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Description
Complimentary Song: www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAYhNH…

Short story inspired by recent news: edition.cnn.com/2016/04/29/tec…

The spirit of Cernunnos had been slumbering deeply in the sacred forest for some millennia now, but the guardian of the forest, alarmed at tales brought to it by migrating birds, was about to change that. The Snowy Owl scratched a rune into the bark of the great tree that stood strong and silent in the heart of the forest.

'Cern, wake up, you must wake up!'

Cern slowly roused. 'What, what is this? Who disturbs my sleep?'

'It is I, the Snowy Owl.'

'Owl my old friend, so good to see you again!'

'Apologies my liege, but I am not your old friend, but a distant descendant, entrusted to wake you if ever the spirits of nature required it.'

'Uh, how long have I been asleep?'

'About 2000 years.'

'2000 years! It seemed no more than a moment. So what ails nature, pray tell.'

'You're not going to like it, it's something the marginally evolved monkeys are doing.'

'It's always something the marginally evolved monkeys are doing, what now?' Cern grumbled.

'They've built a machine to create and study anti-matter.'

'Anti-matter? This is serious! It possesses the power to destroy all matter itself!'

'I know,' the Owl replied apprehensively, 'and they call their organization CERN.'

'They what!?!?' Cern thundered, ruffling Owl's feathers. 'My name through the mud, damn them! Why would they do such a thing?'

'Why would they do many things, the world is full of such inversions these days. They seem to see nature as an enemy that must be tamed and conquered, forgetting they are part of it.' The owl shrugged its wings.

'Such misguided delusion! What damage has been done?'

'Well, they think they can contain all of the energy generated in one space, but that is only because they do not fully understand all of the ways energy can operate, the ways it can be displaced in the inter-connected universe. The machine itself is designed to discover more about how energy works, so they've walked into a situation blind to knowing what the full repercussions can be.'

Owl continued. 'The animals can feel changes when it is working. The mountain spirits seem to become more active and start coughing ash and fire, the earth shakes. The animals are afraid.'

'Hmm, something must be done, but what?'

'I recommend we invoke the spirit of the Black Swan.'

'The spirit of the Black Swan?'

'Yes, we need a Black Swan event. A high-profile, hard-to-predict, and rare event that is beyond the realm of normal expectations.'

'Then a Black Swan it must be! First we must find its weaknesses! Send birds to scout the area and return back to me!'

Presently, Snowy Owl returned with a seagull.

'Report your findings Seagull,' prompted Owl.

'Sir, yes Sir! Aerial reconnaissance identified a small opening above the building. We sent in a team of smaller birds, who found that sensitive equipment sits below. Sir, we believe that if we can drop the right sized object down the opening, we may be able to damage the equipment and render it inoperable!'

'Hmm, interesting. Where can we get an appropriate object for the drop?'

'Sir! There is a French Bakery in the habit of leaving Baguettes in a basket out front of their establishment. The Baguettes should be light enough for a medium sized bird to carry, and approximately the right sized missile for the job, Sir!'

'Then see to it that it is done!'

'Yes sir!'

The following day, Owl returned with jubilant news.

'The operation was a success! They have shut the machine down, the earth begins to grow settled.'

'Excellent! Prepare a mighty feast for the seagull and his friends! I return to my slumber.'

Time passed in relative peace, but eventually the animals started feeling changes in the earth again. Owl returned to Cern.

'Sorry to wake you, but it appears the machine is causing problems once more. They've secured the area where the baguette dropped, so we'll need a different approach. I sent a team of rats to investigate the area. They infiltrated and found multiple wires ripe for sabotage. However, it's extremely dangerous for the chewers, should we proceed?'

'What choice do we have? But don't send rats. This is a job for a highly trained professional, we have to send a Weasel.'

'A Weasel?'

'A Weasel.'

So they did. It was about that time that the marginally evolved monkeys began to suspect a plot by nature...

