Page a Day: One Hundred Eighty Five

            He waved the branch. “This is Doing, or Motion. Everything which moves has this property. Acting causes and effects. Wind, water and energies all have this property. Without it nothing happens.”

            He held the branch still. “This once was Living. It grew in complexity, harmony and size and would have been fruitful had I not had men destroy it. Plants, animals and many other things have this property. Without life, there is no abundance.”

             He put the tip of the branch in flame. “This is Melding, also called Using. All humans have this capacity, to take something and employ it with other Beings or through Motion. Cooking, building, and manufacturing all exemplify this ability. Without it there is no society, no Profusion, no discovery.

            He dropped the limb and sat back. “Changing I cannot show you, for humans cannot do it. If that branch were to rust, or hang suspended without cause, or to begin to speak or behave in any way contrary even to its Being, then that would be a Changing.

            There are Changelings in this universe. There are those who break the bounds of being and of motion and of life. They are creatures of light and they are creatures of darkness. The ones who Change in darkness are near, and the ones who Change in light are nearly spent. The ones who come bear dread and every other evil that would unmake us. You know their name, though you dare not speak it.

            But we hope, for there is ability even those who Change do not have. There are those who Make, and they will not have their works undone, for they Make the universe and it is theirs. They are far from here, and many would say that they are very shy. But their tools and their powers are in play until all is accomplished. Those who oppose them have already been Undone. That is another name for them. They simply do not know it yet.”

            I drew back. “What of us, then? If their future has already been determined, what about ours?

            He smiled. “What if I told you that it is not we who must be free, but time itself? That in their victory not only are our futures free, but our presents and pasts as well? I tell you we will know far greater freedom than we can possibly imagine. But we will never rule the universe. Instead we will decide how much we are willing to give to it.”