One of our most salient human characteristics is our capacity for storytelling. Stories entertain, move, and shape us. They document, explain, and instruct.
Some narratives are so powerful, so thoroughly
internalized by a population, they have a greater impact than bombs.
Certainly, many weapons have been discharged in defense of one coveted
tale over another.
As much sway as stories hold over us, they're an
arbitrary force we manufacture. Accounts become so old and well-known we forget
they could have followed a different plot line.
Imagine if we had access to rough drafts. What if
Medusa had a scalp of golden roses and transformed people into pure chi? What
if Robert Frost had taken the highway? How about a female Christ? In
an alternate version, we may just as easily have spent a childhood leaving
quarters under our pillows for the Scab Fairy.
A revised manuscript may well alter the course of an
entire culture.
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