In the genes of the beholder
In the Peoples Republic of China lived a midget astronaut named Xing Ying. Xing was a part of a new trend: the midget astronaut. The PRC had come to realize that midgets made superior astronauts because they could do the same jobs as regular astronauts with much less food, water, oxygen, and space.
To show the world that they were technologically in league with countries like America, the PRC sent up a space telescope twice the size of the Hubbell space telescope. However, something impacted the telescope, damaging it. Xing was a part of a three-man team sent to go diagnose and repair the telescope.
They blasted off in their tiny white rocket. It looked just like a regular rocket and shuttle, except half the size. The people of China didn’t find it as spectacular as the big shuttles, a good analogy for what they thought of the astronauts themselves. Undeterred, the astronauts felt a deep sense of patriotic duty, although they did resent being thought of as lesser.
Once in orbit, they deftly piloted the shuttle into position, and by means of a long white slender mechanical arm, grabbed hold of the damaged telescope. The telescope looked like a blown up bus-sized power line transformer with a pair of severely mangled solar panels still attached to the wreck. They looked upon the bent lacerated mess of twisted metal and broken mirror, and knew that they had absolutely no chance of success.
Then Xing noticed something among the shattered mirror fragments. It looked like sandstone. He used the docking arm to reach in and grab the object, and pull it into the shuttle bay. It appeared to be a refrigerator-sized pyramid with runes carved into the sides.
The 3 tiny astronauts marveled at the find and then they heard a voice in their minds that sounded like it was comprised of 12 bells “Oh, did I break your little toy”? They jumped back in fear. Horror was all over their faces and the thing continued “ I am sorry. As is custom of my people, I will grant each of you a favor as reprimands”.
After a tense pause Xing spoke up “could you repair our toy”? “Certainly”! The telescope was fixed before the ringing from the thing’s voice stopped. The crew spoke among them selves. They decided that as proud citizens of the PRC, it was their responsibility to pick wishes that would benefit mankind.
Thinking of all of the conflict between cultures, they decided that the whole world would be much better if there were only one kind of people. “We want everyone to be oriental” one of the astronauts requested. “It shall be done” The pyramid assured them.
What would their last wish be? Of course! Everything would be better if everyone were a midget like them! That way the whole world would need less resources to survive, cars and houses wouldn’t need to be built so big, and no one would disrespect them for being small! Xing spoke loud and proudly “For the good of our species, we ask that you make every human a midget like us”!
They returned looking forward to a better world, but mission control heard the whole thing. Everyone on earth was extremely cross about being turned into midgets, for they didn’t share the astronaut’s vision of the perfect people. Mission control decided not to help them during reentry, so the astronauts burned to an agonizing death in a violent screaming fashion.
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The Tomb of Ted
I generally speak on issues of philosophy and recent politics. However, I don't bound myself to such topics, and may bring up a variety of subjects.
- The President of Tedanistan