The Masterpiece

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0><script type="text/javascript" src="http://hb.lycos.com/hb.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://ratings.lycos.com/ratings/lycosRating.js.php"></script> <script type="text/javascript"><![CDATA[//><!]]></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://scripts.lycos.com/catman/init.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://members.tripod.com/adm/ad/code-start.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://members.tripod.com/adm/ad/code-middle.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://members.tripod.com/adm/ad/code-end.js"></script> <noscript> <img src="http://members.tripod.com/adm/img/common/ot_noscript.gif?rand=368397" alt="" width="1" height="1" />  <iframe frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" width="728" height="90" src="http://ad.yieldmanager.com/st?ad_type=iframe&ad_size=728x90&section=209094"></iframe>  </noscript> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=150 BGCOLOR="#0099FF" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Gloob"><U>The Gloob</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="short_stories.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Stories"><U><B>Stories</b></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="poems.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Poems"><U><B>Poems</b></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="children_s_stories.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Childrens Stories"><U><B>Children's Stories</b></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="sounding_board.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sounding Board"><U><B>Sounding Board</b></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="the_cats.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Cats"><U><B>The Cats</b></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="the_dogs.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Dogs"><U><B>The Dogs</b></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="memories.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Memories"><U><B>Memories</b></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://15683.15.links4trade.com/links.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://15683.15.links4trade.com/links.ht"><U><B>Links</b></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id83.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Votes"><U><B>Votes</b></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id85.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Classics"><U><B>The Classics</b></U></A></div> <div> <B>Jack  Windsor Stories</b></div> <div> <A HREF="the_flight_of_the_swan.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Flight of the Swan"><U><B>The Flight of the Swan</b></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="swallow_close.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Swallow Close"><U><B>Swallow Close</b></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="a_twist_in_the_tail.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="A Twist in The Tail"><U><B>A Twist in The Tail</b></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="the_hairy_ghost.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Hairy Ghost"><U><B>The Hairy Ghost</b></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="the_letter_in_the_spare_room.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Letter in the Spare Room"><U><B>The Letter in the Spare Room</b></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="the_marmalade_eater.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Marmalade Eater"><U><B>The Marmalade Eater</b></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="the_rat_from_the_river.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Rat From The River"><U><B>The Rat From The River</b></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="the_wild_granny_hunt.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Wild Granny Hunt"><U><B>The Wild Granny Hunt</b></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="thursday_s_visitor.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Thursdays Visitor"><U><B>Thursday's Visitor</b></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="the_tenant_at_hannaford_cottage.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Tenant at Hannaford Cottage"><U><B>The Tenant at Hannaford Cottage</b></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="family_tree.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Family Tree"><U><B>Family Tree</b></U></A></div> <div> <B>The Masterpiece</b></div> <div> <A HREF="the_park.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Park"><U><B>The Park</b></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id189.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Hotel on the Moor"><U><B>The Hotel on the Moor</b></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id190.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="If I Won a Million"><U><B>If I Won a Million</b></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id191.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Broken Clock"><U><B>The Broken Clock</b></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id194.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Final Mission"><U><B>The Final Mission</b></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id195.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Living Statues"><U><B>Living Statues</b></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id196.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Nephew"><U><B>The Nephew</b></U></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#FFFFCC" TEXT="#080000"> <bR> <div> <B>The Masterpiece</b></div> <bR> <div> by</div> <div> Jack Windsor</div> <bR> <div> Of the original competitors, there were only two remaining, Fowdric and Gilnorg. With all the talents in creation there was not much to choose between them, for they were the best of the best and little it was could separate them. They observed each other warily, for now was the time of the final test that would leave only one winner and condemn the other to oblivion forever and eternity.