ethereal wings

Whispers of the Reed

Whispersoftheeds

After returning to the Association from Stockholm, in order to evaluate the results of this experiment, Pascal has been insisting on recording, and also asked friends around him who didn’t know about him to observe his situation, but after a year passed, the results he got were: This contract has no effect on itself, nor has it caused any impact.Descartes' life changed radically in some respects.Pascal could not clearly point out what these changes were, and Descartes explained that he just reopened the invisible gift that Frans gave him back then.

Although Pascal did not know what Descartes was referring to as a gift from France, he did receive a tangible gift from Descartes.After the harpsichord suite named after France was put into the bookshelf that year, a new instrumental music that was not refined but simple enough surfaced.Descartes named it "Ether Wings". This name was despised by those who denied the ether theory, but he didn't take it seriously, because the name was not to promote his vortex theory, but to commemorate the Stockholm Snow Queen. Wee conversations.When the musicians of the association dragged here by Descartes finished playing the amateur composer's lame chamber music by the stream of the association, the group of musicians looked at the grateful child in front of them (he was appointed by this private concert) only audience), only to realize that form is so secondary to content.

After several years of deliberation and sorting out, Descartes is going to make the bloodline contract conclusion method public, but he still lacks the final courage.At this time, Copernicus exposed his secret during a visit and told him a very depressing news.It turns out that this kind of unilateral contract Descartes may have been the first to think of but was by no means the first to try; Nuo sent an invitation and got permission.Disappointed, Descartes announced this contract method and related research, and planned to write it into the association handbook from 1650 to 1850.He was extremely discouraged by the loss of the first initiative, but when little Bryce lay down on the table and stretched out his little hand to comfort him, all the clouds disappeared.

The people in the association, like most people in Europe at the time, lived a long and leisurely life.After Raphael's anteilluminationem was completed, it was placed in the historical gallery of the association, at which time he started a new creation.However, when drawing the characters of the Age of Reason, on the dome illuminated by the radiance of humanity, he always felt a hidden cloud lurking in the clear sky.Some kind of prophesied change is coming, but for some reason people feel that there is a crisis hidden in this supposed auspicious omen; more and more people in the association feel that after the carnival of science and art, the severe winter of science and art will come soon. It's coming.

In 1789, Pascal stood by a reed pond of the Association.The summer evening wind gently blows the reeds, and everything seems to be the same as before.The shouts of the Bastille did not reach here, and all this seemed so predictable at the beginning.But he seems to have seen that the dangerous seeds were planted a long time ago, and the germination and blooming are just around the corner. In the middle of the 18th century, he and Descartes stood beside this reed pond, and a young man from Geneva came from the hazy mist on the other side of the world, seeking enlightenment from the sages in this hidden forest.His sentimental and romantic literary temperament impressed the ancestors of these transcendentalism. Pascal handed him the logic of intuitionism, and Descartes handed him the methodology of emptying education and rethinking everything.This young man embraced the tinder of negative rationality discovered by them in France as a torch to illuminate the jungle. Here, pour out your own poetic feelings.This flame, ignited from the negative pole of history, slowly flourished in the positive enlightenment movement, and it spread quietly, spreading to the dangerous field that transcendentalism has never stepped into.

The young man was named Jean-Jacques Rousseau.He took the tinder stolen by Prometheus, and lit a fire at the foundation of history as shown by his teachers.

Is this what the fiery skeptic René Descartes and the noble misanthropist Blaise Pascal hoped for?

Years later, recalling this period, Pascal could not help writing,

"We walked beside the meadow in spring, in the flower field in summer, beside the reed pond in autumn, and in the snow field in winter, bathed in the light of reason, the goddess held the crown of science and art, and wore it in these self-proclaimed light On the heads of the people of the century. While admiring our descendants with satisfaction, we continue our subtle thoughts and experiences under the grand enlightenment narrative and the construction of modernity.

"It's a pity that René and I didn't enjoy these days for long. The atmosphere at our regular meeting table became more and more cloudy, and we looked forward to meeting scholars on the eve of the 18th century while watching People have not escaped from the vortex of religion and ignorance, and cannot fall into a new vortex. When Boyle joined our conversation in 1791, all the ominous premonitions almost became reality; in 1795, when Huygens resumed When it comes to probability theory with me, we're living in the best of times and the worst of times.

