Thorns of Immortality
by Patryk Rebisz

Part II (short excerpts) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

6. Musician and King
"'I was suddenly overcome by pity, as I considered the brevity of human life, since not one of all these people here will be alive one hundred years from now.' - Persian king Xerxes, recounted by Herodotus. He saw himself as a god and was saddened that this self-deception couldn't extend into the reality - that he was limited in his godliness by his finite body."

"The astronauts have outlived the crowds that sent them on their journey - and the ones who were supposed to give them their divinity if the mission went according to plan, weren't even born yet. They too, the Poet realized, were gods - who died, unfortunately, before being born."

"Immortality is fed by the ego of those on top of Mt Olympus as well as the masses - the mutated concert goers existing as an abstraction hiding in darkness beyond the brightness of the stage. One body merging into another, until they meant nothing as individuals. Their presence at this concert was a form of spiritual cleansing - a willful disjointment from their individualism, in the communal prayer with the performer as their priest."

"What propels someone to willingly give up their uniqueness? What motivates the desire to exchange the singularity of the self for the chance to be part of something bigger - a mosaic of colors worshiping an idol?"

"God gave humans free will and then tamed it by one's desire to exist among others."