Imagination Fully Dilated: Science Fiction Part 17

"But . . . how did she escape?"

"Rilk, she couldn't launch. She had no sun-scales. She was with me in our den."

Again she rolled the juices from her gland and offered them to Rilk. This time he accepted.

"What does she say?" Fen asked.

Rilk purred. "She wants to go home, to the mountain of her fathers."

Out of the Fire

Elisabeth DeVos

PHOENIX WON'T RISE AGAIN!.

Seattle, Was.h.i.+ngton. At a press conference this morning, the Phoenix, a birdlike being about the size of a Harpy, to whom it bears no relation, shocked the world by announcing that it does not intend to rise again from its own ashes, as has been its custom for time immemorial.

After summoning reporters to its gla.s.s-roofed aviary overlooking Seattle's Pike Place Market, the Phoenix, who is world-renowned for its brilliant scarlet-and-gold plumage, its lovely singing voice, and its unique life cycle, entered on a wheeled perch pushed by an attendant.

Reading from a prepared statement, the Phoenix said, "One month from today is the 500th anniversary of my arising from the ashes of the last Phoenix. Although it has always been the custom of my kind to incinerate ourselves after a half millennium of existence, I have decided to break with that tradition. I intend to live my life until its natural end, at which time I have left instructions that my body is to be frozen in order to preserve its DNA. It is my hope that at some point in the future, science will enable my species to be resurrected in numbers greater than one."

In explaining its motive for the unprecedented announcement, the Phoenix said, "A lot has changed for me in the last few months. I realize that I've been flying on auto-pilot for most of my existence, and I'm just trying to take some control."

The Phoenix was presumably referring to its much-publicized apparent breakdown last January during a performance ofFirebird at New York's Metropolitan Opera House. After the incident, the Phoenix entered the exclusive Lotus Eaters Clinic for "nervous exhaustion, pyrophobia, and a growing dependency on pineapple juice," according to a press release at the time. The pineapple-juice revelation was particularly shocking to fans of the famously gentle avionid, who is admired by environmentalists for its low-impact diet of dewdrops.

When asked whether it felt it had an obligation to perpetuate its unique role in the collective unconscious, the Phoenix snapped, "The human race is just going to have to find another symbol of regeneration.

Maybe they could use one of those pop stars whose careers keep coming back from the dead."

According to tradition, once every five hundred years, the Phoenix builds a nest of aromatic branches, sings a haunting requiem for itself, then turns to the sun and spontaneously bursts into flames, which it fans with its own wings. The avionid is incinerated. In three days, however, a wormlike being arises from the ashes, and this larva eventually transforms into a new Phoenix. This ritual of regeneration is the Phoenix's sole means of reproduction, and at any given time, there is only one of its kind.

The current Phoenix was expected to incinerate itself on May 1st in Orlando, after the Florida tourist destination won out over sun-drenched rivals Honolulu, Cairo, and Ma.r.s.eilles. In an intense bidding war, the Supernatural Broadcast Corporation paid a record sum for rights to telecast the event. Rival network NBC was purportedly overlooked because the Phoenix had negative feelings about its peac.o.c.k logo, but this was denied at the time by Verity Spinner of Best Feather Forward, a public relations firm employed by the avionid. Griffin Records had contracted to release a CD of the Phoenix's last song, said to be among the most haunting ever sung.

The Phoenix's regeneration is considered of immense cultural and mytho-scientific interest. Among those with reserved seats at the planned Orlando event are heads of state, n.o.bel laureates, and Stheno the Gorgon, acting president of the College of Fantastic Creatures, who agreed to view the spectacle from a private box to prevent any risk of inadvertently petrifying the human dignitaries in attendance.Historically, the Phoenix's nestlike funeral pyre has been built in the branches of an oak, or on top of a palm tree, as was planned in Orlando, but fire codes complicated matters this time around, and the Orlando Fire Department has yet to issue a permit, despite a.s.surances from the event committee that the Phoenix's mystical powers protect the host tree from harm.

