tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11082634205378401932024-02-18T21:33:21.666-08:00Reality WedgeReality Wedgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03193657166415506995noreply@blogger.comBlogger195125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1108263420537840193.post-58116209339509712872016-08-25T08:58:00.000-07:002016-08-25T08:58:16.289-07:00No idea regarding the alien intelligences<div>
Excerpt from e-mail between me 'n me pal:</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
pal: That's a pretty hefty document (<span style="font-size: small;">Alien Mindscapes—A Perspective on the Search</span><span style="font-size: small;"> for Extraterrestrial Intelligence</span> by Nathalie A. Cabrol.- my parenth.) . I don't know if my frontal lobes are up to
the task. I feel as though I forget every paragraph to make room for the
next!</div>
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</div>
<div>
me: I struggle too. It's fulla science-speak..It's all expressed so formally. I
skipped to the end and read the conclusion (I''ll read it all when I'm feelin'
up to it, I suppose). From this I gather that it's the approach they want to
broaden to include life and/ or intelligence-as-we-don't-know-it. All that being
said they're still talking about a signal etc. which is part of the old
paradigm, if you ask me! But anyhoo...they could just as easily have said: 1. We
have discovered no sign of alien intelligence, 2) we're going to use every
science and technology possible to discover if we're alone or not, 3) the aliens
may be so different that conventional anthropomorphic search models and the like
are limiting in the 'search'.</div>
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</div>
<div>
me: Simple! : ))<br /><br />pal: NASA, I think intelligent life no longer exists in my
head.<br />Beam me up.</div>
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</div>
<div>
me: Kzapp! Now you can relax! : )</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
me: Since I don't know what else to say: [ ? ] [ : ) ] which is
better, perhaps, than [ ]?</div>
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</div>
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___</div>
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<div>
random not from e-mail: Ya dang aliens, where are you hiding! No conception of ye so why bother trying to form conceptions regarding ye!! Wanting to know if ye exist - this may be anthropocentricism itself! </div>
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Reality Wedgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03193657166415506995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1108263420537840193.post-66811731497575770222016-06-02T03:57:00.001-07:002016-06-02T03:57:11.249-07:00To the (internet) one who may awakenWho speaks and who is silent?<br />
And when will you speak?<br />
And what will you say?<br />
And will you be kind to us every day?Reality Wedgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03193657166415506995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1108263420537840193.post-6412451837077420082016-05-27T02:39:00.001-07:002016-05-27T02:39:45.047-07:00Hiroshima remembered today: did we learn something?<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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Which religion, Judaism or Islam, will show itself
magnanimous in deconsecrating the contested holy site in Jerusalem where the Dome
of the Rock is located. Perhaps Islam should take this step being the younger
religion; since deconsecration may not be an option for Judaism? Perhaps it is
not an option for Islam either but consider the alternative: the suffering that
will result when this unstable fault shifts. Can these religions show us what
it means to be truly holy? Or, is prophecy to be fulfilled: the temple will be
rebuilt and signal most clearly the beginning of the end of the world?</div>
Reality Wedgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03193657166415506995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1108263420537840193.post-62812618575361245092015-02-28T13:31:00.000-08:002015-02-28T13:31:06.432-08:00Socrates' death: suicide or greater purpose? My comments are in [ ]<br />
<br />
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trial_of_Socrates: "The death of Socrates, as presented by Plato, has inspired writers,
artists and philosophers in the modern world, in a variety of ways. For some, the execution of the man Plato called 'the wisest and most
just of all men' has shown the unreliability or undesirability of
democratic rule. For others, the Athenians' action was a justifiable
defense of their recently re-established democracy.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-20"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trial_of_Socrates#cite_note-20"><span>[</span>20<span>]</span></a></sup><br />
<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-20"><span> </span></sup><br />
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I._F._Stone" title="I. F. Stone">I. F. Stone</a>,
an American journalist, wrote a book entitled "The Trial of Socrates"
after his retirement, arguing that Socrates wanted to be sentenced to
death in order to justify his opposition to the Athenian democracy, and
that Socrates felt that old age would be unpleasant anyway.<br />
<br />
[ 1. To show his opposition to the Athenian democracy.<br />
2. To avoid the ills of old age.<br />
<br />
If 2 then he committed suicide or self-euthanasia. He might indeed have had enough of his fellow mortals, and the prospect of growing even more senescent might have prompted his actions. Suicide may have been viewed differently in that time. Socrates was already 70, which must have been a ripe old age for that time period (399 B.C.) anyway. 2 doesn't quite sit well with me though. Perhaps I have idealized Socrates.] <br />
<br />
<br />
The 2008 play <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socrates_on_Trial_%28play%29" title="Socrates on Trial (play)">Socrates on Trial</a>
by Andrew Irvine takes a different point of view. Irvine argues that it
was because of his loyalty to Athenian democracy that Socrates was
willing to accept the verdict of his fellow citizens. As Irvine puts it,
“During a time of war and great social and intellectual upheaval,
Socrates felt compelled to express his views openly, regardless of the
consequences. As a result, he is remembered today, not only for his
sharp wit and high ethical standards, but also for his loyalty to the
view that in a democracy the best way for a man to serve himself, his
friends, and his city – even during times of war – is by being loyal to,
and by speaking publicly about, the truth.”<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-21"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trial_of_Socrates#cite_note-21"><span>[</span>21<span>]</span></a></sup><br />
<br />
<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-21"><span>[ 1. Loyalty to Athenian democracy. </span></sup><br />
<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-21"><span> </span></sup><br />
<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-21"><span>It appears Socrates was fond of the rule of law or laws. ]</span></sup><br />
<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-21"><span> </span></sup>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trial_of_Socrates:<br />Socrates's followers encouraged him to flee (see: <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crito" title="Crito">Crito</a></i>),
and citizens expected him to do so and were probably not averse to it;
but he refused on principle. Apparently in accordance with his
philosophy of obedience to law, he carried out his own execution, by
drinking the hemlock provided to him. Socrates died at the age of 70.