"The world accused Rousseau of making him bear the tragedy of the French Revolution; René and I were also accused of sowing the seeds of evil. Can all these historical tragedies be changed by the power of individual people? No, in In front of the hurricane caused by the rolling progress of history, everyone is just a reed in the reed pond, moving with the wind involuntarily, and even being uprooted. The thin reed cannot predict tomorrow's situation, it can only be in the present when the weather is good , swaying in the breeze, enjoy the years with the companions around you. In the long history, everyone’s existence is so small and short, but he is still greater than the things that destroy him. The reason for this is in As soon as you think about this question, the answer is already on the paper."

☆, extra episode: reincarnation

end

Reincarnation

Cycle

2007.Leiden, Netherlands.

"It's true that The Hague and Leiden are not far away, but your reply to this enthusiastic guide who came all the way here is just 'Thank you, Christian, don't we need it'?" Huygens muttered dissatisfiedly, looking around All around, the arrangement of this local bus station looks quite chaotic: people with backpacks and suitcases are crowded around, the roar of cars is mixed with the sound of people talking. "I admit that you have lived in Holland for many years, Mr. Descartes, but after so many centuries, your temper is still as bad as before: during these years in the association, you have learned almost all the major languages ​​​​in the world, but The only thing you don't want to learn is Dutch. You'd be stupid if you thought it was to preserve your 17th-century Dutch hermitage..."

"Unfortunately, that's what he thought." Pascal answered Huygens' question for Descartes.Descartes was busy looking at the stop sign to see which bus could go to Edgarmond. "Christian, don't worry about René and my safety, I can speak Dutch."

"But the place you are going to now is just a small village, at most a small town... Even if you can speak Dutch, I don't recommend you to go on a self-guided tour..." Huygens said helplessly, and he wanted to give some advice. What, but the bus has arrived. "Forget it, take care of yourself and your eccentric uncle."

Soon after arriving in Eggmond, Pascal soon realized that refusing Huygens a free guide had been a colossal mistake; Descartes probably realized it too, though he was not yet willing to admit it.It was difficult to have a map in such a small town, in fact, even if they wandered so aimlessly, they would quickly find that it was difficult for them to find their way back to the bus station.

After walking through various traditional Dutch buildings with red brick facades, Descartes decided to find a place to rest.He shouldn't have gotten tired so quickly, if he hadn't been carrying a bag for both him and Pascal (totally wishful thinking), and these bags contained a lot of inexplicable things (such as certain cakes, candies, chocolates, Although Descartes thought it was necessary for Pascal to travel long distances, Pascal obviously didn't think so).A family hotel now appeared on the corner of the street, and Descartes hurried over; Pascal was not very tired because he was constantly stuffed with certain food without any burden, he was very bored by it.

"I'm sorry, Bryce, today's itinerary is entirely out of my own considerations. You must be very tired?" As soon as he sat down on the outdoor table and chairs, Descartes hurriedly asked the stern-looking man in front of him. kid.

"No, I'm not really tired," Pascal replied, he just felt himself suffocating in an all-round high protection (at which point he was thankful that they didn't have to breathe as the Memoir Incarnates), "I know The importance of this place to you, after all, this is yours... No need to order, René!" But René had already called the waiter over.

"What do you need, gentlemen?" the young man said in Dutch.

"Parlezvouslefranaisouleanglais, si'lvousplat?" Descartes asked just as Pascal was about to answer in Dutch.The young man froze for a moment, then shouted to the store, "France! I need a translator!" Descartes could only understand the name in this sentence.Hearing such a name in Edgarmond, he couldn't help but froze for a moment.

A little girl came out of the store impatiently. She was light and her long curly black hair was swaying with her steps. "Don't keep calling me like that!" she said to the waiter in Dutch.She took the menu, walked through the tables and chairs (this afternoon, there were not many customers in the cafe), and walked to the table of foreign tourists.

"Hello, gentlemen," said a little French girl named Francie, who looked about Pascal's (apparent age) age.Her black eyes flickered, looking suspiciously at the French uncle in front of her (Descartes still looked at her with a shocked expression), "I am not a child laborer, sir. I am the daughter of the proprietress here. It is difficult here Seeing foreign tourists, so it's just me and my brothers who know French and English, of course that's also learned in school - we have beer, coffee, juice..."

"Beer, big glass." Pascal said in the tone of wandering in Paris, obviously not aware that he now looks like a junior high school student.

"No, no, no, juice—do you have orange juice? (The little girl nodded) Then I want orange juice," Descartes suddenly came to his senses (Pascal was very upset), "and a cup of coffee—no need The sugar and milk kind."