Obtaining the Phoenix's traditional nest materials, spikenard and myrrh, has added further complexity to the preparations. Spikenard, a native of the Himalayas, is on the endangered plant list and cannot be harvested. Myrrh, produced from a tree found in Africa and the Arabian peninsula, is a suspected carcinogen when burned and is currently banned from import to the United States. According to sources close to the Phoenix, it took almost two years of appeals before special permits were issued to procure the plant matter, and the avionid took delivery of the necessary spikenard and myrrh just yesterday.

From Chapter 2 ofOut of the Fire :My Story by Phoenix Dawn: I couldn't sleep the night before the press conference to announce that I wasn't going to regenerate.

Instead, I stayed up late distracting myself with television, which turned out to be a mistake. When an ad came on for a grilled chicken sandwich, I almost threw up. Despite months of therapy, my wings and claws still shook at the thought of fire. As I splashed in my fountain, trying to calm myself down, I desperately wanted some pineapple juice and regretted going cold turkey after getting home from Lotus Eaters.

The press conference itself wasn't as bad as I had expected. No one knew what to make of my decision, and at the time, even I didn't fully understand.

It was spring, and everywhere I flew, birds were pairing up, building nests. I knew that soon I would be building a nest, too, but not with the joyful expectation of welcoming a young Phoenix. I would never get to meet my "offspring." This sad thought-and the new life budding all around me-made the prospect of my fiery death unbearable.

Humans like to say they are utterly unique-just like all other humans. I, however, was just utterly unique.

And alone. I didn't believe I could do anything about being singular, so I clutched at whatwas in my control.

After the reporters left my aviary that day, I felt a huge burden had been lifted from my wings, but at the same time, I sensed I wasn't out of the fire yet.

PHOENIX UNDER FIRE FOR NO FIRE.

Yesterday's announcement by the Phoenix that it does not intend to rise again has sparked a heated controversy and has even divided the community of supernatural beings.

The Minotaur, reached at his labyrinthine home on Crete, said, "I'm unique in all the world, too, but I don't go around complaining about it. Instead, after embracing vegetarianism, I've chosen to devote myself to worthy causes, including a worldwide ban on bullfighting."

The Phoenix's spokesbeing, Verity Spinner, responded to this criticism by pointing out that the Minotaur, who is half man and half bull, is a major stockholder in ManBeast Technology, a start-up genetic engineering firm founded by billionaire centaur Tha.s.seus, which has the potential to produce other beings that are a cross between a human and an animal.The conservative College of Fantastic Creatures, in an official position paper, condemned the Phoenix's decision as "an embarra.s.sing abdication of responsibility." Echoing the Minotaur's sentiment, the CFC also pointed out that many of its members are unique and that some, like its Gorgon president, face serious obstacles to social acceptance, whereas the Phoenix is universally admired.

But other groups in the Mythic.u.m have been less judgmental of the avionid's desire. Cosmicus, leader of the Herd of Centaurs, commented, "To everything, there is a season. And a time for every purpose under Heaven."

The Zephyrs, a species of wind spirit, are planning a breeze-by in support of the Phoenix. Northwesterly, publicity director for the Zephyrs, said, "We've spent a lot of time with the Phoenix as it flies around the world. It's been a good friend to us, and donated its time to sing at a fundraising concert during our campaign for acceptance, 'we're here, we're air, get used to it.' Prior to the campaign, we were constantly being sued by insurance companies seeking reimburs.e.m.e.nt for wind-damage claims."

The Phoenix's decision has stirred up even greater contention in the human community. The Global Right-to-Life Coalition suggested they may go to court to force the Phoenix to rise again. Moore Kiddes, president of the organization, stated he believes the next Phoenix is inherent in the body of the current Phoenix, and therefore, the Phoenix's refusal to regenerate is equivalent to murder.

Planetwide Pro-Choice quickly countered the GRLC position, claiming that the Phoenix's decision embodied the principle for which PPC has always fought: reproductive freedom.

"Why should this creature be forced to adhere to some outmoded mythical morality that says it has to incinerate itself so that another being can arise?" PPC public policy director Roe Ann Wade asked. "The Phoenix has a right to control over its own body."

