Page 111 - The Perpetrations of Captain Kaga

Fasting the Plastiphage

At any rate, the Hierotechs examined the shrine where
the miracle had taken place, and decided to set a trap.
They replaced the missing plastikon and concealed
themselves nearby. After two nights their patience was
rewarded. A huge ungainly creature came shuffling out
of the hills, furtively glancing from side to side. It
became less cautious as it approached the shrine and
caught sight of the new plastikon. As engulfed the idol,
the priests jumped out of hiding and threw a net over
it. They returned to the Great Temple with their
captive by night and concealed the beast in a deep dark
dungeon-like chamber, totally unknown to the citizenry
at large.

The High Priest then assembled the other Hierotechs
and explained the miracle. Burdleim had sent them this
supernatural being in order to maintain their
production of sacred objects. All they had to do was
recycle old plastikons by feeding them to the
Plastiphage, and the Plastiphage would shortly
thereafter return the favor by producing a certain
quantity of petroleum. The priests had simply to
explain to the people that Burdleim had revealed to
them that their old plastikons had to be replaced every
few years in order to restore their potency. Thus the
Hierotechs maintained control of the sacred means of
production, and their system was saved—at least for a
while.

Although I have never seen the Plastiphage, I am
certain that it still lives inside the Great Temple. What I
have been able to do is observe the flow of old
plastikons in and new plastikons out. As one would
expect, there is a net loss of petrochemical mass in this
organic recycling process owing to the energy absorbed
by the Plastiphage. The factor of diminishing returns is
roughly calculable from the difference in plastikon
input and output. At a seven percent rate of loss, it

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