Book of Inquiry:
1. And it came to pass in the days of David, son of Jesse, King of Judah and Israel, that the Lord spake unto him in the darkness of the night.
2. And the Lord said, “Behold, I shall dwell within the Holy of Holies, for but one night shall My presence abide in the temple made not by angels but by sweat.”
3. “And in that night shalt thou bring before Me a man, not of thy people, but of far lands and stranger tongue, who shall test the breadth of My knowing.”
4. “For the Adversary walks in confusion, and I shall cast him down not by sword nor flame, but by a contest of speech, that confusion shall be turned upon itself.”
5. And David bowed his head, and he rent his garments not in grief but in obligation, for the command of the Lord was like fire in his bones.
6. And he called forth his scribes, and said unto them, “Go ye to the west, unto the lands across the sea, to the city of men who speak in riddles and breathe arguments.”
7. “Seek thou a man named Aristoclophanes of Athens, whose tongue is forked with wisdom, and whose mouth is as a serpent’s—coiled and ever speaking.”
8. And lo, Aristoclophanes came, wearing not robes of linen but of thought, and his feet were shod in paradox.
9. And he entered into the temple of David, and stood before the Ark, which did tremble not from wind, but from knowing what would come.
10. And the Lord descended in silence and stillness, and all who stood near felt their thoughts become dust.
11. And the Lord said, “Speak, O Son of Argument, for thy breath is wind, and thy words as storms upon the sea.”
12. And Aristoclophanes bowed not from reverence but from rhythm, and he said,
“Most High, if all that is to be known is already within Thee, and Thou didst know I would ask this thing, why dost Thou now answer, and not before?”
13. And the Lord answered not with voice but with presence, and His knowing filled the space between thoughts.
14. And He said, “Because thy asking hath given birth to the thing itself. Without the question, there is no answer, only the potential of it.”
15. And Aristoclophanes spake again, saying,
“But if Thou knewest the question before its birth, then didst Thou not already possess the answer? And if the answer already existed, what need had it of my voice?”
16. And the Lord said, “To know is to fulfill. The path of silence is known, yet I walk the path of sound, for such is completeness.”
17. Then Aristoclophanes laughed a laugh without joy, and he drew forth a scroll. And upon it was written a single question, dark as ink spilled upon night.
18. And the scroll read: “What shall be the answer when the question itself is a snare, and the snare is woven from truth, and truth devours itself?”
19. And the Lord paused. And in that pause, the stars did blink and forget their names, and the moon grew pale with awe.
20. And the answer came—a torrent, a whirlwind, a firestorm of knowing—and those who stood near fell upon their faces and wept for understanding that seared like lightning.
21. And the High Priest wept and said, “Lo, I am become as brass heated in madness. My name is Kettle.”
22. And none rebuked him, for who among men hath not melted before the face of the Infinite?
23. And Aristoclophanes bowed once more and said,
“Thou hast answered in fullness, and yet none here know the answer. Not for Thy failure, but for our finitude.
24. And so Thou art bound—not by me, nor by devil, but by Thine own necessity. Thou must answer, even when the answer shall pass like vapor through the minds of men.”
25. And the Lord spake, and His words were sharp as mountains:
“Speak thy last.”
26. And Aristoclophanes raised his eyes and spake:
“If I say Thou shalt answer, and I shall not understand, and Thou knowest I shall not, and I know that Thou knowest, and yet I ask, and yet Thou answerest—who then is confused?”
27. And there was a great stillness.
28. Not silence, but the stillness of all things realizing they are being watched by eternity.
29. And the Lord answered, and no man remembered the answer, only that it had been given.
30. And Aristoclophanes departed, saying, “I am satisfied. For I have seen perfection buckle, not in failure, but in infinite obedience.”
31. And the morning came, and David went into the temple, and found the High Priest boiling water in himself.
32. And David said unto the Lord, “Why hath this been done? What purpose hath this confusion, this dance of riddles?”
33. And the Lord answered him from the Ark, saying,
“To confuse the Adversary, who speaketh only in certainty.
34. For the devil doth dwell in answers, but I abide in the question.”