Support came also from an unlikely source, the Human Racists, an organization devoted to the "eradication of unnatural beings from the face of the Earth." The Racists, members of which are serving time for unicorn dehornings, among other hate crimes, posted an opinion on their web site, which said in part, "We wholeheartedly applaud the decision of this foul fowl to rid the world of itsself for all eternity."

On a more practical front, both the City of Orlando and the Supernatural Broadcast Corporation, which paid record sums to host and telecast the rare event, respectively, are said to be in discussion with lawyers representing the avionid.

The Phoenix, reached for comment through a spokesbeing, said that it appreciates the support it has received, and hopes that all beings, both supernatural and natural, will respect its decision.

From Chapter 4 ofOut of the Fire: My Story by Phoenix Dawn: I was blown aback when the College of Fantastic Creatures condemned me for deciding not to regenerate. We supernaturals are a traditional bunch, for the most part, so maybe I should have expected it. Still, it hurt. I felt even more isolated, if that was possible.

The problem with being unique is that there's no one who can truly relate to what you're going through.

My dear friend Cyclops Polyphemus tried, but I think even he was bewildered by my decision.

All I knew then was that I couldn't go through with it. As the preparations for my regeneration had grown more intensive, so had my fear of fire. It reached the point where unlit candles gave me panic attacks.The network beings and event folks kept saying, "It's just nerves; you'll do fine." They'd offer me pineapple juice, even though they knew I was supposed to be on the wagon.

Then, the spikenard and myrrh arrived. We had flown through all sorts of hoops to get it. Alone in my aviary that evening, I opened the crates to examine their contents. The fragrance of the plants was intoxicating. Forgetting my pyrophobia for the first time in months, I took a branch into my housekeeper's kitchenette and lit it on the stove. Inhaling the smoke, I felt euphoric. This made sense: mytho-scientists had long theorized that the nest materials provided a high that would numb me to the pain of being burned alive.

As I continued to greedily sniff the smoldering branch, a feeling tore through my drug-induced elation. A feeling of terror so profound that in five hundred years I have never experienced its like. I tossed the spikenard onto the floor, beating it with my wings to extinguish it, not caring if I burnt my feathers.

When I'd calmed down, I phoned Verity and said, "Call a press conference for the morning. I've got an announcement to make."

BATTLE OVER PHOENIX COLD-FREEZE HEATS UP.

Mt. Olympus, Greece. The Global Right-to-Life Coalition, an organization which supports the right to life of unborn beings, filed a motion today with the Interdimensional Court seeking to force the Phoenix to perform its ritual of regeneration. The motion states, in part, that "while birth among humans is typically defined to mean live birth, the notion is logically extended to include hatching, springing from a cleaved forehead or spilled blood, growing from a severed body part, as well as arising from ashes. The intentions of the current Phoenix in regard to the death and frozen storage of its body effectively deny life to the next Phoenix."

Interdimensional legal experts are speaking out about the case, which is universally regarded as a landmark.

Oedipus Smith, senior partner of the law firm Smith, Sanders and Sphinx, explained the predicament the Court faces. "Interdimensional law holds that it is murder to terminate the natural existence of any being.

So the question becomes, what is the natural existence of a Phoenix, and when does that existence begin? If the Court finds that the existence of a Phoenix does not begin until it arises from the ashes, then the GRLC is going to lose this one. If the Court, however, determines that due to the regenerative nature of the Phoenix, the next one is inherent in the current avionid, then it may grant the motion for an emergency injunction."

Two groups, Planetwide Pro-Choice, whose mission is to further the cause of reproductive freedom, and the Mythic.u.m Liberties Union, a controversial legal advocacy organization, have vowed to join forces with the Phoenix in defense of its wishes.

Mythic.u.m Liberties Union chief counsel the Hydra said, "What is at issue is a fundamental question affecting all immortal and quasi-immortal beings: Can we be forced to continue on for all eternity? Or do we have a right to end our existence?"

