Chapter 24 trapeze (2)

The elders would hold a funeral-like ceremony for the newborn fliers, and then tie boulders to the hands and feet of the victims.They went to the edge of the cliff on the coast and pushed him off, shouting, "Fly! Fly and show us!" And among the shepherds who lived in the southern plateau, they allowed the young man The wings are fully grown. Newborn fliers are well cared for and worshiped as gods throughout the year.Suppose it is a girl who exhibits this fatal symptom.In her feverish, nonsensical sessions, she is cast as a shaman or seer.The priests translated what she said as they understood it and communicated it to the entire tribe.

Once her wings are fully grown, she is immediately tied up.The tribe would then lead her up the nearest cliff or ravine—a journey that would take weeks in that flat, desolate place.Once there, they dance for days and inhale hallucinogenic fumes from edible plant leaves.The girl and all the priests went into a trance, and they sang and danced all the way to the edge of the cliff.There, people will unbind her wings.She raised her wings for the first time, like a young eagle leaving its nest for the first time, leaping from the cliff into the air, flailing wildly those huge but untrained wings.Whether or not she actually flew, the men of the clan would scream with excitement and shoot her with bows and arrows or hurl at her with hunting spears.She was pierced by dozens of spears and bows and fell from the sky.

Women screamed from the cliff that if the girl fell below the cliff and survived, they would stone her to death.Then, they threw down a lot of stones and buried the body under the towering cairn.On the southern plateau, there are many such cairns under every cliff.The stones from the old cairns were taken out again and new cairns were built.Such young people may try to escape their fate, but because of the fever and weakness brought on by their developing wings, it is difficult for them to escape very far.There is a legend among the southern Merm tribes of a winged man who jumped into the air from a sacrificial cliff and flew into flight.He flew so high that no arrow or spear could hit him.He just disappeared into the sky.The original story ends here.A playwright named Norwell wrote a love tragedy based on this story.In the play called "Forbidden," the young flier makes an appointment with his lover to meet her somewhere, and flies to meet her at the appointed place.But she inadvertently revealed this secret to another suitor, and this third party was quietly lurking in the secret meeting place.As the lovers embraced, he threw his spear and killed the flying man.The maiden drew her dagger, killed the murderer, and then, after saying goodbye to the dying Flying Man, thrust it into her own chest.

The plot seems cheesy, but still very touching if well acted.Tears welled up in every viewer's eyes as the hero spread his wings for the first time and took flight as he hugged his lover in his giant bronze wings as he died.A few years ago, on my plane, a theater in Chicago staged a version of the play "Forbidden."It is very unfortunate that its title was changed to "Angel's Death", although such a thing may have been inevitable.In Gia, there will never be any legends about angels like ours. For the gia, the image of the chubby cherub, the hovering guardian spirit, or the majestic emissary is a sinister mockery that every parent and every adolescent can't help but dread: It was a rare but terrifying deformity, a curse, a death sentence.Among the more civilized Chia this fear is somewhat reduced.Winged men are no longer offered as sacrificial offerings; they are tolerated, even sympathized with, as if they were some very unfortunate cripples.We may find this situation very odd.Fly over the heads of people bound to the earth, race vultures and condors, dance in the sky, ride the wind, all without being in a noisy metal container, without any plastic or fiber Or something made of leather strapped to the body, but to fly with a pair of huge, strong, graceful wings, which are all their own--is it not a great joy and freedom?How boring, dreary, and pessimistic the Gian people are if they think that people who can fly are handicapped!But they do have their reasons.

The truth is, winged Ghia cannot trust their wings.There isn't any obvious problem with the structure of the wings.With a little practice, any winged man can perform a flawless short flight, or effortlessly glide, or take to the skies.After a certain amount of practice, they can also do somersaults and perform many stunts.When winged humans are fully grown, if they fly regularly, they will gain superior stamina.They can stay in the air almost all the time.Many winged people have learned to use their wings to sleep in the air.There have been records of people flying more than 2,000 miles in a row, circling briefly while eating.Most of these long-distance flight records are set by women, because their bodies are lighter, so they have an advantage in long-distance flights.Men's muscles are more powerful. If there is a speed flight award, it must be them.But the wingless Gia who occupy the majority are not interested in records, awards, etc., because this kind of competition has a very high risk of death.