2206 : Window Onto A New World
XI. The Preacher The Teacher
before taking a longer than usual pause, « as we grow up and meet the world » carried on the quadragenarian, « we are incited to shed some of our inner references in favour of... outer conventions » he calmly suggested, « we are taught to fit in, and we fear if we don't we'll end up one of the lonely misfits » he observed with more indignation than he had intended to convey, « we are insidiously encouraged to disconnect from our feelings, our likes, our intuitions, and even our dreams » Sturn commented, unmistakably disgusted, stopping again briefly, « but eventually, after many years of living with dissatisfaction as an omnipresent friend, we look back and realize this is precisely what went wrong in the first place » he stressed as serenity returned to his expression, « we realize that fitting in just isn't worth the while » he declared, somewhat regretful, « because ultimately, being true to our inner selves is how we find the things that have real value to us » the space engineer maintained in a blend of appreciation and resignation, « then we have to turn around, and retrace our steps back to where we have started, back to the precious inner references we have left behind, and we have to get reacquainted with them as best as we can » he offered, smiling. The assistant listened attentively, charmed by the magnetic fervour the pundit was exuding as he presented his thoughts. « This is the passage from conforming to external boundaries, despite internal boundaries, to being heedful of internal boundaries, despite external boundaries » reformulated the former professor, « it seems many end up more or less lost somewhere between the two extremes » he philosophized after some deliberation, « because of the retroaction between the two realities that these contrary ways of functioning entail, many end up leashed to some kind of uncomfortable convergence point... somewhere between the untenable past and the tantalizingly possible future » he cryptically submitted. While he didn't totally grasp what his boss was saying, the developer could somehow discern the words could only come from a learned, considerate man. « Materialism, for instance, is essentially outer conventions » the project director resumed after a moment, « my inner references insist it's part of the untenable past » he concluded, visibly amused, once more remaining silent to let the idea sink in, « we'll have little choice but to discuss it, along with other belief systems, as we build SAVIA » he then informed his visitor, « in fact, if we're to be successful, you'll have to master the subject » he lastly emphasized. All of a sudden, Evans could make sense of the whole conversation. The clever scholar had not merely been proselytizing after all. Maybe, in opposing him, the techie imagined, the researcher had wanted to illustrate the importance of beliefs in the processes of intelligence, and manifestly, this would prove to be of crucial relevancy to their common endeavour. Maybe that was why he hadn't The Threshold
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Christopher Stewart