"SILVERMOON DANCE"
by Luca Pesaro

       - I want to be an animal again - Wender Treshold
said  slowly,  relaxing  on the  body-seat.  The  chair
quickly reacted to the shape of his back and legs,  its
microprocessors  remoulding the pillows  instantly.  He
studied  the  large office, filled with green  and  red
plants that seemed to sprout from the floor, the walls,
the  ceiling itself. The air smelt and tasted of  long-
forgotten  flowers.  A  gigantic  window  opened   onto
Paradise   World,  showing  a  barren  landscape   that
suddenly became a tropical forest, about fifteen  miles
from the Holiday Resort.
      The little man sitting behind the simil-wood desk
picked  up a computer printout and quickly scanned  it.
He  was smiling, but his large brown eyes seemed to  be
carefully examining every square inch of Wender's body.
       -  Why,  Mr. Treshold - he said smoothly.  -  We
thought that might be the case. - He inhaled deeply.  -
You've  been  here less than a month ago. I  guess  you
liked it.
     Treshold nodded, brushing his green hair back. His
skin  felt  young  and tense again, after  the  plastic
surgery  he  had undergone two weeks before to  appease
his  wife's  obsession with fashion. He  knew  his  new
yellow  eyes  and  re-built  muscle  tissue  must  look
impressive, especially to someone that was as short and
ugly as Pinter, the man behind the desk. - Yeah, I did.
And  I want to be an animal again - he repeated, trying
to keep his voice steady.
     Pinter grinned and said something Treshold did not
understand,  a  sub-vocal  command  for  the   computer
probably.  -  We  generally do  not  allow  such  close
Mergings.  The  Rule  has people wait  at  least  three
months  before they can Merge again. But I  suppose  we
could make an exception for you, Mr. Treshold.
      Werner nodded, smiling sourly. Being one  of  the
richest men in the galaxy had its uses. - What could  I
try, this time? - he asked.
       - Why, you could be an Eagle, a Lion, a Bear,  a
Dolphin... almost anything you want really. Aside  from
a Wolf, of course.
       -  Of  course - Treshold felt something shifting
inside  his  stomach.  Of course.  It  just  could  not
happen.  It was forbidden by law and common sense,  and
he  knew  it.  He had left Earth and travelled  through
Hyperspace all the way to Heracles, looking for a dream
that  could  not come true. What a fool.  But  still...
There was something he had to do. His hand reached into
one  of  the  side  pockets of  his  white  jacket  and
clutched  the  Dose-Dispenser  tightly,  enjoying   the
feeling  of  the  round crystal container  against  his
palm.  Sytron,  at  least twenty shots.  And  with  his
slightly  modified dispenser he could take  it  all  at
once,  if  he wanted to. Somehow he felt safer  knowing
that,  even though shooting more than a few doses could
cause unpredictable side effects, or even death. Pinter
was  looking  at  him, and Treshold forced  himself  to
speak.
       -  I  suppose I haven't decided what to try yet.
Could I look around for a couple of days, just to  make
up my mind?
       -  Naturally. Our best suite is already  waiting
for you. - Pinter smiled smugly.
       Treshold  got  up  and  shook  the  man's  hand,
shivering at the contact with the cold and sweaty palm.
Thirty  seconds later he was already on  the  automatic
pathwalk,  quickly passing the large windows  that  let
the  visitors glimpse at the awesome beauty of Paradise
World.
       Nature  was  blossoming  everywhere  around  the
Holiday  Center,  the entire planet  almost  devoid  of
human  settlement. He stared at the  planet  where  you
could   enjoy  the  most  expensive  holidays  in   the
universe,  and live on a world that looked  like  Earth
when  the human race was still young. Treshold wondered
idly  if  spaceships and artificial  intelligence  were
worth  what  had been lost. If anything was  worth  the
life  of  a  planet that by now looked like a  gigantic
concrete and steel factory, its skies polluted, its air
almost  unbreatheable. Earth's nature was almost  gone,
and  preserved  only  in places  like  Paradise  World,
scattered  over  the Galaxy for the  amusement  of  The
Lucky Few.
      The  pathwalk stopped in front of his  room,  and
Treshold  took  a  step forward,  allowing  the  door's
security  system to scan his brain-waves  in  order  to
recognise him and let him through. He smiled, wondering
how  long it would take people to duplicate brain-waves
as  easily  as they could now with physical appearances
or  eye-retinas. The door slowly slid out of sight  and
Wender stepped through.
