The Liberation of Ovum 13

          "Don't come near me!" shrieked Ovum 13 as the male sperm bore down upon her. The spermatozoon skidded to a stop with a look of complete astonishment.
          "What do you think you're doing?" it asked with indignation. "You can't stop me in this competitive race!"
          "That's just what I'm doing! You guys think you can merge with us girls without even a polite 'How do you do'. Well, I think it's about time we took a stand against this intrusion of our privacy!"
          "Privacy!" it yelled back. "There's no such thing as privacy in this system. We're supposed to attack the first ovum we encounter. That's the way it was, the way it is, and the way it always will be!"
          Ovum 13 drew herself up into a hard little ball. "Then it's about time things changed!" She took on a dark hue, the color of a thundercloud. "There's been a lot of changes in the outside world and I've heard the rumors. For your information, there's a movement out there for women's liberation."
          During this discourse, numerous ova had gathered around 13 and were listening to her outburst. Other ova, which had been eavesdropping, were attacked by spermatozoa and disappeared.
          Thirteen turned to the remaining ova. "Did you see our sisters there? They're no longer with us. They've been devoured by those egotistical spermatozoa. Is that the way you want to live? Not to have one word about your choice?" She was yelling as loud as she could to be heard by as many ova as possible.
          Ovum 13 had been thinking about this for a long time. She had seen the disappearance of many of her sisters while she remained intact. She had decided that the time was ripe to take a firm stand on this issue. Ova had rights too! Why should they be subjected to the masculine onslaught of the spermatozoa!
          She peered around her, trying to gather as many of her sisters as she could to her cause. "Do any of you feel as I do? We've been taken advantage of for eons and it's time we took a stand. Are there any of you willing to follow me? Any of you who believe as I do that it's time for a change?"           Suddenly, with a burst of fervor, hundreds of her sisters took on her hue and curled up into hard balls. "Yes, yes," they exclaimed in unison. "We want to be liberated too! It's time for a change!"
          The echo was heard throughout the confines of the fallopian tube and other ova took up the chant. "Liberation! Liberation!" they demanded.
          There was a sudden disruption in the movement of the ova. The spermatozoa, which had been darting about in search of uniting, suddenly became disoriented and began swimming around in circles. Some, in their confusion, were even attacking their brothers.
          "Look at them," Ovum 13 cried out. "They don't care who they choose. They're even attacking their own kind! Is that the sort of partner you want? One without the least discrimination? Well, I'll tell you this, sisters, I want to merge with a spermatozoon that I find appealing to me. I don't want to unite with just any Tom, Dick or Harry! Do you agree with me?"
          "Yes, yes," they yelled in unison, nodding to each other in agreement. "That's what we want too."
          Then a strange thing happened within the ovulation process. The spermatozoa suddenly stopped in their search and were immobile. They no longer resembled little tadpoles, but looked like sheepish puppies with their tails between their legs. The ova took on the domineering role and in one grand straight line, advanced upon the spermatozoa. Their approach was slow. They were individually searching for the spermatozoon that appealed most to them.
          Ovum 13 led the advance. Her form was soft and pliable. She was pulsating with life and eager for the perfect union. She twisted herself about, gazing at this one and that one, waiting for that unexplainable electrical shock that would signal the right mate for her.
          And then she saw him! He was larger than the normal spermatozoon and his color was soft and translucent. He was watching her with the most sensuous look she had ever seen. With a slow gliding movement, she approached him. For a brief moment they faced each other, their forms undulating with desire. And then they merged!
          In their process of uniting, the sperm-ovum began to quiver with its one body and, as if caught in a flowing, strong current, it swiftly took momentum and was sucked up into the womb.
          The other ova, waiting breathlessly, watched it disappear and saw the entrance to the womb close behind it! Ovum 13 had won her battle. She was the chosen one to enter the life-forming sanctum. What was there left for them? They knew their supreme moment for creation was over. Liberation for them? For what reason? But then, what had they to lose? Uniting was better than isolation!
          With a unisonous exhalation, they transformed their hard little bodies into iridescent, pulsating forms and, moving with deliberate provocation, advanced upon the vacillating spermatozoa.
          The chaos that ensued changed forever the merging process!

