sometimes we argued. 
There were good friends and a few 
mortal enemies. There were village 
elders and passers-through. We didn't 
have any stores, but we didn't seem to 
need them either. People bartered. 
People gave. Some even set up co-ops. 
It was a good place to live.

Then, a couple of years ago, almost 
everyone moved off to Geminiville. Or 
somewhere else. I'm not sure.

Now Gopherly sits mostly abandoned.

There are echoes of Pripyat here. Most 
of the houses are empty. The public 
spaces are overrun with weeds. The 
streets are dusty, the asphalt 
beginning to break up everywhere. 
Abandoned animals slink along in the 
shadows. Old machinery quietly seizes 
with rust. The ghosts of former 
residents wander the streets. Someone 
-- I don't know who -- named them 
"mirrors." They're constantly talking, 
but I don't think they can hear 
anything.

Those of us who stayed behind live 
alone in our neighbourhoods, with 
dozens of empty houses between us and 
our nearest remaining neighbours. 
Sometimes we meet unexpectedly and 
chat, but mostly we mutter to 
ourselves, with the odd sensation that 
someone might be listening. You know 
how that is... it's probably nothing. 
Some people say Gopherly's a dangerous 
place to live because the spirits are 
listening. I don't know if I believe 
that. Then again, every once in a 
while, another neighbour disappears.

On occasion, we drive on over to 
Geminiville to have a look. It's shiny 
and new and they have security there. 
People feel safe. I usually recognize 
a few familiar faces in Geminiville 
and it's nice to see them again.

Once when I was there, I listened in 
on a group of strangers arguing about 
the bylaws and urban planning. Some 
guy wanted to put a sign on his house. 
The other villagers thought he was 
planning to build a Wal-Mart. Someone 
said the sign guy and his friends 
wanted to turn Geminiville into a 
city! Then someone else put a stop to 
it all. He said that Wal-Marts and 
cities were against God's Plan. He 
said it was in "The Protocol." A few 
people grumbled, and some people later 
put signs on their houses anyways, but 
the conversation was over. You know, 
you still can't shop in Geminiville. 
You have to drive clear on up to 
Webberton to find a Wal-Mart.

I've thought about leaving Gopherly 
from time to time. Place is lousy with 
mirrors, mumbling away, not watching 
where they're going. Then there's all 
those disappearances. I thought about 
Geminiville, or little Sparta, further 
on up the road. I've heard rumours 
about a place called Mercury, but I 
don't think it's real. Maybe I just 
dreamt it? Lately, though, a few 
people started moving into the 
workers' shacks near the old SDF 
plant. The odd squatter has settled in 
along the town limits too. So I guess 
I'll stick it out and see what 
happens.