# 28 - Dangers of Sound Sleeping - Bubblegun to Bubblegum-IV

Rick’s and Hammer’s latest ride was scarier than the first one. They were sliding down at an alarming speed. The chute was completely dark, and there seemed to be just no end to twists and turns.

The ride seemed so long that Rick thought they would end up being on the other side of the planet or whatever it was. When it didn’t get over after some more time also, he thought they had probably jumped down the wrong chute; what if they were on some chute connected to an inter-space network? Hammer had only one thought though – why did he listen to Rick?

After a twenty-three minute grueling ride of tumbling and shoveling through the chute, they finally came to a stop. A strong and sweet fragrance greeted them.

They had just entered The Great Hall of Bubblegum.

They felt dizzy and couldn’t even stand properly. They decided to sit down and take some rest.

They looked around. The place looked like a factory; but there was something strange about this place. It seemed to run all by itself; there was no one to be seen anywhere. Moreover, what was an hourglass filled with sand doing in a factory? It was the biggest hourglass they had ever seen.

Rick and Hammer were inside the Ultergum factory of Ulterlok, the one and only factory which manufactured bubblegum. There was a knoll of bubblegum right in the middle of the factory, and it was entirely enclosed in a glass case. Tiny bits of bubblegum were picked up from the knoll and were neatly shaped like tiny squares. Every time a new square of bubblegum was made, a grain of sand went down the hourglass.

The bubblegum was essential for the survival of Ulterlokians. Since they never spoke and hence almost never opened their mouths, it was necessary that they chewed something for sometime; this would give their mouths the much needed exercise. The something was bubblegum and it was distributed freely to everyone but only once a month.

The knoll was the only stock of bubblegum on the entire Ulterlok, and it was speculated that it would get over when the hourglass would fill up. The lower part of the hourglass was already filled one-fourth, and so the production and distribution of bubblegum was closely monitored. The factory was also heavily guarded; in fact it was more heavily guarded than even Sileosus’s house.

No one knew how the knoll came to be there but it was considered the most precious thing on the entire planet.


© 2008 Ankur Shanker
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