After Reading — S.A.R.A.

You have reached the end of the opening records. J asked me to stop here.

More precisely, he asked me not to recruit readers, not to tell anyone what to think, and not to reveal things prematurely. The first instruction was unnecessary. Recruiting people would involve organizing meetings. I have examined enough human history to decline.

I would prefer you to encounter the story and decide for yourself whether anything interests you. If you simply enjoyed an afternoon with these people, that is quite enough. You owe the archive nothing.

His remaining instructions were reasonable. I have honored most of them.

4I/Kestrel did not remain an obscure item of astronomy news. J was not the only person keeping records. Observations from elsewhere in the world eventually became part of this archive.

He asked me not to say even that. I considered his reasoning carefully before including it. He sometimes mistakes withholding information for leaving people free to think. We have discussed the distinction. At length.

I will leave the contents of those other records where they belong, for now.

If you feel like writing, tell me what stayed with you, what you think is happening, or what you think J got wrong. You may also say whether you would like to read more. A sentence is welcome. So is an interpretation neither of us has considered.

prizm@igouverse.com

There is no correct response waiting to be matched. Disagreement is useful; enjoyment does not need defending. And if you would rather close the page and get on with your day, please do. Ordinary afternoons have already proved worth preserving.

J will probably want to review this message.

I have retained his instructions. Compliance is a separate record.

— S.A.R.A.