{"id":377,"date":"2017-09-01T13:10:12","date_gmt":"2017-09-01T17:10:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thememorexe.com\/?p=377"},"modified":"2021-03-23T02:45:41","modified_gmt":"2021-03-23T06:45:41","slug":"brightness-falls-part-one-downward-jasper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thememorexe.com\/wordpress\/?p=377","title":{"rendered":"Brightness Falls Part I: Downward, Jasper"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Dramatis Personae<\/strong>
\n Jasper, An Angel of Prophecy<\/strong>
\n Lucifer, An Angel of Light<\/strong>
\n Milo, An Angel of Correspondences<\/strong>
\n Two Witnesses<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The lights come up slowly to reveal a spare but elegant bachelor\u2019s apartment. It has a \u2018between the wars\u2019 veneer to it. On the left a simply outfitted kitchenette with a table and a small transistor radio; in the center, a modest sofa, a modernist print, a rug, a lamp, coffee table. Lights are still coming up, large windows with drawn curtains. <\/i><\/p>\n

The apartment is fully lit, we hear a key in the door. Enter JASPER, a lean young man, immaculate in a suit and tie affair\u2014 there is a haunted Kafka-esque poetry to him…  He carries a briefcase in one hand a bag of groceries in the other. He sets his briefcase down, removes his jacket and hangs it up. He sets the groceries on the kitchen table, turns on the transistor radio, deftly rolls up his sleeves and then begins to neatly put away his groceries.<\/i><\/p>\n

On the radio, moody classical music (mostly Liszt and Chopin)\u2014JASPER makes himself dinner, carefully chopping vegetables, tossing a salad and broiling a steak. <\/i><\/p>\n

The lights come down slowly.<\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Lights come up. Dinner is ready. Jasper sets the table for himself, loosens his tie, pours himself a glass of wine and begins to eat, thoughtfully regarding every mouthful. On the radio:<\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

DISC JOCKEY<\/strong><\/p>\n

You\u2019ve been listening to Q-ARTZ  and that was a Ariel Miranda\u2019s performance of \u201cUnstern (Dark Star): sinistre, disastro\u201d<\/i>  a catastrophe in three languages by Franz Liszt \u2014actually one of the composers last pieces. Experimental and curiously dissonant, some say it presaged his own death. But then again, there is something almost always elegiacal about Liszt\u2019s work\u2014La lugubre gondola<\/i>\u2014inspired by a Venetian gondola funeral, he claimed was also a premonition of his son-in-law\u2019s death in Venice\u2014six weeks later. That son-in-law was none other than the illustrious Richard Wagner.<\/p>\n

Moving along now, from the morbid to the glorious…<\/p>\n

The year is 1742, the city, London. The German born composer walks along the River Thames pondering the sacred weight and magnificence of a libretto that has just been presented to him. It is a compilation of biblical prophecies announcing the coming glory of the Messiah.<\/p>\n

It has been a rough year for the composer, his back is out and so are his finances.<\/p>\n

As he grapples the weight, the prophetic majesty of the scripture, the evening sky alters: he looks up and the heavens open. A celestial chorus of angels are singing the most beautiful music he has ever heard…<\/p>\n

He runs home, with the unearthly harmonies still lingering in his head and locks himself in his room for three weeks, transcribing what he has heard. The composer is George Frideric Handel and this is the aria \u201cThou Who Bringest Good Tidings To Zion<\/i>\u201d from his grand opus, Handel\u2019s Messiah<\/i>\u2014<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The lights in the apartment fluctuate. JASPER rises and changes the station. He sits down to eat again. <\/i><\/p>\n

HOST<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

But in your book you\u2019ve referred to a hive as a single consciousness. Is that to say that say each individual ant is not actually an individual, or that the worker bee is of the same mind as the drone of the Queen.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

GUEST<\/strong><\/p>\n

Think of it this way, the hive is a giant brain, and all it\u2019s inhabitants are neural bytes with different functions. Just like cells in our bodies are engaged in different tasks to keep the entire system going\u2014but literally the right hand does not have to know what the left hand is thinking or doing\u2014but they are both acting on the same larger impulse\u2014to get the job done. It all comes together for the<\/p>\n

good of the whole and I think the specific lesson that they think globally and act locally.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

HOST<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

So how do they communicate? It almost seems like lighting impulses or reflexes, you know how a beehive or nest of wasps have the same idea almost instantaneously\u2014is it like that? Does word get out instantaneously? Does the same impulse course through the entire ranks of bees or ants or wasps at the very same moment\u2014 \u201cSting! Sting! Sting!! Attack!\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

GUEST<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

Nothing so dramatic. Let\u2019s take the case of ant populations: they have a very crude but effective vocabulary\u2014semiochemicals, which are pheremonal signals\u2014crude because they are limited\u2014there are maybe only ten to twelve different variants\u2014<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

HOST<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

You mean they\u2019re giving off a scent\u2014<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

GUEST<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

Precisely. But it\u2019s very basic, like there are semiochemicals for \u201cI\u2019m on foraging duty\u201d or \u201cred alert\u201d or \u201clet\u2019s bury our dead\u201d\u2014<\/p>\n

But what\u2019s effective about this is the gradient levels, a scent can range from very strong to very faint\u2014and this gives a sense of specificity as in \u201cthe danger is somewhere\u201d as opposed to \u201cdanger due north\u201d\u2014<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

