The Life of Koru, Chapter 32
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Zaryn was living with his gorilla wife Lyra in a chic bourgeois house next to the plantations. They had started to copy the human lifestyle and behaved like true citizens of the Empire. Lyra was a housewife and in her free time she liked to browse fashion magazines and interior design publications for new and stylish suggestions.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" she said. "It never fails to amaze me the way humans govern the world!"
Zaryn chuckled softly. "We're a part of it now, Lyra! Just as much as they are!"
"Yes, but we should be forever grateful to humans for raising us from the irrational abyss of animality!"
"Now you start using words I don't understand, Lyra! Where did you get this kind of language?"
"Ever since I could read, I read continuously, Zaryn! I am thinking about enrolling in a university!"
"Whatever floats your boat!"
Lyra thought a few seconds about her next words, then said:
"Humans are amazing, but what do you think about the koru?"
"Well, I work with them every day. They are dumb creatures, but I know how to boss them around!"
"I pity their asses! I saw some of them and they were really whip-striped!"
"Don't pity them, Lyra! Nature has made them to be used as slaves by us and the humans!"
"How can you say this?" she said. "They are our brothers! They are apes!"
"Look at us and look at them! We are gorillas, kings of the jungle! They are just slugs!"
Lyra sighed. She had empathy for the koru and when she saw some of them working in her yard, she gave them scraps of food and watermelon slices. The koru liked watermelon very much. They liked its crisp, juicy sweetness quenching their thirst in the scorching heat of summer. With watermelon juice dripping from their mouths, they thanked her by calling her "Missuh", while bowing down in their slave-like manner. Lyra almost felt something maternal for these ugly babies of nature who had no fur to protect them from whips.
"In my view, we climbed the Ladder of Evolution for a noble purpose and not to inflict pain!" she told her husband.
Next day, she was shocked to find Zaryn's whip stained with what looked like koru blood.
"We didn't become human-like just to be crueler than our ancestors were in the jungle!"
"Oh, shut up, lady, you read too many sentimental novels and it shows!"
"Take that back, immediately! I will have no more of your callous comments in my house. If you want to be called a rational being, then you should behave like a rational being!"
"Rational doesn't mean avoiding any drastic but necessary action!"
"Yes, but you must admit that there's an animal instinct within you that makes you aggressive and violent!"
"Fine! Fine! There is! I am a gorilla after all! What do you want from me?"
He flipped the coffee table in fury, then sat down on the coach to watch a game of football.
"Can you bring me some beer, honey?" he asked.
"I am not your slave!" she said, and went into the garden.
It was her favorite place because it reminded her of the primeval beauty of nature and the innocence of her ancestors who didn't have to live such complicated lives as hers. A part of her longed to return to the bliss of not knowing, not caring, just being one with the nature.
As her arguments with her husband intensified in the following days, she finally reached the breaking point. She had a nervous breakdown that lasted for a few hours and it looked very serious. During this breakdown, she was unable to speak and behaved erratically as if her evolution had been negated and she had returned to the condition of an animal. Zaryn was very concerned about her health and finally started to consider the effect of his actions.
When Lyra finally recovered from her breakdown, Zaryn said:
"Lyra, I'm done! I decided I am going to quit the plantation and we are moving to a large city where you can enjoy the cultural things you like!"
"Oh, Zaryn!" Lyra said, finally finding some love and empathy in her husband's eyes.
They packed their bags, booked a flight to Nairobi and when they were ready to go, they received an unexpected visit from Prof. Kumbaba:
"Where do you think you are going, you bastards?" he said.
"Alright, alright! Down yer throat, down yer throat!" Mulo heard the crew screaming around him.
The initiation ritual for slave sailors who passed the Equator for the first time was to swallow a living gloomslime. This particularly disgusting creature was a large sea slug that lived in the putrid bilge water and basically smelled like shit.
All the slaves on the deck had to do it and now they were looking at Mulo, as he took the gloomslime from the bucket. With a hesitant move, Mulo placed it in his open mouth and tried to gulp it down as fast as possible. This turned out to be a really bad decision, because the slimy thing panicked and started to move upwards in his struggling esophagus. A few moments later, Mulo vomited the gloomslime and whatever else he had in his stomach.
"No! Ye're not allowed to spit it!" someone said. "Swallow it back, boy!"
Mulo grabbed the gloomslime that was still alive and placed it back in his mouth. This time he tried to swallow more slowly, inch by inch, so that the the slippery twitching creature could adjust to its new position and didn't panic. Patience and openness were required. Mulo started to relax and imagine that the gloomslime was something delicious, despite the fact that it felt like a turd in his mouth.
