Prison Without Walls: The Epic of Fear When It Becomes the Guard

A short decree leaves the ruler's palace announcing a prison with no cells, no towers and no walls, and a famous architect is asked to design emptiness. The site chosen is the desert, because the wider the space, the greater the illusion of freedom, and the first prisoner, Nader, is dropped from a vehicle and told that this is his place. The narrator questions Fear, which calls itself a better guard than any guard because it never sleeps and needs no salary, and watches a painted white line hold the prisoners until Salim asks who would stop them if they crossed. History answers with exile in old empires, the snows of Siberia and the death of Socrates, showing how distance, cold and law have served as walls. The book ends with the first tool of liberation, a question, who said I cannot cross, followed by a step that brings the first wall down.