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The two previous meetings of the Round Table had been devoted to the discussion of how to paint Paradise, which, it
had been decided, was the only way the kingdom of Color and the Conductor would save the human species from destroying itself, and possibly all life on the planet. There was
even the possibility that the Kingdom of Color itself could be devastated. Thus all the Colors of the Round Table were very aware of the importance of the upcoming project, a 40 by
95 foot mural, which would probably be their best chance to make humans change their
ways.
It had been decided by the Conductor, who made all the final decisions, that the best way to do this would be to
depict a paradise on Earth. Something so beautiful and compelling that people would realize it was possible to make the Earth a paradise for all living things. The alternative was
to keep doing as they were, and make themselves extinct.
At the previous meeting it had been suggested that this meeting of the Round Table should begin with all twelve
colors plus the Conductor, holding hands and meditating on the collective consciousness, where, it was hoped, they would find answers to the question consuming them: how to
paint Paradise? Many ideas had been offered, and yet no truly satisfactory conclusions had been reached. This was a project that transcended anything they had done before, and
although in previous projects they had tried to depict the beauty of life on Earth, and plant the idea of saving the world by changing peoples’ views and attitudes,
never had they done anything this large, or with the sole intention of saving the planet. In short, it seemed that this mural was the best hope for ending their crusade
successfully.
After all the Knights and Ladies had arrived and seated themselves in their places at the Table, the Conductor rose
and greeted each of them with a certain solemnity, which was a deviation from his customarily cheerful salutations. “My friends,” he said, looking intently at the faces
around him, “this may be the most important meeting we have ever had. The great project must begin soon, and we need to draw some conclusions from all that we have talked
about. We must turn imagination into strategy.”
The Conductor paused and scratched the back of his head, a nervous habit he had acquired at an early age. “As
you may recall,” he went on, “we agreed to start this meeting by all holding hands and searching our souls for answers. So let us begin. I think I will pull my chair up
here between Lady Violet and Lady Magenta, if you ladies don’t mind, and we’ll get started.”
The Conductor, accordingly, squeezed in between these two ladies; then they all grasped each other’s hands
tightly, closed their eyes, and bowed their heads very slightly, except for Sir Yellow, who turned his head upward.
It is difficult to say how long this lasted. Later, the Conductor would remark that it had seemed like an instant
and an eternity rolled into one. Apparently Sir Green was the first to open his eyes, since it was his exclamation, “Oh my God!” that made all the others open theirs.
And when this happened, when all the others opened their eyes simultaneously, they beheld an apparition whom they immediately recognized as Lady Chameleon.
Hovering just above the center of the Round Table was a myriad of collected notes of color, illuminated from within,
constantly moving, changing, taking form momentarily and then dissolving into shapelessness.
The Conductor and the Twelve Colors were dumbfounded. Lady Chameleon, until now, had only come to them individually,
and then rarely. Never before, since her existence had been generally acknowledged a few centuries earlier, had Lady Chameleon appeared at a meeting of the Round Table. The
Conductor and the Colors all stared in wonder. They realized at once what this meant and that they were on the verge of doing something important. Like saving the world.
There had been rumors over the years that Lady Chameleon had appeared at a meeting of the Colors and the Conductor
prior to the Sistine Chapel Project, an attempt to save the world that somehow failed, in spite of its magnificence. In those days it was still dangerous to talk about things like
Lady Chameleon. So…..only whispers of this happening have come to us through the ages.
At first no one knew what to do or say. They simply sat and stared at this bizarre and wondrous manifestation. As
Lady Chameleon worked her magic, they began to enter a trance-like state, in most ways different from the meditative state they had begun the meeting with. As they stared at the
Muse of Color, They were aware that extraordinary things were happening to them.
No one knew how long Lady Chameleon graced them with her presence. After a certain period of time, the object of
their enchantment simply vanished, and they all blinked and gazed around the Table, as if just waking from a dream. And for quite a while they sat silently, savoring their divine
encounter.
The Conductor was the first to break the silence. “My friends,” he said in a voice laden with emotion,
“we have been blessed. And I for one feel more inspired than I have ever felt in my life.” He looked into the faces of the Colors who had been his almost constant
companions for many years, and a tear or two sprang into his eyes. “What has just happened is something we thought would never happen. The fact that it did happen tells me
that, yes, what we are doing here now, and in the days to come, will indeed be of huge consequence, not only for life on Earth, but perhaps for the cosmos as well. I feel this in
my heart and soul, and in my blood and bones. Now I am certain that we can find a way to create Paradise on Earth.”
Again there was a period of silence. All twelve Knights and Ladies were still in a state of enchantment. They had
stopped holding hands, and now they were each obviously busy trying to digest what they had experienced.
“I know,” said the Conductor, “you are trying to understand for yourselves what has just occurred.
I am too. But it also seems to me that we should talk about this while we are still feeling the effects. If this doesn’t put us on the right path to depicting Paradise on
Earth, nothing will. Each of you, at this point, must have a new contribution to make. I‘m going to suggest that we adjourn for a couple of hours, then return and have one of
our Round Table discussions, with each of us telling what we learned from Lady Chameleon.”
Thus the first part of this meeting, in which a communal meditation had led to the miraculous appearance of the Muse
of Color, ended, with all the Colors of the Round Table still somewhat in shock but nevertheless ruminating on the vital question of what this would mean to their crusade. What
would it mean in terms of their upcoming project, the great mural depicting a Paradise on Earth so wonderful it would change the hearts and minds of the human species?
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