Gud was walking and as he walked he wondered wherein and whereon he was
walking. But as he knew all things he realized that he was in the Nth
dimension and that he was walking along the Impossible Curve which he
had thrown out of space.
So Gud walked along the Impossible Curve in the Nth dimension until he
came to a heap of discarded theories. It was a tangled heap and looked
as if it might be a hiding place of ideas. So Gud caught up one of the
sturdier theories and shook it, and the dried facts that the theory had
borne rattled off like rotten fruit from a dead branch. Gud plucked the
twigs of hypotheses from the heavier theory--and so made for himself a
staff. This he rammed lustily into the tangled heap of theories,
whereupon something ran out and leaped along the Impossible Curve.
When it stopped, Gud, with his staff in hand, walked after it and came
up to it, and thought that it was the echo of a voice.
"What were you doing?" demanded Gud, "hiding in that heap of discarded
theories?"
"Alas," said that which Gud thought was the echo of a voice, "I was not
hiding. There was nothing left of me to hide, because I was an obedient
man and gave myself away even as I was told to do."
"What did they tell you to do?" asked Gud.
"They told me to do what I did."
"What did you do?"
The nothing sighed, and then said faintly: "I gave my wealth to the
poor, my mind to my work, my heart to my wife, my life to my country and
my soul to my god."
Gud reached over and picked up the nothing which he had thought was the
echo of a voice. He picked it up by the ears, which were very thin, and
looked into its eyes, which were pale pink, and stroked its fur, which
was soft and white. Then Gud tied the nothing's ears together and hung
it over his staff, and proceeded on his way.
As Gud walked on along the Impossible Curve he saw himself approaching
to meet him. This made Gud very angry at himself because himself
insisted on walking in the opposite direction, which seemed to show Gud
that he had a dual nature and could go two ways at once. So Gud charged
ahead to meet himself, and as he approached himself he swung the staff,
which was over his shoulder, with a vicious blow at himself.
In his anger, Gud had forgotten the nothing which was hanging by its
ears on his staff. As he swung the staff, the Impossible Curve took a
sudden turn in an unknown direction so that Gud missed himself at which
he struck. But that which was hanging by the ears flew off the staff and
went hurtling through the deceitful mirror.
In this new excitement Gud forgot himself and peered through the
deceitful mirror to see what had become of nothing. Gud saw that nothing
was being chased by something, which Gud recognized as the reflection of
an Underdog.
The chase was exciting; the nothing ducked and the reflection of an
Underdog leaped over it. Then the nothing turned and started back toward
the deceitful mirror, through which Gud was peering. The reflection of
the Underdog turned also, and when the quarry reached the mirror it came
back through and its pursuer came after it.
Quickly Gud swung his staff again and broke the mirror into ten thousand
pieces. Then he turned about and saw, by the contented look on the face
of the Underdog, that nothing was no more. Gud was glad he had been
engaged in breaking the mirror and so had not seen the finale of the
chase, for thus he missed the suffering of the victim and yet could see
the satisfaction of the victor.
Gud now looked at the staff in his hand and saw that it had borne a
luscious fruit. He plucked the fruit and tasted it. At first it tasted
very sweet but later the taste turned bitter in his mouth. Gud looked
again at the staff which he had picked from the heap of discarded
theories, and Gud saw that he held in his hand the theory of conquest.
In horror he hurled it from him, and it struck the Underdog, who gave
forth a great howl of pain.
Gud felt compassion for the Underdog and picked him up and nursed his
wound, and the Underdog licked Gud's hands. Then he sat the Underdog
down and started on his way, and the Underdog followed at Gud's heels
along the Impossible Curve.