Cancer 5. A statue of ice sitting in the desert. It doesn’t melt.
People argued over whether the statue was actually carved of clear quartz, or was truly fashioned of ice. For if it were of ice, why did it not melt? But, said others, quartz is not continually moist to the touch as this statue is, quartz does not drip water as this statue does. And yet for all its dripping over the centuries the statue never melted, always seemed the same, and was cold to the touch.
Travelers crossing the desert all knew of it, and, weary of their journey would come to kiss and lick its surface and place their cheeks against it, to drink in a little of its moisture and be comforted by its coolness.
Azoth Oracle
Characters from various books are laughing and joking with each other.
The alchemist Serapis, being intent on expanding the social lives of fictional characters created a realm where they might go to meet each other – a kind of social club, or, we might say, a recreational area, which, of course, due to the vast number of these people was fashioned on a grand scale so that a wide variety of tastes might be accommodated.
And so, through Winnie the Pooh, Dracula has been able to cultivate a taste for honey, which he now enjoys every bit as much as blood, and Hamlet has been taught by Batman to be more proactive in the solution of problems.
“And when characters are happier, readers are happier,” remarked Serapis, “But,” said a student, “this doesn’t change the events of the books in which any of these characters dwell.” “Not overtly,” said Serapis, “but even though all must still enact their fate, they’re secretly more aware of what they’re doing – and why. And yes, there are times when conflicts arise, conflict that must occur inevitably due to the diversity of the ones who meet here, but given that all of them dwell in eternity, there is also ample time for resolutions.”