The Hydra has a unique perspective on the issue of regeneration. During the Greek empire, it suffered a multiple decapitation by fire at the hands of Hercules, the so-called "monster slayer," whose rightful place in history-either hero or villain-has been the subject of much emotional discussion. After Hercules's attack, the Hydra's one immortal head was buried under a rock, where it lay unable to regenerate itself until the nineteenth century when the head was unearthed by an archaeological expedition. The regenerated Hydra served almost a century of jail time for killing the team that had liberated it, but sinceits release has become a respected advocate for the rights of fantastic beings, and is widely regarded as one of the best sets of legal minds working today.

In recognition of the time-critical nature of the case, the Court has set a hearing for April 20th, when it will respond to the motion and any counter-motions filed by the Phoenix or other parties.

The Interdimensional Court has previously heard such high-profile cases as its first major decision,St.

George v. Dragon , and more recently,College of Fantastic Creatures v. Republic of Greece , in which reparations were awarded for the relentless persecution and destruction of "supers," as they are commonly known, by the ancient Greeks. During the case, which was the first of the Court's hearings to be broadcast by satellite, Grecian lawyers attempted to portray the supers as the aggressors, focusing on the many sacrificed virgins who had been deprived of the enjoyment of their s.e.xuality and the opportunity to procreate, along with their lives. At one memorable point, the Minotaur, under intense cross-examination, bellowed out an apology for his past culinary practices. Despite this, the voice-only testimony of Stheno the Gorgon, who spoke heartwrenchingly about the trauma of watching Perseus destroy her mortal sister Medusa, sealed the case for the CFC.

The Court was established five hundred years ago, after fantastic beings that had survived the Grecian Purges, then had been forced into hiding to avoid the exterminators of the Middle Ages, declared war on humankind. Following one hundred years of hostilities, the Interdimensional Treaty was signed at the banks of the River Styx. It established interdimensional law and the Court to administer it.

Partial transcript fromTimely Topics with Fae Moss-Phayce: Fae: We're back with the Phoenix, who one week ago today caused an interdimensional uproar by announcing that it didn't intend to rise again. Phoenix, before the break, you said accusations that you're trying to commit suicide or genocide are unfair.

Phoenix: Well, it seems to me that burning yourself alive is a lot more suicidal than simply trying to live out your life to its natural end.

Fae: But what about the future of the Phoenix?

Phoenix: I don't know, but I don't think I should have to immolate myself just so that everybody else has some sort of guarantee.

Fae: So it's okay with you if you're the last of your kind?

Phoenix: Of course not! I've already said that I hope there will be more Phoenixes. There's nothing I'd like more than to meet another of my species.

Fae: There are rumors that you're trying to have yourself cloned.

Phoenix: That's ridiculous. Cloning is in its infancy, and it requires not just DNA, but an egg from the species, which of course doesn't exist in my case.

Fae: This is obviously an emotionally charged issue. You're mythologized by cultures throughout the world for your ability to rise from your own ashes, and now you've rejected the very quality that has set you apart. What is your answer, then, to those in the interdimensional community who say you're being selfish and future Phoenixes will pay the price?

Phoenix: You humans have a whole popular psychology that advocates breaking cycles, takingresponsibility, and making choices. Quite frankly, I think it's hypocritical that I'm coming under attack for doing just that.

Fae: Surely, you have to realize that your very nature, your uniqueness, puts you in a separate category and that the same standards aren't going to apply?

Phoenix: Why shouldn't they?

Fae: Now we're into one of the most argued issues of our world. Regardless of whether it's fair or not, various groups are going to court to try and force you to regenerate. In fact, we just had word that the Supernatural Conservancy has also filed a motion.

Phoenix: So my lawyers tell me. I think the Conservancy is misguided. If the human race wanted to extinct itself-and speaking as a being who's observed you for a very long time, it often looks like that's exactly what humanity wants-but if you wanted that, I don't think you'd appreciate a bunch of us supers getting together and trying to stop you.

Fae: Perhaps not. We're just about out of time. I want to thank you for joining us tonight.

Phoenix: Thanks for having me.

