$Marvellous Hairy - a novel in five fractals - - MarvellousHairy 06$

MarvellousHairy 06

09/10/09 • 27 min

Marvellous Hairy - a novel in five fractals -

In Episode Six (Part II – The Human Ideal – chapters six to nine), we witness two separate cab rides — one in which Rob is lectured by the cabbie on the importance of love, and another in which we can see love beginning between Nick and Erma. Rob finally arrives at his destination, St. Dymphna’s Hospital, where Dr. Tundra works, and where Rob plays a special prank on the maniac psych doc/chemical Magellan. In chapter nine, we return to Nick’s journal, and his thoughts on the day, writing, and new-found love.

Another excerpt from Nick’s journal (chapter nine):

"A wise man once wrote: “Love looks not with the eyes but with the mind.” And thank the stars that it be so, for I could see that her eyes saw not my pudgy middle, but my middle eye, the flashing knowledge that I have of the subconscious world and true art. I saw, it as though by lightning. Strobes and flickers of a shape that lashes out at me with tendrils of love and pain — a deep sea creature with arms both toxic and tender.

A great day, and even better for all that it was a lizard-day, normally so mundane and about my basic needs. But those have been met. Seedy paid the full price, the agreed price, and the physiology lab paid more than they agreed, and now there is time to do nothing but write. Oh, that and visit the glass penis for my next spinal injection."

Another excerpt from Nick’s journal (chapter nine):

Previous Episode

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Part Two - The Human IdealIn Episode Five (chapters four and five), Rob and Nick meet Seedy and Spider for an “exchange”, and then go to the Hated University to meet their friend Erma. The three old friends go to dinner at a place by the harbour called the Itchy Crab, where Nick regales them with tales of what his inner monkey can accomplish, and he and Erma fall in love. In chapter five, we see more of the bit players Blossom, Hippolyta, Mrs. Moth and Starveling, as they discuss what is to be done about the psychopathic Spider.

An excerpt from chapter four:

Nick was bugging me. He was making me feel stupid. Most of the time I think of him as a creative madman — sometimes as a visionary. I don’t really know any other visionaries, so I’m not sure what they’re supposed to be like, but I didn’t think so strange. Nick let his laugh turn into a kind of bark. A chattering kind of yap, and the next thing I knew he was standing on top of the table, slapping his chest like a gorilla and making these weird snorting, barking, laughing sounds. He was putting it on, of course, but it was odd — odd enough to bring the owner of the Itchy Crab over, who asked him to stop it. (Funny, you’d think someone who could name their seafood restaurant the Itchy Crab would have a sense of humor.)

Nick pretended to groom the owner’s hairpiece, and then sat down before the man got really angry. Erma was rocking in her chair, she was laughing so hard.

Next Episode

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Episode Seven — Part Three (chapters one to three): This episode is all about intimate conversations: a megalomaniac talks with his ghost, and we learn what’s going to happen to Nick. The monkey-man discovers the lure of the banana, and so does Helena, VP, Marketing, Gargantuan Enterprises. And in chapter three, the VP learns that her boss, the Megalomaniac and CEO of Gargantuan Enterprises (not his actual title) might be crazy and yes, is planning to launch a weather-controlling satellite.

An excerpt from chapter two. Nick has run into Helena at the Gargantuan Enterprises building, and they have a coffee together:

They managed to get the same table where Helena and I had sat before, and talked for a while about the weather. Midway through his coffee, Nick got up and went back to the counter where he bought a banana. The thought of it had been haunting him since he had ordered his cappuccino.

“So what study are you participating in?”

“Hmm. Not allowed to talk about it. There’s a helmet involved and everything,” Nick said, and then pointed to his banana. “Would you like to taste this? It’s incredible. It tastes like no other banana I’ve ever had in my life, I mean —” he took another bite, and chewed, his eyes rolling back into his head with pleasure. “I mean, this is fucking fabulous,” Nick exclaimed. “Sorry,” he smiled, a winning grin, “I didn’t mean to hog it all. Here, have a bite.”

He offered the banana to Helena, and she was extremely conscious of his hand holding it as her lips surrounded the pale flesh of the fruit. Her face flushed, and she took a bite, self-consciously. It tasted like a banana, but the accompanying rush of blood to her face, and other regions, gave it an extra zest.

“Mmm,” she said.

“Yeah!” Nick finished the fruit, and got up to buy another one.