Havenworlders and other Deathworlders, at least those not from really hot planets, are aghast as they watch humans in firewalking ceremonies. How in the name of the POWERS are humans walking on fire and hot coals barefoot? -- Fighting Fit
Welcome to Terra. Come for the spectacles, stay for the food. The Humans will do anything to show off for an audience. Including things that really should hurt them worse than they do.
These humans were walking barefoot across fire. Well. Technically, they were walking across the hot embers of a fire. Observers could see the glow and heat-haze from the still-smouldering charcoal. They could see that there was absolutely no protection for the humans walking a path that should have sent them into medical supervision. For many, it was further proof that the Human race was insane.
Very many declined the invitation to also walk the burning path. Though many noted that the Humans never strolled along the hall of embers stretched over the ground. They walked briskly, and never paused. But speed alone could not protect Human skin from scorching.
With every exhibition of such a phenomenon, there's always one that lingers to ask the secret. Curiosity even overwhelms caution and some ask if even they can do it.
Some have really interesting questions like, "Did you evolve this skill to escape volcanoes?"
"No, walking across semi-cooled lava is never advisable. It's a lot hotter for a start." The Human washing ash off the soles of her feet smiled. "There's tricks to it, you know. Do you want to know the tricks?"
Of course. Of course there was a trick. Humans loved tricks to the point where they could entertain themselves and others for hours with a closed loop of string. "I should have known there was a trick."
"There's more than one trick," grinned the Human. "There's the professional trick and what we call the Tourist Trick. Nobody who visits to firewalks gets hurt on that one."
This was opening entirely new doors for Tourist Quy. She leaned in to whisper, "You have a trick for tourists?"
"Yep. There's liability issues and all that jazz. For Tourists, especially the scared ones who might freeze in the middle, we make sure the cooler, or the dead coals are all in the middle. They're still warm enough to be uncomfortable, but never hot enough to hurt anybody."
Now there was barely breath to Quy's whisper. "What's the other trick?"
"A layer of insulating ash and charcoal. The coals are hot, no lie there, but if you're quick and you don't pause, that ash doesn't break, and you don't get burns." A big wide Deathworlder grin. "It's why the pros do all the demonstrating first before we rake the path for any tourists."
They really were insane, but they were insane in astonishingly sane directions.
[Image by Joshua Newton on Unsplash]
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