Diary (January 21, 2021)

Online diary of Karl Jones for Thursday January 21, 2021.

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Diary

Topology is destiny

Fraa Jad stood up and, in the same motion, stripped his bolt off over his head. Some of the hierarchs gasped and turned their backs. Nothing happened for a little while. I rummaged in his shopping bag and found a pair of drawers, which I handed to him.

“Do I need to explain this? ” I asked, pointing out the fly.

Fraa Jad took the garment from me and discovered how the fly worked. “Topology is destiny, ” he said, and put the drawers on. One leg at a time.

—Neal Stephenson, "Anathem" (2008)

Fiction cross-reference

• Gnomon algorithm
• Gnomon Chronicles