Page 84 (2/2)

tween IT and the up i IT from them completely and eternally IT was alone, completely alone forever, and that hurt IT wanted to be a part of so

There was only one of IT—shouldn’t there be a way for IT to copulate and make more, too?

And that began to seeht: MORE of IT Everything else made more IT wanted to make more, too

It suffered, watching the rew, turned into anger, and finally the anger turned into rage toward the stupid, pointless things and their endless, inane, insulting existence And the rage grew and festered until one day IT couldn’t stand it any longer Without a pause to think what IT was doing, IT rose up and rushed at one of the lizards, wanting so happened

IT was inside the lizard

Seeing what the lizard saw, feeling what it felt

For a long while IT forgot rage altogether

The lizard did not appear to notice it had a passenger It went about its business of killing and copulating, and IT rode along It was very interesting to be on board when the lizard killed one of the littler ones As an experi in the one that killed was far h to lead to any real purposeful ideas Being in the one that died was very interesting and did lead to some ideas, but not very happy ones

IT enjoyed these new experiences for a while But although IT could feel their simple emotions, they never went beyond confusion They still didn’t notice IT, didn’t have any idea that—well, they si an idea They were just so limited—and yet they were alive They had life and didn’t know it, didn’t understand what to do with it It didn’t seem fair A

nd soon IT was bored once ain

And finally one day the s started to show up They didn’t seem like much at first They were small and cowardly and loud But one tiny difference finally caught IT’s attention: they had hands that let thes IT watched as they becaan to use thereat variety of brand-

4

JEFF LINDSAY

new things:food from the smaller of their own kind

IT was fascinated and watched more closely IT watched them hit each other and then run away and hide IT watched the IT watched thes to each other and then pretend that nothing had happened And as IT

watched, for the first tihed

And as IT laughed, a thought was born, and grew into clarity wrapped in glee

IT thought: I can ith this

O N E

What kind ofhappiness, no indeed Oh, it pulls and whines and shines in a cheap and guttering ie to it This ht sky and into slash-and-slice ecstasy Instead this h a squeaky-clean , onto a woe of the couch and talks about flowers, canapés, and Paris

Paris?

Yes, withabout in that far-spreading syrupy tone She is talking about Paris

Again

So what kind of moon can this possibly be, with its near-breathless ses? It batters feebly at the , but it can’t quite get in past all the sickly-sarbling And what kind of Dark Avenger could simply sit across the roo to listen whileblearily on his chair?

6