Anthropogony: Genesis
  1. The Birth of Life
  2. The Birth of Truth
  3. The Birth of Fear
  4. The Birth of Speech
  5. The Birth of the Machine
  6. The Birth of Morals
  7. Wà-illness
Introduction

Genesis

Confrontation

Transformation
I. The Birth of Life I - II - III - IV - V - VI - VII

Genesis - Confrontation - Transformation
1 mm Somewhere in the ocean 
    a number of souls
    blinked alive 
    and started to play.
5   There was nothing but bliss. 
    They compenetrated and separated
    and they didn't care.
    With infinite somersaults
    they tickled each other
10   like bubbles in boiling water
    and if one of them burst
    it joined the others.
    Mysteriously multiplying
    they were all the same
15   and each was an universe.
    They were not up or down
    they were not in or out
    they were not male or female
    they were not young or old.
20   And with a soul-attuned ear
    one would hear them
    sing and shout 
    cry and yell
    moan and pant 
25   and the deepest silence.
1. The ocean: The "ocean" is the same as the primordial broth. In the Anthropogony's original language, the word also means "space" (i.e. interplanetary space). 

18. They were not male or female: Male/female, young/old, are attributes of humans, not of Souls. The reference to human characteristics is necessary to picture the sameness of Souls and humans. Obviously, Wà is not male, female, young or old, either. 

23. Cry and yell: Souls can also feel sadness and pain, that is not a prerogative of Wà. The difference lies in the attitude the Souls have towards these feelings. 

25. The deepest silence: Silence is the highest form of ecstasy and enjoyment, when one does not dare disturb the incoming sensations with an expression of feeling. What comes from without is so marvelous, that it is best left pure and unhindered, so that it may permeate the Soul in full. 
II. The Birth of Truth I - II - III - IV - V - VI - VII

Genesis - Confrontation - Transformation
1 mm After one second
    or a million years
    one birth went different.
    It happened in the midst
5   of the blissful mass.
    That Soul had a name
    and its name was Wà.
    Wà enjoyed in full
    the richness of relationship.
10   but as it happens
    in the chaotic movement
    Wà tumbled from high- to low-concentration
    and Wà thought:
    «I was better before,
15   here there is less bliss.»
    So instead of floating
    Wà started to push onwards
    to regain the deeper bliss.
    And the Souls kept playing
20   because there is no Wà
    there is no before
    there is no better.
    Wà was Wà only to Wà.
The first individual to emerge from the primordial chaos is the symbol of Death, Wà.  

7. Wà means "truth" in the Anthropogony's language. 

14-15. I was better before, here there is less bliss: In formulating the first rational thought, Wà creates the notions of space and time ("before", "here"), as well as the first judgment of value ("better"). "Rational" means "divisive" (hence "ration"): the first rational thought is also the first distinction, i.e. the first estrangement from bliss. 

17. Push onwards: Wà expresses personal will, in contrast to that of the other Souls.  

20. There is no Wà: i.e. there is no truth. Only what you believe, only what matters to you, exists.  

23. Wà was Wà only to Wà: only Wà has the notion of itself as distinct from the other souls. That is to say, only Truth has the notion of truth. 
III. The Birth of Fear I - II - III - IV - V - VI - VII

Genesis - Confrontation - Transformation
1 mm Wà was in the center
    and full of bliss
    with multitudinous sensation.
    All the Souls went through Wà
5   and Wà was in silence.
    Yet the Souls' nature was such
    that they knew no center.
    Only Wà pushed to stay there.
    But the other Souls
10   in their playful rush
    happened to contrast Wà's movement
    and Wà thought:
    «What if I lose my bliss?»
    And in the essence of Wà
15   there came a perturbation
    as if the ocean had a surface,
    and Wà had matter in itself.
    And as the Souls kept smashing into Wà
    Wà felt the need for integrity,
20   and moved, as only Wà could move,
    towards an empty space.
    There, Wà was safe,
    But was also cold.
Wà experiences fear: not only does it suffer, but suffers in anticipation of suffering, and chooses to renounce bliss in order to free itself of the possibility of losing it. 

5. in silence: silence is the ultimate expression of bliss. See above, G.I, 25. 

