As the days passed, Pre Dominic

encountered other Residents as well, some

of whom roamed throughout the Islands
Empire as Itinerant Intellects, returning to
the Summit whenever possible for welcome
periods of rest and study devoted to com-
prehension of the Summit Doctrine. This
Doctrine, which had evolved amid the
mountains of the Silvery Range, was to
prove a difficult and disturbing challenge for
Pre Dominic, a man steeped in the dual
strands of philosophical and mystical elements
that were so dominant in Western culture. But
he found his attempts greatly facilitated both
by the Hermit of the Ninth Level, known to
his comrades on the Summit as Yu Xia, and
Ma Hui, that mysterious personage who had
already played such a vital role in rescuing
Pre Dominic from oblivion.
s
It would be Residents such as these
seasoned warriors, experienced leaders of
fighting men, who were to suggest answers to
many of the questions concerning violence
which, as reflected in his own experiences,
were never far from Pre Dominics mind.
Expressions of systematic violence, such as
that capacity of one human being to inflict
physical harm upon another, to cause pain,
injury, and even an irreversible loss of
life, whether originating from the ancient
instinct to survive, or from a limited and
circumscribed response by the human intel-
lect when confronting and trying to resolve
conflicts within a social reality, had always
concerned Pre Dominic greatly, although he
had never been able to arrive at any suffi-
ciently satisfactory conclusions concerning
possible ways and means of moderating and
controlling their potentially devastating
effects.
s
Kudodar, as an expert in the art of
unarmed combat, together with Joao de
Alcumbra and Wokou, who were veterans in
the art and strategies of collective warfare,
were to explain and exhibit to Pre Dominic
many concepts and principles whereby various
forms of mayhem might be transformed into
methods of enhancing human existence
through an expression of that defensive and
moderating potential which all the Residents
seemed to be exploring continously through
intensive study and training sessions.
s
14 15

Summit and its mysteries began to increase, as
his relationships with the various Residents
deepened, aided by a growing sense of mutual
respect and understanding.
s
Eventually, after a mid-day meal (which
was always brought to his cubicle by a solici-
tous Resident), Pre Dominic had ventured
out into the corridor, gazing cautiously around
at the many dim passageways that led away
into the deepest recesses of the Summit, and
at the artfully organized and connected
series of elevations rising from a labyrinthine
underground cavern of fiery, primeval energy
that helped to sustain the Summit and its
inhabitants.
s
In time, Pre Dominic would learn that
he was being housed on the First Level, in a
section of the site known as the Dormitory. As
his strength began to return, he extended his
explorations, at first always in the company of
the Hermit or one of the Residents, and then
increasingly on his own. He discovered that
there were Nine Levels, rising in concentric
circles and expanding like an immense
amphitheater within the inner core of the
Summit.
s
It was this common desire that had
attracted his hosts to the Summit and it was
their credo which set them apart from other
groups of mountain dwellers. The Summit
Doctrine, as it had evolved up to that point
thanks in no small measure to the contribu-
tions of each Residenteventually began
to impress itself upon Pre Dominic as one
of the most innovative and responsible ways
for human beings to face the reality of their
existence and to contribute to its integrated
and balanced manifestation. As an emerging
and transforming ethos, this Doctrine offered
a vision of creation oriented toward the
balanced acceptance of life in all its positive
forms and embodiments as they evolved
toward an end that was actually a beginning.
Moreover, this beginning was intended to
function as the center of a creative process
consciously directed by each human being
toward the formation of a life-enhancing
wholeness.
s
Even during the early days of his resi-
dence on the Summit, Pre Dominic began
to appreciate it not only as a place of refuge,
but as an exciting site for exploration, for
physical and mental exercises, for reflection
and meditation. His fascination with the
16 17

Moving from Level to Level, he had also
begun to appreciate the wealth of material he
discovered on each onein particular, the
well-stocked Armory that was housed on the
Second Level that contained a vast collection
of weapons and armor from various countries
and epochs, together with training centers
that were evidently operational. This last
discovery concerned him deeply at the time,
since his very presence within this mountain
refuge had resulted from the actions of war-
riors whose ethics were based on systematic
violence employed as a means of regulating
reality within martial models of absolute
subjection to their vertical hierarchies.
s
The existence on the Third Level of an
equally rich and eclectic assortment of archi-
tectural motifs, temples, and shrines with
their related sculptures and decorations, all
reflecting mystical and religious concepts,
only confused Pre Dominic further, as he
pondered the possible ascetic orientation of
the Residents. His perplexity was heightened
by the unusual variety of styles and representa-
tions celebrating the divine element in the
evolution and history of humanity that was
evident everywhere on this Level.
s
But Pre Dominic was even more aston-
ished by what he found on the Fourth Level.
Here were masterpieces of the human artistic
inclination to celebrate the beauty and com-
plexity of life, expressed according to various
canons of aesthetics developed over the
centuries in diverse countries. However they
may have differed in style or medium, all were
obviously intended to convey the joy and the
pain of living.
s
18 19