years ago.”
“Then how old are you?”
“Approximately 235,000 years old.”
Two hundred thirty-five thousand years old. Len was talking to something older than the entire human race.
“How did you learn English?”
“Ich-Ca-Gan does not know English, Mutoku does.”
“Why must you communicate through Mutoku? Why can’t you communicate with me directly?”
“It is not necessary.”
Len studied Ich-Ca-Gan carefully, still in disbelief. He hadn’t noticed the day before that the creature’s transparent body contained semitransparent organs, three of which expanded and contracted with the creature’s subtle rise and fall in altitude. Lungs, perhaps, or maybe a gas ballast system to keep the creature at a constant altitude.
“How do you float like that?”
“We are approximately the same density as the atmosphere on this planet at sea level. We float on Our planet, too.”
“Where are your eyes?”
“We have none. Our nervous system is nothing like yours.”
“Then how do you see me?”
“Our anatomy is far too complicated to explain succinctly. Essentially, We hear and see all that you do, and much more.”
“How did you know of the terrorism in the United States? I haven’t seen any computers or televisions in this monastery.”
“We are not limited to visible light, We perceive the entire electromagnetic spectrum. We see television and radio broadcasts coming through the walls the way you see daylight coming through the window.”
“Amazing.” Len scribbled notes furiously. “Why do you refer to yourself as ‘we’? I only see one of you. Are there more of you on Earth?”
“There were as many as fifteen Ich-Ca-Gan on Earth, but only one remains, the one with whom you are speaking. In truth, everything is We. Evolution on Earth is competitive: kill or be killed. Evolution on Ich-Ca is symbiotic: cooperate or die. Thus, creatures on Earth have evolved to form egos and self-identities, the belief that they are separate and apart from each other and the environment. Ich-Ca-Gan have evolved with a different understanding of Our place in the order of things. We do not see Ourselves as separate from each other, or Our environment, as beings on Earth do. Ich-Ca-Gan are an inextricable part of the universe, just as humans are without realizing it. First-person singular is a dishonest fiction to Us. ‘I’ is a human imagining—a delusion, a duality, a suffering. There is no ‘I.’ We have tried for many years to teach human beings this truth, but your species requires many years of mindfulness training before being able to grasp it.”
The answer, and the creature’s age, made Len wonder if he were speaking to the originator of Dharmic religions. “Did you have something to do with the creation of Buddhism? Is that why you’re here in this temple?”
“We inadvertently created all religions. Over the millennia, We tried teaching human beings both compassion for all living things and simple scientific truths. However, humans were not in a fit state to receive such lessons. They were willfully ignorant, irrational, preoccupied with magic and deities. They turned anything We taught them into mythology by worshipping Us as devas or gods. This puzzled Us, as it did not reconcile with the substantial intellect and reasoning capabilities of the human mind.”
“Yeah, well, we’re famous for not using our huge brains.”
“Through further research, we discovered that most human beings had been genetically engineered to forgo truth. The limitation was intentional.”
As if to punctuate the statement, Mutoku’s vacant body let out a high-pitched fart.
“Human beings were genetically engineered? By whom? For what purpose?”
“You were engineered to be slaves by the Dranthyx.”
“The Dranthyx?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t understand. What’s a Dranthyx? Humans didn’t evolve from monkeys?”
“Humans did indeed evolve from monkeys, but they were further engineered to serve
“Then how old are you?”
“Approximately 235,000 years old.”
Two hundred thirty-five thousand years old. Len was talking to something older than the entire human race.
“How did you learn English?”
“Ich-Ca-Gan does not know English, Mutoku does.”
“Why must you communicate through Mutoku? Why can’t you communicate with me directly?”
“It is not necessary.”
Len studied Ich-Ca-Gan carefully, still in disbelief. He hadn’t noticed the day before that the creature’s transparent body contained semitransparent organs, three of which expanded and contracted with the creature’s subtle rise and fall in altitude. Lungs, perhaps, or maybe a gas ballast system to keep the creature at a constant altitude.
“How do you float like that?”
“We are approximately the same density as the atmosphere on this planet at sea level. We float on Our planet, too.”
“Where are your eyes?”
“We have none. Our nervous system is nothing like yours.”
“Then how do you see me?”
“Our anatomy is far too complicated to explain succinctly. Essentially, We hear and see all that you do, and much more.”
“How did you know of the terrorism in the United States? I haven’t seen any computers or televisions in this monastery.”
“We are not limited to visible light, We perceive the entire electromagnetic spectrum. We see television and radio broadcasts coming through the walls the way you see daylight coming through the window.”
“Amazing.” Len scribbled notes furiously. “Why do you refer to yourself as ‘we’? I only see one of you. Are there more of you on Earth?”
“There were as many as fifteen Ich-Ca-Gan on Earth, but only one remains, the one with whom you are speaking. In truth, everything is We. Evolution on Earth is competitive: kill or be killed. Evolution on Ich-Ca is symbiotic: cooperate or die. Thus, creatures on Earth have evolved to form egos and self-identities, the belief that they are separate and apart from each other and the environment. Ich-Ca-Gan have evolved with a different understanding of Our place in the order of things. We do not see Ourselves as separate from each other, or Our environment, as beings on Earth do. Ich-Ca-Gan are an inextricable part of the universe, just as humans are without realizing it. First-person singular is a dishonest fiction to Us. ‘I’ is a human imagining—a delusion, a duality, a suffering. There is no ‘I.’ We have tried for many years to teach human beings this truth, but your species requires many years of mindfulness training before being able to grasp it.”
The answer, and the creature’s age, made Len wonder if he were speaking to the originator of Dharmic religions. “Did you have something to do with the creation of Buddhism? Is that why you’re here in this temple?”
“We inadvertently created all religions. Over the millennia, We tried teaching human beings both compassion for all living things and simple scientific truths. However, humans were not in a fit state to receive such lessons. They were willfully ignorant, irrational, preoccupied with magic and deities. They turned anything We taught them into mythology by worshipping Us as devas or gods. This puzzled Us, as it did not reconcile with the substantial intellect and reasoning capabilities of the human mind.”
“Yeah, well, we’re famous for not using our huge brains.”
“Through further research, we discovered that most human beings had been genetically engineered to forgo truth. The limitation was intentional.”
As if to punctuate the statement, Mutoku’s vacant body let out a high-pitched fart.
“Human beings were genetically engineered? By whom? For what purpose?”
“You were engineered to be slaves by the Dranthyx.”
“The Dranthyx?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t understand. What’s a Dranthyx? Humans didn’t evolve from monkeys?”
“Humans did indeed evolve from monkeys, but they were further engineered to serve
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