I do not think I am cut out for this. I have a need to ask questions that unravel the world. I’m tempted to vary the mix somewhat from what is written—I know rather more about transmutation and consilience now than I did when I imagined this. I could do a much better job of it today. So: should I? But that defeats the point. This thing is as I wrote it then. It exists in that moment, and the present must pay deference to the past or where are we? It is not to be fiddled with and adjusted to suit my present self. I must abide by life as it was, not how I think it ought to be now.