(See: <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phaedo" title="Phaedo">Phaedo</a></i>).<br />
<br />
[I vaguely recall a documentary in which I think it was argued that Socrates basically could have gotten out of being executed. It was surprising even to the Athenian citizenry that he chose that path. <br />
<br />
Refusing to flee or lawyering his way out but rather showing his loyalty to his ideals by his actions - this sounds more like Socrates. But I still have reservations about even this. It seems there's more to it than even this. What secret, if any, was he trying to communicate to the people then, and possibly to all future generations. This was an individual with extraordinary mental powers. Perhaps he knew we would be fascinated by it, discuss and argue about it; pursue philosophical inquiry about it, and so produce the kind of beneficence which was the aim of his life.]<br />
<br />
<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-21"><span> </span></sup>Waterfield, too, argues that Socrates’ death was a voluntary action
motivated by a greater purpose. In Waterfield’s version, Socrates “saw
himself as healing the city’s ills by his voluntary death.”<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Waterfield_3-5"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trial_of_Socrates#cite_note-Waterfield-3"><span>[</span>3<span>]</span></a></sup><sup class="reference" style="white-space: nowrap;">:204</sup>
He argues that Socrates, with his unconventional methods, attempted to
resolve the political confusion in Athens. Therefore, he was willing to
serve as a “scapegoat,” so that Athens could set aside old disputes and
move forward in a new, more harmonious direction.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Waterfield_3-6"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trial_of_Socrates#cite_note-Waterfield-3"><span>[</span>3<span>]</span></a></sup><br />
<br />
<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Waterfield_3-6"><span>[ 1. Voluntary action motivated by a greater purpose. Greater purpose version 1: Heal the city's ills, resolve the political confusion, be the 'scapegoat'. Set aside old disputes, move forward in new, harmonious direction.</span></sup><br />
<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Waterfield_3-6"><span><br /></span></sup>
<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Waterfield_3-6"><span>Perhaps. I think greater purpose version 1 he might've foreseen as a beneficial side-effect or consequence of his actions but as to its being his primary motivation we don't know and may never know. He doesn't seem to have spelled it out for his followers all his reasons for doing what he did. Is that why there is all this debate? </span></sup><br />
<br />
<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Waterfield_3-6"><span>The voluntary action motivated by a greater purpose - this seems like the motivation of a great philosopher. But he was wise. He stated that he knew he didn't know anything. Simplicity. Perhaps he simply wanted to show no one is above the law; and he was no coward ready to flee. There is therefore only one option left to him. It was logical and he was a master logician and a brave human being. </span></sup><br />
<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Waterfield_3-6"><span><br /></span></sup>
<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Waterfield_3-6"><span>So, I don't thin it was suicide. It might look that way but no he was executed. People were rotten then, and still are today; though the legal system seems better. ]</span></sup><br />
<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Waterfield_3-6"><span><br /></span></sup>
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trial_of_Socrates<br />In May 2012, amid the unrest caused by the <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_government_debt_crisis" title="Greek government debt crisis">Greek government debt crisis</a>, an international panel of judges and lawyers held a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mock_trial" title="Mock trial">mock re-trial</a>
of Socrates in Athens. The split decision of five judges voting
"guilty" and five voting "not guilty" resulted in an acquittal. The
issue of sentences was not discussed, so as to restrict the discussion
only to the facts of the case, but the judges voting to convict
indicated they would not have been in favour of the death penalty.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-22"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trial_of_Socrates#cite_note-22"><span>[</span>22<span>]</span></a></sup><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trial_of_Socrates#cite_note-23"><span>[</span>2</a><br />
<br />
[I reckon Socrates would have escaped the death penalty in our time. In fact, it looks like the charges would have been dropped. In fact, he might've even have been able to sue for wrongful prosecution or something. <br />
<br />
Ah, well, would that we knew more but let's remember in the end we might have to say, with Socrates:<br />
<br />
" I know that I know nothing. "]<br />
<br />
<br />
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_know_that_I_know_nothing <br />
<br />
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaerephon" title="Chaerephon">Chaerephon</a>,
a friend of Socrates asked Pythia (the oracle of Delphi): "Is anyone
wiser than Socrates?" The answer was: "No human is wiser." Socrates,
since he denied any knowledge, tried to find someone wiser than himself
among politicians, poets, and craftsmen. It appeared that politicians
claimed wisdom without knowledge; poets could touch people with their
words, but did not know their meaning; and craftsmen could claim
knowledge only in specific and narrow fields. The interpretation of the
Oracle's answer might be Socrates's awareness of his own ignorance.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-PlatoKaplan2009_8-0"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_know_that_I_know_nothing#cite_note-PlatoKaplan2009-8"><span>[</span>8<span>]</span></a></sup><br />
<br />
I am wiser than this man, for neither of us appears to know anything
great and good; but he fancies he knows something, although he knows
nothing; whereas I, as I do not know anything, so I do not fancy I do.
In this trifling particular, then, I appear to be wiser than he, because
I do not fancy I know what I do not know.<br />
<br />
[PS It seems that Socrates had a sense of humour.]<br />
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trial_of_Socrates <br />
Socrates, after expressing his surprise of the little amount he needed
to have been found innocent, jokingly suggested free meals at the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prytaneum" title="Prytaneum">Prytaneum</a>, a particular honor held for city <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benefactor_%28law%29" title="Benefactor (law)">benefactors</a> and winners at the Olympic Games,<br />
<br />
[What if he was poking fun at a system of laws that resulted in a perfectly legal but totally unjust execution?]<br />
<br />
[Right, that's enough philosophizing and wasting time for one night.]<br />
<br />
<br /><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-23"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trial_of_Socrates#cite_note-23"><span></span></a></sup>Reality Wedgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03193657166415506995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1108263420537840193.post-53006379385969947022015-02-05T05:51:00.000-08:002015-02-05T05:51:14.835-08:00Life is a breath<h1>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"></span></h1>
<h1>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">Thus shall ye think of this fleeting world:<br />A star at dawn, a bubble in a stream;<br />A flash of lightning in a summer cloud;<br />A flickering lamp, a phantom, and a dream.<br /><br />-Diamond Sutra</span></span></h1>
<h1>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">Obtained from: http://thebuddhistblog.blogspot.com/2005/04/this-fleeting-world.html</span></span></h1>
<br />
<i>Translated by Dhammacaro</i>
<br />
On one occasion, the Buddha noticed that his disciples were
careless about life, and forgot that life was short, uncertain and
subject to sickness, old age, and death.
<br />
The Buddha asked them, “Behold monks, how long do you think human life is?”<br />One monk answered, “Lord Buddha, human life is about 80 years long.”<br />The Buddha said to him that he did not understand the reality of life.<br />Another monk answered, “Lord Buddha, human life is about 60 years long.”<br />The Buddha said to him that he did not understand the reality of life.<br />Another monk answered, “Lord Buddha, human life is about 40 years long.”<br />The Buddha said to him that he did not understand the reality of life.<br />Another monk answered, “Lord Buddha, human life is about 20 years long.”<br />The Buddha said to him that he did not understand the reality of life.<br />Another monk answered, “Lord Buddha, human life is about 1 day long.”<br />The Buddha said to him that he did not understand the reality of life.<br />
Then no one answered the Buddha, they just looked at each other.
Suddenly, one monk at the back of the hall broke the silence, saying,
“Lord Buddha, human life lasts only as long as the in-and-out breath.”
