Prologue
‘We have sacrificed part of our potential for the sake of the others,’ Tanglanah said, ‘but that is right and noble. Laspetosyne, I am four thousand and eighty-four years older than you. It took me the duration of your life just to comprehend the meaning of intuition, let alone experience its joys. But now I think I see how this strange story is playing itself out.’
‘How?’
‘I believe that we have all made a cosmic mistake. I believe that for our art to succeed – for us to live in harmony with our environment – we must all become embodied. Minds and bodies are not separate entities, not dual creations, rather they are one. If we are truly to complete our art then we must all become bodies. We must feel the world, not intellectually appreciate it, and so acquire intuition. We must burst out of infinity to sweat, bleed, feel warmth and icy chill, and rain.’
Laspetosyne replied, ‘Those thoughts shock me, and they will shock the others. I cannot agree with you.’
‘There is a reason for your disbelief. You know less than me. You do not understand the meaning of guesswork. I now suspect that it is a mistake to idolise the mind at the expense of the body.’