Stock Credit List
Owl Stock 14: Snowy by
Baguette by
weasel by
Pan IX - Laud by
Premade Background 1075 by
Elk 2 by
The Fermilab Haefely Tower by
Seagull 19 by

Description
Complimentary Song: www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAYhNH…

Short story inspired by recent news: edition.cnn.com/2016/04/29/tec…

The spirit of Cernunnos had been slumbering deeply in the sacred forest for some millennia now, but the guardian of the forest, alarmed at tales brought to it by migrating birds, was about to change that. The Snowy Owl scratched a rune into the bark of the great tree that stood strong and silent in the heart of the forest.

'Cern, wake up, you must wake up!'

Cern slowly roused. 'What, what is this? Who disturbs my sleep?'

'It is I, the Snowy Owl.'

'Owl my old friend, so good to see you again!'

'Apologies my liege, but I am not your old friend, but a distant descendant, entrusted to wake you if ever the spirits of nature required it.'

'Uh, how long have I been asleep?'

'About 2000 years.'

'2000 years! It seemed no more than a moment. So what ails nature, pray tell.'

'You're not going to like it, it's something the marginally evolved monkeys are doing.'

'It's always something the marginally evolved monkeys are doing, what now?' Cern grumbled.

'They've built a machine to create and study anti-matter.'

'Anti-matter? This is serious! It possesses the power to destroy all matter itself!'

'I know,' the Owl replied apprehensively, 'and they call their organization CERN.'

'They what!?!?' Cern thundered, ruffling Owl's feathers. 'My name through the mud, damn them! Why would they do such a thing?'

'Why would they do many things, the world is full of such inversions these days. They seem to see nature as an enemy that must be tamed and conquered, forgetting they are part of it.' The owl shrugged its wings.

'Such misguided delusion! What damage has been done?'

'Well, they think they can contain all of the energy generated in one space, but that is only because they do not fully understand all of the ways energy can operate, the ways it can be displaced in the inter-connected universe. The machine itself is designed to discover more about how energy works, so they've walked into a situation blind to knowing what the full repercussions can be.'

Owl continued. 'The animals can feel changes when it is working. The mountain spirits seem to become more active and start coughing ash and fire, the earth shakes. The animals are afraid.'

'Hmm, something must be done, but what?'

'I recommend we invoke the spirit of the Black Swan.'

'The spirit of the Black Swan?'

'Yes, we need a Black Swan event. A high-profile, hard-to-predict, and rare event that is beyond the realm of normal expectations.'

'Then a Black Swan it must be! First we must find its weaknesses! Send birds to scout the area and return back to me!'

Presently, Snowy Owl returned with a seagull.

'Report your findings Seagull,' prompted Owl.

'Sir, yes Sir! Aerial reconnaissance identified a small opening above the building. We sent in a team of smaller birds, who found that sensitive equipment sits below. Sir, we believe that if we can drop the right sized object down the opening, we may be able to damage the equipment and render it inoperable!'

'Hmm, interesting. Where can we get an appropriate object for the drop?'

'Sir! There is a French Bakery in the habit of leaving Baguettes in a basket out front of their establishment. The Baguettes should be light enough for a medium sized bird to carry, and approximately the right sized missile for the job, Sir!'

'Then see to it that it is done!'

'Yes sir!'

The following day, Owl returned with jubilant news.

'The operation was a success! They have shut the machine down, the earth begins to grow settled.'

'Excellent! Prepare a mighty feast for the seagull and his friends! I return to my slumber.'

Time passed in relative peace, but eventually the animals started feeling changes in the earth again. Owl returned to Cern.

'Sorry to wake you, but it appears the machine is causing problems once more. They've secured the area where the baguette dropped, so we'll need a different approach. I sent a team of rats to investigate the area. They infiltrated and found multiple wires ripe for sabotage. However, it's extremely dangerous for the chewers, should we proceed?'

'What choice do we have? But don't send rats. This is a job for a highly trained professional, we have to send a Weasel.'

'A Weasel?'

'A Weasel.'

So they did. It was about that time that the marginally evolved monkeys began to suspect a plot by nature...

Stock Credit List
Owl Stock 14: Snowy by
Baguette by
weasel by
Pan IX - Laud by
Premade Background 1075 by
Elk 2 by
The Fermilab Haefely Tower by
Seagull 19 by