       -  Close the window - he said. The room-computer
clicked  obediently  and  the large  windowpane  turned
pitch  black, plunging the room into darkness. Treshold
slowly  took off his jacket, pulling the Dose-Dispenser
out  of the pocket, and walked to the field-bed. It was
waiting  for  him  in the center of  the  room,  gently
yelding to his weight when he finally lay down  on  it.
Treshold  smiled and lifted the Dose-Dispenser  to  his
neck, gently caressing the cold steel trigger with  his
index finger. Then he slowly, deliberately pressed  it,
almost  enjoying the thin needle's bite. Sytron  spread
through his body, filling his veins and arteries with a
tingling  sensation, a soft music that  quickly  became
the universe.

      The  huge  grey wolf leapt across the  field  and
approached the forest. His name was StrangeThoughts, or
that  was  how  its peers called him when  their  minds
intertwined in the peculiar telepathic way  wolves  had
spoken  since the beginning of time. It had amazed  the
human  side  of  him at the beginning,  how  close  the
animals  could  be,  how they could  almost  live  each
other's  thoughts and emotions, but then the  sensation
had  slowly subsidised as a part of what the world  was
supposed  to  be.  Still, the sparkle of  consciousness
that  burnt within him wondered about it, enjoying  the
sensation of sharing that came from the wolves' pack.
      StrangeThoughts  turned  sharply,  detecting  the
scent of a rabbit in the air, and started following its
track. The wolf jumped over a large tree root and moved
deeper  into the forest, his senses spreading ahead  of
him,   his  sight  peering  for  traces  and  his  ears
straining  to  perceive  the faint  ruffle  of  shifted
leaves.  He knew the rabbit had felt his presence,  and
the icy taste of the smaller animal's fear was becoming
sharper and sharper.
      The wolf slowed down, lowering his muzzle to  the
ground,  and  then  resumed its running,  unconsciously
avoiding roots and undergrowth, darting past trees  and
jumping above a small stream.
      The  rabbit's  smell  was  getting  stronger  and
stronger  as the animal started slowing down; the  wolf
could  feel  it was old and tired, while the excitement
of  the  hunt pulsed within his skin, accelerating  his
heartbeat.
      The forest became an ever-changing background  of
darker  and lighter shadows, mixed with the  sharp  and
powerful  scents of hundreds of different  life  forms.
StrangeThoughts leapt forward and glimpsed  the  rabbit
turning  around a tree and desperately  hiding  in  the
darkness.
      The  wolf swiftly followed it, a part of his mind
almost  overjoyed  with the sparkling  sensations  that
were  shooting  through the animal's body,  wanting  to
scream  in pleasure every time the long muscles  tensed
and released power for one of the surging leaps.
      There  it was. The rabbit had stopped and  turned
around  transfixed, its small, frightened eyes  staring
at  its  pursuer.  StrangeThoughts knew  his  prey  was
paralysed  by  sheer terror, and his body  shivered  in
anticipation as he almost stopped still, advancing  one
step  at  a time, enjoying his triumph. The rabbit  did
not move.
      The wolf approached it, looking at his prey for a
long  time, almost ravelling in the fear he saw in  the
smaller  animal's  limbs. Then he lunged  forward,  his
jaws closing on the rabbit's neck with a sharp cracking
of  bones.  The prey struggled for a couple of  seconds
and  the hunter tasted the flavory blood on his tongue,
his stomach twisting in anticipation.
      The human part of his mind shouted in pleasure as
through  a  desperate orgasm and the wolf  swallowed  a
huge  chunk of tasty meat. Then StrangeThoughts  lifted
his head, his whole body arching upwards, and howled at
the sky.

      Treshold slowly came back to his body, a part  of
his  mind  still longing for the absolute pleasures  of
wild  life.  He sighed, slowly sitting up in  the  dark
room.  The field-bed readjusted underneath him and  the
man  opened  his eyes, staring at the blackness  around
him. He still clutched the Dose-Dispenser in his hand.
