A Cosmic Frame of Reference

Verily, verily, Mosdach stood up, in his turn. And lo, Mosdach went. He hath picked up the orb, giving due heed to examine it, Noting every crevice, every blemish, every pit and every pockmark. He looketh beyond the orb, down the path between the two valleys, inspecting the planks, considering that they were of pine, A soft wood. He marked in his mind the slightest warps and contusions along the path, And the nearly invisible pools of oil. Then, using his keen eyesight, he noted the shape of the targets, The dozen white ladies minus two. He gazed at both their uniformity and their variety, Keeping his council to himself alone. A moment later, he stood six paces away, Even seven strides from his release, Sizing up all he had observed, all he had sensed. Lunging and moving, stepping and striding, he approached his destination. The orb did leave his hand and began its trekking, swirling and moving With great momentum and force. But it did not move the shortest distance between two points; it moved with purpose, arcing and turning until it had its target in sight. The great white lady, the leader of the dozen minus two. Their collision was imminent, their meeting predestined as from days of old, And the orb set upon it with a crash. The violence of the moment was palpable, as one white lady exploded with energy Into another, and then another. Each white lady now twisting and writhing in the air, longing to meet another, Each transferring energy, until they were all dispersed, And each lay slain on the oiled pine surface. And the people cheered. Mosdach saw that it was good.

And lo, Mosdachs time again came to pass. And Mosdach again lifted an orb and held it. But Mosdach beheld it not and did not long dwell upon it,. Nor upon the path, Nor upon the dozen white ladies minus two. Mosdach approached the beginning of the narrow way between the valleys and set his orb in its place. In its place, he placed it. In the straight and narrow way, he set its course. And verily, turn by turn, revolution by revolution, cubit by cubit, Mosdach directed the path of his orb. Orderly, faithfully, ploddingly, he joined his orb on its trek, Down the path, between the two valleys, ever closer to the white ladies. Until at last, the great white lady was met and vanquished. But she vanquished not another lady. For Mosdach himself, with this globe in the palm of his hands, maneuvered and manipulated it, until every last one of the dozen white ladies minus two lay vanquished, defeated on the soft pine. And Mosdach saw that it was good. And lo, the exultation of the crowd was great And many did cheer the work of Mosdach. Yet, not all did cheer. There were others there that day who thought not highly of what he had done. And color flushed not their cheeks when the last white lady fell. Yea, verily, they said, So what of it? Why is this the subject of your praise? Did not Mosdach accomplish the same, But with much greater skill before? Are we not to marvel at the skill of this master Who need not mark every degree of a revolution, Yet still accomplish his purpose? But those who had sung his praises could not understand why the objectors were so overwhelmed when it seemed to them that Mosdach was so little involved. And they said so.

Why, he did so very little the first time; he was not involved After he set his orb on its path. What did he have to do with what happened? But do you not know? Said the advocates of Mosdach? Have you not heard? Can you not see? We have seen with our eyes that by random chance, The dozen white ladies minus two fell. The other advocates of Mosdach answered. But he did it, cried one, A disciple of Mosdach who had been carefully observing. Look around you and see. This place whose is it? It belongs to Mosdach. The way between the two valleys is hard yet supple, not soft and yielding as it might have been if he had purposed it otherwise. And what of that instrument which vanquished the white ladies? Was it not round and weighty? Why was it not cubed? Or light as a feather? Because Mosdach made it so. And what of the path this orb did take? Is not it a wonder that it curved just so? Why did it arc? Because Mosdach purposed it so. But the violence and chaos of the white ladies vanquish; Where was Mosdach in that? The naysayers asked. Chaos or violence or turbulence matters not. Mosdach vanquished the dozen white ladies minus two. Mosdachs will was accomplished. Yet the witnesses to these feats could find no common ground. Some praised Mosdach for what he did at first; others, for what he did at last. And they parted, each group casting suspicious eyes at the other. But with Mosdach, it was not this way, And verily, he turned in his bowling shoes, And went to the snack bar for a drink.