IMAGINATION'S PLACE

JUST A LITTLE BIT OF MISCHIEF
By; Speaker Gerald Polley

Like everyone that exists, from time to time The Ancient One has to have a little diversion, a little bit of something to satisfy his own needs, to let go of some of the emotion pent up inside of him. Not just his regular work, for those he loves, but some­ thing purely for his own satisfaction. And tonight' s journey was one of those times. He had been planning it for weeks. When the idea had struck him, it took him some time to get permission, and even more to set it up, but now he was ready.
Flying down the east coast of his country he came to an affluent section of one city and entered a very expensive house, making his way to the bedroom of a very beautiful, fair-skinned, blonde-headed woman. The An­cient One paused for a moment at the foot of her bed, then extended his hand. A red, firey energy danced up the woman's body, and a golden spark popped out of her, which The Ancient One caught, and sucked to him. With a sudden jerk he severed the silver cord that connected it to the body and in an instant was in another bedroom far away, where he repeated the process with another woman.
Taking the first golden spark, he attach­ed it to the silver cord of this body then sped away to put the second golden spark in the first body. When this was done, he re­turned to the second bedroom, perched on top of an aged bureau, and happily kicked the bottom of the bed until the woman in it started to stir. "Come on!" he said, "Come on! I haven' t got all night! I want to have a little talk before I leave you."
"Huh?" the woman said, "What? Who are you? How did you get ...this isn't my .... where am I?"
"Soweto," The Ancient One answered, "near Johannesburg, South Africa. That' s where you live now. That's where you'll spend the rest of your life. You see, I've performed a soul transplant. I took your soul out of its ori­ginal body and put it in this one, that has exactly the same life span. You'll have every opportunity to be just as happy in this body, as you had in the other one. Very little has changed , except for one tiny, insignificant thing. You see, I saw you on television. I heard your little speech, how the white race was so superior, how the blacks and the Jews were t.rying to take over the world , and the white people had to protect their interests, and, the interests of their children."
"You've  drugged me !" the woman announced. "You've taken me somewhere! This is some kind of joke!"
"That it is!" The Ancient One laughed, "A joke that should last you about 52 years! Turn  on the light. It's hanging at the foot of the bed. Turn it on and look in the mirror."
The woman rose from the bed, found the bed , found the light, turned it on, and located the mirror. As her eyes fell on it, they widened, and she walked towards it, rubbing her face and running her finger s through her kinky black hair. She stared at her coal black skin with unbelievable horror.
"No!" she said , "No! It' s a trick! It's make up! It's a wig!"
The Ancient One reached over, grabbed her nightgown, and with a single tug, ripped it from her body. "Damned thorough make up job!" he remarked. "Incredibly thorough! Remember what I said ...you have every chance for happiness in this body you had in the other one, every chance. You'll find a note on the table by the bed, describing your new life, your friends; your relatives, your work. Don't lose them until you've had a chance to study them quite well. And I wouldn't try to tell anyone the truth, because they wouldn't be­lieve you. And of course if you run into any problems, you can write your old self.   She'd be more than glad to help you with local customs and such. You see, in a short time she's going to have a sudden change of heart. She's going to realize that racism is wrong, and she might enjoy a pen pal from South Africa! And she just might be kind enough to help you keep your sanity."
The woman fell to her knees, covering herself with her arms. "Why?" she wept. "What are you? How can you do what you do? Why?"
"Because," The Ancient One snapped, "I don't like your kind, and I think this is your just desserts. And the look on your face when you realized it's true, that you're in that body for the rest of your life; well, it fills me with a certain kind of satisfaction you'd never understand. And just maybe ...."
The Ancient One bent down and took her face in his hand, and made her look up at him. "Just maybe," he continued, "that if you live out your life in this body you just might understand ...you just might sur­vive. Good-bye "
He stepped towards the open window and the woman rose, following him. "Please?" she said, "Please? Put me back? Please? I'll change. I promise. I'll love black people, I promise! Please? Put me back, please?"
The Ancient One laughed and he was gone.  And the woman fell to her knees by the window, looking up at the stars, whispering over and over again, with tears running down her cheeks, "Please? Please?"
As The Ancient One arrived home, he found a visitor sitting on his doorstep, a visitor in horned helmet, leather jacket, and fine linen pants. He sat rocking back and forth, roaring with laughter. "And they call ME The Lord  Of  Mischief! " the Visitor remarked. "Who am I compared to this Bearer Of Light? What  delicate  and   intricate little webs  you weave! Be careful, kinsman, least  they break and fly this way and that way!"
"Loki!" The Ancient One laughed, "Why do you sit on the steps of my home?"
"Am I not welcome, kinsman?" The Aesir asked.
"Of course you are welcome!" The Ancient One answered. 'As long as you are not up to any of your tricks!"
"I know better, kinsman, I know better! I still remember our last encounter! I watched your little game tonight, and loved it! Take an hour, take two hours. Go into the dreams of your lady and bring her to Asgard. Let me tell my Father and his court the mischief that you have been up to, and

(Cont'd Page 7)

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