`Tis severe to sever the silent e, thereby softening the others; less so the u in Faust.`—Fast
`A great design appears at first insane.`—Goethe, Faust
`In the dictionary as well! – Goethe is found to be just under the gods.`—Fast

Rithian Fast has made his Fastian Deal with the Devil, or rather, it was made upon him; a Tome was "signed" in blood. He denies it stubbornly, even to the Foul Fiend's filthy face: "You do not exist!" But in the end, there is no evading it, no avoiding it; there is no believing it, no believing in it, or not. There is only The Desolate One come for his delicious soul! Twenty-Four years. The Door is closed … to Real Eyes.

`Let us play a most serious game: Rithmomachia.`—Fast
`How could there be anything more selfish than the desire to save one's own precious soul!`—Fast

This `Tale from Ahead,` Fast` sworded `Otto`s Biography, a confused-at-best `Self-Story,` is fastidiously penciled on these thin slivers of wood in chapter and verse, omitting chapters, yet umbly offering as surrogate a continuous chorus. It was played out in Rithian`s one-room, as a means. To what end? Is this merely a temptingly timed attempt to save his own precious soul from that Great Pit of Eternal Pain? So it seems, though he does not believe it, or believe in it. A dream? A darkening nightmare? Doctor Fastus is tied-up tight, positioned jacket-straight in White Room, he thinks, simply circling in mind, though in a well-thought-through-and-thorough way, he thinks. Or, rather, time is up! He is stuck Below for all eternity!—redundantly and in contradiction. To grasp this!—is his Fast task; it is the human task.

`The senses are not senseless.`—Fast
`The Mute Ant sweetly spoke softly of the silent e.`—Fast

At tender-aged twelve, the Notes and Rithms were put upon the ears of our youthly Rith, the 6-Stringed and 88-Keyed. The fate was offered. The Fast One wholemindedly grasped it, with all ten fingers of both hands. He quickly learned however, that with this noble art, comes a gravity, a noble deal. And, comes the great weight of that which is grave. Perchance in this darkest of depthly darkened cases a finding was found, a silent e to yield the others strong in sound, with ears both in depth percepted space. Just defied or justified, a Window is opened … to the Real-Eyed.

`Even the lion knows! – not to share his pride.`—Fast

`Misunderstanding the dream. In the ages of crude primeval culture man believed that in dreams he got to know another real world; here is the origin of all metaphysics … `The dead live on; for they appear to the living in dreams`; this inference went unchallenged for many thousands of years.`—Nietzsche, Human, All-Too-Human

`Of this, one must not ask; tis as the silent e in its task.`—Fast

`The spirit of Rithian is within me!`—Ian, student of Fast

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Mr. McRill holds a Master of Music degree in Composition. He has written, performed, and recorded 6 CDs: The "Rithian Fast" songs (acoustic rock); and the solo piano works. He has enjoyed teaching Music and English as a second language at various educational institutions, and lives happily and humbly with his sweet wife..