Metal Guru
I've never done this before, here's something I wrote a little while ago. Forgive the poor punctuation. It might not make a lot of sense but I fancied sticking it up.
The room had an excellent rhythm. The gentle gurgling and whirring of the water clock, the tinkling of the myriad wind chimes that hung from the ceiling, the tinny tarra-tap-tap of the old man’s fingers as he drummed them on the table. Yes, a very pleasing rhythm indeed, mustn’t get lost in it though, must pay attention.
"So my brother, that’s who you were in your previous incarnation" said the old man in a satisfied tone "does any of that seem familiar?"
"Some of it, the fall in particular" I replied quietly.
"Well I wouldn’t worry, you’ll remember when your ready, but hopefully the few details I’ve given you will help speed the process up" .
I nodded gently. Maybe not such a good idea; in my current state nodding was something easily started but much more difficult to stop.
"Have you decided on a name" he continued, moving the plates on the upper surface of his face in a quizzical fashion. "You could of course take your previous name again but generally I believe it’s better to find a different one, why burden this new gift that Father has given you with the labels of the past. That kind of thing doesn’t augur well in my opinion, it suggests a desire to look backwards, to repeat the mistakes of your former life rather than forging ahead with your current one".
"No, I’ll take a new name" I said, "I’ll be called Turning Sail. Although you are right about looking forward, I think it’s important that I remember the method by which I came to be stilled"."Interesting" said the old man as he tapped a long finger against his chin "just ensure that you do not allow your name to become a prison, fear is a terrible thing. Remember there is nothing to fear, our Father loves us. If we are stilled he will make us anew".
I shifted position in my chair and let my left leg start to jiggle.
"Speaking of Father, how do those others that you mentioned do it brother, how can they exist with such uncertainty?"
"The others?" he said narrowing the aperture of his eyes "oh you mean the Fleshlings and the Weavers, well I’m not sure, it must be most confusing for them to never know their creator. The idea of living with a mind so cluttered with questions is distressing, how the Fleshling Monks achieve such serenity is of great fascination to me. I intend to make a study of their ways should I ever be blessed with a body better suited to travel".
As he uttered these last few words he passed an open hand over his body. He seemed to think that I might be unaware of the fact that where I had legs he had an impossibly smooth brass sphere.
"But enough of my plans, what plans have you my brother?" the old man continued. His facial plates silently slid around and across one another until they achieved a smile. "I can’t help but notice the magnificent work Father has done on your shoulder couplings, I’d warrant that you have a great deal of flexibility in those. You’d make a fine soldier or maybe a separator. You know no matter how advanced those separating engines become there will always be a need for people who can do it by hand".
"Um...I...a s-s-separator?" I stuttered dilating my irises.
"Oh, forgive me brother, I forget how new you are, you have no idea what I’m talking about, and anyway I should not be trying to influence you, how you make use of Father’s gifts is for you to decide. The way we live demonstrates our love for him, exactly how you express your love is between you and Father". He rolled around the desk, gesturing for me to stand as he did.
"Come brother, we have talked enough, let me show you, our home, the view from up here will tell you more about your family and our Father than my words ever could".
Together we approached the window and for the first time I saw the entire city spread out before me.
The sterile sky, painfully blue, the dead purple mountains and the featureless brown expanses of the plateau that lay beyond our walls quickly fell away while my home leaped towards me with equal speed. Its movement was inexpressibly beautiful, it sang to me and I felt an irresistible urge to merge with it, to make myself its servant. There were tall towers of stone and metal, streets laid with pale cobbles and colourfully tiled plazas but these were of little interest to me, they were but a lifeless skeleton upon which the living tissue of our city was hung. From every available surface prayer flags flapped wildly in the strong wind, their low roaring filling the air with thrilling vibrations. Rainbow-hued mill sails turned and numberless wind chimes rattled. A great, grey river churned and frothed directly below, galloping down from the distant peaks with seemingly inexhaustible energy it turned a series of huge, clanking waterwheels and filled the air with roiling mists. And then there was my family; hundreds of them. They scurried through the streets, each one moving in it’s own way, glinting brazenly in the merciless sun. I did not know their names as yet but I knew them, we were all the same at our core, we were all vessels for our Father’s love.
I turned to the old man "I feel a little overwhelmed, I guess that is because I’m new-forged" I said. My face plates shifted aimlessly not knowing what emotion to express first.
