In a war - ravaged future tense where most urban orbit are diffuse with mines , a de - mineworker ’s only friends are New York street kids and his bomb dog Uxo ( short for unexploded ordnance ) . In the short history “ Uxo , Bomb Dog , ” available from splendid scifi web log Futurismic , writer Eliot Fintushel creates a ironic , sad portrayal of a man who has commit his lonely life to de - mining open spaces so people can take the air freely in park again . finally , the government sends him a human partner and the two of them change by reversal their de - mining into a sort of unknown comedy bit , appeal locals to watch them de - mine champaign while dispensing Smokey the Bear - fashion wisdom about how to avoid getting your face blown off while walking across Central Park ( “ employ your pate ! Circumnavigate ! ” ) Yes , it ’s today ’s lunchtime reading .
Here ’s a snippet from the story ’s opening :
We stand on a hill overlooking the hayfield . A clustering of other Kid mosey behind us , rags and clappers , scruffy faces , some little I on the shoulder of the bigger . moment by moment , as Uxo and the damn machine clear up the hayfield , we ’d advance to the new safe zone for a better look .
It was a mirthful sight , if not for the stakes : Volkovoy , dull gray good deal , like a breaching giant , trundled and pivoted , howl and smoked , extrude claws and spades and hammer . It plowed up the sod . Now and then , if it could n’t defuse a dinger , Volkovoy flash and shake , incase and detonating the thing , then devolve it out the back , bust metal muck . Meanwhile , Uxo , sweetie , his tail curled back like the tongue of a letter of the alphabet “ Q , ” walk and sniff and take the air . His smart flat nerve was felt up and lousy , but when he yipped and depend back at me and the nipper – “ A bomb here , boss ! ” he seemed to say . “ Look how good I am ! ” – his eyes were full of light . Then I ’d tiptoe out to get the dinger and disable it . He knew not to lick me then .
The whole tale is detached online . Check it out . Photograph bySarah Pickering .
“ Uxo , Bomb Dog”[via Futurismic ]
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