Once upon a time, there was a termite. He lived in the walls of a rather shoddy, weatherbeaten, two-bedroom home in an outlying suburb of Atlanta, Georgia. He was not a very large termite, nor yet a very strong one. But he had great aspirations and still greater dreams.
While still very young, he began to keep a diary. In it, he poured out his heart and soul; indeed, his very being in the form of words. The sentences may have been ungrammatical. His little r's may have looked more like little v's. But none who later read them could deny the beauty and strength of the ideas which he put down on paper. Ideas of Free Wood for all termites, and never-ending days of happiness.
He had heard from his parents that the meals which they ate every day came from the bounty of the house surrounding them. One day, he set out to explore this great and wondrous Gift, to determine from whence it came. After only a few hours, he saw his first Human. They were so tall. So enormous. So loud and stomping.
But he was extremely curious, and he set out to study these strange creatures scientifically. He kept meticulous notes in his diaries of their habits and peculiarities. Eventually, he began to come to the conclusion that they had some small modicum of intelligence. Enthralled by his discoveries, he ran excitedly to his parents and unfolded his work before them. They immediately saw the value of what he was doing, and proceeded to do whatever they could to support him in his endeavors.
The days turned into weeks, and the weeks into months. The small termite learned to translate the strange noises made by the humans into intelligible speech. They seemed to be sentient creatures! As he listened to their conversations, however, a cold hand gripped his heart. Something was not right. This could not be. Surely the termites were not doing anything harmful. Just existing within these walls could not possibly be detrimental.
But they were. He could no longer avoid the idea. The House they lived in provided shelter for the humans. By eating away at it, they were inadvertently harming these creatures. He resolved that something should be done about the situation; then, characteristically, he set about doing it.
It didn't come easily. The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Humans faced incredible opposition at its inception. The termite worked hard, encouraging grass-roots movements, and slowly but steadily began to change the outlook of the entire termite population. Eventually, he realized that he had enough support to think about making contact with the humans. The hour was at hand. Soon they would usher in a new era of civility and good-will. Termites and Mankind would live hand in hand, as equals. There would of course be a necessary interim period, as the Humans were gradually introduced to their new-found status. But that would soon pass. Together, who knew what they might accomplish?
The SPCH work excitedly on the equipment necessary. The devices for communication taxed the intellects of their greatest inventors, and pushed their technology to unheard-of heights. Eventually, all was ready. The little termite had spent sleepless nights over the First Contact speech. He had checked and rechecked the grammar over and over again. One small misplaced word could mean disaster, and could push back Termite-Human relations for years. All was finished now, though. His Great Task was finally complete. There was no possibility of failure.
But wait! The Humans had left! What could have precipitated such behavior?
They would return. There was no fear of that. Humans always did. Meanwhile, the termites would continue to perfect their equipment, working towards the day when the two species would meet in mutual harmony.
Approximately 6 hours later, a large asteroid hit the earth and wiped an outlying suburb of Atlanta off the map.
Posted by Ardith at July 13, 2004 12:44 AM | TrackBack