DATALOG ENTRY: GOOUSCH
LOG DATE: --
Goousch’lehren’aben’Drexill’andar was the runt in a spawn of around 50, of which only 10 were able to come to full gestation partly due to natural causes and partly because of the phage which affected nearly all births on Moeshe. He and his four brothers and five sisters grew up in a small city outside of Piscerna called Neptulon. Their parents were moderately successful in their fields; his father a merchant and mother a teacher.
His name was shortened to Goousch shortly before meeting one of his father's associates, a human who had a hard time remembering names there due to the long-winded nature of names on Moeshe. His father, known as Gorrf, was peddling some of his fixer bots to the human and Goousch could not help but be fascinated by all the shiny gizmos dangling from the stranger's belt, breaking down what each one of them did in his mind, coming very close to perfect accuracy in identification of the many strange gadgets.
The man caught the little froglet ogling his stuff and smiled. “Here kid.” He grabbed a small silver cylinder and handed it to the boy, who looked to his father for approval. Gorrf laughed and motioned for Goousch to accept the man's offering. He cradled it in both of his little webbed hands, unsure of it's purpose or the man's intention.
The man laughed at Goousch’s trepidation. “It's a MultiWeld.” He clicked a button on the side. It sparked to life with a roar and a cone of blue energy flared, filling the whole room with its cool yet violent hue . The man quickly snatched it and adjusted the dials to reduce its intensity to that of a small firestarter. The man shot Goousch’s father an apologetic look before handing the small tool back to the transfixed little boy. He could not take his eyes off its entrancing glow. He flipped the switch and the device sucked the blue plasma back into its hilt. He smiled and stole it away into his father's workshop. The man tried to object but Gorrf held up a webbed hand to reassure him.
It was 10 minutes before Goousch would return holding the welder behind his back. He bashfully proffered the MultiWeld to the man. It had been polished, the dings had been hammered out, and he could see a few other tweaks here and there. “Hey there little man. Looks good as new. Hey, you even added an overflow buffer. Guess it helps if it doesn't vent full force every time i turn it on. Thanks buddy.” The man slapped a hand on Goousch's shoulder and gave him a big thumbs up. Goousch's face went solar in both color and heat. Pride was something not easily missed on the face of a Salientian. Goousch hopped out of the room, his mind bounding as much as his body was.
Many weeks had passed since the man had left. All the children had gone to bed but Gorrf called Goousch into the kitchen. His father and mother were there and they both had huge grins plastered on their faces. There was a small box left on the table with his name attached on a little tag. His parents patted his head and wished him goodnight. He tore through the packaging and saw sitting on a small layer of Pac-Safe was the MultiWeld, freshly chromed with all of his modifications intact, and a small engraving etched into the side. “For my little tinkerer. Don't let fear trample ingenuity. -Eddison”
Later that night as his parents surveyed the children's rooms to ensure resting froglets, preparing themselves for start of school placement tomorrow, they heard the unmistakable sound of tinkering going on in Gorrf’s workshop and the continual hum of Goousch's most treasured possession sparking back to life, a sliver of blue light escaping underneath the door. The light of a child's imagination incarnate.