The Tale of Trigger
or
How the CyberSlug Adoption Center Came to Be
I took this orphaned mollusk in, and nursed him back to health on a diet of cucumbers, collard, kale and clover, and was delighted when his pale palor was replaced by a gorgeous glowing olive green gloss, and with my measuring stick, found that Trigger, as I had named him, was 12 inches long! Strangely, he could still fit through a hole the size of a holepunch, but his escape escapades are another story of slime and excitement.
As I came to know Trigger, I realized with a start and a stammer he was not one of the native Oregonian banana slugs I loved so much and had often taken in for rehabilitation! No, he was a CyberSlug, the 'netbound counterpart of these glorifiable gastropods! I realized there must be hundreds of orphaned 'Slugs out there, homeless and alone.
I quickly phoned the Gawking at Gastropods - Mollusk Movement Elite (GAG-MME) but was disappointed when GAG-MME was less than enthusiastic to my discovery and the CyberSlugs' plight. You see, GAG-MME was a bit behind in the electronic age and still used papers, pens and pencils for their pomp and panoply, and couldn't be bothered by heading over to the library to print things out.
I soon discovered Trigger and I were alone in our adventures, but I did not find this daunting; for I was a gastropod-lover with a goal, a mollusk-enjoyer with a mission, and I'd be danged if I let administration get in the way of the rescuing of orphaned CyberSlug kin!
I soon began entering Trigger in slug races, and with his electrical advantage over the other entrants, he quickly beat them all. But Trigger was far from being narcissistic, and hardly haughty about his winnings. Instead, with the knowledge of his brethren in crisis, he donated such prizes to my new pet project: The CyberSlugs Adoption Agency.
Soon, homeless 'Slugs of species surprising were left in little baskets on our doorstep, and quickly I went to the daunting task of finding the wee 'Sluglings homes.
At first, few people wanted to devote the time, space, and attention required to care for an orphaned Slug, but soon, requests were pouring in.
Particularly popular were Mystical CyberSlugs, purplish beauties which I found in the back of my lair (being a Dragon and having a penchant for caves), one of which I adopted for my own, and named her Silver.
Even CyberSnails were soon found; a human had callously taken in a wild CyberSnail as a pet and let the terrarium get dry... Jack B. Nimble and his progeny were brought to me holed up in their shells, membranes of dried mucous across the entrances. With gentle nurturing and a mist bottle, Jack B. Nimble and his children were nursed to gastropodial health. Jack was rehabilitated into the wild, but the others had become imprinted and too domestic for release, and thus Man O' War became a member of my mollusk movement, and his hermaphrodidic siblings were offered up for adoption.
Today we travel the world, seeking out stories of slimey creatures in need. With a triumphant cry of "Up, up my beautiful banana 'Slug!" Trigger, resplendant in his red racing tunic, leaps to my shoulder and we set out to save them and find them homes, one and all.
This page and the CyberSlugs, 'Snails and 'Shrooms © 1997-2000 Tserisa Supalla. Do not alter or modify the pictures without permission. Please read the Rules at the Adoption Center before adopting a 'Slug, 'Snail or 'Shroom.