THE ARTIST AND THE DOG: CHAPTER 1 PART 4 :: DOG QUESTIONS

The dog ran so fast that he crashed into the words crashing in on themselves.

“What, what, what?! What is going on!?” the Dog barked to the Artist, ”Are you ok, are you OK?! Is anybody attacking you?”

The Artist still reeling from half-asleep-half-awake-somewhat-yelling, finally, truly woke up looking at the Dog asking him, “What, what, what?! Are you OK?”

The Artist smiled, half-asleep-half-awake at the Dog. First, realizing that the Dog has truly accepted him as his master, for he had come charging to him for his protection and this made him endearing to the Artist.

So, the Artist said, ”It's nothing, it's nothing.”

The Dog said, “Don't tell me it is nothing, I have heard you screaming, what is it? I have heard you saying something like ‘I see, I see!’ What do you see? I don’t see anything and I am endowed with the ability to see in the dark!”

The Artist smiled at him and said, “I know, I know that you are endowed with the ability to see in the dark, that is why I have assigned you the Night Watch. I also know you have other abilities that are better then mine. You can also sense better then me and many other things that I don’t care to name at this point. All the same, I want you to know that I appreciate your care.”

The Dog said, “Enough of that, enough of that! What I want to know is that I have clearly heard you say ‘I see, I see’ and I want to know what you saw!”

The Artist, still smiling, said to the Dog, “ You know, it is really amazing that I actually woke up exactly at midnight just as he was pointing to the horizon where I clearly saw the thin light, almost as if the light threw itself as a noose around the world with a burst of brightness at one particular point on the line indicating a mean, and that is why I was saying ‘ I see, I see’ and just now I have realized that it is midnight and that too, is the mean of creation.”

The Dog was perplexed, “Excuse me, what are you talking about? “

The Artist said, “Oh, I just woke up from a dream, or I just had a vision, I don’t know which is which because it was clear as day. It was happening as true as this is now and yet I am not there anymore, I am here, with you, and you have heard me say the words that I was saying over there! You have heard me saying it here and you came charging in from your Night Watch at the same time as he was pointing to me, showing me the horizon over there! And all this happened right now!”

“OK, I think I understand what you have just said, “said the Dog,”but I still don’t know what you are talking about.

“Oh, you are so right,” said the Artist, “ I have not really told you what has happened in my dream, vision, or something of that nature. I had a dream I was fighting with the Angel. Well, first I was talking with him, then I was fighting with him, then I was talking with him again, then he was showing me stuff.”

“He was showing you stuff?!” exclaimed the Dog. “What kind of stuff?!” the Dog asked.

“What else, stuff about the Ancestor!”

“Oh boy, oh boy, tell me about it! This is great! Oh, you should show me what he has shown you! I want to know about the Ancestor myself!”

The Artist, now almost fully awake, enjoying the excitement of the Dog said to him, “Of course I can’t tell you. He told me in a language that I can't explain. I don’t even know where to begin. As I am speaking now, even now it is fading away. My whole being is trying to reach for it and you talking and jumping up and down and barking at me is causing me to lose it.”

“Oh, I see, you're blaming me for it now. We are going to have a blaming game, is that it? It is my fault that you are losing something that I don't even know about, that I can’t even see! It is only happening inside of you and not me and you are telling me that it is my fault that you are losing it. That is not fair.”

“Dog,” said the Artist, “I am not saying that you are causing me to lose it, I am saying that you are distracting me with your jumping and barking and asking.”

“Well," said the Dog, “are you going to answer my questions? Because I am going to keep asking.”

“I have already told you,” said the Artist, “truly, there is nothing I can say about it. As soon as I am telling you just now, and even whatever that I am saying about it now I am losing it. So, I would like you to drop it, so I can preserve whatever of it is left for me to preserve, because I need to hold on to it. It is very, very important to me.”

“OK, OK, fair enough," said the Dog, “but, while I was at the Night Watch, I was going over in my head about our first meeting, our first encounter, and what you said to the Gentleman, my former master.”

At this, the Artist interrupted him with the attitude of jest and asked the Dog, “Does that mean I am your master now?”

The Dog looked at the Artist with indignation, mixed with a certain kind of endearment and in a half-jest half-serious manner, said, “Do I have to make it obvious for you? Isn’t that obvious? It is in my nature to find a master, always. It is built into me, so yes, I guess, you are my master. Now, can I ask my question?”

“All right, sure, go ahead, what is your question?”

“Like I said,” said the Dog, “while I was at the Night Watch it occurred to me, something that you said to the Gentleman, my former master, that has greatly perplexed me and I would like to find an explanation for it. And if you would to be so kind to supply me with the explanation, I promise you I will leave you alone to have your rest.”

