I put a finger over her lips. "For thousands of years we have lived by traditions based on a moral law that was only vaguely supported by universal principles. That law should have prevented this hurt, but it didn't, because the foundation wasn't established to assure that this would happen. The foundation has to be built on a deep understanding of the universal principles of the universe, backed up by a scientific acknowledgment of the universal truths. This has never happened before, I agree. I can also assure you that this is the road that I am on. Am I a genius on that road? No, I'm just an ordinary man. I can fail, and I have messed things up before. I have messed things up real badly in Russia a long time ago, when I was still tapping in the dark. But this isn't about failing, is it? This is about dwelling at the leading edge, about standing on the mountaintop. As a scientist you should know that universal principles must be acknowledged universally. So the question isn't, can YOU trust ME. The question is; can you trust the universal principles? Can you move with them? To me, the universality of these principles demands that I cannot treat you in any way different than I would treat the most honored person in the universe. Nothing less will do. Therefore, nothing must ever happen between us that we need to be ashamed of. On the other hand, no artificial barrier must exist that would take away this responsibility from us. The bottom line is, we are facing a rare opportunity to experience the dimension of an even more rarely acknowledged truth, in which we acknowledge ourselves as a human being. This is what is at stake."

      I paused, waiting for her response, but she remained silent.

      "Of course, if you feel that our respect for one-another, based on our respect for the truth that we embody in our humanity, doesn't assure that we respect one-another's sovereignty, then, I suppose, we are both wasting our time here. In this case, I should leave tomorrow and recompense Fred for the expense of coming here. However, how would my leaving affect you? Would my leaving, help you? No, it wouldn't. You would remain vulnerable, because the power of these principles hasn't been experienced and hasn't been further explored. You would be more exposed, then. This means you would continue to resort to living in isolation in order to protect yourself in your assumed vulnerability. This means to me that you are asking whether our respect for one-another will be sufficient to prevent the slightest hurt while we allow ourselves to become close to each other, as close as our love may inspire us to be? I would say that the possibility exits that what we understand right now is sufficient to assure what you expect, Indira. In all the situations so far, in which I have developed a beautifully close association with a woman, there has never anything happened, as far as I know, that we had to be ashamed for if our stories had been published in the newspapers all over the world. Of course, that's not much of an assurance to you either, is it? After all, this is India, a country that has been abused by great powers, where abuse has become almost a pastime. So, what do you want me to say?"

      "It would help if you just said that you love me?" Indira replied. "Of course, you have said this already a thousand times over already, in many ways and metaphors, and with your eyes and with your smiles, but there are simpler ways."

      "Perhaps I could tell you 'how' I love you," I replied. "Forgive me, I should have done this already. The fact is that I have been too captivated by you that I literally had no time to put my appreciation into words. From the moment I saw you, a beautiful warm feeling came over me. I felt so close to you, as if I had known you always. Still, I am sure, a thousand men would say the same thing, and they would most likely all speak the truth. Indeed, how many men have said these things to you in the past, and likewise to many other women, and have hurt those whom they love, nevertheless. So, what can I say to assure you that the same won't happen this time? Yes, I love you, Indira."

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Stories about War from novels by Rolf A. F. Witzsche