I have a big family, a really big family. In fact, I am related by blood or marriage to almost everyone in the town. All of my immediate family lives on the farm. My father, Vladimir, is the patriarch of the family. He is widely known as being exceeding honorable and hard working. My mother, Luba, is the caretaker of the family. She is always looking after everyone�s needs and acting as hostess to any visitors we might have. Also living with us is my father�s mother, Tatiana. She is an extremely stubborn and no nonsense sort of woman. She is very used to having things go her way or badgering until she gets her way. I recall one occasion when her pushiness amazed even us. It was an autumn afternoon and we were all out working on the fields when we heard a cry from the east field and all came running. As we approached we saw five gigantic DB�s standing in the middle of the field of wheat, trampling and tearing up the grasses. They were about 20 feet tall at the back with gray and wrinkly skins. They each had two 3 foot long protruding teeth and long noses that moved like snakes. The beasts looked fierce and deadly. Grandmother took one look at the destruction in the field, hefted her hoe and charged across the field screaming �Get out of my garden!� We all cringed back in fear, startled and waited for her to be crushed or impaled. But, to our amazement, the beasts actually turned and fled back into the forest as the rest of us just stood there and shook our heads in disbelief.
Also living with us are all of my sisters and brothers and their many children. It is a very close and loving family with everyone working together for the good of all. It sometimes surprises me that with so many people living together that there is not more arguing and trouble, but everything always seems to work out for us when we all stick together.
The farm is the centerpiece for the family. It is where we all work, eat, and live. It comprises quite a number of buildings: several small houses, 2 barns, a silo, a shearing shed, and numerous tool sheds. Everyone on the farm works, and works hard. The strong work ethic that is fostered on the farm would allow the laziest of us to put most any workaholic to shame. On the farm we grow or raise almost everything that we need to sustain ourselves. What little is left over after the family is provided for is used to trade with other townsfolk for manufactured goods like tools. We are known on the farm for being extremely frugal, even miserly but necessity forces us to this. Everything that can be saved is saved. Everything that can be used is used. There is no waste on a farm like ours. Sometimes things on the farm are very hard. Sometimes there are droughts, sometimes the winters seem to last forever, but always we remain and slowly the farm grows and prospers.
The village itself in many ways is my extended family. Many of the people I am related to, but even uncle �Scaly�, who taught me to swim, is family in my mind. Everyone in the village helps everyone else. Whether it is bailing out the Haugstad�s flooded root cellar or each of the mothers taking turns giving lessons to the children, we all pull together. Being a small town, everyone in the village knows everyone. There are no secrets in a community like ours. This can be quite annoying at times, but it can also be a good thing. I think that is kind of helps to keep people honest.
Of course you can�t talk about the village without talking about the cathedral. It is the centerpiece, both geographically and symbolically. I think, and many would agree, that a great deal of our community spirit has to be attributed to the presence of the cathedral. It truly gives us a sense of higher purpose. It also gives us a sense of security both emotionally and in a very real sense. It is almost impossible to list all the benefits that we have gained form the presence of the cathedral. It brings the cyber-knights to protect us, it brings the priests to teach us, it brings the pilgrims to expose us to new cultures and expand our minds. It even gives us a place to gather in times of sorrow or joy. The cathedral is many things too many people and all of them are good.
I have always thought of our family as unique in many ways, but there is one way in which our family is especially unique. A surprising number of our family members display what many call psychic talents. My mother says that they are blessings from God. When I say a surprising number, I mean only about 5% but that is way more than any other family we know. Most of the talents are pretty minor like my mother�s. She just seems to know when someone in the family is hurt or in danger. Like the time my brother Boris was kicked in the chest by a mule in the barn. Even though no one else was near or could possibly have heard, my mother jumped up from her sewing in the house and ran for the barn yelling for help. Fortunately, Boris got off with just a few cracked ribs. Every once in a while, however, one of our family members displays an amazing psychic talent. I have a cousin named Peter who is what they call a burster. His talent was considered so potentially hazardous that it was decided to send him to New Lazlo where he could receive special training. He ended up joining the military and was given a position of honor among the ranks, but ended up mustering out as soon as he was allowed to do so finding that military life was not to his temperament. He ended up staying in Lazlo and becoming a produce broker. He has in fact become quite successful. His extensive knowledge of farm products and rapport with people from an agrarian lifestyle has been a great boon to him.
It has been discovered that I too possess unique psychic talents. We first discovered this in the strangest of ways. I had just arrived at Mrs. Bertrand�s house for our weekly lesson in numbers, and was trying to convince her that I had actually done my homework. I promised her that I had done it. In fact I knew exactly where I had left it, and as I concentrated on it and pictured where I had left it next to my bed in the loft, a most miraculous thing happened. My homework appeared in my hand! Shortly after this, it was decided that I too was in need of special training to develop my latent talents.
My first trip to New Lazlo was extremely long and arduous. I never would have made it if one of the cyber-knights from the cathedral hadn�t offered to escort me. Lazlo was like a whole new world to me. Hundreds of people everywhere I turned and I didn�t know any of them. Buildings towering all around me like the tallest trees back home. It was completely overwhelming. Thank goodness that my cousin Peter was there to take me in. I had anticipated joining the military like he had, but he actively discouraged me from this. Explaining that it was too hard for simple farm boys like us to go for a minimum of six years without seeing our families. He instead offered to get me an introduction with a mercenary company that he knew from his military days.
This led to my meeting with Angel�s troupe. Luckily for me, they were always looking for new psychic talent and quickly took me in. I quickly became a favorite within the squad for my hard work and strong code of morals. I especially hit it off well with Angel herself. In fact, we got along very, very well. I learned many things in my time with the squad, some wonderful, some horrible. The wonderful things included learning how to control and expand my own powers until I could do all sorts of fantastic things. I could teleport myself and objects great distances. I also had the power to sense my quarry at great distances and find things as well as being able to get readings from the history of objects and places. These talents together made me the absolutely ideal scout for Angel�s troupe and I almost always worked in this capacity when we were out on missions. Working as a scout afforded me several very horrible object lessons on how evil and vicious some DB�s could be.
I recall one instance when we were patrolling on the edge of Ixtix�s territory for the Lazlo military. We were working closely with several other small mercenary bands. I was in a very forward position when I had the misfortune to witness one of the other bands become careless. They approached too closely to a new hive and were spotted. They fought desperately but most of their weapons seemed to just bounce off the chitinous armor of the swarm that came for them. They were literally consumed within a matter of seconds.
I learned many other things from Angel: how to fight, how to track, how to survive in the wilderness. She even taught me how to drive her battlesuit and afforded me the opportunity to see and examine many other types of military hardware. There were many wonderful things about my time spent with Angel, but being the simple farm boy that I am, homesickness eventually got the better of me.
My homecoming was great. I was welcomed with open arms by everybody in the town and my new experience and training afforded me a new level of respect in the community. My scouting abilities were highly valuable to the town for they made me an unequaled hunter both of game and rogue DB�s. We also discovered that some of my ESP skills could be very useful to the local constable for solving minor crimes or even for settling old land disputes. In fact, I assist the constable so frequently now that even though I hold no official title, everyone in the town treats me as if I were some sort of sub-constable. I don�t really mind it. It�s good to know that you have an important place within your community. It�s good to be part of a family. Even if that family is comprised of 843 different people.isled )