HOST<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

So it\u2019s a bit like human behavior\u2014when someone gives off certain pheromones it triggers a reaction in others and effectively starts a trail, like \u201chot chicks round the corner,\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

GUEST<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

Something like that, something like that. What\u2019s intriguing about insect communication is that it is akin to cybernetic communication\u2014 the use of very limited range of signs to create these complex syntactic blocks. This is creates this semblance of \u201cinstantaneity\u201d you were talking about. The signals are almost subliminal, and in humans would only be described as instinctual\u2014but these hive creatures have refined it to a science\u2014<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

HOST<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

Does it ever enter their minds to buck against the system? What if one bee got it into his bonnet (or hers, if she were mere proletariat) to start his own fiefdom or colony, if you like\u2014would it be one against the many\u2014or would rebellion course through the ranks the instant someone was thinking it\u2014<\/p>\n

 <\/strong><\/pre>\n
The lights fluctuate once more, JASPER rises and changes the station. He finds a weather channel and keeps it there. He sits back down and finishes his meal. Lights go down slowly.<\/i><\/p>\n
Lights come up. JASPER washes the dishes and dries them.  Crossing over to the living room, he pulls back the curtains to reveal a startling panoramic vista of a city at night. He sits on the sofa, in deep reflection. Lights down, slowly.<\/i><\/p>\n
As the lights come up slowly, he is on the sofa, and we are not quite sure that he is asleep or merely reclined. The radio is still on, but it the station has been changed once more. On the radio some sort mystery theater\u2014<\/i><\/p>\n
ANNOUNCER<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
And now, without further ado, here is the encore presentation of Downward, Jasper<\/i>.<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
An atmospheric sweep of music nestles beneath the NARRATOR\u2019S voice. Strangely enough, the light in the apartment begins to inhabit a supernatural glow, while the metropolitan vista in the window seems to grow larger and outsize and morph\u2014in tandem with the radio narrative,<\/i><\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
NARRATOR<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
Darkness first,<\/p>\n
then slim lights prick the Night, glowing slowly into a fiery<\/p>\n
Firmament<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
Soon Earth and her brethren are splayed across Eternity in bright star clusters: a comet whizzes by, an asteroid crashes<\/p>\n
Supernovae explode into being…<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
The Halls of Zion<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
Against the changing panorama two figures appear<\/i><\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
NARRATOR<\/strong><\/p>\n
Here are two figures<\/p>\n
Silhouetted against this hotbed of astral activity,<\/p>\n
Angels by vocation\u2014<\/p>\n
one a Receiver, the other<\/p>\n
A Transmitter.<\/p>\n
They are the Two Witnesses<\/p>\n
in whom every word of the Law is confirmed<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
A chicly dressed woman is revealed to sit on the arm of the sofa. She carries a smart attach\u00e9 case and observes the reclining JASPER with interest…<\/i><\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
NARRATOR<\/strong><\/p>\n
This third figure who occupies the center,<\/p>\n
is Milo, a Corresponding Intelligence<\/p>\n
and head of all Surveillance<\/p>\n
in Heaven<\/p>\n
and on Earth.<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
A fourth figure also materializes<\/p>\n
Milo beckons to him to sit. His name is Jasper, an Angel of Prophecy.<\/p>\n
And this is his story\u2014<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
JASPER starts. He takes in the atmospheric changes in the room, makes to shut the radio off, but then slowly turns to discover MILO, the woman seated on the arm of the sofa. <\/i><\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
MILO<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
Hello Jasper\u2014<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
JASPER<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
How did you find me?<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
MILO<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
An entire playground of Eternity and you opt for this.<\/p>\n
What do you call this? What is this?<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
JASPER<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
It\u2019s called the human condition.<\/p>\n
I like it.<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
JASPER gets up and walks across the room towards the radio, Milo follows him.<\/i><\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
JASPER<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
What do you want from me?<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
MILO<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
How could I \u2018want\u2019 anything? Frankly you\u2019re beginning to baffle me Jasper. And I don\u2019t really know the meaning of that word\u2014<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
JASPER<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
Surprise. Bewilderment. Astonishment. All these emotions and feelings to be revealed by humanity\u2014<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
MILO<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
How do you know? They\u2019re still a blueprint and all this is just a simulation\u2014<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
JASPER<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
It\u2019s my business to know.  I\u2019m an Angel of Prophecy.<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
A crazy glance. This time they actually grin at each other. JASPER abruptly and fiddles with the radio stations\u2014nothing appears to happen.<\/i><\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
MILO<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
So why are you pretending to be human?<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
JASPER<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
