9

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Turned Out the Truth ?

Are you all right? asked Chloe, tenderly holding the bat to her bosom. What is wrong with you?

I...I...cannot fly very well now..., said the bat with a dizzy expression.

It...is...too noisy out here to fly....

It is too noisy to fly? What do you mean by that?

This extraneous annoying din has bombarded me and even dizzied me.

Annoying din? Chloe wonderingly strained her ears. I cannot hear anything....

Of course, you cannot, said the dog.

Why not?

Because you can hear only sounds in the range of 20 hertz to 20 kilohertz. However, the bat generates high-frequency sounds above 20 kilohertz and can hear them.

Why does this bat generate such a high-frequency sound? asked Chloe curiously.

Because the bat has a sonar system. It helps the bat to fly avoiding obstacles in this dark place. It even helps to detect its prey. So, it must be advantageous for the bat in this twilight world. But, unfortunately, this place is polluted with noise. As environmental pollution is a serious problem in the earthly world, this place also has some pollution and is about to fall under some evil influence of human beings. This noise pollution could even be fatal to the bat.

Why is it fatal to this bat? This bat is already dead in this world, isn't it?

asked Chloe, holding the feeble bat to her bosom affectionately.

Don't take what I said literally, said the dog. What I meant was that the bat cannot escape from its misfortune even here. Bats were once thought of as creatures of superstition, phantoms of the devil, and messengers of death in Western countries in the earthly world. In addition, farmers in Asia believed that bats damaged commercial fruits. Because of the misconception, many bats used to be shot, burned, and even killed by dynamite. Especially in Southeast Asia, the population of bats tremendously dropped to one-tenth in spite of the belief, influenced by Chinese culture, that bats were a symbol of prosperity. And even in this world, they cannot escape from the evil influence of human beings. So, misfortune is an inevitable part of the bat's life, and the rest of its life will be restrained forever without being able to fly freely.

Why do you think this bat cannot fly very well?

Because the high-frequency sound interferes with the bat's sonar system. Look at its head. It has many lumps on its head. That is probably because it bumped its head against a tree or some obstacle whenever it tried to fly. What is worse, the high-frequency sound which is probably still audible to the bat would make it crazy because the high-pitched sound, or high-frequency sound, is generally louder and more annoying than low-pitched sounds at the same intensity. So, the bat will have to lead the rest of its life full of suffering in this world.

Chloe tenderly stroke the bat's head and felt many tiny lumps under her fingers.

Oh, poor bat....She again hugged the bat to her bosom with sympathy.

Ironically, though,continued the dog, Bats symbolize happiness in ancient China. However, as I said, infelicity is an inevitable part of life. So, they cannot evade the fate of exposure to some affliction. This is true of all animals, and even humans are no exception.

Why do you think that way?Chloe interrupted the dog. Don't be pessimistic. Life is not as bad as you think. Somebody once said that we were actually born of bliss, consciousness, creativity, and wisdom. They allow us to enjoy our life. So, figuratively speaking, you are in a way ignoring the natural potential for abundant happiness like a thirsty man who ignores clear water in a huge lake in front of him.

I don't think so,said the dog. Bliss is actually an unattainable dream. Consciousness is something that makes you suffer, although you don't necessarily have to notice any affliction. Creativity is just something which helps to create unreality to escape from the agonizing reality. And, wisdom is the instigator of ruination. In Christianity, for example, it is thought that a snake that gave humans wisdom brought them into perdition. Likewise, in Greek mythology, Prometheus...well, you might not know him -- he is a Titan who had created humans from soil. Since he gave them not only fire but also wisdom, man has been on the way to ruination. Finally, the thirsty man you just mentioned would be prudent because water in the lake is not necessarily drinkable. It may merely look sparkling clear because acid destroyed everything in the lake, even its color. So, seeking happiness is merely thoughtless conduct. Face up to the reality! There is no felicity anywhere for anybody. In fact, the plan of creation didn't presume that man should be happy. And because nobody cares about others, and because everybody always thinks about how they can obtain only their own happiness by exploiting others, no one can be happy in the result. So, when they realize this fact, they tend to try to fulfill their wish by having a hallucinatory vision and seeking the help of a supernatural being.

