Things to Come – Part 11 – The Punishment for Herd Crime

Fransoh and Woundwoh were Knoghts with E Company.  No one knew what the "E" originally represented.  The founder of the band, and anyone he trusted with the information, had died long ago.  Woundwoh believed the E stood for Excellent.  As in: 1) E Company is an excellent company and 2) being in E Company means you are in excellent company.  That is what he told anyone who asked.

They were on an out-ward patrol and the herd rim was no longer in sight.  That’s why Fransoh was shocked, and a little delighted, to see a lone lemming heading herd-ward.  It was Loganoh.

“Here’s a rare sight.  A stray ready for bite!”

“At ease, Fransoh!” ordered Woundwoh.  “Don’t you know who that is?”  Woundwoh searched his memory.  “I can’t remember his name, but he’s the one that’s been banished.  He can roam out-ward when he likes.”

“Banished?  What did he do?”

“Herd Crime.”

“What’s that?”

“Right.  I keep forgetting how green you are?  Herd Crime is... a crime against the herd.”

Fransoh had never heard of Herd Crime, and the explanation failed to enlighten, but he did not push the point to avoid further accusations of being green.

“Hey you!” yelled Fransoh.  “Did you see any predators out there?”

Woundwoh sighed heavily.

“What?”

“If he had seen a predator, he wouldn't be here to ask about it.” explained Woundwoh

They continued out-ward.  Loganoh passed in silence.

“Woundwoh… sir?”

“What is it?”

“I’m curious about a question...”

“Ask it, but keep your eyes open.  We’re out here for a reason.”

“What does banishment mean exactly?” asked Fransoh.

“It means that the lemming is no longer allowed anywhere herd-ward passed the rim.  But they don’t have to stay at the rim.  They can wander out-ward as much or as often as they like.”

“Wow.” exclaimed Fransoh.  “That’s bad.  What happens if his herdlet goes herd-ward?”

Woundwoh shook his head.  “The banished are not allowed near their herdlet.  Even if the herdlet is on herd rim, they have to move along so that they are never with their herdlet again.”  Woundwoh suddenly thought of a good example to cite: “Just like us.”

Fransoh stopped in his tracks.  Confusion showed plainly on his face.

“What are you chewing on now?”

Fransoh never considered himself very bright.  He grappled with his thoughts a moment, then attempted to convey them. 

“So the banished can’t venture herd-ward.  They can only stay at the rim.”

“Yes.”

“And they can’t join their herdlet anymore either, even if the herdlet is on the rim.”

“Right again.”

“And no lemming can leave the herd, unless they are banished.  Then they can leave for as long as they like?”

“Plainly stated.” Woundwoh confirmed.

“Well, then I don’t understand?”  Fransoh was completely exasperated.

“What?  It sounds to me you understand banishment perfectly.”

“But how is banishment any different from being a Knoght?”

Woundwoh was flummoxed.  How could anyone confuse the two concepts?  “Explain yourself.”

“The day we became Knoghts was the last day we saw our herdlets.  We’re not even allowed to visit them.  We guard the rim.  Except for the few in the herd core that guard the Parliament of Mamas, Knoghts never go herd-ward.  And our patrols take us out-ward on a regular schedule!”

Woundwoh often thought that the younger generation of Knoghts lacked discipline.  It takes a steady, clear mind to be a good Knoght.  But you couldn't teach that to a young Knoght with a bite on the haunches.

“Knoghts protect the herd.  The banished are criminals.  The difference seems plain enough to me.” retorted Woundwoh confidently.

Fransoh stopped and turned to his officer.  “I still don’t understand.  We do exactly the same things as the banished.  The only difference I see is in the name.”

“No.  That’s not right.  They…  You don’t…  It’s nothing like that!  It’s not the same.”
Words failed Woundwoh.  He bit Fransoh on the haunches.  Fransoh yelped in shock.

“Do you know how long I’ve been a Knoght!  Longer than you and longer than most!  I thought you had a lot of promise young Fransoh, but now I’m not so sure.”

“I’m sorry, sir.  I made a mistake.”

“I’ve never heard such insubordination.” growled Woundwoh.

“It won’t happen again, sir.”

“See it doesn’t!”

They finished the patrol in silence.  Fransoh would never mention the subject again, though he would continue to think about it often: “The Knoghts and the banished don’t seem very different at all.”

Loganoh would reach the same conclusion later that same day.

Metropolis - Chapter 12

Hello everyone

I'm happy to say that I'm back with a new chapter.  It took far too long.  But I'm able to get to more writing and drawing thanks to an ipad that I won.  Really, I won an ipad.

By the way, my son Max is now 5 months old and doing very well.  He's one of the reasons I'm so happy to get back to the comic book.

If you've lost track of what's going on, just read the Yearbook I made last year.

Enjoy.


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