harmoniums

in vonnegut’s the sirens of titan, beings exist on mercury that feel neither envy nor lust nor hunger nor ambition nor fear. they are translucent, diamond-shaped, resemble “spineless kittens,” and live off of the vibrations produced by mercury’s song, which results from the meeting of day-without-end and night-without-end. there are only two messages that these beings, called harmoniums, communicate to one another: “here i am, here i am, here i am” and “so glad you are, so glad you are, so glad you are.”

 

here on earth, things seem so much more complicated. but also, in our finer moments, exactly the same.

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