┧神的玩偶┥

Ten thousand of light years away, there is a planet named the Earth.

A lamb and his companies share the Prairie a place he has known of from the very time of his birth.  Every day Ford comes to grab some of his companies and takes them away.  The scene produces in him a thought of parting the Prairie.  He tries for ages before he learns that the scene around him never alters and eventually he gives up.

Misfortune comes that afternoon when Ford comes to seize him.  No struggling nor panic.  He finally understands why his companies always appear indifferent at such moment.

“A couple of questions before you take me, can I ask?” he grumbled coldly looking up at Ford.

 “Go ahead” putting him down， Ford replies ,“I’ll meet your needs”

“Why you take my companies away?”

“Because they are as food to our Ford family as the Prairie to you.”

 “I have tried in vain to escape from here.  Why am I always kept in one and the same prairie?”

Without answering Ford suddenly opens a door pointing a row of compartments that shine like some metal.

“Are they what you mean by prairie which is no more than a number of compartments on this farm?  You have stayed here for long. This was a construction of our forefathers,” Ford seems much pleased.

“Haven’t you any other choices than feeding on us?”

“Would you prefer tree barks to favourite green grass?”

“Isn’t it a fair thing?!  No one takes you as his food!” The lamb shouted indignantly.

“……”All of a sudden, the power goes off.

Ford has got used to the doing-off of the power, for the system can recover automatically.  He loses in thought of the lamb’s last words: Isn’t it a fair thing? 

When I first met with the failure in the picking process in Slaughter Province, I felt a bit unfair, too.  Otherwise I would not have started my work of raising sheep here.

While thinking, he arrives at the panel room.  Let’s go in to have a look. The panel light is flashing.  Walking around for a while, he sees a cabin and crouches to enter.  “Wow” A long corridor comes in sight and then a huge gate on which “hazard” is written.  There might be something wrong here to cause the power-off.  He opens the gate.

“Ah!”

A glaring light shut his eyes and before he knows what is going on, he is seized by a huge hand.

When he comes to, an Orion-like man is staring at him. He seems to have come to a feeding farm where machines are working steadily to operating on his clan --- other Fords.

“What are you? What do you want? Put me down. Where is this?” Ford is scared.

“Hush, poor Ford. I’m Human the master of Fords.” Human says slowly, “this is where we feed Fords the fattest of whom are to be sent to the Slaughter to be manufactured.”

“Slaughter？” Ford feels lucky to be left over in the picking process.“You mean to have me eaten”

“You are our food. How can I spare you? Poor thing, Can you spare the lamb your favourite food?”

Ford feel familiarity in the voice which is said to the lamb by himself.

“Unfair!” Ford says subconsciously.

Human smiled cunningly and is ready to put Ford on the transferring belt.  Suddenly, the alarm shrieks. “Warning! Monster is attacking. Warning! Monster is attacking” Human is panicked looking at the panel alarm.  He dropped Ford and runs away…

The Monsters hail, “warriors! go for your prey!”

……

At this moment, the lamb is enjoying the green grass again.  The Prairie is quiet as ever.