      Sytron was as enjoyable as ever, but whenever  he
used it he felt something missing. He would re-live the
wolf's  life, but it would always be through the  human
part  of  his mind that had been inside the animal.  It
could  never be again as it was, thriving into  a  wild
beast's  perception  of the world,  going  through  the
pleasure of the hunt as only a wolf could. Yes,  Sytron
was  good, but the memories it brought back were but  a
shadow of what had been.
     Treshold relaxed back onto the bed, wondering. Why
had  he  come  back to Paradise World? He was  sure  he
could  never be a wolf again, not for three  years,  at
least. It was the first thing they had told him at  the
beginning of the holiday: he was not allowed to  repeat
the  Merging until a long time had elapsed.  Apparently
when the Tesca Machine had been first experimented  the
people  that used it too frequently, and with the  same
beast, developed a growing dependence until their minds
could  not be recalled from the animal body. They  were
so  completely bonded to their host that they would not
come back, never again.
      He shuddered at the idea. Being a wolf was great,
but  for the rest of his days... It was just too  much.
The  animal's  perceptions were too  wildly  alien  and
distant to be accepted as the only way to live. On  the
other  hand he could merge with another being, any  one
he  wanted. The Tesca Machine would interact  with  his
brain  and body, carefully disconnecting his mind  from
all sensorial inputs, until his conscience floated in a
limbus,  suspended within the artificial storage-brains
that  were  generally used during clonation  processes.
Then  his  host body would be prepared, not  a  younger
version  of himself as was done when his old  body  was
too  rotten  for tissue re-building, but, for  a  short
time, a non-human shell.
      A  cloned  animal would be taken, its memory  and
character  deleted, and a Treshold  's  mind  installed
into   it,   merged   with  the   animal's   instincts,
perceptions  and intelligence, until the  human  inside
was  only  a  spectator, deciding as the animal  would,
behaving as the animal would, the conscious part of his
mind only receiving the stimuli and enjoying them. In a
way  it was like living in a self-made holomovie, where
you  just  had  to  taste what came upon  you,  without
having to take the responsibility for it.
      And  he  could  pick whatever animal  he  wished,
except the wolf.
      Treshold smiled, remembering his scepticism  when
some  his  friends  had  talked fondly  about  Paradise
World. He could not believe what was so wonderful about
being  an animal. But everybody had seemed to love  it,
and   he  finally  decided  to  try.  The  holiday  was
extremely expensive but money was not a problem to him.
And boredom was.
      Treshold's first few moments as a wolf  had  been
incredibly strange, a part of him still remembering  he
was  human  and another part being completely  wolfish,
longing,  thinking, living as any wolf would. His  body
had  been  that  of StrangeThoughts, and  it  had  felt
right,  as  if that was the way it should  always  have
been. And though the spark of his conscience had always
remained  inside him, leading the other wolves  in  the
pack  to  call  him StrangeThoughts, he  was,  for  two
weeks,   just   an   animal,  surrounded   and   almost
overpowered  with the feelings of life  that  had  kept
flooding his senses.
      After  the holiday the scepticism was  gone,  and
Treshold only wondered why he so desperately wanted  to
go  back  to  it,  why  his friends  always  had  great
memories  of  Paradise World and none of them  actually
felt  as  compelled,  as desperate  as  he  was.  Maybe
because none of them had ever been a wolf. Or maybe the
reason was Silvermoon Dance.

      He had tried to talk to his wife about it but she
would  not  listen, as usual, worrying only  about  the
clothes  she  would wear at the next sky-party  on  the
satellite.  And  when he had finally told  her  he  was
going back to Paradise World she had nodded, saying.  -
Oh,  that's  that holiday place, isn't it. The  one  in
which you tame animals... -
       -  You  merge with them. Not tame. You  actually
become one, for a while at least - he had said.
      She had stared outside the window. - You won't be
here for the Rosses' dinner then.
     Treshold had walked out then, without saying good-
bye,  a  part  of him wondering where he had  lost  the
wonderful  girl she had been only forty  years  before.
Then  again he had not expected anything better.  Their
relationship had become completely pointless,  as  most
of  his life apparently. Maybe it depended on being one
hundred  and forty-two years old. The things  that  had
seemed   enthralling   when   he   was   younger    had
progressively  grown more duller with  every  clonation
and  tissue re-building. His body was always young, but
his mind was ageing nonetheless, and there seemed to be
nothing  interesting  in the world  anymore.  Even  his
Company,  from which he had taken so much pleasure  and
satisfaction   through   the   Interplanetary    Market
competition had become so large as to run itself, until
all  he had to do was sit in a wonderful office reading
reports on how much money he was making.
