@@@@@ @ @ @@@@@ @ @ @@@@@@@ @ @ @@@@@ @@@@@ @@@
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @
@ @@@@@ @@@@ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @
@ @ @ @@@@@ @ @ @ @ @@@@@ @@@@@ @@@
Mt. Holz Science Fiction Society
Club Notice - 08/08/97 -- Vol. 16, No. 6
MT Chair/Librarian:
Mark Leeper MT 3E-433 732-957-5619 mleeper@lucent.com
HO Chair: John Jetzt MT 2E-530 732-957-5087 jetzt@lucent.com
HO Librarian: Nick Sauer HO 4F-427 732-949-7076 njs@lucent.com
Distinguished Heinlein Apologist:
Rob Mitchell MT 2D-536 732-957-6330 rlmitchell1@lucent.com
Factotum: Evelyn Leeper MT 3E-433 732-957-2070 eleeper@lucent.com
Back issues at http://www.geocities.com/Athens/4824
All material copyright by author unless otherwise noted.
The Science Fiction Association of Bergen County meets on the
second Saturday of every month in Upper Saddle River; call
201-933-2724 for details. The New Jersey Science Fiction Society
meets on the third Saturday of every month in Belleville; call
201-432-5965 for details. The Denver Area Science Fiction
Association meets 7:30 PM on the third Saturday of every month at
Southwest State Bank, 1380 S. Federal Blvd.
1. URL of the week:
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/4824/reader9.htm. My Readercon 9
report. [-ecl]
===================================================================
2. There was a forest I know of where the animals all lived happily
and ate well for many years under the rule of a family of noble
lions. Every few years the family chose the lion who was to be
king of the forest. The animals sometimes wished that they could
take part in the choosing. But the king was always a lion, noble
and strong and who looked out for the animals of the forest and
made sure they always had plenty to eat. For in a forest, the
animals live by what they can find to eat.
When the food supplies would run low the king would think about
where to get more food, and he always thought of something clever
to find more food someplace. So the animals were never too unhappy
with the choice of the king.
Now the succession of lions one day worked its way to a proud young
lion named Ballen. Ballen was anxious to become king of the forest
because he had all sorts of plans for how the forest would be run.
And Ballen's day finally came and he told himself, "Now I really am
the king of the forest."
Ballen was first concerned that there might not be enough food for
the lions. The forest needed the lion to rule intelligently and
justly. If the lions did not eat well, was any animal in the
forest safe? Ballen said that each animal of the forest would eat
just a little less so there would be more food left over for the
lions. But this was just for now. Surely with a good lion ruling
the forest, all would have much to eat. And this was a small price
to pay. With so many mouths each eating only a little less, the
lions had plenty of food. But some animals grumbled that they were
going hungry. Ballen knew that there had to be more food for the
forest. He looked off to the south of the forest and saw that
there was rich farmland. But it was farmland ruled and cultivated
by Man. Ballen sat down and started thinking about Man. All the
animals of the forest feared Man. Man was strange and did not act
like the animals. But wasn't Man just another animal? Ballen had
heard the stories of lions sometimes catching and killing a man in
times of hunger. Man was a big animal but not a very fast runner.
Even the little squirrel could outrun a big man. It would be a
simple matter to take the food from the farm fields and bring it
back running faster than Man could run. This was a good plan and
Ballen told the animals that they had to give more food to the
lions to repay them for finding such a good idea.
For a short time the plan worked and there was more to eat, but Man
set traps for the animals and some animals were injured. In some
fields new fences kept out the animals. In the end very little new
food was found because of Ballen's plan to raid Man. But Ballen
and the other lions said the idea was good even if it did not work
out and they celebrated with a banquet while the other animals
looked sadly on.
Ballen next noticed that the floor of the forest was covered with
brown leaves. Any animal that was hungry could eat his fill of
leaves, Ballen reasoned. This, Ballen decided was a really good
plan since there were so many leaves on the floor of the forest,
more than anyone could count. For such a good plan, Ballen decided
that he should get rewarded with more food. But when the animals
tried to eat the leaves they found that they the leaves did not
taste very good and were dry. In fact there was nothing nourishing
about the leaves. But Ballen still insisted that he should be
rewarded for such a good idea.
