Of Shadows

There is an obsession over binaries in nature. Whether it be the structure of a cell or the life experience of a sentient being, there is a constant revisiting of boundaries to define their sandwiched gradients. A disturbing reality is embedded in this traversal, one that many will fulfill while trying to deny. One cannot count on objects in motion to display the virtues of an object at rest, nor can the latter accomplish a great deal, and so we’re mired in the constant bounding between walls in search of completion. In this way conflict has been rationalized, excused even, an integral component of that timeless and inscrutable hegemony; thought.

Not one idea was born on a cloud, but a bed of nails, not letting the mindful rest for even an instant. Do they toil for the restful? Maybe. There is injustice in the universe after all, it being the dark side of reason. But does the shark worry over the remoras? Let the thinkers think.

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Let the thinkers think! And let the resting cling to their tails and be dragged along to serve as enlisted soldiers when the klaxons wail. Hopefully, if we’re lucky, the matter won’t escalate any further. Never goad the intellectuals into action. Their survival measures leave fertile ground for the worst breeds of mongering. Better to find slow means of victory than to force a strong enemy’s hand.

You learned this lesson, and you took it to heart. You crowned your pawns, taught your rooks to ride, and put a sword in the hand of your queen. Dangerous, the land where a polymath sits the throne. I commend you, maiden. I commend you, and I grieve for you. Surely you would enjoy seeing the victory you prepared your children for. I hope it’s enough for you to see the evidence when you are reborn, and I hope that you remember what you’ve accomplished in that nanosecond between dusk and dawn. I hate to think that your circular labor is not punctuated by even fleeting moments of joy. Maybe I can find some loophole, some temporal oversight or quantum holiday that I can exploit. If so, I’ll see to it that the next time you loop around, you’ll have at least a full second to see your children through a mother’s eyes.