|| -------- -- -----  A E R I E   O B L I V I A N A . singular book of text wandertainment by Frank Edward Nora ------------------- ----------- FOOLWARD OAK--CUP 1--"ZOIPIN JURPLE JUPTER" --------  ||  Severe Repair  ||  Foolward Oak  ||  -------> (Cup SRfo001, Created v2 (6/7/99), Copyright 1999) = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = "Always make yourself scarcely see an issue." said Baw Veppen as she stared out over a deep green sea on a fine windy sunny day. "What?" asked Norlime Eckert, also staring out from the ship, Urbandersnacheron IV. Veppen did not answer Eckert, but rather squinted her eyes in deep emotional memory. Some lazy splashing moments expired. "My mother," Veppen said, "used to tell me that when I was very young. Before she died." "Your mother?" asked Norlime. "My mother. That's what I said, Norlime. My mother." "Oh." Eckert turned his head and looked at Veppen, taking in the sight of her. She seemed an Native American of some sort. A few inches below six feet, with golden brown skin, straight long black hair, a handsome and stern face, rarely crossed by humor, and a strong straight nose. Her dress was ancient. Leather, beads, geometric patterns. Simple yet elusive. He knew she was a failed messiah of sorts among her people. But to him, there was a sobering air about her. Baw Veppen. "Eh Baw," Norlime said after turning his head back towards the sea, "looks to me like you understand this sea somehow. I don't." Veppen let out a long sigh and spoke. "This sea is just a part of our imagination. An illusion like the rest of the world. But a nice illusion." "Looks real enough to me." "Looks. Yes, it looks real. But think -- a sea in a dream seems as real while you're dreaming." "I guess." They were silent a while. Then Eckert spoke again. "But, y'know Baw, this isn't a dream. It's reality." Veppen looked over at Eckert with a somewhat puzzled and amused look on her face, thinking. Soon she spoke. "That's a... strange viewpoint, Norlime, considering you're a crewmember on a huge pirate ship which travels regularly to different worlds--not to mention the fact that your DNA has traces from two ancient gods at odds with one another. Reality? Dreams are tame compared to this." she smiled briefly, looked away, then looked back at Eckert and said "Huh?" "I see your point, but... even though all the stuff going on is... I dunno--weird, I guess--it still seems like reality--the reality I'm used too. Y'know, it feels like reality." "Hmmm." Veppen said. She looked at Eckert briefly. He was a little shorter than her, 5'6" or 5'7". He was in his mid-thirties, but had a mass of pure white hair on his head. His face was average-looking, but he had a generally forlorn look, and wide, mournful eyes, making him seem childlike. His build was somewhat heavy, and he wore a gray T-shirt and brick-colored pants. He was apparently a loser most of his life, never accomplishing much, and living with his parents his whole life save for a few years. There was something special about him, however--he had two gods as ancestors, and these two gods hated each other with a passion equal to that of all the love in the world. On his mother's side, hundreds of generations removed, was Spreamegong, the god of politics. On his father's side, likewise hundreds of generations removed, was Bhonivoshok, the goddess of discipline. The two warred for centuries, as legend has it, then finally destroyed each other--taking a continent along with them! Apparently, Norlime Eckert was the only human being ever who possessed genetic traces from both deities. This fact didn't seem to affect Norlime very much. The only strange thing he could think of about himself was that he had some weird dreams as a child. Nothing else, though. Then Veppen looked back towards the sea. A minute later, one of Veppen and Eckert's crewmates, Zoipin Jurple Jupter, came up to them. He was a seven-and-a-half foot tall, extremely thin bird fellow, who wore loosely draping clothes (a vest, among other things), and a lazy wide-brimmed hat. He spoke in a deep, quiet, reserved voice. "Hello Norlime. Hello Baw." "Hello Zoipin" Veppen said. "Hi." Eckert said. "We're bridgin' in a few minutes." said Jupter. Eckert looked at his digital watch and nodded. "Oh yeah I forgot what time it was." said Eckert. "Do they want us to go below deck for this one?" "Naw." Jupter said. "Just talked to Svor, and he said the weather looks pretty good there. And the air pressure's reasonably similar to this one." "Huh." said Eckert. Jupter moved to the edge of the ship next to Veppen and stared out, as the other two were doing. "So did you hear about the Earth we're goin' to?" Jupter asked. "Yeah," Eckert replied, "like isn't it that Arch Bedew Earth we heard about at the meeting?" "Yup that's the one." Jupter said. "Supposed to be pretty nice." said Eckert. "Yup." Jupter said. Some beige clouds started to pass in front of the sun. "Baw..." said Jupter. "Yeah, Zoipin?" "This is one of those out-of-the-place things I say sometimes--the sun isn't happy." -------> ------------------- ----------- -------- -- -----