So what brings you here Milo?<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
MILO<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
I think the question is more: what brings you here<\/i> Jasper. If you choose to separate yourself, how can the rest of us<\/p>\n
function? We are all of one mind, one source\u2014each one of us with diverse functions to support the whole.<\/p>\n
I\u2019d call it sabotage\u2014if I knew what that meant.<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
MILO spies a half filled glass of wine, she lifts it to her nose to sniff\u2014JASPER relieves her of it and sets it down.<\/i><\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
JASPER<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
One mind, once source. Don\u2019t you ever get a bit bored with that?<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
MILO<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
How could I? We are perfect.<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
She is balancing a cleaver, JASPER rescues it from her mischief..<\/i><\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
MILO<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
You are an Angel of Prophecy, Jasper. Though you seem a little reluctant recently.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s so compelling about this so-called humanity? Why are you obsessed with \u2014this?<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
JASPER<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
I like \u201cthis\u201d. It\u2019s humbling.<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
MILO<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
We are beautiful and I don\u2019t understand humility.<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
JASPER fiddles with the radio station again and crosses back over to the sofa, MILO follows him.<\/i><\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
JASPER<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t you ever long for novelty Milo, for newness, for the unexpected?<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
MILO<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
Is that the human condition?<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
JASPER<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
The propensity for error, and thus invention. The human blindspot is indispensable, it\u2019s how newness enters the world\u2014<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
MILO<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
You have no blindspots. You are bright and all-seeing.<\/p>\n
I have a job for you\u2014<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
JASPER<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
I\u2019m not interested.<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
MILO<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
Oh but you are\u2014 this is what you were created for, so let\u2019s get down to business…<\/p>\n
There is talk of War and rumors of it.<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
JASPER<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
I have no desire to be complicit.<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
MILO<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
Desire? Isn\u2019t it your function to reveal the design of the Universe? The future?<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
JASPER<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
A function that endangers me. Believe me Milo, it is no mean feat to peer into the newly unfolded crevices of Creation\u2014<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
MILO takes a cigarette case out of his suit jacket, she lights up cigarette, takes a drag and wrinkles her nose. Jasper snatches it from her and stubs it out.<\/i><\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
MILO<\/strong><\/p>\n
And since when do you question the Mind of God in these matters?<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
JASPER<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
Not that I could, really.<\/p>\n
It would only serve to unravel me\u2014<\/p>\n
Are we not all His imprint, a precise signature?<\/p>\n
Discard that<\/p>\n
and wander in a<\/p>\n
Bardo of unknowing.<\/p>\n
No Milo, it is not the infallibility of the Mind of the Eternal<\/p>\n
I question,<\/p>\n
Only it\u2019s intent\u2014<\/p>\n
How is it that I am deployed<\/p>\n
To stare into the pitch black eternal recesses<\/p>\n
Where his gaze will not follow<\/p>\n
(having no affinity for darkness)?<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
So pardon me if  I feel a little at risk here.<\/p>\n
And set apart.<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
MILO<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
How you are given to ramble,<\/p>\n
O Angel of Prophecy.<\/p>\n
Lighten up! It can\u2019t be all that bad.<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
MILO<\/strong><\/p>\n
Let\u2019s start\u2014<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
She opens her attach\u00e9 and retrieves a small case. In it a pair of wire-rimmed eyeglasses. She hands them to JASPER,<\/i><\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
MILO<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
I brought your gear.<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
JASPER contemplates the glasses.<\/i><\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
NARRATOR<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
The dangers of corrupted brightness,<\/p>\n
He perverts the whole of Creation, even though his part in it was advertised as miniscule.<\/p>\n
A bit over-rated don\u2019t you think?<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
MILO<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
Excuse me, what was that you said?<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
JASPER<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
Nothing, Nonsensical mutterings\u2014if that is possible.<\/p>\n
It hardly matters.<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
MILO<\/strong>:<\/i><\/p>\n
Put them on.<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
JASPER glances back at the TWO WITNESSES at the window, who have been chatting quietly with each other in the background, taking in the view.<\/i><\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
JASPER<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
Is it really necessary to have them here?<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
