Pygmy (5 page)

Current now, curving sinew spiraling tail of smoke arise white out tip solder iron, smoke drawing pattern in air, iron perched between cat finger like cigarette holder old film, host sister brandish, say, “Hey, Pygmy, when school starts…” Say, “Are you going out for science fair?”

Mouths of operative me say, “Define?”

Cat sister squint eye at heat, molten solder liquid lead metal atop work surface, say, “It’s easy.” Making solder electric circuits, say, “You invent something bullshit and they give you a free trip to the city.” Bunch shoulders at own ears, make shrugged, say, “But science is totally the hot where-it’s-at.”

Ear of operative me steady consume sister word, only no able decipher. This agent sit balanced upon edge host sister bed, mattress pile with blanket, patterned many animals of brown weave through cover blanket. Animal all smile. Brown animal clench string bound to floating bladder inflated helium. Silly animal.

Host sister drip and draw in melted lead metal, breathing snake tail of smoke.

Host sister bed vault, all plaster surface colored yellow
paint. Floor, layered yellow matting crafted with million strands yarn. Window observe leaves of outside tree. Light craning on stork neck illuminate where sister sit, tilt to watch where solder melt. Electric bulb of light strong bright.

Door position, healed. Next now, rap, rap, rap knocking opposite surface of door. Other room voice say, “Sweetheart, can I borrow some batteries?”

Host sister, cat sister remain head tilted. Eye rest on tip solder wand. Say, “What size?”

Door swing so reveal host chicken mother, claw gripping opposite handle. Mother say, “Knock, knock.” Eyes rest upon operative me, smile same fake as brown animal patterned in blanket. Chicken mouth say, “Double-A, triple-A, I’ll take whatever you got.”

No look away solder project, cat sister say, “Try my radio.” Say, “They’re D-sized, but they’re pretty new.”

Chicken mother strut small parade to table, side of bed. Claw scratch open hatch in behind black plastic box contraption. Spill from, one to eight cylinders, land
plop-plop
on bedcover blanket. Cylinder bounce and roll. Host mother gather, bony talon hand secure eight into trouser side pockets. Mouth say, “Any more?”

Veiled within smoke, haloed and misted pale smoke of hot metal, sister face say, “Try my Talking Teddy bear.”

Mother claws pry open skin of stuffed bear. Miniature false bear. Skin of behind swing open so reveal cylinder, chicken claw scrape hollow. Bear gutted. Conceal battery cylinder into trouser. Mouth say, pitch more high, “Any more?”

Wreathed of metal cigarette holder, glowing hot wand, sister face say nothing. Silent. Nose vent metal smoke. Acrid. Mouth say, “Try my rape siren, in my backpack.” Fuming solder smoke, say, “God, Mom, you’re pathetic.”

Chicken mother strut to location fabric container rest at floor below window. Claw scratch from pocket small trumpet, twist end and void two cylinder. Trouser pocket swollen many cylinders, host mother scramble until door, say, “Thanks, sweetheart.” Say, “You two play nice.” Drag door until healed into wall. Foot sounds, smaller, gone.

Face tilted, eye cover skin make squint within floating path, curve corkscrew white threads smoke, host sister say, “I can’t believe my own mother would put her orgasm above me maybe getting raped …”

Hands shoving metal worm solder metal to melt against heat solder iron. Paint liquid metal pattern on circuit board work project. In breathe snaking white smoke, cat sister say, “Trust me, Pygmy, don’t go down to the basement for a while.” Say, “Mom’s throwing one of her fukkerware parties.” Say, “It used to be her and her friends would force each other to buy these plastic boxes for leftover food. Now they sit around test-driving vibrators.”

Eyes of operative me solely rest on sister. Beyond sheet window glass, under beyond tree, along sidewalk stand operative Magda, no suffocated, brown eyes rested on here.

Host sister say, “It’s these sex toys they use to climax.” Say, “That’s why the batteries.”

Miniature invisible shake grow out bed, spring of mattress, floor of chamber shimmy. Tiny shake make dance yellow fabric window veil. Miniature shimmy shiver innards of operative me, tiny pulse massage weapon within trouser.

Tool knife shiver route across work surface, past host sister elbow, closer edge to drop. Next now, cat sister seize knife one now before drop to floor. Rest knife more far from edge work surface, say, “What torques me is how my mom’s generation started a revolution for equal rights and just ended
up in the basement jacking off.” Say, “But I guess I could make the same complaint about my dad’s generation and the Internet…”

Beyond window glass, Magda steady as tree. Rooted. Waited.

Say, stealth calm as green tree sloth, say, “Esteemed host sister, what is labor position of respected father?”

Repeat shoulders made shrugging, cat sister say, “Something with the government. Developing new strains of some virus or something.” Eat smoke in mouth, vent burnt metal smoke out nostril.

Speech of operative me, this agent fashion worry scared, say, “Glorious father craft deadly virus?”

Craning light on work surface, throw bright bulb illuminate solder work, next now less bright. Bulb shrink from white to yellow. Dim in room layer white smoke. Next now, repeat glow bright.

Host sister eye bulb, say, “Gross, they’ve graduated from direct current to alternating.”

This agent, say, “Clarify?”

