I have been often bothered by the conflicts occurring among fish, or rather, by exceeding the limits in the conflicts, as when a fish is chasing another one and then bites her to death; or when a giant fish hits her tail against the air pump, depriving the entire planet of oxygen.

I did not think about which party I had to take side with, despite my love for only some factions and colors; I did not do that because I dedicated myself to attaining the world of natural fish, with its different moods and temperaments.

I have been wondering how the fish manage their battles according to the borders agreed upon, to prevent the assassination of life on the planet. But if I set boundaries, what would make the fish comply with them? How can I convince them not to use their teeth in conflicts?

I started with a group of peaceful fish and we established a group of Protectors of the Planet that distanced themselves from engaging in conflicts of interest and in party conflicts, not as an evil; but as the major priority, having the role of maintaining the air pump, water leakage, and adopting civilized mechanisms in conflicts and defending them. In other words, they were not resisting the existence of conflicts but they were addressing exceeding the limits and rules in their management. They did not uphold a specific type of fish, but upheld the rules through which a world of fish was achieved.

This group did not act by the logic of supporting who was right; this was none of its business, because who is right can abuse in the ways pursued to obtain his rights, just as the greedy fantail fish did. She thought she should get the greater share of the resources since she had a huge size and her need for food was great, as she was devouring all the food in one big gulp, letting the rest of the fish starve. Therefore, those who were right could assassinate the origin of life when waging their holy battle.

The idea was attacked in the beginning, as some expressions such as “do you equalize between victim and oppressor?” were launched. Each team was thinking its battle was a battle that was not prevailed upon by any voice, but in the light of my own experience in this world that I created with my hands, I found that today’s victim is the oppressor of tomorrow, and vice versa. Some victims just had not had an opportunity to join a club of executioners. They were complaining that the biggest fish had been chasing them…but what if they found other fish with smaller size. How would they behave? Therefore, the goal was to have a community of fish that was sensitive to any aggression against the origin of life, and the ability to detect any case of infiltration and breaches of the rules by whomsoever committed; like the fine imposed on the person breaking the red light, whether he was heading to rob a bank or to visit a patient.     

I chose a group of reasonable fish and assigned them the task of control and intervention in case of breaking the rules. But by the time, this group became a joke for the planet of fish. Whenever a violation happened, the fish blew bubbles from their mouth simultaneously as a sign of protest. They became the subject of ridicule and provocation. The fish made fun of them because of their helplessness, were the aggressing fish deterred by bubbles? They were also the subject of provocation because the fish did not like those who stand in the middle of this space, refusing to take sides with any party; the wrestlers saw only black and white, either with us or against us, and their insolence expanded while confiscating vision and terrorizing those who would see other colors.

What the angry fish did not see was that the fish I had chosen did not stand in the middle distance; they were not even standing in the battle of the two warring parties. That was their shadow, but they were at the forefront of the battle for recognition and preservation of the rules governing the conflicts; they were totally biased to protect the rules and deterring violations.

I realized what a mistake I had made in choosing the quality of fish. These vulnerable fish, which have nothing but bubbles, turned out to be a source of harassment that I thought the fish got some rest and pleasure in attacking and defaming these fish after their fierce battles. I was the one who was providing entertainment for the fish in conflict. I knew how ridiculous it was to call out the aggressor wrestlers to listen to the voice of reason, especially if this voice was faint and shy! Those who overstepped the boundaries in their conflicts had lost their minds the day when they had declared craziness. And they will wake up not because of the strong argument of the voice of reason, but because of its strong influence and impact as well as the tools of persuasion and compulsion that it owns.

My chosen fish would remain a source of ridicule and harassment if they merely kept using their bubbles as a means of denouncement to resist the deluge of madness. They were not so inspired to get other fish involved; they were in a loose and fragile area, and to stand in it was more dangerous than taking sides. For the fish, it was the area where the weak and the cowards that were afraid of the sea battles stand, and where you could receive blows from everyone without having any shield to protect you.

I realized that those who stood in this space had to be stronger than all the parties and to have tools of influence, pressure, and impact so that they can address both parties together.

I realized that the matter was not to take position, but to concretize it. This pushed me to change the strategy and devote my energy to support this group plan for it and together.

I engaged in a dialogue with the Plecostomus whose role was to clean the glass and eat algae, and with the Cat Fish whose function was cleaning the planet floor and eating food waste and the fish droppings. They were convinced to join the group of Protectors of the Planet. Now, the planet became cleaner in the hands of this group, which meant that it was no longer a matter of just blowing bubbles: the fish could wake up in the day to find either pure and transparent water, or dark water with a bad smell that would block the nostrils.

After that, the Tiger Fish, who was small, fast and agile, joined us. She was able to bother the biggest fish by biting parts of their tail. This meant that the fish tail and rudder became in the hands of the Protectors of the Planet group. Now, the reason got a voice… rather a roar that made ears yield to it.

By the time, several groups were formed and constituted a large movement that was the strongest for its lofty battle and the capability of its tools. No one did describe it to be grey or standing in the middle area, as taking a side with it became a virtue. Moreover, it was recognized later on as a basic color that did not stand with fluidity between black and white, but rather being the one that determined the degree of black and white.

Written By: Wael Adel

Translated By: Zoulikha K