This has been left dormant for way too long. Well, I am trying to do April's National Poetry Writing Month over on Livejournal, so I shall post my endeavours here to, on the off chance that anyone reads this who doesn't read that.
As always, if you are so inclined, feel free to donate on the donate button on the sidebar. One of these days I'll get back to the stories.
Today's offering:
====
It was a dark and stormy night,
so the stories say.
That's how you know things
are going to go
wrong.
That's the portent for the life-changing
Thing,
the soul-crushing
Blow,
the earth-shattering
Event.
That's what the stories say.
But, for the most part,
it's not dark and stormy.
Sometimes it's not even night.
Sometimes it's just a
quiet afternoon,
a sunny morning,
a softly raining evening.
And the phone rings.
Wednesday, 1 April 2009
Sunday, 8 June 2008
Pandora's Gift (Part 8)
===
Click here to start at the beginning.
===
I took her to art galleries and libraries. We stood looking at sculptures in the middle of a park. We walked through bohemian areas of town, and then took the bus out to the suburbs. We strolled along beside carefully mowed lawns, and watched children play-acting. We explored the less attractive parts of town, where women sold themselves to feed their children beneath giant graffiti murals. We walked that city till our feet ached, and then we sat at the top of a tall building and watched the lights come on.
We sat silent for a long time. Eventually, she sighed.
"OK, I give. What was the point of all of that?"
"You don't understand?"
She shook her head. "Unless it's something like the diversity of human life, and the fact that that diversity is only possible because of choice? Always assuming you're trying to make me feel better."
"You can take it that way."
"But it wasn't what you were going for?"
"Well, maybe, but it is more than that. You gave humans much more than just choice, Pandora. You gave them the ability to create."
She frowned.
"One follows from the other, you see. Look at that, out there. Those lights. This city, and all cities, are full of people finding ways to create. To make things from nothing. They tell stories. They make art. They grapple with science and find new ways of doing things. Prometheus gave them fire, but you gave them the ability to learn how to harness it properly. Without the choice, and without the obstacles you let loose, they wouldn't be able to do that."
"You're saying it was a good thing?"
"It's a bittersweet gift, to be sure. You showed them their mortality. By taking away fate as an excuse, you made them responsible for themselves, and for each other. Some of them hate you for that. It is a terrifying thing to know that life really is what you make of it. It scares them, because it means that they have to make something of it. There are many reactions to that. Some of them desperately accumulate wealth and power in an attempt to escape that mortality, and it results in injustices and imbalances. But others approach it as an opportunity to make something beautiful. You gave them that option."
She was intent on my face. I smiled.
"In many ways, you're the goddess of artists."
That made her laugh. "I've never thought of that. Without choice, without adversity, there would be no art."
"Not just art, Pandora. Their mortality makes them do things, feel things more intensely. Without it, there would be no love."
====
I left her there. walked away into that wild city, just another invisible bag lady. But there was a sense about her that was different - a sense of possibility.
Zeus will be mad when he hears about this, I thought. But it didn't matter too much. That story, and others like it, needed to be retold.
As I shuffled down an empty 3am street, lit by streetlights, I thought,with a smile, Maybe the world's about ready for a new 'Once upon a time'...
Click here to start at the beginning.
===
I took her to art galleries and libraries. We stood looking at sculptures in the middle of a park. We walked through bohemian areas of town, and then took the bus out to the suburbs. We strolled along beside carefully mowed lawns, and watched children play-acting. We explored the less attractive parts of town, where women sold themselves to feed their children beneath giant graffiti murals. We walked that city till our feet ached, and then we sat at the top of a tall building and watched the lights come on.
We sat silent for a long time. Eventually, she sighed.
"OK, I give. What was the point of all of that?"
"You don't understand?"
She shook her head. "Unless it's something like the diversity of human life, and the fact that that diversity is only possible because of choice? Always assuming you're trying to make me feel better."
"You can take it that way."
"But it wasn't what you were going for?"
"Well, maybe, but it is more than that. You gave humans much more than just choice, Pandora. You gave them the ability to create."
She frowned.
