“The Baptist” - From a Certain Point of View

"The Baptist", by Nnedi Okorafor, comes from the perspective of Omi. This story follows "End of Watch."

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WARNING: This is a plot summary of the short story, spoilers ahead:

Omi is a dianoga, minding her own business in her corner of the swamp, when she is suddenly captured by a group of Vodran hunters. She tried to fight her way out, but was subdued and drugged. When she awoke, she realized she was in a large, clear bowl inside one of those flying boxes she occasionally saw in the sky. Omi's bowl was near a window, and she was able to see her beloved swamp disappear in the distance, when she realized she was in a place that her kind really wasn't meant to be. Space was large and ominous, but that voice she occasionally felt inside her told her it was okay, and she was meant to accomplish something important. She worked hard to find a way out of the bowl, and realized that she was able to use the suckers on her tentacles to grip the inside of the bowl's lid, and by turning, she let herself out. The dry air was difficult to deal with, but she worked her way through the hallways until she encountered a couple of beings, similar to Vodrans, but wrapped in strange white coverings. She tried to camouflage herself against the wall, but the beings found her and a few bolts of bright hot light created a small crater near her hiding spot. She wanted to escape, but her only option was to attack. The moved incredibly quickly and with great agility, as she knew she was capable of in moments of need. Before the beings could react, she had them both with her tentacles, and struck them with her poisoned claw.

Omi scrambled back to the relative safety of the bowl, and managed to get the lid back on before more white-covered beings arrived. Omi sensed that the flying box she was on had arrived at a destination, and her bowl was moved towards a door, which was opened and she was emptied into a shaft. Omi swam into a new environment. It was watery and had a lot of smells. She swam around and discovered a lot of hard objects throughout the water, as well as her fair share of food. Every once in a while, the walls of her new "home" would move in on each other, and she would crawl into her special safe space until the walls opened again. Omi continued to know that she was meant to be here, even in this place that was so very different from her swamp back home. Then one day, 4 new beings arrived into the area. One was covered in fur, and there were three others, 2 of which were clad in the same coverings as those others on the ship. But the shorter one...something about this being resonated with Omi. There was something special about him, in the same way there was about Omi herself. She finally knew her purpose! Omi poked her eye above the surface to get her bearings, and swam towards the special being. She carefully wrapped her tentacles around him and brought him under the water. He was thrashing and struggling, and the other beings threw hot bolts at her. She held on for as long as she could, until one of the bolts seared her tentacle. She let go, but had made a connection with the being, and fulfilled her purpose having baptised him. She knew he was important, and was destined to do great things, and Omi did her part. The walls began to move, and Omi went back to her safe place, content that she had fulfilled her destiny.



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