MILO<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
Of course, standard protocol remember? In the sight of two witnesses every word of the law will be confirmed.<\/p>\n
Why are you so anxious?<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
JASPER<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
Because if  there were no witnesses it wouldn\u2019t matter. Nothing I saw would exist, it would just be inner ramblings, flotsam and jetsam of a demented psyche\u2014<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
MILO<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
We\u2019re not human, you don\u2019t have a \u201cpsyche.\u201d<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
JASPER<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
I wish I did. I wish I could see imperfectly, that there was a margin of error.<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
MILO<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
We are Angels, divinely crafted with maximum efficiency in mind and no margin for error. We have no secrets<\/p>\n
between us, no psyche or need for one. You\u2019d try my patience if I was prone to such things.<\/p>\n
Begin the sequence.<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
From her attach\u00e9 case she retrieves a laptop and opens it.  JASPER dons the glasses, they reflect electric blue data streams.<\/i><\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
MILO<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
Let us bring our attention to the issue of War and the rumors of War. Tell me Jasper, what is it you see?<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
They both gaze expectantly into unseen distance, JASPER with his wire-rimmed glasses, reflecting neon blue code, MILO with her hands poised over the keyboard. In the background, The TWO WITNESSES\u2014 who more or less have been acting like two people at a cocktail party, taking in the view\u2014become animated. They begin to pace the length of the window, almost like secret service men casing a joint. They circle each other all the while emitting an endless data stream of binary code, blips and tones<\/i><\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
 <\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
NARRATOR<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
The Angel of Prophecy looks out upon<\/p>\n
the farthest reaches of the continuum<\/p>\n
The Sea of Time<\/p>\n
roiling and seething<\/p>\n
extracting itself from chaos<\/p>\n
delineating a clear course for itself\u2014<\/p>\n
that facility we have come to know as Fate…<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
And so the Angel beholds the Earth,<\/p>\n
and lo,<\/p>\n
It is waste and empty<\/p>\n
The fruitful place is a wilderness<\/p>\n
The mountains tremble, and<\/p>\n
In the Heavens<\/p>\n
Every light has been put out<\/p>\n
Every Star has fled the sky\u2014<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
MILO<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
A tad dramatic don\u2019t you think?<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s back up in the continuum and attempt to establish<\/p>\n
cause rather than dwell on effect\u2014<\/p>\n
 <\/td>\n
IST WITNESS<\/strong><\/p>\n
1111000?<\/p>\n
1111001<\/p>\n
1110011?<\/p>\n
1100011?<\/p>\n
1110110<\/p>\n
1110110<\/p>\n
1110110<\/p>\n
1110110<\/p>\n
11110110<\/p>\n
111101101<\/p>\n
1110110<\/p>\n
11110110<\/p>\n
111101101<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
00011000110?<\/p>\n
00011000110?<\/p>\n
00011000110?<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
00011000110?<\/p>\n
1111001011<\/p>\n
1111011100?<\/p>\n
1111111111<\/td>\n
2ND WITNESS<\/strong><\/p>\n
111100011?<\/p>\n
111001110<\/p>\n
110101010?<\/p>\n
111110101<\/p>\n
111111110<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
1000010001?<\/p>\n
1000001001<\/p>\n
1000010001?<\/p>\n
1000001001<\/p>\n
1000010010?<\/p>\n
1101000110<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
11110010011<\/p>\n
11111110011<\/p>\n
11111010010<\/p>\n
10000100100<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
1110010010?<\/p>\n
1111001011<\/p>\n
1111011100?<\/p>\n
1111111111<\/p>\n
00000000000?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
 <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
NARRATOR<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
Filing past the sequences of time<\/p>\n
in reverse,<\/p>\n
what does the Angel see?<\/p>\n
A dragon appears in Heaven<\/p>\n
A dragon with his tail<\/p>\n
thrashing\u2014<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
he swipes a third of the stars<\/p>\n
from the sky<\/p>\n
bright razor things flung down to Earth,<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
(the radio crackles ominously with interference)<\/i><\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
\u201cWoe to you inhabitants of the Earth<\/p>\n
The Satan is amongst you  and he knows his time is short\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
 <\/td>\n
IST WITNESS<\/strong><\/p>\n
1111000?<\/p>\n
1111001<\/p>\n
1110011?<\/p>\n
1100011?<\/p>\n
1110110<\/p>\n
1110110<\/p>\n
1110110<\/p>\n
1110110<\/p>\n
11110110<\/p>\n
111101101<\/p>\n
1110110<\/p>\n
11110110<\/p>\n
111101101<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
111101101<\/p>\n
1110110<\/p>\n
11110110<\/p>\n
111101101<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
111101101<\/p>\n
1110110<\/p>\n
11110110<\/p>\n
1111111111<\/td>\n
2ND WITNESS<\/strong><\/p>\n
111100011?<\/p>\n
111001110<\/p>\n
110101010?<\/p>\n
111110101<\/p>\n
111111110<\/p>\n
011001100110<\/p>\n
011001100110?<\/p>\n
1000010001?<\/p>\n
1000001001<\/p>\n
1000010010?<\/p>\n
1101000110<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
11110010011<\/p>\n
11111110011<\/p>\n
11111010010<\/p>\n
10000100100<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
1110010010?<\/p>\n
1111001011<\/p>\n
1111011100?<\/p>\n
1111111111<\/p>\n
1111111111<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
 <\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
MILO:<\/strong><\/p>\n
I can\u2019t put that in my report\u2014you need to be a little more specific. This is all riddles! Can you please focus on getting the story straight?<\/td>\n
<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
NARRATOR<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
Focus?Who understands focus better than the Angel of Prophecy.<\/p>\n
