Record Thirty

The last number⁠—Galileo’s mistake⁠—Would it not be better?

Here is my conversation with I-330, which took place in the Ancient House yesterday in the midst of loud noise, among colors which stifled the logical course of my thoughts, red, green, bronze, saffron-yellow, orange colors.⁠ ⁠… And all the while under the motionless marble smile of that snub-nosed ancient poet.

I shall reproduce the conversation word by word, for it seems to me that it may have an enormous and decisive importance for the fate of the United State⁠—more than that, for the fate of the universe. Besides, reading it, you my unknown readers, may find some justification for me. I-330, without preliminaries, at once threw everything upon my head:

“I know that the day after tomorrow the first trial trip of the Integral is to take place. On that day we shall take possession of it.”

“What! Day after tomorrow?”

“Yes. Sit down and don’t be upset. We cannot afford to lose a minute. Among the hundreds who were arrested yesterday there are twenty Mephis. To let pass two or three days means that they will perish.”

I was silent.

“As observers on the trial trip they will send electricians, mechanicians, physicians, meteorologists, etc.⁠ ⁠… At twelve sharp, you must remember this, when the bell rings for dinner we shall remain in the passage, lock them all up in the dining hall, and the Integral will be ours. You realize that it is most necessary, happen what may! The Integral in our hands will be a tool that will help to put an end to everything at once without pain.⁠ ⁠… Their aeros?⁠ ⁠… Bah! They would be insignificant mosquitos against a buzzard. And then, if it proves inevitable, we may direct the tubes of the motors downward and by their work alone.⁠ ⁠…”

I jumped up.

“It is inconceivable! It is absurd! Is it not clear to you that what you are contriving is a revolution?”

“Yes, a revolution. Why is it absurd?”

“Absurd? because a revolution is impossible! Because our (I speak for myself and for you), our revolution was the last one. No other revolutions may occur. Everybody knows that.”

A mocking, sharp triangle of brows.

“My dear, you are a mathematician, are you not? More than that, a philosopher-mathematician? Well then, name the last number!”

“What is⁠ ⁠… I⁠ ⁠… I cannot understand, which last?”

“The last one, the highest, the largest.”

“But I-330, it is absurd! Since the number of numbers is infinite, how can there be a last one?”

“And why then do you think there is a last revolution? There is no last revolution, their number is infinite.⁠ ⁠… The ‘last one’ is a children’s story. Children are afraid of the infinite, and it is necessary that children should not be frightened, so that they may sleep through the night.”

“But what is the use, what is the use of it all? For the sake of the Well-Doer! What is the use since all are happy already?”

“All right! Even suppose that is so. What further?”

“How funny! A purely childish question. You tell something to children, come to the very end, yet they will invariably ask you, ‘what further?’ and ‘what for?’ ”

“Children are the only courageous philosophers. And courageous philosophers are invariably children. One ought always to ask like children, ‘what further’?”

“Nothing further! Period. In the whole world evenly, everywhere, there is distributed.⁠ ⁠…”

“Ah, ‘evenly!’ ‘Everywhere!’ That is the point, entropy! Psychological entropy. Don’t you as a mathematician know that only differences (only differences!), in temperature, only thermic contrasts make for life? And if all over the world there are evenly warm or evenly cold bodies, they must be pushed off!⁠ ⁠… in order to get flame, explosions! And we shall push!⁠ ⁠…”

“But I-330, please realize that our ancestors during the Two Hundred Years’ War did exactly that!”

“Oh, they were right! A thousand times right! They did one wrong thing, however; later they began to believe that they were the last number, a number that does not exist in nature. Their mistake was the mistake of Galileo; he was right in that the earth revolves about the sun but he did not know that our whole solar system revolves about some other centre, he did not know that the real (not relative) orbit of the earth is not a naive circle.”

“And you, the Mephi?”

“We? For the time being we know that there is no last number. We may forget that some day. Of course, we shall certainly forget it when we grow old, as everything inevitably grows old. Then we shall inevitably fall like autumn leaves from the trees, like you the day-after-tomorrow.⁠ ⁠… No, no dear, not you personally. You are with us, are you not? You are with us?”

Flaming, stormy, sparkling! I never before had seen her in such a state. She embraced me with her whole self; I disappeared.

Her last word, looking steadily, deeply into my eyes:

“Then, do not forget: at twelve o’clock sharp.”

And I answered:

“Yes, I remember.”

She left. I was alone amidst a rebellious, multi-voiced commotion of blue, red, green, saffron-yellow and orange.⁠ ⁠…

Yes, at twelve!⁠ ⁠… Suddenly a feeling of something foreign on my face, of something implanted, that could not be brushed off. Suddenly, yesterday morning, and U- and all she shouted into the face of I-330! Why, how absurd!

I hastened to get out of the house and home, home! Somewhere behind me I heard the chattering of birds beyond the Wall. And ahead of me in the setting sun the balls of cupolas made of red, crystallized fire, enormous flaming cubes⁠—houses, and the sharp point of the Accumulating Tower high in the sky like a paralyzed streak of lightning. And all this, all this impeccable, most geometric beauty, shall I, I myself, with my hands⁠ ⁠… ? Is there no way out? No path? No trail?

I passed by an auditorium (I do not recall its number). Inside, the benches were stacked along the walls. In the middle, tables covered with snow-white glass sheets, with pink stains of sunny blood on the white.⁠ ⁠… There was foreshadowed in all that some unknown and therefore alarming tomorrow. It is unnatural for a thinking and seeing human being to live among irregularities, unknowns, X’s. If suddenly your eyes were covered with a bandage and you were let go to feel around, to stumble, ever aware that somewhere very close to you there is the borderline, one step only and nothing but a compressed, smothered piece of flesh will be left of you.⁠ ⁠… I now feel somewhat like that.

… And what if without waiting for anything I should⁠ ⁠… just head down.⁠ ⁠… Would it not be the only right thing to do? To disentangle everything at once?