“So…what do we do about getting them nourishment?” the Father asked.

“Hmm. Well, we gave them mouths…”

“Yes, “ Ghost cut in, “but those are for talking and singing. If we don’t figure out a good way to get fuel into them, when we wake them up they won’t do much of either for very long.”

Son answered. “I realize that. I know it. I was just going to say, why don’t we connect that whole pipeline to a furnace inside their lower section somewhere?”

“You’re not serious,” Ghost said. He flew over to the lifeless creatures they had fashioned out of clay and scratched his head with a talon. “I think it would be a bad idea to put a reactor in their midsection. Stars are one thing, but it simply wouldn’t work with these kinds of beings.”

Father walked across the dewy grass, followed by Son. Son smiled at his better third, while Father stroked his long, flowing beard, deep in thought.

“It can work, Ghost,” Father said. “Actually, Son has a great idea. The orifice is the perfect size. All we’ll have to do is separate the intake pipes somehow. Split them so that the fuel doesn’t wind up in the balloons in their chests. Once we do that, we’ll make a container a little farther down to capture the…what kind of fuel should we design for them?”

Ghost fluttered onto Father’s shoulder. “Good question. We can’t use hydrogen. Too much heat when it breaks down. The containers would incinerate in an instant. So long Adam and Eve.”

“We’ve named them already?” Son asked, a little put-off.

“You were out walking with the lions and lambs when we did,” Father remarked. “Sorry, thought I told you. Yes, he’s Eve, she’s Adam.

“At any rate, we need to figure out the fuel situation and then split the intakes so that one of them goes down into a lower chamber where somehow we’ll decide how to make it burn.”

"Well, what did we do with the lizards?" Son said.

"They're different. We need to figure out something totally unique. The brains we gave these two are ten times the size of any of the lizards. They'll need lots more fuel."

Ghost shook his head. “Burning’s out. Some other way.”

“Right, G. And just how do you think we’ll be able to make it work in the furnace if we don’t provide a method of burning it?”

Ghost sat quietly for a moment considering the problem.

“Please don’t dig your claws into my shoulder so hard,” Father said.

“Oh. I'm sorry.

“Okay, here’s how we can do it. Instead of nuclear, we go acid.”

“What?”

“What?”

“Yes. Like hydrochloric. That’ll break down anything.”

“You’re insane,” Son quipped.

“Indeed,” Father added. “It would eat right through the container, then goodbye Adam and Eve!”

“Not necessarily. We can dilute it, or use a different kind mixed up with other chemicals.”

“It’d still eat through the container,” Son said, lifting a foot and putting the big toe on Adam’s midsection. “Way too soft.”

“So we make the container really tough. Even put muscles around it that will allow the tissues to grind up the fuel.” This was Father’s idea.

“Yes!”

“What kind of container would be flexible enough to do that and still be strong enough to keep the acid in?” Son said.

“I don’t know. We’ll come up with something. Ghost, any ideas?”

“Umm…nope, not yet. Let me think on it for a few.” He flew quickly away into a nearby oak tree, scaring the daylights out of a family of sparrows. Father and Son couldn’t help but notice.

“I like the sparrows. I’m glad we made them. I’ve counted every one of them you know,” Son said, and then he smiled.

“No, I didn't know that. But, you did well, although I’d still like to see them with a little more color, like our Parrots.”

“In other words, you’re not happy with my sparrows…the way I designed them?”

“No, no, no. Gosh you're touchy today, Son. I like them well enough. I’m just not all that thrilled with gray.” Father turned his attention back to Adam. She was lying peacefully, half-complete beside the male.

“What kind of fuel? That’s where we begin,” he said.

“Grasses, mainly. There’s tons of it all over this place. I think you went too far with the seed thing.”

“I don’t. Perelandra looks gorgeous in green.”

“All right, you win on that one. But, before we do the fuel, we’d better design a plumbing system to get it into the…what shall we call the container?”

“Heck, I don’t know. How about stomick?”

“That’s weird, but okay. I like stomach better. That okay with you?”

“Whatever.

“I’m tired. Let’s go see what’s happening with our dinosaurs. We can fix these two later. We've got nothing but time.”

“Good idea.”

Father and Son turned and began to walk through the waist-high grass toward a rise two hundred meters in the distance. The Tyrannosauruses and Brontosauruses would be playing their games on the other side, cheered on by all the other giant lizards.

Snake stuck his forked tongue out and wiggled it after they had gone. Paying no attention to Ghost, who sat in contemplation in Mrs. Sparrow’s nest, snake slithered up to the man and gazed down at her.

She is one ugly thing. I feel like chewing her nose off. Wait, stupid. Think.

 

Imprint

Publication Date: 05-27-2012

All Rights Reserved

Dedication:
To my fans and friends, and to my teachers who taught me the story of the clay:)