Power Bars

It must be urgently pointed out that a key ingredient is missing from the Power Bar recipe: a large firkin of caution. Some concise background. In the early 80's, Gord Frazer (who passed this sacred and terrible information on to me, as now I convey it to you--God Save My Soul!) returned from Tibet a changed man. A decade of deep and quiet study under Zen Master Maezumi Roshi had yielded the development he sought of his Third Eye (he had suffered from, in layman's terms, a near-sighted Third Eye). Found worthy by his Master (who sensed his own imminent physical death), Frazer was also bestowed with partial knowledge of the components and method of production of a foodstuff so powerful that it could, used properly, nourish the human body as well as the soul. I say partial knowledge because Master Roshi, knowing the moral burden attached to the possession of these seemly benign facts and doubting his beloved student's readiness, provided Fraser with only half the recipe. The other half was closely held by a Tuvinian Throat Singer who had also studied under the Master. Thus, production of what Fraser prophetically called "Power Bars" was a dual effort. Fraser would begin the recipe, ship his partial product to Tuva, where the process was completed. This was then transported over the Himalaya to a Tibetan council for final approval, then off to Fraser. How Frazer came to possess the complete recipe cannot be told here, but what can be said is that the Tuvinian Throat singer died tragically and violently when he fell and was trampled by his own horse during the annual Tuvinian Games. History alone will tell us if it can be characterized as fortunate that the trampled Tuvinian was wise in inscribing his knowledge of the recipe on a whalebone he had hidden deep in a cave beyond the perimeter of his village (how he came upon a whalebone in land-locked Tuva has been the subject of much interesting research and debate, but that is for another time). As for Flash Gordon, as Fraser is known, his storied cycle racing career -- 3-time Olympian, Canadian National Road Race Champion 2004, etc. -- appears to have waned. Now a sprinter for Healthnet, the burden of the knowledge he carrries and the moral tension it conveys appears to have robbed him of that ineffable edge that makes a champion. Perhaps he wasn't ready. Let this serve as a warning to those who undertake this journey. These Bars and the power inherent in them may be used for good or for evil. It is up to you. I pray you do the right thing.