Tandem

Story by spacewastrel on SoFurry

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Double Fish Time


"I have to speculate that God himself did make us into corresponding shapes like puzzle pieces from the clay..." (Such Great Heights, The Postal Service)

"I sometimes think that I'm too many people, too many people, too many people..." (Too Many People, Pet Shop Boys)

"One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish" (Dr Seuss)

"We are as one, we are as one!" (Seven of Nine, Voyager, inebriated)

You look at Tandem and you see what seems to be two 6' striped anthropomorphic fish sitting or standing next to each other, a zebra fish and a rainbow fish. The zebra fish's left eye is red and his right eye is blue whereas the rainbow fish's left eye is white and his right eye is black, and the zebra fish is wearing purple pants whereas the rainbow fish is wearing grey pants. Aside from their different coloring, though, their features look exactly alike, like a re-colored enemy sprite from an old video game. Side by side they're opaque, but they look translucent whenever part of one of them is in front of the other, you can always distinguish the other behind the one.

You notice they're never completely apart, sitting arm-in-arm drinking from the same glass and holding hands when they walk, one swinging his right arm and the other his left arm alternately as though one person was balancing his steps. While they usually take turns answering when spoken to so as not to disorient others, they fail to catch themselves when you greet them. They turn their heads toward you at the same time with two friendly finned hand waves to extend a warm greeting in unison. "I'm Tandem", their voice adds in timid stereo, hoping to clarify matters somewhat, and you understand they're both right.

Surface (Chapter 13)

"Boards don't fight back." - Bruce Lee The next morning, the first thing Klein had heard after having woken up had been the sound of Boko typing at his computer terminal. When he'd noticed that Klein had finally been up, Boko, ever the type to rise...

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Surface (Chapter 12)

"People are at their most authentic when they're wearing masks." - Oscar Wilde Soon after they'd reached the village of the tribe of the Sahuagin itself, Klein had heard Boko greeting them in their native tongue and telling him the gist of what...

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Surface (Chapter 11)

"Clothes do make the man. Naked people have almost no influence on society." - Mark Twain Boko's living quarters had looked like no other living quarters Klein had ever seen before in his life. A trapdoor concealed by sticks, moss, dirt and dead...

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