Two thousand five hundred and eighty.
How old are you now?
Seventeen.
What am I when you are seventeen?
Part of Eden’s multiplicity.
What components make up a multiplicity?
People.
No. Not physically, they don’t. What are the actual components, name the process involved at death.
Transfer. Oh, memories!
So what is the past?
Memories.she grinned broadly, straightening her shoulders to say formally: The past is a memory.
At last, we achieve progress. Where is the only place your personal past can take form?
In my mind?
Good. And what is the purpose of life?
To experience.
This is so, though from a personal view I would add that life should also be a progression towards truth and purity. But then I remain an intransigent old Buddhist at heart, even after so long. This is why I could not refuse the request from your therapists to talk to you. Apparently I am an icon you respect.humour quirked his lips for a moment. in such circumstances, for me to assist in your deliverance is an act of dana I could not possibly refuse.
Dana?
The Buddhist act of giving, a sacrifice which will allow the dayaka , the giver, a glimpse of a higher state, helping in transforming one’s own mind.
I see.
I would be surprised if you did, at least fully. Edenism seems to have shied away from religion, which I admit I did not anticipate. However, our current problem is more immediate. We have established that you live to experience, and that your past is only a memory.
Yes.
Can it harm you?
No,she said proudly, the logical answer.
You are incorrect. If that were so you would never learn from mistakes.
I learn from it, yes. But I can’t be hurt by it.
You can, however, be influenced by it. Very strongly. I believe we are debating how many angels dance on a pinhead, but influence can be harmful.
I suppose so.
Let me put it another way. You can be troubled by memories.
Yes.
Good. What effect does that have on your life?
If you are wise, it stops you from repeating mistakes, especially if they are painful ones.
This is so. We have established, then, that the past can control you, and you cannot control the past, yes?
Yes.
What about the future?
Sir?
Can the past control the future?
It can influence it,she said cautiously.
Through what medium?
People?
Good. This is karma. Or what Western civilization referred to as reaping the seeds you have sown. In simpler terms it is fate. Your actions in the present decide your future, and your actions are based on the interpretation of past experiences.
I see.
In that respect, what we have in your case is an unfortunate problem.
We do?
Yes. However, before we go any further, I would like you to answer a personal question for me. You are seventeen years old; do you now believe in God? Not some primitive concept as a Creator trumpeted by Adamist religions, but perhaps a higher force responsible for ordering the universe? Be honest with me, Syrinx. I will not be angry whatever the answer. Remember, I am probably the most spiritually inclined of all Edenists.
I believe . . . I think . . . No, I’m afraid that there might not be.
I will accept that for now. It is a common enough doubt among our kind.
It is?
Indeed. Now, I am going to tell you something about yourself in small stages, and I would like you to apply the most rigorous rational analysis to each statement.
I understand.