264 The Karmic Scholar

“Ones, tens, hundreds, thousands. The three forces; Heaven, Earth, Man – the Three Luminaries; the Sun, Moon and Stars. So, too, are there Three bonds: The First – Obligation of Sovereign to Subject. The Second – The Love between Father and Child. The Third – Harmony between Husband and Wife.”

Dozens of twinkling white lights appeared around the massive scholar. Each one was a small child enveloped in light, hunched down and diligently reading from books in their tiny hands. They revolved around the scholar as though in orbit, reciting from the text.

The Confucian wise man smiled, a smile full of satisfaction, then clapped his hands together. The dots of light rose in to the heavens and vanished.

Overhead white light still spread out over the horizon, as though the universe were made of white gold. A single ray of errant light descended from on high to illuminate the book opened within the scholar’s hand. A single word appeared within the tome, large and blazing on the parchment.