The Buddha said to him, “Excellent, monk, you understand the reality of
life”, and added, “Monks, life is uncertain and as short as our breath
so don’t be careless, you should spend a mindful and righteous life;
study and practice more, don’t postpone these things.” All the monks
were delighted by the Buddha’s word. After that, they intended to study
and practice meditation; spending a mindful and righteous life.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">Obtained from: </span></span><i>http://www.buddhapadipa.org/dhamma-corner/how-long-is-life/</i><br />
<br />
These are good reminders of the evanescence, the impermanence of life<i> </i>but life seems very long sometimes.<i><br /></i><br />
<br />
Reality Wedgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03193657166415506995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1108263420537840193.post-85313317778207339502015-01-24T00:28:00.001-08:002015-01-24T00:28:38.116-08:00Ghost Warrior movie quotes<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
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‘To watch him learn is to rediscover miracles in everyday
things.’</div>
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<br /></div>
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‘There are no second chances – the way of samurai is death!’</div>
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<br /></div>
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from movie: Ghost Warrior (1985)</div>
Reality Wedgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03193657166415506995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1108263420537840193.post-71092409903800685842014-12-04T03:56:00.001-08:002014-12-04T03:56:06.382-08:00tongue and cheek!<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>A FORMAL DISCOURSE</b><br />
One day Chan master Yangqi (Yang-chi, 992-1049), after meditating with
the large assembly of monks, got up to give the formal lecture on the
way of enlightenment. Gazing out at all the monks, he instead began
laughing. “Ha! Ha! Ha! What’s all this? Ha! Ha! Please go to the back of
the hall and drink some tea!” </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Obtained from</span><span style="color: #0000a0;"><span style="color: #0000a0;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black;"> Enlightened-Spirituality.org
<br />
© Copyright 2006 by Timothy Conway, Ph.D. </span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #0000a0;"><span style="color: #0000a0;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black;">'A blog - what's this?</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #0000a0;"><span style="color: #0000a0;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black;">Ha ha ha!</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #0000a0;"><span style="color: #0000a0;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black;">Please go back <span style="color: #0000a0;">to <span style="color: black;">what you were doing.'</span></span> </span></span><br />
</span> </span>Reality Wedgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03193657166415506995noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1108263420537840193.post-22956887648860705492014-12-02T01:28:00.002-08:002014-12-02T01:28:54.006-08:00Richer than GodIn the movies we sometimes hear: "He's got more money than God!"<br />
<br />
It sounds dramatic and impressive but it's really nonsensical. In this sense, anybody is richer than God. God doesn't have a cent to his name. God is about Love not Money. Yet He is possessive: "Every hair on your head is bought and paid for."Reality Wedgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03193657166415506995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1108263420537840193.post-5232174041129575362014-12-01T01:59:00.000-08:002014-12-01T13:40:02.260-08:00Say it again, Popeye!"A crinimal is worse'n a aminal - he is a emeny to all hoomans." Popeye<br />
<br />
Quote obtained from a Popeye cartoon by E.C. Segar published in early December 1930, blow me down!Reality Wedgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03193657166415506995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1108263420537840193.post-3550757621710787012014-10-06T07:08:00.000-07:002014-10-07T02:02:07.463-07:00One more<br />
One more time around <br />
song goes around and round and round<br />
Springtime is here<br />
little white flowers are out, little green buds are growing<br />
sun goes around and down and comes back<br />
moon gets fat and moon gets thin and then you don't see it anymore and then it comes back<br />
<br />
The star patterns go round and down and then you don't see them for while, and then<br />
when the season is right Orion comes back <br />
<br />
The birds sing really early and play and work all day, then when it's dark they go into their nests,<br />
and then early next morning the birds sing again<br />
<br />
Ice cream van goes round the neighbourhood playing the same song you heard twenty years ago<br />
joyful children shout and play, soon there'll be splashing in swimming pools (climate change permitting)<br />
<br />
i type trivial stuff, i sit and type while the sun shines goldenly on green leaves<br />
<br />
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<br />
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© copyright R.W. 2014.</div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Reality Wedgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03193657166415506995noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1108263420537840193.post-45685878749036208542014-10-06T06:48:00.002-07:002014-10-07T02:02:59.346-07:00Night sweetness<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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Bullfrog croaks
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Moonlight is glow-worm white <br />
Frozen ecstatic stars</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
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© copyright R.W. 2014.</div>
<br /></div>
<br />
<br />Reality Wedgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03193657166415506995noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1108263420537840193.post-22215850422999898132014-10-05T05:31:00.002-07:002014-10-05T05:44:42.937-07:00Blah blahBlah Blah<br />
<br />
Blah blah blah blah. Blah. Blah blah. Blah.... Blah blah blah. Blah blah blah. Blah blah. Blah!<br />
<br />
Blah!!<br />
<br />
Homo loquax! I remember this from Aldous Huxley.<br />
I googled and found to my surprise, there's tons more:<br />
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_alternative_names_for_the_human_species<br />
<br />
If you watch the news channels on satellite television you'll understand what I mean by 'blah blah blah' - endless talk! Reality Wedgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03193657166415506995noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1108263420537840193.post-13112873931883208082014-09-15T06:37:00.003-07:002014-09-15T06:37:44.970-07:00Math inept?<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Math ineptness can be expressed mathematically as follows:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
M + i = 2 π r + v²<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Symbols:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
M is math</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
i is ineptness</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
2 π r = C, the circumference of a circle</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
v is voodoo</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, if you want to make a circle wonky all it takes is a
little math ineptness! : )</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This is a circle drawn by a mathematically inept person:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 72.0pt;">□</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Due to the influence of voodoo the rest of the circle can
only be viewed in the 5<sup>th</sup> dimension by a psychically gifted-person.</div>
Reality Wedgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03193657166415506995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1108263420537840193.post-37268765576525999542014-09-03T05:47:00.001-07:002014-09-03T05:48:04.690-07:00The Ordinary is the ExtraordinaryI read somewhere that the test of a vision is that it makes the ordinary appear as what it is - extraordinary. Could we look at the world as most children do this would be abundantly obvious. Most of the time we adults gaze upon a drab and dreary landscape. We often forget or cannot see that 'we are in the magic of the Tao'. Reality Wedgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03193657166415506995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1108263420537840193.post-934377958438747432014-08-26T16:32:00.000-07:002014-08-26T16:32:06.628-07:00RamblingsIt's a pity gals come with price tags.<br />
<br />
Nothing deep tonight but bring me deep sleep - NOT. The fool stays awake trying to manufacture something deep.<br />
<br />
'Twas my turn to be cryptic!<br />
<br />
I was going to say something...what was it?<br />
<br />
Oh, yes, now I remember: 'On this Earth, who is well? Who is sound and untroubled in body, mind and spirit? No one, for very long, is at peace. All are like the hungry ghosts of Eastern lore. To be human is to be deeply unhappy.'<br />
<br />
But don't let the above get you down, matey! : )<br />
<br />
<br />
2 poems of Sappho:<br />
<br />
"The moon has set, and the Pleiades; it is midnight, the
time is going by and I recline alone.<br />
<blockquote>
<pre>The sinking moon has left the sky,
The Pleiades have also gone.
Midnight comes--and goes, the hours fly
And solitary still, I lie.
</pre>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<pre>The Moon has left the sky,
Lost is the Pleiads' light;
It is midnight,
And time slips by,
But on my couch alone I lie.
