Vuduri Entertainment

As a people, the Vuduri are deadly dull. They do not enjoy music, art, dance or athletic competition. So what do they do for entertainment?

Nothing, really. They get up, they eat, they go to work, they come home, they exercise and they go to bed. That is their life. The Overmind is always in their head and it has a way of discouraging independent or even creative thinking.

There is one exception, though. The Vuduri believe in physical exercise. There are certain jobs that demand physical strength and dexterity. The Vuduri start out very young trying to ascertain their strengths and weaknesses through certain athletic endeavors.

One such activity, competition really, is called the dadar-fo. It is a three-legged trestle, similar to a see-saw but with three arms balanced about a cone-shaped pivot point. Each arm ends in a flat metal plate and the match starts when four children step upon the flat metal plates at each end.

The idea is to knock the other children off the device and end up with your "team" occupying all three plates. It teaches teamwork, strength and agility. There is a rubberized mat underneath to soften the blow when you get knocked off. Sometimes the competition gets a little violent, especially as the children get older.

There are no prizes. The winners feel no outward sense of accomplishment but you wouldn't know it if you ever watched one of the matches. Maybe there is hope for the Vuduri after all.