Chapter 8
Reality
8.1
Wanderer.
This summer, our whole friendly company decided to visit Lulu's distant relatives, as usual.
They lived about two days away from us, and we decided to leave early in the morning in our modest cart.
This time, the Marquis himself expressed a great desire to go with us, since in the village, where we were going, he managed to make friends with someone.
Finally, after a short preparation, having loaded provisions and gifts for Lulu's relatives, we finally set off.
The weather was very hot and along the way we stopped several times at some kind of reservoir to swim.
Toward evening we began to approach a large and shallow lake, almost completely overgrown with lilies. The frogs, as if specially waiting for us, at once began to sing their songs about something.
The further we went, the more difficult it became for us to determine the road. No one has used it for many years and it is almost all overgrown.
Until it got dark, it was necessary to look for a place to sleep.
Previously, when we traveled along this road, we constantly passed by a village long abandoned by everyone.
We never stopped there, because even during the day something gloomy emanated from it.
This time, twilight caught us just when we drove up to its environs.
In complete silence, we, swaying on our cart, rode past houses dilapidated by time. They looked at us gloomily with their empty windows.
Once upon a time there was a bright life here, but everything disappeared somewhere.
Driving past one of the houses in the middle, something invisible caught my attention.
It seemed to me that we could stay overnight in it.
All the same, there are no residents for a long time.
Lulu and the Marquis looked at me disapprovingly.
We stopped and walked towards the door. The door was unlocked and we went inside.
This house, however, like all others, was plundered and everything more or less valuable was taken out.
There was complete confusion all around. Under a huge layer of dust, that has not been disturbed for years, various things left over from the previous owners are scattered everywhere.
Climbing up the stairs to the attic, I saw scattered hay everywhere.
The three of us looked at each other and decided to stop here.
After a little supper in complete silence, we lay down directly on the straw.
There was a fragrant smell of hay and, tired, we quickly dozed off.
Under the wind howling outside, which blew through the whole old house, I heard some measured distant sounds.
Gradually, these sounds grew and turned into muffled blows.
It was as if someone was walking slowly and heavily and hitting the ground with his staff.
Lulu and the Marquis pressed against each other and listened to these ominous sounds that were getting closer.
- Who could it be?? whispered Lulu.
But the question hung in the air.
The expectation of the unknown is worse than the strongest fear.
I decided to check and got up and began to go down the stairs.
Lulu and Marquis also followed, as being alone was even worse.
I went out into the courtyard of the house.
There was absolute darkness all around.
Nearby stood some kind of half-rotted building, half-grown into the ground.
Maybe it was used earlier as a bath.
And suddenly, something flashed in the window, something like a faint reflection of fire!
Slowly, the three of us moved towards it.
The building itself was all skewed and the door was ajar, as it did not close.
Overcoming some kind of animal fear, I knocked softly.
Looking inside, I saw a stove - yes, it was a bathhouse!
But what I saw next made me recoil.
In the far corner, leaning over some ancient, half-decayed book, sat something in half-rotted clothes, carefully reading the lines.
We were afraid to move.
This person stretched out his hand and made a gesture to approach.
Our legs buckled at once, refusing to move.
No matter how hard I tried to understand, who was in front of us, I could not do anything.
It seemed to me that this did not matter, since something, that was sitting in front of us, could be anyone.
It could be both a little girl and a witch, similar to death itself.
Without turning around or raising its head, something asked if it was convenient for us to get here.
Then, to our great surprise, he asked us to tell about the most significant discoveries, in our opinion, that we ourselves have made in our lives.
We looked at each other in bewilderment.
I began to remember everything that happened to us lately.
I began to talk about our life, world scientific discoveries.
Do not tell him about how, skiing in the winter, we met ghosts competing at the Olympics!
But he listened to all this with obvious irritation.
Finally, not knowing what to talk about further, I tried to tell him about our meeting with the Astrologer, transparent shadows and the mysterious Path, they told us about.
He changed instantly.
Although his face was not visible due to his drooping hair and hunched posture under the weight of time, it was as if lightning had passed between us.
Then, seeing his interest, I also told him about my inventor friend and his latest discoveries.
Nothing wrong with that, I thought. Anyway, what my friend told me, no one else will understand.
I have never seen before, that somebody can listen to something with such concentration.
When I finished my story, a ringing silence hung for several minutes.
