Kitab Al-Alacir
Rooted in the discoveries of this era, a variety of Greek observations are eventually collected by Arab scholars into the Kitab al-Alacir: “Book of the Ether.”
This paradoxical text spans mythology, puzzles, dialogues, philosophies, and ruminations on truths that remain impossible to codify. Rather than present facts as mortals understand the term, this venerable work inspires Awakenings in the people who manage to grasp its slippery implications. Centuries after its composition, the Kitab remains an essential textbook for – of all people – the Etherite Scientists, who view its metaphysical complexities as the foundation of understanding.
Using the analogy of Troy as the cosmos and the Trojan War as a metaphor for human consciousness, the Kitab postulates that understanding involves a perpetual conflict between what can be accepted and what must be possible. Each person must therefore become a “hero of Troy,” pursuing glory in the struggle for ultimate truth. Because only the bravest and most dedicated souls possess the determination to become such heroes, most people will remain mere soldiers inside or outside the walls of this metaphysical Troy. In that conflict (and its labyrinthine commentary throughout the Katib), each reader must find his or her own answers. The core of the work, though, seems to be this: everything is REAL, but not everything is TRUE. When we take what’s real and make it true, we create miracles of Art and Science; when we craft truths to deny that something’s real, we create disaster.
