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::The Emotion Anthology::

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Yam42

Yam42

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DELUSION BY YAM42
A gentle jungle breeze wafted through the mountains, carrying the sweet smells of nectar and flora up from the forests below. In the distance, a few clouds began to form over the lake, signaling the imminent arrival of one of Africa's trademark summer downpours. From somewhere down below, a burst of calls sounded, followed by a swarm of colorful birds scattering from the treetops. Something was hunting in the jungle.
But something was hunting up in the mountains, as well. Unlike whatever unseen predator stalked the emerald canopies, this creature walked on two legs. He strode up the rocky crags, his white clothing caked with dirt and drenched with sweat. Unlike whatever was below, this creature was not hunting another living being. He sought something much different, and to him, much more important. As he ascended ever onward up the path, his mind wandered back to the night in London.
***
“Sir, you must be mad to be going on an expedition alone!” a rotund, older gentleman exclaimed past the fringes of his white handlebar mustache.
“I am *not* insane!” the subject of his criticisms responded indignantly. “Understand this: what I am after is something that could make a man wealthy beyond his wildest dreams. If I take others with me, the expedition will become a bloodbath!”
“Jonathan, what makes you think you will even find this object for which you seek?" The interrogative came from a third, dark-haired man seated at the table.

14-Jun-2012 21:02:02 - Last edited on 14-Jun-2012 21:05:57 by Yam42

Yam42

Yam42

Posts: 1,134 Mithril Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
The man under scrutiny, Jonathan Williams, sighed as he surveyed the gathering. To his immediate left sat the older man, Sir Charles Drake, who–in Jonathan's opinion–was much too ancient and pompous to see the point in the expedition. Across the table was the man who had just posed the question, Alexander Baldwin, a Cambridge scholar. Jonathan knew that he would be impossible to convince. In the corner sat Beatrice, Baldwin's missus. She hadn't uttered a word this entire time. Jonathan's oldest friend, Robert Cramer, smoked a cigar as he leaned on the wall beside the portrait of Her Majesty, Queen Victoria.
Jonathan rubbed his eyes before resuming. “Trust me, Alexander, I will find it. It sits at the summit of a lone mountain in Africa. I'm certain I can convince some locals to aid my navigation.”
Alexander simply snorted and shook his head.
“And what do you think, Robert? Am I insane for attempting this feat?” Jonathan turned to question his friend, hoping that the man would be supportive.
“Frankly, my friend, I think you're a fool,” Robert responded as he allowed a few puffs of smoke to escape through his nostrils. He sighed as he saw Jonathan's countenance fall. “Listen, I simply don't want you getting injured, or worse. You and I both know this is pointless."
"But, gentlemen!” Jonathan exclaimed, slamming his fist on the table. “This is a chance for us to finally understand ourselves better. This book I am seeking is alleged to reveal the secrets of the universe!”
Sir Charles rose from his seat. “Sir, you certainly have a death wish!”
“Don't you fools understand?” Jonathan leaped to his feet with a yell, knocking over his cushioned mahogany chair. “This knowledge is enormous! It could change all we've learned from the great philosophers and scientists! Men like Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and Aquinas will all look like drooling idiots! Newton? A dolt. Copernicus? A fool. And this knowledge *will* be mine!”

14-Jun-2012 21:02:09 - Last edited on 14-Jun-2012 21:07:28 by Yam42

Yam42

Yam42

Posts: 1,134 Mithril Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
“And what, my dear Jonathan, do you plan on doing once you've acquired such knowledge?” Alexander sneered as he, too, rose from his seat and leaned across the table.
“I will publish a series of books that will overturn everything we've ever known!” Jonathan's eyes flared with a crazed passion. “After that, every university in the world will be begging me to join their faculty. I will make a fortune!”
“I agree with Sir Charles,” Alexander began, his eyes boring straight into Jonathan's soul. "You are mad.”
Jonathan strode to the foyer. “Gentlemen, I an through discussing this with you.” His voice was covered with sheets of ice. “I will not be hindered from finding this book. I shall see you in a year when I will triumphantly return as a hero of philosophy and science.” Before anyone could say another word, he gathered overcoat, hat, and cane. With a slight nod of acknowledgment, he stepped out the door.
***
Yes, they said he was insane; this hunter remembered as he ascended the mountain. He knew he would not fail. It had been eight long months of trekking across the continent before he finally located this rocky crag that jutted upward from the jungle. Jonathan sneered as he thought of the gloating that Alexander would surely do if he ever learned that it had taken nearly a year to find this place. He was certain, however, that this *must* be the place.
Jonathan struggled in his ascent as the path steepened to a vertical wall, yet he knew that nothing–not even the forces of the cosmos–could stop him from obtaining his quarry. As the hours ticked endlessly by, he climbed toward the heavens. Slowly, he became heavier. Slowly, it became harder for him to bear his weight.

14-Jun-2012 21:02:14 - Last edited on 14-Jun-2012 21:09:19 by Yam42

Yam42

Yam42

Posts: 1,134 Mithril Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
“What are you doing to me?!” Jonathan roared upward toward heaven. “You may try to hinder me, but I will not be stopped!”
Much like the determined Babylonians building their Tower, Jonathan continued ever upward. Unlike them, he did not intend to be denied, revealed as he continued to climb hour after hour. The rocky crags passed by, inch after painful inch. As Jonathan's ascent proceeded, it seemed like the mountain was growing *taller*. Fatigue continued to sting his every muscle as beads of sweat poured off his brow, yet he knew he would succeed.
Jonathan paused his climb to rest for a minute. As he clung to the rocks on the cliff, fatigue and the sudden realization of his own folly struck a fatal blow. As the dark jungle that had cluttered his mind cleared, he lost his grip.
As Jonathan Williams plummeted to his verdant jade coffin below, the patient predator lurking in the jungle claimed another victim.

14-Jun-2012 21:02:20 - Last edited on 14-Jun-2012 21:09:59 by Yam42

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