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(Page 3 of 3) Truth and Judgment by Gregory Harvey Perception, James Martin. Perception and belief. Why do you place less faith in me than you do in calculus?"
"Because calculus meets the laws of physics, the laws of science. Everything you have shown me disobeyed those laws, so therefore it must be an illusion. You may be powerful, but you are not God. And even God must obey by some laws."
"And what if those laws are naught but illusion?"
"I have seen them work."
"And now, as you have been provided with an example where they don't work, you still cling to them out of respect for nothing but the laws of semantics. The laws cannot be wrong. Therefore you are being lied to? You're logic is flawed. Perhaps new laws are necessary. Excuses often become explanations."
"Did you not create the laws? The rules? The explanations?"
"I created a world. Humans applied rules and laws to it."
"You suggest the world exists without rules?"
"You suggest that is not possible?"
"Possible, but unlikely."
"Why is it unlikely? You rely on your senses for the perception of the exterior world, yet what are the actual chances that they tell you the precise truth? Yet that is not a possibility, you consider it a certainty."
"You have still proved nothing."
"Why must my goal be to prove something?"
"Otherwise you ask me to make a decision without anything to base it on."
"You have faith."
"Faith is for the gullible."
"And loneliness is for the faithless."
"But still you must prove even that. Otherwise they are simply words backed only by the opinion of the so-called most high. Indeed, I have no way of knowing if you are the highest. Can you prove there is none higher?"
"What would you have me do? Destroy everything? Create a new world just to prove something to you?"
"Even then that would only show you are capable of destruction and creation. The same as any human. I could be dreaming this. I could be lying to myself. And if that is the case than no matter what you show me, it is still a lie. One engineered by myself to fool myself. I cannot believe anything my senses tell me, because they could be wrong."
There was a silence.
"You ask me to prove myself. I have provided that proof but because you cannot understand, or grasp it, you cannot accept it. I have nothing left to prove. All that's left is for you to accept."
"That may just be a trap, designed to fool me into accepting you. As it stands, I know not whether you are God or devil."
"Then prove to me you are James Martin," the voice said.
"The inadequacies of knowledge make that impossible."
"But, nevertheless, you are James Martin."
"Yes."
"If you are willing to accept yourself without proof, then why not others?"
"If it was my purpose to accept you, then why haven't I done so by now?"
"Who said you had a purpose?"
"If I have no purpose, then why do I live?"
"To find it."
"Find what?"
Another silence, this one more complete than the last.
"You are a great thinker, James Martin. Perhaps misguided, but I'm afraid the time has come for you to make your choice. Do you accept me?"
"Why am I misguided?"
"Because you do not follow my path."
"Your path may be wrong. Cannot the child disagree with the parent, yet still be right?"
"Be that as it may, the time has come for your decision. Do you accept?"
"I cannot."
"Then you must return to life."
"A punishment I receive willingly."
"I never said it was a punishment."
With this the ruby palace began to dissolve into nothingness. The cloud of molten gold drifted out of James vision, until he was left with only darkness. That blankness was so complete, so perfect, that James' senses were left without any point of reference. It was just him and nothing. But then a brilliant blue light flickered to his left. James turned and felt himself being dragged into it. The light of life.
But even as he was being drawn into it, James questioned himself. Perhaps it was not the light of life. But, perhaps, it was only the light of lies?
By Gregory Harvey
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