The Asylum

Everyone was happy. They always were. There was no sadness, no anger, no pain.

This is the way it was in The Preetok. It had been thus for far longer than even the grandest of grand kings, The Old Humfiss himself, could even venture to say.

Then why, would such a place require a high court of elders to pass judgement on others? Why should anyone be sentenced? When one was happy, they need not commit any crime for their own betterment. What could any crime provide them with, when all around them was, oh-so-well; when they already had all that they wanted? Why was Ponk here? He had unfortunately committed the one and only crime that still existed in The Preetok. He had become unhappy.

The Preetok was a group of worlds covering an entire spiral galaxy. They had banded together to live as one many eons ago. All life within The Preetok existed in harmonious bliss. There was no war, nor any other conflict. There had not been a murder in thousands of millennia, except virtual ones that is, in- The Asylum. They had discovered long ago that the only way to de-evolve a species- was to allow it- unhappiness. This would eventually lead to its own destruction. The root of sadness was universally known to be- fear.

To remove fear of the unknown- was to unleash the key to happiness. This would then, in turn, prevent the anger brought on by the sadness. Anger was what led to killing, which in turn, led to suffering. Thankfully, this had been almost entirely eliminated.

Almost- that is, except for a choice few unlucky souls that had the misfortune of losing their grip on reality. These unfortunate beings came from all corners of The Preetok. It did not take long for a King or Queen to spot them. If they somehow missed a criminal, the offender would most certainly be picked up by one of the many Princes and Princesses that existed throughout the galaxy.

Ponk had been difficult to catch. He had hidden his illness well; constantly being able to maintain a false, outward gleam in his aura. Eventually though, he had had a mental episode while in a public place. He had been near a sun, Yeallzabuuba- an eleven planeted red-giant near the third arm' s point, when his grip on reality started to slip. No, he thought. Have to remain glad and gleeful. Can't let anyone see me change. But the change had already begun take place. His balance of stability shifted beyond his control and he began to feel a small prick of sadness creep into his well-being. Ponk surveyed the area of space around him and saw no one. This meant nothing though, as there were races of beings in the galaxy, which were far more powerful than his was. They could see him from much further away. Most of The Royals were at least a thousand times more advanced than his species. He had no reason to fear them. They would never harm him in any way. Yet no matter how much he told this thing to him self, the fear still grew inside of him.

Another sub-conscious personality began to immerge. He was fully aware of its presence. He knew that it was nothing more than a mirror image of his own self. The mirror however, was slightly warped; showing a sometimes, grossly distorted reflection.