The 9th spouse
“The search for Planet Nine is already in full swing, and it is likely that if Planet Nine – as envisioned here – exists, it will be discovered within the coming decade."
The oldest line marriage that any of us know is the one of our solar system. I know this because I am a good friend of one of the spouses, Earth.
In the beginning the matriarch, the Sun was beautiful! Incredibly bright, clearly the largest influence in the marriage. Unquestionably warm and giving. Seldomly asking for anything from her partners.
One might think that having Jupiter as a partner would be enough. Obviously as large a partner as the Sun was ever going to get. But soon came Saturn and the others. Even today the Earth tells me that the Sun has so much more to give. And so much more room for which to give it to.
Back then there was the myth or legend of the 9th spouse. No, I'm not talking about Pluto. Poor little guy, although more than eager to be a spouse in the line. He was always the favorite of the other eight. You know the kind of guy you would always say, "If things were different", "If he was just a little older", "If he was just a little bigger." We would love to have him in the group as a full member. No, I'm talking about the Ninth spouse.
My friend Earth never spoke of this spouse. None of the other spouse's ever did. And none but them would ever speak to the matriarch. Or at least they would never tell us about it. I assume they figure if the Earth didn't tell us why would they? We're not friends to them. But some of us started to notice odd things as the spouses went around their business. In the odd ways that they orbited the matriarch. Those of us who study the spouses began to assume that there must be or had been a 9th spouse.
I once cornered the Earth and got it to confide in me. And this is the story I was told:
We were all young then. Me and Venus being so much alike, almost twins. Which is why she wears her thick atmosphere like a veil to this day, to be different. This is back, I think before I even had my little child, Moon. Long before I had any little friends on me at all. We were all so happy and enthusiastic. You know the kind of enthusiasm that comes with youth. None of us had any clearly defined roles except for maybe Jupiter. Next to the Sun she was always defending us from outsiders. She has such a massive presence the rest of us kind of looked up to her. Yes, I'd have to say if the Sun was our superhero then Jupiter was definitely our local police officer. Even Saturn, with herself adorned rings. Was quite influential to the group. So much so some of the others started supporting rings of their own, in imitation. We all loved each other very much. That is except for the Ninth.
I think you guys have a term for it. "Doesn't play well with others." The Ninth was always erratic, unstable. Always so hard to understand and so unwilling to settle down. What the Sun saw in the Ninth none of the rest of us could truly understand. But she loved all of us for her own reasons and we grew to love each other for our own reasons. But even with our own personality traits we still learned to conform in one way or another in order for the marriage to work. Even Uranus which has the largest tilt from the rest of us learned to make it work for the sake of the marriage. But the Ninth didn't seem to want to conform to any rational decision of the group.
As the centuries wore on, the Ninth became more and more secluded and withdrawn. We all tried to speak. But we never got anywhere. We're sure that there were private conversations between the Ninth and the Sun. She was like that, she spoke to each one of us alone and as a group. We all felt like equals regardless of our roles in the marriage. To this day she speaks to Mercury privately all the time. So much so he never turns to face the rest of us when he speaks to us. But the Ninth spoke to no one but the Sun, that we knew of.
It wasn't until so many centuries later when the Ninth was so isolated and erratic that we noticed the pattern of aggression. The Ninth was on a path to strike one of us in the marriage! Violence has happened in the marriage before. We were all so young and still learning where we wanted to be. There were fights. There were suitors who wanted to be in. I think during this time even Neptune and Uranus exchanged positions in a near knock down brawl. But this was well at the beginning. All of us we're not together then. But by and by we all settled down. We all understood each other. We all gave each other our space. But the Ninth was on a pattern to strike one of us! And no, I don't mean the Sun. She's quite untouchable. She would swat down any attempt to do her harm. So much so, great Jupiter would protect us, while leaving the Sun to protect herself. For not even Jupiter would threaten the matriarch!
The Ninth was on a path to strike one of us! And even Jupiter would find that quite a bit to handle. The remaining eight of us did not know what we should do. After all we had never been challenged as a group before. We debated it for centuries. We pleaded with the Ninth even longer as we watched the pattern progress.
The Sun saw the uneasiness in her mates. But she was either unwilling or unable to take a stand against the Ninth. In her sadness she left it to us. Although the Ninth was unwilling to share with us and let us help. We were still in love with the Ninth. I guess you can say we still are today, even though we never speak on it.
Although you my friend might find it hard to understand. We could not directly challenge one of the spouses. But a push here, a tug there, a slight wobble over a few thousands of years, will say a lot to a spouse who is unrepentant in their aggression. I am sad to say that we banded together and pushed the Ninth out.
We were never the same after that. Although the marriage continued and will continue for quite some time, there will always be the memory of how we pushed out a loved one. No matter how troubled that spouse was. The Ninth was our spouse and we are his mates.
But the Sun still loves him as do we all. And the Ninth, we know still loves the Sun. It's feeling for us we don't know. He never told us. So we know that the Ninth is still out there. Beyond the final asteroid belt. Just inside the heliosphere. Still circling. Still simmering. Out in the cold of space. Still burning with whatever demons eat at its core.
If the Sun still sends messages out to it, the other spouses and I would never know. In her sadness she will never tell us and further burden us with our guilt. I heed you friend, do not seek out the Ninth. For I cannot see the benefits of discovering a planet with such a darkness to Its center.
