Giants

Chapter 2

 

Nyan woke up, half-expecting to be in the afterlife.  I guess sleeping in the tall grass was a good idea, she thought in relief.

 

She still couldn’t figure out what had happened yesterday, but she was just happy to be alive. 

 

I wonder if Guru can explain what happened to me.

 

Guru was a former Elder, but he had left the village in search of solitude and contemplation.  Nyan had visited the old hermit a few times, and his prudence had always amazed her and had always helped her out when she was in a tough spot.  This time, things were worse than ever before.

 

He’s the only cat who wasn’t in the village yesterday, and I’ve got to take a chance.  He’s my only hope.

 

The sun was rising and Nyan was beginning to feel hungry.  She knew that there weren’t any sources of nourishment on the road to Guru’s hut " just icky green vegetables growing in the ground.  She deviated from the path, mentally making note of landmarks so that she would be able to find her way back.

 

She had been walking for what seemed like hours when she heard a sound in the distance.  She stopped to listen, and hid in the tall grass when she realized that the sounds were footsteps.

 

She watched with horror as a Giant emerged from behind a tree, armed with a sword and two spears.  He was a tall man with long black hair, wearing some sort of suit.

 

“I am Tim, and you have violated the rules of your people.  As guardians of this realm, we, the Giants, are to capture you and make sure that your trouble will harm no more.”

 

Nyan looked up at Tim.  “But I’m not harming anyone!  My insightful contemplation has yielded probabilistic conclusions that cherry-tarted outward appearances fail to inflict direct harm to sufficiently-defended collectivities.”

 

But the Giant was not listening; he shot his two spears at either side of Nyan Cat.

 

“Haha!  You missed me!”

 

“I have not.”

 

Nyan looked around herself in horror as the realization set in:  the spears had not been spears at all, but rather were the endpoints of a sticky net.  She had been captured.

 

Two other Giants appeared behind Tim.

 

“Nice catch, Tim,” said the lumbering mass on his left.

 

“Thanks, Madison!  Want to help me transport her back to Station Delta-047?”

 

“Of course!” replied the Giant on the right, whose name was Matt.  Matt’s brother had won the previous year’s Motocross championship.

 

 

Nyan awoke in a dark room.  One wall was entirely a window, revealing the grandeur of space.  Nyan stared at the stars.  She was in space!

 

An old man arose from a chair at the other side of the room.  “I am Willy, an ancient Giant.  Tell me, young one, why are you here?”

 

“You captured me!”

 

The old man chuckled.  “Yes, I do tend to catch what I want.  Why were you traversing the wilderness?”

 

“My people expelled me from their domain.  I dyed my chocolate-tart to make it look like a cherry-tart, but I’m still a chocolate-tarted cat.”

 

“Have you considered that you may have scared them?  Your people have much fear.”

 

“No, Willy, they need to learn.  Their archaic, traditionalist philosophies have engendered a culture of conformity.”

 

“The cherry-tarted ones became extinct millennia ago.  Perhaps there was a reason that was so, and your people seek only to protect you.”

 

“But we can’t live in fear!  That isn’t right!  The multitudinous array of beneficial outcomes, when proportionally weighted for their respective probabilities of rendering technological advances, unambiguously outweighs the threats posed by unknown variables.”

 

“You have great power, young one.  You must learn how to use it, lest damage may be done to those you love.”

 

“I demand immediate release from this establishment!”

 

“Your lack of fear is a great quality, but caution would do you well.  The recesses of space can be harsh.”

 

The door suddenly opened.  The Giant Madison entered the room, carrying a parchment for Willy.  Nyan seized her opportunity and quickly flew out the door.  The alarms of the space station immediately roared, casting a red light throughout the corridor.  A horde of Giants chased her, but Nyan’s speed was too much for her pursuers.  She found the airlock, sealed it behind her, and blasted a beam of rainbow at the outside door.  The vacuum of space rushed to greet her, and she reveled in the new sensation.  For the first time, she had that which she had been seeking:  freedom.