Solo Exchanging Ideas in the Basilika

[Asha]

Fall 2, 514 A courtyard filled with sculptures and milling crowds sprawled before Asha as she looked up at the curved skyglass roof of the Basilika. It was shortly after noon’s rest but the courtyard was buzzing with an electricity of brilliance and wisdom. It seemed to Asha as though the air was positively crackling with the excitement of wise ones eagerly debating a thought that lay close to their heart. Asha walked in the courtyard, keeping her pace slow to catch snippets of conversation. The people around her were so involved in their discussions their hardly noticed the giant ape, though her presence in the city was beginning to be more generally known and accepted. The debaters’ eyes glowed in the intensity of their speeches and some argued so violently spit sprayed from their mouths. This place, a hub of orally exchanged ideas and learnings, made Asha feel at home. It was the most comfortable she had felt since she had first arrived in Lhavit but she had always been too nervous and wary to approach to the beautiful courtyard of the Basilika before. These people who were so caught in the fervor of knowledge reminded her of her own people and the jamoura’s thirst for learning. There many people in the courtyard, the press of bodies so thick that Asha could no longer feel the day’s light breeze ruffling her black fur. With an easy smile she continued to pass slowly through the crowds of debaters and listeners until her ears caught the wheeze of a sudden gasp for air and soft thud of a clothed body falling to the ground. Her smile fading into a frown she spun on her heel towards the source of the sound and her eyes were met with an elderly human man. The man kneeled on the ground, one hand clutching his chest as his wrinkled lips sucked at the air. Asha’s eyes widened and her mouth dropped in surprise. All those around her paused in shock for a moment before a few recovered and rushed to the elderly man’s aid. His gasps were getting weaker and weaker, even as two young, muscular men lifted the elder and rushed off towards the Catholicon on the other side of the peak. Asha blinked a few moments, her eyes blank in shock. She and those around her soon recovered from the sudden collapse and removal of the elderly man, the sound of conversation and debate hesitatingly returning to the Basilika courtyard. “Quite unexpected, eh?” Asha turned and found an older human man with graying hair to be the source of the question. “Yes, it was unexpected.” Asha said with hesitation, unsure of if the man had a point or was simply making a passing comment.

[Asha]

“Not the first time though, and I dare say it won’t be the last. Some get too excited and their hearts give out. I hope that man makes it but I won’t expect to see him back here. Pity, he had excellent ideas on the placement of the stars.” The man said with a sigh. “That is unfortunate for him. It is always sad when a person possessing great knowledge passes into Dira’s embrace. I hope he was able to spread his knowledge.” Asha remarked and turned her head to gaze in the direction the injured man had been rushed off towards. “His possessing great knowledge does not make his passing more or less sad than anyone else, I think. Though he did love to speak about his knowledge, yes.” “I do not mean to suggest that those who possess less knowledge are somehow less important when they die. I only think it is unfortunate that his knowledge may die with him if there are things he knew and did not share. The death of knowledge is the true loss because it is beyond value.” Asha countered, her cheeks felt hot with embarrassment at realizing what the man thought she had implied. “If he did not spread or use the knowledge then it can hardly be “beyond value” as you say. If knowledge is unused then it is useless and valueless. Do you argue knowledge for knowledge’s sake?” he asked, the smallest hint of laughing contempt in his voice. “The capacity for knowledge beyond instinctual urge is what marks intelligent species from the creatures that fall under Caiyha’s protection. The less intelligent species do not have the capacity for reasoning and deduction and so knowledge is the mark of sentience. In that way, knowledge for knowledge’s sake is extremely valuable. The urge to know and discover is as natural and needed as seeking food and shelter. For the goodness of the whole it should be shared with everyone but even if it is not it is still valuable because of sentient being’s need and desire to learn. The fulfillment of that need gives knowledge, even unshared knowledge, value.” Asha said, smiling with satisfaction as she finished her statement. “But what importance can knowledge have if it is not shared? If it is not shared then it is not be put to good use. If the knowledge does not help someone, then it is of no value. It puts no food in someone’s belly or gives them water to quench their thirst. Food, water, and shelter are necessary. Knowledge is only a tool to more easily obtain necessities or to make those necessities higher quality.” The man countered.