“OK, what is it?” asked the Artist.

“You said to the Gentleman in your answer to him, a phrase which reads ‘It is found in the Cipher.’ What is this Cipher you are talking about? What is found in it? And now wait, stop there for a minute before you give me a manufactured answer. Let me just assure you that I know what the word Cipher means, so don’t give me an explanation of that word.”

The Artist quickly interrupts him, “If you know, tell me what it means.”

“For instance, it is a secret or some sort of a disguised writing, or something. It's a code. Figuratively, it is zero or the figure O, or nil or naught. It could be encoding something or figuring something out like arithmetic. In the language of the Urban Dictionary, if I may go further, Cipher is a term used to describe two or more rappers free styling in the informal context battling or just working off each other. You know, an impromptu get together. So, I know all of this and by the way, does this answer satisfy your questioning me of what the Cipher means?” said the Dog,

“So, as you can well see I know all of that, but that is not really what I am talking about. What I am talking about is what you said ‘that it is found in the Cipher’ what is found in the Cipher?” the Dog asked, and again, “What really is the Cipher? “

“My dear Dog, “ said the Artist, “you have now become a scientist, an intellectual, and I may say perhaps even a Gentleman, but this very question of yours is a very very good question and thoughtful and an indication of a thoughtful person.”

The Dog says, “Wait a minute, wait a minute. Did you just attribute personhood to me? I am a Dog. And as far as I ascertain, people don’t call a Dog a person, or an intellectual or a scientist for that matter, or for that matter even a Gentleman!"

The Artist smiled and said, “I was only trying to humanize our relationship.”

But before he could go any further the Dog has interrupted him again, “Humanize our relationship? You see what I mean? Here we go again! First, attributing personhood to me, then humanizing me into a human being like you, when clearly that is not the case. For I, I am a Dog! A Dog, mind you, that also has an Ancestor who was wild, as you humans might say, and still was wild before you humans domesticated it, thereby fabricating me, so in reality I am not a person, or a human, but a fabrication by humans. That means you, my dear sir, Artist.”

The Artist said, “OK, OK, let's get on with it. I thought you wanted to know about the Cipher.”

The Dog replied, “I do want to know about the Cipher, but I want to set a few things straight, so that our relationship is clear, so that the binary rule of dialogue is not misunderstood or broken.”

Now, the Artist exasperated with the dog, tired, half asleep because after all, it is around mid-night, he said to the Dog, “ OK, let me tell you this about the Cipher. First, I assume you know the story about the great master Giotto and the legend of his circle, the one he drew for the Pope.”

“Yes, Yes, Yes,” said the Dog, “Everybody knows that story. I heard it spoken of in all different ways in all kinds of chat rooms. You know how that goes, people don’t pay much attention to the Dog while they are retelling the stories of the things they have just done, taking more time to tell the story then the actual accomplishment of the act to which they speak of. And this, I tell you my friend, this is all humans do: they do something, and then they go tell somebody about it, taking more time then is necessary. Some even tell you what they are doing as they are doing it and this, they think is a very good way to spend your time. They call this type of wasting time ‘Getting together’ or if your prefer a ‘Party’. So, I have been to many parties if I may say so where I have heard the story told with all kinds of embellishments, so please I hope you are not going to tell me the story again to convince me that Giotto is the Ancestor or the Cipher."

The whole time while the Dog was speaking, the Artist, with a smile on his face, was admiring the boldness of the Dog, His new found confidence inwardly the artist started to admit that he has a friend, so he went on with his explanation about the Cipher saying, “Dog, I am not going to tell you that story. I just wanted to make sure you know it, because what I am about to tell you is related to it. You know when Giotto drew that circle, that moment became one of the greatest moments in history of Mankind. I would even dare to say the History of the world, and what I mean by the world is the history of the Universe. Because when he did that he demonstrated that mankind has assimilated into its’ being a fundamental figure, a figure that describes the entire creation in the form of Cosmos, and now mankind has grasped it with such perfection that it was the only thing needed to indicate everything necessary, so I will tell you that as there are many different kinds of Ciphers. The ultimate Cipher that brings it all together and unites all things from whatever they are is the Cipher–Circle and Circle has a figure Zero and Zero is a figure that represents something. That thing is nothing, so the paradox immediately appears by that gesture of Giotto when he drew the circle because as soon as the circle was drawn the motion of that drawing is as if something gathered something from nothing and made it visible somehow, so that nothing becomes something. Now, I tell you Dog, isn’t that something?”

