Knight Rider characters copyright Glen A Larson
Thanks tons to elfin for the speedy beta!
Epiphany Vs Catharsis
by Tomy
They were words he had never really understood. And if he were to be completely forthright, he had never had any desire to grasp their meanings. He had heard the words used many times, usually while he was waiting in a courtroom to testify against whatever lout was finally coming up for trail after he had worked his ass off to bust them. It was laziness above all else that prevented him from learning.
When he was small, his father had brought home for him a large stuffed bear; larger than himself by many times. He remembered running screaming and crying away from it when his father had proudly introduced them. The memory now brought a smile to his lips. The bear was to become his new roommate, his father stoically insisting that his son would learn not to be afraid. The first few nights, he shied away from the bear sitting quietly, waiting, in the corner of his bedroom. It didn't take long for Michael to realise that it wasn't just a stuffed animal - it was comfort, a surrounding hug, someone to talk to, a confidant.
The first time he opened up to Kitt, truly opened up to his partner, and his friend responded as he had always imagined the bear to respond - it was cathartic. Granted, Kitt had a larger vocabulary, and a much better grasp of ideas and events, but the tone was the same, as was the concern, and if he stretched his imagination, the car could surround him in the protective hug the bear used to soothe his childhood fears with.
The other came earlier in time. He remembered waiting for her to notice him, with the gun in his hand, listening to the voice that haunted his nightmares and daydreams, his emotions churning inside him - fear being at the forefront, with unsureness following a close second. As she turned, as he faced her, as his mind cleared with sudden certainty and he realised that Wilton had been right in everything they had ever discussed; THAT had been his epiphany.
He rolled over in the sand, turning to face the car, his partner, that was parked just beyond the boardwalk. He had never dared to ask Kitt if his particular events matched the true meanings of the words, nor did he really want to.
Kitt always referred to himself as the computer inside the car - Michael's mind immediately shunned him for the description - though that may technically be what Kitt was, just as the bear had been simple cloth and string, and Wilton's ideals had been breath and sound, they all had such greater meaning; giving him a renewed sense of drive, dedication and sense of family he had thought only worthy of books and fairy tales.
To this day, so many years after they had first spoken as friends, he still felt the same catharsis, smiling and relaxing when Kitt used _that_ tone.
He felt that same sudden clarity when an event, he had once thought to be way over his head, came to pass, when he and Kitt persevered above all the odds.
No, it wasn't easy; it was incredibly dangerous, and oh so worth it.
Thanks tons to elfin for the speedy beta!
Epiphany Vs Catharsis
by Tomy
They were words he had never really understood. And if he were to be completely forthright, he had never had any desire to grasp their meanings. He had heard the words used many times, usually while he was waiting in a courtroom to testify against whatever lout was finally coming up for trail after he had worked his ass off to bust them. It was laziness above all else that prevented him from learning.
When he was small, his father had brought home for him a large stuffed bear; larger than himself by many times. He remembered running screaming and crying away from it when his father had proudly introduced them. The memory now brought a smile to his lips. The bear was to become his new roommate, his father stoically insisting that his son would learn not to be afraid. The first few nights, he shied away from the bear sitting quietly, waiting, in the corner of his bedroom. It didn't take long for Michael to realise that it wasn't just a stuffed animal - it was comfort, a surrounding hug, someone to talk to, a confidant.
The first time he opened up to Kitt, truly opened up to his partner, and his friend responded as he had always imagined the bear to respond - it was cathartic. Granted, Kitt had a larger vocabulary, and a much better grasp of ideas and events, but the tone was the same, as was the concern, and if he stretched his imagination, the car could surround him in the protective hug the bear used to soothe his childhood fears with.
The other came earlier in time. He remembered waiting for her to notice him, with the gun in his hand, listening to the voice that haunted his nightmares and daydreams, his emotions churning inside him - fear being at the forefront, with unsureness following a close second. As she turned, as he faced her, as his mind cleared with sudden certainty and he realised that Wilton had been right in everything they had ever discussed; THAT had been his epiphany.
He rolled over in the sand, turning to face the car, his partner, that was parked just beyond the boardwalk. He had never dared to ask Kitt if his particular events matched the true meanings of the words, nor did he really want to.
Kitt always referred to himself as the computer inside the car - Michael's mind immediately shunned him for the description - though that may technically be what Kitt was, just as the bear had been simple cloth and string, and Wilton's ideals had been breath and sound, they all had such greater meaning; giving him a renewed sense of drive, dedication and sense of family he had thought only worthy of books and fairy tales.
To this day, so many years after they had first spoken as friends, he still felt the same catharsis, smiling and relaxing when Kitt used _that_ tone.
He felt that same sudden clarity when an event, he had once thought to be way over his head, came to pass, when he and Kitt persevered above all the odds.
No, it wasn't easy; it was incredibly dangerous, and oh so worth it.
