Back to The Aliens of the Flaming Red Sun
Bad News Continues[]
Yellow Tentacles and his mother couldn’t understand why the others had needed to leave so urgently but all four continued eating while yet more Terran music was played and finally ended. Would they at last play anything less sensitive? Both Purple and Blue Tentacles hoped for a comforting religious message when a Sun Priest appeared on the television screen but it was not to be. The Sun Priest worked for Patricians and started preaching about how their Sun God gave out divine retribution to wrongdoers. Purple hurried Blue Tentacles out again before the Priest had time to say much about retribution for the miscreant who had said so many bad things to the Terrans.
“Our Lord the Sun isn’t punishing us,” Purple tried to be encouraging as he said that, “the Sun is shining brightly onto us and has blessed us! See, our enemies think we are dead and won’t pursue us further. Now we can start our new lives easily. Let’s give thanks to Our Lord the Sun for this good favour.” [1]
Blue Tentacles started the formal ritual to give thanks to His Lord the Sun but was interrupted when Yellow Tentacles and his mother came out wanting to know why they’d left yet again, Silver Grey knew that eating place was more than Purple could easily afford and something must be seriously wrong to make them leave. Neither Purple nor Blue could give any good answer and a suspicion that had been forming in Silver Grey’s mind strengthened.
“Yellow Tentacles, go back and collect the food we haven’t eaten.” she asked her son, then when Yellow was out of the way she questioned Blue Tentacles.
“Are you Scarlet Tentacles?” Silver Grey demanded to know.
“No, I’m Blue Tentacles!”
“Were you ever Scarlet Tentacles?”
”Yes I was Scarlet Tentacles!” Blue blurted out, “I suppose you and Yellow Tentacles hate me now that you know!”
“I’ve noticed Blue Tentacles using prison slang, I assumed he must have picked that up from servants as Patricians hardly ever go to prison” Silver Grey continued, “and this ship stopped at a port not too far from where that submarine was found.”
At that point Yellow Tentacles came out with the uneaten food and wanted to know why his friend was crying.
“Go back and make sure you haven’t left anything, you know we’re poor and can’t afford to waste good food.” Silver Grey admonished her son.
“I haven’t left any.” Yellow complained.
“Go back and make sure.” his mother insisted.
Then when her son was out of the way she warned the others not to tell him as he couldn’t always keep a secret. Yellow came out yet again and insisted there was no food left over.
“Go and check how your father is.” his mother told him this time.
“Every Centaurian hates me because I said horrible things to the Terrans” Blue complained after Yellow had left, “and I hate myself because I said horrible things and I hate myself because I’m horrible.”
Purple tried to point out how remorseful the young Centaurian was and how far he’d changed. Then to Blue Tentacles Purple said,
“Remember what the wonderful psychologist told you.”
"May Our Lord the Sun grant me strength in my tentacles to change the things that I can change,
Serenity throughout my body to accept the things that I cannot change,
And in my mind wisdom to know the difference.”
Blue Tentacles was crying and couldn’t manage serenity as he recited this time, Purple advised young Blue,
“Listen, you can’t change what you did to the Terrans but you can change what type of Centaurian you are now. You see to it that you be a good foster son to Silver Grey Tentacles and a good friend to Yellow Tentacles and you’ll feel much better about yourself.”
Blue Tentacles promised that he would be good with his new family and began to feel a bit better but Silver Grey wasn’t sure what to make of the youngster who had done that terrible thing that all on the planet knew.
Footnotes
- ↑ Human believers all too often see the hand of their God if they’re monotheists, the hands of one or more of their gods and goddesses if they’re polytheists. Meanwhile more skeptical people just see things happening at random. In a similar way the Centaurians see the tentacles of their Sun God while there is no reason to see any supernatural influence. The Sun Priest believes the party are dead and talks about divine retribution while Purple knows they’re alive and believes the sun is blessing them.