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Satellite, v. 1, issue 1, October 1938
Page 17
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17 room and man, the room in the mirror, and the unseen man who might even now be thinking exactly the same thoughts as himself? Of course, he didn't believe it for a moment, but... He took a small mirror from his pocket, and studied the face in it intently. It seemed real enough, but might not the man whose face he could see down below in that little circle of glass, might not he be studying Rodney's face just as intently? He was, judging from the expression on his face. But did he exist? Rodney forgot entirely his primary purpose in pondering upon the mirror -- he became obsessed with the idea that there MIGHT be a real living person in ALL mirrors, repeating -- copying every action of the original person. But why should other mirrors reflect a living being, while this one did not? He picked up a book, and crossed to the mirror. Yes, there was the book suspended in midair, which proved that something, even if only an invisible reflection of himself, must be supporting it. It occurred to him that he himself might be a ghost, for all he knew, perhaps that was why he had no reflection? But he knew that he lived, he had a sentient, material body, and no ghost had that. Now if he were a reflection of some other invisible being, he would have no means of discovering the fact, since the other might just as well be a reflection of himself. Rodney perceived that such interpretation would lead slowly but surely to insanity; on the other hand, he found himself fascinated by the immense problem which the mirror had created. What was reality? He looked into the small mirror once more and frowned. Surely the image he could see there was real. It must be...because it was himself. Yet the
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17 room and man, the room in the mirror, and the unseen man who might even now be thinking exactly the same thoughts as himself? Of course, he didn't believe it for a moment, but... He took a small mirror from his pocket, and studied the face in it intently. It seemed real enough, but might not the man whose face he could see down below in that little circle of glass, might not he be studying Rodney's face just as intently? He was, judging from the expression on his face. But did he exist? Rodney forgot entirely his primary purpose in pondering upon the mirror -- he became obsessed with the idea that there MIGHT be a real living person in ALL mirrors, repeating -- copying every action of the original person. But why should other mirrors reflect a living being, while this one did not? He picked up a book, and crossed to the mirror. Yes, there was the book suspended in midair, which proved that something, even if only an invisible reflection of himself, must be supporting it. It occurred to him that he himself might be a ghost, for all he knew, perhaps that was why he had no reflection? But he knew that he lived, he had a sentient, material body, and no ghost had that. Now if he were a reflection of some other invisible being, he would have no means of discovering the fact, since the other might just as well be a reflection of himself. Rodney perceived that such interpretation would lead slowly but surely to insanity; on the other hand, he found himself fascinated by the immense problem which the mirror had created. What was reality? He looked into the small mirror once more and frowned. Surely the image he could see there was real. It must be...because it was himself. Yet the
quarto e homem, o quarto no espelho e o homem invisível, o qual deve estar nesse momento pensando exatamente o mesmo que ele? É claro, ele não acreditou nisso nem por um momento, mas... Ele pegou um pequeno espelho de seu bolso, e estudou o rosto refletido nele atentamente. Parecia real o suficiente, mas talvez, não estaria o homem cuja face ele podia ver logo ali naquele pequeno circulo de vidro, estudando o rosto de Rodney tão atentamente quanto ele? Ele estava, a julgar pela expressão em seu rosto. Mas ele existia? Rodney esqueceu inteiramente sua primeira proposta ao refletir sobre o espelho - ele ficou obssecado com a ideia de que talvez ouvesse uma pessoa real em todos espelhos, repetindo - copiando cada ação da pessoa original. Mas porque outro espelho podia refletir um ser vivo, enquanto esse não? Ele pegou um livro, e estendeu ao espelho. Sim, ali estava o livro suspenso no ar, o que provava alguma coisa, mesmo que só um invisível reflexo dele mesmo, devia estar sustentando-o. Ocorre á ele que talvez ele mesmo seja um fantasma, até onde sabia, podia ser esse o motivo dele não ter reflexo? Mas ele sabia que estava vivo, que possuia autoconsciência, matéria corporal, o que nenhum fantasma tinha. Agora, se ele fosse o reflexo de algum outro ser invisível, não seria capaz de descobrir de fato, já que o outro tembém seria um reflexo de si. Rodney percebeu que tal interpretação o levaria lenta, mas definitivamente à insanidade; por outro lado, ele se encontrou fascinado pelo imenso problema que o espelho havia criado. O que era realidade? Ele olhou para dentro do pequeno espelho mais uma vez e franziu a testa. Certamente a imagem que ele via ali era real. Só podia ser... porque era ele. Mesmo o
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