the tail of the beast
a modern myth by Angelle
(c) 1997 Angelle and Universal Compositions
At first there was a World, and the World gave birth to Mankind. As Mankind knew the World, they also knew all that was needed to thrive. Mankind grew and developed, and in turn gave birth to many Details with which they embellished their Home. And so the World was Home to many children, and they lived by the Fruits of Her Body, and She thrived also, sharing with them the same spark that is Life.
As time does pass, so it did. Faces change; Details are born and die. Some Details thrive briefly, while others span for time we can't account. Of the well intended Details born to Mankind, one without a soul became the beast. Without a soul to guide its feeding, its sustenance consisted both of the Fruits of the World and the blood, sweat and tears of Mankind. Finding much to consume, the beast grew to be large and powerful, and eventually its enormous body covered the World. So the beast covered the World, and Mankind lived upon the beast.
By this time, the World no longer thrived as She had: the beast devoured much and returned mostly waste, as one must have a soul to guide reciprocation. With their sustenance imprisoned beneath the beast, no one could partake in the Fruits of the World without going through it; and thus the quality of Life was compromised, and many suffered.
The appetite of the beast grew, and the blood of Mankind flowed thickly as it fed, and the Fruits were denied to many, and many died.
The Few who lived at the heart of the beast obtained the most Fruit, as they devised ways of attracting prey for it to consume. The Few then actually thrived, loving the beast and forgetting the loss of the World. Of them, Details were born, and as some were good, the heart of the beast was praised. Those at the beast's extremities were denied the Fruit but through service, to it, and the Few at its heart. At the instruction of the Few, all were required to supply ample blood, sweat and tears for the beast lest their bodies be consumed altogether. This action established further power for the Few, and They grew to be even stronger. those who found themselves at the bowels of the beast were almost sure to perish, as the beast allowed sustenance for this region in the least. Each region developed scorn for the others, based on their gradually diverging qualities, and everyone forgot they were of the same Tribe the--same Family--and that they shared the same spark that is Life.
And thus the beast divided the Family, and thinned the blood of Mankind.
To survive then, much of Mankind partook in the waste of the beast, and they also scraped bits of flesh from its body where they could. But these are not the things on which Mankind can thrive, and served as poor substitutes for that which they sought beneath the beast; and the scrapings did not cause the beast to die, but brought its prey in closer proximity to be bled.
Some of Mankind did still love the World, and fought in various ways to restore Her. Some made bold attempts to kill the beast, and would slash at its flesh with the mightiest of swords, only to find that the flesh was without blood, as its body was without soul, and each slice removed the beast would then devour and consume back into itself. And this would not cause the beast to die.
As time does pass, so it has, and I write you this tale from the tail of the beast. The beast is still upon the World, and Mankind still lives upon the beast. I have managed to escape this far from the bowels - I was born not at them, but near - and although I am clear of that region, the distance between here and there does not appear that great. Some who escape the bowels head for the extremities, for they are told the flesh is less rancid there, and that these are the paths to Progress and Improvement. They say: If we cooperate with beast, it will let us have the Fruit. I have seen this to be true only for those who wish to keep the beast alive--only those who do not long for the return of the World--an appeasement with which to disguise the truth. I say the Fruit belongs to the World, and Mankind ought not have to go through a beast to get it.
Of course, there are still tales of those who go to the heart, more so long ago than now, and I have come to conclude that many of these stories are told from mother to child to keep the child from crying as he learns to lose his blood. The truth is probably that the beast has no heart, as it has no blood or soul, and the region where the Few accessed the Fruit is likely gleamed bare. I suspect this is why so few have ever been admitted at a time. If you go there and look--that is if They let you close enough to scrutinize--you may find that the beast's flesh is all that remains. You may even find the Few planting it as though it were a seed, watching in vain for a sprout to emerge and replace what we used to receive from the World. Only flesh is not a seed, and it will grow neither Fruit nor Details; and once the soil has been raped so brutally and repeatedly, it becomes, as it were, a barren womb no longer capable of producing Life anyway.
Myself, I have learned to survive enough on the tail. As I travel the length of it, there are Many to meet and much to know. This region attracts those of a different sort--the World-lovers who wish the beast were never born, or that the evolution of it would quicken to goodness--those of us who suspect we are deceived when They tell us we are better for the flesh the beast provides.
Could I describe another way to exist, I might argue more fiercely against this deception, but I am a simple traveler through a complicated environment - who am I to say which is better or worse? But I can say this: the beast does not subsist on blood alone; it has developed an appetite for souls, perhaps to compensate its own lack. If it cannot succeed in consuming the soul, it will destroy the Identity, attempting to get past it, subsequently leaving the soul vulnerable. I have seen this with my own eyes, and now that you know what to look for, look around you. There are many you will encounter everyday, in every region, who have lost their Identity and soul to the beast. Mankind may have learned to live with less blood in the body, but what is life without a soul?
This is why I travel, always in motion, lest the beast spy me and think me to be a tasty morsel. I proceed gradually toward the end of the tail, loving Mankind as I can on the way, and my best hope is at the tail's end, I will find something of the World still alive, and there I will lay my head down and weep for Her return.
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