Chimera (short story)

"Chimera" is a comical short story written by a Korean author Lee Yeongdo, based on the world of the novel Dragon Raja written by the same author. It is one of the three short stories known as Sceneries Of Laboratory. The story humors on male arrogance and characteristics, through a being called Chimera.

Plot summary

One day in the royal palace, Handrake the Archmage accidentally creates a "Chimaera" out of rubbish and scraps. While the experiment started out as a joke, the Chimaera turns out to be both very powerful and highly intelligent, and claims that it is the most perfect being. The Chimaera threatens Handrake and his apprentice Soloture to create its mate, so the Chimaera may reproduce and fill the world with beings as perfect as the Chimaera. The request leads into a question of whether it is a male or a female, and Handrake and Soloture starts arguing whether it is a male or a female. Princess Herthruyen, who accidentally drops by the magicians' lab, comments that Chimaera would be a male because only males are arrogant enough to expect their offspring to be just like them.

Finally, being convinced that he's a male and thinking that he was created to destroy the world of females and build a new world filled only with males, the Chimaera asks the mages to wage the war against females. When Handrake and Soloture refuses the Chimaera tries to kill them. At that moment Princess Herthruyne shows up again and comments to Chimaera- that the Chimaera evidently is a female. When it hears this, the Chimaera kills itself by disintergrating. The Princess comments to two mages that "what else could it be, a thing that wants to rule everything around himself, a thing believing there is some ultimate purpose for his being, a thing that would rather kill itself than be called as a female, than a man?"

Characters

Handrake - An Archmage, somewhat peculiar yet nevertheless powerful and respected.
Soloture - Handrake's apprentice, the main character of the story. The story told in the view of Soloture, in first-person narrative style.
Princess Herthruyne - The princess of the Kingdom. In this novel she is described as a little girl but with very high intelligence, often referred as a genius.
Chimaera - An accidental creation by Handrake, made out of rubbish such as broken broomsticks, old vase and rotten Mandragora.