On the nature of dreams and the fate of life

The beings, these shadowy figures had horns and they flew, they called Thales incomprehensible things.

The Bigger shadowy figures spoke to the slightly shadowy figures, they told the children although apparently they all were children, to sing.

"♫♪♪ Trust now children it is time to hush now, for the one has come, the one who is said to be of the divine flesh as well as the flesh of man, he is warm, he is the dawn, he is the Morningstar, he is the dawn star, he is the dark lord, he is the dark sword. He has come, to free all from suffering now, the entire canopy move in harmony, as we sing this melody so sweetly. He prays for us now, he dances for us now. He roars like us now. He is Ha' and Ha' will sing his song, the great song that will free our souls he watches the light leave our eyes from the dream and wake up in the world of bliss, Ha's beautiful world, a sinless world so free, so true. So don't fear death, just feel, love in Ha's mystery. So trust now children it is time to hush now as our voices scream one last time as the false flesh is ripped from thee as Ha' liberates into a world of me ♫♪♪"

Thales could not escape religion in his sleep, not while he was awake, not in life and not in death.

"WHEN WILL I FINALLY BE FREE, I accept madness that we know, that what we shouldn't can exist before us, before experience and yet still I am tormented by the world, to accept more madness, when will this greed end, when will I be freed from my suffering. What God prayed for my bliss?"

Thales had a darkened face; he would set off to leave.

"Please can someone show me the redemption it exists on neither side of the grass I assure you?"

The tall man, the eccentric man Ghalib

He travelled through the city; he felt the show was slowly coming to a close.

"I Ghalib dreamt I was once a butterfly and Bee, fluttering here and there. Wandering through the forest for all wills and greater powers I was a butterfly and a bee, I was aware, but only of a world where I only felt happiness, as happy as I could be a world where I was only a butterfly, I did not know I was Ghalib. Soon I believe I awakened, I was genuinely me again. Now I did not know whether I was a bee and butterfly in a cliff under a tree dreaming of myself as a man or was it the reverse. Regardless there is a necessary distinction between bugs and men. The transition is called the transformation of material things; such transformation is elucidated through death. I will never die, I will never sleep again. I will live forever for my love as all things. The Perfect being not an organism a world of only me and her that is what I seek No longer the child infatuated with The Mystery but the child and The Mystery"

It seemed Ghalib felt like the river would flow again, he would smash those ripples and seize the day.

"I am perfect"

Thales was in the carriage with Hobbe, his mind was with Beatrix but he had a job to do and that job was to talk with another esteemed wisdom cultivator or at least one with the influence of one, Thales thought he had many cards to draw from in this situation.

"I am losing myself; I have lived for 13 years is even that true?"

Thales was feeling very philosophical after finally getting some time to breathe from his demands of everyday life.

He was still shaken about what happened to him, what he was attacked by weren't even wisdom cultivators. Then what? And by whom

"I feel fragmented, The Mystery still guides me, but what if The Mystery is as dark as what was in that alleyway"

"Hey Thales you seem to be lost in thought you nervous? What's on your mind?"

"Yes rather nervous" Thales easily lied being the rank 5 heart path cultivator that he is.

"In fact Hobbe I don't know why I didn't ask earlier what's on your mind, who is this woman really?"

"Well I already told you she is a noblewoman, she is a very influential one, for example she plans to cultivate a railroad system that can transcend the boundaries between Sage territories and she is also well liked among the other upper class"

"Is that so? Then how did you get to know her?"

"I make it my life's philosophy to be as far from the natural man as possible, therefore I am a scavenger in every location begging for a crumb; however I make begging look very presentable you see"

"I see, Sophie is the one who discovered you right, how was that?"

"Oh some upper class man took an interest in Sophie and then connected us directly so I could be the middle man"

"Which upperclassman was that?"

"He's high enough that even you wouldn't easily want to pry information from me about him"

"Noted"

"Ah it seems we have arrived."

"House Stuart residence, an estate nearly comparable to my own I can see the wealth that went into it"

Thales went inside and met with Lady Beth.

"Lady Beth, I humble myself in your presence" She was like a fairy, with plump thighs and an ample bosom.

"Oh that is quite alright, I've heard about you from Hobbe, successor to House Miray, Lord Thales is it, as you know I am the natural successor to House Stuart, Beth Bohemia, pleasure to make your acquaintance."

She had elegance although she emphasized the natural part of "Natural successor" almost as if pointing out how unusual it was to succeed a House unnaturally.

Thales had already understood that however.

"I assume you're going to take Nee's place on the research on mind palaces and the soul and such dualism with the body."

"Yes… I suppose if by Nee you mean Renee, yes she is dead, but what precisely were the research you were going into?"

"Well it was mainly on how the body spirits can connect to the mind palace, if we figure this out then it would be revolutionary, for example you can produce source foam that could do marvelous things, Renee cultivated some sort of cicada which manipulated time and consciousness but the mechanisms couldn't resolve how we were going to exploit that without butchering the laws of physics and how an immaterial cicada could interact with the material body essence. We could only have the meat without the potatoes"

Thales had a good impression of Beth; she seemed to have been an intellectual who considered things deeply.

"Ok Lady Beth do you have any livestock you don't mind getting injured as well as some tea so I can wet my throat"

"Um, yes of course" She then signaled her servants to prepare some tea and bring a chicken although she had no clue what the livestock would be used for.

Thales demonstrated with a touch.

"The soul is usually hard to observe but when you can experiment you can see it lays not in space nor in time and is actually what glues the immaterial to the material, it's like the mind and brain happened to be synced up like the software on a phone and its hardware, the consciousness is higher energy that vibrates down to lower planes that influences the vibrations of the physical planes which in turn manipulates the matter. If you're asking as to how to cultivate source foam, I know how I'd be happy to become business partners with you."

Thales would make sure he would have Hobbe spread rumors he was courting Beth later, he was satisfied with that rumor now he actually had to speak with her.

"The higher the consciousness, the higher the source foam, then surely if you vibrate a zombie back into a human the highest accessible consciousness that would produce the highest source foams, the question then would be what generates the precise frequencies necessary for the best source foam, I've tested it out a bit but I'd have to conduct further experiments when I can."

Thales would have loved to use zombies but all his zombies are now gone they seemed to have disappeared when he was attacked.

"Wonderful, simply sensational is how I would describe it, perfect blend of fancy and science, of course I will work with you Lord Thales, in fact call me Beth and I'll call you Les."

"Fine be me, would you perhaps like to play some instruments before I go Beth?"

"That would be swell Les"

So they drank some tea and played instruments until Thales left with Thales making sure to compliment her intelligence.

With that all Thales tasks had been completed now he must focus more on his game, he would have his siblings and Hobbe manage his schemes.

Thales had the carriage drop him out to near where Beatrix would be.

"Hey Beato, I'm sorry for maybe scaring you, why are you damaging yourself and painting these pictures out of blood."

She turned around, she had a blue glowing butterfly on her finger and with her empty eye she looked at him and then said one thing.

"Be gone"

A mist enveloped Thales which he saw more clearly now. He then ended up back home, again.

"Is it because I am treating her like a child when she is older than me?" Thales frowned. He could easily use heart cultivation but that would make the problem worse.

Thales turned around and saw his father he was dealing with a deer.

He used a knife skillfully cutting and peeling. He had servants so why?

Thales thought this then noticed his father hummed, he hummed the song he heard in his dream, or more like the hum came first and then revealed the meaning in the dream, but there was even meaning behind that. What did it mean?

His dear friend Edmund approached he asked to go for a walk with Thales