Does Lord Martin Live?
The deceased professor taking her last breaths - bacteria infection
It's been almost 5 days since I was chosen to rule this kingdom, my fellow White-Swanfish know that I am the chosen one. I had to convince them of the truth by nibbling their fins a few times, but after a few days of nursing sore fins they soon came round to my point of view and no longer wanted a Royal-Swanfish as leader. I have almost trained the other fish into accepting my authority, although the Black-Royal Swanfish aren't taking the fall from grace too well. It's rather irritating, I mean, I spend all day trying to educate them on the correct protocols for lodging a complaint or raising an issue with myself. Yet they still bug me all day. Just drifting over to my space and saying its too cold, or too hot, and asking why the sun has changed colour and timings... I mean, I have launched investigations into all of these subjects and am trying my hardest to table a solution, but their constant chattering slows me down. It's bad enough when I'm trying to eat, but with my jaws already warmed up from chomping its not too much effort to waste a bite on them.
Other times, its well more demanding, like on the first night I was dead asleep, lying on my back with the current keeping my pool of drool down to a minimum, when I suddenly became aware that one of these pre-madonnas was getting rather close to me. I waited. Waited until the nasty little critter was about to get me. Then I launched at him and lunged my teeth into his fin.
I returned to sleep, content that I had taught him a little lesson.
Well, when I woke up the next morning I only had seven cretins under my control instead of eight. The missing had crawled into one of the plants and was no longer moving. I assessed his body and noted that his tail had a nasty gash running along its length. Recoiling in shock I realised that this injured fish, this dead fish lying infront of me, this bloated corpse was, was my fault.
To make things worse the shadowy reminder of death lay up there in that tree all day.
The gods did not want to remove it. Were they punishing me for my penal system? Regardless of whether it was meant as punishment or not. I totally disagree with such an abuse of power. I mean, I had been punished enough by discovering the result of my action, but for this constant reminder to be left, literally hanging over me, it was ghastly. A gruesome act.
It was during this time, that I turned my thinking back to death again. More specifically my own death and whether it had occurred or not. It seems to make logical sense that after The Event the strongest would survive to continue the Swanfish legacy until future generations. This is why I assumed I had been spared, but now, the more I think; the more I look at the other survivors. How I pity their small minds and poor athleticism. The more I look, the more I wonder if actually I am a weakling? And if I am a weakling, then maybe I was killed in The Event.
Its only natural that a fish of my high social standing, a true-blue student of Fishop University, Most Promising Frishman and Treasurer of the Bowling team. Well, it should be my right to go to Heaven, no?
Then I think back about the She-Fish from Uni, I mean, I know I should have married her before doing that, but even if I did, then we would be separated now. I mean, if I am dead, and she's alive, then why would a marriage have made us more moral, more just, more deserving of eternal-happiness?
I wonder however, if in fact this little world could be my hell?
I suppose I should really tell you about those miscredits I share my punishment with. One of the fairly decrepit Professors from Fishop Uni is here. She has been helping to expand my views a little. We started talking the other day, well she got me started thinking. Right, she said to me, this one thing, it could be that this is my punishment, but at the same time, it could be the reward for those who were chosen to be under my command, it all depends on your perspective.
It's like, when you first think something it, like a pyramid, you look from below and think it's kind of a square, but when you look at it from a different angle it all changes and become a triangle. Another way it's a box, but when you have assessed it, walked all around it, you realise it is neither of these single, simple things but a combination, not a single angle or thought, but an idea. So, if you never walk around it, you'll always think its a square, a triangle or a cube since your view is limited. Well, if that were true of the physical shape, that's also true of an idea. If you limit you mind the first acceptable solution becomes a truth for you.
It was tiring to think like this, but I was interested, so I listened to her speak about what being alive is, she claims there's no way she's dead, but I couldn't be so sure. I mean, maybe she's just a hypocrite and has got stuck looking at a square and not a pyramid? Like, how do you know when you're dead? And if there is an afterlife, then how do you know when it starts and well, is that infinite, or does that end. Like maybe we could imagine life is like the many layers of the filter, the water starts in the middle and travels out one layer at a time; each life is followed by a new life, an afterlife-life. Then if life is an afterlife already, is this heaven or hell? Continuing these thoughts I began to clarify my thinking.
Maybe, this is an afterlife, I mean, I don't know if its the same life-span as the one I left behind in Fishop Uni but I do know that I left that life behind. So I guess in a way, it is an afterlife. However, its not like the way of other afterlives, its not a physical death and rebirth, but maybe its a change of perspective. I mean, it's not like this is Heaven or Hell, its neither a square or a triangle, but instead a pyramid, like it depends on your way of looking at it.
Now, here's the interesting part. If you accept the idea that a person who doesn't open their mind to other thoughts is content with the first solution, then maybe its also possible to open your mind, choose which of the solutions is best and home in on that?
If that's the case, then surely we can define what heaven or hell is, and by that we can choose which one we live in. Henceforth, this tank, this afterlife is whatever I choose it to be, no?
All this thinking was making me really dizzy but I think I beginning to understand myself. If I wanted to live in heaven, I just needed to make this into my version of heaven. Just as I had concluded my thinking I saw the golden haired one walk back in and then food fell from the sky.
I thanked His Divineness for giving me such lovely food for thought; now thinking makes you hungry and I had just done a lot of that, so I was feasting hungrily on my wonderful reward when one of those Black-Royal Swanfish came to share in my gift from the gods. Naturally, I dished out a good number of nips before allowing my newly trained bodyguards to perform a rough and remember session. This is my new term for helping to educate the others.
They have to realise that this is my heaven!
Photos:
Top: The Dead Prof and, Below: Lord Martin and his gang.
Labels: fish photo, philosophy, tropical fish