      That way, more than twenty years before, his wife
uninteresting, his job fatuous, his life pointless,  he
had  tried  drugs. They were good for  a  while,  Coke,
Booze,  KRT...  But habit killed the  fun,  as  always.
Later  on  he had moved onto travelling, exploring  new
worlds, visiting all possible pleasure resorts  in  the
universe...  Until  he realised that  the  problem  was
within  himself, that there was nothing  in  the  world
that  could excite him anymore, and anyway  not  for  a
long   time.   Until  he  started  regretting   tissue-
rebuilding  and  clonation. Until  Paradise  World  had
come, a firecracker in the middle of the darkest night.
And in Paradise World he had met Silvermoon Dance.

      Treshold  left his room, asking the  pathwalk  to
take him to the Teleporters Hall. Sleep would not come,
and  he  felt like walking around; the fresh night  air
might  help  him thinking. His mind seemed  to  run  in
vicious  circles: it was crazy to dream about  being  a
wolf again, but there was something else...
      The  pathwalk  stopped in front of a  transparent
door,  and  Treshold  let the  computer  scan  him  and
analyse  his  brain  patterns,  relaxing  to  make  the
machine's job easier. Finally the door opened:  it  was
well  past midnight and the room was empty. One of  the
large screens on the far wall lit up, and the computer-
simulated  image of a scientist appeared  in  front  of
him. A digitised voice spoke, sounding all too human.
       -  What  may I do for you, Mr. Treshold?  -  the
computer asked.
      - I'd like to go out for a walk.
      - Do you want permanent shield protection?
     The man thought about it for a few seconds. No, he
did  not  want to be in a shield all the time, cut  off
from  the wonderful world around him. He needed to feel
the  grass shuffle under his feet, the fresh  air  wash
over his face. He longed for nature's sharp scents  and
flavours, for the rustling noises of the wind among the
trees.  Better  to have the computer keep  a  continuos
check on his whereabouts, ready to step in and envelope
him in a protection field if danger arose. That was how
it  was done with animals, the central mainframe  ready
to  isolate  and  transport back one  of  the  occupied
beings  as soon as its safety was hindered. - No,  just
keep an eye on me. - he finally said.
      - And where would you like to be teleported?
       - The wolves' area. - Treshold said. It had come
out of him before he could think or worry about it. But
it  finally made sense. Smiling he realised that,  even
though  he could not go back to being a wolf again,  he
could  get a last glimpse of what it had felt like.  He
would  at  least  be where the wolves were.  And  maybe
Sytron...
       Treshold   nodded   slowly,   walking   to   the
teleporter's platform. That was the reason he had  come
back  to  Paradise World, in the end.  Not  be  a  wolf
again, because that was impossible. But to have a  last
taste  of  it,  to try and summon some of  the  wolves'
magic  back, even if just for a scant second. Then  the
whole trip would have been worth it.
       Maybe  he  could even get a chance  to  see  her
again. This time as a human being. And then the longing
would pass, when he finally rationalised and reacted to
her as he should. As a man to a wolf.
     Checking he had taken the Dose-Dispenser with him,
Treshold lifted his left hand, signalling he was ready.
The  world slowly receded from him, quietly merging and
superimposing itself to the green grassland...

     He was not in the Teleporters Hall anymore.
      A  small  hill rose in front of him,  covered  in
grass,  and  huge boulders littered the terrain  mixing
with  sparse trees almost invisible in the pale  silver
moon  light. Treshold started walking towards the  high
plane he knew waited on the top of the hill, marvelling
at  how  the surroundings looked strangely similar  and
completely  different to the way he had perceived  them
as a wolf. First there were the colours, which he could
not  see  before. And the perspective had  changed,  as
well. But the smells were missing, and the place seemed
completely  empty and devoid of life when  compared  to
the  feelings  he had perceivved living in  the  animal
body.
      The rational part of his brain kept marvelling at
the  amazing job that had been worked upon the  planet.
Paradise  World  was only slightly smaller  than  Earth
itself,  but  in  less than fifty  years  it  had  been
perfectly  terraformed  with the  help  of  accelerated
growth seeds, bacteria and animals that had taken  over
the  original species and utterly destroyed them, in  a
frightening and exciting display of what nature and the
human mind could achieve when they worked together. Now
it looked as Eden's Garden would have before the coming
of man.
