My Library

I found so important moments before. I had the strong percept that it would come again, but never where it would control wholly what I thought or did. With this flash of knowing, another emotion washed through me— intense compassion for those trapped in the undulating mass, so focused and intent on seeking sexual satisfaction they were unaware of any other existence—anger at a system that could so inhibit, repress, and distort as to create the situation in front of me. Were these the castoffs of the human process, to remain so throughout eternity? I moved forward slowly and stopped close to the edge of the pile. The moving bodies were male and female, of all shapes and sizes, glistening with wetness. A bare hairy leg thrust momentarily from the pile, and I grabbed it by the foot and pulled.… The leg pushed out blindly, trying to move more deeply back into the pulsating mass. I pulled harder, trying to keep my grip on the sweat-covered ankle. Slowly, I was able to pull the rest of the body clear of the pile. It was a man, small in stature, dark-haired, fine-featured, of indeterminate age. He lay there on his belly, his arms and legs moving crablike, attempting to pull himself back into the pile, totally oblivious to the fact that I was holding on to his foot and preventing him from doing so. I easily held him in place, bent over, and shouted in his ear, (Hey, I want to talk to you. Hold still for a moment!) There was not the slightest indication that he heard me. His face was fixed, a gleam of anticipation spread across it. He kept trying to move back and I held him in place, wondering what to do next. I tried another approach. (It’s the cops, the police, they’re raiding the joint! Gotta get out!) I waited for some response, but there was none. I couldn’t provide him with the radiation that would get his attention. I released his foot, and he crawled back into the mass and was swallowed up in the movement. I turned away sadly and stretched for my physical ident, and returned without incident. From that point on, I had a new technique to control any surfacing