THE JENGUN ENGINEERS
THE SPECIES OF FISTBUMP THE SKY #3
INTRODUCTION
< THE LAIKANS
THE BAALIANS >
The first time I went to the northern hemisphere, everything was different, including the stars. One lonely night, I think it was in Northeastern China, I looked up again at the unfamiliar stars. To my surprise, I found the very thing that always aligned me – Orion’s belt. It was upside down, but it was still there.
I think Jeng must have used the stars as well, because by the time god Piesang arrived, Jeng was waiting.
THE FIRST GENERATION – The Builder
According to the Interterritory Research Team and the few founders they managed to interview, the demigods seemed to have been creating new species/generations roughly around the same time. The news naturally spread as it was only a matter of time before their god would visit a territory. Although I never met Jeng, I distinctly remember them being famous as one of Fistbump the Sky’s first engineers. Jeng was also the one who founded the Jengu territory and was thus the first generation of Jenguns. Considering all demigod Piesang’s tendency to fail their experiments, it is no wonder that Jeng was ready for the demigod with a list of requirements for the new generations.
Jeng’s first request was for fire to be added to the second generation’s DNA. The other ingredients were up to the demigod. Piesang, being the god of invention and curiosity, accepted the challenge.
THE SECOND GENERATION – The Burners
The demigod and their creation knew how vital fire was for engineering. They also knew that it was nearly impossible to come across, as the planet had banned most methods of creating the heat source. Jeng had thus far been relying on their own fire, a happy accident from the demigod Piesang’s banana seed having created literal friction with the chillies from which Jeng was made. Or so I’ve been told. If more Jenguns could also produce fire, then Jeng’s burden would lessen significantly.
Thus, Piesang agreed to Jeng’s request and decided to add fire to the second generation’s DNA along with the required god-seed and cake crust from Jengu territory. As with the previously created species, the demigod also decided to add a part of Jeng, the first generation, to ensure a mental link between the inhabitants.
They soon found that fire and chillies was the perfect recipe for an overheated disaster.
Much like the first generation, the second generation looked similar to us humans. Yet, while Jeng had merely a single flame atop their head, it was clear that the second generation’s bodies contained too much heat.
The fire from the first generation, combined with the fire Piesang had added, had inevitably turned their bodies into a furnace of undying flames. Their bodies burned from the inside out, melting away their eyes and deforming their face. Hoping to hide their unsightly features, the second generation decided to wear masks made from animal bones – the only material strong enough to withstand the fire.
To Piesang’s horror, the fire inside the second generation had caused the chillies within their bodies to become overly active. This led to a pattern of white flowers to decorate their bodies. Although beautiful, the pattern sporadically blossomed into flowers which painfully forced themselves from the second generation’s skin before engulfing them. As if to emphasise the chilli plant’s presence, the second generation’s feet were also replaced by vines.
Jeng, however, was thrilled with the outcome. Not only could the second generation produce flames, but the heat also caused their bodies to float, making them even more beneficial to Jeng’s dream of a science utopia.
Piesang, however, thought differently.
THE THIRD GENERATION – The Materialists
Piesang was appalled at the pain they had caused their new creations, but the damage was done –the second generation would burn forever.
Without a shred of remorse, Jeng demanded their god to create another generation, complaining there were not enough hands to fulfil their dreams of an advanced territory. They also admitted to being jealous of the Laikans in the north and to wanting inhabitants who could gather the materials they needed for their experiments. Although Piesang had agreed to listen to Jeng’s requests, they rightfully decided that Jengu’s founder would no longer have the right to choose any ingredients for the other generations.
Although Piesang is considered to be one of the kinder gods, I wasn’t surprised that the monks recalled Piesang becoming furious at Jeng’s attitude. A god is still a god, after all.
In a fit of rage, Piesang tore Jeng into pieces with their bare teeth, before taking Jeng’s arms to create the new generation. Only Jeng’s head was left intact, ensuring that they would suffer a painful regeneration yet live through the ordeal. Out of guilt for what had been done to the second generation, the demigod decided that the new generation would be made with the planet’s strongest cake crust, taken from outside the territories, where the dough had hardened to a steel-like density when their planet was created. Piesang also decided that the third generation’s god-seed would not come from their body, but from their tears.
The ingredients merged to form a petite body that closely resembled Jeng’s, aside from the secondpair of arms, that is. The extra arms turned out to help hold up the large shells, which were dotted with eyes that grew from the demigod’s tears.
THE FOURTH GENERATION – The Absorbers
Cycles past and the Jengun worked together without conflict. Jeng had healed themselves and had once again taken their position as territory leader. Yet, the demigod grew nervous.
The Jenguns thrived on collecting information, treating each piece like treasure. Unlike the inhabitants of other territories, the Jenguns never drew or recorded anything they discovered, fearing it might be stolen. They were confident in their ability to remember everything, and as time passed, their hoard of information grew. So did the pain.
The inhabitants were suffering from unexplained bouts of pain, some even leading to seizures. No one could determine its cause, yet Piesang believed it stemmed from their bodies trying to contain an overload of information. To remedy this, the demigod decided to create a fourth generation.
Locally referred to as “the absorbers,” the fourth generation’s purpose was simple – to absorb information from the other generations. As such, Piesang took a small piece of each of the previous three generations, hoping that the link would serve as a funnel to lead information to the fourth generation. To give the new generation the power to absorb as much as possible, without busting, Piesang also cut a large piece of themselves and added it to the mix.
The result, as you can see, was a species whose bodies had the consistency of a bubble, glowing with the information they held. The fourth generation also had tentacles, which they used to absorb secrets from anything they touched, regardless of whether the previous generations also shared the knowledge. To ensure that the fourth generation did not explode, Piesang made a small hole in their heads from which, once a month, any outdated or unnecessary information was released into the atmosphere.
With the creation of the fourth generation, Piesang solved the Jenguns’ problem of information overload. The Historian, of course, often cursed the Jenguns as it is nearly impossible to find any records that can be used in the “Fantastical Encyclopedia of the Imagined World of Fistbump the Sky.” Yet, I believe that the fourth generation was Piesang’s best creation.
Seeing their work in Jengu was done, Piesang made their way over to Baal and to the first creature they ever made – Lahba.
THE BAALIANS >
