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SATAN AND PERPENDICULAR WORLDS 69
There are some qualities—some incorporate things,
That have a double life, which thus is made
A type of twin entity which springs
From matter and light, evinced in solid and shade.
—Edgar Allan Poe, "Silence"
If 4-D analogs of unclothed humans intersected our world, they might appear
as fleshy or hairy blobs (Fig. 3.10), as described in this chapter. If clothed, we
would see cloth-covered bags of flesh. (Artist Michelle Sullivan has drawn several
fanciful illustrations of 4-D beings in Fig. 3.11.) By analogy, if you were to
stick your foot into Flatland, a Flatlander would see a leather disc (a cross section
of your shoe). Without the shoe, the Flatlander would see a fleshy disc
(your skin). As you stuck your foot deeper into Flatland, the Flatlander would
see a fabric disc representing your pants. If you stuck both legs into Flatland,
you would appear as two fabric discs. As you drifted downward, these two discs
merge into one disc at your waist and then change colors and break apart into
three discs (your two arms and shirt). As you descended, the Flatlander would
finally see a hairy disc (the hair on your head) that suddenly disappears as you
go all the way through Flatland. To Flatlanders, you would be something out
of their worst nightmares—a confusing collection of constantly changing discs
made of leather, cloth, flesh, lips, teeth (when your mouth is open), and hair.