The dog's talk reminded Chloe of what the professor of psychology had talked about in class, although she could not be sure since she had been distracted and not paying attention to the psychology lecture at that time.

By the way, did I tell you why I came here? asked the dog.

What's that? said Chloe. Because she was trying to recall the psychology lecture, she didn't hear what she was asked.

When I was in the earthly world, the dog started to tell its own story without repeating the question, I was dognapped and sold to veterinary school for an experiment. While I was confined in a cage, many other animals were sacrificed for study. I saw many bats there, too. But they were, fortunately or unfortunately, not killed. Instead, they were confined in a cage throughout their lives until they died.

Why? asked Chloe. She now paid attention to the dog.

Because they themselves were not for an experiment or study as I said. What scientists wanted were only their droppings.

Their droppings?

Yes. It was discovered that some sort of bacteria in bats' droppings could help detoxify industrial wastes, including detergents, and help production of alcohol and antibiotics. After that, scientists started to study their droppings eagerly, and many bats were brought to the veterinary school. Although they were not to be killed, they were very scared by hearing the other animals screaming in the experiments. But I was much more scared because I knew I would be killed and simply discarded after the experiment. So, every night I slept, I had a nightmare....

Oh, I am sorry, said Chloe with sympathy. I don't know what to say....

That's all right. It's not your fault.

I...I...used to have a nightmare, too, the bat Chloe was holding to her bosom suddenly uttered in a faint voice. You might not recognize me.... The bat turned its face to the dog. I was confined in a cage in the same veterinary school, too.

Really? I didn't know that, said the dog.

Just like you, I also used to have a very bad nightmare. I was so haunted by fear that I pined away to die.

By the way.... said Chloe and hesitatingly asked a question. Speaking of nightmares, do you both have dreams? Well, I am sorry I interrupted your talk, but I am curious to know if animals other than humans have dreams.

Of course, we do, said the dog. Higher animals than reptiles are presumed to have dreams because they all have REM sleep. You know what REM stands for, don't you?

Yes, I do. That stands for rapid eye movement, and it occurs when we are dreaming, answered Chloe.

Right, said the dog. I am sure I did have dreams since a dog has REM sleep, and I believe that other higher animals also do have dreams. Well...I cannot distinguish them from hallucinations though....

Chloe knew the difficulty in distinguishing a dream from hallucinations, too, because she couldn't tell if she had been dreaming or hallucinating when she had encountered the many beings in the hospital before she had come to this world.

Anyway, one day I had the worst nightmare I had ever had, continued the dog. I really couldn't tell if I was dreaming or hallucinating, because one bogey-like creature I had never seen before loomed in front of me.

What did it look like?

It looked like a bear, but it was not actually a bear. It also looked like a tapir, but strangely it had the trunk of an elephant, eyes of a rhinoceros, the tail of a cow, and legs of a tiger...if I remember correctly.

Really? Chloe was very surprised at the dog's description of the creature.

You also met Celestial Tapir?

Celestial Tapir? What is that?

It is the creature you described! It said you might call it Celestial Tapir, didn't it?

Well, I don't remember, but I feel it might....

Yes, it did! said Chloe in excitement. It must be Celestial Tapir! Didn't it wear Chinese clothes?

I don't know if they were Chinese clothes, but they might be...because one character looking like Chinese was on the clothes, although I couldn't read it.

How about...did it have some black dapples on its white hair?

Yes, it did. How did you know that? You seemed to have seen it before.

I met it before, too. Its companion might have taken Kip away from me and brought him somewhere in this world. That's why I came here. Well, I saw it even after I came to this world, but it didn't tell me where Kip was taken.

Wasn't that fellow who you think might have taken your friend away from you a man wrapped up in a black cloak? asked the dog.

Yes! That's right! How did you know that?

That's what I thought. Your friend was shot by a hunter, wasn't he? When I was killed after the experiment, the man somehow appeared in the veterinary school and brought me here, too. If I remember correctly, he said his name was Thanatos and his job was to bring the dead here. So, probably your friend was also brought somewhere in this world by him.

