the promotion

by bofa xesjum

perhaps you might oblige us by stating exactly what it is that you want. i want my rights, and nothing more. very amusing. you know perfectly well that the committee has suspended all rights indefinitely. what do you feel inside, when you find yourself making such statements? take a break, tolliver. i will take over interrogating this stubborn citizen. tolliver quickly acceded to the inquisitor’s suggestion, and quitted the room. the inquisitor smiled at zero when they were left alone together. i feel obsolescent, the inquisitor remarked affably. this is not at all the way i was accustomed to doing things in the old days. no doubt it all seems a thousand years ago since we last met, zero replied. be that as it may, i have a proposition for you, the inquisitor continued in his most friendly manner. i have no choice but to listen. i want you to kill poor tolliver when he returns. i of course will not be present when you do the deed. what is the sense of that? and what am i to use as a weapon? what except your bare hands? you were always physically up to any task, though a mental weakling. i see your sense of the ridiculous has not deserted you. do you wish to be free to go or not? simply strangle or otherwise dispose of tolliver when he returns, and walk out of this room and out of the building. no one will stop you. tolliver, of course will raise a hue and cry if you attempt to leave without silencing him. very well. i agree. good. i see you have made strides in understanding how things work. the inquisitor got up and left without further ado. tolliver returned, with a leer on his face and a manila folder in his hand. the inquisitor offered to free me if i killed you, zero greeted him. did he now? he has curious ways of amusing himself. tolliver seated himself at the table and opened the folder. i believe we had got as far as your acceptance into the guards. just so. and my first promotion. something new has come up, which surpasses all understanding.

the alley

by bofa xesjum

a cat emerged from an alley. it took its time. it looked down the street. the street had no beginning and no end. frank, a drifter, approached the alley from which the cat had emerged. frank had been young once. but not recently. frank had been something of a joker in his day. he had teamed up with a girl named lillian. i remember them well - well, maybe not so well as all that. there were thousands like them thronging the avenues and boulevards after the invasion. they were all born under the same bad sign. so they danced the night away. some people remember those times with a sad smile. myself, i do not happen to be one of them. in my opinion people like frank and lillian destroyed civilization and should be held accountable. but that is just my opinion. others may happen to think differently. i am starting to ramble. lillian had a husband named edward, who was old enough to be her father, and whom, of course, she hated. for my part, i do not think edward was a bad fellow, or deserved his fate. in his youth he had had dreams of greatness, like so many before him. where are they now, with all their dreams? the cat was a shade of dark gray. frank was wearing a brown hat and a blue suit, both the worse for wear. he did not look good in black, much as he wished to do so. do you have any questions? i am always at your service.

banana

by bofa xesjum

so you have emerged victorious, my friend, from your struggle with your longtime adversary. the khan observed with a cultivated smile which fooled no one. i took advantage of his ill-advised impetuosity, omar responded with a humble, yet slightly frosty air. what futile exercises in sophistry they are both indulging in, margaret reflected with her face a mask of hauteur. a turtle crawled across the ballroom floor toward the assembled group. outside on the savanna an elephant brayed loudly, causing penelope to shudder theatrically, but nobody paid her any mind. the hacienda had been under siege for quite some time, the turtle reflected absently. johnny walker, uncomfortable in his tight fitting waiter’s uniform, wished he were back in pocatello idaho.. a gorilla stepped up to the microphone on the podium and asked for quiet, as he had an important announcement to make. but as the announcement was only about the zoning regulations, the assembled guests quickly tuned him out. no one wins in these encounters, as we have seen so often before in the history of civilization. just ask constable o’rourke, the next time you see him sampling an apple from the gypsy’s stall. or sometimes it might be a banana, if the mood strikes him. the orchestra kept up a steady flow of soothing music, but few of the guests seemed inclined to dance. mulligan, seated in the corner to the left of the front door facing the bandstand, kept his own counsel, as always.