Blue Star (2)
El took a step back and looked at Mi: "I am indeed a witch, and so are you. Humanity is so wonderful, and I would like to offer all the words of praise to humanity: beauty, courage, gentleness, perseverance, and creativity. The brilliance and splendor of human civilization all stem from human wisdom and dedication."
“Every civilization, every step forward, is built upon naked slaughter and countless lives. Do you know why humanity wages war?” Mi interrupted El. “Evolution before humanity existed was destroyed by external forces, yet humanity can destroy itself. A large tree will help other trees of the same species, and even help other plants; if two tigers cannot share a mountain, it will only drive the tiger away. Self-destruction is something no animal or plant would do. Why is that?”
“You keep talking about Earth,” El said calmly. “There are indeed witches from Earth in the Witch Forest, but I can’t say that all of this is caused by witches. Witches don’t determine human behavior. I’ve said before, witches are just conduits.”
"What kind of being is a shaman? And what channels does a shaman provide?"
“Compared to human carbon-based life forms, witches are beings of consciousness.” El pointed to the enormous purple flowers in the forest. “Those dormant flowers are actually called Consciousness Flowers.” She then pointed to the rolling gray clouds overhead. “That is the Sea of Consciousness, the final resting place of all witches.”
Must conscious life coexist with other life forms?
“No, as I said, witch is a wave, a channel.” El transformed into a bright blue cloud. “This can be considered my true form. I can survive in any world in my true form, as long as I return to the Witch Forest periodically to replenish my energy.”
Al reverted to her human form and said, "Witches can indeed coexist with other life forms, and this is simply helping them."
What kind of help are you talking about?
“You cannot deny that the civilization created by humankind possesses the power of witchcraft.” El stood up. “Even if, as you say, witchcraft is a new variable introduced into Earth, at least with witchcraft, Earth can refuse the fate of being destroyed by external forces time and time again.”
"What are you saying? Do you think human self-destruction is a victory?" Mi was utterly speechless. She asked, "What's the difference between suicide and homicide? Is killing yourself more noble than a dinosaur being killed by a small stone thrown in?"
“The humans of Earth have already devised a solution. The Wandering Earth is a testament to their own wisdom.” El looked up at the clouds. “If Earth truly is an experimental box, then at least this box has decided to break free from its predetermined fate. Perhaps, one day, the Witch Forest will also embark on a path of wandering.” The Witch Forest remained silent, except for El’s cold voice. The clouds above the forest slowly churned, offering no response to El’s words.
Elle fell into a deep slumber, spending a long time sleeping inside the dormant flowers. Joe always guarded a tightly closed dormant flower; sometimes she would watch Mi run towards the cover again and again, unsure how to dissuade her. Mi was like Sisyphus, endlessly pushing the boulder uphill, struggling in vain time and time again. She thought the guiding stone could pierce the protective barrier of the Witch Forest, unaware that without the Witch's Body, she would only slowly dissipate in the misty forest. The Witch's Body protected her integrity. Elle awoke again, standing beside Joe: "Has she been like this all along?" Mi was repeatedly assaulting the outer shell of the Witch Forest, trying to escape.
"Sometimes she would go into hibernation, and sometimes she would go to the sound transmission hill. She really liked those sound transmission loudspeakers."
“Let’s go help her.” Al went downstairs.
When Mi saw El appear, she came to the center of the forest again: "I may never learn to be a witch. I've been human for too long and I'm used to dealing with problems in a human way."
“It’s alright, Mi,” El said gently. “The Witch Forest will always protect you.”
“But I want to leave here.” Mi looked out of the forest, where what used to be a thick fog was now a larger and more expansive forest.
“Mi, I mean, if you leave the Witchwood and live like an animal in the Misty Forest, forever guarding a piece of territory,” El said with a touch of sadness. “I can send you out, but the Guidestone cannot leave the Witchwood.”
"I'm willing to give up this little stone."
El looked at her sadly: "Mi, the guiding stone is the witch's heart. Without it, you are a heartless person. I don't know whether you prefer the pain of lucidity or the ignorance of a dazed mind. But please don't say such things lightly. Think about it carefully. A heartless witch is like a scarecrow. Is that what you want?"
"I will seriously consider it." Mi picked up the small stone again, and the stone pierced her palm. She suddenly felt a pang of heartache; it was as if the small stone was crying.
Mi approached El again: "If, I mean if I don't give up my human identity, can I become a witch?"
“No one is asking you to give up your human identity,” El said gently. “You have lived as a human for so many years. To ask you to give up your human identity would be to deny the past few decades of your life. No one, not even a witch, can stand up again after completely denying themselves. Mi, being human is a part of your life, it’s just that the latter part is witch. Humans and witches can coexist.”
"I'll give it a try."
“Then let’s start with Blue Star and forget about this place for now,” El said gently. “There’s a theory that your moon was a piece that was separated from Blue Star during a violent planetary collision.”
"Yes, I've seen that hypothesis too. But the soil on the moon is completely different from that on Earth."
"You know that as an object rotates, it gradually becomes round—oh no, spindle-shaped—which is the most stable shape. This is true for Earth, and almost all the planets you observe are like this. But have you ever considered that it wasn't like this at the beginning?"
