Three people converge in a driverless taxi between Dresden and Brno in the near future….

Vera selected a metallic bronze colored EuroSwift in the row of auto-taxis outside the train station. Not knowing why. It was third in line, but she was drawn to it. Sliding her access card into the entry panel, she gravitated towards a gray leather swivel chair against the far window. The taxi’s sumptuous interior was arranged such that three passenger seats formed a semi-circle, a generous view screen/window for each. And in what normally would be the driver’s front of the vehicle was a stocked convenience bar. She studied the lone other occupant as unobtrusively as possible before turning her attention to the viewscreen. A distinguished older man in dark clothes with a stylish beige derby and blue scarf — neither of which she could definitively determine to be out of place. The man’s face was compelling, a smile never quite departing his active eyes.

The ride was smooth and hypnotic. Within half an hour an automated voice announced the Polish-Czech border and that a third passenger would soon be embarking. Vera felt the almost indetectable deceleration in her solar plexus. A youngish, serious man, perhaps thirty, got in. Seated to Vera’s right and the interesting man’s left, he gave off the aura of a business professional. Perhaps working in finance or diplomacy. No sooner he got settled and the older man offered:

Headed for Prague, I suppose? Can I ask your line of work?

— Ja, I am a legal advisor for a genetic therapy clinique.

The newcomer seemed taken by surprise and overshared in spite of himself. It wasn’t the done thing in 21st century middle Europa, idle bantering with strangers. But some quality in the older man’s manner cut through conventions. Vera marvelled how exactly what she was musing about privately suddenly became the topic of their conversation. This went on a few moments, until it receded into her background awareness. Vera burrowed into her own soul activity as soon as it seemed socially acceptable, aware only that the other two were interacting sporadically but not innocuously by the tone of their voices. The topic something about the likelihood, or not, that moral realism was objectively a thing. She gathered by the mood that neither was persuading the other but both were remaining polite.

After a long dreamy interval in which several fantasy scenarios played out in her mental theater, Vera again heard the automated announcer. “Approaching Prague center. One passenger disembarking.” Again the solar plexus. Vera looked up as the young man gathered his valise and, to her surprise, shook the older man’s hand upon departing. The old man left him with this, in a remarkably calming tone:

‘One cannot have knowledge of such matters’. That is indeed a commonly held certainty these days. And a false one! Many people find it difficult to allow: there is a region that one might experience if certain ideas would be investigated in an unprejudiced way and gone deeper into. It is much easier for these people to instead tell themselves, and others: that is an area of which no one knows anything, because knowing such things are impossible! They feign certainty because they themselves know nothing about it yet. Not knowing about something oneself does not prove that a thing does not exist –- yet that is a conclusion that is curiously very often drawn. Especially when no real personal investigation into the matter in question has been undertaken. This is extremely characteristic of modernity. The extent of our faith in authority goes largely unnoticed.

Now Vera was intrigued. She had the feeling she’d dozed off during some worthwhile discussion. She felt shy however, about engaging the man with the derby and scarf. She began to hope he would ask about her life out of the blue. Maybe. Especially now that it was just the two of them again. But an hour passed, and a good piece of the next one. And a peaceful quiet pervaded the EuroSwift. Vera’s eyelids became heavier; it was work to hold them open. She turned aside so as to doze more politely. She began thinking about a question that had taken life within her as she was reading an account of the life and visions of Abbess Hildegaard von Bingen, the well-known 12th century mystic, author, and composer. Why, Vera asked. Pleaded. Why was it that almost no reports exist of current day seership? Why do so many ‘methods’ seem to yield no or unpublicized results? Why… drowsier… why… sleep.

Once again the autocar’s narrator intervened. “Brno approaching, five minutes. Gather your possessions for this final stop”. Vera’s eyes began adjusting to the slanting afternoon light. But then a new voice, and it would have startled her were it not for its indwelling healing quality:

Vera, it was a pleasure to meet you and share this ride with you. When I exit, be sure to read your viewscreen before you go!

He gave her a warm unforgettable smile as he left the car. Vera instantly swivelled and pressed the window’s touchscreen to access the viewer. A short text was present, seemingly just for her:

Surprisingly, many are very close, on the verge of a kind of social clairvoyance. It is just a matter of being attentive enough, and taking inner silence seriously, and being quick! Because it is fleeting. The spiritual inspiration flashes past with exceeding swiftness, swallowed by the concealing following stream of thoughts and/or impressions. It is lost before being noticed. It is not like memory — leaving a trace or cognitive footprints to track down. It is unfailingly alive and mobile, and you must be observant enough to distinguish it. It can only be known in the moment. In its moment! This is a crucial element — a different aspect of the contemporary human constitution is involved in perceiving genuine spiritual impressions than everyday impressions. The difference is subtle, but with practice it becomes more distinct. Part of this difference is seen in the way that memory is affected.

Many have had the sufficient qualities of life experiences accumulated to perceive this way, into this realm. But a curious obstacle is imposed by their very own usual temperament. That is the present human condition.

For a measureless while Vera pondered the screen until the autocar softly switched back to the window view and politely asked were she ready to depart.

_______RS

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