What is a Wasabus?

If there was a bus where a Wasabus was, would the Wasabus walk?
Of course he would. But he’d trash the bus first.

My younger son and I were talking this morning before school. He was saying that he learns things faster and understands them if they have a story, as opposed to just boring facts. Of course this is true and we began to talk about things that seem to have stories attached.

I always did fine in math but I really excelled in permutations and exponents, because to me, the numbers have a relationship which is almost a story. All numbers have personality and together they make families and this was most evident to me in certain numerical relationships.

I have read much about the perceptions of some autistic and aspergian mathematicians and for them numbers are individuals with distinct personalities- and it is this assigned history that aids the savant in making rapid and astounding calculations.

There are certain Scape figures that stand out to me too, because they seem to have a story, a history attached – I’m talking about just looking at them, no research or anything.

For example Drake Alexander- he has the WW2 thing, plus a sword, plus a grapple arm. You can see what he’s been through and how determined he’s been and what his skills are. I can sense him as an individual- feel how he earned that sword, taken probably, from a Japanese officer who fought Drake fiercely. The taking of the sword was an act of respect, a sign of the bond that developed between the two combatants. I understand his story just by looking at him.

My sons customed Sylvano the Wasabus from a D and D Bugbear figure long ago. They chose him because his sculpt was evocative- he seemed to have a story. They didn’t know he was a bugbear- we always made up our own names for things, so he was deemed a Wasabus. My son explained that it was not a race or a species, but a title.

A title? Sylvano is a roaring bugbear with a weapon in each hand. Besides calling him Sir, I couldn’t imagine what kind of title a bugbear would have. We are fans of Gotrek the Slayer but somehow the sculpt of Sylvano didn’t seem so determinedly death bound as a dwarf slayer.

To me a Wasabus became a rather profound thing. I began to think of him as a sort of a sadhu (hindu monk)- an individual of any species who renounces goods, money, and relationships and follows an inner map of personal challenges.
Our figure of Sylvano did not think twice about crossing lava, or attacking dragons, or doing any sort of questionable or crazy action- it was part of his inner journey. He hoped to learn about himself by challenging himself, accepting that he would sometimes lose and sometimes win. He accepted that he might be wounded and would more than likely die, but that wasn’t important. He did not know the goal or endpoint of the journey- it was the travelling and exploration itself that were important. He could be part of an army but he always fought alone. He never backed down from danger or death.

If a Wasabus was unafraid of mortality, then they must somehow believe in another life- a spiritual life. Now this seems a little kooky- getting all spiritual about a D and D figure, but I guess I take my gaming seriously. So I decided that a Wasabus does not care about what happened before- what battles were won, what victories occurred, and they do not care about dying or what may pass in the future- they are concerned with today, and how they measure against their own present code of behaviour and accomplishment. It is not a shame or a loss to die, it is just the beginning of a different part of the journey. The next life is not a reward or a punishment, but a continuation of self-exploration.

A Wasabus does not know where they are headed, only if they are on the right road. I suppose they will know the end when they get there. Or perhaps there is no end?

And now I must relate this to my life, because I’m in a rather rotten time. My employment is threatened and with that the existence I have built on that income and my current definition of self.

You are all so right when you say “leave that stupid place Sylvano.” Because Sylvano the Wasabus really would. He would strike out on which ever path struck his fancy at that moment, and start travelling. He wouldn’t think twice. And his life would be the richer for it, even if his purse became emptier....

It’s just the responsibility thing- money and kids and dentists and post-secondary education. At least that’s my excuse. Pok pok.

I wish I was a Wasabus.