The rabbit did not appear to be speaking because his lips weren’t moving...
The rabbit did not appear to be speaking because his lips weren’t moving, but Ali could still hear Whitehead saying, “Importance is derived from the immanence of infinitude in the finite”.[^8] Ali was confused about how to respond - whether in words or through his thoughts - since Whitehead seemed to magically communicate through thought rather than speech. Finally, Ali made up his mind.
Rather than putting his thoughts into words, he simply thought, “To make a daisy chain is my desire, which is a matter of fact that is so important to me that I should not waste my time talking to you”. Despite his desire to build an infinitely large chain of daisies, and its relative importance to him, Ali’s curiosity burned. He wondered why the rabbit was complaining that it can’t talk if it didn’t need to talk?
Once again, Ali heard the rabbit’s voice in his head, “Expression is founded on the finite occasion[^9] and only animals express themselves unconsciously. I am not an animal, so stop referring to me as it !” Ali was stunned upon this outburst. This was such an unusual occurrence in an ordinary day. Was it really an ordinary day?
At this point, Ali found himself thinking about the book that his brother was reading, and he wondered about the mode of communication between his brother and the author of the book. Were the numbers elements of a finite world; were the symbols elements of an infinite world? Perhaps the relationship between numbers and mathematical symbols paralleled the relationship between language and thought.
Perhaps these concepts were related to each other just as any reflection is related to the original object. It is never a perfect translation. There is always some distortion. Which element is more important? Which element reflects the infinite? Ali shouted angrily, “Who are you? What are you?” Through his thoughts Whitehead explained, “I was once a nebula and later united with some dust particles from the Moon.
Finally I arrived on Earth in the form of a white-headed rabbit”.[^10] Without thinking another word, Whitehead started running. He was running purposefully to reach a destination rather than trying to escape from Ali. He seemed to know that Ali was going to follow him wherever he went, even down a dark, unmarked hole in the ground. Following his curiosity and the intriguing rabbit, Ali found himself in a new alternate reality. Down, down, down he tumbled.