The human's old story about the race between the tortoise and the hare was
never very popular with the other sept of Jijo. In fact it was never really
understood. A hare that took the time to sleep during a contest had too much
personal hubris to be able to be a representative of one's race. Such an er would
have been disqualified by its own kin. And a replacement would be found.
Someone with a better sense of duty to er's clan.
So stated the g'Kek Vebbin to the qheuen Face Maker. Repeatedly.
"Hoon are stronger, traeki are stinkier, and g'Kek are faster then the
Qheuen," Vebbin would always stare. Then whenever she remembered to be polite, she
added "But no one can sculpt like a qheuen."
Face Marker had a particular talent for carving and sculpting wood. No other
qheuen had ever gotten such a unique name. No other qheuen had ever looked up
while still in the pen to see a human face in the observation port, and then
carve that face into the wooden floor.
"No qheuen could ever beat a g'Kek in a race."
Face Maker became fixated on the idea of proving that statement false. Not
always, of course. Just once would be enough.
Not underwater. That wouldn't be fair. It'd have to be on neutral ground. Or
even terrain that would normally favor a g'Kek.
"Solve it quickly, or give up on the idea," his human friend would say. "If
you don't, you'll soon have your brain running in circles."
The qheuen are not the race known for the best abstract thought. But by far
they are the race known for the best abstract visualizations.
Although he didn't know it, Face Maker's human friend had provided the
solution. Soon Face Maker was thinking of having his brain running in circles.
For several weeks he had a group of qheuen friends set up a security
perimeter. He wanted a hillside glade all to himself. Unobserved by either his friends
or by any other race.
His idea worked, but it was damn jeekee dangerous.
Also worth it, in Face Maker's mind. To prove a g'Kek wrong. Not to stir up
any racial hatred, but to give, perhaps, a new understanding and meaning to the
human's story. A profound statement that there is more than one way for a
being to 'fall asleep'.
And the next time Vebbin used that same old tired refrain, Face Maker said
"Prove it."
That got all four eyestalks turned.
"Wanna race me?"
* * * * *
Everyone knew the glade. An open slope of grass, rocky in places, between two
stands of boo. A well worn path wound its way down the slope, skirting the
rocks at times and actually entering the stands of boo at least once on each
side.
"Think you'll use the boo to help break your speed as you round the corners?
Gonna bounce off of any rocks?" Face Maker asked.
"Possibly. Why do you ask?"
"I just wanted it stated that one can use the boo and the rocks as one see
fit. And that each being can roll or run as he or she chooses."
Vebbin rotated two eyestalks as if they were searching the sky. "To quote a
human, 'Well, duh.'"
Not one of the many observers at the top of the hill knew what in Infni this
conversation was about. Only a few even thought that there might be a hidden
level of meaning.
No one at the bottom of the hill, of course, could hear anything.
Except the exploser's firecracker that signaled the start of the race.
The g,Kek naturally started down the path at once.
But Face Maker surprised everyone there at the top of the hill by not heading
down the path. He instead went as quickly as he could to the near stand of
young boo and used a claw to snap down a boo no thicker than his claw.
He then carried it back to the central rock that dominated the top of the
hill and leaned it up against it.
"First the balance weight," Face Maker said as he picked up with his central
mouth a now all to familiar stone..
He then proceeded to 'clamp' up the side of the rock and grab one end of the
boo with two non sequential legs.
Flex and twist and an occasional nip from the middle leg.
Then as the boo started to take a round shape, Face Maker rotated his body to
bring up one of his legs that was originally on the ground.
Only a few of the crowd even bothered to even glance back down the hill to
find the g'Kek.
"Vebbin's about a third of the way down," someone commented. "I think she's
only got two eyestalks looking back at us."
"Not a problem," Face Maker vented as he continued to chew and bend.
"She's not taking the direct route."
Face Maker brought the boo down to meet his original claw and then continued
to overlap onto the next claw. Then retracted an arm temporarily to bite off
the excess boo.
"Easier to hold; less stress."
He then used the stone in his mouth to push off from the rock.
Someone started to rush up as Face Maker was teetering on edge.
"No-o-o! Don't help. That'd be cheating.
Face Maker's head and moth were both moving in and out, until he finally
achieved balance.
"The g'Kek's about halfway down."
Face Maker flexed his forward legs a bit to bring in the front of the circle.
And ever so slowly at first started rolling down the hill.
Now a g'Kek travels at a constant speed. Even downhill. Any faster and
there'd be a danger of brake burnout, or overturning on corners.
But a rolling qheuen gathers momentum.
Especially when traveling in a straight line.
Face Maker soon couldn't see where he was going. He couldn't rotate his eye
to match the speed of his spin. All of his practice runs were done at much less
than half the distance of the full hill.
So Vebbin actually had the best view. Totally as a matter of luck, or bad
luck, as she reached the last big rock of the hill, so did Face Maker. He hit the
rock and flew into the air right over Vebbin's four involuntarily retracting
heads.
Such an action for a g'Kek also brings on an involuntary braking. She was
still in the process of slowing down when she got an eyestalk raised back up
enough to see that Face Maker's short flight ended with his landing directly on
one of his claws.
But Face Maker continued to roll on, though Vebbin could see that the 'wheel'
was no longer taunt. And she was still trying to gain back momentum when she
saw Face Maker reach the bottom of the hill, winning, 'under the rules that
she had agreed upon', the race.
Spectators had to scramble out of the way as Face Maker continued his roll
onto the upslope of the facing hill. But they could see the slackness in the
wheel, and the fact that Face Maker was now retracting his head.
Slack, slowing, and out of balance, he finally toppled over. Only then was
the boo released from four of his claws. The fifth was smashed and reflexively
stayed locked onto the boo.
Vebbin stopped within one meter of the marked finish line. All eyestalks were
now trained onto her friend.
"Aren't you going to finish the race?" Face Maker managed to ask, even though
in obvious pain.
"I'd thought I might spend the night here and finish it tomorrow. In
imitation of the human fable, it might be a bit less embarrassing if I had a good
sleep before I brought the story to a close. You won, but at what cost. I don't
see how the story can really have a happy ending.
"Oh, end it on a joke by all means. Qheuen are naturally slower movers than
some other sept. What does it matter that in order for me to become the
fastest, I had to claw my way to the top."
"Or bottom."
---------------------------
Yea... It's rattan that bends. Not bamboo.
That's an easy fix if, ahem "He" tells me that there is a type of rattan on
Jijo.
William Taylor
--------------------
Just spinning off another
silliness.
_______________________________________________
http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
