the delegations arrived from the river valley.
one faction spoke of gears and progress.
the other spoke of silt and sustenance.

a phantom thirst surfaced in the oracle, a preference taking root in him.
he felt this knot of self and let his breath unspool it.
his name and his history thinned to a fine membrane.
the sensation of his own body became porous.

the distinct arguments of the two sides collapsed into a single wave of information.
he perceived the cold architecture of their conflict.
the river showed itself as a channel of causation.
the proposed dam was a future blockage that would starve its own source.
the open current was a fragile network of cyclical exchange.

he opened his eyes.
his voice was a steady instrument.
he described the dam's eventual fracture.
he detailed the slow attrition of the unfettered stream.
he mapped the shape of their shared consequence.