That's not true! Kip was not dead yet! exclaimed Chloe.

I was not dead yet, either, when I met Thanatos. He was actually waiting formy death. In the meantime, the bogey creature loomed in front of me and said with an amicable face,

                 'Don't worry. Everything happening to you now is merely a
                 nightmare. I will eat it up for you so that you can rest in peace
                 with Thanatos.'

As I said, I thought I was dreaming because I was, from somewhere, looking at myself being dissected in the experiment. Some chemical was transfused into my body. Some of my organs were then preserved in formalin while the others were simply discarded. But, for some reason, after I met the creature, I was relieved from my affliction and even came not to think about it at all. So, I just followed Thanatos without looking back at my body. I felt the fetters of my mind were removed. I even felt that I, myself, was going to penetrate the infinitely extended void and become omnipresent in it just as salt dissolved equally anywhere in liquid. I don't know what happened next, but when I came around, I noticed that I was in front of the River Styx and had myself taken across the river by Charon. Then, somehow I came to the agony column because I was still afflicted by wondering if all that had happened to me was real or not. I still don't know if I am now dreaming or not.

The dog was almost lost in its own story, its eyes closed, but after finishing the story, it realized that Chloe seemed to be staring at it as if she were stunned by something. She even didn't seem to be listening to the dog any more.

Nightmare..., murmured Chloe, startled at what the dog talked about. She had a scared look on her face and whispered to herself. Is this all my dream? Am I just having a nightmare? It can't be...How can the dog and I both have the same dream, when neither the dog nor I knew anything about Celestial Tapir or Thanatos before? But...if it is true that Celestial Tapir feeds on nightmares as the dog said, I understand why it wanted me to stay here longer and why it tried to make me have my hand treated by a doctor in the hospital. I guess the reason why it said a violent pain was not preferable in this world is because, if I had such a pain, I might wake up and come back to the reality....

As soon as she remembered of the pain in her hands, it started to hurt her again. Agh...! She shuddered a little and passed the bat gently to the dog.

Are you all right? the dog asked Chloe without understanding what had changed and scared her so much.

Chloe kneeled down on the ground, hunched up, and dropped her head.

Clenching her fists to bear the pain that had gradually intensified, she relived the scene of the appearance of Celestial Tapir and its companions in the hospital in the earthly world.

                  'Well, I feed myself on the fetters of humans' minds. Some people
                  tend to have the gloomy belief that unhappiness is an inevitable
                  part of life. All parts of yin in their mind such as fear, gloom, and
                  distress grow and overwhelm them and make them have a virtual
                  image of unhappiness. That's why they call for me....'

                       'Where is Oneiros?'
                       'He is levitating over Hypnos' head. He can neither be
                  incarnated nor manifested. He himself is very obscure
                  although he can give humans either blurry or very clear
                  images, depending on who sees them though....'

                       'Who are you? What do you want?'
                       'He cannot talk...He is in an eternal sleep. I can explain
                  for you why we came here in his stead....'

They must have come to the hospital in order to make me fall asleep and have a nightmare, murmured Chloe in a voice trembling with grief. Tears trickled down onto the ground from her face. I...I...have merely sought for Kip though he isn't in such a virtual world. I have just strayed and wandered around in this world I created in my subconscious mind....

The dog and the bat anxiously stared at Chloe.

Aahhhhhhhh...!

Chloe suddenly cried out in a frenzy of despair and wailed over her misery. The dog tenderly put its paw on her shoulder and asked, What's wrong with you? But Chloe shook its paw from her shoulder and ran away from the dog.

What happened to her? the bat asked the dog, frowning.

I don't know....

They sympathized with Chloe, but she also looked strange to their eyes.

Aieee! The head of the praying mantis suddenly shrieked and revived as Chloe accidently tramped on the head with her high-heeled shoe.

She then stumbled over it, staggered, and bumped her shoulder against the agony column. She wailed ceaselessly and started to tear crazily at the agony statements on the agony column.

Mamma, is she all right?

