| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Thuvia, Maid of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs: us, such as yours. We defend ourselves."
"You go out and get killed by your enemies!" cried
Jav incredulously.
"Certainly," replied Carthoris. "How do the Lotharians?"
"You have seen," replied the other. "We send out our
deathless archers--deathless because they are lifeless,
existing only in the imaginations of our enemies. It is
really our giant minds that defend us, sending out
legions of imaginary warriors to materialize before the
mind's eye of the foe.
"They see them--they see their bows drawn back--they
Thuvia, Maid of Mars |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Little Rivers by Henry van Dyke: orange glow of the cabin windows. Was she coming, or going, or
standing still? We paddled on as fast as we could, shouting and
firing off a revolver until we had no more cartridges. We were
resolved not to let that mysterious vessel escape us, and threw
ourselves with energy into the novel excitement of chasing a
steamboat in the dark.
Then the lights began to swing around; the throbbing of paddle-
wheels grew louder and louder; she was evidently coming straight
toward us. At that moment it flashed upon us that, while she had
plenty of lights, we had none! We were lying, invisible, right
across her track. The character of the steamboat chase was
|
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions by Edwin A. Abbot: the realities of Flatland.
Section 15. Concerning a Stranger from Spaceland
From dreams I proceed to facts.
It was the last day of the 1999th year of our era.
The pattering of the rain had long ago announced nightfall;
and I was sitting in the company of my wife, musing on the events
of the past and the prospects of the coming year, the coming century,
the coming Millennium.
[Note: When I say "sitting", of course I do not mean
any change of attitude such as you in Spaceland signify by that word;
for as we have no feet, we can no more "sit" nor "stand"
Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions |
