When grandpa spoke of Crossbow, I sat up right away. My eyes likely sparkled a little bit. Declaring that specific interest of mine was second nature to me. It didn't happen every day that discussions involved ancient weapons.
If you did not know that I'm an influence of history fan, well now you know. And I've read all about this very invention in several books. The mechanics, how it affected war, it was all fascinating to me. So, if I do get to gossip about crossbows, well would not that be bad. Right? It was like a nice break from boring small talk.
Grandpa suddenly started talking of it, aware of my acute interest. He looked happy to have awakened me.
"Crossbow Adonis know something?"
he asked, a discernible glint in his eyes.
I nodded, showing a signal of aggression, perhaps too swiftly. My interest sometimes showed assertively.
"Yea I know," (Adonis)
I said curtly.
"I've read about these in Chinese history books, so what you wanna ask?" (Adonis)
I sat back, ready for what I assumed would be a debate about history, maybe over famous battles or crossbow design.
He showed a face of that he is going to give information about something, a usual look I was familiar with. Well, I was expecting something like that. 'Cause my grandpa is a very educated man.
He doesn't read superficially on subjects; he delves deep. He is keenly interested in philosophical issues, historical facts, and even scientific new things quite often. His depth of knowledge was always astounding.
"Do you know of a fish that has kind of similar capability,"
he continued, waiting for dramatic effect
"But only for its defensive purposes?"
No, I hadn't ever heard anything like that before. My brow furrowed in thought. A fish with such capabilities as a crossbow? That just sounded completely crazy.
It was another reminder that, well, yeah there's just too many things living in this world that I and human kind aren't aware of until to this day.
The diversity of life just went on and on and amazed me, especially in the unknown depths of the oceans.
"N?" (Adonis)
I waited, curious, encouraging him to go on. I had no sense even where to begin guessing what he was referring to.
Then the grandpa started to talk, leaning forward a bit. First stating the name of the fish, identifying the odd concept.
"It trigger fish,"
he said matter-of-factly.
"You maybe heard of them."
He looked at me.
I shook my head from left to right, showing that I have no idea about that. The name didn't ring a bell in my memory banks, which were usually very good with trivia. Triggerfish? It sounded interesting, but completely unknown.
****
We were talking the whole time, and let me tell you, my grandpa was a super talkative fellow, you know? For real, after he gets started on this subject that he enjoys, the conversation just goes on and on.
Because of him, this little bit of gossip business regarding fish ended up taking a lot longer than I first expected, but it was definitely fun.
Anyway, in talking about the triggerfish, I now know much more about this particular animal.
Grandpa wasn't just knowledgeable about fishing in general; as mentioned earlier in the chapter, yes, he was very well informed especially about triggerfish too. He had some stories and facts up his sleeve.
Ahh, that same kind of capability as a crossbow, yes, the triggerfish does have something akin to that, but maybe not quite the way a kid's imagination would picture it, like firing spines or something. The comparison is actually more to do with the locking mechanism, really.
You see, triggerfish have two large dorsal spines along their back that are central to their defense mechanism. The initial spine is big and strong and built sturdy. Behind that is the second one, which is smaller, and this little fellow actually acts as the 'trigger' in the whole system.
That's one of the main defining features of the fish. Or perhaps, shouldn't I be saying that it's the main characteristic they're actually named for? It definitely looks that way.
And so, when the triggerfish detects danger from a predator, or maybe just wants to nestle itself safely into a coral crevice or rocky overhang, or even just to take a nap, it erects its tall first dorsal spine. It snaps it into place.
It means getting a triggerfish that's already done this from its favorite hide would be much harder than you'd think. It's not like you'd be trying to do it yourself, of course, but for a predator, it's a feat. Obviously, they get to become very well wedged.
This is how the 'lock' comes about: the bottom of the second, shorter spine firmly fits into a specially shaped recess at the bottom of the first spine.
This serves to stiffly lock the first spine in the upright position. As a result of this process, it becomes very difficult, almost impossible at times, for predators to pull or yank out the triggerfish from its crevice.
Now, to drop that large first spine down again, the triggerfish must intentionally press down on the small second "trigger" spine first. This releases the lock, which then allows the larger, main spine to fold back down smoothly onto its body. It's a clever little piece of natural engineering.