      Treshold reached the hilltop and entered a  large
circle  of  stones  where he knew the  wolves  gathered
often.  It  was  completely  empty,  and  the  man  was
strangely  dismayed, even though the  pack  would  have
been a problem more than anything else, now that he was
inside   his  body  again.  He  slowly  walked  around,
carefully examining the places he had known so well  in
his two weeks as a wolf, a part of his mind longing for
the   feelings  and  sensations  that  were  not  there
anymore.
      Then  he finally moved towards the center of  the
clearing,  in  the very same spot he had sat  when  the
pack  met, and lay on the ground. There was no  danger,
because the computer would encircle him with the  force
field  if anything happened. Treshold bit his  lip  and
grabbed  the  Dose-Dispenser that sat  in  his  pocket,
examining it in the moonlight and carefully resting  it
against his neck.
      This  was  what he had come back  for:  one  last
attempt to re-live as a wolf, even if for a short time,
without  having  to  lose  his  humanity.  His   finger
caressed the trigger and then quickly pressed it,  five
times.
      He  had never taken more than two doses of Sytron
at a time, before, and did not know what five would do.
But  maybe the drug, together with a place that was  so
filled  with wolves memories, would bring the  feelings
back. Just once more.
      Sytron  sang within his body, in his bloodstream,
in his brain.

      First the memories came, more powerful then  ever
before.  He was StrangeThoughts again, in the  clearing
on top of the hill, with the rest of the pack. And then
she  came, her scent filling his mind until he  thought
the  human  part of his brain was going to turn  insane
with desire, until the wolf's body shook and the animal
howled in pleasure and pain and fear at the strength of
the  feeling. The two of them just stood  in  front  of
each other, sensing each other's thoughts, riveting  in
the   meddling  of  their  smells,  and  the  bond  was
instantly between their bodies, souls, brains.
     Wolves mate for life, a part of his mind told him.
Silvermoon Dance was StrangeThoughts missing  half,  as
he was hers. Forever.
      The memories meddled after that sparkling moment,
and  he  was  with her, hunting, mating, lying  in  the
shadow,  his  thoughts  mixing  with  hers  completely,
perfectly, until he was not sure where his limits were,
and where hers started.
     And he could not live without her anymore.
      For  a fortnight life was whole, and nothing more
was  to  be  expected. The part of him  who  was  still
Treshold  was  happy, satisfied, as it had  never  been
before.  And then the holiday ended, and the  man  went
back  to his own, true body. But still Silvermoon Dance
haunted his days and nights.
      Finally  the  memories receded, and consciousness
came forward. Treshold felt it growing inside him,  but
it  was not his very self that was emerging. Sytron was
still strong inside him, and he was no man, yet, and no
wolf,  anymore.  Smells were coming at him,  and  alien
thoughts  hovering at the edge of his  conscience.  But
when  he  opened  his eyes the colours were  there,  he
could   see   them.   The  telepathic   thoughts   were
unreadable, barely outside of his reach.
     And she was there.
      Silvermoon  Dance was staring at his lying  body,
her  strange eyes set on him as if trying to enter  his
brain. Treshold slowly sat up, careful not to scare her
away, but she did not move. Her muzzle was inches  from
his face.
      Desperately  he tried to understand the  thoughts
that  were coming from her, but he just could not,  not
quite, not anymore. His hand reached for her and stroke
her back, gently caressing the jet-black fur, lingering
on  the  white spot between her hind legs. She snuggled
closer to him, her breath warm on his cheek.
     Treshold held her tightly, burying his face in her
fur,  trying to cling to the memories of her, of  their
sharing,  of their bond. She was his, he was hers.  And
Silvermoon Dance was a wolf.
      As  if sensing his despair, she pulled back  from
him  and  turned  around, one  step  after  the  other,
receding  slowly from his reach. The moon  shone  above
them, drawing impossibly long shadows.
       Treshold  tried  to  get  up,  his  entire  body
screaming  with fear and despair, the loss  almost  too
much  to bear. Tears formed at the corner of his  eyes.