</div> <bR> <div> Each of these apprentices was charged with the task of creating one final piece of work to be judged by the Master - a masterpiece. Beuhlow, the Master of all that is, was and will be, would weigh and compare the two, then make his decision known. The winning work would itself become the prize of the competition and losing masterpiece would be destroyed and eradicated. So each contestant had all to gain and all to lose.</div> <bR> <div> Beuhlow called them together and together they faced him as he instructed them in the rules for the last test of all. They listened attentively as he spoke.</div> <bR> <div> 'You both have proved that you outshine all others, and there is nothing to divide you; yet that division must be achieved to produce a single winner. Now is the occasion to create your masterpiece.</div> <bR> <div> 'Because you have come so far and already achieved so much, the final task is both the easiest and the most difficult. The rules are simply these: You have one full segment of time to create a self-contained, self-sustaining life system. When that segment of time has expired, I shall judge. The loser will go the way of all losers and his masterpiece will be eliminated. The winner's masterpiece will be the form of all life to come.'</div> <bR> <div> Beuhlow paused, then asked, 'Do you understand the requirements?'</div> <bR> <div> Both Fowdric and Gilnorg signalled their affirmation and the Master ended his instructions with these words, 'Remember this, a segment of time can only run in one direction and can be long or short, and the created life system must be self-sustaining.' Then he was gone.</div> <bR> <div> Such were the natures of the two competitors; the approach of each to the task was destined to differ from that of the other. Gilnorg, on the one hand, believed the time segment would be short and taking no chance, would complete the test as soon as he was able. His rival Fowdric had gambled in some form or another through most of the preceding tests, and would surely take the ultimate risk in this, the final competition. He would without doubt assume the time segment was to be long and thus have sufficient time to build a more complex life system than that of Gilnorg.</div> <bR> <div> The masterpiece test was set to commence immediately and both the participants began without delay.</div> <bR> <div> Gilnorg, the secretive one, cast an impenetrable cloud around the space he had selected, then set to work. Fowdric could not see, hear or sense what the other was contriving and knew that he would have to wait for the time of judgement to penetrate the mystery.</div> <bR> <div> Then, he too commenced his labours. To begin with, he seemed to do nothing; remaining motionless while the mists of ages rolled forward relentlessly. He knew that his rival would already be far ahead of him in the contest at this stage and that if the time segment were to be short, then Gilnorg would win. This was the greatest gamble of all but it was not a reckless gamble as Fowdric was sure that Beuhlow the Master, desired the winning creation to be both complete and perfect.</div> <bR> <div> Fowdric knew however, that he should not delay his efforts with such contemplation and cast them aside. Then he began to expand his mind. Deep in his subconsciousness he embedded the requirements of the contest, allowing no other intrusion. Random thoughts circulated around the idea nucleus; drifting by in a casual and meandering stream. Imperceptibly at first, the pace accelerated, causing the thoughts to merge and diverge, to multiply and divide until at last, his mind enveloped his whole being, with the thoughts whirling and exploding with such an intensity that the space surrounding him was illuminated beyond the bounds of vision.</div> <bR> <div> How long the creative imagination phase lasted, Fowdric could not know, for there is no way of measuring such time. He could not even tell whether he had transversed the past or the future. It mattered not, for with an implosive collision that shook his very core, the random thoughts aligned themselves into a sequential linking, which he knew formulated the shape of his creative strategy.</div> <bR> <div> Now it was a race against the remaining time. His gamble was for a long time segment but how much of that had been consumed in the preliminary stage, he could not know.</div> <bR> <div> From this point, the system that Fowdric would create was unique, for nothing of its like had been attempted before. Not since the Master had put in place the great planetary systems of the universes had such an experiment been tried.</div> <bR> <div> Steadily he worked, designing the infrastructure of the planet that he had chosen to support his life system. Beuhlow had not specified which planet or even which universe the contestants should use and thus, the choice had been entirely free. Fowdric's selection had been based on only three criteria. First, he desired his system to be remote from that of his rival; and here he had to guess Gilnorg's intentions. Second, he required the planet to be in a solar system with a star that was at a critical distance to produce sufficient heat and light to sustain the wide variety of life in his form of creation. His third consideration was that the rotation speed of the planet would influence all his life form species and their interactions with each other.</div> <bR> <div> Rapidly the planet took the shape he desired. Mountains and valleys were moulded and positioned in readiness for his real work. Frequently, in the past he had done the same in other parts of the great space, but now he added a feature he had never included in the earlier experiments. Across the planet he established immense oceans of a liquid that would sustain life. He called it vitalis, for every creature and every plant would depend upon it for their existence.