"One follows from the other, you see. Look at that, out there. Those lights. This city, and all cities, are full of people finding ways to create. To make things from nothing. They tell stories. They make art. They grapple with science and find new ways of doing things. Prometheus gave them fire, but you gave them the ability to learn how to harness it properly. Without the choice, and without the obstacles you let loose, they wouldn't be able to do that."
"You're saying it was a good thing?"
"It's a bittersweet gift, to be sure. You showed them their mortality. By taking away fate as an excuse, you made them responsible for themselves, and for each other. Some of them hate you for that. It is a terrifying thing to know that life really is what you make of it. It scares them, because it means that they have to make something of it. There are many reactions to that. Some of them desperately accumulate wealth and power in an attempt to escape that mortality, and it results in injustices and imbalances. But others approach it as an opportunity to make something beautiful. You gave them that option."
She was intent on my face. I smiled.
"In many ways, you're the goddess of artists."
That made her laugh. "I've never thought of that. Without choice, without adversity, there would be no art."
"Not just art, Pandora. Their mortality makes them do things, feel things more intensely. Without it, there would be no love."
====
I left her there. walked away into that wild city, just another invisible bag lady. But there was a sense about her that was different - a sense of possibility.
Zeus will be mad when he hears about this, I thought. But it didn't matter too much. That story, and others like it, needed to be retold.
As I shuffled down an empty 3am street, lit by streetlights, I thought,with a smile, Maybe the world's about ready for a new 'Once upon a time'...
Monday, 2 June 2008
Pandora's Gift (Part 7)
===
Click here to start at the beginning.
===
"And still you opened it?" I asked, surprised.
She looked askance at me. "He didn't only tell me what Zeus knew. He told me the rest too. And I think you know what I mean. I also think that's why you're here. Because you thought I didn't know."
"what did I think you didn't know?"
"That it was about choice. That box had all the evils of the world in it, yes. Disease, pestilence, plague, the works. And, of course, the infamous hope. But that's not all it had. It had choice. For mortals. Or, rather, the understanding that they have choice." She smiled wryly. "And all the accompanying drama."
"Ah." I smiled quietly. She'd gone part of the way. I just had to push her through the rest of it.
"So you deliberately gave them choice at the cost of everything else?"
She dropped her eyes to her now-cold coffee. "I have to admit, I have wondered sometimes if it was worth it. At the time, because of what Heph and I had talked about, it seemed like the right thing to do. It seemed that it was a worthwhile bargain. I had visions of people free of Zeus' tyranny, the tyranny of fate. People free to make their own lives. I thought..."
"You thought they'd thank you."
She nodded.
"But they didn't. Quite the opposite."
A tear fell.
"Still hurts you, doesn't it?"
She shrugged, dashed the tear away, and sat up straight.
"So maybe I chose wrong. At least I chose. They make some terrible decisions a lot of the time. But sometimes they get things right. And that's always beautiful to see. I do doubt my choice, but I don't regret having it, and sometimes that's enough."
I felt a pang of sympathy for this strong, broken girl. I stood.
"Come with me."
Click here to start at the beginning.
===
"And still you opened it?" I asked, surprised.
She looked askance at me. "He didn't only tell me what Zeus knew. He told me the rest too. And I think you know what I mean. I also think that's why you're here. Because you thought I didn't know."
"what did I think you didn't know?"
"That it was about choice. That box had all the evils of the world in it, yes. Disease, pestilence, plague, the works. And, of course, the infamous hope. But that's not all it had. It had choice. For mortals. Or, rather, the understanding that they have choice." She smiled wryly. "And all the accompanying drama."
"Ah." I smiled quietly. She'd gone part of the way. I just had to push her through the rest of it.
"So you deliberately gave them choice at the cost of everything else?"
She dropped her eyes to her now-cold coffee. "I have to admit, I have wondered sometimes if it was worth it. At the time, because of what Heph and I had talked about, it seemed like the right thing to do. It seemed that it was a worthwhile bargain. I had visions of people free of Zeus' tyranny, the tyranny of fate. People free to make their own lives. I thought..."
"You thought they'd thank you."
She nodded.
"But they didn't. Quite the opposite."
A tear fell.
"Still hurts you, doesn't it?"
She shrugged, dashed the tear away, and sat up straight.