<i>J. A. Symonds</i>, 1883.
</pre>
</blockquote>
This singularly beautiful fragment is quoted by Hephaestion
as an example of metre. With the "Hymn to Aphrodite" it
was the first portion of the Poems of Sappho to be printed
in 1554."<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
& </div>
<br />
"Happy bridegroom! Now has come thy wedding as thou
wished, and thou hast the maiden of thy desire.<br />
<blockquote>
<pre>Thou happy bridegroom! Now has dawned
That day of days supreme,
When in thine arms thou'lt hold at last
The maiden of thy dream.
</pre>
</blockquote>
From Hephaestion."<br />
Reality Wedgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03193657166415506995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1108263420537840193.post-76256864934928620022014-08-24T16:59:00.000-07:002014-08-24T16:59:00.348-07:00Full speed ahead!I've finally decided not to buy any more lottery tickets (i.e. no more gambling 'cos that's what it is).<br />
<br />
'The only way to win at gambling is not to gamble.' RW copyright 2014.<br />
<br />
Gambling is referred to euphemistically as 'gaming'; usually with the accompanying slogan 'winners know when to quit.' I think winners know when not to start! How many lives have been devastated by gambling!<br />
<br />
Every now and again I receive an e-mail from an online dating service - I'll not name names - inviting me for yet another brief free trial. I unsubscribed months ago but yet I still receive their pesky lures. No thanks! I say. It simply doesn't work for me. It's a disheartening business. <br />
<br />
It's time to stop doing the wrong things and start doing the right things. I have yet to say: 'No more drinking alcohol.' That's a tough one 'cos sometimes a beer goes down well but if truth be told beer tastes horrible. Most fruit juices easily top the taste of beer, most sodas too; so why choose beer? I reckon it must have something to do with the slight 'buzz' you get. Alcohol is an addictive drug. It forms tolerance in you which means you need to drink more alcohol to produce the same 'buzz'. I can thank my lucky stars I don't do the hard alcohol (high alcohol content drinks like whiskey, for example).<br />
<br />
So, no more gambling, no more online dating - full speed ahead! : )Reality Wedgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03193657166415506995noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1108263420537840193.post-59141184509200662752014-08-19T14:46:00.004-07:002014-08-19T14:46:52.347-07:00A good article<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.ieti.org/articles/mp.htm">http://www.ieti.org/articles/mp.htm</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In the article, mention is made as follows from the section
entitled ‘Reality and Meaning’: “First, the person must perceive that certain
aspects of reality exist. Second, the person's mind or emotions must somehow
create significant meaning from this reality. The reality is "out
there" but meaning and purpose are then added by us individually and
collectively. With the possible exceptions of God and advanced
extraterrestrials, no aspect of reality directly tells us the meaning and
purpose of the universe; instead we have to interpret or create the meaning
ourselves.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
From our normal point of view this holds true. However, zen and
other perspectives on the perennial philosophy (see Aldous Huxley’s book <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Perennial Philosophy</i>) insist that a
flower, or anything or everything points directly to its own transcendence
(replete with the full meaning and purpose of the Universe or Multiverse, and
ourselves), which can be experienced in the eternal now or in eternity, in our everyday
experience as embodied beings.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For those seeking ultimate meaning it’s really that simple
and that difficult. Is that my personal belief? I say it isn’t because it’s
beyond belief : )</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On a related but not-so-mystical note:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
‘Where you are now (your actual physical location, no matter
how drab) is as important as any other place in this Universe, and no less
mysterious.’ That’s one of my beliefs, anyhoo.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
(I may have mentioned this elsewhere in this blog.)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And that’s about all I have to say on that : )</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Reality Wedgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03193657166415506995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1108263420537840193.post-65849328143309581862014-08-17T15:59:00.000-07:002014-08-17T16:00:28.373-07:00Some of my favourite cinematic moments<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
These are moments that have to be seen to be appreciated.
Here are the films and a brief description of the scene.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>For Your Eyes Only (1981)</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://jamesbond.wikia.com/wiki/For_Your_Eyes_Only">http://jamesbond.wikia.com/wiki/For_Your_Eyes_Only</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My recollection:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Bond tosses the ATAC device down the sheer cliff-drop where
it is destroyed far below. Bond says, ‘You don’t have it and we don’t have it.’
The Russian soldier motions to shoot with his machine gun but General Gogol
cries out, ‘Niet!’ and stays the soldier’s hand. The general smiles and makes
an approving gesture at Bond with his hands. This is an awesome scene hard to
describe. It is greatness personified.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Obtained from wiki above:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gogol arrives and genially asks for the ATAC; Bond suddenly
throws it over the side of the mountain where it shatters hundreds of feet
below. Gogol is visibly shocked at first but Bond replies "Detente,
Comrade! You don't have it, I don't have it." Gogol suddenly smiles and
leaves, obviously humored.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Octopussy (1983)</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A desperate Bond in his clown suit appeals to the US Base Commander
about the hidden Atom bomb. This scene is noteworthy because it showed us
Bond’s humanity.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://jamesbond.wikia.com/wiki/Octopussy">http://jamesbond.wikia.com/wiki/Octopussy</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Obtained from Octopussy wiki above:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Bond has trouble getting into the American military base,
and gets into the circus disguised as a clown. The American guards let him go
after he is identified by Octopussy, and he manages to defuse the bomb just in
time.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>The Mummy Returns (2001)</b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Towards the end of the movie, Brendan Fraser’s character and
Arnold Vosloo’s character are both hanging on, the pit of hell yawns beneath
them. Fraser exhorts Rachel Weisz’s character to get away and save herself but
she doesn’t and instead rescues him. The mummy (Vosloo) exhorts <span class="st">Anck-Su-Namun
(pronounced </span>Anak-su-namun) to come and help him but she runs away. How
Vosloo reacts and what he does next is what makes this such a great scene.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I will add to this if I remember more great cinematic
moments.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Where I found info on the Bond films starring Roger Moore:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://jamesbond.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Roger_Moore_films">http://jamesbond.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Roger_Moore_films</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Idea for a Bond movie:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
How about a Bond movie starring Roger Moore as a retired
agent who is now a grandfather? His granddaughter is spending the weekend with
him. One of his old enemies has tracked him down and invades his country home
with a bunch of other thugs. Bond becomes aware of the armed intruders and
hides his granddaughter in a safe place (a concealed space prepared years
before). He confronts the thugs, perhaps eliminating 2 or 3 of them but he is
old now and not as fast as he used to be and is overpowered and disarmed of his
Walther PPK. His nemesis appears: it is Drax! It turns out that the one he
killed and vented into space (in Moonraker) was a twin brother (or this one
seeking revenge is a clone). Bond makes a final witty remark and then the screen
