caving

monkey

all together now

all together now

walking with a dog you are
never alone
and your eyes are always down
ticks, turds, and dangerous bones
you watch the neck and the ground
between the small stones
moves an ant, and
i adjust 40 pounds of
huge, damaged leg
to avoid
who commits more horse power?
an ant's (entire) life
(toil)
or a big animal's
avoid maneuver ;
either way
he is more efficient
i
am more accurate
we both live

2019

the adventures of yeti - 12. the doctor

by bofa xesjum

part twelve of ?

to read previous episode, click here

to begin at the beginning, click here

dr genghis tantalus iscariot-remigio, familiarly known as dr remigio, or just as “the doctor”, had been head of section 5, the security service of the atlantean empire, for decades. in that time he had acquired a fearsome reputation as a strategist of invincible acumen, and a puppet master of irresistible effect. as the doctor himself realized, this reputation had been achieved entirely by keeping his own counsel, never either taking any credit for anything or blaming others for anything that happened, never threatening or openly supporting any of his peers on the imperial council, or the members of the various feuding factions within the imperial family - and, above all, by the good fortune of the empire somehow never actually collapsing. but now the doctor had a premonition that things were about to change. the empire had lasted longer than anyone had felt possible, primarily because the forces - internal and external - arrayed against it had balanced each other out. the breakthrough of the gondwanan army in the southern provinces had changed everything. the doctor’s informants, and those of the imperial army’s own information agency, had thought that the collodian rebels would form a provisional “people’s” government in the south that would at least keep the gondwamean army occupied. but the collodian rebels, and their fiery charismatic leader, the beautiful redhaired annabelle schwarzengriff, were nowhere to be found. were la schwarzengriff and her associates playing a deep game? or had the information services simply overrated her all along? to the doctor it seemed of little consequence. the gondwanans had a clear path to the capital. it was only a matter of a couple of weeks. they owed him, the doctor, nothing, and he had nothing to offer them. after decades of bluff, the game was up. it was time to go. so it was that the doctor was seated at his desk in his ostentatiously tiny office, pondering how little he should pack to make his escape from the capital, when there was a knock on the office door. he recognized the knock as that of goz, one of his trusted but useless subordinates, all of whom were chosen for their lack of initiative. the screen on his desk verified that goz was alone in the corridor. the doctor pressed the button which caused the bulletproof door to open. he simply nodded when goz entered. he never wasted time on preliminaries, and his subordinates had been trained to follow his example. “a report, doctor, that you might find of some interest,” goz began. “yes?” “a report from the lower reaches, which may be complete nonsense, but its possible import may make it worth pursuing.” “go on.” the doctor showed neither impatience nor any particular interest. “a young member of the imperial family - a very young member of the imperial family - personally seeking out the leader of a rebel group.” “you do not say so.” nothing could have interested the doctor less, but he motioned for goz to continue. should he exit the city, he wondered, in some obvious “incognito”, indicating that he was on a “secret mission” of importance, or should he make a real attempt at disguise? 13. arrested!