Mercy! Mercy! That Dang Nabed PERCY!

Episode 3: Facts and Assumptions

Facts and Assumptions

The Sultan had many threads working in his mind.

"There is much we don’t know about how our spirits choose the sex of a child."

"I agree, Your Magnificence. It is a most perplexing question."

"On the other hand there is much we do know."

"And what is that?"

"We know that a child can only be born of a woman."

"Indeed, to my recollection there is not a single example to the contrary. And…."

"We know that a virgin cannot conceive a child."

"This is true although some of your Christian subjects might disagree. "

"We know that the seasons have a cycle."

"True, there is spring, summer autumn and winter."

"We know that the moon has a cycle."

"True, there are twelve months in the year."

"...And we know that a woman has a 'Moon'.”

"Yes, a woman has the same cycle as the moon and therein lays a profound distinction. For the moon is dark, born of the elements, moody and full of gloom, while a man is child of the light, having a spirit that basks in the sunshine of day."

"Please, don’t mix the facts with assumptions. We know that a woman has a moon because we can measure it. Don’t cloud the issue with the light and darkness metaphors. How do we measure it?"

"Well, it begins with her taint, and when that runs its course she is considered clean, until of course, the taint returns once more."

"So if a woman is like the Moon, sharing the same cycle then when is her Moon full?"

"I seem to be missing the point."

"Do animals have a moon?"

"I would hardly call it a moon. A dog comes in heat perhaps twice a year."

"Assume, for the sake of argument, that a Bitch’s moon were the same frequency. When would it be full?"

“When the wafting of her obscenity excites the pack, when her clutch swells with invitation and when she incites the hounds with her frisky prancing."

“That would signify her full moon?”

“Certainly because when the time comes, and the stud mounts, a litter of offspring is the inevitably consequence.”

"Most interesting."

"...But forgive me Sire, what does this have to do with siring a son?"

“Hmmm, “ said the Sultan stroking his beard.