The Homunculus Flunks the Touring Test (ibid)

[ergo sum]

Now I will believe
That there are unicorns; that in Arabia
There is one tree, the phoenix' throne; one phoenix
At this hour reigning there.
-(III.iii.27) Billy S the Tempest.


In the square near the palace barracks a snake charmer lifted the lid off his basket and began playing his flute. Rhythmically swaying back and forth and twirling the flute in the air as he played. A small but dedicated crowd stood spellbound as the Cobra raised its head out of the basket. As if hypnotized by the music the asp seemed to sway back and forth while lowering itself and then raising itself seemingly effortlessly in the air.

The sisters at the Abby of Incredulity were weavers of tapestries. At present they were working on a large tapestry which told the story of the mystical bird the Phoenix, the so-called fire bird. They employed it as did many in the middle ages to weave an allegory of the death and resurrection of Christ. They had every hope that this tapestry would be received with equal admiration as the Unicorn Tapestry had been when they sent it to the Abby of Cluny in Paris the year before.


Lulled into an opiate trance the good people of the castle seemed laconic almost desperate in there need for some word of the Prince. Sleepy almost catatonic they seemed listless and forlorn. Then a call went out from the crier. “The Prince is about to speak.” Adrenaline poured into their veins. . No bipolar reaction was ever that fast. From a state of almost motionlessness they were catapulted into a state of euphoria, cathartic ecstasy.

The castle’s PA system was turned on.
“Testing. Testing”
Then the Prince began to speak. He reassured them all the 10K legion was in fact on its way. Roars of delight went up from the people. He reassured them that everything they had ever dreamed of would come true. “Paltalk is like watching a Monkey hump a Football.” He related. The Dark Slovenian would be defeated. All of their enemy’s would be vanquished. The harvest would yield a cornucopia of bounty the world had never even contemplated before. These things and more he promised the good people of the castle.