Storytime

Old stories are the best stories. It's said that there are no new stories to tell, that all stories are old stories. So all heroes are Christ, and Christ is Dionysus and Dionysus is Osiris or Horus. I love old stories, especially the folklore and myths of cultures. I love tricksters as well. Odysseus, Loki, Anansi, Coyote, they're all my favorites. In modern writing, tricksters are complicated rogues weaving complicated puzzles for complicated villains. But in those old stories, they were simple people who were clever for their simplicity.

There are also stories told about the world of history that possess this element of simplicity. Here are two of my favorites (both probably apocraphyl).


In Gordium, which was then called Phrygia, there was no king. So the people consulted the Oracle, who told them that the next man driving an ox-cart into the city would become their legitimate king. And, because it was a city, this is just what happened. In recognition of the event, a complicated, twisted, intricate knot was tied between a post and the ox-cart and was left there to commemorate the new king. Whoever could untie this knot, it was later said, would rule Asia. But, of course, there was no loose end to force through loops, and even if one could had existed, the knot was tight and unworkable. After a time, Phrygia gave way to the Persian Empire, and the Persians gave way to the Greeks.
In the 4th century BC, Alexander the Great entered the city. Here he encountered the knot, and was informed by the priests of Gordium of the nature of the prophecy surrounding it.
Alexander, when faced with this puzzle, simply drew his sword and cut the knot in two.


In the mid-20th Century, NASA and the Soviet Space Program were engaged in what we know now as the famous Space Race, which has since fallen from public favor. Both programs encountered a peculiar problem: zero-gravity rendered their pens totally unworkable, as there was no force to move the ink in it's tube in the conventional pen. Naturally, the importance of being able to record data by hand was not lost on either of the programs, and both the US and the USSR set out to solve the problem.
The United States engaged in extensive research and design, spending perhaps millions in taxpayer dollars, designing the pen that wrote upside-down and in zero-gravity. This is the Agency which created Tang and freeze-dried ice cream, so it is not unbelievable that they could and would design such a pen. Naturally, as in any case where American drive and ingenuity is applied, the pen was a success, achieving it's goal and becoming a knick-knack for people to buy for nephews and distant relations and so forth and so on.
The Soviets decided to go with the pencil.


Alexander's story illustrates an excellent example in thinking outside the box. Just because someone creates a boundary does not mean that boundary does in fact exist. Sometimes, just tackling the problem is the way to go. I also find it humorous because the fact is, Alexander cheated.
The Space-Pen Program story is, of course, a total lie. An independent businessman created the space pen for just $1 million because the pencil was a potential hazard both for fire and towards equipment (basically, think of all those pointy nubs you break off your pencils, mechanical or otherwise. Now imagine them flying undetected through the air and lodging in machines or your eye). And both NASA and the Soviets used the same model pen. But the basic point the story is trying to make remains a valid one: sometimes, the best solution to a complicated problem is a simple answer.