The little girl looked empathetically at the French boy in front of her (she seemed to realize that Pascal was not a girl), and walked back to the shop.

After the coffee and orange juice (Pascal felt very helpless) were served, Descartes didn't seem to be in the mood to taste his coffee, and he kept looking at the door of the family hotel.After returning to the hotel, Francie looked as if she had been educated. Now she took a stack of homework, sat on an empty table outside, and began to write with a pout.

"René, her name just happened to be France, and she happened to appear in Edgarmonds..." Pascal could see what Descartes was thinking. He must be thinking of his daughter France, who died in infancy, and here just It's where her mother last lived.

"No, she is too similar..."

"René, with all due respect, Francie was only five years old when she died. How can you infer what she looked like when she was fifteen or sixteen years old? Besides, it's three centuries later..." Pascal said.At this time, the girl seemed to remember something, got up and went back to the hotel.After a while, she came out carefully holding a small glass jar.There was a small Brazilian turtle in the glass tank, and Francie clearly wanted her little pet to bask in the sun.But she took another bag of food out of her pocket to feed her little animals.

At this time a woman came out of the hotel, she should be the girl's mother.When she turned sideways, Descartes looked shocked.No, it can't be that similar...

"Rene..." Pascal stretched out his hand to press Descartes who was already stunned.But he still looked at the mother and daughter.Although there was a certain distance, their conversation was still very clear in this quiet afternoon, especially after Francie seemed to get angry and began to growl.

"This is my pet!" she said.

"But you can't feed it so many times a day, it will be stuffed to death." The mother said seriously, taking the feed from her daughter.

"No! Descartes won't be overwhelmed!" The girl yelled dissatisfiedly at her mother's back, and sat down before her homework angrily.

Pascal is thankful Descartes didn't spit coffee in his face after hearing that, because Descartes really looked like he was going to throw up. "Rene... You must calm down... In many American movies, we can see a puppy named Einstein..." Pascal comforted weakly.

But the development of things obviously couldn't calm down Descartes.After fiddling with her homework a few times (Pascal judged from the Cartesian coordinate system on the homework that it was some disgusting analytic geometry problems), France walked straight to the two Frenchmen, holding Holding that glass jar.Descartes felt dizzy when the little turtle with the same name lay down in front of him and looked at him.

"Gentlemen, I'm sorry to bother you, but this is the first time I've met a French tourist, so I'd like to ask you a few questions." Francie sat next to Pascal and said generously.

"Yes." Pascal quickly replied, because it was obviously an unwise choice for Descartes to answer the question at this time.

"Are you from Paris? Or have you ever been to Paris?" asked France, leaning forward, her bright eyes gleaming like obsidian.

"Why are you so obsessed with Paris..." Pascal pursed his lips and smiled, "Although we live in Paris, we are more in love with the idyllic scenery here. I love the cheese called GoudaKaas here, but unfortunately I have only eaten it so far Once; I also like the beer here, but unfortunately I can't get it today..."

"Don't be sad," Francie reassured eagerly, "my parents don't want me to do this or that every day. I argued with them that I was going to Paris, but they said I had passed the final exam before taking me there." , your father is not the only one who is so annoying, really!"

Pascal was stunned for a while before realizing who Francie was referring to as his father. "He..." Pascal looked at Descartes (Descartes was smiling meaningfully), and then returned to the girl in front of him, "What aspects of Paris do you want to know? Paris is far bigger than you think Much more than the Eiffel Tower, the Place de la Concorde, the Louvre."

"I want to know..." Before Francie could finish her words, she heard her mother shout. It seemed that the little girl had been found out that she didn't do her homework.France rose reluctantly and ran over.But she forgot one of her important items, her little turtle is still poking around in the glass jar on the table.

Now all that remains are the two French visitors and the little Brazilian tortoise on the table.

"I think I understand what you mean now. History always repeats itself, the only difference is that our existence is eliminated in the new reincarnation." Pascal looked at the little Brazilian turtle in the tank, it seemed to feel Without seeing the stranger's gaze, he hastily put his head and limbs back into the shell.

"But we who once belonged to these reincarnations are still connected with our past family members in some subtle ways," Descartes stared at the timid little animal, and said sadly, "For example, this little turtle. No Know why she named it that, but now I really feel like a cowardly turtle for what I've done."