[Asha]

“I disagree. Knowledge must be sought to feed the mind. The mind hungers for food of its own and if starved will shrink and shrivel. A being that does not seek knowledge most certainly grows stupid and can never fully realize their potential as a sentient being. They may as well be a plow ox. A smith hungers for knowledge of new tools and methods of working metal while an astronomer hungers for knowledge of the movement of the stars. If either cease to search for knowledge their ability to reason will atrophy and they will become lesser.” Asha argued, feeling frustrated with the man’s insistence placing knowledge in a less important category. “But those people must seek those types of knowledge because it is their occupation. If they do not, they will perform their jobs more poorly and will surely lose business. But what about in their time away from their work? Do they pursue learning then?” he countered and smirk, noticing Asha’s irritation. “But the reason they have those occupations is their specialty in that knowledge. If the smith spent most of his time learning the intricacies of embroidery then he would most likely pursue an occupation as a decorator of clothing rather than a worker of metals. And who is to say that the smith does not pursue other knowledge when he is away from the forge? Perhaps the person practices singing and learns new songs to delight their children or perhaps the astronomer learns of plants and gardens to find peace away from the stars? A person does not leave their job and then merely sit before the fire gazing at the flames before they return to their work.” Asha forced herself to breathe deeply and quell her frustration. While sometimes showing emotion could help win an argument, showing that she was annoyed and flustered would most certainly not help her case. Debates were won with reason and logic not emotional outbursts. “But you do not know that they do these things so you cannot claim that they do more than they need to.” He stated, noting the flaw in her argument. “But you do not know that they do not do these things. Look at all the men and women here. I see no exchange of coins, clearly this is not their occupation. They do it because their minds hunger for more. They are realizing the purpose of their sentience through logic and reason.” Asha said and gestured her hand to the throngs of people around them. “But what of those who choose to spend their free time in pubs and bars drinking a gossiping? Are they less realized persons?” he demanded, finally showing some irritation of his own. “No, I make no such claim. They are exchanging knowledge as well, just of a different type.”

[Asha]

“You cannot seriously be arguing that the exchange of idle, or even vicious, gossip is on par with the exchange of ideas that occurs here? Is a rumor of a woman’s pregnancy by someone other than her husband truly as important as the reason why stars fade from the sky?” The man laughed as he spoke. “It is not on the same level of importance but I believe it still counts as knowledge. But I do mean to separate truth from falsehood. If the gossip is true then it is an exchange of knowledge of evens and the behavior of people. History, anthropology, and psychology are all play and are the substance of gossip though certainly presented in a non-academic manner and intent. But falsehoods are of course not knowledge and merely, er, an exercise of creativity. With that distinction in mind I do most certainly argue that those who seek gossip in a pub are just as much seekers of knowledge as though who concern themselves with the secret doings of the gods or the movement of the stars.” Asha said and crossed her arms over her chest, seeing what her opponent in this argument might counter with. “I find that to be ridiculous and I won’t lower myself to argue against it. The people are us are after something far more superior then drunks in a pub. Good day madam, I hope you come to your senses.” The man shivered in anger, Asha’s words hitting a nerve that turned the debate almost personal. “I only meant to argue my point, I am sorry if you felt I were judging you or your peers in any way. I appreciated the debate and I hope we meet again in the future.” Asha said, shocked into politeness. She had not intended her words to be taken so seriously and so personally. The man accepted her apology and walked away quickly. Asha was left to wonder if previous experiences or conversations had given him reason to react so negatively to what she had said. She was left with no choice but to shrug off his anger and hope that she had not misspoke or added to whatever his issue was. Asha needed some time to register what had happened and the discussion that had occurred. The man certainly had some interesting points she wished to consider privately. Asha carefully weaved her way through the throngs of debaters and their audiences and finally left the Basilika courtyard behind. On the opposite side of the street Asha found a lovely stone bench that faced the Basilika and its buzz of activity. She sat comfortably, shifting her hips until her weight was equally balanced. Asha clasped her hands together and laid them gently in her lap and her brown eyes gazed at a small spot in the road in front of her. She did not close her eyes as she usually did when she meditated; she didn’t want to make herself look like easy prey for thieves or makers of mischief. She let her muscles relax slowly one by one, first fingers and toes then arms and legs. At last she let the relaxation roll through her chest and up through her head, relaxing her eyes until she gazed at the spot in the road without really seeing it. Once her body was relaxed she set to quieting her mind which buzzed with thoughts and resisted her intentions. Her mind wanted to mull over the man’s words and consider or refute his perspective. Asha did as she always did when her mind refused to quiet and began to focus on her breath. Asha inhaled deeply, then exhaled equally deeply. In and out she focused on the sensation of the air leaving and entering her nostrils. By focusing on a physical rhythm she was able to move her attention away from her buzzing thoughts and her mind slowly began to quiet. The sound of passersby and the insistent drone of those still thronging the courtyard were bothersome and often disturbed her concentration but she always returned her attention to her breath each time it strayed. The breath continued for many chimes as her thoughts slowly emptied from her mind. She had gotten better at meditating and usually her mind emptied as if poured from a pitcher but the noises and events of the day were taxing her abilities.