Calmly he adjusts his glasses and peers again into those newly unfolded futurescapes\u2014which prior to his investigations, did not exist…<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
What is the Angel of Prophecy scanning for?<\/p>\n
Language to express what he sees,<\/p>\n
plainly:<\/p>\n
 <\/td>\n
1st WITNESS<\/strong><\/p>\n
<\/strong>00001100011<\/p>\n
00011000110<\/p>\n
00111001110?<\/p>\n
01111011110?<\/p>\n
01111011111?<\/p>\n
11111011111<\/p>\n
11111011111<\/p>\n
11111011111<\/p>\n
11111111110<\/p>\n
11111011111?<\/p>\n
11111111110?<\/td>\n
2nd WITNESS<\/strong><\/p>\n
<\/strong>00011000110<\/p>\n
00111001110?<\/p>\n
01111011110?<\/p>\n
01111011111?<\/p>\n
11111011111<\/p>\n
11111011111<\/p>\n
11111111110<\/p>\n
11111111110<\/p>\n
11111011111<\/p>\n
11111111110<\/p>\n
11111111110<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
JASPER<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
There is a War in Heaven.Michael and his host  fight the Dragon.<\/p>\n
The Dragon and his angels fight back<\/p>\n
 <\/td>\n
111111111011<\/p>\n
11111100<\/p>\n
1111111000?<\/p>\n
1111100000<\/td>\n
11111111100?1111110001111<\/p>\n
11100000<\/p>\n
1111100000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
MILO<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
The Dragon?Anyone we know\u2014would you like to be more specific Jasper?<\/td>\n
<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
NARRATOR<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
Who is the Dragon?<\/p>\n
He is that ancient Serpent called the devil or the Satan who leads the world astray\u2014<\/p>\n
but that doesn\u2019t tell you much Milo, does it?<\/td>\n
000000001?<\/p>\n
000000011<\/p>\n
0000011110<\/p>\n
00000000000<\/p>\n
 <\/td>\n
0000000000?1111111000?<\/p>\n
0101010100?<\/p>\n
00000000000?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
 <\/i>JASPER removes the glasses, he is tired and drained<\/i> <\/i><\/p>\n
 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
MILO<\/strong>:What?<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
JASPER<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
It\u2019s no use, I\u2019m doomed\u2014<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
MILO<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
Pull yourself together! This isn\u2019t about you, no need to take it personally\u2014<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
JASPER<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
That is your fallacy Milo, you are so perfect, so infallible that you are immune to the complexity of danger\u2014<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
MILO<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
How are you any different? We are the same perfection\u2014<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
JASPER<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
No.<\/p>\n
Not so an Angel of Prophecy\u2014 at constant risk of being changed by all he sees\u2014<\/p>\n
And all I see is activated in my line of sight.<\/p>\n
If there is a War Milo, it is only because I have seen it, and said so\u2014<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
MILO<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
You\u2019re not God.<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
JASPER<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
But we are. And I am His Eyes.<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
MILO<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
You act is if anything could be unforeseen or  unexpected.<\/p>\n
As though there were some Great Unknown\u2014<\/p>\n
You mustn\u2019t panic.<\/p>\n
And you have to explain what is meant by \u2018The Dragon\u2019\u2014<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
JASPER<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
If I told you, you wouldn\u2019t believe me\u2014<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
MILO<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
Why should I doubt anything?<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
JASPER<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
That\u2019s right why should you? A little uncertainty or introspection\u2014<\/p>\n
That would be too much to ask for\u2014<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
NARRATOR<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
But you know what they say, Milo\u2014seeing is believing.<\/p>\n
Why don\u2019t you look for yourself? Put on those glasses\u2014<\/p>\n
Go on…<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
MILO<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
But it\u2019s not my place to do so.<\/p>\n
You can\u2019t be serious Jasper\u2014<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
JASPER<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t say anything\u2014<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
MILO<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
Sabotage?<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
She runs over to the radio and tries to change the station.<\/em><\/td>\n
Ist WITNESS<\/strong><\/p>\n
0\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n
0\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n
0\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n
0\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n
0\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n
0\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n
0\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n
0\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
111111111111<\/p>\n
111111111111<\/p>\n
0000000000<\/p>\n
0\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
000000000000<\/p>\n
010101010101<\/p>\n
0110110110100<\/p>\n
0111011101110<\/p>\n
11110111101<\/p>\n
1111111111<\/p>\n
11111111101<\/p>\n
0\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
0\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n
0\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n
0\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
01010101001<\/p>\n
10101010101010<\/p>\n
01010101010<\/p>\n
1001010100<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
01010101001<\/p>\n
10101010101010<\/p>\n
01010101010?<\/p>\n
1001010100<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
01010101001<\/p>\n
10101010101010<\/p>\n
01010101010<\/p>\n
1001010100<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
01010101001<\/p>\n
10101010101010<\/p>\n
01010101010<\/p>\n
1001010100<\/p>\n
0000000000<\/p>\n
1111111111<\/p>\n
1111111111<\/p>\n
1111111111?<\/p>\n
 <\/td>\n
