O l i v e r B e n j a m i n
wore a Technicolor lounge jacket. Vlad the Destroyer wore
paramilitary fatigues.
The Creator and the Destroyer recognized each other, but the
Preserver was a stranger to them. The Creator had brought with him
an acquaintance who immediately fled into the nearby forest. They
did not see him again. This was just as well, they felt, as he smelled
strongly of piss.
They talked for a while. Hopkins, who had been there the
longest, filled them in on a few things. He told them about the
Dreamtime and explained to them how they got there.
“I’m afraid I don’t understand,” said Harvey, “You say that right
now we’re at the beginning of time? You must be mistaken. At the
beginning of time there was nothing but a infinitesimal rock that
exploded to form our universe!”
“Not exactly,” replied Hopkins, “See, that’s going to be an idea
you’re gonna have to get over. Time doesn’t exist outside of your
perception. Time as we know it began with the first sentient
organism, in this case some kind of fish, which is why we’re at the
beach right now.”
“You
have
been here a long time! What a great tan!” Vlad said.
“No, big-nose. I’m black. Why don’t you take off those stupid
sunglasses so you can see?”
Vlad complied. Looking cool was not so important in the
Dreamtime. “So, what are we supposed to do? Go fishing?”
“Yes, in a word,” said Hopkins. “We’re here to fish for answers,
and then go back home to divide them among the masses.”
“We better catch a lot of fish, then,” Vlad suggested. “There’s a lot
of masses where we come from.”
“By definition, yes,” Hopkins said, a little surprised at the
Destroyer’s witlessness. “However,” continued the Preserver, “I’m
not talking about those kinds of fish. Those kind don’t exist in the
Dreamtime. The kind of fish I’m referring to can feed an infinite
amount of people because you eat them with your ears.”
“What is this nut talking about?” Vlad said, turning to Harvey for
some support.
“I think perhaps he has been here too long,” Harvey answered.
Hopkins interjected, “I mean only that these fish, like all fish, are
brain food. The fish I’m talking about are not food but schools of
concepts. Things we need to understand, but haven’t been looking in
the right places, or haven’t had good enough fishing poles. These fish
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