Long ago, in the days when all disks
flopped in the breeze and the writing of words was on a star,
the Blue Giant dug for the people the Pea Sea. But he needed a
creature who could sail the waters, and would need for support
but few rams.
So the Gateskeeper, who was said to
be both micro and soft, fashioned a Dosfish, who was small and
spry, and could swim the narrow sixteen-bit channel. But the Dosfish
was not bright, and could be taught but few tricks. His alphabet
had no A's, B's, or Q's, but a mere 640 K's, and the size of his
file cabinet was limited by his own fat.
At first the people loved the Dosfish,
for he was the only one who could swim the Pea Sea. But the people
soon grew tired of commanding his line, and complained that he
could neither be dragged or dropped. "Forsooth," they
cried, "the Dosfish can do only one job at a time, and of
names he knows only eight and three." And many of them left
the Pea Sea for good, and went off in search of the Magic Apple.
Although many went, far more stayed,
because admittance to the Pea Sea was cheap. So the Gateskeeper
studied the Magic Apple, and rested awile in the Parc of the Xer
Ox. And he made a Window that could ride on the Dosfish, and do
its thinking for it. But the Window was slow, and it would break
when the Dosfish got confused. So most people contented themselves
with the Dosfish.
Now it came to pass that the Blue Giant
came upon the Gateskeeper, and spoke thus: "Come, let us
make of ourselves something greater than the Dosfish." The
Blue Giant seemed like a humbug, so they called the new creature
Oz II.
Now Oz II was smarter than the Dosfish,
as most things are. It could drag and drop, and could keep files
without becoming fat. But the people cared for it not. So the
Blue Giant and the Gateskeeper promised another Oz II, to be called
Oz II Too, that could swim fast in the new,32-bit wide Pea Sea.
Then lo, a strange miracle occurred.
Although the Window that rode on the Dosfish was slow, it was
pretty, and the third window was the prettiest of all. And the
people began to like the third window, and to use it. So the Gateskeeper
turned to the Blue Giant and said "Fie on thee, for I need
thee not. Keep thy Oz II Too, and I shall make of my Window an
Entity that will not need the Dosfish, and will swim in the 32-bit
Pea Sea."
Years passed, and the workshops of the
Gateskeeper and the Blue Giant were many times overrun by insects.
And the people went on using their Dosfish with a Window; even
though the Dosfish would from time to time become confused and
die, it could always be revived with three fingers. Then there
came a day when the Blue Giant let forth his Oz II Too onto the
world. The Oz II Too was indeed mighty, and awesome, and required
a great ram, and the world was changed not a whit. For the people
said "It is indeed great, but we see little application for
it." And they were doubtful, because the Blue Giant had met
with the Magic Apple, and together they were fashioning a Taligent,
and the Taligent was made of objects, and was most pink.
Now the Gateskeeper had grown ambitious,
and as he had been ambitious before he grew, he was now more ambitious
still. So he protected his Window Entity with great security,
and made its net work both in serving and with peers. And the
Entity would swim, not in the Pea Sea, but also in the Oceans
of Great Risk. "Yea," the Gateskeeper declared, "though
my Entity will require a greater ram than Oz II Too, it will be
more powerful than a world of Eunuchs.
And so the gateskeeper prepared to unleash
his Entity to the world, in all but two cities. For he promised
that a greater Window, a greater Entity, and even a greater Dosfish
would appear one day in Chicago and Cairo, and it too would be
built of objects.
Now the Eunuchs who lived in the Oceans
of Great Risk, and who scorned the Pea Sea, began to look upon
their world with fear. For the Pea Sea had grown and great ships
were sailing in it, the Entity was about to invade their Oceans,
and it was rumored that files would be named in letters greater
than eight. And the Eunuchs looked upon the Pea Sea, and many
of them thought to emigrate.
Within the Oceans of Great Risk were
many Sun Worshippers, and they had wanted to excel, and make their
words perfect, and do their jobs as easy as one-two-three. And
what's more, many of them no longer wanted to pay for the Risk.
So the Sun Lord went to the Pea Sea, and got himself eighty-sixed.
And taking the next step was he of the
NextStep, who had given up building his boxes of black. And he
proclaimed loudly that he could help anyone make wondrous soft
wares, then admitted meekly that only those who know him could
use those wares, and he was made of objects, and required the
biggest ram of all.
And the people looked out upon the Pea
Sea, and they were sore amazed. And sore confused. And sore sore.
And that is why, to this day, Ozes, Entities, and Eunuchs battle
on the shores of the Pea Sea, but the people still travel on the
simple Dosfish.