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8) “Of course I know we are rational bugs caught in amber, or like trees in a lava flow. And the world is in the process of making a powerful religion, leaping for the irrefutable,” the Bodhisattva said. His skin was blue and luminescent. He wore flat spun gold around his wrists and neck and ankles.

“I think the people already know there is no point in knowing.” His satchel was on the ground at his dusty feet. “And after all my prejudice I have to say I feel most favorably to the Platonists. If I had to chose. The others are overwhelmed by responsibility.” He had dice in his satchel. They were made of gold. There were swans waiting in a pond to shoulder his load. His ancestors hovered behind him, one hand on the other’s shoulder.

“I think most of us are realists living directly in the world. Science confirms it.” His hair was long and tucked up into his crown. No one could think it unique, each could have their own.

“And capitalism represents the desires of its participants.” He had a chariot in his last incarnation as a horse. And he is reflected into the future into another sentient being who would die in a train wreck.

“Friendship. It’s all about friendship.” He wouldn’t leave until everyone else moved off--a temporary crowd only gathered by his stamerings.

“I was most upset by the prospect of having to learn both Latin and Greek. Oh, ‘Model conversation to improve your Latin’, printed before the time of copy rights; and Folly mounts the platform. It’s clear there is no meaning. We must make a choice.” Everyone will have just about wandered away, except for someone thinking about something else. The Bodhisattva’s voice would be lowering—almost a whisper.

“Tradition is also important even as it is interpreted by your own time.” He himself would move off shortly after. He would check for tarnish under a bracelet, look for sweat making the blue paint run, his dice of gold clanking in his satchel. And he would ruminate on the meaning of legally binding contracts. He worked nine to five, no earlier, no later, and with a half hour for lunch. At home he would walk his dog and wave to his neighbors and pick up the poop.