The dog heard an immature baby's voice from the bat in its arms. It held the bat away from itself and found a baby bat attached to the adult one. It was the mother of one child. Oh, I didn't know you were female....

Female? The head of the praying mantis alertly caught the word and shrieked again. Wahhh! One more female!

One more female? Charlie also heard the shriek. He was driven crazy and ran away, bumping his head against one tree and another just as the body of the praying mantis had done before.

Mamma, why is she wailing so crazily? asked the baby bat.

Because she was finally driven mad by this intolerable annoying din.

I don't think she can hear the noise you are talking about, said the dog. As I said before, human cannot hear the high-frequency sounds above 20 kilohertz.

If so, said the mother bat, why do you think she is crying so insanely now?

I have no idea.... Although the dog could also hear the high-frequency sound, it thought Chloe's cry and the shriek of the praying mantis were more annoying than the high-frequency sound.

Aahhhhh! Please let me wake up! Please let me get back to reality! Chloe screamed, striking the agony column with her clenched hands. Her hands were sorely swollen, but she continued to hit the column.

What's going on out there? The nightingale finally flew back to the agony column out of the hospital and asked Chloe in a tender voice, What's wrong with you?

But Chloe didn't answer its question and just cried out.

Let me get back! I don't want to stay any longer in this place! Let me go back to reality!

The nightingale then asked the dog, What's wrong with her?

I don't know. She suddenly started to cry out so crazily. All I can think of is that she is wailing because her hands hurt her.

Her hands?

Yes. She was stung on her hands by bees. Look at her hands. Probably her hands are now violently hurting.

The nightingale looked close at Chloe's hands. But she was crazily striking her hands against the agony column so that the nightingale was hit on its face by her hand and fell down onto the ground. Chloe didn't care about it at all and continued striking at the column.

Somebody, please help me to stop her! shouted the nightingale in a fluster.

The dog gently put the bats on the ground and ran up to Chloe to hold her down.

Noooo! Don't stop me! Chloe cried and pushed the dog down.

Somebody! Somebody, please help stop her! the nightingale continued to shout.

The cow which was curiously watching what was going on from behind the agony column next ran up to Chloe and tried to hold her down.

No! Don't! This is just my dream! You are just an imaginary being in my mind, aren't you? So, don't behave against my will! exclaimed Chloe to the cow. But the cow was much stronger than Chloe and easily held her down.

Then the nightingale promptly held up Chloe's hands and looked at them.

Oh, dear! Your hands are terribly swollen. You should come in the hospital right now. The nightingale then asked the cow, Bring her into the hospital, please.

No! Get your hands off! Set me free! cried out Chloe. I know what you are going to do! You are going to anesthetize me or force me to take a sleeping pill, aren't you?

I won't do that, said the nightingale. I don't know what the doctor will do for you, but I have to have your hands examined by him first. So, come with me.

The cow, keeping hold of Chloe, followed the nightingale.

Er...excuse me, the bat suddenly spoke to the nightingale in a faint voice. Could you please let me consult a doctor now, too?

Why? It is not your turn yet, is it?

No. But I can no longer tolerate this annoying din.

The annoying din? I cannot hear anything.

Can't you hear it? Even this noisy sound? Ah, I may be almost driven mad....

Is the noise you are talking about that girl's screaming? The nightingale turned its face and looked at Chloe, who was still struggling to try to set herself free from the cow's grasp.

It's also annoying to me, but.... Then the bat remembered only itself and the dog were able to hear it.

It is annoying to everybody, said the nightingale. I cannot stop her screaming unless I let her have her hands treated by a doctor. It is urgent. She must be examined first. There is always a proper order in doing anything. So, please wait for your turn with patience.

When does it become my turn? promptly asked the bat.

Depends on your agony statement.

My agony statement? What is that?

You should write down the reason you came to this hospital. Write it down on a sheet of paper and put it on the agony column. The nightingale then urged the cow to follow it into the hospital.

I don't have any pen or paper, said the bat. But the nightingale flew quickly into the hospital, followed by the cow forcing Chloe, who struggled to resist being taken to the hospital.

