Terry

I knew I had to write something.

Not every day has the death of the guy who shaped how you viewed stories and storytelling, and even showed you the specific concept of writing that you now do daily.

But the words just aren’t flowing. He was witty, charming, deep but accessible, his worlds were fantastic but real, his stories familiar but different…

All words that others have, and will continue to say, for years, decades.

It’s as if, when he left, he took all my words with him.

But then, he practically gave them to me in the first place…

Aesop 2.0: 18. The Mountain Goat

The Mountain Goat lived on the peak of a mountain. There, he could see the badgers who lived all down the left side of the mountain, as well as the lizards who covered the other side of the mountain. And every day, a badger would tell the Goat he was leaning away from him, and liable to fall off. And a lizard on the other side would tell the Goat the same thing, that he was leaning away and liable to fall. But he never did fall.

“Living with conflicting ideals isn’t always hypocrisy, sometimes it’s a part of life.”

Aesop 2.0: 17. The Black Swan

The Black Swan never stayed still in one spot for too long. He was always moving, always exploring new places. After all, there might well be more food and cleaner water over the horizon. No matter the niceness of where he was, he’d always be on his way out, exploring more. But eventually, he found himself in a place that was hot, and dusty, and had nothing he liked. And try as he might, he couldn’t find a way back to where he’d been, and was forever lost…

“Don’t be afraid to get comfortable, to settle down, if you can.”

Aesop 2.0: 16. The Ostrich In The Sand

The Ostrich spent most of his days with his head in the sand. Most of the other animals found this strange, and would ask him why he did this. He would explain, slightly muffled due to the dirt, that by doing this his life was simple, easy and didn’t change. He never had to deal with new experiences or unfamiliar problems, he could just survive like this in peace. Of course, it meant that he didn’t notice the hungry lion coming for him until far too late.

“You need to experience new things, explore the world, and engage with it.”

Junior

I know most people want to ‘rebuild society’ but fuck that shit, I’m just about my own survival. Society didn’t look kindly on guys like me coming in and shooting shit up and just taking whatever the fuck I like, after all.

Sure, I know that eventually there won’t be any more farmers, but I got a whole fucking continent to clear out, that’ll take a few decades.

After all, most people see me, they see a twelve year old, and don’t expect me to pull a gun until I do, at which point they’re fucking dead.

Anyway, name’s Billy.

Freudenshade, Perhaps

As the only one who spoke English, I hovered near the guy at the end of the bar, despite his near silence. Then, finally, he spoke.

“What’s German for ‘Inverse’?”

“Umgekehrt.”

“Umgekehrt-schadenfreude a word?”

“Not really…”

“Well, is there a word then, when the perfect girl, a woman who you could love forever, is getting married…”

He paused to drink.

“To a jerk?” I offered.

“No, to your best friend, who you love, and they love each other, and you are happy for them and thus you can’t really be upset…”

Twenty-five years later, we still haven’t found a word.

Reasons For Research

“So explain what this is again?”

He continued to fiddle with his contraption.

“By focusing the subjects’ untapped psychic potential by way of mass delusions via traditional media, I have developed a way to create matter and life from nothing.”

He turned on the device, and in front of me played a commercial for cider. He then reached into the projection and pulled out an apple, tossing the ripe fruit at me.

“I call it Reel to Real.”

I paused.

“EE to EA?

You made this just for that pun, right?”

“Partly.”

A naked elf girl walked in with drinks.