Windows of Perception (ES 4)
The car drove off with Lefty and Righty leaving their new friend behind. They snaked their way up to Norway through Germany, Denmark, and Sweden via the concrete vessels of society. Until now the ‘hitchhiker’s view of human nature’ bias has dominated their opinion and expectations of the friendliness of humans and their multi-shaped metallic creatures. What is this bias? Well, as a general rule, humans with sticks up their asses and noses trapped in the sky tend to speed right past undeserving travelers on the side of the road. They most commonly avoid eye contact, but sometimes their faces display a smirk or a middle finger dances to the tune of an inaudible evil laugh. This phenomenon creates the opportunity for the kind souls of humanity to fulfill their good deed for the day. When morale is down and the rain clouds specifically target your path is when a warm ball of sunshine in human form stops to save you from distress. The best of them offer shelter, food, temperature regulation, smiles, and an abundance of stories.
Through these stories Lefty and Righty were beginning to grasp the contents of their new environment. They were especially amazed by the rectangular glowing devices almost every human is possessed by…ahem…possesses. These little face lamps give access to what you call the internet, a kind of neural network that is fed by the creativity, opinions and (mis-)informational input of the individuals of your society. It seems like a necessary way to compensate for the lack of connection, coordination and the lackluster brainpower of humans. But unlike the organic neural network on Planet O, the internet is flawed by the voluntariness of contribution and the inequality of access.
As Lefty and Righty were nearing Oslo, a friendly Norwegian father-daughter duo dropped them off at the edge of the forest that led to Trollvana Lake. Not knowing what to do next they tried to utilize their mental scans of Ricardo’s map, but the only benefit was their resparked amazement for its beauty and detail. As darkness began to descend, their eyeballs were lured by the warm glow of a fireplace escaping the windows of a nearby cottage. Their eyeballs, aided by pointed tiptoes, tried to reach over the edge of the windowsill. Inside was a creature creaturing near a table. As it turned around to grab a bundle of spring onions it met the pair of eyes and flashed them a warm smile. Its face was slightly different from the other humans Lefty and Righty had met so far. The eyes were slightly squinched and seemed wider. It had short black hair and was balancing two small windows on its flat nose. Opening the window he greeted them: “Good evening, what brings you two strangers out here at such a late hour staring through my window?” “Ahem, we just got dropped off by two friendly humans. We were looking for some other creatures that are meeting up somewhere called the Troll Waters.” Righty answered its question. “You don’t happen to know where that is?”
“You mean Trollvana Lake? Oh it’s not very far! You just need to cross the sheep meadow and follow the blue markings afterwards. But why don’t you come in and join me for dinner? I just cooked and it’s too much for one person anyway! You must be hungry right?” the stranger replied. He came to the door to invite them inside “My name is Tinh by the way” “Hallo, hallo! I am Lnkroft and that’s Rwrevk.” Lefty cried out, shaking his hand with its usual vigour.
“What exactly do you mean by eating or hungry?” Righty asked while Tinh was leading them to the kitchen. “Hahaha, you know what I am talking about, food you know?” He laughed making an eating gesture. “Have a seat! I am gonna finish cooking really quick. We are gonna have Vietnamese oxtail soup!”
Confused, Righty and Lefty looked at each other but decided to leave it at that. Their antennas began twirling in response to the interesting new odors they picked up from the steaming pot and tiny little bowls filled with sauces and spices. It was a rather typical Norwegian house but the interior was filled with strange sculptures showing deformed creatures.
“What happened to them?” Lefty asked pointing at the sculptures.
“Oh, yeah the owner of the house is an artist and created them.” Tinh answered
“But what for?? What’s their purpose?” Righty asked confused by the unlively appeal of these creatures.
“Well, good question! It’s what artists do i guess!? Sometimes there is an intention behind it and sometimes it just happens for the sake of creating — by letting your mind flow, leaving even the artist to wonder what he formed out of seemingly nothing. After all, their purpose lies in the eye of the beholder.” Tinh thoughtfully responded.
That seems rather cruel doesn’t it? To create a creature without purpose. What’s it gonna make out of its life? How is it going to experience fulfillment? But hey, after all they are just sculptures, not that they are representing anything existing in real life, right?
“Do you have a purpose or cause to dedicate your life to? We feel like we never really had one. We had a function but it was rather unfulfilling and our Denial Of Service turned us into outcasts. Now we are trying to figure out what to do on this planet. So far, many of the humans we have met weren’t really helpful with that. Their advice is based on their own lives, which is rather unhelpful for ours! Some seem pretty lost while others are so very much dedicated to one single cause.”