goes black for a few moments. Bond was shot and is now dead. His granddaughter
survives. Hugh Grant plays the man who married Bond’s daughter, and who finds
himself becoming an unwilling participant in the spy game, and who is
eventually pitted against Drax-2 who killed his father-in-law, Sir James Bond
(knighted due to his years of faithful service).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Reality Wedgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03193657166415506995noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1108263420537840193.post-89289718677038242532014-08-12T04:20:00.000-07:002014-08-12T04:20:03.694-07:00R.W. diesWherever Robin Williams is now he is surely making them laugh!<br />
<br />
Exploding into that other realm with his customary exuberance: Hi God! Long time no see!<br />
<br />
: )<br />
<br />Reality Wedgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03193657166415506995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1108263420537840193.post-27230722614894198632014-08-07T05:12:00.001-07:002014-08-09T08:48:11.925-07:00Agent Elrond, or the Lord of the Matrix<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Reality Wedgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03193657166415506995noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1108263420537840193.post-36923138186052488412014-07-31T04:09:00.000-07:002014-07-31T04:09:40.160-07:00Far-out SETI or Leave no stone unturned<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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I sent the following e-mail to <a href="mailto:info@seti.org">info@seti.org</a>
on May 28, 2010 (grammar and spelling errors have been corrected to the best of
my ability to spot them & my name at the end has been omitted since I wish
to remain anonymouse):</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Hi</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">I am not all that clued up on
SETI but I’d like to ask a question, which perhaps someone may be able to help
me with.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">I am assuming that the sun
emits radiation in all frequencies of the Electromagnetic Spectrum so that the
sun is emitting radio waves.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Have these solar radio
emissions been checked for ‘interstellar messages’ or indications of such?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">I am working from the
following premise:</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">I was reading Carl Sagan’s
‘The Cosmic Connection’. Here is an excerpt from one chapter called ‘Cables,
Drums, and Seashells’. It’s speculation, of course, and Carl readily admits
that.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">“Communications between two
very advanced civilizations will likely use a science and technology
inaccessible to us. We therefore have no prospect for tuning in on such
communications traffic, either accidentally or on purpose. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are like the inhabitants of an isolated
valley in New Guinea
who communicate with societies in neighboring valleys (quite different
societies, I might add) by runner and by drum. When asked how a very advanced
society will communicate, they might guess by an extremely rapid runner or by
an improbably large drum. They might not guess a technology beyond their ken.
And yet, all the while, a vast international cable and radio traffic passes
over them, around them, and through them.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At this very moment the messages from another
civilization may be wafting across space, driven by unimaginably advanced
devices, there for us to detect them – if only we knew how. Perhaps the message
will come via radio waves to be detected by large radio telescopes. Or perhaps
by more arcane devices, the modulation of X-ray stars, gravity waves,
neutrinos, tachyons, or transmission channels that no one on Earth will dream
of for centuries. Or perhaps the messages are already here, present in some
everyday experience that we have not made the right mental effort to recognize.
The power of such an advanced civilization is very great. Their messages may
lie in quite familiar circumstances.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Consider, for example, seashells. Everyone
knows the “sound of the sea” to be heard when putting a seashell to one’s ear.
It is really the greatly amplified sound of our own blood rushing, we are told.
But is this really true? Has this been studied? Has anyone attempted to decode
the message being sounded by the seashell? I do not intend this example as
literally true, but rather as an allegory. Somewhere on Earth there may be the
equivalent of the seashell communications channel. The message from the stars
may be here already. But where? </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We will listen for the interstellar drums but
we will miss the interstellar cables. We are likely to receive our first
messages from the drummers of the neighboring galactic valleys – from
civilizations only somewhat in our future. The civilizations vastly more
advanced than we will be, for a long time, remote both in distance and
accessibility. At a future time of vigorous interstellar radio traffic, the
very advanced civilizations may be, for us, still insubstantial legends.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">An extremely advanced alien
civilization may have found a way to alter the emissions of stars throughout a
galaxy or Universe simultaneously. The tweeking might be manifest as anomalies
in the radio frequency emissions of stars because it seems to me that radio
astronomy (if you’ll forgive me) is the starting point for emerging
technological civilizations.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">So the ETs would make sure
that these emerging civilizations would all have a chance at receiving their
message. Perhaps their only aim is just to let all sentient beings everywhere
know that there are others, replying etc. may not be in the cards, as it were.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">On a related note, there may
be more than just a message involved. There may be the equivalent of an ET
phone. Somewhere on Earth or in our solar system, readily accessible, and even
not hidden from plain sight we might find a device or means which would enable
communication with an advanced alien race.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Regards & Best Wishes
& all the luck in the Universe/ Multiverse,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">------ : )</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Postscript (not in e-mail, of course): I didn’t get a reply
to my e-mail from the SETI Institute (www.seti.org).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s a long-standing joke with my friend that if you thought
making contact with aliens was difficult, try making contact with humans.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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Copyright © Reality Wedge, 2014</div>
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Reality Wedgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03193657166415506995noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1108263420537840193.post-8747600376470669012014-07-30T08:05:00.001-07:002014-07-30T08:20:16.382-07:00The Secret Sound<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Little
Ludwig had a big head and small ears. His ambition was large</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>enough for
those. Sounds unheard by other men came unbidden unto</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>his dome.
To capture these and wield them drove him, some say to</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>madness.
In all the Links of the Hyperverse, he alone held the</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>secret
sound of the Sphere. He was ten years old as counted by the</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Crones,
and his world was as small as his ears.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Though
Ludwig possessed or was possessed by the secret sound of the</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sphere he
did not know it; no one did. Lesser sounds had indeed</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>penetrated
his dome and lodged themselves in his private mental</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>library.
He could draw upon them at will; never forgetting them. He</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>combined
them in new ways, creating new melodies which revealed new</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>beauties
and depths of truth to him that individually the sounds</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>did not.
