Dream CXLIII

My wife and I were hurrying along some passageways and walkways, trying to escape some oncoming event.  The sky was gray and fitful rain occasionally splashed into us.  At one moment, she looked at her hand and said "Oh no!"

She grabbed my arm and said we had to go back.  I asked why, and she said we'd lost the shopping cart that had our supplies in it.  We started to head down a nearby stairwell.  I asked what supplies we were missing, and she mentioned a single box of breakfast cereal.  I angrily said to forget it and brought her back upstairs.

At this point, the scene changed.  I was back on the walkway, with my brothers who were both unhappy with how I'd acted.  The rain was coming down more heavily now, and the scene changed again.

Now my brothers and I were in a dimly-lit lounge, where the walls and sofas were softly rounded cushions.  The atmosphere was much calmer, but our anger at each other made us tense.  We began complaining about each other's habits and behavior.

Before things could escalate, the television switched on.  Primitive art, like cave painting, filled the screen--a series of white strokes on a dark brown screen.  It was an episode of "Doctor Who," in which the creation of life was explained via Biblical passages and various myths of other cultures.

Accordingly, the first day was for the creation of fish and other sea creatures; the second, insects and other land invertebrates.  The third saw the creation of plant life, and the fourth, fifth and sixth days were devoted to birds, mammals and mankind, respectively.

After the program was over, my brothers and I were much calmer and reached an understanding that we would try to understand one another and help each other deal with our flaws.

A question was raised--"Who would be the most prone toward dishonesty?  A criminal, a poor man, a professional man, or a king?"

While the others pondered this, I gave my answer.  "I know I'm speaking to both a doctor and a lawyer, but I would say the professional man."  They weren't angry, but intrigued and asked my reasons.  "A criminal and a poor man might break the law, but they would do so knowing that they were breaking it, and that there would be consequences.  A king knows that the law resides in him, and he could therefor change the law, making the dishonest honest at a stroke.

"But the professional man, the doctor or lawyer who uses his services to help others, knows that he possesses knowledge that his clients do not--that is why they come to him in the first place.  And he knows that they are unlikely to question his expertise, if they hope to be helped by him.  So he can freely take advantage of this--add an extra $20 or $30 to his charge--knowing that this is the consequence of his superior learning.  He would feel that he had earned the right to cheat.  And something earned is far more likely to be deployed."

They were silent for a while, then agreed that my answer was the correct one.  We were soon informed by a disembodied voice that we needed to continue the journey.  We were allowed to choose one food each to pack; my younger brother chose bananas.  I was hoping we'd all pick something a little more general, but I couldn't question anyone's choice.