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..nor God nor spirit is wise enough for this choice. Thy selection
for this task was at the whim of random chance. We
'care not how the choice is made, only that it be made. The
'division strains the very fabric of creation, and if the
division doth not soon end, all of creation will perish. Choose
wisely; choose ill; choose by whim alone - but choose!'
And at these words I fell into a swoon and saw no more.
"All as in a dream I wandered across a barren heath under
,a lowering sky. And by the tokens which tell of such
things I knew that a great storm was approaching and
that I must seek shelter. And behold, the thought had
,,,,,,,scarcely entered my mind when I saw at the farthest edge
"'of that heath a great house, and I hastened toward it to
take shelter therein from the gathering storm. But as I
approached the house I found that less and less I liked its
aspect. Grim and bleak it crouched at the very edge of the
precipice which marked the end of the heath. The storm
which pursued me, however, gave me no choice, and I
reached the door of the house but scant seconds before
the deluge.
The servant who admitted me was civil enough, though
impatient. He led me through the gloomy corridors of the
grim house to a great dining hall with a huge table upon
which sat a single plate, and he bade me sit at the table
and brought me meat and drink. And as I ate, I questioned
him closely concerning the house and its owner, and he
replied most strangely, saying:
'The house hath been here since before the beginning of
time, and it hath two owners - the same two who caused
it to be built.'
His words amazed me, and I protested that no house
can endure so long and that certainly no mortal hath lived
since before the beginning of time. But he received my
protests in silence as if they were unworthy of reply, and
he bade me make haste at my meal since I was to be taken
immediately to the owners of the house.
When I had finished, he led me once again through the
dim corridors and brought me at last to a strange room.
Behold, a great window formed one wall of the room and
overlooked the void upon which the house sat, and by
that window stood a table, and at the table sat two robed
and hooded figures. And on the table was laid a game of
enormous complexity
Now the servant cautioned me in whispered tones,
saying: 'Speak not, lest ye disturb the game which these
two have played for all eternity' and venture not near the
window lest the void beyond it destroy thy mind.'
I replied with some asperity' stating that I had viewed
chasms before and that my mind was therefore in little
danger. And the servant looked at me in amazement and
said, 'Knowest thou not to what house thou hast come?
This is the house which stands at the very edge of
creation. Beyond that window lies no mere chasm, but
absolute nothingness. I know not why thou hast been
brought unto this lonely house. I know only that thou art