The concepts of boundaries, borders, and mysteries of the unknown are as old as humanity, and still fascinating today ...
Secret societies across history have captured the imagination through their exclusive “hidden knowledge.” One way they screen outsiders is a secret handshake or password. The practice persists today in military codewords and the nuclear-launch codes which once prevented accidental Armageddon (since updated to computer control).
After sinning, biblical forebears Adam and Eve were forever barred from the Garden of Eden; an angel with a flaming sword prevented their return to paradise.
Star Trek’s episodes and films inaccurately described barriers at the edge and the center of our galaxy.
Edwin A. Abbott’s 1884 masterpiece Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions depicted contact between entities living on our three-dimensional plane with life in two and even one dimensions.
Communication with the dead is described in the Bible and in Homer’s Odyssey. The concept was given new popularity by the Spiritualist movement in 19th-Century England and America. Nowadays it’s easy to find a medium or sensitive willing to connect to a “spirit guide,” who promises you can talk to Aunt Hilda on the Cosmic Telephone. Just don’t take any stock tips or racing results.
Folks never did believe you could sail over the edge of the Earth. Ancient Greeks understood the world’s spherical nature; anybody who watched a ship sail past an ocean horizon could see the truth. Scholars of the Middle Ages likewise understood our planet’s shape and general dimensions. The only known planet on which you could fall off the edge is a recent discovery—the cube world, Htrae, home of DC Comics’ Bizarros.
Borderline Personality Disorder is an affliction reflected by feelings of emptiness and fears of abandonment. Sufferers may have problems respecting others’ privacy as they strive for inclusion and connection. Hypersensivity to others’ unintended rebuffs or invitations may torture the sufferer, as they seek contact.
The Ouija board was introduced commercially in the US in 1890. Generations of youngsters have scared themselves silly by using the board for do-it-yourself séances. Some churches declare that playing with the board can invite demonic possession. But it’s all pretend, right? Tell that to believers in Patience Worth, an entity contacted through the Ouija in 1913, who became a sensational “proof” of spiritual contact.
The next time you doubt the power of artificial borders, marvel at the little yellow line that keeps oncoming drivers on their side of the street.
Secret handshakes and passwords are only two of the ways secret societies try to insulate against outsiders. The storied speakeasies of the American Prohibition era wouldn’t let you in without a current password. This is parodied in Who Framed Roger Rabbit; the password to the Ink & Paint Club is “Walt sent me”—Walt Disney, that is.
Restricted access applies in military situations, too. Nuclear launch authorization used to be dependent on shared passcodes or phrases—a high-tech version of the frontier’s “Friend or foe?” Most metropolitan police forces have similar systems. Someone calling from an outside network may be challenged to provide the “color of the day” or similar inside information.
Be thankful for edges and boundaries—remember H.P. Lovecraft’s observation: If knowledge were wide open, man’s puny mind would break down before stark reality!
The “line in the sand” of yore has no certain original. Supposedly, Col. William Travis called for volunteers to fight to the death by his side at the Alamo by drawing a line with his sword, in 1836. In AD 168, a Roman consul encircled a king and forced him to choose peace or war before stepping over the line. Crossing that line in the sand is supposed to symbolize a definite point of no return. However, the phrase’s impact continues to be diluted by politicians, who usually do nothing but bluster when the metaphorical border is crossed.
See you Thursday, if you can stay in the lines!
