Work Text:
One thing which we have always trusted is the information provided by our senses. How could we not? For everything we know, we have either learned directly through them, or inferred from what we came to know in that way. And yet, at our old age, we must admit than even the senses should not be completely trusted, since they are proven to be misleading at times. Take for example those days, when we open the window to let some fresh breeze enter the room, and with the corners of our eyes, catch sight of moth-winged humanoid figures dancing on the rooftops.
But those things are hardly perceptible at all, as they are quite far away from us; so after all, it is quite natural for the senses to deceive us about them. Of course, there are more close by examples. For instance, those mornings when we wake up, turn to the mirror to shave, and the faces which gaze back at us through the glass are quite similar to our own, except for the rectangular shape of the pupils. A natural explanation for this kind of phenomena would be to consider them not actual, but merely the content of dreams. It is certainly more probable than the alternative explanation, according to which the human pupils are prone to transfiguration, that causes them to appear elliptical on countless other mornings.
Perhaps, the senses are not fully reliable; as well as the sciences based on them, such as Medicine and Astronomy. But this does not seem to be the case of other sciences, like Geometry and Arithmetic, which do not allow any mistake, even to men in their sleep. I gaze at myself, expecting agreement, and myself shook my head. Could I be mistaken, after all? I recall to have been two men: I and myself. Yet I cannot possibly be confused regarding the meanings of “one” and “two,” according to the science of Arithmetic.
“And nevertheless, that is the truth,” tells me the god, whom I mistakenly took for myself.
I do not know how could I make this mistake, for the god’s physical aspect is quite different from mine. He is tall and slim, and his beautiful features are those of a young Pharaoh. I repress the urge to reach out and touch the waves of ebony hair. His voice is sweet and musical as he reassures me that as a god, He is supremely good, and thus entirely unwilling to deceive.