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It was customary, just before the beginning of a new Project, to invite Lady
White and Sir Black to a meeting of the Round Table, partly to remind the Colors that they were not the only ones involved, and partly to provide some inspiration for everyone.
On this occasion the Ladies and Knights had already seated themselves at
their places around the Table when Lady White and Sir Black entered, arm-in-arm, and pulled up chairs on either side of the Conductor, who always found great pleasure in their
close proximity. It had been his habit, ever since he could remember, to stare at Lady White, whom he thought of as a palace ablaze with emptiness, where something unknown wanted
to live. She was the beginning of everything, and the only one absolutely essential to the Projects. The Colors of the Round Table all regarded her with wonder. They didn’t
think of her exactly as a mother figure, rather they thought of her as a being without whom they could not exist, except as inert substances alone in the darkness, When a new
Project was announced, and they began to emerge, one at a time, into the light, the image they all had in their minds was that of a rectangle or a square, completely
covered by Lady White and no other. The wonder that the Colors of the Round Table felt for Lady White was matched by the awe they felt for Sir Black. Whereas Lady White was an
entity unto herself without Family, Sir Black was a part of each of the Colors, and each of the Colors a part of him. In fact their closeness to Sir Black was a thrill, and when
Sir Black was placed next to them in a Project, they all felt a kind of ecstasy which, the Conductor was convinced, made them all glow with their greatest possible richness. Sir
Black was both the contrast and the empathy that created the conditions for beauty.
After Lady White and Sir Black had seated themselves, first the Ladies of
the Round Table stood and bowed to the two, then the Knights stood and bowed as well. The Conductor concluded these formalities with a short speech.
“We welcome once again these two most essential members of our
community, Lady White and Sir Black. On the brink of this great and perhaps decisive effort in our crusade to save the world, we must all pay close attention to what these two
great friends and associates of ours have to say. Lady White, as we know, has an uncanny talent for stimulating the imagination. And in this case our imaginations must outdo
themselves. So first I would like to invite Lady White to stand and give us a few of her thoughts on what may well be the most critical of all our Projects, the 40 x 95 foot mural
we are about to create. Therefore, if you please, Lady White, do you have some thoughts for us?”
Lady White rose from her chair, almost as if by levitation, and when she had
risen to a certain height she thrust her arms out, held up her fingers, and spread them as far apart as she could.
“Look at me!” Lady White commanded. “Stare into my
whiteness, and do not fear. Soon you will begin to see something, then stare into my eyes, and perhaps you will discover what it is.”
The Conductor and all the Colors had experienced this ritual many times, but
this time it seemed different, more immediate and real. Lady White was the possibility of all things, and it was her job not only to stretch the imaginations of the Conductor and
the Colors, but also to make them weigh their judgements in an environment devoid of influences. Lady White was the genesis of every Project. Even though it was the Conductor who
made the decisions about how to cover her, it was Lady White who presented the blank universe for the Conductor to do with as he pleased.
As Lady White, the obverse of ether, stood before them in her glory, they
collected all their power and resources, all their past experiences, and concentrated on filling this fabulous void called Lady White.
In such a state of enchantment time has a way of escaping measurement. So no
one really knew how long they stared at Lady White. But finally she sat down and smiled seraphically, having absorbed considerable energy from the Colors and the Conductor.
Now it was Sir Black’s turn. “We would be happy,” said the
Conductor, “to hear from you too, Sir Black, if you please.
As Sir Black rose to his full height the conductor and the Colors all gazed
at him with their usual sense of awe.
“It is good to see you, my friends," said Sir Black, smiling
broadly, “and I greatly look forward to lying next to each of you.” This was an old joke, but the Colors always chuckled or grinned a little. “My good friend the
Conductor,” he went on, “has told me several times to bulk up, so I assume he is going to use me ubiquitously again, which means I’ll be seeing a lot of you, and,
as always, I’ll be happy to receive your richness, and to give back to you the best I can. You are all , of course, close to me at all times. But when I am working with you I
feel the same love and joy that you feel. And since this project may be our best hope for saving the world, whatever we’ve done in the past, now we must do better, with more
feeling and intensity than ever. We shall meet again soon then- on the wall.” Then Sir Black sat down and assumed a grave expression, which was part of his persona. The
Conductor then asked if anyone had a question for either Lady White or Sir Black.
“I have a question for Sir Black, declared Sir Orange. “I would
like to know what you feel when you are lying next to Lady Violet.”
“Well,” replied Sir Black, shaking his finger at Sir Orange,
“you know very well I am omnivorous and omnisexual, and that the way I feel lying next to Lady Violet is exactly the way I feel when I’m lying next to you, Sir
Orange.”
Lady Lime then jumped impetuously to her feet and announced that she
had a question for Lady White. “Could you please tell us, Lady White, why you are always holding hands with Sir Black?”
Lady White smiled and replied, “I find Sir Black appealing in certain
ways, and he finds me appealing in certain ways. Have you never heard of the attraction of opposites? Well, I guess you colors wouldn’t know about opposites.”
The Conductor then intervened, to say that although he had invited
questions, perhaps it would be best after all to simply remember the true nature of Lady White and Sir Black, and try to answer any questions without their help. This said, the
meeting was adjourned, but the Conductor stayed on for a while by himself, staring at the empty seats around the Table. He thought of Lady White, and after a while some vague
images began to take shape, images having to do with something called Paradise.
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