"Their" Planet

The Del Ghattians had inhabited the cozy, little planet for approximately three millenia (for no-one, no-one living anyway, could remember exactly how long - their communal memory only tracked back about three generations).

Del Ghashia was a happy planet. It was populated with happy people. And they had happy animals.

Everything was happy about Del Ghashia.

They even had a happy God. He was always depicted as smiling (for what kind of creator could create such a happy place if he too weren't first happy?).

Everything in Del Gashia always went along, and went along just "swimmingly".

But a rain cloud was about to form, and their creator knew it (for he was an excellent programmer).

The code was about to hit its bug. The hour was nigh.

Their creator was "perched" in his usual position. When he "saw" his creation, he did not do it with 'normal' eyes, but rather, the creator's mind could picture everything without the need for input.

Think of him as a purely "digital" being...he did not require analog input to "see" the creation (for even the future was a function of memory for him).

The creator was old. Ancient.

He enjoyed all his creations, but especially Del Ghashia. Del Ghashia made him smile.

It was so pure there. The essence of the master's "giggle box".

But the creator's smile was always a wry smile (for he had that repressed memory of that bit of code he threw into the mix for good measure).

Marvel Del Ghattio, who it was said hailed from the clan, perhaps, of the original Del Ghattians - Marvel was a leader among Del Ghattian leadership. He was the Shaman. He was the man for whom the heart's of great, great leaders, at the very sound of his voice, would slow almost to a stop.

They hung on his every word.

For he was from the special people of Del Ghattia (spelling here was endemic to the area of the planet from which one hailed - some called it Goshia, some Ghattia - but all knew it as home).

Marvel had begun to feel his smile fade a little (for they all had perpetual smiles here). Oh, it was hardly perceptable.

Even his goo-goo had not noticed (and she'd been with him since the very start).

In Del Ghattia, you see, they fall in love as infants. The bonding begins as soon as they leave their Mother's ra-ras (the feeding sphere, or spheres (depending on her configuration - "Ra" if she is of the single nature..."Ra-Ra" of the dual...we could go into infinite detail on this subject, for there were a choice few who were configured with multitudenous Ra's and they were known as the "Hoo's", or "Hoo-Law, laws").

Some believed that the perpetual happiness begins with the "bonding" period...that fourteen weeks that the babies spend coming and going from the feeding sphere. Quite spectacular, actually. Difficult to understand why they would ever leave (especially the females)...but eventually they yearn for what is on the other side of the sphere.

It was possible that this was the very nature of Marvel's new-found "wryness" in his perpetual smile.

He knew there was a time to break from the spheres. He knew there was a time for bonding with the goo-goo's. It was the nature of the Del Gha.

They yearned to seek other smiles.

The unfortunate problem was that after all this time, he felt deep down they would soon seek to look upon the face of that dastardly grin...that wryless smile of the other. He who delighted in the things that would make even a Del Goshen forget the Master's smile.

They would soon, he felt, turn from happiness.

And thus the nature of a crooked smile (smiling, "in spite" of himself).

Marvel knew.

(see the continuing saga in "Levella Joppanian")