Week 5 Story: The Test of a Friendship
In the year 3,523, there are two best friends. The first, An^pu, is three years older than the second and already has an established life, running a chain of greenhouse forests with her partner, Wil1ou.
The second, B@ta, is a robotic android, whose life is in disarray. Recently fired from his previous job as an investigative journalist, he is now managing one of An^pu's greenhouses.
One afternoon, B@ta was working with Wil1ou among giant mimosa trees to cut away an infection that was devouring their fern-like leaves. Drunk off the sickly sweet perfume of the blooming pink flowers, Wil1ou confessed her developing attraction and feelings for B@ta and leaned toward him to measure his expressions. But she leaned too quickly, throwing off her balance and she fell from her perch on a branch. She crashed into the wide trunk of the tree before the mechanized harness recognized and stopped her descent.
B@ta moved down the massive trunk like a panther, using his unnatural strength and grip to cling on to the tree.
When he got to Wil1ou, he could see a couple scratches, marring the smooth, dark skin of her face but nothing else. He asked, "Are you hurt? Did the bark cut you anywhere else?"
Wil1ou weakly replied, "I hit my chest and lost my breath. I haven't quite gotten it back, but I know it will turn into a nasty bone-bruise tomorrow. Please forget what I said before I fell. The smell of the Mimosas overwhelmed me... I just need to get home." She used the harness to lower herself down and ran from the building, holding back her tears.
Wil1ou was still struggling for breath when she walked into her apartment; An^pu noticed and asked her if she'd been hurt. Feeling sore and rejected, Wil1ou told her partner, "While I was trimming leaves with B@ta in the Mimosa canopy, he surprised me by confessing his feelings for me. When I told him that I didn't feel the same, he shook the branch in anger, making me fall into the tree trunk. Please don't be angry with him! B@ta is just jealous of what we have." An^pu ignored her plea and was as angry as a panther; she wanted to strike her best friend for this act of violence and the betrayal of their trust.
Wanting to confront the traitor, An^pu went to the house of B@ta. Reading An^pu's aggressive stance and the anger radiating from her, B@ta moved to put the screen table between them and spoke to release some of the tension, "I can see that you are angry, and I can guess that it is because of the fall Wil1ou had this afternoon. I blame myself too; I should have caught her before she hit the tree!"
An^pu interupted, "Why are you lying? Wil1ou told me everything! I know you shook the branch she was perching on, and I KNOW you confessed feelings for her. How could you do that? You were like family to me, to us."
B@ta could no longer sit by listening to these baseless accusations, "Please, let me show you the truth. I hoped I would never have to tell you, but Wil1ou has given me no choice. I decided to back up my memories on RA now that anger towards androids has reached its peak and the violence of brain wiping has swept the city. I can show you my memories from earlier today, if you are seeking the truth."
An^pu cautiously nodded her agreement before B@ta accessed the RA software and revealed the truth of Wil1ou's deceit. An^pu became angry and sad at the same time - angry at Wil1ou for lying and the feelings she confessed to B@ta, but sad that this disagreement could destroy her relationship with B@ta, one that she has cherished since growing up in the same neighborhood.
B@ta confirmed her fears by telling her that he needed to leave the city, feeling insecure in their relationship and fearful of the mounting hatred towards those that shared his abilities. But B@ta wanted to give An^pu an opportunity to restore the trust for each other. So he said, "I want to give you a code that accesses the memories stored on RA. If someone wipes my mind, a warning signal will be sent to you with my last known location. My faith and trust in our relationship will be restored if you find my body and return my past memories to me."
An^pu agreed readily, grateful for the opportunity to prove herself. She left B@ta's house with mixed emotions, dreading her confrontation with Wil1ou and the departure of her best friend.
Author's Note:
This is a retelling of an Ancient Egyptian story about two brothers. In the original story, the two brothers live together; one has land and a wife, the younger works on the land. The wife of the eldest, Anpu, makes a move on the younger, who rejects her advances. However, the wife tells her husband that Bata had expressed his attraction to her and had beaten her. Anpu becomes angry and vows to kill his brother, but the younger entreats the Sun God, Ra, to allow him to speak the truth of the situation. Bata does so, convincing Anpu of his innocence. He then gives Anpu a future quest to regain Bata's trust before he leaves his brother's farm. I kept the names of the brothers (now the best friends) and the general theme of the story the same but changed almost all of the smaller details to fit the new setting and time.
Image information:
Mimosa tree photographed by Richard Crook. Source: Flickr
Pele climbing up the tree II photographed by Tambako the Jaguar; source: Flickr
Bibliography:
"The Two Brothers: Part One;" story source: Egyptian Myth and Legend by Donald Mackenzie (1907).
The second, B@ta, is a robotic android, whose life is in disarray. Recently fired from his previous job as an investigative journalist, he is now managing one of An^pu's greenhouses.