"So maybe I chose wrong. At least I chose. They make some terrible decisions a lot of the time. But sometimes they get things right. And that's always beautiful to see. I do doubt my choice, but I don't regret having it, and sometimes that's enough."
I felt a pang of sympathy for this strong, broken girl. I stood.
"Come with me."
Friday, 16 May 2008
Pandora's Gift (Part 6)
===
Click here to start at the beginning.
===
"I went at night," she said. "There were two reasons for that. One, I assumed, from what I'd heard about him, that Zeus was more likely to be preoccupied at night, so he'd be less likely to know what I was doing. And secondly, I didn't want to have to deal with that eagle."
She smiled grimly. "It was still pretty unpleasant, though. "
"Prometheus was, exactly as we'd heard, tied naked to a rock. It took me a very long time, and a lot of bribery, to find him, but I did. It wasn't a pleasant discovery. He was thin, his ribs sticking out of his skin in a way I had never encountered before. And he smelt. The smell was the horrific part. Suffice to say there wasn't a lot of cleaning going on. He was also, against all expectations, sleeping.
"I didn't want to touch him. He really was filthy. Fortunately, I had a staff I'd used to help me up the mountain, so I poked him with it gently, from a good metre away. He groaned. In that groan was clear all the pain and suffering he was undergoing, and I felt a pang of guilt disturbing him from the little rest he could get. But I knew he had the answers I needed, and so I poked him again, despite the pangs of conscience. This time he woke, and looked at me through bleary eyes. Against all expectation he knew who I was.
"'I suffer enough, rat,' he said, and closed his eyes. His voice was like sandpaper. Although I didn't know the description back then, it had a similar effect as nails on a chalkboard.
"'Please. I need your help.'
"He opened his eyes again.
"'My help? I have helped enough.'
"'I have water.' I had brought water as a purely compassionate move. I figured he'd be thirsty, tied to that rock. But now I realised I could use it as a bargaining tool if necessary.
"He grimaced. 'Do you seek to make it worse? I know what they made you for.'
"I sighed, unable to use the bargaining chip I'd just discovered I had, and walked over and dripped some water into his mouth, holding my breath against the smell, before moving away again hurriedly.
"'Ok. Listen to me. I also know what they made me for. To open your box. But I know I don't have to. I can choose. So, I am here to find out why they want me to open it. Or, more especially, why Zeus does. I have learnt a lot about him recently. He is not... what I thought he was. To be frank, I doubt his motives.'
"Prometheus chuckled rawly, and weakly motioned for me to continue with one bound hand.
"'I'm here because I want you tell me what's inside.'
"He was silent, in thought, for a long time. But eventually he told me."
Click here to start at the beginning.
===
"I went at night," she said. "There were two reasons for that. One, I assumed, from what I'd heard about him, that Zeus was more likely to be preoccupied at night, so he'd be less likely to know what I was doing. And secondly, I didn't want to have to deal with that eagle."
She smiled grimly. "It was still pretty unpleasant, though. "
"Prometheus was, exactly as we'd heard, tied naked to a rock. It took me a very long time, and a lot of bribery, to find him, but I did. It wasn't a pleasant discovery. He was thin, his ribs sticking out of his skin in a way I had never encountered before. And he smelt. The smell was the horrific part. Suffice to say there wasn't a lot of cleaning going on. He was also, against all expectations, sleeping.
"I didn't want to touch him. He really was filthy. Fortunately, I had a staff I'd used to help me up the mountain, so I poked him with it gently, from a good metre away. He groaned. In that groan was clear all the pain and suffering he was undergoing, and I felt a pang of guilt disturbing him from the little rest he could get. But I knew he had the answers I needed, and so I poked him again, despite the pangs of conscience. This time he woke, and looked at me through bleary eyes. Against all expectation he knew who I was.
"'I suffer enough, rat,' he said, and closed his eyes. His voice was like sandpaper. Although I didn't know the description back then, it had a similar effect as nails on a chalkboard.
"'Please. I need your help.'
"He opened his eyes again.
"'My help? I have helped enough.'
"'I have water.' I had brought water as a purely compassionate move. I figured he'd be thirsty, tied to that rock. But now I realised I could use it as a bargaining tool if necessary.
"He grimaced. 'Do you seek to make it worse? I know what they made you for.'
