“That’s absurd,” Mercury seethed, magma boiling up and sizzling to the surface. “You don’t have any proof. Just a bunch of sun worshiping nonsense.”
“Not worshiping, no,” corrected Venus. “We’re just stating an observable fact. We are orbiting the star. Not, ummm …” the unspoken you drifted across the consciousness of all those present. Impolite, mildly aggressive, indelicate to say. The other planets mumbled in polite agreement. The star, not Mercury, was the center of it all.
“That’s impossible,” Mercury sneered. “I’ve been here since the beginning. I’ve seen you all dancing around me, paying homage, putting on your little coquettish acts.”
An exchange of glances. Should they really press the issue further? But they had to. They had to set the record straight. Mercury’s unceasing stream of criticism was one thing, a radioactive broadcast that washed over the airwaves. Dismissive comments, unsolicited suggestions. But recently things had escalated. Just what was this “Re-Ordering” he seemed to think was on the horizon?
“I don’t know if I’d call it dancing,” Venus looked out to the others for help. Six other planets and 181 moons all stood on the sidelines all with an encouraging look on their face, happy to let her go it alone on this one. Venus sighed, mentally assuming the burden of the group. “So everybody has kind of been doing their own thing? It’s not really a display for anyone.”
“You know what, Venus? It’s really not my problem that you’re embarrassed all of a sudden,” Mercury retorted. “The Re-Ordering will continue as scheduled.”
And so it was, closest to the center, his was the most obscured perspective of them all.
x9dread 