Fae: The much-antic.i.p.atedSports Ill.u.s.trated annual water nymph issue hits newsstands tomorrow. As expected, the Crossdimensional Organization for Women is calling for a boycott of the magazine as demeaning to all female ent.i.ties. What do the models have to say? Cover-nymph Galatea joins us when we come back.

Recent Developments: *Interdimensional Court orders Phoenix to undergo psychiatric evaluation. (4/12/-) *Griffin Records suspends plans to release Phoenix's Requiem.

(4/13/-).

*Phoenix found to be sound of mind. (4/16/-) *SBC and City of Orlando sue Phoenix for foregoing fire. (4/17/-) *Special Prosecutor considers charging Phoenix with conspiracyto commit genocide. (4/18/-) From Chapter 7 ofOut of the Fire: My Story by Phoenix Dawn: TheTimely Topics interview was Verity Spinner's idea. She thought that if I went on TV, told my side in being, that it might sway public opinion. But I was too defensive and too scared to make a good case for myself. If anything, I lost support after the segment aired, even though Verity made the rounds trying to do damage control.

In the time between that interview and the hearing, it felt like the whole world was against me. Well, maybe not everyone: my friends at the Metropolitan Opera sent me a gorgeous bouquet of birds of paradise (my favorite!) and a note saying that I would always be irreplaceable. That meant a lot.But then there were the thousands of messages from complete strangers: "My family planned our trip to Destiny World for next month so we could watch your regeneration. Now what am I supposed to tell my kids?" And: "Burn, you big chicken!" I wanted to reply, "Get a life!" but I didn't. There were too many of them, and the pressure was pus.h.i.+ng me toward the edge.

A week before the court hearing, I had www.mysticfoods.com deliver some pineapple juice. I couldn't help it. I needed something to get me through the legal nightmare. My old friend Cy Poly called to say he'd been subpoenaed; poor thing was crying his eye out over being forced to testify against me. And then there were the updates from Hydra. The lawyer was doing mock trials with itself, having a different head take the part of each judge and the various attorneys, and its a.s.sorted minds couldn't agree on whether our prospects were good or not.

I binged on pineapple juice right up until I boarded the plane to Greece for what I could only think of as my trial. During the overnight journey, I fell asleep and dreamt of being sacrificed to a Hawaiian volcano for having sucked the last golden drops of life out of the pineapple fields. As the fiery lava sucked me down into a burning vortex, I awoke screeching-and clutched for another juice.

COURT REQUIRES RITUAL, BUT PHOENIX FLAP NOT OVER YET.

Mt. Olympus, Greece. In a close 5-4 vote, the Interdimensional Court granted an emergency injunction against the Phoenix today, ordering the legendary avionid to regenerate on its 500th birthday, which is a week from Sat.u.r.day. While the Court found that due to the mystical nature of the Phoenix's regeneration, it does not have the practical means to enforce its order, the injunction does subject the Phoenix to immediate arrest and imprisonment should it fail to rise again.

The Phoenix, who had testified on its own behalf, returned to its home city of Seattle before the decision was announced. Its publicist, Verity Spinner, said it was deeply distressed by the Court's ruling.

MLU chief counsel the Hydra, who argued in defense of the Phoenix, commented, "The Court has lost sight of the bigger picture. The Phoenix is a symbol of hope and renewal; if it is compelled by court order to burn to death, it will come to symbolize tragedy. The Phoenix myth will be destroyed along with the Phoenix itself."

Special Prosecutor Given Powers, who has already stated that he will bring criminal charges of genocide against the Phoenix if it does not regenerate, applauded the decision, but acknowledged that the outcome is in the avionid's claws.

"We would rather see the Phoenix do the right thing, but if it doesn't, we'll prosecute to the fullest extent of the law."

The penalty for genocide under interdimensional law is existence-long imprisonment. It is not known how long the Phoenix will live should it not incinerate itself upon its 500th birthday.