The problem with the forest, Ballen decided one day, is that
animals can hunt for food only during the day. When the sun goes
down, the animals all find beds in the forest leaves--well that
they were good for--or return to their burrows. The answer was to
look for food all day and all night. But what animal would stay up
all night? Ballen thought and thought. Then he had an
inspiration. "I am suddenly brilliant," he decided. "The animals
that stay up all night are bats. Let us bring bats to the forest.
Oh, this is a good plan, and I deserve a big reward." Ballen went
to the bats and told them he wanted them to leave their cave and
come and live in the forest with the rest of the animals. "We are
perfectly happy living in our cave," the bats told him. "No, you
are a lot better off in the forest where all animals look out for
all other animals. The bigger the forest, the more all the animals
can take care of all the other animals. Come and live in our
trees," Ballen told them. "We are not going," said the bats
firmly. But that was not that.
So that night, when all the bats were out hunting insects, Ballen
and the other lions climbed the hill over the bats' cave and pushed
down stones until the door of the cave was covered. When the bats
returned to their cave they found they could not get in. They had
no choice but to go and live in the high branches of the trees of
the forest, though it was never so cozy as their cave.
The coming of the bats was celebrated by the lions who made sure
there was a big banquet and every lion ate well. And Ballen ate
the best of all. But the animals of the forest had less to eat.
And in the weeks that followed the animals wondered why Ballen
wanted the bats. Yes they hunted at night, but they hunted
insects. The bats catching insects helped none of the other
animals. And the bats complained all the time about living
unprotected in trees.
Finally Ballen decided the bats were not such a good idea after
all. The bats would complain about living in the trees, the other
animals would complain that bringing in the bats did not help the
forest. Indeed it was hard work ruling the whole forest. Ballen
announced one day that the bats would all have to go. And in
addition, all the animals east of the forest stream would also have
a new king. Ballen told himself this was a very good idea since
there were a lot of animals east of the stream, but there was less
food. With more food and fewer mouths, Ballen could have a nice
banquet. And he did divide up the forest and he did celebrate.
"Let us have a smaller forest still," said Ballen. The problem
with our forest is that there are STILL too many mouths to feed.
And many of the mouths belong to bodies that are old and tired and
do not produce much food. Let us make the forest smaller like a
younger and more vital forest. So that was done and there was
celebration, at least among the lions, all of whom stayed in the
forest. Many of the animals who were chosen to leave had to find
another forest. Some had been looked out for by other animals and
some had looked out for other animals. For some it was an unhappy
day.
The day came when Ballen had to choose a successor. And he knew
that many of the animals were becoming unhappy with lions, though
he was not sure just why. But the lions knew of a leopard who had
a reputation as a good hunter, a fast runner, and a good leader.
With the promise of food, the leopard would come and rule the
forest. Ballen did not want to give up his place as king of the
forest just yet. The leopard would stay in the forest each year in
the position of chancellor of the forest, while he was being
groomed. He told the animals that the leopard would soon rule
them, but he had some learning to do first. The leopard was not
happy, but time, he thought, would fix that. The leopard was
anxious to become king. However, Ballen was not happy. It
bothered him more and more that this leopard would follow him as
king of the forest. Ballen never really liked leopards, anyway.
And when he asked the other lions, none of them really liked
leopards.
One day Ballen asked the leopard, "Why do you want to be king?" "I
want to rule, I want food, I want power. I think I can run the
forest." Ballen thought about this answer. The next day he went
to the leopard and said, you know that it is really the lions who
make decisions in the forest. A leopard can never really lead
lions. The leopard was angered at first, but he realized Ballen
had told him the truth. Then he was only saddened. "I never
really thought about that," he said. "This leopard would not have
made a good king," Ballen thought to himself. "You have been a
good friend, and now an understanding one," said Ballen. And
Ballen had a good idea. "You will have to leave, but you will have
enough food for life." Ballen had all the animals of the forest
bring food and put it in a big pile. The leopard took eight days
just taking away the food. And nobody knows where he put it.
Ballen told the animals that this decision was for the good of the
forest. And they should have been happy to contribute to the big
food pile because it would mean more food for all the animals a
later day. And Ballen celebrated.
I heard these tales from an owl who once lived in the forest. But
she has gone one to another forest where there is more food. I
never heard if Ballen still ruled or another of the lions. But
when there is not enough food in my forest--and sometimes there
isn't--I am glad that I am where I am and not in the owl's old
forest. [-mrl]
Everything considered, work is less boring
than amusing oneself.
-- Charles Baudelaire