On the edge of a boundless plane of nonexistence, a consciousness freshly freed from its body tries to piece itself back together.
what...
warm...
...spinach...i...I
I think...I think, therefore I...
ham and cheese sandwich - good...
I am a what?
questions...I have...many, but no ham and cheese sandwich or spinach...or warmth...what am I?
I am...a person, no, a man...what is a man? Maybe it is...it's...not something I ever knew.
I am...Barbera! Where is she? Barbera...I miss Barbera. Who was she?...
...gone now...long gone, dead and gone. Dead? What is that? What am I?
Dead? Yes...this is dead...I am dead...a dead man...missing a dead woman...how?
...where are the other dead people? Am I alone? Who am I? Hair, snagging me. I saw so much hair in my life...and pain. I tried to stop the pain...with...hair?
That can't be right. What else is there? I met - no, knew - Soup, Hitch Hiker, Thermostat...Barbera...I remember her fingers now. They were sharp. What were we? We were...
we...
were...
PEACE WARRIORS! We battled the forces of evil with our mighty...no, respectable...no, modest super powers. We didn't care that we lacked great power. We took on great responsibility anyway!
I was a fighter, a helper, a proud man...too proud. It hurts. I don't want to see the pride anymore. I loved myself, but I loved God too, really. Ah, soothing... good things from good thoughts, but I must remember more. I see so many lies like cancer, but some more like shots. I didn't want to, but I had to...lie...sorry...I wasn't such a bad man. I was...
oh God, I understand! I know, I see! I recall everything, all the pain of sins and the joy of service. I know who I was, and I was -
"Stand back you gawking idiots! Don't overwhelm him!" The Head Chancellor of Necromancy shouted. Black and white cloaked men scattered from their huddle. Aldrich pushed forward, followed closely by Archibald.
"Sir, can you hear me?" Aldrich demanded of the naked, gasping man cowering on the floor. As Aldrich spoke, a beard sprouted from the man's face and crept over his knees until it completely enveloped him in ash brown curls. "Sir, look at me!" The man's eyes locked with Aldrich's. His breathing slowed slightly. He parted his lips to speak, but he only managed to wheeze sloppily. After a bit of experimentation with his tender vocal chords, he spat out three words.
"Who am I?"
Aldrich's lips twitched into a bitter-sweet smile, "You were Harold Capili-"
"but," interrupted Archibald, laying his hands on Capili's temples, "not anymore."
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Explanations
"I still don't understand," I muttered as Eleanor lead me away from her workshop, "why do you have to blindfold me?"
"I go to what some might call great lengths to keep the location of my workshop a secret. As sporting as most people are here, there are always those who love taking credit for another's ideas." Bitterness seeped into Eleanor's words. "Some people will go so far as to break into a private workshop, make copies of your plans, develop them on their own, with a shameful lack of concern for elegance of design, and reveal them the moment they are functional so that all the credit goes to someone who did not even consider solving the condensation problem first!"
"You wouldn't happen to have any first hand experience with this, would you?" I prompted, gently. This was the second time I had seen (metaphorically speaking) Eleanor close to losing control, and it followed rather closely on the heals of the first time. My incredibly keen and perceptive intellect was beginning to suspect that on matters related to her work, Eleanor's emotions ran high.
"Let me put it this way. If only I know where my lab is, then only I will receive credit for what comes out of it. I realize how childish that sounds, but I don't care. It is not that I want recognition so much as I do not want a cheat to get it instead. Wait here for a second; I need to unlock a door."
"I can get why you want to keep the shop a secret," I said in the direction I hoped Eleanor had gone, "what I don't get is why you don't trust me to keep it secret." A sigh issued from the opposite direction, followed by the jangle of keys.
"It is not as if I think you would intentionally tell anyone," Eleanor apologized, "but you must confess that you are horrific liar." My pride started to swell up like an angry puffer fish. "It is simply not in your nature, and that is one of the things I love about you. However, it is also slightly inconvenient."
"I'll have you know that I can lie with the best of them when something important is on the line," I objected.
"Is that so? Is that why you were able to describe my workshop in such glowing terms earlier?"
"That's not the same. Nothing was seriously at risk." I could feel her giving me a dubious look through the blindfold, deflating my puffer fish ego. "All right, fine. I can't lie for the life of me, but you know what else I can't do? Find my house on a map. I guarantee you, I have no idea where I am right now or where I have been, so I see no reason not to take this stupid blindfold off. It itches." As I spoke, the sound of keys ceased, and she guided me through the newly opened door.
"Of course, you see no reason. You cannot see anything." Bah-dum-tsch. Eleanor was many things. Unfortunately, 'punny' was one of them. "However, if you insist, I suppose it is safe for you to remove the blindfold."
I yanked the strip of fabric off of my head without bothering to untie it first. To my surprise, I was standing in my own room. For a brief moment, I considered asking how it was that Eleanor had a key to my own room. Then, I decided that I probably did not want to know the answer and, for once, managed to keep my mouth shut.
"I go to what some might call great lengths to keep the location of my workshop a secret. As sporting as most people are here, there are always those who love taking credit for another's ideas." Bitterness seeped into Eleanor's words. "Some people will go so far as to break into a private workshop, make copies of your plans, develop them on their own, with a shameful lack of concern for elegance of design, and reveal them the moment they are functional so that all the credit goes to someone who did not even consider solving the condensation problem first!"
"You wouldn't happen to have any first hand experience with this, would you?" I prompted, gently. This was the second time I had seen (metaphorically speaking) Eleanor close to losing control, and it followed rather closely on the heals of the first time. My incredibly keen and perceptive intellect was beginning to suspect that on matters related to her work, Eleanor's emotions ran high.
"Let me put it this way. If only I know where my lab is, then only I will receive credit for what comes out of it. I realize how childish that sounds, but I don't care. It is not that I want recognition so much as I do not want a cheat to get it instead. Wait here for a second; I need to unlock a door."
"I can get why you want to keep the shop a secret," I said in the direction I hoped Eleanor had gone, "what I don't get is why you don't trust me to keep it secret." A sigh issued from the opposite direction, followed by the jangle of keys.
"It is not as if I think you would intentionally tell anyone," Eleanor apologized, "but you must confess that you are horrific liar." My pride started to swell up like an angry puffer fish. "It is simply not in your nature, and that is one of the things I love about you. However, it is also slightly inconvenient."
"I'll have you know that I can lie with the best of them when something important is on the line," I objected.
"Is that so? Is that why you were able to describe my workshop in such glowing terms earlier?"
"That's not the same. Nothing was seriously at risk." I could feel her giving me a dubious look through the blindfold, deflating my puffer fish ego. "All right, fine. I can't lie for the life of me, but you know what else I can't do? Find my house on a map. I guarantee you, I have no idea where I am right now or where I have been, so I see no reason not to take this stupid blindfold off. It itches." As I spoke, the sound of keys ceased, and she guided me through the newly opened door.
"Of course, you see no reason. You cannot see anything." Bah-dum-tsch. Eleanor was many things. Unfortunately, 'punny' was one of them. "However, if you insist, I suppose it is safe for you to remove the blindfold."
I yanked the strip of fabric off of my head without bothering to untie it first. To my surprise, I was standing in my own room. For a brief moment, I considered asking how it was that Eleanor had a key to my own room. Then, I decided that I probably did not want to know the answer and, for once, managed to keep my mouth shut.
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