I was prophesied to die at a certain age, and knew nothing that could cure me. Later, much later, the world was stretched out before me like leather, one morning after another. I asked the wise among my friends, “I will go out onto the white and endless savanna, is it there I will find my charm against sleep?” My wise friends consulted themselves, and they asked of me eight tasks.

    1) I am to go the fountain in town and put into it some of my blood, in the way I would talk with you or write.
    2) I will plant lines of rice in such a way that the paddy will grow into a palace.
    3) For my third task, I will solve problems such as chemical spills, oil spills, etc.
    4) I will find some way to herd the impala, and domesticate them then, perhaps through patience and repetition. In the morning I will pet them on their faces, and in the evening I will pet them on their faces. I will feed them, and wait with them, and pet them on their faces.
    5) GOTO 7
    6)
    7) I will draw a perfectly round O, or trick some thing into doing this for me.
    8) GOTO 4
    “So you have given up duty,” my wise friend remarked, “that is a first step.”