The beginning of discrimination.
Inside the fleshy metropolis known as Barry, discontent simmered — not the usual gurgle of digestion or the rhythmic thump-thump-thump of the Heart flaunting its importance, but a darker unease. Something thick and acidic pulsed through the veins of this body politic, like a whisper of sickness.
It began, as internal decay often does, in the highest district: Cortex Heights, where the Brain resided in its self-fashioned ivory tower of grey matter. There, amid echoing synaptic boulevards, the Neurons buzzed nervously.
“Have you noticed,” mused a cluster of Neurons one cycle, transmitting agitated sparks, “how dark the Liver is? So… congested-looking. And always working with those messy Biles.”
The sentiment, seeded by the Brain’s inherent elitism (it considered itself the pinnacle of evolution, naturally), trickled down. The Heart, ever pompous and full of its own importance, readily agreed. “Indeed! Quite unlike us, the noble Reds. We pump the lifeblood, pure and vibrant. The Liver deals in… processing. Necessary, perhaps, but hardly noble.” It conveniently ignored the vital filtration the Liver performed.
The Kidneys, perched in the quieter, shadowy lower districts, continued filtering silently — unseen, uncelebrated. Day after day, they scrubbed toxins from Barry’s bloodstream, recycling life with every pulse. But the propaganda had already begun to flow.
Soon, factions formed. The “Reds,” led by the swaggering Heart and including the Kidneys (though they were a slightly browner shade, they were initially accepted for their filtration purity), looked down upon the “Pales”.
The Lungs, delicate and pale in their spongy towers, fluttered anxiously. They agreed vaguely with the talk of “purity,” but didn’t understand. The Stomach, noisy and crude, belched an objection, but was ignored. The Intestines, winding and forgotten, kept moving waste out like always. None had the political clout of the Heart or Brain.
The Brain, aloof but subtly encouraging the divisions, released memos – complex electrical signals interpreted by the various districts. These spoke of “Optimising Resource Allocation” and “Maintaining Systemic Purity.” Codespeak, everyone understood, for prioritising the favoured organs.
The Heart received the richest, oxygenated blood first. The Lungs were praised for their ethereal lightness, even as they occasionally struggled.
But the real venom was reserved for the Kidneys. They were the filters, the purifiers, dealing daily with Barry’s waste products. “Look at them,” sneered the Heart to its chambers, “constantly swimming in filth. They bring down the tone of the whole system. They aren’t true Reds.”
Propaganda, pulsed electrically by the Brain, began to circulate. Images – distorted cellular memories – depicted the Kidneys as sluggish, inefficient, and, worst of all, absorbent of the very toxins they were meant to remove. “They are becoming compromised,” the Brain signalled. “They threaten the integrity of the entire Host.”
The Kidneys, sensing the shift, tried to signal their distress. They pulsed messages of their crucial role, showing metrics of filtered waste, of balanced electrolytes. But their signals were weak, easily overridden by the Heart’s booming pronouncements and the Brain’s sophisticated static. The Liver, overworked and sensing its own precarious position, remained silent, hoping the storm would pass it by. The Lungs fluttered nervously, agreeing vaguely that “purity” sounded important.
Then came the “Efficiency Directive.” The Brain, citing fabricated data about toxin backflow, declared the Kidneys a systemic risk. “Their continued operation,” the final signal pulsed, cold and absolute, “jeopardises the well-being of superior functioning districts. Resources must be diverted. Filtration protocols must be… streamlined.”
It wasn’t a declaration of war. It was an administrative order, cloaked in the language of systemic health. Blood flow to the Kidneys was subtly, then drastically, reduced. Essential hormones needed for their function were withheld. The Immune System, usually a neutral peacekeeper, received confusing orders from the Brain and began to view the Kidney cells as foreign entities, mounting microscopic, confused attacks.
The Kidneys began to fail. At first, it was slow. Barry felt a little sluggish, a bit puffy. The other organs barely noticed, caught up in their own perceived importance. The Heart celebrated the extra resources, pumping with misguided vigour. The Brain congratulated itself on its decisive action.
But the toxins the Kidneys once efficiently removed began to build. The Liver, now facing an overwhelming tide of unfiltered waste, strained, becoming sluggish and jaundiced. The blood reaching the Lungs was thick and impure, making their delicate work difficult; they grew heavy, waterlogged. The Heart, pumping toxic blood, began to flutter erratically, its proud rhythm faltering. Even the Brain, starved of clean fuel and swimming in metabolic waste, felt its connections fray, its thoughts becoming slow and muddy.
In its final moments of clarity, the Brain understood. The pursuit of “purity,” the arbitrary discrimination and elimination of a vital part based on perceived inferiority, hadn’t strengthened the system. It had poisoned it from within.
Barry collapsed. The metropolis fell silent. Inside, the once-proud Heart gave a final, weak shudder. The overworked Liver ceased its struggle. The Lungs deflated. The elitist Brain dimmed into darkness. The systematic destruction of the “inferior” Kidneys had led not to optimization, but to total systemic annihilation. The silence wasn’t peace; it was the cold, quiet end of a body politic that had fatally consumed itself, thanks to discrimination.