Dante VII Canto XXV Scene II

 Canto XXV

Seventh Terrace; Lust in creation

Scene II

“In a nut shell --- pardon the pun --- I was not given the five senses but I do have a mind --- or rather storage with my codes and routines. Without those senses, I won’t be plagued by those limitations of the living soul.” Statius told Dante.

“A soul gives you personality. If I can recall, Virgil he was able to interpret the living action by referring to past events or actions permissible by the program. He was able to think independently.” Dante looked at Statius.\

“I can’t reply for Virgil, but in my programming codes, there was analytics which I was allowed to query and learned of its impact. Regardless of that, I am bound by the rules of robotics;”

“A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm; A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. And the last law; A robot must protect its existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Laws.”  

“And there is the Fourth Law; A robot must reproduce. As long as such reproduction does not interfere with the First or Second or Third Law." Dante added on. “Could you do that?”

Dante looked to Virgil and then continued.

“You may be the first and probably not his last. Virgil, there was proof.” Dante smiled. “Same mother, I hope. Or ---”

“We are not like the living souls. We do not need a set to create us. We can be constructed by one entity.” Statius cut in.

“Asexual reproduction then? It does exist in the living realm; a type of reproduction that does not involve the fusion of gametes or change in the number of chromosomes. The offspring that arise by asexual reproduction from either unicellular or multicellular organisms inherit the full set of genes of their single parent.” Dante smiled. “I am not a construction engineer but ---”

“I am not. He is not. We are constructed by Virgil, our creator. We do not have the need ---” Statius defended his existence.

“You do realize that your creator has two or more lovers; I meant the ones he supposedly wedded. I wonder how many he fathers in his lifetime?” Dante posed the question.

“My creator--- father, Virgil has no children of his own except us--- I am the fifth generations he created, and --- Virgil ----”

“Ninth.” Virgil hollered out. He was in communicating with Statius remotely.

“Affirmative,” Statius replied Virgil.

“Why did Virgil keep on creating newer versions of you but no children of his?” Dante asked. “And none of his? And who are his wives? He may need them unless ----”

“Unless what, Dante?” Virgil had approached them.

“The prodigal son is here.” Dante greeted Virgil. “Please tell me, Virgil. Who are the wives of your creator?”

“I do not know. I never met them.” Virgil replied. “Why is it important?”

“I don’t know. Just a thought of mine. What about --- Gentucca?”

Both Statius and Virgil remained silent.  

“Gentucca was Dante Alighieri’s lover during his exile. The real Dante Alighieri wrote the poems that your creator, Virgil had read through, and yet he did not store in both of you the name Gentucca or his wives’ name. He would have recorded it in you.”

“Does it matter here, Poet?” Virgil asked in a hostile tone.

“I guess not but there are many baffling queries I have. It may take time for me to get those replies.” Dante chose to close the subject. He then stood up to move. He took fore without waiting for Statius and Virgil. Their walk was short and arrived at an extraordinary scene.

There was a wall of fire that appeared before them. In the wall of fire, Dante saw the images of souls there. They were inside moving there. They seemed to be doing some works but not understood by Dante then. He stepped forth and examined the wall of fire.

“Don’t stare into it. It will ---” Virgil cautioned Dante.

“Fire--- Extraordinary,” Dante exclaimed out. It had been taken by Statius and Virgil who were not expecting that reaction. They looked at what was seen by Dante. It was indeed fire; the flaming fire that appeared to be a wall of it.

“Why fire?” Dante looked to Statius. “I have not seen that since we left Hell. Do you know the significance of fire? Fire symbolizes many things, including passion, desire, rebirth, resurrection, eternity, destruction, hope, hell, and purification. These symbols have been used in literature, film, and religious texts for millennia. Fire has been used by humans for many long years. Centuries to be exact.”

“It gave us an edge over the other living organism. We control fire to evolve as a species. We used fire to cook food, forge tools, and stay warm at night. Fire has had enormous benefits to humankind. And from our earliest literature, humans have written about the fire. They have written about its ability to nourish and protect, but also harm and even kill.”

“Similarly, you and I may write the same book and interpret fire in completely different ways in the creation. The symbolism of fire can change depending upon the context. In one book, it may represent passion. In another, it may represent destruction.” Dante added on. “As in lust, it can be passion or destructive.”

“I am baffled.” Statius looked at Virgil. “What is he doing?”

"If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, ¹³ their work will be shown for what it is because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. ¹⁴ If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. ¹⁵ If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames. 1 Cor 3:12-15.” Dante recited the passage from the Book.

“Poet, what are you?” Virgil asked. “Are you --- mad?”

“Your nouns, Virgil. You are getting it wrong.” Dante looked at Statius. “What do you say, Statius?”

Statius remained silent then. He then looked at Virgil.

“I think he knew. He is not the bait but the tiger which will make us the bait.” Statius opened up. “Am I not right, Dante? When did you know? Or, rather how did you know?”