The Fifth Science

by Exurb1a

Most humans were not malicious, only drastically misguided and desperate in their loneliness. They learned at some point that there was an eccentric core to their personality and that it was possible no one else shared their own brand of eccentricity. They put up screens around that core to shield from embarrassment and shame.

In all things, across all avenues, a choice must be made: whether to follow love, truth, or power. That choice will consume the chooser. If he follows only love then his wellbeing will be constantly at the mercy of another, though his highs will be sublime. If he follows truth then it will be a lonely journey, but potentially a noble one. If he should follow power though, not only will he come to know a desperate and revolting loneliness, but he will also never experience even a drop of satisfaction in anything.

The mInds had no political hierarchy as we would recognise it, but there was an individual called Aleph, considered to be the wisest in existence. He was not a scientist or a mathematician, more a philosopher. He lived on the outskirts of a great wilderness and liked to lie around all day and do nothing. Sometimes other mInds would come to Him and ask questions about nature or virtue and wait for His great wisdom. Sometimes He dispensed great wisdom and sometimes He told visitors to fuck off.

Society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they’ll never sit in.