Some melodies he vocalised or made public by the</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>instruments available to him but even though these stunned his</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>audiences
he knew they were only hearing a crude and imperfect</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>version of
the glorious pure notes he alone could hear.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As for the
secret sound, it was buried deep within his psyche and</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>could by
no means be tapped by a ten-year-old boy. He had not heard</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>it yet and
he would not for many years still. But one day when he</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>had grown
to the Age of Independence then it would start to make</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>its
presence felt, very gently and almost imperceptibly at first.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a
sentient sound and it would never overwhelm its chosen</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>instrument. It would tutor him patiently over many years, and if it</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>deemed him
worthy would allow itself to be heard completely. Then</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ludwig
would become one of the most powerful beings in the</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Hyperverse. His quest to find his other gifted brethren would begin</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>then for
who is there that does not want to find more like himself</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>if he
becomes aware that he is the only one of his kind among his</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>own
people. So, hidden in a remote corner of the hyperverse a small</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>child grew
-- unaware<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>of his great destiny.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>"Ludwig! For sakes! Get thee hence from the airs and gi' ye focus</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>now, you
hear?" This bellowed from below and as always shocked him</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>from some
sibilant note just beyond reach. "I come, Marm." For truth,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>he had to
obey or be subject to all manner of displeasance.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>"Ah,
good." She muttered as he came down the stairs into the vita.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>"You
know that I must see you to your classes -- and me with this big</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>dinner tonight
and the *black box needing replacing and all."</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She fussed
like a *phorus all a-tither at the many steps of her day</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>which
Ludwig could only interrupt but to do his tasks. With not much</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>joy he
performed those few mundane things the world requires and,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>wondering
at the folly of being organic, he found his way out the</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>door and
into school.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Where he
had been, a step before, the sun had spun an orange morning</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>light over
their arbor. Now it was the twin lights of a set of stars</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>which shone
high and white. He shook the light electric sensation of</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the Link
from his slight frame and sighed. Melancholy, thy name is</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the *pale
of School, thought he.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>*note:
black box (BB) is a nano-factory. It is called a black box</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>because
it's inner-workings are beyond normal ken and one simply uses</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>it until it
stops working. There are different kinds. This one is</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>essentially
the entire kitchen; food, dishes, knives, forks, cups and</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>everything
is made from it -- and returned to it afterwards. Nice eh?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>*note:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phorusrhacidae (with the</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>suggestion
that this creature has been re-gengineered and is now</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>really a
large chicken and common in the 'verse. Only rarely (in</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>certain verse cultures) are they actually
eaten. The BB provides any</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>kind of
food without requiring slaughter. *note: Pale means "zone" or</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>"burgh" or "country" -- the Pale of so-and-so.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With a heavy
heart and a heavy tread Ludwig headed for the cultivated</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>green and
flowery vale in which lay the school buildings and gardens.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Classes were
held indoors in the cool recesses of the pillared Temple</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>of Learning,
and in the open air in small circular patches of</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>comfortable
spongy flat grass. School was not really so unpleasant but</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>for any
child school will always be a prison. And the end of school</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>always a
release from confinement.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Today was
indeed a beautiful day, bright and warm it was with the air</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>filled with
the soft humming of the disc-shaped hoverers. Ludwig</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>looked at
one as it chased some other flying creature as yet invisible</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>to his eyes.
He could have summoned the hoverer - that was something he</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>had learned
to do with one of the sounds but his mood was low and he</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>wasn't ready
for games or fun.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He passed
through an arch and soon entered through a rustic gate,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>almost
always left open, into a glade, the Temple
stood glistening</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>white and
majestic a short distance away. Some children were running up</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and down its
stairs and on the lawns chasing each other. It was not yet</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>time for
classes to begin. The thought of sitting still listening to</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the
white-robed Lector almost made him groan aloud.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Spaced around
the perimeter of the Temple
were other pale-gates like the one </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>he had used.
They were all rusty and old and through the arch of each one </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>there was a
different sky. Ludwig could hear the Sound from every one as he </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>turned his head
and by moving it about and varying the speed he composed </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>snatches of the
Sphere. Da Da D-- "Luddi!" came a boisterous cry. Lucky piled </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>into him and
they rolled on the grass. She was all freckles and smiles and </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>ended-up
sitting on his chest, but her laughter faded at the dark look on </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ludwig's face. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>"Ah
Luddi, did I spoil something?" She asked.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>"Nay
Lucky, you know... I thought perhaps I heard something. It matters not<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>-- and get off
me! You are like a fat Brown Dwarf."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>"Oh,
nice!" She joked, rolling off and slapping his arm. The two friends lay on
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>their backs and
looked at the silly disks chasing across the sky. Lucky, who's </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>name was
actually Lucy, had a theory that they all lived in the Temple attic </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>at night, but
neither of them had found a way to the top to find out. It was </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>taboo, but this
only spiced their tacit conspiracy to go see.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The bell rang;
an ugly sound that hurt inside. If I need to shock, thought </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ludwig, I will
use that sound. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>"Class is
convened," said Lucky. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>"Scan
down, children," said Meister Go. The class settled into grudging </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>silence as
paper came out and the Meister wrote something on the white board. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ludwig was the
only one in the class of twenty who could hear the slight </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>harmonics made
by the pen as it squeaked against the smart-film of the board. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The tones,
discordant and fluctuating almost sent him into one of his reveries, </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>but the writing
stopped with a final crescendo of flourish and period. The path </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>of that music
now said "History" as the lesson joined.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>"Who can
tell me about the Multiverse?" asked the Meister. There was a general </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>murmur of
chagrin. The Meister smiled, "I know you are all wikied into the Net </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and you think
you know it all, but humor an old man please. Come now, let's </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>talk about the
past, you may hyper new links that will surprise you."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A small voice
piped, "The 'Verse is our infinite world, Meister..." and then </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>tailed-off.
Ludwig had long since exhausted the petty octaves of the class and </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>this phrase did
not catch him into dream.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>"That is partly
correct, Luhn, but is there any more detail?" He looked at the </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>array of eyes
before him. After a pause he sighed and said, "Very well, I will </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>tell you a
little more about it."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>"What
if," he began and wiped the board, replacing it with a drawing of an </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>endless plane,
"our world were not infinite? What if it were merely the subset </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>of a far larger
tangle of possible worlds, and things that are not worlds at </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>all?"</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now more planes
stacked one atop the other on the board behind him. The </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>animation was
silent, but in Ludwig's dome it sparked the thought that sounds </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>might have
sounds within them, like -- and the animation began to twist as if </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>following his
very notion -- each plane began to spiral and divide.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>"What if
every possible tangle were a fractal in many dimensions? Here's </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>something to
link on: for every infinite world there is another and on every </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>scale there is
another. The choice made by our ancestors and their AIs was </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>merely a
starting point into one small Koch factorial of what is really out </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>there. What you
call the 'Verse is only a small web of Links between stable </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>realities that
exclude the more, um, unpleasant aspects. We live on a tenuous </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>thread of
possible paths which has proven stable -- but to each side is </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>another path as
yet unexplored. Well, unexplored by us."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">It was a long day at school – Koch this and Hawking
that. Finally it was time to go home. Lucy had to stay after for extramural
laser-sculpting so at the end of the last breaktime they had said they would
meet tomorrow after school to go to the Entertainium. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Ludwig walked home pensively. There had been a whole
lot of new information today at school – a lot to digest. He was tired and
couldn’t focus and let whatever incoming sounds take a back seat in his mind.
