Mythologizing my Khan ST1 results because words don’t do it justice…
: )
Father, why do stars fall like that?
This was not the whimsical why-game of a 7 year old. His eyes burned with a desire to know.
“When a man has great ambitions and reaches them, he becomes a star. And so, shooting stars are the travels of great men.”
“Wow, really? Men become stars!?”
“Aye. The sky is littered with proof that men have done… whatever it is you want to do.”
“So what happens to all the men who don’t achieve their dreams?”
“I thought perhaps, I would wait… until you’re older.”
“For what!? I can understand it!”
“Aye, you can.”
“Really?!”
“Do you remember the festival two summers ago when we picked a new Khan? Do you remember what happened?”
“YES! It was the best day EVER. There were sweet fluffs and square loafs and rabbit chasing and bow pulling and fireworks and -”
“Focus, Malik. Do you remember what happened after?”
“Ah well you had so much honeymilk you couldn’t even walk straight and momma had to carry you back to the bed and we couldn’t even wake you up with a feather and -”
“…And then?”
U*hm, well, I asked Millie to dance with me under the Meteor Shower but she - the… meteor shower?! That’s what happens? The meteor shower!?"
“Yes, Malik, yes. When a man doesn’t realize his dreams, his spirit hardens, turns to rock, and falls. Maybe it crashes, maybe it doesn’t. That’s the true nature of a meteor.”
“Most of the time, his spirit completely burns up before he reaches the ground, and is recycled by the flames before it makes impact. So he gets another opportunity, to try again.”
“But sometimes, his spirit was so big that even the flames can’t recycle it. If this happens, and it hits the ground, his life and dreams are over very soon.”
“Most meteors are… small. The dreams do not have enough significance. Or haven’t matured and gathered mass for long enough. Or, it’s a dream that the world isn’t meant to see happen.”
But some meteors are… larger. This very valley we live in, Malik. Look around. Do these walls look natural to you? We are living in the biggest meteor crater the tribe has ever known. This must have been the failure of a very, very great man."
“Babba are my dreams in the sky as meteors right now!?”
“Yes… it’s possible. It depends on whether or not you’ve started dreaming them. Let’s hope so, though.”
"But Babba why did a meteor shower that big come on the night of Ascension? Was it every man’s destiny to become Khan?"
“No, of course not, but it was many men’s dream to try. Why that night? Every man has the opportunity, yes? But only a few tried. Those who stood silent had an opportunity to realize a dream, and failed, so their spirit was hardened and sent for judgement.”
“We each have a responsibility, son. The bigger the destiny, the bigger the responsibility.”
“They say if Genghis Khan hadn’t lived up to his destiny, the meteor impact would have been so great it would have ended all life instantly. Perhaps even split the planet apart.”
“Father! Then we must stop dreaming immediately!”
“Ah… The fastest way to doom us all, Malik. You can make this world brighter, my boy, or bury it in ash. But you can’t sit by and do nothing.”
The boy went to sleep that night, and didn’t dream. But when he woke up, something had changed.