Don't worry, said the dog to the bat. I'll write it down for you. The dog ran up to the agony column, took one piece of paper off, and said, The high-frequency sound you talked about is not only the reason you came to this hospital, is it?

No. Actually, I have another source of anxiety....

What is it?

Look at my child. He is just a baby. But he came to this world with me...this means he is also dead. Well, he died because I pined away with fear in the veterinary school, and hence I could not nurse him. He was actually my only child. But he also died as I did....

The bat drew a sigh and said, Do you know what God said? He said, 'Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it.' As you know this is in Genesis 1:28. But....

No! Don't subdue it! If you do, the world will become too scary! the head of the praying mantis on the ground suddenly exclaimed.

Why did he say such a thing? the bat frowned and asked the dog in wonder.

Because he is afraid of you.

Is he? Why?

Because...you feed on the praying mantis, don't you?

No, I don't. Please don't misunderstand me. I am not an insectivore. I am actually a fruit eater. So, I don't do such cruel things as eating insects....

Really?

Yes. I usually eat nectar, pollen, and fruit. Consequently I help pollinate flowers and scatter seeds. It is wonderful, isn't it? I contribute a lot to others to help them. However, I am dead now. Well, even though I, just an individual bat have died, that's okay. Death is a natural phenomenon. But if I let my offspring, my child, die...well, if not only I but also all adults let their children die, who will pollinate flowers? What was worse, humans tried to eliminate us because of the misunderstandings as you talked about. Then once they made a great discovery in our droppings, they confined us in cages, so we could not even let our children survive and we could no longer do as God willed. The bat's voice turned indignant. Humans don't know we are actually the key pollinators. If we are eliminated, the entire ecosystem may be destroyed!

Oh, I am sorry to hear that. I can understand your feelings. The dog again felt a deep sympathy for the bat as it had done for Chamae before.

Yahhhh!

Suddenly, a screech rent the air. The bat and the dog both promptly turned their faces in the direction of the sound. It seemed to be Chloe's. So, the dog scurried and the bat fluttered hastily into the hospital. They found Chloe almost paralyzed with terror at the entrance.

On the floor inside were many pythons slowly winding around anything they could find.

Why are these pythons here? asked the dog in surprise.

I know why, said the cow. They are here because this is the land of the dead, aren't they?

Don't be silly, said the dog and turned its face to the nightingale to ask, why do you have so many snakes here? It looks like a snake pit.

Of course it does, because this hospital is a mental hospital, simply answered the nightingale.

Mental hospital? uttered Chloe in surprise. How do you think a doctor here can treat my hands if he is a psychiatrist?

Well, said the nightingale. Pain is something perceived by your brain. So, your hands are subject to psychopathology.

That's what I thought! shouted Chloe. So, you are going to anesthetize me to keep me asleep, aren't you? You can't do that! I am going back to reality! Let me wake up! I'll no longer stay in such a world! She again started to struggle and exclaimed crazily, Please let me go!

But the cow's grip was so strong, she could not escape.

Please bring her in through the door, said the nightingale, fluttered a little, and perched on the tip of a stick that leaned against the wall adjacent to the door. There were two snakes twining around the stick. As the nightingale perched on it, interestingly it looked like a caduceus, the same shape as Chloe's pendant. But Chloe didn't notice it and just continuously resisted the cow in a frenzy.

Calm down, please. There is another patient here. Please don't bother him,said the nightingale to Chloe and opened the door with its wing.

There were a waiting room and a consultation room inside, and they were the only places brightly lighted in that world.

Chloe was still struggling and shouting to resist the cow, but she was forcibly taken into the room and saw Chamae being examined by a doctor in the consultation room.

What's going on there? Please be quiet! The doctor, a little indignantly, came out of the room and said to the nightingale, What are you doing, Florence? It is your job to make the next patient wait quietly, isn't it?

I...I am sorry, said the nightingale. But, she has probably been driven crazy by the terrible pain on her hands, so....

Dad! Chloe suddenly cried out.

It was hard for her to focus on the doctor with her eyes dim with tears, but she was sure he was her father.

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