You search the ground and find a small granite stone about the size of your fist. You pick it up and hold it in your right hand. From where should you throw it? It would be best if you threw it from the side of the group of statues. You walk towards the lefthand side of the group. There are five rows with ten statues each. Walking around the left side, you stop at the third row. You crouch down. You pick out one of the statues. You want one enough you can hit it, but far enough away it would be dificult for it to throw a spear immediately and accurately. You choose one in the second row, the fifth from the end closest to you. You begin to question whether you should do this. Maybe this is a reckless decision that will cause you to lose your life. No, this is the only option. You had already decided that under the circumstances, this was the best option. You're prepared to make a break for it, if need be. You're kneeling with your right knee on the ground. You lift the rock in your right hand, to your shoulder. You focus on the back of the statue you're aiming at. Alright, this is it. You swing your arm back, clench you're teeth, and throw overhand with all of your strength. You look up and catch the end of its trajectory, and it just happens to hit the shoulder of the statue you were aiming at. Then you watch the statue swing around and face you. Then in a rapid but mechanical fashion, it hoists up its spear and looks like it's about to throw it. You drop to the ground. You go light-headed with fear. You hear a woosh and a thunk. You look up and see the statue closest to you with a spear embedded in its chest. The statue had been aiming at you but accidently hit the other statue.

You can't believe your luck. Then the statue that was hit swings around and faces the one that threw the spear. In a rapid mechanical fasion, it hoists up its spear and looks like it's about to throw. Then with the other spear still in its chest, with sudden lightning fluidity, it hurls its spear. The spear sails through the air and embeds itself in the chest of the statue that threw the first spear. You watch in amazement as the first statue wrenches the spear from its bloodless chest and hoists it up as if to throw it. The first statue throws the spear at the second statue to whom it originally belonged. Just as the spear would have reached its target, the second statue, about one minute after it had originally been hit, sways and falls to the ground like a mighty tree being felled. It lands with a heavy thud right near where you're crouching down. The spear, which barely misses it, sails past where it was, and impacts a third statue that was standing behind it. The third statue, with the spear in it's chest, then lifts up its own spear and hurls it towards the first statue, the cause of the grievance. Just as the spear reached its destination, the first statue happened to finally sway and fall at that instant, which caused the spear to hit a fourth statue. The fourth statue then threw its spear at the third statue that had accidentally hit it. As the spear was about to hit the third statue, the third statue fell to the ground, in a delayed response to its wound, leaving the spear to hit a fifth statue. The fifth statue then threw its spear at the fourth statue, which fell in time to allow the spear to instead hit a sixth statue. There was no sign of anger or emotion in any of the statues. Their reactions seemed automatic and mechanical. Their faces are immobile and unchanging. They never twich or exhibit any body language or facial expressions.

You watch in astonishment as the statues continue "killing" each other. You lose count of how many have been felled and it seems to go on forever. You watched entranced for almost an hour, every so often taking your eyes off the melee to survey the piles of impaled ivory statues littering the ground. It was revenge without the slightest animosity or even the remotest interest. The continued repetition of the error in target becomes unbelievable. The universal incompetence is almost superhuman. They're incapable of learning. You watch the endless bloodless fratricidal carnage until you become bored with it. Your mind wanders. Whoever put these statues here was apparently unaware of a design flaw. Who did put them here? What were they supposed to protect? Eventually you notice among the piles of lifeless statues, from the original fifty, there are only four upright. The one with a spear in it throws a spear into another. That one throws a spear towards the first one, which falls on cue, and hits a third one. The third one throws a spear throws towards the second one, which falls, and the spear sails past it. However, the fourth statue was strategically positioned, and the spear sails past it also. The third statue then collapses. leaving one statue standing. The first one hit the second one. The second one missed the first one, hitting the third one. The third one missed both the second and fourth one, leaving the fourth one without a spear in it. It's about 40 feet from you. You stand up and start walking past the fallen statues. The remaining statue throws its spear at you but it falls short and lands at your feet. You look at the remaining statue all alone, like a single tree remaining in a felled forest. You're curious about what these statues are and what this is about. You wish it was possible to extract an answer from the remaining statue but these appear to be brainless creatures.

Then you think, why assume these are brainless creatures? Before you assumed that they were normal statues which turned out to be incorrect. The main reason you think they are mindless is because they haven't spoken. Then again, you yourself have not yet spoken. Maybe if you were to speak, it would respond. If it's possible to get information from it, you would want to do so. Maybe you should hail it. You call out, "...Hello!..." Your voice, is juxaposed against the silence, but it does not respond. Maybe if you walked up and addressed it, it would respond. You obviously hesitate to walk up to it. Do you walk up to it or keep going?

Geocities

Hosted by www.Geocities.ws