Excerpt from the Interdimensional Court ruling inGRLC et al. v. The Phoenix , penned for the majority by Chief Justice Tyranno the Dragon: Based on testimony given by Cyclops Polyphemus and others who have known the Phoenix for more than one incarnation, it is the belief of this Court that each Phoenix is, in fact, a unique individual. The Interdimensional Const.i.tution holds that all beings existent are granted certain inalienable rights, and so we come to the question of when the existence of a specific Phoenix begins. It is currently understood that a new Phoenix will arise only from the incinerated body of its predecessor, and will first appear as alarge worm three days after that incineration. It thus seems that a new Phoenix only becomes existent some time after the voluntary self-destruction of its parent. Therefore, forcing the Phoenix to regenerate on the basis of the "right to life" of its offspring would be equivalent to forcing an act of conception upon a human being for the same reason. The motion for an emergency injunction brought by the Global Right-to-Life Coalition is thus denied for lack of legal merit.

Also before the Court is the question broached by co-plaintiff The Supernatural Conservancy of whether the Phoenix, by refusing to regenerate, is in effect extincting its species. While there is no clear precedent in this matter, it is the very uniqueness of the Phoenix that creates the most compelling argument against defense counsel's a.s.sertion that the avionid is ent.i.tled to end its life as it chooses. In opting not to incinerate itself, the Phoenix effectively prevents any other beings of its like from ever existing, and in so doing, irreparably harms the interdimensional world, which would surely be diminished by the loss of such a universally admired and singular species.

Therefore, it is the ruling of this Court that the cause brought by The Supernatural Conservancy is upheld, and that the Phoenix is hereby ordered to regenerate according to the mystical customs of its predecessors, which are outlined below.

From Chapter 11 ofOut of the Fire: My Story by Phoenix Dawn: After the Court's decision, I was caught between a fire and a hot place. What was the point of a.s.serting my rights to existence, liberty, and happiness, if the day I did so, the latter two were taken away?

I went into seclusion. My publicity team kept telling the world that I was perching by my decision to live out my life and to donate my frozen body to mytho-scientific research upon my death. Hydra and the other lawyers kept working to overturn the ruling. Meanwhile, I guzzled "golden elixir," as I'd come to call pineapple juice, and obsessed about fire. My therapist had been telling me for months that the fire wasn't my real fear, but I didn't believe her. She wasn't the one who was supposed to burn herself alive.

Three days before my scheduled regeneration, I woke to the sound of sirens (mechanical ones, not the supernatural songstresses). I'd pa.s.sed out in a pile of prunings that Chauncey, my housekeeper, had taken from the ornamental cherry trees in my aviary. In my hungover confusion, I thought I was in the nest and the sirens were because I was on fire. Screeching like a common seagull, I zoomed across the aviary and dove headfirst into my fountain. Chauncey heard me and came running in his bathrobe. I was beating my wings, splas.h.i.+ng water everywhere, trying to extinguish myself.

Chauncey helped me back to my favorite perch and turned on a heat lamp to dry me off. I felt embarra.s.sed, miserable, and hopeless. Even pineapple juice had lost its appeal. All I could think was: it doesn't matter what I do, I'm doomed. An almost unbearable sense of grief and despair welled up inside of me.

And so it was that I came beak-to-beak with the feelings that I'd been trying to ignore for decades.

Despite my fame, I didn't view myself as an enduring symbol of the power to rise from the ashes and recreate oneself; I viewed myself as a symbol of loneliness and futility. Of being trapped in an endless cycle. And of being destined to pa.s.s that on from one regeneration to the next.

But I'd learned in therapy that cycles keep repeating themselves until you make a conscious decision to change-and that's exactly what I'd done. Maybe it was the Phoenix fate to be all alone, but I didn't have to set myself on fire just because that's what my parent, and its parent, and all the Phoenixes before it, did. We're not lemmings, after all.I didn't even understand how all those Phoenixes could go through with the incineration. I imagined that they must have been far braver beings than me. Regardless of whether I was a coward, I knew that I couldn't do it, that I would rather live out my days in prison than destroy myself simply because of some "should" whose origin would probably remain forever shrouded in mystery. Peace filled my being. And an unshakeable resolve. I would take control of my destiny the only way that I could and accept the consequences.