Short Story Teaser: The Gypsy Purge of Airopa

Cadenza opened the dusty, old mauve book, the diary from Carla's great grandmother, Lupe, and there was a clipping on the very first page...

"Sociological Research of Subject 'Gypsies' - Kingsborough University of Behavioral Sciences"



"...They are a superstitious, subhuman culture, with many strange and unreasonable ways. They do not raise livestock, nor grow crops. They have no doctors; instead, they believe "magic" can cure them. They do not have weapons; they believe, also, that "magic" can protect them. They claim not to reject science, but seem to think they can defy the laws of it. They do not trade their gold, but rather hoard it away from generation to generation and display it garishly on their brides. They are akin to witches, and have many scrolls of "spells" and odd talismans they believe to possess power. They travel from place to place, infecting it with their "traditions" and selling their beads and other worthless trinkets of illogical belief. They speak of "Spirits", and renounce any ideas of Heaven or Hell. They idle away their days and nights in dance and song and strange rituals, only further spreading the plague of their superstitions by having more and more children. They are a pox on this land. We must rid ourselves of them, as other great civilizations have done of their burdensome groups in the past...."


"--Friedrick Samuel Taylor, of Kingsborough, Rochester, 12 May 1750"