"About ten years ago," Pascal's thoughts seemed to be evoked by another event, "I went back to my hometown Clermont and visited Clermont Second University, which is now named after me. , also known as Blaise Pascal University. It was the graduation season at that time, and many students on campus were taking pictures. At this time, I met a pair of sisters and their parents, and they asked me to take a group photo for them... ..." Pascal's voice was a little trembling, and he took Descartes' hand, "It seems that I saw my mother for the first time in another century; back then, my mother died because of me, and now because of my disappearance, The family was complete... I was like taking pictures of my own parents and sisters, the only difference is that I no longer exist in this cycle. In the end, the two sisters thanked me and kissed me on the cheek; Watching them leave in the shadow of the campus..."

"Salue, messieurs!"

Suddenly a crisp voice interrupted the sad conversation between the two.Francie came back with her math homework in her arms.She happily sat down in front of Descartes and Pascal.

"Your... Descartes... landed here." Descartes said in a stiff tone, pointing to the little turtle.Hearing the little master's voice, the Brazilian tortoise poked its head out again, looking up with its small black eyes.

"It doesn't matter, Descartes basically spends his whole day sleeping and in a daze," Francie glanced at the stupid little turtle, "This little turtle was given to me by my third brother Yes - I have three older brothers, and as the youngest, I am under a lot of pressure; what's more, they all get better grades than me, especially in math. I often fight with them, but in the end, it will be fine, who let those The idiots are my family!" Francie gritted her teeth and said, "After I failed another math test, my third brother gave me this turtle. I hated this kind of ridicule so much, so I took my It was named after one of the most hated mathematicians—it has nothing to do with France, it has to do with mathematics, don't misunderstand, gentlemen."

"So you often abuse your Descartes? In fact, Descartes is also the mathematician I hate the most, no one," Pascal raised his eyebrows and said (Descartes regretted not buying Pascal beer), "because he invented Analytic geometry, the purity of geometry is destroyed."

"As soon as I can't solve the math problem, I'll knock on Descartes' shell," Francie said vigorously. I'm really sorry for leaving without saying goodbye, because my mother thought I didn't do my homework seriously; after I explained the situation to her, she said that I can ask you questions about Paris, but I have to finish these math homework today-in fact , they will be handed in tomorrow..." She glanced at the questions dejectedly.

"Is it analytic geometry?" Descartes glanced at the topics and immediately became interested (but it may also be that he finally found an opportunity to divert the topic of "Descartes is a little tortoise"), "I am a tutor in Paris Math teacher at the institution, so I think I can help you with these questions."

"Oh no!" Francie looked like she was about to cry. She glanced at Pascal who was still drinking orange juice, "Young man! You are so pitiful in such a family!"

"No, I'm very kind...about the same as your little turtle," Descartes was at a loss for words to save his image, "I guess maybe your teacher didn't explain the fun of analytic geometry to you clearly. With the help of analytic geometry, many complex geometric problems—problems that are difficult to solve by pure geometry (he glanced at Pascal, who returned with his usual downcast eyes)—can be solved simply and mechanically.” The little girl was still pouting suspiciously and looking at the uncle in front of her. Descartes had already brought her homework. "I am confident that I will be able to speak clearly before the evening, and of course my child (Pascal looks at him with a contorted face) will tell you what he saw in Paris."

*****************************************************

Pascal sat alone in a hotel room in Leiden.It was already night, but Descartes had not yet appeared; in fact, when Pascal opened his eyes, Descartes had disappeared.Of course, he didn't need to go to great lengths to find him like he did in 1781. He only needed a text message and a phone call, and he could know where Descartes was now.But he didn't want to know.Centuries later, discovering the remnants of my own memories of the human period is so ecstatic for memoir materialized individuals, and at this time, if I accidentally step into the samsara track that removes my own existence, I will be placed under the emotions of the past again... ...the temptation is unimaginable.For this reason, the association stipulates that the memoir materialized individual cannot have long-term personal relationships with human beings other than work, but... when I hide alone in the shadow of the trees in Clermont II and watch my family leave in another time and space, I feel that How much pain and regret want to overcome this bondage...

It started to rain in Leiden.The sound of pattering outside the window was faint.Such memories and such feelings will never be abandoned... Descartes still loves his daughter Frances, even though he sent her mother away with 1000 Dutch guilders, didn't he spend his days and nights on it? Ye Di regretted, but never had the chance to make amends?After so many years, so many centuries, in his eyes, is he still a substitute for a 5-year-old girl?Would his promise to atone for the error of 1639 be vulnerable to this?Chance made him accidentally step into that samsara track yesterday, what would happen to him, abandoning himself, and even ignoring the law of memoirs materializing individuals...