</div> <bR> <div> To protect the inhabitants of his new world from the concentrated heat of the star and the coldness of the great space, Fowdric built a shield of gases around the planet. The space between the shield and the planet was filled with a gas that he name the breath of life, for many of the inhabitants would need to breathe it in order to survive.</div> <bR> <div> At last he was able to put into practice the creative ideas he had spent so long formulating. He filled the planet with plants and creatures inter-linking each with all and all with each. Thus every living organism depended on others to survive and all needed the others to recycle each of the elements that sustained life. By these means the survival of all was ensured by the survival of the individual.</div> <bR> <div> Fowdric introduced checks and balances into his system that provided essential controls preventing one species or another overrunning the planet. In all life forms predators and prey were placed to maintain the equilibrium and where that might not be effective, controlled diseases would stop a permanent overpopulation of any one type of plant or animal.</div> <bR> <div> The planet was provided with the essential elements that would sustain his selected life forms and each species comprised these elements and depended upon them for its existence. Then finally, Fowdric allocated an average life duration for each and every form of life in his creation.</div> <bR> <div> The ages rolled by, yet there was no end to the time segment. In an effort to stave off impatience Fowdric re-studied his creation and modified here and there, fine-tuning until he felt he could do no more.</div> <bR> <div> At the precise moment that Fowdric sensed that the return of Beuhlow was imminent, a bolt of inspiration seared its way into the core of his consciousness. Rapidly, he turned the thought into action and simultaneous with the appearance of the Master, he gave one of the life forms in his creation the combined talents of intellect and logic.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> ******************** </div> <div> The two apprentices had waited impatiently for Beuhlow to make his judgement. Now was the time of culmination of all they had done in the past and each knew that after the decision had been taken, one of them would be cast into oblivion. Each was confident and yet apprehensive. There could be no turning back, no second thoughts.</div> <bR> <div> Beuhlow, the Master arrived suddenly and unannounced. He had made his decision. Gilnorg was the winner.</div> <bR> <div> It had been very close, he said, with little to choose between them. Many of the ideas that one had incorporated in his creation, the other had used too; but there had been radical differences also. Fowdric had failed because his creation depended on the heat and light of the great star and the rules had stated that each creation had to be self-contained and self-sustaining.</div> <bR> <div> Ever the gambler, Fowdric argued with Beuhlow's judgement. Had not Beuhlow himself created the star and planets? The fact that the great star influenced Fowdric's chosen planet was surely incidental; and although the life on Gilnorg's planet was not dependent on heat and light from a star, it was in orbit around a distant star. Without that star, the orbit would be broken and Gilnorg's creation too would be destroyed.</div> <bR> <div> Gilnorg observed that the Master was reconsidering and the vision of his defeat in this final contest overwhelmed him. He made a last and desperate bid to discredit Fowdric's creation.</div> <bR> <div> It was obvious he pointed out to Beuhlow, that by giving intellect to one species, Fowdric had ensured the eventual failure of his life system. That species surely would become dominant and ultimately want to control and change the planet. This by definition would upset the delicate balance upon which the system depended and it would collapse.</div> <bR> <div> Fowdric countered his opponent's thrust by announcing his belief that the dominant species would use both its intellect and logic to ensure the survival of the planet and would overcome any unplanned for natural accidents.</div> <bR> <div> Beuhlow, the Master was much amused by this exchange. 'I have decided,' he said, 'that as there is so little between the two, time can be the only judge. If Gilnorg is right, then Fowdric's intellectual species will eradicate his system and thus he will lose. If, however, Fowdric is correct, then the dominant species will develop its knowledge and intellect until perhaps,' he chuckled, 'it becomes even more powerful than its creator.'</div> <bR> <div> The two contestants accepted this judgement and agreed to review the progress of the creations after two more segments of time.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> ********************* </div> <bR> <div> Thus, on planet earth, mankind began the test upon which its very survival depended.</div> <bR> <div> If you enjoyed reading this story, you may be interested to know that Jack Windsor has published an anthology of 40 of his stories. It is called 'Secret of the Lake'. Published by Braiswick you can order it from your local bookstore or buy online from Amazon.com</div> <bR> <bR> <div> Please visit our <A HREF="http://www.buy.at/wickfordtn" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.buy.at/wickfordtn"><U>Charity Web Shop</U></A> - there is something for everyone, including CDs, DVDs, books, wine, toys, cars, furniture, holidays and flights. Every purchase made from the Web Shop brings in commission for our charity for the blind.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <A HREF="the_masterpiece_m.htm" TITLE="The Masterpiece"><U><B>Back to Top</b></U></A></div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>