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A Fable about Utility

They came together in Harlem - last bastion of fairness - to deliberate on Service. Yet the discussion just meandered back and forth, going nowhere until the moderator shouted to the animated contestants, "Shut up! Enough already! Everybody do their thang and then we vote. Okay!"

A throaty roar expressed their approval because to many of them this issue of Usefulness was a big deal.

So first up was the Wheel cartel. Confident to smugness, they made significant arguments and sound points about technical contributions and ubiquity in mechanical development.

Next came Lever, tall and stout, standing alone mid-stage, tapping and rapping of proven abilities like time-telling and the easing of everyday burdens.

Following was oh-so humble Axe which, despite coarse nicks and rough edges, put a lump in several throats with a raspy apology for enabling those brutal pre-industrial wars.

Then up went a Hand.

Through use of Universal Sign Language, it quietly pointed out that the entire convocation was moot, and null and void to boot. This so because itself, Hand, was the original All-Purpose Tool - complete with opposing digits, practical joints, and adjustable grips and pressures.

At this, the assembly erupted in a frenzy as Profiteers & Patent holders and Small Goods manufacturers fought to grab up some of this unexpected offering.

Moral: Silently some facts impress