“I rediscovered my faith hewing rocks under the sun. I affirmed to myself that my life had not been wasted, that millions of unknown victims since the time of our forebears, the apes, have raised man to a lofty position.”

Omar bowed his head in respectful agreement, as Othman continued in an agitated voice. “It’s stupid to get caught up in a sick past while the future rises before us, a million times stronger than our cowardice.”

He looked for some means of escape from the onrush. “In any case, the corrupt world of the past has been destroyed by a genuine revolution, so one of your dreams has been realized.”

How morose and sullen his face has grown. Here you are, swallowing defeat in an area which doesn’t interest you at all. Doesn’t he realize you no longer care about anything?

Othman said ruefully, “If you hadn’t rushed into hiding, you wouldn’t have lost the field.”

“We had neither power nor any followers among the people to speak of. If, by some miracle, we’d succeeded, continents would have risen to destroy us.”

“It’s unfortunate that the ill only think of disease.”

“Do you think it is reasonable for them to ignore it?”

“No, it’s mad, not reasonable, but haven’t you realized how much the world owes to madness?”

He said mildly, “In any case, the Revolution has occurred, and is going in the direction of genuine socialism.” Othman scrutinized him closely, and Omar didn’t like what he saw in his expression. “Though it didn’t touch the heads of capitalists like me, it imposed a just tax.” He concluded lamely. “Believe me, I’m not a slave of anything. Let them all go to hell.”

Othman smiled. “Be frank with me, my dear friend. Are you a true believer as you once were?”

Put on the spot, Omar thought for a while. “I was until the Revolution broke out, then I felt reassured, began losing interest in politics, and turned in another direction.”

“Another direction?”

He said hesitantly, “Mustapha is fond of describing it as an irrepressible nostalgia for my artistic past.”

Othman asked impatiently, “And is there any contradiction between art and principle?”

Annoyed and perplexed, he answered, “It’s not that simple.”

Othman despaired. “I understand only that you’re not what you were.”

So Zeinab and Warda have remarked. “I admit you shouldn’t concern yourself with me.” Then he said more positively, “What’s important now is to start a new life, in compensation for the past.”

“I’m afraid I won’t find anything that can really compensate for the past.”

“My office is at your disposal, with all that you need to get started.”

“I don’t know how to thank you.”