“So, you made it past Nisbub, eh? Good going. Many Quacks don’t even get passed the Quacktails, the large tables, and the conversations. And you, all in two nights! Ooh, I’m excited now. Walk forward five paces for me. Good. Hold your hands out in front of you. Do you feel the door?”
“Yes,” I muttered.
“No need to talk, I can hear your thoughts. Conserve your energy. Feel for the handle on the door and open it. Go down the stairs.”
I left the strobe light voice and walked down into the ground. There were about fifty steps or so, and there wasn’t any light. The only light that remained was the flashing of the strobes above my head. The stairs rounded a corner as I descended. I ended up in a cellar. There was a hanging light bulb in the middle of the room. It was too dark to see into the four corners of the room, and I did not know what to expect. There was a door on the opposite wall, and I headed towards it. When I got to the middle of the room, I was told to stop.
“Wait,” a voice said from behind me. “Stop right there. I’m going to push a chair your way. Sit down in it, but don’t look back. Keep facing the door.”
I heard the chair scrape along the concrete floor.
“Sit down, please,” the voice continued. “Nisbub sent you. I’ve been told you’ve only been here once before. Quite unusual, I must add. Nisbub thought the same, but I trust his judgment to send you here. He can spot a fool in an instant. Do me a favor; hear me out for a couple of moments. Then tell me what you think. Nisbub thinks you can help us. I still have my doubts. You are, however, a Jones’ Quack, and those are the types that have gotten us this far in the first place. I am going to turn the lights out and set it up so we can see the sign. Close your eyes and stop your thoughts while I do so.”
I closed my eyes and felt the light go out. My eyes began to burn and my head began to spin. I literally thought I had been turned upside down.
“Okay, open your eyes.”
I had been turned upside down! I was now sitting on the ceiling and the floor was above my head. I was startled.
“Don’t fret, I know it’s strange, but this is the only way we’ve figured out how to see the sign. And it took us centuries to figure just this out. Look, over on the wall, on the door, do you see it?”
I stared at the door and let my eyes focus and my head readjust. I could see a faint drawing on the door. The more I stared the brighter it got. There was a circle with arrows and words. As I stared harder I saw it in its entirety.
Four Parts of Man
The words, Four Parts of Man, continued to flash. Other words appeared to the left of the door on the wall, half a foot from the floor, which was now the ceiling. One after the other, four areas of writing appeared on the wall. In the top left was Body. Bottom left was Heart. Top right was Soul. Bottom right was Mind.
The voice from behind me began to speak, “Those are the four parts of man: Body, Heart, Mind and Soul. There is nothing more and there is nothing less. Each of those parts combines in this four-dimensions of reality we exist in. Each part represents something. They get their names from the old idea of Earth, Fire, Water and Air. The Body is Earth. The Heart is Fire. The Mind is Water. The Soul is Air. The Quacks have figured out what aspects are dealt with under each of these parts, but we don’t know the word that describes their relationship to Human Existence. Thus we are stuck at this impasse in our Humanocracy. Nisbub thinks you will know the answer. Watch as the specifics of each area explain themselves on the wall, and then tell me the first word you think of after you see them.”
I looked to the wall and watched the following be written.
BODY
- listen to what it says
- take care of it
- organ of sensation
- flow with discipline
- eliminate vices
·
BODY
- listen to what it says
- take care of it
- organ of sensation
- flow with discipline
- eliminate vices
· Physical
Then the following was written below:
HEART
- fill with unconditional love
- be happy where you are but work towards goals
- keeper of the truth
- feel it beat
- eliminate negative emotions
·
Out of my mouth flew the word, “Emotional,” and it was written in as such.
HEART
- fill with unconditional love
- be happy where you are but work towards goals
- keeper of the truth
- feel it beat
- eliminate negative emotions
· Emotional
Next I saw,
MIND
- meditate
- simplify
- see life as the Dream
- don’t analyze
- focused energy and attention
- eliminate anxiety
·
I yelled out, “Mental, and it was written as such.
MIND
- meditate
- simplify
- see life as the Dream
- don’t analyze
- focused energy and attention
- eliminate anxiety
· Mental
Lastly I saw,
SOUL
- energy
- consciousness
- phases
- levels
- immortality
- BE
- eliminate attachment
·
Finally, I bellowed, “Spiritual,” and it was written as such.
SOUL
- energy
- consciousness
- phases
- levels
- immortality
- BE
- eliminate attachment
· Spiritual
It was at that moment when the door began to shake on its hinges. It began to rattle and shake more violently each second. Oddly, at the point when it seemed the door was going to fly out towards me, it disappeared. A spiraling cloud containing every color imaginable in kaleidoscopic fashion was spinning in front of me where the symbol of the Four Parts of Man had been. I could not see through it or around it. I heard the voice behind me shriek in astonishment.
“You got all four of them! You got all four of them! I can’t believe it! Nisbub was right. So was Jones. You got all four of them!”
In his excitement, the man began dancing. I could hear his feet scuffling on the concrete floor. At one point, I caught a glimpse of him out of my peripheral vision. The man had long hair, a long beard and mustache, and wore monk-like robes. He was very old.
From behind the colored spiral came a strange voice. This voice was extremely deep, almost fiendish, but spoke in riddle like fashion. It said:
“To enter this Gate the Quack must have the key.
However, this key one cannot see.
It exists in words that can be told.
But only by men who feel as bold.
There are two sides, existing in space.
There are two sides among your race.
Conflicting Existence is how it’s described.
And because of it many men have died.
The names of the two sides are what I seek.
I need these names within a week.
Look within these words I now say to you.
The answer is immersed in the clues.
Two sides compete every day.
Their names I must hear you say.
One side deals in the past and the future.
They analyze both to try to control the present.
This gives them a false reality
as they are stuck to deal in space-time limitations.
The other side deals in the present.
They sense the moment with their organ of sensation.
Their mind registers and catalogues the sensations and the experience
as they deal in the Here and Now.
The two names I need, within a week.
These two names I seek a Quack to speak.”
The old man ran up and gave me a huge bear hug expounding words of thanks and gratitude.
“Thank you. Oh, thank you, fair son. You have helped us immensely. Nisbub was right.” He slowly released his squeeze and came around in front of me. “My name is Nameno. I am the eldest Quack. Come with me. We must find Jones and a Quacktail. The two of us walked up the stairs, through the strobe lights, and into the Quack House’s main room. Jones was sitting at the table closest to the door. I saw Nisbub in the corner standing. As our eyes met, he smiled and then bowed.
“Hey Nameno, it’s been a while since we’ve seen you up here. You look elated. What happened?” Jones asked.
“Your fair son, he’s another Jones’ Quack. Where did you find him?” Nameno asked.
“He found me,” Jones answered. “What happened?”
“He figured out the four words, and the most amazing things happened. I’ll tell you more later. We need to have a Quack Tale right now! Drink this Quacktail first. It will help you calm down and think clearly. I’ll round up the others.”
Jones got up while Nameno and I drank our Quacktails. I didn’t know what was happening, but I followed Jones’ previous advice and went along for the ride.
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