The Future of Music Policy Summit January 10 - 11, 2001 - Washington, DC

The Fable of Dr. SUTSU-AF
By Harvey Wheeler

Ibn Khaltum’s private dining room had two long banquet tables in the center and a series of large curtained private booths along the side walls. I knew from before that some of them had lounge chaises with mirrors on the walls and ceilings, and porno films. The booth I was shown to was a small private office with telephone, TV, a notebook computer and a push button menu on one wall for orders delivered by a dumb waiter. I ordered a Moroccan pita bread lamb sandwich and opened the document Khaltum had handed me. It seemed to be some kind of Muslim fable entitled:

The Secrets of Dr. Sutsu-Af

Why? What did he want me to learn from it? Secrets? From whom? A myth; a fable; One is supposed to learn deep secrets from a fable, especially if its title tells you it is a “secret” ......

The Invention of Dr. Sutsu-Af...

One day in the land of the evil Prince there appeared a man of great wisdom. His name was Sutsu-Af and he carried with him a fine large mirror of silver which he tended carefully and kept always in a state of brilliant polish. He walked down the streets where great crowds of people went about their business. He flashed the mirror toward them. If any one stepped forward, he exclaimed:

This mirror is my greatest invention. It contains the solution to all the world’s problems, but it takes a special talent to use it to see them and understand them.

Most people smiled and walked on. Beggar seers appeared in town all the time. Usually they merely wanted a coin for reading palms or telling Tarot fortunes. Young lovers were their main customers. But something about Dr. Sutsu-Af was different; his deeply penetrating eyes; his aura of solemn wisdom.

To any person who showed an interest he held up his mirror directly and said: “‘Peer into it very deeply and tell me what you see.

Moving closer to peer in, the puzzled answer usually was, Why, it is beautiful; I see myself, and it is a really beautiful mirror.

Perhaps you are standing too close, Dr Sutsu-Af would reply; stand back and a little off to one side and then tell me what you see, he would ask.

That way all I also see shops, and the street, and other people like myself, came the reply,

But do those things look just as pretty without my mirror, he would ask. Is there something more that you see through my mirror? asked Dr. Sutsu-Af

And each one said everything was most beautiful and then moved closer again, saying something like, Beautiful, and Best I ever looked...

Dr. Sutsu-Af would answer, Possibly you are right and it may well be that my mirror reflects the most beautiful things in the world. I am a man of hope. Maybe the more we look, the more beautiful everything will become. So he continued holding up his mirror to each person he met, for he said to himself, what more can I do for people?

Curious, I thought, maybe a Muslim version of the Narcissus myth? Or maybe Berber? Who, among the Berbers and Hindus had came before Narcissus and Mohammed? The fable continued:

The Contract of Dr. Sutsu-Af

[Hmm. “Invention”, now “contract”....I pondered...]

Dr. Sutsu-Af was a philosopher of the philosophies. Holding up his silver mirror to himself he swore a solemn contract with himself. Then, by applying every science he knew, and by exerting strenuous industry, and through stern self-discipline, he finally succeeded in ridding himself of all the myths and prejudices, and the idols of knowledge, which had misled other philosophers of philosophy before him. As a result he was finally able to make the very greatest scientific discovery possible: He discovered exactly how humans could live in a perfect society, with altruism for others and wellbeing for all.

At first he was gloriously happy about his discovery. Then gradually he saddened. It is a shame, Dr. Sutsu-Af said to himself, that the Pleroma did not first make a mirror like mine and then swear the same contract as mine with himself. Then God would have had the benefit of my discovery. If He had, then he could have made humans better, and a lot of time and suffering could have been saved. But then Dr. Sutsu-Af laughed. How foolish a thought, he said out loud, though no one else was present, How stupid! Didn’t I rid myself of such myths! Every philosopher of philosophies knows that there is no such thing as a God-on-the-Mountain. I must remember how I made my discovery! But then he cried out, as if summoning: In my mind I named: Soul, Psyche, Idea, Forma, Demiurge, Archon, Aeon; Pneuma, Pleroma...!!!!. What is this fable telling me? Then Dr. Sutsu-Af sat to thinking so hard he did not sleep well for many months.

One night, in his room at the Inn, when everyone else had been sound asleep for hours, he came to a resolution. He held up his silver mirror and said,

Hmmm. A thought came two me. Could it be:’ I reflect; therefore I semios?/ Hmmm... ‘semiosis.’ - ‘I semios’... like I invent ? ... (like I think therefore I am? Some ancient Cartesian maxim? I read on...

Then he summoned: “DEMIURGE! - DEMIURGE!”

Demiurge; I have made a very great scientific discovery whereby humans can become able to live in a perfect society. It is a shame that God did not have the benefit of this discovery of mine when he created humans, but fortunately it is not too late for humans to benefit from my discovery....

At this his voice echoed and sounded throughout the whole Inn, stirring people awake.

....Demiurge, he continued, I will make a bargain with you. I will turn over to you all of my scientific discoveries. What you must to do in return is transmit them to humans in a form so they can start building perfect societies for themselves... that is all, except for one minor thing....

The voice of the Demiurge thundered back so loud all in the inn heard it, What is that one minor thing?

Only that you keep in touch... so I can be sure you stick to the contract.

It’s a deal! the Demiurge replied. That will be a perfectly acceptable contract, Only you must not expect your sciences to take effect immediately.

Oh, any time will do, said Dr. Sutsu-Af, and as he began to get drowsy, the thought came to him: I wonder if any philosopher of philosophies before me ever made the same great discoveries I have made? and he fell back into a deep sleep.

The thundering sound ceased. All the guests in the Inn poured out into the street asking everybody the meaning of what had happened. They always remembered that night and when their children were old enough, told them about it.