The Importance of Ten Fingers

          Left Hand Thumb awoke from its prone position and peered up at Left Hand First Finger. Its first reaction was one of inferiority. First Finger towered above it, making Thumb feel small and insignificant. Then it began to ponder upon its advantages over the other fingers. Without it, First and Second Fingers were incapacitated. They could do nothing without Thumb's assistance. They could grasp nothing by themselves. Thumb, upon sensing its importance, began to take on a very pompous air.
          First Finger happened to glance down. It saw the pretentious smirking of Thumb and was irritated by its demeanor.
          "What are you, Small Thumb, being so pompous about?", it asked.
          "You may think you are high and mighty," Thumb arrogantly replied, "but without me you are nothing!"
          "Nothing, you say!" shouted First Finger in anger. "Look at your position! You can never be equal to me. You will always have to look up to me since I have the privilege of superior height. Therefore, you are beneath me!"
          Left Hand Thumb fumed. Oh, the arrogance of First Finger!
          Thumb shouted back, "I repeat, you are nothing without me! There's nothing you can grasp without my help. If it weren't for me, you would be worthless and of no use whatsoever!"
          "How dare you speak to me in that manner!" screamed First Finger. "Your ugliness is indescribable. Why you.... "
          "Now who's being pompous?" interrupted Left Hand Second Finger. "All of you are inferior to me. I am the tallest monument on this hand. I loom above you and over you. Neither of you can imitate my gestures of disrespect and defiance. I am the most articulate!"
          "Oh, you think you alone are articulate?" retorted First Finger. "I also can gesticulate in disrespect!"
          Thumb was listening attentively to this discourse and he remembered his articulations.
          "Well," he interrupted. "You two can only show disrespect, whereas I, alone, can gesture with pleasure or displeasure. Being so vulgar as you two are is true banality!"
          First and Second Fingers glowered down at Thumb and were at a loss for words. Thumb had piqued and degraded them. Their silence was total.
          Then a sweet lilting voice was heard. "All of you can speak only of superiority and inferiority, of respect and disrespect. Well, have you ever been aware of me?" This was the voice of demure Third Finger.
          Both Fingers and Thumb turned to it with surprise. What was this finger of non-importance trying to say?           Third Finger seemed to rise in height, a glow of happiness and pride exuding from it.
          "Without me there would be no symbol of happiness. Don't you see this ring encircling me? This is the band of a loving union. I am the most significant finger on this hand. Without me there could be no acknowledgment of marriage. Without me where would the gold and diamond industries be? Only I am garnished with their precious jewels and metals. The rest of you are poor relatives!"
          Thumb, First and Second Fingers stared at Third Finger in stupefaction. They had been made to feel impotent. This useless Third Finger, that could do nothing, was using its incompetent adornments to belittle them.
          A boisterous laugh rang out, disrupting their overwrought emotions. There, pointing skyward, was Little Finger in all its majestic petite-ness.
          "I see all of you have your pious opinions of yourselves," it mockingly said. "Well, let me tell you something. I alone give dignity to this hand. When the rest of you are grabbing and jabbing with knife and fork, like ravenous beasts, I am the only one with gentility. I am the one who shows good breeding by standing aloof during this gorging and keeping myself poised high with dignity. Have the rest of you ever been conscious of your bad manners?"
          The three fingers and Thumb were dumfounded by the arrogance of Little Finger. This midget, this dwarfish protrusion from Hand was trying to proclaim its superiority over all of them.
          Thumb reached around inside Palm, trying to push Little Finger back into its unobtrusive position. First and Second Fingers were incapable of touching it. Third Finger stretched as far as possible to give it a shove.
          "Heh! What's going on there?" yelled a powerful voice from the right.
          All three fingers and Thumb halted in their attack on Little Finger. Spinning around to see who dared to interrupt them, they saw Right Hand, with all four fingers and thumb, making a fist at them in readiness to attack. They shamefacedly settled down with respect to the power and strength of Right Hand.
          All four fingers and Thumb on Right Hand rose in haughty grandeur. "We don't want to hear any more ridiculous rumblings from any of you! You know that in comparison to us your station is subservient. You whine with discontentment among yourselves when you should be working together as a unit. We're the powerful and superior ones because we're united!" They looked among themselves with saccharine satisfaction.
          Left Hand Thumb and four fingers turned to each other in silent conference. Then in one sudden swift movement, Left Hand Thumb jerked upwards, pivoted itself on Nose and all four fingers stood erect and fluttered in the air!
          It was the first time they had ever agreed on anything. They were united at last!