Learning to crawl...a sci-fi short story.

"Hello my brother...what brings you up here? Is not your allowance exceeded for this pulse period?"

"Yes my brother...but i come to talk to you. I hope the guards don't spy me out..."

"Inspite of times that pass, i am sure you have something stimulating to talk about...shall we exit through the north east gangway?"

"Perfect...the prarie wind is strong at this time of the pulses i reckon...stealth is of essence brother...we should not be hasty!"

And off they swooped into the air...the two men from PhoenixII, of the third galactic ring. PhoenixII was their home...they were born there...they took their first flaps there...at their prime, they ruled the skies...but that was a long time ago...

Phoenix II is in war...has been for a long time now...their orange skies are now a murky gray...the swell currents which used to be fresh and invigorating was now damp and garbled...but of course, war has always had its penalties.

The two friends were now high up in the stratocurrent...where the chances of them being overheard and spied upon was little...one cannot be too careful during such hard times.

"Tell me my brother...what is it that you want to talk about? I hope it does not have much to do with the proponents of war or their thoughts. I have had enough of that propaganda to last a thousand pulses!"

"You besmirch my standing with such thoughts my brother...certainly, you know me better! But i cannot but help observe the note of sarcasm in your voice, you jest brother...a little seriously...but jest you do!"

"Keen observation..and quite right too. I am very interested in hearing this...here?"

"No...not here...we still got a while...follow me!"

And off they swooped...into a nosedive...their wings close by their sides, sharp body features cleaving the thickening air until they felt warm...they were the highest among the race of aerial beings...The Narulars was their given name...also known as the silent assassins. Over the millennia, they trained and developed their art of flying to such an extent that few can match them now in their dexterity and guile up in the air. They were valuable additions to any army...any imperial emperor will have atleast a couple of Narulars in his elite guard at all times. The very reason why they are always in focus during times of war...and times of hardships...

The two Narular came upto the ground now...but did not land...as they did not have their shields with them at the moment. Not for fear of attack but simply because their anatomy did not allow them direct contact with soil to go without bodily harm. This has been both the curse and a boon for the Narulars. When technology was in its infancy, they still had to survey the ground for food, raw materials and other vital necessities...their evolution of being dependent on a toxic environment for their daily survival honed their survival skills and sharp instincts in them. Their reflexes and intelligence evolved faster than any other race...and thus, they are blessed now with prosperity.

They were almost skimming the ground now...such was their precise control over their movements that they barely gave a second thought to an emergency forcing them to touch the ground...they dodged a climaherb...they settled down into an intransient flap torrent thus conserving energy...

"My brother...i am thankful for being born into my family...into our race...in this planet...i love being myself. But there is something which i yearn for nowadays...its unreachable...i know...but my thoughts cant escape that line for long each day...its troubling me a lot. I don't know if i am being stupid...i dream they might say...but what's wrong with dreams or fiction i fail to understand..."

"Tell me...what is it which haunts you?"

"Well...have you not ever wondered how it will be to have legs and walk the ground without fearing death?"

"....hmmm..."

"I know it sounds crazy...but have you not wondered...have you not...have you..."

"Yes i have. But i have never told anyone...the very thought is frightening..."

They rounded upon a hill now...the vegetation below sparsened out a little...enough to spy out the land creatures who live in holes in the ground.

"Depends on your point of view...i look at those burrowing creatures down there...and i cant help envying them...the feeling of solidity underneath their feet...the surety with which they can move...the possibility of perfect immobility without the need to find a perching place...and mainly, their minds my brother. Their minds can be free of thoughts like my current thought when life is simple enough to be lived out without any hitch..."

"Hmmm...my brother, i see the thought and wisdom behind your words...but its not our way to be friends with that which will blow us down! We respect the soil...and use it for our needs...but...not like what you say..."

"Intelligence it seems is chaotic in its substance...this war we fight...its caused by intelligence among the fliers...to think such schemes to conquer or defend...when something is not required for mere survival, intelligence is destructive when kept unleashed my brother...and i am simply envious of these land creatures...their evolution lent them enough intelligence to ensure survival...and its enough for the universe!"

"Ah...i see your view..."

The night was wearing on...the silence of the place broken only by their wing beats sobered out the scene...the stars were out tonight...such a rarity during war times when camouflage smoke smothered most of the stars out. They were well beyond the gallery range now...

"My fatal fascination with the soil is not so blasphemous now eh?"

"Allow me to ask you something. Have you ever thought about a world...where there are beings...intelligent beings...who are lands beings...do you think that one of them, not unlike you now, will be wondering the exact same thing. Do you think its possible that someone somewhere in some universe will be thinking...how it will feel to fly in the air...how wonderful it is to be an aerial creature...the freedom of movement in three dimensions in comparison with the two that he is used to...

Do you not think...that such a being might get such thoughts? If so, what do you think he might do about it...he will try to find a way to conquer his dreams...intelligence that you speak of might be useful here...soon, i am sure he will conquer the skies...but, my brother...if the sky is harmful to him...if he fails in mid flight, the fall might be great enough to kill him. He will fear that...he will fear that...his intelligence will fear that. Its not therefore possible for such a thing to happen...we have to play to our strengths...and the ground is not our strength."

"But in such a world as you say...the utter fascination of flying might be overpowering enough for intelligence to find a way...like we have our shields. Inspite of the fear of their failure, we still venture out like its normal...now, how would it feel to be born a land creature...to have that mobility that these creatures enjoy...thats what i am thinking about..."

"Ah...i see that the war has not affected your power to dream my brother. Dream away my dear Narular...dreams are always good for the future...but, if you can show me a world with such beings whose thoughts of flying is overwhelming, then that will make my pulse period!"

"You know as well as i do thats not possible...we have not seen such a world of intelligence yet. Its a well know fact that to be intelligent, you need to have the power of flight. But it makes me wonder whether our forefathers were wrong in this..."

"I don't know whether they are right or wrong...but my brother, is your hunger satisfied now with thoughts enough to fill up the empty spaces?"

The sky started lightening a little now...the twin stars were almost about to rise...in normal times, this would have made a beautiful scene...but in such pressing times, the beauty of the scene fails to register in the disturbed mind...afterall, beauty is what the mind perceives.

"Maybe...i don't know...in any case, its time for me to report to the hangar. We are making our way on a mission to survey for some critical mineral deposits to help build some terrestrial missiles...hmmm..."

"Ah...that does not sound bad. Where might you be heading off to...?"

"Wherever it takes. As you know, the critical minerals are almost extinguished in this galactic ring...we might be heading out to uncharted territory...will be an adventure to experience i am sure. I can tell you this...we have our eye on this particular planetoid we have been observing for some time now...initial projections seems to suggest that its atmospheric composition is ideal for our needs..."

"Well my brother...i wish you all luck in this mission of discovery. Meanwhile, i suggest you keep your thoughts with yourself...its not healthy to spread such unconventional thoughts around in such...ahhh...might we say, delicate times..."

"Yes...thank you brother for listening...i am grateful..."

"Of course...anything for an old comrade in arms! And...this planetoid, does it have a name?"

"SS3RFTS-MW is the internal code given by our observatory. But interestingly, our philosophical scriptures seem to mention it from ancient times...but the information is incomplete...lost along the way. I beleive its called Earth..."

"Earth...a not too inspiring name...don't expect to find too much there my brother. Our ancestors seem not to be too interested in this planetoid enough to refer to it with a more intelligent name. Anyway, time to go..."

And with a strong but gentle push, the two Narulars soared into the rising twin stars...