Johnny sets his forehead against Brawne’s. His thought is like a whisper to her: —We are seeing a matrix simulation analog, hearing a translation in approximate mondo and koan. Ummon is a great teacher, researcher, philosopher, and leader in the Core. Brawne nods. —All right. Was that his story? —No. He is asking us if we can truly bear hearing the story. Losing our ignorance can be dangerous because our ignorance is a shield. —I’ve never been too fond of ignorance. Brawne waves at the megalith. Tell us. [A less-enlightened personage once asked Ummon What is the God-nature/Buddha/Central
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