Without raising his head, the Stranger slowly, gathering all his strength, croaked in a trembling voice:
- According to the rules of all wanderers and seekers, in return, I am ready to give you my half.
- All you need is consent.
- Agreement ? we asked, shifting.
- Yes, he answered.
- Consent to let us hear your story?
- Yes, he answered.
- That's the rule.
“Interesting,” I said to Lulu and the Marquis.
Of course, we were surprised, but after looking at each other, we nodded our heads and said that we agreed.
Our mysterious interlocutor asked what we know about the latest discoveries of science.
We began to list to him what we knew from the news.
But then he abruptly stopped us in mid-sentence, and fell silent for a long time, as if waiting for something, some kind of permission.
Turning to face us, he spoke softly again.
Your teacher, whom you told me about, is not mistaken.
- All modern science is nothing but an invention of our Mind.
- Or rather, an attempt to understand the world around you in the language, that you understands at this stage of development.
- It doesn't matter what kind of science it is.
- Now it is mathematics and physics, philosophy, astronomy, chemistry.
“There might be another one tomorrow.
- The essence remains the same.
- All science is just a tool for describing the world.
- And here lies one of the main traps of the Mind.
- Painting the world around us in order to calm us down, it constantly artificially adjusts the world with the help of numbers, laws and formulas into some kind of whole and beautiful picture.
- The thing is, that except ourselves, no one knows about our science.
- This science exists only for those who invented it.
- In science there is no most important thing, without which no process of cognition can exist!
- It does not have ... feedback from the outside world. Any science without feedback is dead!!
- There is no science for the world we describe.
- The Universe knows nothing about our mathematics and physics!
- The Universe does not live by our laws!!!
- We are constantly trying to throw a net on the void, playing some kind of childish game with ourselves !!
Our wanderer thought about something for a long time.
Then, from somewhere far away, without looking at us, he quietly asked.
- Tell me, what are we talking about now, and indeed always talking, discussing, arguing??
I thought, not knowing how to answer.
- How is it about what?
- About our life, about what worries us, about us and the world that surrounds us.
- We discuss the things we have done, we think about what needs to be done. We dream and wonder what surprises life will bring us, what secrets it still hides from us.
- Excellent, he replied calmly and quietly.
- Excellent … what?? I asked uncertainly.
- That our Mind is fine with you.
I laughed awkwardly.
The Stranger looked at me attentively and dryly added:
- You're laughing in vain.
I felt dizzy and almost fell over, trying not to show it.
- What you think is stupid and funny, is not at all as harmless, as it seems at first glance.
- As strange as it sounds, but you and I are very lucky.
- Our Mind survived and did not give up under the weight of the circumstances imposed on it.
- It is impossible to go forward when your Mind is not ready or sick.
- So, he continued, gazing at us intently, as if constantly controlling whether he should move on or not.
It was like he was constantly checking, whether we were ready or not.
At that moment, the space around seemed to shrink, it became difficult to breathe, as if some kind of force squeezed like in a vise.
- Gradually, we approached one of the most important cornerstones of our life with you.
From now on, the time for entertainment has passed.
- We are constantly learning something new, our knowledge of the world is constantly evolving.
- Tell me one simple thing.
- That knowledge about the world that you possess, how much is it... Universal???
I could not understand anything and asked for clarification.
- Why are you so surprised ?!? he screamed.
- Or do you naively believe that you live alone in this world ?!?
There are millions of different types of living organisms living among us.
Or have you forgotten about them?
- Remember.
- The simplest things that you do not notice at the beginning are very expensive later.
- So, I repeat - your knowledge - what is it ??? the same for a cat, a dog, a tree, our planet, a mole, a worm, that fly on the glass?!?
- All of them, taken together, looking at the same world with you at the same time, have the same Knowledge?!?
I was taken aback by this turn of events.
- My answer to you is ... No!!!
- We all live at first glance in the same world, but everyone knows about it in different ways!
- How can this be?
- And most importantly - Why??
“Because everyone perceives it differently,” I answered awkwardly.
- Yes, it's all clear that everyone perceives it differently !!
- One thing is not clear - what kind of knowledge of the Reality is the only true one among an infinite number of other different knowledge about the same?!?
"You don't think your knowledge of the world is the only correct one, do you?"
“Suddenly, a completely crazy idea dawned on me and I tried to scream, but the wanderer made a gesture to silence me.
