Forty 2

DNA's The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy hints at 42 as an answer to the universe. Ofcourse, the conclusion is obsucred by the ambiguity of the question, but a pertinent question still remains: Why 42? Why not 40? Or 41, or 39, or 21?
What is it in human consciousness that generates the imagination? What is it around us that gives us the idea?

I walked out of the new place. Now a different evening. Something moved in the vicinity, the light was green and blue. I looked up towards the black dome of infinity. The night sky. Countless stars stared down my eyes, reflecting each sparkle into shades of black and white. Thoughts and memories danced to that sight. Perception quivered in its wake.
With unimaginable intricacy a few billion year old machinery went about doing its business, and in my mind was an image of the past, light years away.
Vision.

I could hear birds, chirping between the rhythmic beat of the traffic, cars powered by stroke-engines, pistons throbbing, pouring out energy through a fossil fuel, creating motion out of matter. Operated and steered by intelligent beings, the motors whiz by at varying speeds, at fluctuating frequencies, pitches, synchronized cacophony, mercurial harmony - the true sound of reality - the present moment!

I could see it. I could hear it!

So after billions of years, the stardust that turned into me, was light years away in the sky, an ancient image of eternity, reflecting in my eyes, imprinting on my brain, scintillating my mind, in a sensual confirmation of awareness.

Meanwhile, the earth rotated around itself, and revolved around the sun. The solar system circled some corner of the milky way. And all of it they say, circles about expanding in an infinite space - after having started from a pulse that went out with a big bang!

I turned back towards the streetlights, the STOP sign. The blue and green sky. At my feet a dot and a 4 and a two.

Arbitrary you may say. Random you may Conjecture. Chaos or order? Particle or Wave? Consciousness or Matter? Energy or Time? Black or White? Dream or Wakefulness?

Signs and Shapes. Curves and Squares. Fours and Twos.

The path shone in the yellow light. Fluorescent filaments burned.
In the beginning there was fire. In the beginning there was the wheel.
One becomes two, and two becomes four.

It becomes me, and I become you.