"I sighed, unable to use the bargaining chip I'd just discovered I had, and walked over and dripped some water into his mouth, holding my breath against the smell, before moving away again hurriedly.
"'Ok. Listen to me. I also know what they made me for. To open your box. But I know I don't have to. I can choose. So, I am here to find out why they want me to open it. Or, more especially, why Zeus does. I have learnt a lot about him recently. He is not... what I thought he was. To be frank, I doubt his motives.'
"Prometheus chuckled rawly, and weakly motioned for me to continue with one bound hand.
"'I'm here because I want you tell me what's inside.'
"He was silent, in thought, for a long time. But eventually he told me."
Thursday, 15 May 2008
Pandora's Gift (Part 5)
===
Click here to start at the beginning.
===
"But you still opened it," I said.
She nodded. And changed the subject back again.
"But he understood. He knew how powerful it was. He knew that mortals having choice, free will, was necessary for us."
"You speak like you are one of them. Look what they've done with it!"
"Oh Athena! I know you're wise, but sometimes you're really dumb. They're flawed. Broken. They hurt and destroy and use their will for bad. Often. But they are also beautiful. And REAL in a way that you and I will never be. Because they have choice, and everything in their lives is affected by that."
"Sounds like you don't need me after all."
She grinned, a very unusual, room-lighting grin. "Hey, you came looking for me, remember." The grin faded, as fast as it had come. "I've had a lot of time to think about it."
"So... why'd you still open it, despite knowing that fate was nonsense?"
"That's what they always leave out of the story. They assume I didn't know what was in it."
===
She told me how she had started to wonder. After her conversation with Hephaestus, she knew that she could open it herself. But if Zeus had misled her about that, what else had he misled her about? So she left it for a day. And the day turned into a week. Which turned into two weeks.
Simply, she had started to wonder what was in it. And why it was so important to Zeus that it be opened. So she decided to find out before she opened it. So that she could better decide. She wanted to know, now that she knew she could decide, how to make the right choice.
She asked Epimetheus everything about it. Where it had come from. What he knew. But it seemed like all he knew about it was that his brother had given it to him for safe-keeping, and that he had told him in no uncertain terms that he must never allow it to be opened. Pandora began to realise that the one person who knew the answers was currently tied to a rock with an eagle eating his liver every day. Which was a bit of a problem. Nevertheless, she resolved to go and see him.
This part of the story was new to me. I had no idea that Pandora had ever spoken to Prometheus at all. And I certainly didn't know what he had told her.
Click here to start at the beginning.
===
"But you still opened it," I said.
She nodded. And changed the subject back again.
"But he understood. He knew how powerful it was. He knew that mortals having choice, free will, was necessary for us."
"You speak like you are one of them. Look what they've done with it!"
"Oh Athena! I know you're wise, but sometimes you're really dumb. They're flawed. Broken. They hurt and destroy and use their will for bad. Often. But they are also beautiful. And REAL in a way that you and I will never be. Because they have choice, and everything in their lives is affected by that."
"Sounds like you don't need me after all."
She grinned, a very unusual, room-lighting grin. "Hey, you came looking for me, remember." The grin faded, as fast as it had come. "I've had a lot of time to think about it."
"So... why'd you still open it, despite knowing that fate was nonsense?"
"That's what they always leave out of the story. They assume I didn't know what was in it."
===
She told me how she had started to wonder. After her conversation with Hephaestus, she knew that she could open it herself. But if Zeus had misled her about that, what else had he misled her about? So she left it for a day. And the day turned into a week. Which turned into two weeks.
Simply, she had started to wonder what was in it. And why it was so important to Zeus that it be opened. So she decided to find out before she opened it. So that she could better decide. She wanted to know, now that she knew she could decide, how to make the right choice.
She asked Epimetheus everything about it. Where it had come from. What he knew. But it seemed like all he knew about it was that his brother had given it to him for safe-keeping, and that he had told him in no uncertain terms that he must never allow it to be opened. Pandora began to realise that the one person who knew the answers was currently tied to a rock with an eagle eating his liver every day. Which was a bit of a problem. Nevertheless, she resolved to go and see him.
This part of the story was new to me. I had no idea that Pandora had ever spoken to Prometheus at all. And I certainly didn't know what he had told her.
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