Stories the Enquirer Didn't Print

For Love of Krill

A mere fathom or two below the lifeboat, the baby, Tommy, was caught in the tentacles of a vegetarian octopus. The octopus bore the baby, now turning a lovely shade of blue, to its close friends Orca and Shamu. Naming the strange child Tasbu, they adopted and raised him. Despite a steady diet of krill and kelp, Tasbu grew slowly. At the age of 9 he was rescued by the North Carolina Coast Guard, who found him helplessly flopping about like a beached whale.

With the help of a remarkable lady named Ariel who specialized in this sort of case, Tasbu was able to rejoin human society within a remarkably short period. Tasbu seemed to do best in small, close-knit schools, though he was often a loner. He excelled at water sports. He quickly became captain of his swim and diving teams, and showed a remarkable capacity for sushi consumption. On a diving trip near the Bahamas, Tasbu killed a great white shark with his bare hands and nose.

Turned down by the US Navy S.E.A.L.S. because of vision problems, Tasbu entered the submarine service. Despite an incredible record amassed in a short time span, Tasbu retired after a few years. His record indicates he detested "being under water without getting wet." The boat's doctor insists Tasbu would hold his breath throughout entire missions of several months, noting in the log that this was "a medical miracle".

Rejecting graduate scholarships to Texas A&M in marine biology and computer science, Tasbu now lives off the coast of an obscure Polynesian island, where the natives revere him as a god. While finding this pretty ridiculous, he nevertheless accepts their gifts of food, colas, and pens, upon which he chews "to keep the teeth sharp".

No problem so simple I can't botch it Last updated: 20 July 1998

Copyright 1992, Miles O'Neal, Austin, TX. All rights reserved.

This article may be freely distributed via computer network or other electronic media, or printed out from such media, for personal use only. Any non-personal (ie, commercial) use of this article voids the warranty which prevents my wasting hundreds, if not thousands, of yours and my dollars in lawsuits. Commercial copy permission may be granted if, in the author's sole opinion, other usage of this article is for purposes the author holds near and dear to his heart and/or wallet. For such permission, contact the author via email at roadkills.r.us@XYZZY.gmail.com [remove the "XYZZY." to make things work!] or via mail at the address below. Appearing in person at the author's residence during daylight hours for a personal audience is also permitted, provided no weapons are brought along. This notice contains no MSG, sugar, artificial sweeteners, sunlight, air, or other known carcinogenic substances or energy forms.

This copyright may be freely used, distributed and modified subject to the conditions noted above in the preceeding paragraph.