The Life of a Gadfly

The Life of a Gadfly

Many ages have passed since Hera gave our females the Thirst.  Without the feast of blood, our species would not see its next generation. Now we are renowned for those startling nips and reviled for that small part of our life placed upon us by a jealous goddess.  Io shall forever flee our bites, even as we search for more meaty rumps to feed the Thirst.

Let us embrace our reputation rather than dilute it with the truth about the nectar-sipping ways for most of our adult lives.  Allow the toothless males to revel in the begrudged respect and caution our species elicits amongst the slow and fleshy targets.  Accept the praise in analogue to those amongst the meals who refuse to let complacency overlook the problems which surround their kind – those who prod their fellows with sharp inquiry and rebuke upon their exposed flaws.

From the example of those human gadflies, we should draw self-respect.  Do they not too feel the compulsion of the Thirst, long held in unneeded dormancy, but arising in undeniable urgency when unmoving obstacles thwart improvement and progress?  Will their community grow when merely nourished on stagnant tried-and-wanting ways, following with inertial plodding on the worn path in the wrong direction?  Let their sawing upon the oblivious flesh stir the social body to cast an eye to the site of their attack.  They brave the possible swat to feed the Thirst, but, like us, may be aided in escape by the awoken curiosity  as the startled target seeks explanation before vengeance.  One bite does not kill the bitten; it merely reminds it not to rest too long in one (perhaps ill considered) spot.

Do we claim to have such altruistic purpose in our Thirst-driven meals?  No, we are mere natural mechanisms in the celestial plans of others.  How much cognition can be packed into a bug?  But the results are the same with intentional motivation or repeated side-effect.  Did Hera endow us with the Thirst for good or evil purposes?  How does a bug judge a goddess?  But we have roamed far from Io's tender flesh.  We defended Mt. Olympus itself from the invasion of Bellerophon astride Pegagus.  Who can count all the events we have initiated and weigh their values to the bitten and those nearby?  Or add to the tally those we have inspired amongst our human counterparts?  Let us take pride, fellow gadflies, and give thanks for the Thirst that gives us our identity and role in the world.