Dr. Athenaion did not know whether she was in the presence of a theater of the absurd performance or an actor in such a performance. But the guest, who noticed Dr. Athenaion’s confusion and occasional absent-mindedness, for his eyes were able to see directly how she was feeling and what she was thinking, said, “I am the God of Death. If I were you, I would believe what I see, because as a god, I can assume the identity of any particular, or even general, human being. I can be visible and invisible, and I can behave like a god even when I appear in a human form. Sooner or later, you will be convinced that I am he, the God of Death.”
“Sooner or later?” Dr. Athenaion blurted out as if she were trying to pull herself out of a thick, sticky puddle of mud.
“Yes, you should always remember that I am the nephew of the God of Hate and Destruction and that I am also the son of Abyss, the Infinite Void! Contrary to what you think, nothing escapes my attention in the realm of humanity. You should not decline my request because I usually achieve my purpose. I first employ the method of rational persuasion because human beings are dupes of reason, and philosophers are the greatest dupes on the face of the earth. They think that reason is God on earth—of course, only in their silly minds. For them, it is the source of truth and the basis of beauty, goodness, and wisdom. They are so arrogant, they are reluctant to recognize that, like all physical phenomena, what they call reason is an emergent, a product of the natural process and that it is such a product only because it is an effective means of survival. Yes, Dr. Athenaion, survival, human and natural, is the strongest motivator of everything human beings desire and hope for, and certainly not your mushy love or love of beauty, goodness, or truth. I have other methods of persuasion in store for realizing my purposes when or if the method of reason fails, as I hinted earlier.”
“Other methods?” Dr. Athenaion asked rhetorically, surprise.
“Don’t be surprised, and don’t underestimate my powers. I am the most cunning and the most resourceful deity in my pantheon. I can make you and every other philosopher or artist comply with my request without much difficulty. Humanity is a race of weaklings!”
“What other methods?”
“Don’t you think that a distinguished philosopher like you should know about the different methods of persuasion. I shall not directly answer your question, because doing so would be a grave insult to your intelligence.”
“You do not insult me with your non-sensical conversation. You insult me with your very presence, with your intrusion into my privacy, with your insolence and your atrocious audacity.”
“Yes, you are a truly accomplished human being and philosopher.” The guest responded with the most resentful, most defiant, and most sardonic smile, and suddenly disappeared.
The guest’s abrupt disappearance magnified Dr. Athenaion’s confusion. Was he real? No. But he could not be unreal, she thought, because she was convinced without a shred of doubt that phantoms, gods, or any other type of supernatural beings did not exist. But then, how did he vanish from her presence without even saying goodbye, not to mention the supernatural behavior he exemplified when she agreed to welcome him as a guest a little while ago. She could not doubt her eyes, especially the fact that he was having a conversation with her! Regardless of his identity, why did he request that she abandon her work on the human community project? Is it possible for something to be and not to be at the same time and in the same place, to appear and disappear almost instantaneously? Was it possible for the most fundamental law of logic to tatter under his feet? “He must be real,” she reasoned, “I remember every gesture, every movement, and every word he said. How did he vanish so suddenly? Is he a magician that was playing a trick on me? But even if he were one of those magicians we see on T.V. and some theaters, all the acts of sudden disappearance could be explained rationally, but this act was not in a theater or on T.V.”
Two thick furrows formed on Dr. Athenaion’s forehead. She found herself stuck between belief and disbelief. But, alas, how can one stand between these two antagonistic forces? Standing between them is like standing between being and non-being, between heaven and earth. This is tantamount to standing nowhere! Dr. Athenaion discovered existentially that one cannot think or act in that kind of place, which is no place! How can you speak with a person that exists and does not exist? How can you think even if you can speak to him? Dr. Athenaion was pulled out of this quandary by a knock at the door of her apartment. “Goodness! How did he know that someone would be knocking at the door?” She mumbled as she walked slowly to the door. Lo and behold, her most outstanding student in her Existentialism class greeted her with a polite, but cheerful, smile. She was pleased to see him and a few minutes later to discuss with him some of the central questions in Sartre’s Being and Nothing.
But although she regained her sense of reality and treated her visit with her student as a celebration of human existence, Dr. Athenaion could not dismiss Mowt’s reality, and unreality, from her mind. His threat that she abandon her work on the human community project surged into her consciousness when she placed her head on her pillow that night. She could not determine when she woke up the next morning, whether she did or did not sleep. It seemed to her that Mowt was becoming a permanent resident of her mind, not only during the day but also during the night.
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