“From battery sex toys to ones that plug into outlets,” say host sister. Solder draw into pattern, link diode, transistor, transducer, mystery project, host sister say, “Build a better
vibrator
, Pygmy, and the world will beat a path to your door.”

Eye blink against white smoke, cat sister say, “What scares me is how the Chinese are light-years ahead of us in the sex toy race…”

Eye of operative me cast to rest against Magda, outside, ready wait vessel for seed of this agent. Mouths of this agent quote fascist tyrant, lunatic emperor Adolf Hitler, say, ‘“The day of individual happiness has passed.’”

Host sister say, “What are your folks like?” Sister hair
gather behind head, braided single rope. Sister buttocks cupped in work chair, cat sister say, “I mean, what was your childhood like?” Say, “What’s it like where you come from?”

Next then, hands of operative me grip yellow fabric veil window, layer fabrics so meet in center, blocking view tree, outside, Magda. Eclipse.

Quote, “The day of individual happiness has passed.”

Next now crane light shining work surface, bulb die black. Smoke no rise white out solder iron. Solder grow cool until weld, stuck to iron. Cat sister say, “Shit.” Project hesitated. Say, “Those horny housewives…”

Chamber dim, darken, operative me say, “Clarify?”

Twins of operative me and cat sister seated inside dark, host sister say, “My guess is they’ve tripped a circuit breaker.”

And this agent say, “Revision.” Say, “Please, tell repeat nature host father security, government priority top-secret labors?” Say, “Provide more detail, please.”

Begins here fifth account of operative me, agent number 67 recall training session day
. Operative preparation laboratory
. Home nation
. Dated back many year. For official record, recounting here formative history of operative me.

Depict here standard classroom laboratory occupy basement owning no window. Location divided long aisle between lengthy work surface, wall lined silver bins wove wire housing resident animals. White rodent. Frequent rabbit suffering experiment. Pigs of Guinea. Fellow operatives conduct to test chemical exposing animals. Location reek as baby animal fancy restaurant American shopping mall.

Baby puppy, as American title
beef
. Baby kitten
as pork
.

For official record, as rule must address chemist instructor, during enter room, unison all operative must announce: “Greetings, esteemed most revered educator.” In single unite voice must all operative say, “Accept, please, our gratitude for the wisdom you impart.” This, every today.

Specific past today, many today ago, this agent heat tincture of iodine, hovering tincture within glass beaker above flame gas burner. One hand of operative me operate beaker secure grasping tongs. One hand of this agent suspend metal saucer filled ice on top boil tincture heated within beaker, crystal iodine sublime as alcohol evaporate. Crystal form, crusted underneath side of ice saucer. Hands of operative me securing heated beaker, gas flame hiss, hand secure to suspend saucer
of ice, this agent handless as laboratory go dark. Sudden, no light. From bright, many surrounded fellow operative, Tibor, Sheena, Ling, Metro, Tanek, baby animal, laboratory classroom fall blind dark.

From behind operative me wrap hands of other, cupped to cover eyes of this agent. Cupped dark.

Could be foot heel of operative me backward kick, Exploding Mule,
kick-sock
, to backward shatter knee of attacker. Instead, female voice say, “Comrade operative, fast profess recipe to manufacture vast explosion picric acid.” Voice of operative 36, agent Magda.

Duo hands of operative me occupied, one heated, one ice chilled, mouths of this agent say, “Recipe picric acid…” Say, “Twenty aspirin tablet, half cup pure alcohol, sulfuric acid stolen automobile battery, three teaspoon potassium nitrate…”

Cupped hands reek of zinc chloride.

Cupped hands of operative Magda release eyes of this agent. Agent 36 make small parade to stand at elbow of this agent. Magda say, “Exact correct, comrade.”

Alcohol of tincture close gone, remaining abandoned iodine crystals frosted underside of metal saucer. Soon, this agent to scrape and collect. Combine most carefully along household cleaner ammonia, generate form nitrogen tri-iodide. Will precipitate red-brown crystals. Wash crystals with alcohol. Wash repeat with ether. Producing next then among most vast explosions learned to humanity.

Peering brown eye to face of operative me, Magda say, “Important must freeze still, comrade.” Say, “No motion.” Agent 36 poke own fingertip against own face cheek, say, “This location of comrade face, dusted spot white crystals mercury fulminate…”

Very dangerous, caustic, blast when too heated, blast from
any shock. Mercury fulminate. Most old, most no stable explode compound.

Operative Magda raise to point on only foot toes, ballerina poised, to lean near. Breathing of agent 36 brush cheek of operative me. Magda face imminent to contact face skin of this agent. Next then, tongue of operative Magda unfurl out mouth, tongue slippery pink, wet glow, tongue muscle wipe damp path across cheek of this agent.

Cleanse future exploding mercury fulminate.

Next now, hand of operative Magda cup near own mouth, ladylike, screen action as agent 36 salivates protective wad to encase dangerous compound. Next now, Magda expectorate wad salivate against laboratory floor, fast expelled,
zip-slam
into floor where spit compound impact,
flash-boom
, blast leaving crater on concrete.

All fellow operative eyeing. Pigs of Guinea squeal. Sand of concrete raining all agent, stink of smoke, Magda say, “Permit relax, comrade secure now.” Repeat expectorate, second salivate produce no blast.