"That seems rather optimistic."
"I'm just giving credit to the force of habit. I'm not saying anything too crazy. It's how our society worked before. I think out of habit and the desire for the familiar we'll set up our communities like how they originally were. There's just one extra parameter that we've never had to deal with before, and no matter how much we desire returning to our old way of life, this new parameter will hinder us."
Dave pointed down at a small group of walkers. "And how do we deal with them? How can we even pretend to plan how to live while they are there? Anything we do will have to take into consideration their existence. Every plan we make must account for them in some way. What ever we do we must first think of them. How can we do that when we don't even know what they are?"
"So that's why you'll be moving on," said Sid solemnly.
Dave nodded. "We know some basic things, so we can herd them around a bit, I guess. But if we want a return to normal - completely to normal - then we have to get rid of them."
"You want to hunt them down?" asked Justin quietly.
"We know so little that I'm not even sure if that's possible. Has any one of us witnessed one of these being killed?"
The group was silent.
"No matter how many people we gather together, if everyone takes on one of the old roles then no one will take on this new role. Someone needs to study these things."
"And that person is you?" asked Justin.
"I have no idea. This is the blindness that I'm talking about. I sort of have a gut feeling for what needs to happen, but I have no idea what to do to make that happen. And when I think about this I sink into a feeling that I'm completely useless."
Sid slapped him on the shoulder. "Well at least you don't have a big head over it."
"What?" asked Dave.
"I was worried there a bit," said a grinning Sid. "You were starting to sound like one of those church types. I was thinking that at any moment you were going to sprout some nonsense about being the Messiah and that you'll save us all."
Dave looked flustered.
Justin looked down at the gathering walkers below. "They're getting a bit close. Let's move away and get ready for sleep."
"I haven't really expressed myself too well," said Dave.
"That's fine," said Justin. "The act of creation is always a mess. Keep trying out different ideas until you find the most effective one. I believe in you. You're a decent person and I'm sure that you'll figure this out."
The four took one last look over the parking spaces below before walking away from the roof's edge.
* * *
The sun was about to rise when Dave woke the next day. Dave looked around and noted that he was the only one awake. He clambered out of his sleeping bag and preceded to pull his shoes on. He then rolled up his sleeping bag and sleeping mat. He took the rolled items and attached them to the sides of his back pack.
Dave looked into his bag. The only things from his backpack that he had used were some books and he had already packed them away the night before. Dave carried his backpack over to the stairwell that lead down to the shopping centre and placed it next to his bike.
Dave decided that it would be too weird if he just left without talking to anyone, so he walked over to the roof's edge and waited for the others to wake. Dave looked around the car park below and there were still a few stragglers staggering around the car park. With the sun getting ready to rise, Dave watched the walkers staggering towards the exit. Even if he wanted to leave, Dave would still have needed to wait until the area around the shopping centre was fully cleared.
Dave didn't wait for long until Eric joined him. They nodded their greetings.
"So, you're still going to leave this morning?" asked Eric.
"There's a lot of things that I could do here, but I'm starting to feel pressured by time. And when it comes to beefing this place up some more, I'm pretty sure that you and Sid will be more than capable of doing a great job."
"Are you okay being alone?" said Eric in an almost shy manner.
Dave patted Eric on the shoulder. "I've kind of gotten used to the people here and I even enjoy the company. But it will be dangerous moving outside again, and I don't want to place more people than I need in that sort of risk."
"I don't mind that risk."
"You're not entirely a free man. Look about. Most people here look like they are shell shocked. Even though I've seen signs that energy is returning, most people here will need a lot of time to get themselves functional again. Until then you and Sid are going to be busy. These people need you way more than I need you. I'm not saying that I don't need you at all, but these people really, truly need your help."
Eric turned from Dave and looked out into the distance. "Yeah." In a previous time Eric was probably considered a nobody, but at this time and place Eric had an important role to play. A role that supported the lives of many people. Eric was just starting to realise that even someone who started out as zero could grow into someone important.
"I appreciate you wanting to help but we need to be where we are most needed, and right now you're needed here."
"So where are you needed?" said Eric looking hard at Dave.
Dave now took a turn at staring
