Mark my words

Having returned from the hunting field, Dreamer now stood in his yard, looking thoughtfully at his prolific markings. He had found a beefur suitable for the evening's celebration. He had easily caught it and killed it; now its carcass lay inside his dwelling ready to be skinned and carved up. Dreamer felt drained by the day's activities; he took solace in gazing at his markings and reflecting on their meaning. His keen interest in them was something that set him apart from the rest of the villagers. Few could understand their significance and fewer still could appreciate them. The inner drive that led him to create these markings had also cost him the respect of the others and earned him their derision.

Dreamer focused on a particular sequence of symbols and lost himself in his thoughts. He was startled back to reality by an unexpected voice.

"What are you dreaming about?"

Dreamer looked up and saw Mentor approaching. "Have you come also to scorn me?" he asked.

"Of course not," replied Mentor. He looked at the markings on the ground. "You have not added much in recent days," he observed.

"This system is getting complex," replied Dreamer.

"Perhaps there is a simpler approach."

"How?"

Mentor looked pensively at the markings on the ground. "These ones here, what do they mean?"

Dreamer looked at them. "This is the telling of the big rain we once had. The waters of the river swelled and flowed quickly. There was danger."

"I remember that time. Now, explain to me how these markings tell of that time."

"This one," Dreamer pointed to a pair of wavy lines, "represents the river. Notice the two lines, one above the other, curved in the fashion of the river. Now, this one beside it," he pointed to another pair of wavy lines, "also represents the river. Notice that a greater distance separates the two lines, and that the lines are longer.They also represent the river; now the river is bigger."

"Wait," Mentor interrupted. "To use these two lines to represent the river is sensible. But, this one says 'river', and this one beside it says 'bigger river'. You put them beside each other because you wish to suggest that the river becomes bigger because of rain. But how would one know you do not suggest that the river becomes wider as one travels down her course?"

"The third symbol here, is four small lines. They are wavy, like the river, but they are turned on the side. The wavy lines on their side represent rain. That there are four lines represents a big rain. To represent a light rain, the symbol would have perhaps one or two lines instead of four."

"Then the markings have this meaning: river, big river, big rain."

"Yes."

Mentor shook his head. "I see no use for these markings! It is simpler just to tell of the time when the rain fell, the river swelled and flowed quickly. Certainly Storyteller could do... before he, before he - " Mentor could not finish as the shock of Storyteller's departure was still upon him.

"Storyteller had a gift; certainly his name was well earned. His departure is a sorrow." Dreamer had a much easier time coming to terms with the unexpected departure of StoryTeller. "His tellings were not embellished with each recital." Dreaer paused; an idea was coming to him. "What if, if, if…" Dreamer stammered, as his thinking started to flow faster than his words. "What if we had one unique version, recorded in the markings?"

"Of what use would that be? 'The rain fell, the river swelled, there was danger'. What is the use of marking it? Everyone remembers it."

"Everyone remembers who lived through it. What about those who come after we depart? Who come after they depart? Who come long after we and those who come after us depart?"

"What of them? Of what concern is it to them that a big rain fell in our time?"

"Maybe they would not be concerned with an account of the movements of water, but perhaps… perhaps we can teach them, teach them how we live, so they can live better?"

"Dreamer, surely you have earned your name. It does not matter. Let us not concern ourselves with those that come after us, as we do not concern ourselves with those that came before us. We simply are, we exist, we live. Let us ponder that instead. You said it yourself – these markings, are getting complex."

"And you said there may be a simpler approach."

"Naturally there must be. With your markings, you have tried to create a unique symbol to represent many things. You have one for 'river', one for 'bigger river', one for 'rain', one for 'danger'. For every telling you wish to mark, you must invent a new symbol. You will end up with so many symbols, no one will be able to remember the meaning of many of them. If you wish your markings to be a way to record your tellings, why not pattern your symbols in the same manner as we speak?"

"How so?"

"How so indeed? Consider your example. The symbol for 'river' then the symbol for 'big river', then the symbol for ' big rain'. In a telling one would say 'There was a big rain. The rain filled the river.' So you could place the symbol for 'big rain' at the beginning instead of at the end. But wait…" he pondered.

"What?" asked Dreamer.

"The symbol says 'big rain', but there is not a rain!" Mentor glanced up towards the sky to make his point.

"The big rain came seven cycles before."

"Then how would one know that is what you mean?"

"I would need a symbol to mean 'seven cycles before.'"

"Then you also need a symbol for 'one cycle before', and 'two cycles before' and so on."

"But that is no good. I would have to change the markings with the passing of every cycle."

"Yes, that would be no good. You would need a way to mark the progression of cycles. Perhaps a line with intervals marked on it." Mentor drew a long horizontal line on the ground, and added evenly placed vertical lines. "This point would indicate a beginning."

"Beginning of what?"

"The beginning of measuring. Then this line would indicate one cycle past the beginning. This one indicates two cycles past the beginning."

"And when is the beginning of measuring?"

"Today!"

"Why so," Dreamer replied and drew another symbol on the ground. "Then this symbol means 'seven cycles before the beginning of measuring.'"

Mentor shhok his head disapprovingly but Dreamer did not notice; he was caught up in his thoughts.

Suddenly a thought pulled Dreamer back into the present. "The celebration! I must finish preparing! Mentor, you must excuse me; I have duties to get back to. Thank you for your input; you are a true friend."