Anyway, I was in Singapore, covering the Chinese New Year, for a filler piece in (name of magazine witheld). I met a man who I took to be a Singapore national, and was going to ask him what he thought about the festivities, what the New Year meant to him, etc. He seemed enthusiastic, and told me he had a good story for me if I had time to listen to it. I didn't realize what kind of story it would be. When he told me he was a dragon, I thought he was speaking figuratively. When he said he was being litearal, I thought he might be a little bonkers, but it sounded like an interesting story, so I listened anyway. I interviewed him in a bar that I can't really remember the name of. I made a tape of that interview; go ahead and play it for anyone who will listen, but leave my name out of it. I obviously don't have to worry about the notoriety it would cause for myself, but I rather leave you out of it, and I don't really want anyone to dwell on the interviewer anyway. I just thought this story should be told somehow to someone.
About Kenneth: When I first met him, he seemed rather ordinary. He had black hair, brown eyes, was about 5'10" and looked vaguely Oriental, although his skin was a little darker than usual. After the interview, I asked if I could see his draconic form, and he agreed; he didn't want me to see the transformation process, but he allowed to see him as a dragon in a remote field in southern Malaysia. He was about 20 feet long from head to tail. His scales were of a greenish colr, ranging from an emerald shade near his head, lightening towards his tail to a deep grass-green color, with a ocidized-copper color (like the Statue of Liberty) along a stripe down his back and tail. His eyes were of a yellowish-amber color. His muzzle was similar to a crocodile's, but more streamlined. His head had a crest with spine-like ridges, swept back; they later reminded me of the punk hairstyle some London teenagers had in the 80's. His wings were leathery, thick but translucent; they were about as wide as he was long, maybe a little wider. His tail started out thick and tapered down to a thin whip-like point. In short, he looked similar to what I expected an English dragon to look like, if I ever expected to see one! He seemed to radiate a feeling of confidence and pride, of himself and his surroundings, both in his human and draconic form. It was quite a striking sight, and it definitely removed any element of doubt still remaining! I took a few pictures of him, but unfortunately my camera was stolen the next day on the street. I found the camera later, but the film had been removed. I have always wondered if it was just a coincidence; Kenneth wasn't at all shy about what he was, but I always wondered if he didn't want the full truth publicly revealed right away, and arranged to have the film taken. That's one of the reasons I never realeased this tape to anyone until now. I see no reason to keep the secret any longer; according to Kenneth, dragons' existance will become common knowledge in the next couple of decades anyway. So go ahead and listen to this, and play it for anyone else who will listen, even if they don't take it seriously. They will eventually!
TIM: I'm going to tape this, do you mind?
KENNETH: Not at all; go ahead.
TIM: So where should we start this?
KENNETH: Anywhere you want. Let's get something to drink first. (to waitress, in Chinese:) Two Tsingtaos over here, please!
TIM: OK... how was it you came to believe... I mean, how is it that you came to realize that you were a dragon?
KENNETH: I was born a dragon, the realization came pretty easily!
TIM: So you weren't born looking as you do now?
KENNETH: No. It was the realization that I could take human form, become human, that came later in life.
TIM: About when was that?
KENNETH: When I realized, or when I was born?
TIM: Well, both I guess.
KENNETH: I'm not sure of the specific date. I was born somewhere in Southwestern Scotland, near the English border. I know it was during the reign of George II, because I heard about the his death and the coronation of George III when I first starting learning to fly; I was about 10 or 12 then. My father suspected that I might be a shapeshifter when I was born, but it wasn't until I was about 20 or 30 that I first was able to become human.
TIM: So not all dragons can become human?
KENNETH: No. Actually, it's quite rare. Only about 1 dragon every century is born with that capability. When I was born, there were only 3 other dragons known to be shapeshifters; one was born in Armenia, sometime in the 15th century; one in Bavaria, in 1560; and there was a rumor that one was born somewhere in Western Africa, about 90 years ago. No one was sure why or how they had this ability.
TIM: Interesting. You mentioned that you were born during George II's reign, they would make you about, 200 years old or so?
KENNETH: Yes, a little more than 200. I'd guess I was born in about 1750.
TIM: So how long do dragons live, then?
KENNETH Well, it depends. On the average, dragons usually live about 500 years, but they can live much longer than that. The head of our Council was more than 1000, although he's more the exception than the rule. There are rumors that there are two dragons alive now that are almost 2000. Some legends suggest that dragons can live to 5000 years or more, but nobody's sure whether that's true or not; the legends are so old it's hard to separate fact from exaggeration.
TIM: So you would consider yourself about middle-age, then?
KENNETH: Yeah, that's about right. Most dragons don't live past 500 unless they feel a reason to; life-span depends a lot on how lnog you want to live. Since most dragons are not fertile past 500, they choose not to live to the point thet are draining the limited resources available. Since about the Rennaisance, dragons have imposed isolation from humans upon themselves as a protective measure, and there's only so much food available in a space isolated from human activity. When they were fertile, they were preserving the species. With the 21st century approaching soon, dragons will be coming out of their isolation and re-emerging publicly. There are many more dragons who choose to live past 500 now just to see what will happen. Hopefully, we can reach some accord with humanity and the isolation will no longer be necessary.
TIM: What was growing up like for you? What would the typical life for a dragon be like?
KENNETH: I could hardly call my life typical... being a sapeshifter, a rarity of our kind, shaped my life quite differently. I knew early on that I was different from most dragons, even though I was 30 or so before I first excercised my abilities.
My father, mother, and a few of my brothers and sisters lived in a ruined castle in Southwestern Scotland. My father enjoyed collecting books, whic in itself wasn't very typical of dragons, at least not the ones near where we lived. He actually taught me and my brothers to read the books he collected, which contained several works in Old English, Latin, and modern English. Most dragons are only taught hunting and survival skills before they learn to fly. Not that most dragons are illiterate, it's just that they usually wait until they're on their own to pursue those types of studies. My father was also less inclined to isolate himsef from humans; he was cautious, like all dragons were, but he went out of his way to find trustworthy humans to associate with. He actually made a few friends that would visit us from time to time.
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