Jupiter and Chiron have met on a giant cloud over Mount Olympus, home of the gods. They are watching events on Earth.
Chiron: (pointing) Hey, Jupiter, you see that little human over there?
Jupiter: You mean the one with all the intolerance?
Chiron: Yeah, that one over there, surrounded by people different from himself.
Jupiter: Not too happy, is he?
Chiron: No. Shall we?
Jupiter: Of course!
They link arms, then disappear in a puff of smoke, reappearing near the human in question.
Everyman: Wha–? Who the hell are you?
Jupiter: Different from you, apparently.
Chiron: Yep, it seems that everyone is different from you. Don’t you ever get lonely?
Everyman: I don’t know what you mean, but I do know you aren’t from around here. So here’s the point-end of my gun. Go back where you came from, before I shoot!
Jupiter sticks out one finger, plugs up the end of the gun. Everyman shoots and the bullet is stopped by Jupiter’s finger. Everyman looks at his gun, dumbfounded.
Jupiter: You see, there’s really no need for this.
Everyman: Now you’re making me mad!
He gets out a bigger gun, but before he can use it, Chiron suddenly grows very large and picks him up by the collar, shaking him until he drops all weapons. Several fall from his clothing and clatter to the ground.
Chiron: Silly human! When will you learn?
Jupiter: Intolerance will get you nowhere.
Everyman: (choking a little) You don’t understand! They are going to kill us! They won’t let us just be—so we have to get them first. It’s the way of the world. If we don’t protect our way of life we’ll lose it.
Jupiter: But if you keep fighting, you’ll lose your life anyway. And who will be left around to continue the culture you’ve built? Why are you fighting anyway? Who is the real enemy here?
Everyman is still dangling from Chiron’s grip. Chiron drops him suddenly.
Chiron: (shaking his head) I can’t make you tolerant. But I can show you what’s possible.
He picks up a rock and breathes on it. The rocks clarifies, becomes like a pool. In the rock, pictures begin to appear. Everyman becomes fascinated and steps closer.
Jupiter: What do you see?
Everyman: I see my people, fighting our neighbors, as we’ve always done. So many dead, so much territory changing hands over so many years.
Chiron: Do you want your children to die for this?
Everyman: I, um, I don’t know. I want our way of life to continue. I’m not giving up our ways!
Jupiter: What if you didn’t have to?
Everyman: I don’t want my daughter to marry one of them!
Chiron: I understand, but what if your battle is over? What if no one is right and no one is wrong?
Jupiter: What if you could spend your days in building up your culture instead of tearing down theirs?
Chiron: And what if their culture contains some hidden key, some mystery that can unlock something in yours—wouldn’t you want access to that?
Everyman: (grudgingly) Maybe.
Jupiter: You’re a hard case.
Everyman: Yeah. I’m not budging.
Jupiter: (to Chiron) He doesn’t seem to have any clue that he’s not unique in his intolerance. It’s as if he really believes his culture is superior. This is useless.
Chiron: (to Jupiter) I think it’s time to visit the one we really came here to see.
They turn their back on Everyman and walk into a nearby house. There, seated on the floor, is an 8-year-old of indeterminate race, who looks up in surprise.
Jupiter: Hi there!
Child: Whoa! You have got to be deities!
Chiron: You guessed it. Can’t fool you for a minute, can we?
Child: Nope.
Jupiter: Bit of a mess out there, isn’t it? He points outside with his thumb.
Child: No kidding! Everybody’s killing each other all the time. They killed my dad because he’s not like them. They shun my mom too. Did you come to fix it?
Chiron: No, we came to do something better. We came to help you fix it.
Child: No way! That’s not better—that’s worse.
Jupiter: Yeah, it wasn’t my idea, it was Chiron’s. Blame him.
Chiron: You were born to be a bridge between the two cultures you came from.
Child: Don’t be an idiot. How am I supposed to do that?
Jupiter: Because you want to be whole. Because you have two sides and yet you are one person. Until you completely own and accept both sides of you, this war will continue. Make friends with both sides and you make yourself whole.
Child: That sounds hard. I don’t know where to start.
Chiron: Start wherever you are. Find the places that are broken in you and make them whole. Gather people who are different together and get them talking about what makes them the same. Help them learn from each other. This will make you whole and it will save the world you live in.
Jupiter and Chiron begin to go up in a puff of swirling smoke.
Child: Don’t go! I can’t do this alone.
Chiron: You won’t really be alone. We’ll be behind you the whole way.
