Flatland Page #6

Listen, I can see from here your study.

On the wall is a hidden safe,

inside of which is hidden a little glowing thing.

It's called a Glow Point.

- No! Wait! Leave that alone!

- I'm entering the safe now.

Grabbing the glowing thingie.

Notice that the door does not move.

Now I am in the safe and

I'm taking the glowing thingie...

- uh... whups...

- What? What?

It stopped glowing. Well, never mind.

Ah. Here's your thingie.

The door to the safe is closed.

Ta-dah!

Get it? ME Spaceland, YOU Flatland.

I look down upon you.

all you've proven is that

you are a... a... skillful thief!

And a vandal!

You fix my Glow Point!

You people certainly like your shiny things,

don't you?

Ok, listen.

The higher I go,

the further away from Flatland I go,

the more I can see,

though of course I see it on a smaller scale.

For example:

now I can see your neighbor's house

and your five Pentagonal Sons

banging against its sides.

- I told them to stay inside!

- Now I'm going far, far up.

Buildings, buildings, buildings...

now I see the border between your

country and the Northern Kingdom.

Uh oh. Looks busy.

Mostly Soldier Triangles.

Looks like they're getting ready for something...

- Oh, anyone can listen to the radio!

- Fine, fine, fine.

- How about if I touch you?

- Touch me?

Sure. Just a little touch,

gently, here. In your stomach!

- Ow! Stop! Ow! Stop! Help! Help! Ow!

- Dad?

- What's happening dad?

- Why are you stuck in the corner?

- Where's the priest?

-Go back to your rooms, both of you.

- Should I use my peace cry?

- Just go. Go!

There's only one other thing to do.

It's never been done before,

- but I suppose I'll have to do it.

- Do what?

- Murder me? You've done everything else!

- Nothing of the sort.

It will be painful, and I could get in trouble,

But I've got no choice if the Gospel of

Three Dimensions is to be revealed.

Hang on, apostle.

One, two, three,

out of Flatland we go!

I'm mad! I'm insane!

What have you done to me?

Lifted you out of Flatland into reality.

Steady. There, can you stand?

Rest on your bottom hairs for a moment.

What is this pressure?

It's pushing me southward. My south hairs hurt!

Oh, that! You'll get used to that.

That's just gravity, something we

all have to contend with in Spaceland.

Nothing to worry about.

Now that I see you... all of you...

you're... you're so, so perfect.

Your circularity... is beyond circularity.

Everywhere you're circular, divine. Perfect.

A divine ideal of loveliness and wisdom!

Feel free to worship me at any time.

But first,

let's take a look at where you've been.

Look! Look, a Flatlander!

You can see their insides!

- I see! I see!

- I take it that my experiment worked.

I hope my ends will justify my means.

Care to see yourself?

Myself? How can I see myself?

I am inside of myself.

In 3D, you can have reflections.

Light can bounce off an object,

which you can use to see yourself.

Here

That's me?

No, it's your reflection.

Thank you!

Thank you for showing me this!

I see now, I see everything! Everything!

I understand it all!

I can see!

- What's that glowing sphere in the sky?

- The sun.

Best not to look at it for too long,

it could blind you.

- How does it stay up there in the sky?

- Just does.

Our scientists say it is immeasurably huge.

- Larger than anything else in the entire world.

- But... it's...

- smaller than you...

- No, that's just perspective.

The further away something is,

the smaller it looks.

But no, it's very, very large.

- Makes me puny by comparison.

- That can't be.

You're a perfect circle,

- divine in all respects...

- Yes, yes,

can't argue with you there.

But still, some of us even worship it.

ow wondrous a world that gods would

have even greater gods to worship!

I guess there's always something smaller

and always something larger than you.

I wonder, what does this sun worship?

Are there beings even greater

than this glorious sun,

- Alright, that's enough.

Let's not get silly, now.

- What is that?

- Oh! And look at those Glow Points!

- That is the moon.

Another Sphere of great proportions.

And those aren't Glow Points.

Those are stars.

If only I could show this to my wife!

- And my son Hex!

- It's rather expensive to pull

someone out of Flatland.

I'm afraid this production really can't

really afford anyone but you. Sorry.

There is so much to understand.

For instance,

I am in Spaceland,

and can see the insides of myself,

and I can see the insides

of all my fellow Flatlanders,

yet,

I see no brain, lungs,

or heart inside of you.

Of course you can't see in my insides.

Spacelanders are of a

greater order than Flatlanders.

I am a being of many circles,

the Many in the One.

What we in Spaceland call A Sphere.

Don't worry.

The mysteries of the world, of Spaceland,

will become plain to you after a while.

We can fly anywhere you like

and view your world in detail.

Let's start with your

house and work our way out.

Eeee, eeee, eeee. Is someone there?

It's me! I'm here, outside the world.

Can't see you, can't hear you!

Eeeee, eeee, eeee!

I can... see everything.

You've given me the eyes... the eyes of God.

You can see what any fool

in the world of 3D can see.

The Great Hall!

Now that I'm in Spaceland,

I can get past the soldiers

to see if my brother is inside!

Now you're thinking in 3D!

I've got business there too. Let's go.

Oh! There he is! Hey, B!

- B!

- Shh!

Looks like your elite priests are

gathering for their millennial meeting.

- Let's listen in.

- Whereas the States have been troubled

by ill-intentioned persons

pretending to have received revelations

of Three Dimensions every thousand

years since Time Began,

it has been unanimously resolved

by the Grand Council that on the

first day of each millennium,

all such apostles of the Three Dimensions...

shall be imprisoned and

executed three days hence.

- Blast!

- What's wrong?

How could I expect this?

You people can't write!

- Write?

- Writing. Recording words visually.

It's what we do to pass information

down through the generations.

- I don't understand.

- Your people worked around it!

You memorize everything!

- Pass it down through voice.

- Of course!

Every child learns how to

memorize great quantities of words

and can repeat them back.

I'm doing my best to remember

every word you speak,

- for instance...

- I hadn't counted on them remembering!

It's 1000 years between each visit!

- They can't blame me. It's not my fault!

- What's wrong?

Didn't you just hear your fate

pronounced by your flatheaded brethren?

Death or imprisonment

awaits the Apostle of 3D

They'll understand.

It's so clear to me, the nature of 3D.

I could get a child to understand it.

Put me down right now,

- I'm sure that I could go down there...

- No, I have to perform my mission.

In fact, unless I miss my guess,

your President is waiting for me.

You stay here. Time for reality

Rate this script:5.0 / 1 vote