Hmm, I wondered; I didn’t remember a contract, exactly, between Eros and Narcissus, but one od my professors had argued that Narcissus fell in love with the beauty of his mind, not his face... Maybe that was going on here... I turned to the next installment...

The Martyrdom of Dr. Sutsu-Af

Dr. Sutsu-Af, with his Demiurge, could see as plainly as anybody that it was a time of sin and corruption. He pondered this at length. Maybe, he said to himself - knowing his Demiurge was listening - ...maybe, I must use sin to teach humans:

One day in the land of the evil Prince there appeared a shaman. He radiated an aura of cunning and evil and stopped the first person he met, saying: Take me to Dr. Sutsu-Af. The room at the Inn was empty but a silver mirror had been left behind on the table. The shaman took it and said, I am cunning and evil and am ready to have an audience with the Prince. The prince desired above all to be cunning and evil. He was very superstitious and supported many magicians and seers. He said Bring the cunning and evil Shaman to me. He dismissed all his magicians and seers and then said, Shaman, my princedom is a democracy of evil. The highest careers are open to evil and the greatest wealth is open to sin. The Shaman held up to him the silver mirror. Now do you see greater evil than ever before? The Prince was ecstatic. Yes I do! I am naming you my Chief Shaman! Because of the Shaman things began to go quite well with the Prince. He was more successful in wars and more powerful at home. Never had his wealth been greater or more secure. His people profited from the Prince’s successes and came to know good times. Accordingly, the Prince came to be thought well of by his own people and was feared and respected by his enemies without. But always there was the cunning and evil Shaman behind the throne. Everyone knew that the cunning and evil Shaman was really running things. It is not good, the people grumbled among themselves, for the cunning and evil Shaman to be so powerful in such a great princedom as ours, and with such a good Prince as ours. Word of the people’s grumblings against the cunning and evil Shaman reached the ears of the Prince.

Even though the Prince had been anxious to follow the cunning and evil advice of the Shaman, recently the Prince himself had begun to feel uncomfortable with the cunning and evil Shaman’s guidance. The advice was becoming burdensome. Instead of being allowed to do as he wanted, the Prince was always forced to do the cunning and evil things that would bring more wealth and power, and gain him a higher reputation with the people. When the Prince complained at how hard it had become to be always such a cunning and evil Prince, the cunning and evil Shaman would remind him that such is the way of evil science and cunning power. And remember, the cunning and evil Shaman would add, It is not necessary to be virtuous, trying to be would just cause trouble and would not work. Instead, what is necessary is to be cunning and evil enough to get a reputation for virtue. Then the cunning and evil Shaman would smile evilly, and this would convince the Prince of the diabolical cleverness of the cunning and evil Shaman’s recommendations. But still, when alone, the Prince suffered under the burden of being so diabolically cunning and evil.

One day, after such a session, the Prince felt he could stand no more, and turning angrily on the cunning and evil Shaman he exclaimed: What is the use of being so diabolically evil all the time if it means acting so as to appear as if I were truly virtuous? The cunning and evil Shaman grew pale before the glare of the Prince. The Prince said: You are too cunning and evil for my people. They are grumbling against your cunning and evil influence and I can save you no longer. The next day the Prince announced to his people that a Grand Inquisition trial would be held to punish the cunning and evil Shaman for his diabolical ways. To insure justice would be done the Prince ordered the Grand Inquisition to be conducted by the Chief Priest, who had been out of favor since the arrival of the cunning and evil shaman. This was very popular with the people. A great platform was constructed for the trial. When the appointed day arrived all the people came out and gathered in front of the platform where the Prince sat on his throne at one side. The Grand Inquisitor sat on the other side and in the middle the cunning and evil Shaman was chained to an iron throne studded with sharp blades. The Chief Priest was a man of solemn dignity. He pointed directly at the cunning and evil Shaman and said: Through your evil ways you assumed great power in our land. Your hand was behind every event. You were always playing the Grand Manipulator, turning to your will our good people for your cunning and evil ends. But hear me now when I proclaim that a godly people will permit only the true God to be their Grand Manipulator. Your great sin, cunning and evil Shaman - and it cannot be forgiven - is the hubris-sin of god-playing. This is what makes your evil manipulating the greatest of all sins. When it came his turn to speak, the cunning and evil Shaman merely smiled his evil smile and said: You are right, Chief Priest, but all the same, it is not an easy thing to be such a cunning and evil Shaman as I am. Then he raised his head and cried out so loud the people clasped their hands to their ears and bent down in pain. Then he turned his silver mirror toward the Chief Priest, who shielded his eyes with his hands and cried in pain. The cunning and evil Shaman was then heard to pronounce in loud voice: Oh, Demiurge! Oh Demiurge! Oh, Demiurge... We know how to create the perfect society. Now we need only invent the Pleroma to validate it. There was silence. Slowly the people raised their eyes to the platform. The cunning and evil Shaman was gone. Only his silver mirror was left standing in his place. The Chief Priest grabbed it and turned it toward the people. We are free, he proclaimed, We are free! We can return to the ways of virtue now that the cunning and evil Shaman is gone.

Hmmm.... Enigma within enigma. Then a glimmer of understanding began to dawn. Recollections flooded back. Ibn Khaltum’s scattered references to the ancient Bebers... the Berber shamans before St. Augustine; those before the Muslim Moors; and before them the Zoroastrian Berbers of Babylon; the Atlas Mountain Berbers who had built the Sphinx and taught the Pharaohs. Pleroma-the-Berber? To come once again?

Must be it this way,... Ibn Khalturn.. ? I pondered...

This fable is from Harvey Wheeler's new book, Job's Children. Wheeler is author of Fail Safe with Eugene Burdick and a frequent contributor to The Idler.