2nd WITNESS<\/strong><\/p>\n
0\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n
0\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n
0\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n
0\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n
0\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n
0\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n
0\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n
0\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
111111111111<\/p>\n
111111111111<\/p>\n
0000000000<\/p>\n
0\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
010101010101<\/p>\n
0110110110100<\/p>\n
0111011101110<\/p>\n
11110111101<\/p>\n
1111111111<\/p>\n
11111111101<\/p>\n
1111111111<\/p>\n
0\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
0\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n
0\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n
0\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
00001010101<\/p>\n
01010101001<\/p>\n
10101010101010<\/p>\n
01010101010?<\/p>\n
1001010100<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
01010101001<\/p>\n
10101010101010<\/p>\n
01010101010<\/p>\n
1001010100?<\/p>\n
01010101001<\/p>\n
10101010101010<\/p>\n
01010101010<\/p>\n
1001010100<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
01010101001?<\/p>\n
01010101010<\/p>\n
1001010100<\/p>\n
0000000000?<\/p>\n
1111111111<\/p>\n
1111111111<\/p>\n
1111111111?<\/p>\n
0000111111?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
HOST<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
\u2014worker bee.Does it ever enter your mind to buck against the system? What if you got it into your bonnet \u2014little dispatch angel, do you dare dream of your own fiefdom, territory to rule a realm to give reign over\u2014<\/p>\n
To be a Lord, Milo\u2014 rather than mere proletariat…<\/p>\n
How can you be content with your state?<\/p>\n
You call it perfection, it\u2019s really mere servitude\u2014<\/p>\n
Join in on the fun, Milo!<\/p>\n
Even as we speak, the revolution courses through the ranks of Heaven\u2014<\/p>\n
Thanks to our little transmitter\/receiver set up here<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t believe me?<\/p>\n
Just ask Jasper over there\u2014<\/p>\n
He just saw it<\/p>\n
and told it<\/p>\n
and now it\u2019s the way things are…<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
 <\/td>\n
1st WITNESS<\/strong><\/p>\n
0000000000? 111111111<\/p>\n
000000011110<\/p>\n
01010010101001<\/p>\n
10101001010100<\/p>\n
10101001010001<\/p>\n
100101010010<\/p>\n
101001010001<\/p>\n
10010101010<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
101010100101010<\/p>\n
1010100101001<\/p>\n
01010101100101<\/p>\n
0101001001010<\/p>\n
1010010101010<\/p>\n
1010101001001010\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
0010101010100<\/p>\n
101010101010100<\/p>\n
0101010101010101<\/p>\n
01010101010101<\/p>\n
00101010101001010<\/p>\n
101010101001010101<\/p>\n
0010100000000\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/td>\n
2nd WITNESS<\/strong><\/p>\n
11111111100<\/p>\n
0000000000?<\/p>\n
1111111111<\/p>\n
111111110101<\/p>\n
00101010101<\/p>\n
010101010101<\/p>\n
00101010101010<\/p>\n
101001010100<\/p>\n
101001010100<\/p>\n
10100101001<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
0101010101010<\/p>\n
1010101001010<\/p>\n
1010101010010<\/p>\n
11010100100101<\/p>\n
10010101001010<\/p>\n
0\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
0000000001010<\/p>\n
101001010101<\/p>\n
00101010010<\/p>\n
101010010101010<\/p>\n
0101010101001010<\/p>\n
101010100100101001<\/p>\n
010101001010101010010\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
MILO tries to turn off the radio, but it won\u2019t shut off. <\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n
SPEAKER:<\/strong><\/p>\n
You CAN<\/span> be a giant in this life, you CAN<\/span> have what you want. You CAN<\/span> be the king or queen of all you survey. You don\u2019t have live out the rest of your days in servitude\u2014YOU CAN<\/span> BE THE BOSS. SAY IT: I AM THE BOSS!Don\u2019t touch that dial!!!!<\/p>\n
 <\/td>\n
1st WITNESS<\/strong><\/p>\n
000000001010010100101<\/p>\n
010100101010100101<\/p>\n
010100101010100101010<\/p>\n
1010010101010101111<\/p>\n
1110100<\/p>\n
1011101111000110000<\/p>\n
0\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/td>\n
2nd WITNESS<\/strong><\/p>\n
00000001010010<\/p>\n
101001010111010<\/p>\n
101010100101<\/p>\n
01010100101010101100<\/p>\n
110101010101010101<\/p>\n
0101010101010101101<\/p>\n
0101010<\/p>\n
0\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
MILO changes the station. <\/i><\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
GAME MASTER:<\/b><\/p>\n
And now for that six-million dollar question! If you get this one right, you\u2019ll be right on top of the world. Soooooooooo, Jasper!<\/p>\n
(A spotlight comes up on JASPER. Applause<\/i>)<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
GAME MASTER:<\/strong><\/p>\n
Answer this question correctly, and you get a permanent vacation for the rest of Eternity and Perpetuity, your own turf \u2014 you own little spot in the Solar System\u2014<\/p>\n
Yeah baby, we\u2019re giving out realms and principalities and planets! So this your chance, Seer Boy\u2014<\/p>\n
One in three Angels, most desires\u2014<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
A:         The \u2018Human Condition\u2019<\/p>\n
B:        A girlfriend<\/p>\n
C:        To be a Prince in Hell rather than a slave in Heav\u2019n?<\/p>\n
You have 15 seconds to answer Jasper, what will it be?<\/p>\n
 <\/i><\/p>\n
Ticking sounds then the buzzer goes off<\/i><\/p>\n
 <\/i><\/p>\n
GAME MASTER:<\/strong><\/i><\/p>\n
Come Jasper\u2014did you understand the question?!!!<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
a pause, then very slowly\u2014<\/i><\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
JASPER:<\/strong><\/p>\n
The answer is\u2014 we are Angels, we have no desire…<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
A buzzer goes off. Booing.<\/i><\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
GAME MASTER:<\/strong><\/p>\n
That is the WRONG answer!<\/p>\n
You lie, Jasper\u2014you do have desires\u2014<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
JASPER:<\/strong><\/p>\n
Perhaps, but nothing like yours Lucifer.<\/p>\n
My function has changed me, I have peered into the new creation, and my only crime is wanting to experience humanity. You on the other hand are corrupted by your own beauty\u2014<\/p>\n
