A PREVIEW OF THE FOURTH BOOK OF “THE FANTASTICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE IMAGINED WORLD OF FISTBUMP THE SKY” SERIES
PART 1: THE RULE OF EQUAL EXCHANGE
The Interterritory Research Team, myself included, have been tasked with cataloguing and describing the many fascinating inventions of Fistbump the Sky in such a manner that beings from other planets could understand how they work. Such a request is, of course, absurd. While inhabitants of planets such as Venus, Spot, and Pluto have the luxury of creating inventions through trial and error, our planet, on the other hand, has gone out of its way to interfere with our progress. It is also nearly impossible to list every invention in a single chapter or to create a list based on any specific time period, as each territory naturally possesses its own timeline.
In response to this daunting task, we have decided instead to focus on the inventions that have left the greatest impact across all territories, excluding those that are territory-bound or used exclusively by one species. This, unfortunately, means that we will not be discussing any inventions used by the nomads or those living in particularly harsh territories, such as Limbo or the former Phrenezia. We have also decided to approach the issue of multiple timelines by jumping through the most relevant ones, using The Great Migration as an anchor.
The Great Migration refers to a long period during which the first generation left Gods Grounds in pursuit of a new home. Although the planet had been around long before The Great Migration, it marks the cycles during which the territories were founded, marking the beginning of the time of the inhabitants. Those who have read the previous chapter might recall that Gods Grounds is the plateau situated in the centre of Fistbump the Sky. It is where the seeds that birthed our demigods sprouted and where the demigods made their own forms of life, known as the first generation.
As expected, the large number of mouths to feed had drained the already barren plateau until there was hardly anything left. With no other alternative, the demigods decided that the first generation needed to find a new home. Unfortunately, due to their botanical nature, the gods were rooted to God’s Grounds and could not accompany their creations on their journey.
There was, however, one god who was the exception to the rule. Kala, god of the three suns, often took their nomadic creations with them on sun journeys to the Great Desert. The other gods, fearing for their creations’ safety, begged Kala to allow the first generation to follow them on their journey to the deserts. Though aloof, god Kala was not heartless and agreed to their request. Before their departure, the gods gifted each of their creations with a small part of themselves and instructed them to plant the body parts in their new homes, for only then could the gods leave Gods Grounds. With one last farewell, the first generation followed god Kala to the Great Desert.
This marked the first phase of the Great Migration.
Unfortunately, unlike god Kala’s creations, the rest of the first generation could not survive the nomadic lifestyle for very long. By the time they had reached the An-Jing desert, twenty of them had lost their lives. Those who survived decided to abandon god Kala’s journey.
This signalled the second phase of The Great Migration.
Some of the earliest memories revealed that the first generation had divided itself into groups of equal strength before leaving the An-Jing desert, vowing to share resources and information among each other. With each new territory that was founded, these groups naturally grew smaller in numbers until the Great Migration finally came to an end with the founding of the Grassland, Hai-Kyun.
Time was, unfortunately, not recorded until the invention of the Self-Sufficient Calendars. As a result, the split among the first generation created multiple timelines. Moreover, each time cycle was, and still is, at the mercy of the Great Frog’s fancy. We at the Interterritory Research Team have thus decided to organise the inventions in this chapter into three categories, based on those that share a similar origin or material, namely: Equal Exchange, Remains, and Spirit.
