"That the man with the golden eyes—?"
"Is myself. He was there within me back in my room half a world away, not in a cave in the Himalayas."
"The man with the golden eyes, my son, is every man—the symbol of perfection every man carries in his heart. It is the seeking after this perfection that is life: The man with the golden eyes is the image of what every man has the power to be."
"I know these things now, but tell me. Why was it given to me to see the image so clearly?"
"Each man who reaches the depths is given a choice. On one hand is death; on the other, the long climb back."
"But there was more in my case. I was given help. I was guided."
"Your footsteps may have been directed but you had to make the climb yourself. You could always have given up and died along the way."
"But why was I guided?"
"There is a reason for everything, and there are Great Ones aware of great necessities. You tried to invade outer space and failed. Perhaps the time now demands that space be conquered, and thus your talents are precious to the cosmic scheme."
"There is so much I must learn. So far I must go in so little time. To conquer space, a man must first conquer himself."