Enga mellom fjella

Zen dirigible [166] JI#7

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

Zen dirigible

"We need to check everything."

"Everything's fine."

"No. WE need to check EVERYTHING."

Chok felt fine. He'd recovered from the krait bite. Hoan hadn't said a thing and even Li-Chen hadn't either. They were too busy. Chen was negotiating with Kago-san over which rice would be best and Li had her hands full with Mrs. W.W.Walker. But Poh wasn't taking any risks.

"Have you seen Hoan?"

"No."

"She's always up to something."

Chok thought about that while he checked all the valves. They seemed okay but Poh had bought new ones and... he couldn't have fun all alone so he'd humor Poh and make sure everything was as good as new.

"Maybe she's working on her chariot. It's been coughing like it caught a cold."

Poh laughed as he fingered the silk checking for holes and ran his fingers along the bamboo to make sure nothing had cracked. The idea of a rice-alcohol powered steam-cart catching a cold was too good an opening.

"Maybe you should check her out when we're done here?"

"Maybe you should hold this." Chok grabbed Poh's hand and placed it where it would do some good. "Just hold the valve like this." Poh blushed. Chok delighted in making Poh blush. It was so easy.

"There. I'll work on the rudder now." Chok still held Poh's hand. "Do you want to help me grease it?"

... "No... I'll check my camera to make sure it's ready."

Chok checked everything twice.

Poh looked unfocused. "We need to know what Hoan is up to."

"I'll go ask."

"No... that's fine. We don't want her to know what we're doing tonight. She'll try to get it out of us."

"She always does. The dragon is ready. I'm ready. Let's go."

Chok and Poh, rose in Li's three-seater, 禪宗飛船 [chánzōng fēichuán] zen dirigible that was tethered to a pole like a kite. It was past midnight, an hour when no one notices, calm by moonlight, no one suspecting that anyone would be out. If anyone did look up they would only see a blue-green dragon (青龍 Qīnglóng) and swear that they needed to cut back on the sake.

But, Mazu (媽祖), Goddess of the Sea, had caught a cold, went south and took a nap and the mô-sîn-á [魔神仔], mischievous tricksters, were out and about.

© Copyright 2021 Kåre Enga [178.166] (26.juni.2021)

For

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Notes:

With this, the book details two types of personalities: those who are interested mostly in gestalts (romantic viewpoints focused on being "in the moment", and not on rational analysis), and those who seek to know details, understand inner workings, and master mechanics (classic viewpoints with application of rational analysis, vis-a-vis motorcycle maintenance).

禪宗飛船 [chánzōng fēichuán] zen dirigible; 飛魚和龍 fēiyú hé lóng (flying fish and dragon) Bluegreen Dragon (青龍 Qīnglóng). Chok-Poh's flying-dragon airship is a silkpunk qinglong.

Bamboo frame, covered with silk, a helium bladder to help it rise. A release valve to slowly descend, a parachute of woven silk (mandatory equipment in case it crashed), shaped like a cigar, a baffled "tube" running though it from mouth to anus to control speed, a ridge to right it, feet and flippers of fish and dragons to steer it. Just a toy-for-boys, of no real use. Chen and Li found another use... and intended to blackmail a ...

Silkpunk story follows "Krait Bite" found in "Krait Bite or Bright Kite? [71]"