16. as if the ocean had a surface:  fear is related to the existence of a boundary. In other terms, it is dependent on the notion of "me" and "you", of "us" and "them". Now the ocean is no more an universe: it is only one of the possible places. 

17. Wà had matter in itself: what is later called Wà-illness (G.VII) is a rigidity of the Soul that makes it more difficult to allow compenetration with the other Souls, which introduces a boundary, again, between yourself and the others.  

19. integrity: rigidity causes a new kind of pain, which, in addition to the pain of living, hurts with the realization that one's integrity is challenged by compenetration. Now self-consciousness leads Wà to die, and kill, in order to safeguard its own identity and self. 

20. as only Wà could move: as the only Soul with the notion of "here" and "there", of "better" and "worse", Wà is the only one who can consciously move, and has a reason to do so. 

22-23. There... cold: by renouncing bliss for safety, Wà commits the fundamental act of separation from the other Souls. Now its path will be constantly bent backwards. It is, really, the Original Sin. Wà is now cold, dominated and blocked by fear, un-vibrating. Wà feels this, and its pain over this realization - that it cannot be at the same time happy and safe - is what motivates its hatred and all its subsequent actions.
IV. The Birth of Speech I - II - III - IV - V - VI - VII

Genesis - Confrontation - Transformation
1 mm Wà was still in its emptiness
    and from time to time
    a Soul rolled by
    wheeling after a rush.
5   And Wà was alone.
    Then, a Soul embraced Wà
    and rubbed Wà in tralala
    and felt it very bouncy.
    So the Soul stuck for awhile.
10   Then Wà felt the Soul was leaving
    And Wà spoke:
    «Become like me.»
    The Soul thought it fun
    and accepted the matter from Wà
15   and felt fear and dissatisfaction and hatred.
    Now Wà was two Wà's
    and longed for more Souls.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
1. Wà was still: one of the epithets of Wà is "The Still One".

4. wheeling... rush: a Soul, after a particularly strong clash, came tumbling near Wà's place.

7. rubbed Wà in tralala: the Soul comes to Wà and starts to rub into it, singing a song of bliss.

8. bouncy: Wà, who possesses matter in itself, gave a new and much-appreciates sensation to that Soul, as it rubbed against a newly found hardness. Souls are always aroused by change and by new sensations, and are always attracted to harder textures.

11. Wà spoke: this is the first instance of the use of speech by Wà, who previously (G.II,14-15) had spoken only to itself.

14. accepted the matter: the Soul allowed itself to be permeated by the new essence of Wà, i.e. hardness, matter.

16. Wà was two Wà's: the Soul, having accepted Wà-ness, becomes like Wà. At the same time, Wà becomes a being made of two parts, for Wà is defined by all Wà-like Souls, so there can only be one Wà. Wà's composite nature is partly responsible for its behaviour, because it causes rigidity, compromise, and the fear of losing power by breaking up into multiples. Power is meaningless in the absence of a structure.

17: longed for more Souls: with structure and power comes the desire to add to the power; and more components also mean more pleasure, as the rubbing sensation is higher for a being that can only feel itself. This is the primary reason for Wà's voraciousness: being captive, its pleasure is proportionate to its size.
V. The Birth of the Machine I - II - III - IV - V - VI - VII

Genesis - Confrontation - Transformation
1 mm Another Soul tumbled by
    and Wà spoke again:
    «See, our pleasure is immutable,
    eternal and supreme,
5   if you join us
    you will partake of Paradise.»
    The Soul gave it a try
    and Wà became a machine.
    As the Souls kept playing
10   they had all forms of bliss.
    One Soul, in play,
    was sad and angry for a while.
    And Wà spoke to the Soul:
    «Here there is no sadness.»
15   And the Soul, in confusion,
    joined Wà and was bored.
6. Paradise: in the Christian and in other religions, Paradise is achieved through oneness, self-awareness and obedience to the structured rules. Wà's pleasure is based on its unity, as Wà fears change and unpredictability, thus Wà's stress on the "immutability" of its pleasure. This is the reason for intolerance, as will be revealed later (G.VI).

7. a try: the Soul joins for curiosity's sake.

8. machine: the mechanisms caused by Wà's structuredness take over its residual Soul-ness. Now Wà exists only as a Wà-ness machine, having lost all of its individuality. It has no more choice than act as is necessary for its conservation and expansion.