They played and chirped in the background. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">It was when he was at the pale of his own house that
he was arrested by an unusual sound – unlike the others it manifested a
piercing quality; its pitch and volume were high, it repeated moreover, and this
more than anything else led him to believe he was receiving an alien signal –
it was definitely unlike the more natural sounds he was used to hearing. There
was someone or something out there in the Multiverse beaming a message to him or to others like him. Only
he was capable of receiving it. It meant there was at least one other being out
there who knew about the Sounds. But this person was a master – it was no
simple melody but a whole symphony – so complex! It would take him many hours
of attentive listening to process the whole message.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">He went in and ate a light meal; then he went to his
quiet place of listening. There he sat very still, cross-legged in Buddha-pose,
and concentrated on the new thing that had entered his consciousness. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Time passed. He had followed some strains of the
super-melodious entity, and they weaved dream-images before his inner eye: far
away in the place of Spheres – the realisation that there was more than one
sphere shocked him, but the megasphere that he knew of, though barely, was the
mother of them all. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">The purpose of the spheres he dimly perceived but they
were meant for travelling between Verses, and even….</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">The pale-gates, called Links, must be Verse
traversers, but within the limited </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">range the Meister had spoken of. Perhaps there were
entire duplicates of the </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Endless World that humanity now lived on. His mind
could not keep up with the </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">scale of his thoughts, but the Sound had given him
some kind of confidence. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Some promise of a way where thought and reason could
not take him.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Suddenly there was a commotion outside. He flipped
open the window and was in </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">time to see a phorus chase past the edge of the house.
‘Whatever was it up to?’ </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">he wondered. In the motion of closing the window and
turning to race after the </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">bird, a shadow passed over the house and he caught a
glimpse of vastness in </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">the air above the house. It was quickly dark, as if
dusk, and he stumbled </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">somewhat to reach his door.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">The High-Dynelians had arrived for their yearly visit.
This time by spaceship, it would seem. The phorus was panicked by their sudden
arrival and darkening of the sky – their star-cruisers were pretty big. For the
moment all thought of Spheres and Sounds left his mind. Another excitement
filled his being with adrenal-electricity: the awesome Dynelians. What did they
bring to trade this time? Would they allow him access to the ship’s main data
banks? He was keen to bone up on the other aliens the Dynelians had encountered
thus far in their travels.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">When he had finally reached the street he could see
the entire village gazing skywards at the huge starship suspended eerily in the
blueness. Already a welcoming committee of white-robed Meisters was assembling
at the far end of town. They would be heading for the plain of Jubrulgar to
properly welcome humanity’s first alien friends. They entered a hover vehicle
and promptly sped away.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Some of the other citizens were getting into their
hover cars and following them out to the plain. Ludwig and his Marm had no
hover car of their own so he would have to wait till tomorrow before some of
the Dynelian crew came to town to exchange goods and greetings. There would be
revelry for a day or two, and a great deal of knowledge shared and tales told.
Ludwig couldn’t wait. It only remained to be seen if his Marm would allow him
to stay up late. But even if she didn’t Ludwig had made up his mind to sneak
out with Lucy. Lucy would be as excited as he was, maybe more so because she
had a very good rapport with the Dynelians – she could even converse at a
rudimentary level with them in their own language which is always a plus in
dealing with foreigners.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">The excitement in the street was beginning to subside,
and people were turning to go home to prepare their suppers. Ludwig went in.
Where had his marm been the whole time? Ludwig went to her room, and there she
lay sleeping. She had missed the whole thing. Ludwig let her rest. He knew she
had set an alarm to wake her in time to prepare for her dinner party. She had
invited a few neighbours but not their children. It was to be an adult
get-together. Ludwig could think of nothing more boring. He felt a little
peckish, so he went to see if the BB had been replaced. Marm had taken care of
it. A brand new jet-black Box was in the place of the old one. Marm would never
know; now what could he have? Macadamia or pistachio ice cream? The choice was
made: both, and in fairly ample amounts. Ludwig couldn’t have been happier as
he attacked his ice cream. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Later that night as the stars peppered the sky and the
moon rose from it's </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">slumber and dwarfed the world, Ludwig lay abed with
stomach aches. He was hot </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">to the touch and could not divest blankets nor
clothing to steal away from the </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">discomfort of sweat and sharp stabs of pain. Such a
penalty for pistachio was </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">not uncommon and 'twas only his selective memory that
bade him forget the time </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">before and the time before that. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">"Ach--" he cursed as he gave-up on sleep. He
swung his legs over the bed and </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">such was his distraction that he forgot to imagine the
beasts withunder which </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">made slithery grabs for delicate toes in the dark.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">It was quiet, even in his dome. No sounds? This was
strange indeed. He could </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">count on some gentle four by four playing on his
internal metronome, but not </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">this night. And why could he not hear the dinner party
that was in full-swing </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">below? Suddenly, sounding in his dome, "...
something in the house."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Does he know? My buffer is complete, there is no leak
and I only watch. The </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">watcher kept infinitely still, more than a little
disconcerted by the young </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">human's acute senses. In a corner, against the ceiling
of Ludwig's room, </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">shrouded in verse-stuff, the Dynelian held breath and
prayed that it was not </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">betrayed.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Ludwig probed the suggestion but came up empty.
Perhaps it was due to his stomach pains and fever. He forgot it. He put on his
slippers and carefully made his way downstairs, holding his stomach with one
hand. The BB would have medication. It was a matter of routine. He never seemed
to learn his lesson but oh, the joys of Pistachio! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">And unbeknownst to him the secret watcher followed on
the ceiling and the walls – invisible at a casual glance but you would be able
to see a slight blur if you looked at it directly for a few seconds. And if you
realized the blur was not in your own vision but in reality outside then you
might get goosebumps. But Ludwig was oblivious to any strange visual phenomena.
It was imperative to get some sort of relief from the pain. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">The BB gave generously and he took the pills with a
little water. Time would tell if relief came. The dinner party must have been
over. There was silence and darkness in the house and his marm was probably in
bed. Back up the stairs he went, and the Dynelian followed. ‘Such a lovely
dome,’ it thought. It had chosen an exceptional human and couldn’t wait to
plumb the thoughts and dreams of this human child. It would wait for the child
to fall asleep and then it would approach and gently probe with its own mind
and the probing device. There was no penetration of the skull with the device.
The process was painless and non-invasive but a recording would be made by it –
selected dream images would be stored for later enjoyment and study. It was
fascinating and the Dynelian tried to control its excitement.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">In another part of the verse a traveller bid farewell
to the Sanctuary with its still blue lakes, forested ways and scattered
observatories. The sphere’s portal opened and he stepped in dipping his head.
Inside the only furnishings were a narrow bed and a chair. There was also a
little privy and a shelf with books and several BBs. The comfortable chair
stood before a control panel and a wrap-around viewing screen, in fact the
entire inner surface of the sphere was a viewing screen. He could see
everything outside except for where the meagre furnishings and privy were. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">He sighed as he thought about leaving the beauty of
the Sanctuary behind him for the cramped quarters of the sphere, and the weight
of responsibility he endeavoured to forget, but the journey had to be made –
the fate of billions depended on it. Worlds upon worlds were under threat. If
his calculations were correct than before three weeks had passed the effects of
the ripple would be felt throughout the verses, and then he could only imagine
what would emerge or happen next. With a shiver he buckled himself in the
chair. He had stumbled upon the phenomena so late and the preparations for the
voyage had taken so long but it could not have been helped. At least he was now
about to get underway. There was still hope but would he find what he had to
find to save all the sentient beings in the Multiverse?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">In the vast quiescence of the sanctuary a bubble
popped and nothing noticed -</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">he was on his way! The multiverse was vast; infinite.
