In the dark backward, the heavens were without form and void. Over time, variegated planets came to wander aimlessly in this hostile vacuum. It all began to trouble the Ace of Heaven so He formed an enormous glowing sphere of molten rock and sent it to warm the planets and swing them into eternal ovals of silent passage. Seeing order but not yet reason, the Ace chose one planet, Terra, and caused her to take on a unique character, to burst with rich color and raw textures, to grow vigorous with energy and fertile in promise. Around this orb He cupped a crisp sky of Windsor Blue with just a touch of Rose Dore at the rim. Then came a crescent moon, a few thundershowers and ziggidy bolts of lightning, waves, red clay, plankton, plum trees, fog, and zinnias. Next, He fashioned a wren and an owl, the Snow Goose, a Scarlet Ibis, and even the Least Bittern, and sprinkled them around to all the far edges of the envelope. Finally, He shaped the strongest flyer, the Falcon, gave him all knowledge of jet streams, thermals, and little breezes and released him at the very apex of space...the center of the Garden of Heaven. The sky was almost complete. It was good and pulled mightily at the spirit. Later, contemplating what he had done, the Ace of Heaven felt that something was lacking. "What can it be?" "Ah, hah!", he cried. "It's simple! As simple as the stars were or at least the North Atlantic. My flock needs a companion!" The Great Sky Writer could hardly contain Himself. He fairly flew to the Mediterranean Sea, that deep vat of pure azure water. He charged the sea with acres of sweet cellulose and reached for a tool never before used: a mould and deckle. With a thundering heave, the Ace swept the mould over the raw polarscape, across the land of many textures, and by glorious snowy peaks, causing a severe wind storm. A slight downward tilt sent the tool into the sea just off the Isle of Garlic. There was a sharp parting of the water and the mould was driven deep, deeper into the belly of the seavat. With a turn of His wrists, the Ace sent the mould bursting back through the now turbulent waters and into the clear day. His stroke showered the entire hemisphere with a rain that would last three days and three nights. When He saw the perfect formation stretching from horizon to horizon, He was moved and took the first sheet of paper between the palms of His hands and dried it. Working carefully, the Ace of Heaven began to score and fold and, when it was done, He marveled and called it a Paper Airplane. With a gentle sweep of His arm, He sent the dazzling white shape arching across all space and all time. The sky was complete. He rested. However, when Aslipah, the First Paper Airplane, sailed into the Garden of Heaven and danced by the beguiling Falcon, he could not resist the temptation to...Ah, but the rest is history, isn't it? Epilogue: Years later, a unique flock has descended from the first Paper Airplane. Members of this family are called Tennarkippians and inhabit our Delta skies. The Delta Wingers are different one to another and are most energetic fliers. They fly in a fold. They can be quite colorful or blend into the sky. The flock communicates with a soft but crisp rattle and speak of the same hopes and dreams as you and I. These noble wingmates are members of the Panoramic Party and support overviews. They mate only in the air above the Great Pyramids. Tennarkippians are bold and eager, snappy and brave. They are made of the white stuff. Some heroic figures from Tennarkippi folklore: THE HANDY TRUMPETER, Composer of the Tennarkippi Blues. MISS MAY DAYE, Tennarkippi's first Pulpboy centerfold. THE ARTICULATED FAULKNER, First skywriter and Nobel Laureate. COLONEL CHARLIE EAGER, Flew the first paper airplane to break the sound barrier. The colophon from the original book reads: "The Creationist's Theory of Paper Airplanes was executed in and on rag handmade paper at The Flying Vat, Memphis College of Art. It may have been typed but the ribbon was new."
