"I find it unaccountable how they celebrate in the cold here."
	"Champagne can't warm the toes nearly enough."
	"Awp!"
	"Just a few more miles today, little one."
	"Awp! Meh geh."
	"Mind he doesn't fall, will you? I've got my hands full with this
apparatus. If he toddles over the edge into that sea of trees..."
	"The trees would like nothing better."
	"They can get their own boy! Damn lazy trees."
	"What does the apparatus tell us lies ahead?"
	"An atrium of some kind. Path ends. Warm air."
	"Awp!"
	"Shush, shush. Didn't we tell you this trip would be long and hard,
little one? Weren't there plans, schematics, inset details and see-aboves?
We even laid the easel down on its side so you could crawl up and look
right at it. You're as prepared as we are."
	"Babababa."
	"Do you understand him?"
	"Not yet. The apparatus does, a little."
	"Could I use it?"
	"The apparatus is only for me and the boy. Here, try this."
	"What is it?"
	"A second apparatus. Better, in some ways. I traded two days' food
for it in the last town. It's meant to speed our journey."
	"It's working! Look, the valley is already in view."
	"Awp!"
	"Shush."
	"Awp!"
	"Shush. The air feels warmer already. Do you see that shelf in the
cliff face? We might as well stop there and eat."
	"We mustn't slow down too much. They'll be waiting for us at the
Winter Festival in the next city."
	"I forgot. I promised to give a demonstration, didn't I?"
	"Awp yef!"
	"You know, sometimes I wonder..."
	"Wait -- did you see that?"
	"I'm not sure."
	"The trees have closed in. The valley's full of them now."
	"They must want the boy! Fend them off!"
	"This apparatus is unwieldy, but the worst of the trees seem to be
keeping their distance."
	"AAWWPP!"
	"..."
	"The trees have all stopped."
	"TAM GEF AWP! SEL ANB WEH BABABA AWP!"
	"The little one's shouting fascinates them."
	"Look at how he waves his arms. He must be giving the trees a demon- 
stration."
	"AWP GOOBOO! AWP YEGS! AWP BEZ!"
	"The trees are satisfied. I wonder what he taught them."
	"Boys and trees are both rowdy sorts. I hardly feel safer."
	"Someday someone will show us."
	"This apparatus is hardly useful, but let's hurry on to the Festival
anyhow. At the very least they'll have rum for us."
	"Don't forget the boy."
	"The boy. Of course not."

written for Martin Thomas, Naomi Perry and their son Aaron 5/23/02

I got mail from Martin and Naomi yesterday asking if I could have something done by Friday for their son's first birthday, as they were having a naming ceremony in the Blue Mountains of Australia, where they live. How could I say no? I've been on hiatus (to put it inanely) for the past month and a half, and a dozen other people had longer-standing requests I hadn't filled, but... Australia! Mountains! Aaron!

I think they said they wanted to read it at the ceremony, though, and while it's all dialogue, it seems like reading it aloud would be troublesome and difficult. As usual with these unattributed dialogue pieces, there are lines where I wrote them without deciding who was saying them. I like it that way; it emphasizes the eavesdropping aspect of fiction and discourages people from identifying with characters for bad reasons. Still...

'Apparatus' is such a terrific word for a mysterious multifunctional gadget; I wish I'd done more with that.

Not much more to say about this. It could pass for the output of an automatic Aaron simulator, but I am by definition such a thing (if you look at it that way) and so I have to assume that there's no great shame in it.

- everything is by Aaron Mandel; please ask first if you're about to steal something -

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