Archive for the ‘David Kopaska-Merkel’ Category
Riding Free at the Bear Lite Bulb
Wednesday, January 14th, 2009
The Zombie Kittenz were playing and Shawana was dying to go. But it was at the BLB, an under-21 show. She couldn’t pass any more, not since working as a bud mother. That left two choices, but the one she could afford was hitching a ride in her kid sister’s cerebellum.
The worst part was the teen angst. It had been forever since she felt this way. Actually, she had never felt this way. Noemi was a spoiled brat. But the Kittenz were the smog. She had to be there.
At the door they were doing brain scans. Shawana had to mantra. Lucky they didn’t notice her; she’d have been evicted on the spot. Inside, Noemi and her age mates formed a teenoma right in front of the stage. Shawana had not expected to be so close. The Kittenz were known for putting on a pretty wild show, but there was nothing she could do about it.
The front band played a lot of AI-synthocrap on flamboyant instruments that were nothing more than glorified MP6 players. Finally, the lights went low. Foreboding music throbbed in her borrowed bowels. The sound quickly rose to a shriek as the Kittenz leapt onto the stage. Their performance went far beyond audiovisual. They were using gravity waves. They were beaming coded sequences directly into the audience. Tygger stopped right in front of Noemi and her friends and leaned so close it was clear her costume was painted on. “No free rides,” she snarled. She pointed a REM gun directly at Noemi/Shawana and fired. Everything disappeared.
Don’t panic, Shawana thought, and tried to remember the drill. She repeated her emergency mantra, and wondered when Noemi would notice she was gone. She tried to scream, but nothing happened. She desperately sought something, anything she could latch on to. There it was! Somehow, she had found Noemi again. Or, maybe her own body. It didn’t matter. She dove for it, slamming into the cerebrum like a ball into a glove. It was such a relief to be corporeal again. She opened her eyes.
She stood, nude, in a transparent fluid-filled cylinder. She’d heard about this room, but never seen it before. She was in a clone body, and at least 20 other body tubes were occupied. Damn! She hoped the show would end soon. And that she could talk her way out of the fine. She slammed her fist against the wall of the tube.
The end
Shiny Sky Spirit
Thursday, January 8th, 2009
Here’s a quick message from cabal central: we’ll be undergoing some site maintenance this weekend, so the site may be down for some or all of the period from Friday to early next week. Thanks for bearing with us.
In Winter, a bright light was seen to travel the heavens from west to east. It came to earth near River-Runs-Each-Spring. The People went there and found a tall silvery house in a broad area of blackened ground, surrounded by melting snow.
“What is it?” asked Muskrat, twitching his snout.
“It is the House of a God,” Duck answered, and ruffled his feathers. Just then, the House opened and Someone stepped forth.
“And Who is that?” Antelope breathed, her hooves moving softly.
“That is Shiny Sky Spirit,” Heron clacked, and so it was.
*
Duck went to Muskrat. “Shiny Sky Spirit demands tribute.”
“What must we give?”
“Ore. Great quantities of ore.”
And so the villagers brought ore to the tall House on the plain.
Next, Shiny Sky Spirit demanded that the ore be refined, and the metals separated, one from the other. This, too, was done, after a long and troublesome time. Shiny Sky Spirit, who had taken to striding about, shouting in a deafening voice, finally brought the spring rains. There was great celebration among the People, and thanks were given to Shiny Sky Spirit for his mercy and generosity. After the celebration, the full Moon shone down, bathing the village in Her cool radiance. Shiny Sky Spirit came to Heron where she stood on the bank of the river. Shiny Sky Spirit covered Heron, and afterward returned to His House.
Shiny Sky Spirit caused to be erected around His House a magical palisade, and he remained within it for several weeks. During that time loud and harsh noises were heard from within the palisade. After a time all became quiet. The next night the ground trembled, and a bright light ascended from within the palisade. In the morning, the People approached the palisade gate. They called, but received no answer. Finally, Duck flew up and looked over the top of the palisade. The interior was a flat expanse of black and smoking soil. Shiny Sky Spirit had returned to the sky.
A few weeks later, Heron laid two marvelous eggs. One was as reflective as a clear, still pool. The other swirled with all the colors of Rainbow. The eggs nestled in Heron’s nest, and she sat upon them, so they would quicken. The People waited patiently to see what would hatch out.
The end