He continued staring out of the window, absent-mindedly rocking back and forth on his sphere as he did. "You said that last time. And the time before that, and the time before that".
The room had an excellent rhythm. The gentle gurgling and whirring of the water clock, the tinkling of the myriad wind chimes that hung from the ceiling, the tinny tarra-tap-tap of the old man’s fingers as he drummed them on the table. Yes, a very pleasing rhythm indeed, mustn’t get lost in it though, must pay attention.
"So my brother, that’s who you were in your previous incarnation" said the old man in a satisfied tone "does any of that seem familiar?"
"Some of it, the fall in particular" I replied quietly.
"Well I wouldn’t worry, you’ll remember when your ready, but hopefully the few details I’ve given you will help speed the process up" .
I nodded gently. Maybe not such a good idea; in my current state nodding was something easily started but much more difficult to stop.
"Have you decided on a name" he continued, moving the plates on the upper surface of his face in a quizzical fashion. "You could of course take your previous name again but generally I believe it’s better to find a different one, why burden this new gift that Father has given you with the labels of the past. That kind of thing doesn’t augur well in my opinion, it suggests a desire to look backwards, to repeat the mistakes of your former life rather than forging ahead with your current one".
"No, I’ll take a new name" I said, "I’ll be called Turning Sail. Although you are right about looking forward, I think it’s important that I remember the method by which I came to be stilled"."Interesting" said the old man as he tapped a long finger against his chin "just ensure that you do not allow your name to become a prison, fear is a terrible thing. Remember there is nothing to fear, our Father loves us. If we are stilled he will make us anew".
I shifted position in my chair and let my left leg start to jiggle.
"Speaking of Father, how do those others that you mentioned do it brother, how can they exist with such uncertainty?"
"The others?" he said narrowing the aperture of his eyes "oh you mean the Fleshlings and the Weavers, well I’m not sure, it must be most confusing for them to never know their creator. The idea of living with a mind so cluttered with questions is distressing, how the Fleshling Monks achieve such serenity is of great fascination to me. I intend to make a study of their ways should I ever be blessed with a body better suited to travel".
As he uttered these last few words he passed an open hand over his body. He seemed to think that I might be unaware of the fact that where I had legs he had an impossibly smooth brass sphere.
"But enough of my plans, what plans have you my brother?" the old man continued. His facial plates silently slid around and across one another until they achieved a smile. "I can’t help but notice the magnificent work Father has done on your shoulder couplings, I’d warrant that you have a great deal of flexibility in those. You’d make a fine soldier or maybe a separator. You know no matter how advanced those separating engines become there will always be a need for people who can do it by hand".
"Um...I...a s-s-separator?" I stuttered dilating my irises.
"Oh, forgive me brother, I forget how new you are, you have no idea what I’m talking about, and anyway I should not be trying to influence you, how you make use of Father’s gifts is for you to decide. The way we live demonstrates our love for him, exactly how you express your love is between you and Father". He rolled around the desk, gesturing for me to stand as he did.
"Come brother, we have talked enough, let me show you, our home, the view from up here will tell you more about your family and our Father than my words ever could".
Together we approached the window and for the first time I saw the entire city spread out before me.
The sterile sky, painfully blue, the dead purple mountains and the featureless brown expanses of the plateau that lay beyond our walls quickly fell away while my home leaped towards me with equal speed. Its movement was inexpressibly beautiful, it sang to me and I felt an irresistible urge to merge with it, to make myself its servant. There were tall towers of stone and metal, streets laid with pale cobbles and colourfully tiled plazas but these were of little interest to me, they were but a lifeless skeleton upon which the living tissue of our city was hung. From every available surface prayer flags flapped wildly in the strong wind, their low roaring filling the air with thrilling vibrations. Rainbow-hued mill sails turned and numberless wind chimes rattled. A great, grey river churned and frothed directly below, galloping down from the distant peaks with seemingly inexhaustible energy it turned a series of huge, clanking waterwheels and filled the air with roiling mists. And then there was my family; hundreds of them. They scurried through the streets, each one moving in it’s own way, glinting brazenly in the merciless sun. I did not know their names as yet but I knew them, we were all the same at our core, we were all vessels for our Father’s love.
I turned to the old man "I feel a little overwhelmed, I guess that is because I’m new-forged" I said. My face plates shifted aimlessly not knowing what emotion to express first.
He continued staring out of the window, absent-mindedly rocking back and forth on his sphere as he did. "You said that last time. And the time before that, and the time before that".