Page 21 - Fables volume 2

tending toward a certain result. This technique has enabled them to
establish dominion on the surface of the land, and threaten the
inhabitants of air and sea. I am here to tell you that we can do the
same thing, to ourselves, in order to survive the catastrophe.”
Now an ominous hush spread before the annelid ruler.
“We must push the limits of our comfort zone. We must tunnel
and burrow ever downward and eat what we find as we go. Most of
us will not get far. The few who persevere and thrive in that
environment will produce the next generation; among those, the
same winnowing will occur as we forge ahead into unknown
territory—leaving the Crushers and their scorched earth behind. We
stand a chance of getting far enough away to be safe. I do not know
what we will find as we bore into regions never known: will
conditions be intolerable? Will we encounter hostile beings already in
that niche? I am a modern king, not a soothsayer. The danger is clear
and present, and our deliverance a gamble that must be taken. I will
lead the way, by example as always. My teeth are blunt, my intestines
weak—but I have the courage of my convictions.”
And the king, by his own brilliance blinded beyond sightlessness,
turned irrevocably toward the deeper darkness, unaware of how
many followed.

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