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'Sir, a bony finger tapped in Morse on the back of his hand. Sir, harder this time, insistent, we are approaching ... Creek. Sir, tap-tap-tap, tap-tap, tap-taaap-tap. The translator, M, sat up without registering the bright torch being shone directly in his face, or the darkness enclosing the hand, the man, the room and corridor behind it; he smelt the man’s minted breath, tasted the hint of garlic that the mint was sucked to hide; he savoured the superstitious fear that still oozed like cheap perfume from his glands, and the rhythmic rallentando clack-clack over the stapled joins of track. ...'
Notes
-
Epigraph:
Before man all was
formless; shadows roamed:
opaque, nameless.
Once man [spirit-men, our ancestors] has named
all the creatures, the creatures
rename ... [untranslatable].
[ ... ]
[When] Koomanjay in white
sends cloaking clouds south,
nothing can be seen
All is Koomanjay:
unseen, unknown, un-named;
All is Koomanjay
from the recently unearthed – and poorly translated, unpublished (Ed.) – Tablet of Koomanjay
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Last amended 22 Aug 2016 11:19:31
