A man and his daughter sit in on small boat at sea. The man is researcher. His daughter rests with her eyes closed on the stern after having fallen fast asleep. There is a third man in the water, a diver, and he keeps himself afloat for a moment on the dark surface before he plunges down to the murky depths. The researcher is here to collect samples from the ocean water in order to discover what the world is like beneath the surface. Unfortunately for the researcher he has never learned to swim. This is why he has recruited the diver, a native to a nearby island, to collect the samples for him.
As the diver sinks down into the depths of the water he is in awe of what he sees. The complexity and beauty of the underwater world is utterly beyond comprehension. He finds a coral reef teeming with life, dazzlingly colorful shells, and magnificent clown fish. He sees enormous clams filled with pearls and a sunken pirate ship overflowing with treasure. He discovers the strange and eerie creatures of the deep, barnacles, jellyfish, sea urchins, and whales. He swims between the ruins of an underwater city pondering the remnants of a forgotten civilization.
After awhile, the diver begins to run out of air. He must return to the surface to catch his breath. When the diver reaches surface he explains with excitement to the researcher what he has seen. The diver struggles desperately to put his experience into words and he becomes frustrated. His language can only convey a tiny fraction of the wonder he has experienced. Eventually, all the diver can do is repeat “Oh, The Beauty!”over and over again to the researcher. The researcher looks at the diver with a puzzled look: the image that the diver describes sounds like a fantasy to him. He says to the diver exasperatedly. “I am a researcher not a storyteller. You must collect materials for me to analyze!”
The diver, having replenished his air supply, follows the researcher’s order and plunges back down beneath the surface. This time, traveling deeper than he did before, he decides to grab some evidence for the researcher to observe. He looks across the seemingly infinite expanses of the water around him wishing he could grab everything he sees. Once again the diver is restricted by the limitations of his human body: he only has two hands to carry things with, and anything that is too heavy for him to swim with, he is forced to leave behind. The diver manages to bring back to the surface: a blue sea-horse, an oyster, and a shiny gold doubloon. On the surface, he tosses the items into the researcher’s ship and the researcher observes them with astonishment. The researcher picks each item up in his hand and carefully dissects them. He organizes and classifies them assigning them arbitrary names. Once finished he turns back to the diver saying, “Thank you diver, but I need more items. I need to gather as much concrete information about this world as I possibly can. Dive back down and bring me everything you find.”
The diver, once again follows the researcher orders. Time and time again he plunges under the water’s surface bringing back with him handfuls of items. The researcher’s collection slowly begins to grow. As the diver ventures deeper and deeper into the water’s depths to uncover the bottomless mysteries and it becomes increasingly difficult for him to swim get back to the surface. Each time he surfaces he is ever more exhausted, but his desire to comprehend the deepest trenches keeps him diving down again.
At the end of the day, as the sun descends into the ocean to drown, the diver takes his final plunge. After sinking to some unfathomable depth he never manages to surface. The researcher is saddened by the death of his friend but he also somewhat relieved. With no more additional information to analyze he organizes the collection in a logical order. He calls his creation: “SCIENCE!” awakening his sleeping daughter. The researcher begins to shore so he can share his discovering with the rest of the world. While her father is distracted by rowing the boat back the daughter plays with her father’s collection. She is especially intrigued by the pretty blue sea horse. She gleefully arranges all the artifacts in a circle around the blue sea-horse. She calls her creation: RELIGION.
As the diver sinks down into the depths of the water he is in awe of what he sees. The complexity and beauty of the underwater world is utterly beyond comprehension. He finds a coral reef teeming with life, dazzlingly colorful shells, and magnificent clown fish. He sees enormous clams filled with pearls and a sunken pirate ship overflowing with treasure. He discovers the strange and eerie creatures of the deep, barnacles, jellyfish, sea urchins, and whales. He swims between the ruins of an underwater city pondering the remnants of a forgotten civilization.
After awhile, the diver begins to run out of air. He must return to the surface to catch his breath. When the diver reaches surface he explains with excitement to the researcher what he has seen. The diver struggles desperately to put his experience into words and he becomes frustrated. His language can only convey a tiny fraction of the wonder he has experienced. Eventually, all the diver can do is repeat “Oh, The Beauty!”over and over again to the researcher. The researcher looks at the diver with a puzzled look: the image that the diver describes sounds like a fantasy to him. He says to the diver exasperatedly. “I am a researcher not a storyteller. You must collect materials for me to analyze!”
The diver, having replenished his air supply, follows the researcher’s order and plunges back down beneath the surface. This time, traveling deeper than he did before, he decides to grab some evidence for the researcher to observe. He looks across the seemingly infinite expanses of the water around him wishing he could grab everything he sees. Once again the diver is restricted by the limitations of his human body: he only has two hands to carry things with, and anything that is too heavy for him to swim with, he is forced to leave behind. The diver manages to bring back to the surface: a blue sea-horse, an oyster, and a shiny gold doubloon. On the surface, he tosses the items into the researcher’s ship and the researcher observes them with astonishment. The researcher picks each item up in his hand and carefully dissects them. He organizes and classifies them assigning them arbitrary names. Once finished he turns back to the diver saying, “Thank you diver, but I need more items. I need to gather as much concrete information about this world as I possibly can. Dive back down and bring me everything you find.”
The diver, once again follows the researcher orders. Time and time again he plunges under the water’s surface bringing back with him handfuls of items. The researcher’s collection slowly begins to grow. As the diver ventures deeper and deeper into the water’s depths to uncover the bottomless mysteries and it becomes increasingly difficult for him to swim get back to the surface. Each time he surfaces he is ever more exhausted, but his desire to comprehend the deepest trenches keeps him diving down again.
At the end of the day, as the sun descends into the ocean to drown, the diver takes his final plunge. After sinking to some unfathomable depth he never manages to surface. The researcher is saddened by the death of his friend but he also somewhat relieved. With no more additional information to analyze he organizes the collection in a logical order. He calls his creation: “SCIENCE!” awakening his sleeping daughter. The researcher begins to shore so he can share his discovering with the rest of the world. While her father is distracted by rowing the boat back the daughter plays with her father’s collection. She is especially intrigued by the pretty blue sea horse. She gleefully arranges all the artifacts in a circle around the blue sea-horse. She calls her creation: RELIGION.
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