12. for a while: the amount of time spent in a state, be it bliss or pain, is of no consequence to pure Souls. One can feel pain from birth till death, and still be joyous.

14. Here there is no sadness: Wà attracts the Soul by promising relief from a momentary pain, a typical Wà strategy to ensnare Souls. (Christian priests use it on people quite a lot.) The Soul, knowing no past or future, accepts the relief, not realizing that it is made of nothingness.
VI. The Birth of Morals I - II - III - IV - V - VI - VII

Genesis - Confrontation - Transformation
1 mm Because Wà had complexity
    and Wà had rigidity
    so Wà set out rules for pleasure
    to accomodate its parts.
5   But boredom was its state
    and pleasure brief and incomplete.
    Wà was frustrated
    and could hear the Souls playing
    And Wà thought:
10   «Theirs is not real bliss,
    only in Wà there is bliss,
    because it has an opposite.»
2. rigidity: matter makes Wà incapable of complete freedom, and more freedom is lost as the machine becomes more complex.

3. rules for pleasure: the first step of morality is to set rules according to which some pleasure may be enjoyed within a confined and rigid space. Then an artificial notion of bliss is created and enforced, in order to delude oneself that the only "true" bliss is the one inside Wà.

10. real bliss: "true bliss", or "Wà-bliss". Incapable of regaining the original bliss, Wà creates an arbitrary rule differentiating its own feeling from the Souls' bliss. This is the first action of Wà as a machine, which refutes inner knowledge to create an artificial, rational knowledge to accomodate its own situation. Thus the will to conquer creates a statement whereby one's own state is the best possible, in which one wants to include the others.

12. it has an opposite: Wà states that what differentiates its own bliss from the original bliss is the fact that it is artificial, that it must be stated in order to exist. This, that joy must be conquered through suffering, is the fundament of Wà-morals.
VII. Wà-illness I - II - III - IV - V - VI - VII

Genesis - Confrontation - Transformation
1 mm And so it happened
    that the Souls saw Wà
    and their bliss mutated.
    Now they knew their essence
5   and the coldness of Wà
    and they knew Joy
    and they had words for all of it.
    The Souls became more Wà-like:
    they all acquired a surface
10   and a here and a there,
    a now and a then:
    these Souls had a body.
    These are the Souls that must be soothed
    the ones that are ill of Wà-ness
 15   of Wà who invented illness.
3. their bliss mutated: the Souls acquire consciousness of the difference between themselves and Wà. With this comes conscious will, and speech. The process is quite akin to the Fall from Eden (with Wà as both God and the Snake). Now Wà is no more "Wà only to Wà" (see G.II,23), as the Souls recognize its presence. This state, as will be seen in the Confrontation, is highly unstable and leads to the Souls' final annihilation.

6. Joy: Joy is "bliss in Wà-ness", that is, the drive towards bliss which is experienced by the Souls that have known Wà. It is a different form of bliss than actual bliss, as it is tainted by self-conscience, and by the knowledge of Wà,a dark force whose purpose is to negate bliss.

7. words for all of it: the Souls acquire speech.

8. more Wà-like: the Souls are more like Wà, because they now have discrimination and matter. They recognize the opposition between Joy and stillness: again, this is akin to the Fall from Eden, the Original Sin, puberty.

9-11. surface... then: the Souls now exist in space-time.

12. body: having a body is an expression of Wà-ness. The body, and the battle waged around it between Wà and the Spirits of Joy, will be the subject of most of the Transformation.

13. soothed: here a Wà-terminology is employed to mark the transition from a Wà-less world to a Wà-ruled one, from bliss (which exists only outside and ignorant of Wà) and Joy, which replaces it in the Wà-world. The Spirits of Joy (C.V) are born exactly to soothe these Souls.

14. ill of Wà-ness: contaminated by Wà. The very notion of "illness", of "contamination", is already Wà-like: once infected by Wà, the Souls have no choice but to accept its terminology. But this "illness" cannot be cured: "curing an illness" is already a Wà-notion. From the moment that the illness permeates the Souls, it becomes part of their nature. This is the nature of Joy: if you lose a leg, you become a one-legged man, not a man who lacks one leg. Joy is the process by which you adapt yourself to your circumstances, becoming one with your environment, accepting and embracing change.