January 18, 2006

Week 36 - Impossible Dreams 17

Episode 5

 

The Adventures of Coyote Man

Coyote Man and Pan Boy in...

The End?

 

Powell stands in front of a mirror in his home, wearing the Coyote Man uniform.  Around his neck hangs a gleaming fang - The Mystical Talisman.  He reaches for the Coyote mask and prepares to pull it on.  Suddenly the room fills with a thick fog.  "Do not act rashly, young one.  The choice you make now sets the path for the rest of your life."

Powell looks around the room.  "Who said that?" he demands.

The fog clears, revealing a wrinkled, dark skinned old man, who wears a simple feathered head dress.  "I am he who first bestowed the Great Talisman upon Donald Lamont."

"The Shaman!"

The old man nods.  "Is it truly your wish to become the new Coyote Man?"

"I...  I have to.  I promised Mr. Lamont I'd carry on his mission."  Powell holds up the fang.  "He gave this to me..."

"But was it his to give?  Donald Lamont was a worthy avatar.  But what you now wear around your neck... he was only loaned."

"I...  I don't understand..."

"Throughout history, in one form or another, there have been many who have taken up the roll you now contemplate.  In the annals of time, there will surely be many more.  You must now ask yourself...  Is it your destiny to be one of them?"

Powell looks at the mask.  "How...  how can I know?"

The Shaman glances around the room and picks up a coffee mug.  "When you look at this, do you see a simple cup or do you see a gleaming, jewel encrusted grail?"  He points to the television.  "Is that an ordinary entertainment device or is it a gateway into another dimension?"  He steps to Powell and pinches his arm.  "Is your skin soft flesh or is it solid and invulnerable as iron?"  He steps back.  "How you answer those questions determines whether you have been touched by the spirit of the Coyote."

Powell stares at him and rubs his arm.  He looks around the room.  After a moment he takes off the Talisman and holds it out, in his open palm. 

The Shaman nods.  "You are brave and resourceful, but your destiny lies elsewhere."  He takes the Talisman and the room begins to fog again.  "For a time, the world of the senses must now hold sway.  But one day, when the burden becomes too great...  when the men and the women and the children cry out for a dream...  when that which is overwhelms and smothers that which should be..."  The fog thickens, and the old man is completely hidden.  "On that day...  Coyote Man will return!"  The fog clears. 

Powell is alone.

 

<Previous Episode

Next Episode>