Page 127 - Psychoceramics and the Test of Fire

EtheRealization

many institutions of higher learning, and they are happy to pass along
anything they deem of interest to us—for a small consideration.”
“Spies!” hissed Hart. “I’ll bet it was Maskelyne! He was always
prying into my affairs.”
I shook my head. “Neither confirm nor deny. But you needn’t be
outraged: thanks to your nameless colleague you may yet have the
opportunity to pursue that avenue of research. Entelekon will fund
the work of anyone heading in what we consider to be the direction
of discovering purpose and meaning in the universe. ‘Outsider’ is an
absurd designation in the search for truth: whatever our condition
may be existentially, we share it regardless of ascriptive status, and all
of us have equal access to understanding and expressing that reality in
which we conscious beings find ourselves. Nietzsche’s greatest
theories were formulated after he left his professorship. Now I will
have another beer.”
He stared at me a few seconds before replacing my mug. Smoke
and mirrors would have little effect on a master of illusion. Entelekon
was as real as any other tax dodge; the Magnus machine had taken
special care to set up a credible front and back it with a well-
manufactured history. My own line of hocus-pocus depended on a
quick sale obviating the diligence one might expect of a person
accustomed to ridicule and rejection. I pressed on.
“Thus we understand the importance of EtheRealization. If you
succeed, the entire field of philosophy vis-à-vis consciousness will be
revolutionized. We find the conceptual underpinnings to be sound,
the design and testing specifications thorough and consistent with
best practices and the scientific method. It would have been far
better to carry out your research in the confines of the campus, I’m
sure you’ll agree; but the essentials can be established in a rental space
with equipment and technicians brought in short-term.”
Knox absorbed this slowly. It must have been wrenching to shift
back into thoughts of his pet project, particularly in the setting of his
relatively ignominious current occupation. But the flame burned
somewhere in his depths. He looked at me with a suppressed
emotion I would not have cared to identify.
“Mr. Jellico, do you truly understand the implications of what I
intend to prove, given the chance?”
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