Jupiter: You can do it. It is your gift to the world. And you have your whole life to do it in.
Chiron: (pointing) Hey, Jupiter, you see that little human over there?
Jupiter: You mean the one with all the intolerance?
Chiron: Yeah, that one over there, surrounded by people different from himself.
Jupiter: Not too happy, is he?
Chiron: No. Shall we?
Jupiter: Of course!
They link arms, then disappear in a puff of smoke, reappearing near the human in question.
Everyman: Wha–? Who the hell are you?
Jupiter: Different from you, apparently.
Chiron: Yep, it seems that everyone is different from you. Don’t you ever get lonely?
Everyman: I don’t know what you mean, but I do know you aren’t from around here. So here’s the point-end of my gun. Go back where you came from, before I shoot!
Jupiter sticks out one finger, plugs up the end of the gun. Everyman shoots and the bullet is stopped by Jupiter’s finger. Everyman looks at his gun, dumbfounded.
Jupiter: You see, there’s really no need for this.
Everyman: Now you’re making me mad!
He gets out a bigger gun, but before he can use it, Chiron suddenly grows very large and picks him up by the collar, shaking him until he drops all weapons. Several fall from his clothing and clatter to the ground.
Chiron: Silly human! When will you learn?
Jupiter: Intolerance will get you nowhere.
Everyman: (choking a little) You don’t understand! They are going to kill us! They won’t let us just be—so we have to get them first. It’s the way of the world. If we don’t protect our way of life we’ll lose it.
Jupiter: But if you keep fighting, you’ll lose your life anyway. And who will be left around to continue the culture you’ve built? Why are you fighting anyway? Who is the real enemy here?
Everyman is still dangling from Chiron’s grip. Chiron drops him suddenly.
Chiron: (shaking his head) I can’t make you tolerant. But I can show you what’s possible.
He picks up a rock and breathes on it. The rocks clarifies, becomes like a pool. In the rock, pictures begin to appear. Everyman becomes fascinated and steps closer.
Jupiter: What do you see?
Everyman: I see my people, fighting our neighbors, as we’ve always done. So many dead, so much territory changing hands over so many years.
Chiron: Do you want your children to die for this?
Everyman: I, um, I don’t know. I want our way of life to continue. I’m not giving up our ways!
Jupiter: What if you didn’t have to?
Everyman: I don’t want my daughter to marry one of them!
Chiron: I understand, but what if your battle is over? What if no one is right and no one is wrong?
Jupiter: What if you could spend your days in building up your culture instead of tearing down theirs?
Chiron: And what if their culture contains some hidden key, some mystery that can unlock something in yours—wouldn’t you want access to that?
Everyman: (grudgingly) Maybe.
Jupiter: You’re a hard case.
Everyman: Yeah. I’m not budging.
Jupiter: (to Chiron) He doesn’t seem to have any clue that he’s not unique in his intolerance. It’s as if he really believes his culture is superior. This is useless.
Chiron: (to Jupiter) I think it’s time to visit the one we really came here to see.
They turn their back on Everyman and walk into a nearby house. There, seated on the floor, is an 8-year-old of indeterminate race, who looks up in surprise.
Jupiter: Hi there!
Child: Whoa! You have got to be deities!
Chiron: You guessed it. Can’t fool you for a minute, can we?
Child: Nope.
Jupiter: Bit of a mess out there, isn’t it? He points outside with his thumb.
Child: No kidding! Everybody’s killing each other all the time. They killed my dad because he’s not like them. They shun my mom too. Did you come to fix it?
Chiron: No, we came to do something better. We came to help you fix it.
Child: No way! That’s not better—that’s worse.
Jupiter: Yeah, it wasn’t my idea, it was Chiron’s. Blame him.
Chiron: You were born to be a bridge between the two cultures you came from.
Child: Don’t be an idiot. How am I supposed to do that?
Jupiter: Because you want to be whole. Because you have two sides and yet you are one person. Until you completely own and accept both sides of you, this war will continue. Make friends with both sides and you make yourself whole.
Child: That sounds hard. I don’t know where to start.
Chiron: Start wherever you are. Find the places that are broken in you and make them whole. Gather people who are different together and get them talking about what makes them the same. Help them learn from each other. This will make you whole and it will save the world you live in.
Jupiter and Chiron begin to go up in a puff of swirling smoke.
Child: Don’t go! I can’t do this alone.
Chiron: You won’t really be alone. We’ll be behind you the whole way.
Jupiter: You can do it. It is your gift to the world. And you have your whole life to do it in.
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