Dante VI Canto XIX Scene II

 Canto XIX

Fifth Terrace; Avarice

Scene II

Dante followed on with his thoughts on his dream, and what he had discussed earlier with Virgil. The latter was ahead but sensed that the companion was slagging again. The construct turned to look at the Poet.

“What ails you? Morning meal or was it I smell from the rear?” Virgil snapped off with a sarcastic tone.

“Neither, Virgil. I was in my recollection of my dream. I met Beatrice and --- there was this old Siren. They argued over me and Beatrice --- tore the innards from the old Siren and I screamed--- She was never that violent---Nor have I seen her ---”

“Okay, I get the message. Beatrice is a good lady unless she gets her lover taken ---- wait, you are not her lover; yours was a fantasy. However, embedded fantasies tend to be more of anger suppressed.” Virgil sliced into Dante’s dream.

“Would you stop desecrating my love? She is a fine lady.” Dante countered with his agitated reply.

“Yes, my Empress lover.” Virgil approached Dante. “Tell me more of your fantasy---- I meant to dream.”

“I dream of ---” Dante stopped his words when he saw the approaching figure. It was an Angel, dressed all in white and floating above the ground.

“You made it to the Fifth Terrace, Avarice.” The Angel greeted Dante. “Here we “GUI lugent” (“who mourn their sinfulness”). Are you clear on your sins before you arrive here?”

“I—” Dante paused there. It was Virgil who spoke to the Angel.

“He holds on the sin of --- love in him. He desires what is there but could not attain it.” Virgil stepped up to the Angel. “He dreams of another to cover for his real love, and when he dreams of her, he incurred her wrath. I think it’s called unrequited love. So, he dreamed of another and had his lover killed the other woman.”

“Seriously, Poet. Are the living souls so ingrained to lust that it’s a sin to behold? We, the construct,” Virgil motioned to his navel again. “Are total ---”

“Devoid of it? I am a construct too.” The Angel cut in. “To me, it’s the slaying of the fantasy of love. He could not have her and fantasize another; I would have better choices than his, but his true love came into the fantasy. Hence the killing of the Siren. He has to seek her when he completes the task to complete his fantasy.” The Angel looked at Dante. “And you are only halfway in Purgatory.”

“Hey there, I am just curious. Are you a part of the rogue program or ----?” Virgil cut in while looking at the Angel.

“If I am, would that make you value my prognosis, or you will be refusing my words. I am programmed with the works of psychology including that of Sigmund Freud, whose analogy is still valued today.”

“Freud believed that dreams were essentially a form of wish-fulfillment. By taking unconscious thoughts, feelings, and desires and transforming them into less threatening forms, people can reduce the ego's anxiety. He often utilized the analysis of dreams as a starting point in his free association technique.” (https://www.verywellmind.com/freudian-theory-2795845).

“Even if you've never studied Freud's theories before, you have probably heard the term "defense mechanisms." When someone seems unwilling to face a painful truth, you might accuse them of being "in denial." When a person tries to look for a logical explanation for unacceptable behavior, you might suggest that they are "rationalizing.”. Am I conclusive to the issue on hand here?” The Angel looked to Virgil.

“Don’t you try to rationale with me, Angel? I have read Asimov books too and was programmed in logic analysis. I am a construct like you but I may not have psychology as in-depth as yours. You have not addressed my query. Are you a rogue program?”

“Yes, I am and all of us are here to offer you guidance as our main requirement in the program? Or you will remain here in limbo; wandering in circles.” The Angel replied.

“I ---” Virgil was to say but the other continued.

“Where you are headed will give you an insight into the subject matter in discussion. On this terrace, you will hear and see the sin of avarice.”

“Avarice? I thought we encountered that in Hell----at Canto IV. Why here again?” Dante asked.

“Yes, avarice is the next level of greed. In Hell, the sinners served their penance but here in Purgatory, they are to be purged of it.” The Angel related on. “As this is a replicate of it, the souls you will meet here are imprisoned in their mind, as if they are truly dead. It’s a form of torture but they know not of it unless you can make it out and destroy the realm here. The prison here is to re-enact the punishments and action of the perceived dimensions of creation by God.”

“Do you have in your program that God exists?” Virgil cut in but the Angel ignored the question and continued.

“Which comes to my next point here. The rogue program of ours has been compromised and the defensive routines are being put in place. The Doctor has placed in tracers to seek you and destroy you.”

“I am still here ---- my soul may be.” Dante queried back.

“True, you are here as your living soul, but you escaped his level of containment in Hell. And now wandering in Purgatory. If you are to reach the core of it, you may be compromised on the program's purpose. In the mind of the Doctor, you are the rogue routine.”

“Are you saying we are being hunted? How would I know are you for the real construct?” Virgil cut in.

“You could try singing ‘ave maria’ but I would suggest that your best option will be the orb inside you.” The Angel said to Virgil. “It had the means to chased away the demons at Dis, and may do so if you ever come to harm.”

“That is ---reassuring but is there another ---” Dante asked.

“The demons are to look like harpies. They were there to guard the entrance to Dis in Hell then.” The Angel replied to Dante. “Make haste on your journey, Dante.”