Section 17. How the Sphere, having in vain tried words, resorted to deeds
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It was no use. I used my my strongest right angle to ram him violently in the side, with enough speed and force that I would have killed any normal Circle.
But I could feel him escaping me, not by moving to the right or to the left, but somehow moving out of the world, vanishing into thin air.
Soon there was nothing left to see or feel. But I still heard the Intruder’s voice.
Sphere: Why won’t you listen to reason? I’d hoped that you – a man of education and a skilled mathematician – would become an advocate, an apostle, for the Truth of the Three Dimensions, which I am only allowed to reveal once in a thousand years. But I don’t know how to convince you.
The Stranger: Wait, I have it! Actions, not words, will show you the truth. Listen, my friend:
The Stranger: I’ve already told you that, from my position in Space above you, I can see inside all of the things that you consider “closed” or solid.
The Stranger: For example, I see in the cupboard near you some of what you call “boxes”, though with you they have no tops or bottoms, and these “boxes” are filled with money. I can also see two account books.
The Stranger: I am about to move down into that cupboard, and I will bring you one of those books. I saw you lock the cupboard half an hour ago, and you still have the key with you. But I don’t need a key, I am coming down from Space itself. Look, the doors aren’t touched at all.
The Stranger: Now I am inside the cupboard, and I am picking up the book. I have it now. And now I am lifting back up with it.”
I rushed to the cupboard, unlocked it, and threw the door open. One of the books was gone.
With a mocking laugh, the Stranger appeared in the far corner of the room and at the same time, the book appeared on the floor in front of him. I ran to grab it, and there was no doubt in my mind – it was the same book that had just disappeared from the cupboard.
I groaned with horror, wondering if I’d gone insane.
But the Stranger just continued: “Surely you see now that I’m telling the truth, there’s no other explanation. What you call Solid things aren’t Solid at all, and what you call the whole of Space is just a big flat Plane. I am in Space, and I look down on the insides of all the things that you will only ever see the outsides of.
“You could leave this Plane yourself, if you would just put in enough effort. A tiny movement upwards or downwards would let you see everything I can see.
“The higher I go, the further from your Plane I get, and the more I can see, although obviously it gets smaller with distance. For example, right now I am moving upward, and I can see your neighbor, the Hexagon, and his family as they sleep in their rooms.”
His voice was slightly fainter as he continued:
“Now I’m even higher, and I can see the Theater, just ten houses away, and on the other side of that is a Circle in his studyroom, sitting with his books.”
Then his voice got clearer, as he said:
“Now I’ll come back down to you. And, as the final proof, what if I give you a touch – just a gentle touch – in your stomach? It shouldn’t seriously injure you, and the little bit of pain you might feel will be far outweighed by the mental benefit you’ll get from it.”
Before I could object, I felt a shooting agony of pain inside of me, and heard a demoniacal laugh that seemed to come from the same place.
After a moment, the sharp agony lessened, leaving only a dull ache behind, and the Stranger began to reappear, saying, as he increased in size, “There, that didn’t hurt too much, did it? If that didn’t convince you, I don’t know what will. Well, are you convinced?”
I made a resolution. I was not going to put up with any more random pranks from a Magician who could somehow play tricks with my very own stomach. Maybe I could pin him to the wall until help came!
I began to shout for help from my family, while I did my best to slam into him with my hardest angle again.
I think looking back, that the Stranger sank partially below our Plane right as I began charging at him, and then he found it really difficult to get back up to the surface again, so that only a small top section was visible to me.
In any case, he stayed still while I continued to shout for my family and pressed against him with all my strength, thinking I’d heard someone coming to help.
A shudder ran through the Sphere, and I heard him say in a muffled voice, “This cannot be – either he has to listen to me, or I have to resort to the last option left to me.” Then he raised his voice, speaking to me, hurrying to exclaim, “Listen! No one but you can be allowed to see what you’ve seen! Send your Wife back to her room immediately, before she sees this! The Truth of Three Dimensions cannot be ruined like this! Not after a thousand years of waiting, it can’t all be thrown away now! I can hear her coming! Get back, back! Either let me go, or come with me into a land you do not know – into the Land of Three Dimensions!”
“Fool! Madman! Irregular!” I shouted, “I’ll never let you go! You’ll pay for your crimes against me!”
“Has it really come to this?!” the Stranger thundered, “Ha! Then meet your fate! Out of your Plane you go! Once, Twice, Thrice, here we go!”
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