"A Failure, But Not A Fatal One..."

This recent international kerfuffle with Somali pirates has resulted in the forging of some strange new alliances! China Radio International reported yesterday that thousands of dolphins "leapt out of the water" yesterday between advancing pirate boats and some Chinese merchant ships. As the pirates' boats are small, lightweight craft, they had no choice but to turn back. Or, as the article puts it, "The pirates could only lament their littleness befor the vast number of dolphins."

Did this really even happen? It's hard to say, since China has a history of spicing up nature photography to cultivate mystique. Regardless, the Tolkien-esque dolphin intervention really sparks the imagination. It reminds me a bit of the story of Dionysus, the Greek god who was kidnapped at sea by marauding sailors. Their plan to collect a mighty ransom was a failure, but not a fatal one -- when they dove overboard, mad with fear at seeing the god in his full glory, he turned them into dolphins.

There are times to fight, and there are times when it seems that the whole world is conspiring to shut you down; the Five of Swords is a harbinger of the latter sort. Pray that you'll have the good sense to see the signs and note when there is more to lose in forging ahead than in turning back. Listen to reason! Perhaps the dolphins were protecting the merchants -- but what if they were actually warning their wily piratical descendants of certain defeat? Either way, the Somalis got the point, and that's all that matters.

If it even actually happened.

(It probably didn't.)

Previously On Arcanalogue: The Five of Swords