Solyaris Page #2

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Did you see his face?

Yes.

What person?

Who was it?

It was a child.

What child?

Had you seen him before?

No, never.

In any case, not that I remember.

When I flew closer to him,

I noticed something awful.

What do you mean?

I couldn't make it out at first.

Then I saw that he was

unusually large. Gigantic.

He was about four meters tall.

He had blue eyes

and dark hair.

Perhaps you're not feeling well?

We'll postpone the meeting.

I'll continue.

He was naked, absolutely naked,

like a newborn.

He was wet, or rather, slippery.

His skin was shiny.

He rose and fell like the waves,

but he was moving by himself.

It was disgusting.

I'm sorry.

I'll jump ahead a little.

There isn't much more.

Burton's statements appear to be

the result of a hallucinatory complex

brought on

by the planet's atmosphere,

as well as symptoms of depression

exacerbated by inflammation

of the associative zone

of the cerebral cortex.

This report in no way,

or in almost no way,

corresponds with reality.

What do you mean "almost"?

Excuse me, I'm not finished yet.

Professor Messenger

offers a different opinion.

He believes that Burton's statements

could be founded in reality

and merit further study.

That's it.

I saw it all with my own eyes.

I would like to offer

another opinion.

We stand on the brink

of an enormous discovery,

Our decision should not rely

on the observations

of a man without

any scientific qualifications.

Although any researcher

may envy this pilot,

his presence of mind,

his gift of observation.

Moreover, in light

of recent information,

we are morally obligated

to continue the exploration.

I can understand

how Professor Messenger feels.

I understand him.

But let's take a look

at the road we've traveled.

Solaristics is exactly

where it began.

Years of work have been in vain.

Everything we now know

about Solaris is negative

and has come to resemble a mountain

of disjointed, incoherent facts

that strain credulity.

We're in exactly

the same situation today.

Solaristics is degenerating.

But what we're talking about

is far more serious

than just the study of Solaristics.

We're talking about the boundaries

of human knowledge.

Don't you think that

by establishing artificial barriers

we delivera blow

to the idea of limitless thought?

By limiting our movement forward,

we facilitate moving backwards.

I nevertheless repeat my question.

What do you mean by saying

the report of my observations in almost

no way corresponds with reality?

I saw everything with my own eyes.

What do you mean by "almost"?

"Almost no way" means

that some real phenomena

could have triggered

your hallucinations, Burton.

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