Nine Tails

PROLOGUE

Prologue

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THE flaw in humans is that they are too short-sighted, figuratively and literally. They pay too much attention to the larger picture of it all, instead of the miniscule details. There are exceptions, I'm not denying that. But you have to admit that these exceptions are rare, like a thimble in a haystack. I do not like using the word needle, it sounds too cheap for my taste.

Of course, big things matter but so do the little ones. Several cells make up the little fingernail you're probably chewing on at the moment. That extra teaspoonful of sugar you added in your tea? Well, it had thousands of atoms in it. Consider yourself for being a glutton for swallowing so many.

Enough about atoms and nails and sugar and cells, let's get to the big picture now. The big picture being how evolution took place. From microscopic elements to dinosaurs to meteor showers or earthquakes or some aliens to dead dinosaurs to apes to humans, this blue ball has come a long way. In fact, it celebrated its fifth billionth birthday yesterday, but hush, don't let the scientists know that. It's entertaining to watch them figure things out - or theorise how things came about, to be precise. We've known it for ages. Perks of not being human, I suppose.

Well, like your pesky ancestors evolved into prettier creatures, mine did too. Except mine were pretty from the start.

The cunning of the foxes helped us evolve intellectually quicker than humans and the first of my kind soon began to touch upon things untouched, feel things unfelt, behold things unseen. We had many gifts, each as coveted as the next.

I'm sure your turn will come in a few centuries; monkeys are slow like that.

However, those gifts came at a heavy price. We lacked the two things you miserable apes had - the ability to be omnivorous and multiply like cattle. I don't mean to say that we are asexual - just that reproduction was this sacred ritual to us which we could perform only once in our life. We choose our partners wisely - it could take us a hundred years to be able to trust someone enough; and that's applied to comrades too.

We had to risk going out to hunt - especially when humans were so many, catching one was such a pain in the ass. Boy, am I glad that we evolved just in time - before our numbers dwindled to a mere hundred. Ah, the tantalising scent of a human liver will forever remain sweet to me. I don't mean to say that we no longer gorge on liver - we would, if we got the chance. But it's too dangerous and besides, not worth the trouble.

Now all we need to sustain is the human heart. We feed on human emotions and feelings, to put it literally. And like people have their favorite kind of food, so do we. Some like the heavy greed, some prefer an elegant vanity. My mother enjoyed a healthy sympathy, whereas my father feasted on tasteless envy.

And I, I relish conceit.

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