Kiki-Riki then stood up and spoke.
“Oh, great Chief Punji-Mata! The words that you spoke were even sweeter than the ichor you dined us with earlier, and the wisdom that you spoke is true and wise for all time, not just the present! When among such wise folk as have gathered here today, I find it shameful to not speak wisely in turn. As such, I hereby declare that what I shall speak henceforth will be true and wise, as is befitting the occasion! May everyone strike me down with sticks and stones if that is not the case, for I could not bear the shame if they choose to strike me down with words.
“Let me then begin without delay. Brothers! Sisters! Fellow tokagi! We have debated for many moons about where we came from, what is the meaning of it all, what created it, what follows, what is, and how can we know about it? Do you not see that these questions only serve to confuse us and cloud our minds?
“The truth is simple. It is the simplest answer there can be. Being… simply ‘is’. And that… is the simple truth! No gods created us, no River spewed us forth, no afterlife waits for us after the end: none of that. There is no movement, no change.
“For being is perfect as it is. Entirely whole. Containing everything within itself. Indivisible. And finally, complete.
“There are those among us here who are repulsed by this truth: I can see it in their eyes; they do not believe me. Yet, this is not a question of belief; this is a self-evident truth! One need only to ponder such things for a while, and they would reach the same conclusions.”