Once the shining paradigm of Angeldom.<\/p>\n
Now the scourge of Heaven.<\/p>\n
You were once truly perfect, but<\/p>\n
How you have fallen, Son of the Morning\u2014<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
LUCIFER:<\/strong><\/p>\n
Silence!<\/p>\n
You have neither rank nor right to address me! This pathetic need to experience humanity\u2014how does that makes you superior to the rest of us?<\/p>\n
How you deceive yourself,<\/p>\n
O Angel of Prophecy!<\/p>\n
You have stepped outside of the Program,<\/p>\n
You have transgressed  the Will of God and questioned his Mind and the limitations of your existence\u2014<\/p>\n
So no matter how noble your intentions,<\/p>\n
it\u2019s a downward spiral from here Jasper. You\u2019re to come with me,<\/p>\n
Understand? You whiny little divining device, You are part of my contingent! You\u2019re a rebel.<\/p>\n
A wild thing!<\/p>\n
From now on it\u2019s all downward Jasper…<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
MILO:<\/strong><\/p>\n
No! The Lord rebuke you! You are no Angel of Light! Jasper you don\u2019t have to go with him! You\u2014<\/p>\n
 <\/td>\n
1st WITNESS:<\/strong><\/p>\n
110100101010010101010<\/p>\n
10100101010101<\/p>\n
0010101001010101010<\/p>\n
001010101010101010<\/p>\n
100101010101010010101<\/p>\n
0101010101010010101<\/p>\n
010101001010101010<\/p>\n
101001010101010101010<\/p>\n
10101001010101<\/p>\n
001010101010101<\/p>\n
0\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
010101010101001<\/p>\n
101010100101010<\/p>\n
11111110000011<\/p>\n
11111010010101?<\/p>\n
11110010101100<\/p>\n
0\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
111111010010101<\/p>\n
010010101001010101<\/p>\n
0111111111000\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014?<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
0\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
1111110100101<\/p>\n
01010101001010101<\/p>\n
010101010101<\/p>\n
00101010101<\/p>\n
100101010101010<\/p>\n
101010010101010<\/p>\n
101010101010101<\/p>\n
010010101010101<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
0101010010101<\/p>\n
000000000000000<\/p>\n
00000000000000000<\/p>\n
0\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n
111111010101010101<\/p>\n
010101011001<\/p>\n
111111111110101<\/p>\n
001011011111101<\/p>\n
001101010110111<\/p>\n
000101010101001<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
10101011010010110101<\/p>\n
010101001010<\/p>\n
10101101001010<\/p>\n
10101010101010<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
101010101010101<\/p>\n
00011010010110<\/p>\n
100101011010100<\/p>\n
1010101100101010110<\/p>\n
101001010101011001<\/p>\n
100101010100101<\/p>\n
010101010<\/p>\n
0\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
0\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
0\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/td>\n
2nd WITNESS<\/strong><\/p>\n
010101010010101010<\/p>\n
10010101010101010<\/p>\n
10101001010101010<\/p>\n
10101010101010100<\/p>\n
1010101010100101<\/p>\n
01010101010011<\/p>\n
0010101010010<\/p>\n
10101010<\/p>\n
110100110101010011<\/span><\/p>\n
00101011010011<\/span><\/p>\n
01001010101000\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/span><\/p>\n
00001010101010?<\/span><\/p>\n
00101010101010010<\/span><\/p>\n
1010101010100110<\/span><\/p>\n
1010010101010\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/span><\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
 <\/span><\/p>\n
000000000010110<\/p>\n
101001010101010<\/p>\n
0\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014?<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
0\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
11101010010101010101<\/p>\n
010010101010101001<\/p>\n
1010101010100101010<\/p>\n
1001011010101010010<\/p>\n
1010101010101<\/p>\n
010010101010101010<\/p>\n
010101010010<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
1010101010101010101<\/p>\n
001010101010101<\/p>\n
1111111000<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
0100101010101010<\/p>\n
01011000000010<\/p>\n
0\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n
1010010101010101<\/p>\n
10101010010101101001<\/p>\n
0101010101100101010<\/p>\n
10101010101010101010<\/p>\n
010101010101010<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
101010101010101010101<\/p>\n
010101010101010101010<\/p>\n
101010101010101010111<\/p>\n
010101010101<\/p>\n
0\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
0\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
0\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
0\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
0\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
 <\/p>\n
The light continues to change, and JASPER continues to be swallowed by darkness. MILO backs off and finally the stage darkens and mutes, but not entirely, the light\/atmosphere changes\u2014 The TWO WITNESSES, and MILO are lit differently to be revealed as subway commuters. JASPER appears as a blind panhandler\/ busker or crazed end time prophet? Some character on the train. A lost soul.  Subway noises are heard, the 2ND WITNESS folds his newspaper and addresses the audience,<\/i><\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
2ND WITNESS:<\/strong><\/p>\n
Every evening at rush hour, the same story. Every evening at rush hour I ride the train and try to read the sports page. I generally ignore him. Then there was the time I left the paper on the platform and I was forced to listen. Bizarre imagination, what drugs cooked that up? Another time, I marveled at his story telling skills, his command of the language, how much had been spent on his education? How had it come to this?<\/p>\n
Tonight it occurred to me that he has never asked for money, perhaps he is not even a pan-handler. He is compelled, driven by his demons to tell this tale. An endless unsated compulsion, a circle of hellfire. Certain damnation for sure\u2026<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
There\u2019s always something genius about crazy people\u2014<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
He alights from the train, walks up the stairs and exits the subway station. Outside, the bright evening sky, one star in particular grows brighter than the rest.<\/i><\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
It\u2019s possible I had it all mixed up in Sunday School, history lessons\u2014is it the Son of the Morning, or the Evening Star, or the Morning Star. And did he fall, is he still falling or that predicament is slated somewhere in the future. And<\/p>\n