After a while, he whispered inaudibly:
- If what we thought about is true, then all our science in the form to which we are accustomedб and the tasksб that it sets for itselfб disappears like a mirage.
We sat in absolute silence for a long time. Only the distant sounds of the clock's pendulum disturbed the calm.
Finally, after the thoughts began to come to order a little, the wanderer continued.
- What is Reality?!?
- I constantly searched for the answer to this question and did not find the answer.
- How not to fall into madness and not go astray?
- What is the main criterion and benchmark to use??
One thing has become clear to me.
- There is one world.
- At the same time, there is an infinite number of different visions and Knowledge of the Reality of the same.
- How can one problem have an infinite number of correct answers???
- And the Task itself, Reality - is it one?
- If the world around us is the same and we are used to identifying it with the Reality... how can the same thing be expressed in infinitely correct different versions?!?
- How can the same Task itself be expressed in infinitely different versions?!?
- If we cannot determine what Reality is, then tell me about what is closer to us and at least we can cling to at least something.
- What is the Knowledge of this very Reality?
I was completely at a loss, not knowing what to answer.
- Okay, he continued.
- What do you think is the nature of Knowledge, and most importantly, what is the reason for its appearance, as the properties of beings?
- Why is there such an infinite number of manifestations of life around us?
My thoughts got confused irrevocably and I just shrugged my shoulders.
The Stranger watched us for a long time. For the first time in the past few hours, I noticed how he smiled at our futile efforts.
Approaching, he said softly and distinctly:
- Despite the simplicity, this question is probably one of the most difficult and amazing of all.
- To solve it, you will most likely need your whole life, if you, of course, will be given such an opportunity.
- As you have already noticed, the Universe has opened before you the infinity of space and time.
“But at the same time, you can’t move as far as you want and live forever.
- The Universe has opened before you all the knowledge that is available.
But you can't understand anything.
- As you have already noticed, the Universe is in no hurry to reveal its secrets to you.
- I have to upset you and stop deceiving you.
- You have no further way.
- Because it ceases to depend on you. None of your efforts will help, no matter how hard you try.
“Knowledge is the most guarded thing in this Universe. No one can ever know more, than he is supposed to know.
- You ask me, what is so hidden in Knowledge, why is it so inaccessible??
- Knowledge is the place, where Reality ends and Magic begins.
8.2
Mirror
We tried to ask something in response, but could not. We were so overwhelmed with emotions.
The Stranger suddenly, after a long pause, said:
- You know, one secret disturbs me and does not give rest.
- I feel its grandiosity, but I can not approach it in any way.
- Its defense is unique, as well as all the others.
- This is like a distorted mirror, distorts everything around her when approaching her.
- Behind it is something so great, that it can be safely attributed to the origins of the Universe itself.
- This secret has always been with us and lay right on the surface, but almost no one pays attention to it.
With these words, he looked at us attentively and with concentration, frowning, began the explanation.
- You know, what the problem is ?
- Reality is not, how this world works, but how we perceive it.
- Reality is what you are allowed to see through your small and frail body, slightly opening the curtain of the Universe.
- What science explains to you concerns us only as a special case of a separate species of living beings.
- Let's take our mutual friend - the cat Marquis.
- Marquis and we see this world in different ways and we don't know, which one is real.
Maybe they are both real. Most likely it is.
His world is equal to ours.
- He lives in our universe, and we live in his universe.
There are countless organisms living among us.
- And the situation here is the same.
- There is an infinite number of inhabitants and each has its own Different Reality.
There was a long pause, as if the wanderer was collecting his thoughts.
- And then we came to the most important thing, he said quietly.
- You know what's the matter.
- Despite the fact that we all see differently, we still look at something that is common.
- And here the most interesting begins.
- What is it, that everyone is looking at but not seeing?!?
- It has long been noted that this something that everyone looks at as the surrounding world has one common property.
- This property is… Reflections.
- From the laws of physics, you know from childhood that everything that we see is a reflection.
- I also noticed that the Reality, the Universe, which all beings see, is directly connected with them, with their peculiarities of perception.
Everyone is looking at the same thing, but they see things differently.
- Everyone sees his universe.
- It's all clear.
“But what does what everyone is looking at really look like?!?”
- Each creature, looking at the world, sees it as a reflection, peculiar only to him.
- What kind of Reflections do you think they see?!?