"Why do we even live in a cave...?"
The question plagued Shinbatsu as he traveled from area to area picking up debris and helping out injured villagers. He had traveled a lot, and he had to wonder why they did not simply move. Moving was so easy; you just picked up your belongings and relocated. They were trying to live in an unlivable place, and he simply did not understand it. People were dying for no reason, and it was not the only time this happened. Actually, it was pretty much routine, and there was no reason death and destruction had to be routine. Actually, it was kind of offensive that it was.
Shinbatsu stopped to catch his breath. He had been working at this all day, and it was not getting any easier. What was causing the tremors? Sandworms sounded like a plausible explanation, but they were by no means the only one. Plate shift would explain things just as adequately, as would poor infrastructure. They were living in a freaking cave, after all. He looked up and acknowledged the ridiculous dome, the setup of the housing, and everything else all at once. This was the world they lived in. It was times like this that made him miss the west.
...
There the twenty three year old sat, reading through his Immunology textbook and wondering if he would be alright for his exam next week. Studying was worse than a full time job. He yawned, rose, and moved over to the chimney, prodding the flames to get them burning brighter and to keep the house warm. The fire captivated his mind and titillated his imagination. For a fleeting moment he tried to remember Wind Country, his homeland, but that did not last long. Everything here was so much greater. He was always busy and always tired, but people knew what they were doing. The world he lived in was going somewhere. Wind, on the other hand, was not.
Stasis was something he would never understand. It was like the place had accepted its place at the bottom of the evolutionary chain and was happy to just bend over and take it from the world. They did not care what their obstinacy cost them, and they did not really care where their future led. All they cared about was that at the end of the day, they could return to their steaks and their potato and egg sandwiches. If they kicked the bucket and their children had nothing to do in the village that had been left to them, so be it.
Shinbatsu was brought back to reality as arms wrapped around his torso, and he allowed his hand to caress her arm before turning his head slightly to kiss her on the cheek. Did he really have to be studying now?, she asked, a response came with a nuzzle, a kiss, a youthful and passionate motion that landed her in his embrace, the development, the shredding, the up, the down, the in, the out-- who cared about Sand? He'd say that place could rot in Hell, but he knew that was what it was already doing.
...
"Thirteen. Thirteen dead today."
The official death toll for the day was thirteen. That was better than yesterday. Shinbatsu's thirty seven year old face was ash-colored as they threw the cover of the body bag over the last corpse's face. Things had been bad, but never this bad. Why had they moved into a cave? Sand used to be content to stagnate itself and stay in the same spot. Now, it was just going backward.
The question plagued Shinbatsu as he traveled from area to area picking up debris and helping out injured villagers. He had traveled a lot, and he had to wonder why they did not simply move. Moving was so easy; you just picked up your belongings and relocated. They were trying to live in an unlivable place, and he simply did not understand it. People were dying for no reason, and it was not the only time this happened. Actually, it was pretty much routine, and there was no reason death and destruction had to be routine. Actually, it was kind of offensive that it was.
Shinbatsu stopped to catch his breath. He had been working at this all day, and it was not getting any easier. What was causing the tremors? Sandworms sounded like a plausible explanation, but they were by no means the only one. Plate shift would explain things just as adequately, as would poor infrastructure. They were living in a freaking cave, after all. He looked up and acknowledged the ridiculous dome, the setup of the housing, and everything else all at once. This was the world they lived in. It was times like this that made him miss the west.
...
There the twenty three year old sat, reading through his Immunology textbook and wondering if he would be alright for his exam next week. Studying was worse than a full time job. He yawned, rose, and moved over to the chimney, prodding the flames to get them burning brighter and to keep the house warm. The fire captivated his mind and titillated his imagination. For a fleeting moment he tried to remember Wind Country, his homeland, but that did not last long. Everything here was so much greater. He was always busy and always tired, but people knew what they were doing. The world he lived in was going somewhere. Wind, on the other hand, was not.
Stasis was something he would never understand. It was like the place had accepted its place at the bottom of the evolutionary chain and was happy to just bend over and take it from the world. They did not care what their obstinacy cost them, and they did not really care where their future led. All they cared about was that at the end of the day, they could return to their steaks and their potato and egg sandwiches. If they kicked the bucket and their children had nothing to do in the village that had been left to them, so be it.
Shinbatsu was brought back to reality as arms wrapped around his torso, and he allowed his hand to caress her arm before turning his head slightly to kiss her on the cheek. Did he really have to be studying now?, she asked, a response came with a nuzzle, a kiss, a youthful and passionate motion that landed her in his embrace, the development, the shredding, the up, the down, the in, the out-- who cared about Sand? He'd say that place could rot in Hell, but he knew that was what it was already doing.
...
"Thirteen. Thirteen dead today."
The official death toll for the day was thirteen. That was better than yesterday. Shinbatsu's thirty seven year old face was ash-colored as they threw the cover of the body bag over the last corpse's face. Things had been bad, but never this bad. Why had they moved into a cave? Sand used to be content to stagnate itself and stay in the same spot. Now, it was just going backward.