Aladdin looked around in amazement. Something unusual had expected as well, but not find it: at the heart of ... "this."
He missed the words, concepts, to grasp his situation. He was standing on a white surface, smooth but not slippery, perfectly flat and extended in all directions. Infinity. No irregularities, no relief, even a hint of color ... nothing. And no object: no plants, no animals, no human presence, not even a trace of a presence. A huge empty space, a landscape impeccably smooth. Everywhere I looked, the horizon line describing a perfect white circle, there where that perfect white floor gave way to the gray sky.
Even the sky is perfectly uniform. A light mist gives it a light gray, absolutely the same everywhere. He wanted to orient with the sun would not have been possible in any direction you could see a greater or lesser brightness that would allow to guess the position of the star. The light came from any time in the same way. Obviously his body cast alcuna ombra.
Decise di sondare fino in fondo quella assurdità. Si sedette in terra, a gambe incrociate, stese le braccia nella posizione della meditazione, chiuse gli occhi e respirò a fondo. Lentamente. Senza fretta iniziò ad ascoltare il suo corpo: non sentiva né freddo né caldo, né nell’aria immobile intorno a sé, né in alto – perché nel deserto invece lo senti il sole che di giorno ti brucia sulla pelle e quello stesso calore, di notte, te lo senti succhiare via dal cielo gelido – né dal basso, nella perfetta neutralità di quella strana superficie su cui poggiava.
Annusò l’aria: nessun odore, nessun aroma. Provò a ricordare il salmastro sea, the pungent odor of men and animals hot, all the varieties of flavors and stench of the city. A field after harvest, the wet sand of the desert with the first rain, an oasis in the spring ... He was willing to acknowledge even the most remote hint of a scent, but: nothing.
then try to listen. Envisioned to extend its attention more and more distant. He could hear the breathing of a lizard on a stone's throw, the rustle of a leaf, the beating heart of any addition to its perceived that almost deafening. Still nothing, only the awareness of its presence.
He made a last breath, inhale and then called with Strengths: "Genius!"
He opened his eyes to make eye contact Corps of Engineers, sitting in front of him, copying his position, the arabesque robe of deep blue to contrast the dark red of the carpet beneath him. The Genius smiled smugly and guessing how the application of Aladdin said, "You go, you're free."
"Go where?"
"You choose. You can go wherever you want. You asked me the freedom I have and I made the freest man that ever lived. It should be 'pure'.
Aladdin had long learned not to get angry with the Genie: it was useless. He had also learned not to expect anything important him. But every time it was a hard time controlling his nerves.
"Look, Genius, where should I go here if there is no indication, no reference? Which way is the nearest town? Where is the sea? And for Baghdad, which side? "
Genius, now comfortably reclining on a chaise longue overflowing with pillows of various sizes and colors, seemed surprised.
"Do not you understand? From here you can go in any direction. Everywhere you will find this area perfect, neither too hard nor too soft, with no holes, stones, or any other obstacle that could prevent. No mountain, river, cliff ... nothing that can to renounce any direction if it is the one you want. You are completely free to go wherever you want. "
"Yes, but ..."
The genie was not to be interrupted: "I've thought of everything, you know? No goal that can affect your choice, not even a color change that can stimulate the subconscious preferences, no determination of which direction to head towards or stay away. And then, once perfectly still, because you do not feel pressed by the rising or setting sun, not even any need in your physical body can stand still if you want, but you'll have to stop, nor weariness, nor sleep; no hunger or thirst which could affect your choices. " The genie is
sat up on the chaise longue in the meantime suited to his new position becoming an enveloping armchair in black leather. A folded arms gazed at Aladdin with a satisfied air.
"I've thought of everything, for your full and complete freedom."
"Let me guess. I guess if you took any direction now, though I walk straight for a long time without ever stopping, however, do not hit anything more uniform, this lay perfectly flat. Right? "
" I see that you learn to understand me, "said a compiaciutissimo Genius. "Of course I did not find anything. If you, walking in one direction, at one point saw something - a city, a tree, a camel poo ... - you may want to reach it, or you may decide to avoid it, but that thing would influence your choice. Your maximum freedom requires more complete uniformity. Why freedom is a difficult thing: all this infinite white space is barely sufficient for full expansion of your immense freedom. "
Aladdin was really fun. He knew that when he mentioned the secret of genius from the depths in which it was locked, had been more out of boredom that needs.
"Possibly, genius, you just never fail to understand the needs of a man? What can I do with this freedom empty? If I asked you the freedom it was because I wanted to do something, shut up in prison, I was prevented. I know, like singing a serenade to the Sultan's daughter, stealing the jewels of the wives of Ussuf eating dates on the terrace of a villa at the sea, caressed by the breeze of the sunset. Anything I can do all this from your perfect this freedom? Tell me, where can I find the dates here? Where are the passers-by to target when they spit the seeds? And above all, tell me how far I am from my princess, because without her I do not know what to do with freedom, and even of life. "
The Genius had done very little and looked mortified to Aladdin bottom of its new size.
"Then you refuse this miracle? I must bring you back him into prison where you were? "
" Certainly, and hurry up because it is almost time for the mess and smell that he felt was promising. Before I eat, then I will see how to escape. "
"So I heard your wish?"
"Definitely not. And you know. "
"We are at three?"
"Still three. Until they show some 'common sense'.
"You are insatiable."
"You're incompetent. But I like your company. "
'Well, I must admit that I too go ... a genius. Eh, eh, eh! "
" Unable to renew your too stupid jokes. Come on, hurry up. "