The Dog was nodding enthusiastically and said, ‘You know, I have been to many drawing rooms, I have eves dropped on many conversations, but I tell you, I have never heard that before and of course it makes perfect sense.”

The Artist said, “ I know, but I am not finished. This figure, the Cipher is so amazing that it has so many properties. Its’ history through time is like no other history. It got intrigues, disguises; even some have given it mistaken identity. It has been looked over, it has been pushed over, I tell you it has gone through so many subtleties and complexities that we would talk for the rest of our lives without exhausting its possibilities. For instance, it is a number and it has a value of one, it is a metaphor, which can describe abundance or despair, it is considered a family, it is what has given birth to all of us.”

The Dog interrupted, “Wait a minute, did you say the value of one?” “Yes, I did,” said the Artist.

“How is that? Please explain,” said the Dog.

“OK, it is something like this. First, there is nothing, but that nothing is something and since that nothing is something because it is nothing that something can only be given the value of a thing, which is One.”

“ So, when is given the value of one it is only to say it is something, right? “ interrupted the Dog.

“Right,” said the Artist.

Then, the Dog asked, “What about one itself? “ The Artist said, “That is how one appears because one is an indication of something that in reality or previously is nothing.” The Dog said, “Again, what about one, is one something?” The Artist said, “Yes, it is.” “So, what value do you give to one?” asked the Dog. The Artist said, “It is obvious, one is itself, so you give it the value of one.” “Umm”, exclaimed the Dog, “That is interesting, so first there is nothing that is something because of that it has a value of one and now there is something that is One that has the value of itself – One.” The artist laughed and said to the Dog, “Now, you see, that is profound! When something is really something it has a value of itself. So, my dear Dog, your value is in yourself.” “Wow!” said the dog. “That also means that I am also the Cipher?” “Yes, my dear Dog, yes,” said the Artist, half asleep half awake. “You know something else Dog, there is a very beautiful game that you can play with this that is as natural as you and me. This game is a game of how you can increase your value, is a game of how one because two and two became three and three became five and five became eight.” “Wait, wait, wait, stop,” the dog interrupted, “now, you are loosing me. I was beginning to understand about increase of value all the way to three, then three is five, what happen to four?” “ Dog, I didn’t say that this is a game of sequence, I said it is a game of increase of value.” “Ok,” said the Dog “then, I don't understand, please explain to me clearly.” “There is a name of this,” said the artist “named after the one who discovered it, or shell I say who stumbled on it as it was already everywhere. His name is Leonardo Fibonacci hence; it came to be called the Fibonacci series. And it goes something like this ‘First, you have nothing, right, which is Zero, right? But since that Zero is something you have one, its value. That value is a value of itself, so you have one again. Now, that you have two values and this comes about by adding the first value to the second value and giving you two, next you add the second value to your newfound value two to give you three. Next, you add a previous value two and your new value three to give you five. Next, you add the previous value three to your new value vive to give you eight. You see the pattern? You take the previous value and your new value adding them together to get the next value adding them together on and on and on and on exponentially. It is called the Expansion of Value. And, by the way, this is how nature grows her things. “ The Dog interrupted, “I understand what you have just explained and it is fascinating, but I don't understand by ‘this is how nature grows her things’ what I mean by that is that it is a rhythm to which many things that we see surround us come to be including us.”

“You mean,” asked the Dog “me too, a dog?” “Yes, you too, Dog, everything in nature grows somehow like this including lightening and vegetable roots and the veins that carry blood flow through you and many more other things. “ “Wow!” exclaimed the Dog, “I really need to know more about it.” “ I knew it, I knew it!” exclaimed the Artist, “ this is why I was keeping myself of telling you about the Cipher, because I knew that as soon as I will start to tell you about it, you will be excited and you will ask all kinds of questions to which I am not so sure I prepare to entertain or answer because, remember, I am on the journey and I can’t have my time be taken up by your questions.” “Oh, common! This is not fair! You can’t keep such things to yourself! And you can’t blame me for wanting to know such an important thing with tremendous consequences attached to it as that, so please, I am your companion and as such I am your student, so you have to educate me on this, you have to tell me what you know because as you said to the Gentleman that the Ancestor could be found in the Cipher of the Cipher and from what you have just explained to me about the Cipher it is very clear to me that I need to know about it and also to know why the Ancestor is in the Cipher.” “I understand, Dog” said the Artist, “ I understand, but right now I am really tired and I need to sleep, so please go back to you night watch and we will pick this up sometime when we both rested when we wake up. The dog could not disagree because he can clearly see that the Artist is tired and he, the Dog has clearly interrupted his sleep and that there was no one attacking him, but that he was just having a dream and now he has kept him up longer then he should, so he left quietly approaching the night watch.

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