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The Red Knot, vol. 3 of the Days of the Guardian Trilogy by D. Marie Prokop
CHAPTER FIFTEEN –
The Golden Spiral
Penuel greeted Jack. The boy didn’t speak. Penuel
had never heard the young man’s voice. He sighed. The
Guardian entrusted him with a mission. He would do his
best.
“Jack, it’s time.”
As Jack looked up, a question filled his eyes. “Time
for what?” they seemed to say.
Penuel offered him a warm and welcoming smile. “It’s
time to explore truth, yes? Come with me.”
Jack followed Penuel out into the garden. They
paused as Penuel bent over and picked up a standard
brown seashell. He held it out for Jack to examine.
“Who owns this seashell?” Penuel asked him. Jack
looked puzzled by the strange question.
“Ah, you’ve taken a vow of silence. Let’s try this, no?
I’ll ask you questions, and you just nod yes or shake no?
Okay?”
Jack nodded.
Penuel began. “Do I own this seashell?”
Jack shrugged, but then shook his head no.
Penuel smiled. “I agree. This seashell isn’t mine. If it
was mine, you would assume I created it, yes?”
Jack nodded this time, following Penuel’s reasoning.
“Okay, here’s the next question—is this seashell
yours?”
Jack again replied no.
Penuel nodded. “Correct, young man. So, it’s not
mine and it’s not yours. Whose is it then, I wonder?”
Jack was silent but pointed his finger to the blue sky.
“What? Does that mean God?”
Jack shrugged and nodded.
“Not sure God exists? I have wrestled with that myself.
Well, let’s suppose God made this seashell. But he’s
not here. I found it, so I can do with it
whatever I please, no? I have free will.”
Penuel cast the seashell to the ground. They both
stared down, watching the chipped seashell ramble
along the walkway. The broken shell finally spun in place
and came to rest. Penuel retrieved it. He pointed to the
conical section on the seashell. “Do you see this shape?”
Jack nodded.
“This is a nautilus, a common shape in nature, also
called a golden spiral. The nautilus is everywhere in the
universe, forming not only this tiny seashell but also the
shape of a galaxy. Must be
coincidence, no? Fate?”
Penuel strolled over to a
raised box filled with sand. He picked up a rake
with tines that were close together on one end and grew
gradually wider toward the opposite end. He used the
funny-looking rake to draw a spiral in the sand.
“Looks familiar, yes?” Penuel asked Jack. Jack nodded.
The spiral mirrored the seashell, the nautilus shape.
“Let us count the number of spirals. You can count,
yes?”
Jack’s holo-education ended two years ago. He
hadn’t had to think about mathematics for a while.
Luckily, Jack could count. Many of his friends back in Sector
One could not. Jack wondered if Penuel had ever
been a math teacher in whatever country he was from.
His accent was unique.
“Thirteen, yes? That’s bad luck, no? Silly superstitious
nonsense. Nature maybe likes some numbers more than
others, no? Take the number thirteen. There’s a mathematical
phenomenon found all throughout the universe
called the Fibonacci sequence. Each number of the
sequence is the sum of the two previous numbers. I’ll
show you.”
Penuel used his finger to write numbers and calculations
in the sand.
“0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13 . . . Yes?”
Jack followed Penuel’s explanation, nodding slowly.
He wondered where this was going.
Penuel continued, “This sequence makes sense, but
it’s mysterious, too. It’s found in science, mathematics,
and art. But why? No one knows! The Fibonacci
sequence is fate, destiny... or rather, an inexplicable design.
We can do what we want with the shell. I can throw
it to the ground and break it, no? This is free will. I can
destroy or cherish what God has designed.”
A mature understanding crossed Jack’s young face.
The teenager had experienced much in his short life. Penuel
felt empathy for him. He continued his lesson, wanting
this spiritual examination to deliver hope.
“Free will can cause much pain, no? It’s frustrating.
Are you angry at the Guardian for asking you to take on
this burden, for letting you look like a traitor?”
Jack picked up the seashell. The intricate, yet simple
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