And just to give you in on even more information regarding these fascinating fish, they also possess literally incredibly powerful jaws. Along with these jaws are hard, chisel-toothed teeth that are ideal for breaking open the hard shells of their typical fare.
Their fare includes such items as crustaceans, mollusks, and often sea urchins. They are not particular about what shelled animals they eat. Indeed, they will even sometimes quite cleverly turn over sea urchins in order to attack their softer, less-defended undersides.
Their swimming technique is also a bit different. They essentially use the coordinated undulations of their huge dorsal and anal fins for traveling forward through the water. This creates somewhat of a distinctive fluttering or "rowing" effect, which is quite unlike how many other fish swim. Their tail fin, or caudal fin, isn't used as much for regular cruising; it's reserved mostly for producing sudden speed bursts when need arises, perhaps to flee from something or snatch something.
A number of triggerfish species are also highly territorial. Don't be misled by their sometimes-clown-like appearance; they can become very aggressive, especially when protecting their nesting site during breeding season. They will actively defend their section of the reef.
By the time you get through this chapter, with all you're learning, you'll probably think you're a master yourself of triggerfish legend! Or at least, you'll be an expert, having learned more than you knew.
They are most often bottom-dwellers, shrewdly sweeping around rubbish with fins in search of food. Alternatively, they sometimes even blow firm jets of water from their mouths to excavate tasty morsels embedded in sand or substrate.
Some large forms even budge small stones bodily and force apart bits of coral to extract concealed prey. They are active foragers.
In essence, the unique "trigger" mechanism of their dorsal fins is not merely a clever trick; it's a valuable adaptation. It provides triggerfish with a significant defense and overall survival advantage in their hectic and often dangerous reef environments.
After this small
ugh— I mean
Rather long discussion about the intricacies of triggerfish behavior and biology, we finally moved on to the next thing Grandpa had to discuss: Crossbows.
We started talking about how powerful they are, how they work, and some other things too, like how much of an effect they had on warfare in ancient times. That was also going to be a long discussion.
***
It's the 3rd day already since we got here, dwelling in the peaceful rhythm of grandpa's house. Day's still slow though. Very slow. The hours crawled, each minute longer than the last, especially the dragging, quiet morning hours. Measuring time out is hard on me when things are not much happening. That's why grandpa offered me a deal when we were talking about about Crossbow's.
He will teach me how to make a crossbow, not in the form of ancient chine of course. He told me it would be a simpler, modern version of it, with materials we could easily find around in workshop.
But rather than learn to make he is going to create, I mean we are creating it together.
That part sounded better than the sitting and listening; having my hands involved would definitely speed up the time. It's almost like a project that we share.
Anyway, I am looking forward to it. It is the most interesting opportunity I have gotten since coming here.
As yesterday, which I was repeating here a few times, the morning routine seemed routine and slow. I did all of it from brushing through to breakfast…. lingered over my cereal, trying to make it last.
Then I just strolled around the living room, flicking through an old magazine but not actually reading it. The sheer familiarity of it all was starting to get on my nerves.
Id didn't need to be said though. It's not that exciting of information, is it? But it sets up the events that were leading up to when the day was trudging along before things picked up.
Around about 12, when the sun was exactly in its most pointed place and the house most sleepily somnambulated, there came the sound of footsteps down at my doorway. Grandpa knocked on my door and declared the recited Line, speaking out loud over the wood door.
"Adonis, let's move" with that voice full of enthusiasm. I could hear the urgency in his voice, contrasted with the quiet morning. It certainly did get me moving.
Then I replied 'coming' with the loud voice, propelling myself out of the chair that I had been lying in. I wanted him to realize that I was ready and equally enthusiastic.
So that he might hear me, anyway, he would be able to hear what I said even If I don't used loud voice. His ears are very sharp for his age, and sound travels well in this house. I smoothed out my shirt quickly and went over.
When we I come out of my room, closing the door behind me, he was standing in front of my eyes. He had a faint sawdust tang clinging to him already, as though he'd been getting things ready.
"Let's go"
He said in warm sweat voice, a gleam on his forehead that suggested he'd already worked or perhaps just because of the heat of the day. He nodded toward the back door.
"Got the stuff ready in the garage,"
he said, a small smile on his lips.