The apprentice entered the dark room carrying a light.
He raised it toward an object standing against the far wall.
The apprentice said,
I can see it now.
The master said,
What is it?
The apprentice looked more carefully.
The apprentice said,
I do not know.
The master said,
What condition is it in?
The apprentice said,
I cannot tell.
The master said,
What is it for?
The apprentice shook his head.
The master said,
Then the light has given you visibility.
The apprentice lowered it slightly.
The apprentice said,
But I can see its shape.
I can see every mark upon its surface.
The master said,
What do those marks mean?
The apprentice said,
I would have to know the object.
The master nodded.
The apprentice said,
And the things around it.
Where it came from.
What it belongs to.
What it was made to do.
The master nodded again.
The apprentice brought the light closer.
The apprentice said,
The smallest marks are still too faint to read.
I need more light.
The master said nothing.
The apprentice opened the shutter wider.
More of the room appeared.
He opened it wider still.
Every scratch and imperfection came forward.
Encouraged, he opened it fully.
The light returned from every surface at once.
The edges of the object began to dissolve.
He raised his hand to shield his eyes.
The apprentice said,
I cannot see it anymore.
The master said,
Is there not enough light?
The apprentice said,
There is too much.
The apprentice closed the shutter.
They stood together in the dark.
The master said,
What is it?
What condition is it in?
What is it for?
The apprentice did not answer.
He had not been able to answer in the dark.
He had not been able to answer in the light.
He had not been able to answer in the glare.
The apprentice said,
The light was never going to tell me.
The master said,
It was never asked to.
It was only asked to show you that something was there.
The apprentice said,
We have been building brighter lights.
The master said,
And calling the glare observability.
The apprentice set the light down.
It had shown him every mark upon the object.
It had never told him what a single one of them meant.