Once there lived a man in a cave by himself. He saw a plain, smooth, and satin black. Stretching away to the horizon on all sides. An endless plain. Upon the plain there was a ball of indeterminate size, also black, satin black and smooth as the plain upon which it rested. The ball might be the size of a pea or the size of a house, it was impossible to tell as there was nothing else upon the plain to give it comparison or context. At first it appeared that the ball was standing still, but on closer inspection it was just possible to see that the ball was rolling. The ball was rolling in a straight line. Tiny imperfections on its satin black surface shimmered as it moved. It might be fast, or it might be slow. There was no sound of wind. Its shadow lay, exact, to one side.
The man from the cave took the ball to the king and queen so that they might give him reward. They said, If the ball is big then you shall have a big reward, if the ball is small then you shall have none.
The man said, it is not the size of the ball that I am bringing to you, it is the wonder of the ball and the plain.
We care not for this vision in your head. The ball proves nothing, said the Queen and King.
The Guardians of the Cave 