One afternoon, B@ta was working with Wil1ou among giant mimosa trees to cut away an infection that was devouring their fern-like leaves. Drunk off the sickly sweet perfume of the blooming pink flowers, Wil1ou confessed her developing attraction and feelings for B@ta and leaned toward him to measure his expressions. But she leaned too quickly, throwing off her balance and she fell from her perch on a branch. She crashed into the wide trunk of the tree before the mechanized harness recognized and stopped her descent.
B@ta moved down the massive trunk like a panther, using his unnatural strength and grip to cling on to the tree.
When he got to Wil1ou, he could see a couple scratches, marring the smooth, dark skin of her face but nothing else. He asked, "Are you hurt? Did the bark cut you anywhere else?"
Wil1ou weakly replied, "I hit my chest and lost my breath. I haven't quite gotten it back, but I know it will turn into a nasty bone-bruise tomorrow. Please forget what I said before I fell. The smell of the Mimosas overwhelmed me... I just need to get home." She used the harness to lower herself down and ran from the building, holding back her tears.
Wil1ou was still struggling for breath when she walked into her apartment; An^pu noticed and asked her if she'd been hurt. Feeling sore and rejected, Wil1ou told her partner, "While I was trimming leaves with B@ta in the Mimosa canopy, he surprised me by confessing his feelings for me. When I told him that I didn't feel the same, he shook the branch in anger, making me fall into the tree trunk. Please don't be angry with him! B@ta is just jealous of what we have." An^pu ignored her plea and was as angry as a panther; she wanted to strike her best friend for this act of violence and the betrayal of their trust.
Wanting to confront the traitor, An^pu went to the house of B@ta. Reading An^pu's aggressive stance and the anger radiating from her, B@ta moved to put the screen table between them and spoke to release some of the tension, "I can see that you are angry, and I can guess that it is because of the fall Wil1ou had this afternoon. I blame myself too; I should have caught her before she hit the tree!"
An^pu interupted, "Why are you lying? Wil1ou told me everything! I know you shook the branch she was perching on, and I KNOW you confessed feelings for her. How could you do that? You were like family to me, to us."
B@ta could no longer sit by listening to these baseless accusations, "Please, let me show you the truth. I hoped I would never have to tell you, but Wil1ou has given me no choice. I decided to back up my memories on RA now that anger towards androids has reached its peak and the violence of brain wiping has swept the city. I can show you my memories from earlier today, if you are seeking the truth."
An^pu cautiously nodded her agreement before B@ta accessed the RA software and revealed the truth of Wil1ou's deceit. An^pu became angry and sad at the same time - angry at Wil1ou for lying and the feelings she confessed to B@ta, but sad that this disagreement could destroy her relationship with B@ta, one that she has cherished since growing up in the same neighborhood.
B@ta confirmed her fears by telling her that he needed to leave the city, feeling insecure in their relationship and fearful of the mounting hatred towards those that shared his abilities. But B@ta wanted to give An^pu an opportunity to restore the trust for each other. So he said, "I want to give you a code that accesses the memories stored on RA. If someone wipes my mind, a warning signal will be sent to you with my last known location. My faith and trust in our relationship will be restored if you find my body and return my past memories to me."
An^pu agreed readily, grateful for the opportunity to prove herself. She left B@ta's house with mixed emotions, dreading her confrontation with Wil1ou and the departure of her best friend.
Author's Note:
This is a retelling of an Ancient Egyptian story about two brothers. In the original story, the two brothers live together; one has land and a wife, the younger works on the land. The wife of the eldest, Anpu, makes a move on the younger, who rejects her advances. However, the wife tells her husband that Bata had expressed his attraction to her and had beaten her. Anpu becomes angry and vows to kill his brother, but the younger entreats the Sun God, Ra, to allow him to speak the truth of the situation. Bata does so, convincing Anpu of his innocence. He then gives Anpu a future quest to regain Bata's trust before he leaves his brother's farm. I kept the names of the brothers (now the best friends) and the general theme of the story the same but changed almost all of the smaller details to fit the new setting and time.
Image information:
Mimosa tree photographed by Richard Crook. Source: Flickr
Pele climbing up the tree II photographed by Tambako the Jaguar; source: Flickr
Bibliography:
"The Two Brothers: Part One;" story source: Egyptian Myth and Legend by Donald Mackenzie (1907).
Howdy,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the future spin that you put on the story. The names were very interesting and cool, you were able to keep them about the same but still give them a future vibe. I also like how Ra came into play, being a memory bank that could be called upon, rather than a god. I was a little confused towards the beginning of the story, I did not get that they were in a tree until one of them was falling.
Hey Karissa!
ReplyDeleteThis is an absolutely wonderful retelling! The detail and imagery you employ here makes for a very vivid and colorful story. Your use of dialogue was also spot on. The interactions between the characters felt like they had a natural conversational flow and allowed us to understand the relationships driving the plot. Your use of numbers and symbols in the names was very clever - a nice allusion to what the future might hold regarding naming!