When he was finished, an officer checked his name off a list.
"Alright, you get no gruel for today, boy, as you just ate a gloomslime!"
"SUH YESSUH!" Mulo said.
Sir Jared prepared himself a lot for his meeting with Governor Hayatudeen. He knew that this was a crucial moment in his career and if he played his cards right he could win unexpected prizes.
The Governor's Palace was a few kilometers away from Rio in a splendid area full of beautiful landscapes and lush vegetation. Towering palm trees swayed gently in the tropical breeze, while colorful bougainvillea cascaded down the walls of the palace. It was an idyllic place to live in, quiet, peaceful and lovely.
As soon as Miss Faraja parked the car, Sir Jared saw a cheerful young koru running towards them and shouting:
"Great Missuh! Great Missuh, ye're back!"
"Tucky!" Miss Faraja said, stepping out of the car. "Who's a good boy? Who's a good boy?"
The slave called Tucky kneeled in front of her, letting her rub his shaved head, while he giggled. He was fit and muscular, but there was something unexpected about him -- he was clothed! He wore an interesting pair of lederhosen as well as sneakers in his feet and long socks, but apart from that he was shirtless.
"This is Tucky!" Miss Faraja said. "He is my father's butler! Tucky, this is Sir Jared!"
"Praise ye, suh Jared!" Tucky said.
"Up yours, Tucky!" Sir Jared said.
"Faraja!"
The voice came from the stairs of the palace. They all turned towards them to see the elegant elderly Black man standing there. He was none other than Governor Hayatudeen.
"I saw Tucky running and I knew you are here!" he said. "Come inside, please! You must be Jared! I am pleased to meet you, young man! Faraja told me about you!"
Faraja and Jared climbed the stairs of the palace, while Tucky took the heavy suitcases out of the car and into his muscular hands.
Later that evening, the same Tucky served the dinner.
"The steak is ready, suhs!" Tucky said bringing in the delicious plates.
"Nice!" Governor Hayatudeen said. "You'll get the scraps, boy!"
"Thank ye, suh Gov'nor!" Tucky said.
"So tell me more about yourself young man!" the Governor addressed Sir Jared.
"Well, I grew up in Mississippi, Governor. My main interest is Slave Management. I work as a leading overseer at Sir Reginald Nnamani's Plantations, which is a robust flourishing enterprise!"
"I see! Where did you study?"
"University of New Orleans! I was top of the class!"
He actually didn't do more than two years there, then dropped, but he tried to dress it as an impressive intellectual achievement. The problem with Sir Jared was that he didn't have the education and refinement of a true aristocrat and Governor Hayatudeen could see through him.
Miss Faraja sensed that her father was not happy with her boyfriend, so she tried to make some jokes to ease the tension.
By the end of the dinner, Jared felt exhausted by some many questions that had the effect of making him feel inferior.
That night, he went to the basement and saw Tucky washing his socks and lederhosen in a basin and getting ready for bed.
"You are really pampered in this house, aren't you, Tucky?
"Yessuh Jared, suh! Massa Gov'nor is very good to me, suh!"
"He doesn't treat you like those lowly plantation apes! You know they are all naked and barefoot?"
"I'se know, suh!"
"So can you present your body to me?"
"Present? Sure, suh Jared!"
Tucky took off his clothes and assumed the presentation position. He had nothing to hide. He was a koru after all.
"Bend at the waist, boy!"
The koru obeyed and Jared took his cock out, sliding it into Tucky's anus.
"You like that, slave?"
"Oh! Yessuh Jared, suh!"
"Tell me more about your Master! What does he like? What kind of presents does he like to receive?"
"Suh, I'se should ask Massa if I'se allowed to talk about this!"
"No! No! Tucky, you don't trust me? You don't like the way I fuck you?"
"I'se like it, suh!"
"Then tell me!"
"Umm... Massa like them movies with them ghosties!"
"You mean horror!"
"And he like big music with them trumpets!"
"You mean jazz!"
"And he like to receive ties that are blue-green, more blue than green!"
"Alright, Tucky! You're a good boy!"
Next day Governor Hayatudeen was surprised to see how many things Sir Jared knew about horror movies and the history of jazz and their conversations started to become more interesting. He was really impressed when he received from him a tie in beautiful shade of turquoise, which coincidentally was his favorite color! This young guy seemed really perceptive, despite not being from a good family!
Governor Hayatudeen started to think if Sir Jared could actually be his future son-in-law.