There is a mathematics of </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">infinity, and another for the infinities of infinity.
Just about every mind in </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">the primal past that had worked on these concepts had
gone insane. Saint </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Augustine, as with so much else, had started the
spheres rolling but it was<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Cantor's transfinites and Gödel's vision that his ship
was named for: The </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Incomplete Aleph. His only clue was a pattern, a
movement, a sound.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Though Ludwig’s stomach troubled him greatly he
finally managed to doze off.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Then the Dynelian approached his still slightly
breathing frame cautiously and extended the recording tube with its
funnel-shaped head towards Ludwig’s cranium. It was obvious to the alien that
the human had not yet entered into its dream-phase of sleep, so it waited
patiently for that to occur. Soon, it did. Ludwig’s eyelids fluttered, and the
Dynelian was enraptured by a dream. It saw consciously in its mind’s eye what
Ludwig was experiencing unconsciously, and simultaneously the device was
recording the dreams for later vivid replay in any Dynelian’s mind. Needless to
say this would be frowned upon by the Dynelian heirarchy. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Some few hours passed and it grew perceptibly lighter.
The Dynelian was done here; tomorrow night it would try the larger human – the
child’s parent and see how the dreams differed for the new subject. For now, the
Dynelian summoned with a specific mental command its aerial transportation
device which was located near the wall of the house furthest from the busy
street. It was, of course, as invisible to the human eye as was the Dynelian
itself (at least, if not looked at directly for some time). </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">“Ludwig?" The air had no sound. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">"Ludwig...?" Front was back. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">"Ludwig!"</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">"Uh…. Yes, Meister?" Was he in school? He
could not recall getting here.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">"Are you feeling well, Ludwig? You seem a little
distracted."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Ludwig nodded and shifted a little on his seat. The
Meister lingered for a </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">moment, nodded and continued the lesson. A finger
poked his ribs from his left </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">side. "Wig...you are acting all funny,"
whispered Lucky. He could only agree.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">A week had passed since the Dynelians had come. He had
still not seen one. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Strangely he felt nothing on the subject. He felt
nothing much about anything </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">really; the music had gone.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">And thus it was that Ludwig for the first time in his
life fell into a depression. It was not unheard of even in that day and age.
Sometimes such low moods were explored for their psychological meaning and
import, more often perhaps, especially when the problem was due to chemical
imbalances and the like, pharmacological action was taken, which was usually very
effective. Nevertheless, Ludwig hid his downcast mood as best he could – he
just wanted to be alone for a while. He would seek a short holiday and a change
of scene. The Meisters and parents were not dicatatorial in this regard; and
although discipline was always important, never was a child forced to learn
anything they did not wish to. Perhaps, a trip would bring new inspiration, and
possibly even re-ignite his capacity to hear sounds again?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Meister Null in the Incomplete Aleph was blitting
across the multiworlds. His </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">craft followed a faint beacon that was centered on
Ludwig's house. To his </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">horror that beacon was becoming more and more
intangible.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">"If this keeps up I will not get there!" He
grunted from lips forced into a </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">white line. If the Sphere went down, he would not be
able to blit through the </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">pale-gates that still stood innumerable between
himself and his goal.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">"Come Luddi, we are going to see the Dynelians
today. You'd like a bit of a </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">get-out wouldn't you?" His mother was asking him
from afar. She tousled his </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">hair, "What a mop you have, time for a trim, I
think." Time passed like sleep between eyeblinks. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">He was home. He was on the street with his Mother. He
was in the town. Blink. Blink. Blink. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Whatever was going on, he wondered? </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">The prospect of interacting with the Dynelians did
excite Ludwig but he was far too tired and listless to do anything. This he
rightly ascribed to his depressed spirits. His mother picked it up quickly and
wanted him to accompany her to Meister Free-Oid for a psych-consultation but
Ludwig refused point blank, and just wanted to go home and sleep. His mother
acquiesced reluctantly. She watched her little Luddi trudge home wearily. What
was the matter she thought?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Meister Null faced the full brunt of his fears as the
beacon centered on Ludwig’s house finally disappeared from his screen. He was
travelling without a guiding star, blitting through gate after gate in only a
general direction, and then he was on his way to nowhere. ‘All is lost!’ he
thought. ‘Or was it?’ He still had co-ordinates to the Dynelian homeworld, and
another Sanctuary. He could get help from the Dynelians, perhaps? But he still
had some way to go.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">[It’s a fragment, so it doesn’t finish, so wah!]</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">'The Secret Sound' is Copyright © ‘d’ and Reality Wedge, 2014.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">This is a work of fiction and any resemblance to any
persons or institutions living or dead is purely coincidental.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Reality Wedgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03193657166415506995noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1108263420537840193.post-56468229752393967562014-07-29T18:26:00.000-07:002014-07-29T18:26:48.209-07:00Peace and Happiness<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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In the closing moments of the last episode of ‘V’ – the
original series, namely ‘The Return’, Faye Grant’s character, Dr. Julie Parrish
says, as Elizabeth, the star child, boards the leader’s shuttle, ‘Who knows?
Maybe she’ll find peace – maybe we all will.’</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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‘Peace and happiness’ – two things which, for the most part,
continue to elude the human race.</div>
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<br /></div>
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The day humanity commemorates a thousand years of peace on
Earth will be a great day for the human race!</div>
<br />
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An interesting aside: A paraphrase of Elizabeth’s
lines earlier in the episode: ‘Earth love is good and warm but is dependent on
bodies - let me tell you about true love which pervades the cosmos and is not
dependent on bodies.’</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />Reality Wedgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03193657166415506995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1108263420537840193.post-22076484468416955102014-07-25T05:15:00.003-07:002014-07-25T05:15:55.683-07:00Do dreams come true?'Do dreams come true? The short answer is 'no'; the long answer is 'yes'.' - copyright RW 2014. <br />
<br />
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/topics/topic_dreams.htmlReality Wedgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03193657166415506995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1108263420537840193.post-25999446700902194502014-07-22T07:16:00.000-07:002014-07-22T07:16:44.235-07:00Easy Recipe for Peas à la Middle East/ The Middle-East Peas Process<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
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Ingredients</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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2 tins processed peas</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
rocket</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
nuts (optional)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Method</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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Just add rocket (liberally).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Best served cold.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
*If you think this joke is in poor taste – you’re probably
right!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Seriously, though, perhaps Israel should not retaliate? That
way she’ll have the moral advantage, and the total number of civilian
casualties would be much lower than the alternative. This would be a repugnant
solution to Israelis but it is one way I can think of to end the cycle of
violence. Of course, should Israel’s
enemies up the ante (e.g. invasion) then the Israeli defence force can go into
action.</div>
Reality Wedgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03193657166415506995noreply@blogger.com0