"Spindle? Your description always makes me subconsciously imagine that there is a hand holding a spindle and the other hand constantly turning it." Mi smiled and changed the subject: "Not a spindle-shaped planet reminds me of the ancient 'round sky and square earth' legend from my hometown."
"You mean Pangu created the world?" Qiao suddenly asked from the side.
“Yes, in my home world, it was originally a chaos. You know what an egg is?” Mi raised an eyebrow at El, who nodded. Mi continued, “The whole world was an egg. A god named Pangu broke the eggshell. The turbid air sank to form the earth, and the clear air rose to form the sky. In many people’s minds, the sky is like a lid on half an eggshell. During the day, the lid is lifted, and light shines in; at night, the lid is closed, and darkness descends.” Mi pointed to the sky above the alternating black and white river, “Don’t you think there’s someone up there lifting or closing some kind of lid?”
The legend of Pangu separating heaven and earth is known to every Chinese person. Originally, there was no world or humankind; it was Pangu who separated heaven and earth. To prevent heaven and earth from merging, he spent eighteen thousand years, and finally his body transformed into all things in nature.
After listening for a while, El said, "Witches also come from chaos."
"Ah, then am I as old as Earth?" Mi muttered. "Chaos, chaos again. Could it be that the whole world was originally a state of chaos, the beginning of heaven and earth, the beginning of chaos? No wonder you said that the witch recorded and observed all of this. But the witch alone is not enough. The witch is just consciousness. Someone else is needed to put the first cell in."
El nodded slightly. "Time has no meaning in the Witch Forest, because there is no time in chaos." El glanced at Joe and asked, "Do your legends say what's outside the egg?"
“Outside, outside is endless void,” Mi thought for a moment, “Space? Vacuum? You know, there are many legends about Pangu. Pangu created heaven and earth, his body became mountains and rivers, and his eyes, which were suspended in mid-air, became the sun and the moon. I remember at the beginning it was said that when Pangu opened his eyes it was daytime, and when he closed his eyes it was nighttime. So wouldn’t humans live in Pangu’s eyes? Isn’t that ridiculous?”
"Perhaps this is humanity's earliest explanation of day and night, and the earliest perception of light comes from the eyes," Al said gently. "When a person opens their eyes and sees light, the optic nerve begins to work; when a person closes their eyes and sees darkness, the optic nerve cannot synthesize an image, and the mind cannot form a definite understanding."
"Ah, so that's how it is. Myths and legends can actually be used as scientific enlightenment?" Mi began to think that this El was actually quite capable.
“Myths were originally created by humans to explain their origins; all myths are shadows of humanity.” El smiled as well. “That’s not important. Now tell me about the flat earth and the round heaven.”
"Later generations may have discovered the error and revised the legend of Pangu, saying that one of Pangu's eyes became the sun and the other the moon, so that humans could live on the earth." Mi found it amusing. "But the earth is flat, and Pangu's eye is fixed. So humans revised the legend again, calling the sun 'Golden Crow,' a three-legged bird that emits light, traveling in a chariot from east to west every day to rest. Thus, the sun rising in the east and setting in the west was explained. By the way, these Golden Crows also have two nests, one in the east on the divine tree Fusang, and one in the west on the divine tree Ruomu. The sun is a bird, so it can fly in the sky. You see, humans have always been legitimizing natural phenomena."
"The sun is no longer Pangu's eye?" El found the story amazing, and then asked, "Is the golden crow you mentioned infinite?"
“Legend has it that the Golden Crow is a divine bird, right?” Mi scratched his head and said, “Birds can fly, but were there any vehicles for these birds to ride in? Never mind, that’s not important.” Mi looked at El and continued, “Legend has it that there were ten of these Golden Crows. For a time, these birds would always fly out together to play, and ten suns would appear in the sky, making Blue Star almost unbearably hot.”
“Your mythology—” El chuckled, “is just like yours, so amusing.” El looked at Joe, who nodded and said, “There is such a legend on Earth.”
"Is it fun?" Mi shook his head. "This legend is not fun at all. The planet Earth was about to be scorched by ten suns. Then a man appeared. His name was Hou Yi. He was a divine archer. He took a bow and arrow and shot down nine golden crows. All nine suns were destroyed at once."
"Wow!" El exclaimed, her mouth agape. "This is the first time I've ever heard a legend about humans destroying the sun. You guys must be amazing!"
"Powerful? Maybe it used to be," Mi said, looking at Joe. "Joe also comes from Earth; he must know how powerful this country is, how incredibly powerful..."
Al could tell that Mi didn't want to continue, so he asked again, "With only one Golden Crow left, how can you believe that Earth is square? After all, it flew from the east to the west and never came back, and there is no phenomenon of the sun rising in the west on Earth."
“Uh, you?” Mi scratched his head. “The public is easy to fool. Not everyone will keep asking questions like you do; most people just go through the motions. After all, thinking doesn’t necessarily bring answers, and as long as a person wants to live, they can’t let themselves be too clear-headed. Aren’t you trying to escape too?” Mi pointed to the sky above the clouds.
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