When Pascal came to the window, his oval face was printed on the glass covered with raindrops, but his nearly 400-year-old soul could not be seen.The gift Descartes gave him on that birthday, the ether, once it filled his empty frame of mind and reason, was irreversible; if I were only a substitute, Pascal suddenly found himself thinking desperately, then let me just A substitute is fine; I don't mind how selfish and cowardly he is, I just hope that I can stay by his side and get that warmth... Such a desperate cry for family and love, such despair... …

Huygens opened the door. "Bryce," said Huygens worriedly, "I called his old friend Spinoza, and he said he wasn't with Descartes; you really don't need to call him yourself. Phone? I texted him, but he didn't reply."

"No. Thank you, Christian," said Pascal dryly, watching Huygens close the door in discouragement.He has become accustomed to hiding his feelings under mysterious religious feelings, how right Voltaire satirizes in his philosophical correspondence, it is really the mentality of a sick person...

After Pascal sat at the table and did the Demidovich's mathematical analysis problem set again, the door of the room opened, and Descartes appeared at the door covered in mud and water.Regardless of the wetness and coldness on his body, he opened a cloth bag wrapped in layers that he carried with him, took out two yellow pancakes from inside, put them in front of Pascal, and then hurried into the bathroom to change his clothes.

Pascal looked indifferently at the two short cylinders with a diameter of one foot and a thickness of about 10 centimeters placed on the mathematical analysis exercise set. "What's this?" he asked blankly.

"GoudaKaas," Descartes poked his head out of the bathroom, exhausted and unable to hide his excitement, "I bought it at the cheese market in Gouda."

"Gouda? You went to Gouda today?" Pascal said in surprise.

"Yes," Descartes said proudly, "I set off before dawn, first along the canal to Rotterdam; Gouda is really far away-after Rotterdam, I have to go 25 kilometers northeast, but I still hurry Bought the cheese before the end of the cheese market; on the way back the sudden change of weather prevented me from returning to Leiden until now. I just saw Huygens' text message, please tell him that I was too busy today and didn't pay attention to my message Mobile phone." He put on his home clothes and sat on the bed.

Pascal looked at the two cheeses with a total weight of about 24 kilograms. It was hard for him to imagine how Descartes brought them back from such a remote place in such bad weather. "Why are you in such a hurry to buy cheese?"

Now Descartes looks a little confused. "Bryce, didn't you say when you were in Eggmonde yesterday: 'I love this cheese called GoudaKaas, but I've only had it once so far'? Did I repeat that right? When I came back yesterday, I I asked Spinoza online and he told me about the Gouda Cheese Market, and I saw it happened to be there today, so I went there. That’s it, do you want to eat now?”

Pascal put his hand on his forehead, "I... I just said it casually yesterday." He was speechless. "I... I thought you went to Edgarmond again..."

"You mean Francie?" Descartes admitted frankly, "I did think about her when I was in the car today... I was worried that the math homework I did for her would be discovered by her teacher... how much Lovely girl, I never get tired of seeing her again... But Frances is right, even if she hates her brothers, she will make up with them in the end, because they are her family... We have Excluded from these reincarnations, they became passers-by; Helena and France, they looked exactly like my Helena and France, but in this time and space, they were no longer the ones I knew back then, they With a new person to protect, I no longer exist in any corner of their memory; why should I disturb their life? ... And I can't abandon my current family for something similar to memory."

"The current family?"

"You." Descartes blinked and said, taking out a bag of bread from the cabinet, "—the seller told me that this kind of cheese is good for spreading bread or cooking, do you want some now? I bought pepper and chili Two flavors, which one do you want?—Bryce?" Pascal still turned his back to him, sitting at the table without saying a word.Descartes came over, he stroked Pascal's shoulder, and wanted to see what was wrong with the kid, but he saw the Jimedovich. "Why do you have the expression that the theorem has been overthrown? Ah, I see, it seems that Jimidovich has made you unhappy."

"One of my conjectures has indeed been disproved." Pascal pursed his lips and said, he could no longer control his emotions, "but it wasn't a conjecture about fractions. I might really be as stupid as Leibniz said Missed even when the answer was so close that it felt like I was seeing things blindfolded. Thank you, René."

"Are you worried that tasting Gouda Kaas now will cause weight problems? Don't be so restrained." Descartes smiled and picked up a cheese.But when he looked back at his little friend, he found that Pascal was biting his lip and tugging at the hem of his clothes, with tears streaming down his cheeks.

The happiest thing in life is knowing someone loves you.