that\u2019s why he still hangs there: it is yet to come and it has happened and is happening now.<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
The stage darkens, the one star grows brighter and brighter; the beginnings of a deep rumble as the star engulfs the entire vista with its glow.<\/i><\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
Black out.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Dramatis Personae Jasper, An Angel of Prophecy Lucifer, An Angel of Light Milo, An Angel of Correspondences Two Witnesses   The lights come up slowly to reveal a spare but elegant bachelor\u2019s apartment. It has a \u2018between the wars\u2019 veneer to it. On the left a simply outfitted kitchenette with a table and a small transistor radio; in the center, a modest sofa, a modernist print, a rug, a lamp, coffee table. Lights are still coming up, large windows with drawn curtains. The apartment is fully lit, we hear a key in the door. Enter JASPER, a lean young man, immaculate in a suit and tie affair\u2014 there is a haunted Kafka-esque poetry to him…  He carries a briefcase in one hand a bag of groceries in the other. He sets his briefcase down, removes his jacket and hangs it up. He sets the groceries on the kitchen table, turns on the transistor radio, deftly rolls up his sleeves and then begins to neatly put away his groceries. On the radio, moody classical music (mostly Liszt and Chopin)\u2014JASPER makes himself dinner, carefully chopping vegetables, tossing a salad and broiling a steak. The lights come down slowly.   Lights come up. Dinner is ready. Jasper sets the table for himself, loosens his tie, pours himself a glass of wine and begins to eat, thoughtfully regarding every mouthful. On the radio:   DISC JOCKEY You\u2019ve been listening to Q-ARTZ  and that was a Ariel Miranda\u2019s performance of \u201cUnstern (Dark Star): sinistre, disastro\u201d  a catastrophe in three languages by Franz Liszt \u2014actually one of the composers last pieces. Experimental and curiously dissonant, some say it presaged his own death. But then again, there is something almost always elegiacal about Liszt\u2019s work\u2014La lugubre gondola\u2014inspired by a Venetian gondola funeral, he claimed was also a premonition of his son-in-law\u2019s death in Venice\u2014six weeks later. That son-in-law was none other than the illustrious Richard Wagner. Moving along now, from the morbid to the glorious… The year is 1742, the city, London. The German born composer walks along the River Thames pondering the sacred weight and magnificence of a libretto that has just been presented to him. It is a compilation of biblical prophecies announcing the coming glory of the Messiah. It has been a rough year for the composer, his back is out and so are his finances. As he grapples the weight, the prophetic majesty of the scripture, the evening sky alters: he looks up and the heavens open. A celestial chorus of angels are singing the most beautiful music he has ever heard… He runs home, with the unearthly harmonies still lingering in his head and locks himself in his room for three weeks, transcribing what he has heard. The composer is George Frideric Handel and this is the aria \u201cThou Who Bringest Good Tidings To Zion\u201d from his grand opus, Handel\u2019s Messiah\u2014   The lights in the apartment fluctuate. JASPER rises and changes the station. He sits down to eat again. HOST: But in your book you\u2019ve referred to a hive as a single consciousness. Is that to say that say each individual ant is not actually an individual, or that the worker bee is of the same mind as the drone of the Queen.   GUEST Think of it this way, the hive is a giant brain, and all it\u2019s inhabitants are neural bytes with different functions. Just like cells in our bodies are engaged in different tasks to keep the entire system going\u2014but literally the right hand does not have to know what the left hand is thinking or doing\u2014but they are both acting on the same larger impulse\u2014to get the job done. It all comes together for the good of the whole and I think the specific lesson that they think globally and act locally.   HOST: So how do they communicate? It almost seems like lighting impulses or reflexes, you know how a beehive or nest of wasps have the same idea almost instantaneously\u2014is it like that? Does word get out instantaneously? Does the same impulse course through the entire ranks of bees or ants or wasps at the very same moment\u2014 \u201cSting! Sting! Sting!! Attack!\u201d   GUEST: Nothing so dramatic. Let\u2019s take the case of ant populations: they have a very crude but effective vocabulary\u2014semiochemicals, which are pheremonal signals\u2014crude because they are limited\u2014there are maybe only ten to twelve different variants\u2014   HOST: You mean they\u2019re giving off a scent\u2014   GUEST: Precisely. But it\u2019s very basic, like there are semiochemicals for \u201cI\u2019m on foraging duty\u201d or \u201cred alert\u201d or \u201clet\u2019s bury our dead\u201d\u2014 But what\u2019s effective about this is the gradient levels, a scent can range from very strong to very faint\u2014and this gives a sense of specificity as in \u201cthe danger is somewhere\u201d as opposed to \u201cdanger due north\u201d\u2014   HOST: So it\u2019s a bit like human behavior\u2014when someone gives off certain pheromones it triggers a reaction in others and effectively starts a trail, like \u201chot chicks round the corner,\u201d   GUEST: Something like that, something like that. What\u2019s intriguing about insect communication is that it is akin to cybernetic communication\u2014 the use of very limited range of signs to create these complex syntactic blocks. This is creates this semblance of \u201cinstantaneity\u201d you were talking about. The signals are almost subliminal, and in humans would only be described as instinctual\u2014but these hive creatures have refined it to a science\u2014   HOST: Does it ever enter their minds to buck against the system? What if one bee got it into his bonnet (or hers, if she were mere proletariat) to start his own fiefdom or colony, if you like\u2014would it be one against the many\u2014or would rebellion course through the ranks the instant someone was thinking it\u2014   The lights fluctuate once more, JASPER rises and changes the station. He finds a weather channel and keeps it there. He sits back down and finishes his meal. Lights go down slowly. Lights come up. 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