The oldest line marriage that any of us know is the one of our solar system. I know this because I am a good friend of one of the spouses, Earth.
In the beginning the matriarch, the Sun was beautiful! Incredibly bright, clearly the largest influence in the marriage. Unquestionably warm and giving. Seldomly asking for anything from her partners.
One might think that having Jupiter as a partner would be enough. Obviously as large a partner as the Sun was ever going to get. But soon came Saturn and the others. Even today the Earth tells me that the Sun has so much more to give. And so much more room for which to give it to.
Back then there was the myth or legend of the 9th spouse. No, I'm not talking about Pluto. Poor little guy, although more than eager to be a spouse in the line. He was always the favorite of the other eight. You know the kind of guy you would always say, "If things were different", "If he was just a little older", "If he was just a little bigger." We would love to have him in the group as a full member. No, I'm talking about the Ninth spouse.
My friend Earth never spoke of this spouse. None of the other spouse's ever did. And none but them would ever speak to the matriarch. Or at least they would never tell us about it. I assume they figure if the Earth didn't tell us why would they? We're not friends to them. But some of us started to notice odd things as the spouses went around their business. In the odd ways that they orbited the matriarch. Those of us who study the spouses began to assume that there must be or had been a 9th spouse.
I once cornered the Earth and got it to confide in me. And this is the story I was told:
We were all young then. Me and Venus being so much alike, almost twins. Which is why she wears her thick atmosphere like a veil to this day, to be different. This is back, I think before I even had my little child, Moon. Long before I had any little friends on me at all. We were all so happy and enthusiastic. You know the kind of enthusiasm that comes with youth. None of us had any clearly defined roles except for maybe Jupiter. Next to the Sun she was always defending us from outsiders. She has such a massive presence the rest of us kind of looked up to her. Yes, I'd have to say if the Sun was our superhero then Jupiter was definitely our local police officer. Even Saturn, with herself adorned rings. Was quite influential to the group. So much so some of the others started supporting rings of their own, in imitation. We all loved each other very much. That is except for the Ninth.
I think you guys have a term for it. "Doesn't play well with others." The Ninth was always erratic, unstable. Always so hard to understand and so unwilling to settle down. What the Sun saw in the Ninth none of the rest of us could truly understand. But she loved all of us for her own reasons and we grew to love each other for our own reasons. But even with our own personality traits we still learned to conform in one way or another in order for the marriage to work. Even Uranus which has the largest tilt from the rest of us learned to make it work for the sake of the marriage. But the Ninth didn't seem to want to conform to any rational decision of the group.
As the centuries wore on, the Ninth became more and more secluded and withdrawn. We all tried to speak. But we never got anywhere. We're sure that there were private conversations between the Ninth and the Sun. She was like that, she spoke to each one of us alone and as a group. We all felt like equals regardless of our roles in the marriage. To this day she speaks to Mercury privately all the time. So much so he never turns to face the rest of us when he speaks to us. But the Ninth spoke to no one but the Sun, that we knew of.
It wasn't until so many centuries later when the Ninth was so isolated and erratic that we noticed the pattern of aggression. The Ninth was on a path to strike one of us in the marriage! Violence has happened in the marriage before. We were all so young and still learning where we wanted to be. There were fights. There were suitors who wanted to be in. I think during this time even Neptune and Uranus exchanged positions in a near knock down brawl. But this was well at the beginning. All of us we're not together then. But by and by we all settled down. We all understood each other. We all gave each other our space. But the Ninth was on a pattern to strike one of us! And no, I don't mean the Sun. She's quite untouchable. She would swat down any attempt to do her harm. So much so, great Jupiter would protect us, while leaving the Sun to protect herself. For not even Jupiter would threaten the matriarch!
The Ninth was on a path to strike one of us! And even Jupiter would find that quite a bit to handle. The remaining eight of us did not know what we should do. After all we had never been challenged as a group before. We debated it for centuries. We pleaded with the Ninth even longer as we watched the pattern progress.
The Sun saw the uneasiness in her mates. But she was either unwilling or unable to take a stand against the Ninth. In her sadness she left it to us. Although the Ninth was unwilling to share with us and let us help. We were still in love with the Ninth. I guess you can say we still are today, even though we never speak on it.
Although you my friend might find it hard to understand. We could not directly challenge one of the spouses. But a push here, a tug there, a slight wobble over a few thousands of years, will say a lot to a spouse who is unrepentant in their aggression. I am sad to say that we banded together and pushed the Ninth out.
We were never the same after that. Although the marriage continued and will continue for quite some time, there will always be the memory of how we pushed out a loved one. No matter how troubled that spouse was. The Ninth was our spouse and we are his mates.
But the Sun still loves him as do we all. And the Ninth, we know still loves the Sun. It's feeling for us we don't know. He never told us. So we know that the Ninth is still out there. Beyond the final asteroid belt. Just inside the heliosphere. Still circling. Still simmering. Out in the cold of space. Still burning with whatever demons eat at its core.
If the Sun still sends messages out to it, the other spouses and I would never know. In her sadness she will never tell us and further burden us with our guilt. I heed you friend, do not seek out the Ninth. For I cannot see the benefits of discovering a planet with such a darkness to Its center.
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to quote Spock: Fascinating. In it's concept and telling.
ReplyDeleteAmazing.
Indeed. Lol
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