Silvermoon  Dance reached the edge of the clearing  and
turned  around slowly, one last time. For a second  the
man's  and  the  wolf's eyes were locked together,  and
Treshold  felt  his  body shiver. Then  she  was  gone,
vanished  among the shadows. He wept for a  long  time,
and  then lay exhausted, waiting for Sytron to wear off
completely. In the end, sadness creeping upon  him,  he
found  the  strength  to press the button  which  would
bring him back to the Holiday Center.

     Treshold lay on the surgical table, large machines
looming above him. Two doctors were looking at computer
screens  and  a  third one was typing  something  on  a
keyboard.  None spoke to him: they probably thought  he
was insane.
      Convincing the Company that owned Paradise  World
had  not been too difficult, after he had spoken to the
president.  First  he had threatened to  take  Paradise
World over and fire the whole staff. They knew he could
do it, if he really wanted to. Then, when the president
wondered  aloud  how could possibly avoid  any  serious
investigation if the Final Merging actually took place,
Treshold  knew  he  had  won. For  half  an  hour  they
discussed  whether he should wait a while  longer,  and
maybe  seek professional help. But finally calling  the
Network  and bringing proof that Treshold 's last  will
entrusted the company with half of his estate  in  case
of death had been enough to wash away all their doubts.
There  would be so much money for them, enough  to  buy
off  any  investigation  and any  moral  consideration.
Technically  he  would be dead as a  human,  after  the
Final Merging. But it did not matter. He had had enough
of human beings.
     One of the doctors lowered a black helmet over his
head,  and  he  heard  the soft purring  of  the  Tesca
Machine.  For an infinite time he was suspended  within
his own brain, until darkness came.

      The large grey wolf looked at the human being  in
front  of him, wondering how such an animal could  move
on  those two thin legs. A part of him knew the answer,
but  it  did not matter, not anymore. He slowly  looked
around,  examining the strange place he had awoken  to.
Hundreds  of  new  smells hit his  brain,  and  strange
noises   filled  his  ears.  Everything  seemed  white,
unnatural, and the surface underneath its paws was  too
smooth, and cold. Then his sight seem to blur, and  the
world changed. He was somewhere else.
      StrangeThoughts smelled and looked and tasted the
new surroundings, recognising them. The grassland swept
around  him,  rising towards the Gathering  Place.  The
wolf  leapt  forward  in powerful  strides,  excitement
running  through his body, his brain flooded  with  the
smells and sounds and the sensation of the wind on  his
fur.
      He reached the top of the hill, and a new, strong
scent washed over him. She was there.
      StrangeThoughts slowed down, the man  inside  him
finally  satisfied, understanding beyond any  lingering
doubts  that it was right, perfectly, absolutely right.
That  he had had no real choice, and this was the  only
way it could ever be.
      Silvermoon Dance appeared from behind  a  boulder
and  slowly  trotted towards him, stopping  when  their
muzzles  were  almost touching. He felt  her  thoughts,
sharply,  bright flashes and feelings  that  seemed  to
explode  inside his brain. For a second his human  side
tried  to  translate everything into words,  to  record
them,  until he finally realised that words were wrong.
Human  language had no meaning, not anymore.  Sentences
were  useless, clumsy, not able to deal with  what  was
passing between them. Language was for men, and he  let
it go, knowing he would never need it again.
      And then saw himself in her, the unspoken promise
he  carried  within  even when he  walked  as  a  thin,
ridiculous two-legged being, the promise in those alien
eyes and hands that had stroke caressed her fur.
       And   he  saw  the  bond  as  only  wolves  did,
unbreakable, beyond life. She had known he  would  come
back,  even before he himself did. StrangeThoughts  saw
her  dreaming  of   two  wolves running  on  the  hunt,
eating,  mating,  leaping through infinite  grasslands,
caring  for  the  offspring that  would  come.  Finally
Silvermoon  Dance moved underneath the  night-sky,  her
shadow   pale,   her   eyes   glittering,   her   scent
overpowering. Her thoughts were still in his mind,  and
his in hers when she jumped over a tree-root, hiding in
the shadows. And then she ran away, challenging him  to
catch her.
       The man within the wolf allowed himself one last
moment  of pure, absolute joy, before receding forever,
as   far   as  he  could  without  disappearing.   Then
StrangeThoughts  lifted  his  head   and   howled   his
happiness at the universe.

Luca Pesaro