“Hmm, purpose? You are right, some people are able to develop an almost possessed-like attachment to a certain cause or idea and devote their life to it. Religion, politics and science especially seem to bring forward such characters, but most humans don’t find the one and only purpose that will consume their whole life. It often changes and many reside to reproducing and accumulating wealth and comforts as they pass the candle of change on to the next generation. For me, so much has changed since I left my home country. Leaving my family in Vietnam and coming here made me realize how much our perception of individual possibilities and the world depends on the environment and of what we are exposed to. So far there is not ONE purpose to dedicate my life to and it feels more like a never ending journey of change. I can’t help you to find a purpose I can just tell you to keep your minds open, try to learn and explore. Don’t fall for the most comfortable explanation that crosses your way and remember to employ doubt towards others and yourself.” Tinh elaborated.
“That was wonderfully spoken Tinh!” Lefty said scanning his face with affection.
“Thank you Lefty. Anyhow, dinner is ready! Lets eat! How about a glass of tea with it?” Tinh said with a warm smile.
“Ahem, Tinh, we have to confess that we don’t exactly know what you are talking about. You know we come from far away as well, farther than you might think. We don’t know human habits very well yet.” Righty answered honestly. To put it straight, my creatures are not used to being responsible for their energy input themselves. The concept of food, as you humans call it, is not of relevance on planet O. Nutrients and calories were provided by the connection to the central organism without a digestive process on the end of the receiver, comparable to the umbilical cord you earthly mammals utilize while growing in the female uterus. Nevertheless, the bodies Lefty and Righty employ are suited to process food, as it would be a shame if they would miss out on all the time-consuming creativity you humans put into transforming matter into more easily digestible matter, and thereby energy. Well, that’s what it used to be at some point but the perversions of modern cuisine don’t stand true to that principle anymore as a part of humanity dwells on abundance. Lefty and Righty did not realize it yet as they never felt hunger, but the weird sensation they started feeling did signify a low level of energy supply.
“Obviously you are not from here, just look at you guys, but I am some kind of alien here as well, so welcome friends! Well, ‘we humans’ just take food like this” he pointed at the pots, “and stuff it in our mouth, afterwards it wanders through our body for a day or so and then we press it out at the other end as shit — pretty disgusting stuff to say the least — and that we do about three times a day. We are basically shit tubes wandering about turning yummy food into excrement.” Tinh stated in a matter-of-fact way. “That sounds strange, but let’s try it!” Lefty responded suspiciously, but excited.
Tinh served the oxtail soup, raised his cup and toasted: “To the two wonderful creatures that just stumbled into my house. As the Norwegians say: everything goes in the pig!”
Imitating Tinh, Lefty and Righty raised their cups and dipped their antennas into the warm liquid sucking it in with the sounds of feasting elephants. Amazed by the new sensations it evoked Lefty cried out: “Wow this is so strooong, my antenna is exploding with sensations! Why did we never do that on O, Righty?”
Next, they tried the oxtail-soup and were surprised by the extreme spiciness of Asian cuisine “Hick… Hick…., ahh sorry!” Righty got his first hick-ups and sprayed some of his eye liquid into Tinh’s soup. “Ehhh, well no worries, the spices kill it all right? Hahaha.” Tinh said while taking another spoonful.
After they finished their meal Tinh asked: “So how do you feel after your first human food?”
“Somehow very satisfied with everything. I don’t want anything right now.” Righty said with happily propped up antennas. “I still feel like something is missing, but I don’t know what!” Lefty added. “I know! Chocolate!” Tinh concluded. He hurried to get a bar of Norwegian queen’s chocolate and handed each a row. Lefty cried out: “Wuaahw! I can’t even describe it. It’s just melting away filling everything with this wonderful ….?!” “….Flavor!?” Tinh suggested “That’s exactly what I was craving!” Lefty continued.
“There is always space for dessert, as we humans use to say, especially chocolate.” Tinh said satisfied with his wise pick.
“So what exactly are you planning to do at Trollvana?” he asked after a cozy silence.
“We are not completely sure, but someone we met on the way here told us about a gathering of weird creatures at that place. We hope to find out some more about this planet and what to do here… I guess it is time to go there. Thank you so much for showing us the eating and drinking!” Righty responded.
“Whatever you wish. I might drop by the next days and have a look at your gathering of weirdos. You can find amazing blueberries all around the lake, so there’s another reason” Tinh said winkingly and showed them out.
There they were now. Standing at the edge of the forest that will be the home of some mind-boggling new experiences, exposing them to ideas and creatures beyond their imagination.
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