Perusino and Viracocha and the Question of the Beginning.
The First Interview with the God of Gods - Viracocha
Viracocha . A red light above the camera was burning, as if it had just decided to switch on reality. The studio looked cleaner than any Inca street Perusino had ever seen, and smelled of cables, coffee, and a little bit of anxiety sweat from people who take live broadcasting very seriously. A screen behind the table displayed a calm star chart, so no one would forget that, for once, this was about things bigger than airtime.
Perusino sat in a chair that was far too large, feeling like a throne for adults who sit for too long. A microphone hung from above, a second lay on the table, and a third stood ready on the side, just in case words slipped out. Across from him sat the Creator God. No thunder, no fog, no dramatic appearance on a mountaintop. Just a figure who didn't quite seem like a normal person. The clothes looked simple, but the light within them acted as if it had a mind of its own.
A technician gave a thumbs-up. The director whispered something into his headset that sounded like "please, no surprises." Perusino cleared his throat, looked into the camera, and began.
Perusino: "Great God, thank you for coming to a modern studio. Are you not offended that there are no mountains, no temples, and not even a single llama here?" Viracocha : "Many are offended when their backdrop is missing. An idea needs no backdrop. A studio is just another place where people try to understand things."
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Perusino: "So, is this like a mountain for you, just with more cables?" Viracocha : "A mountain is old and patient. A cable is young and nervous. Both connect something. That's enough kinship."
Perusino: "Many call you the Creator. Others say there were different beginnings. Is it true that you really stand at the beginning of everything?" Viracocha : "Many narratives place me at the beginning because a beginning without a name is hard to bear. Some places speak first of the sun, others of the earth, others of mountains or water. A beginning can have multiple voices without any of them lying."
Perusino: "Multiple voices at the beginning sounds like a school class before class starts." Viracocha : "A school class is a good comparison. Many talk at once, and yet eventually a plan emerges."
Perusino: "Was there really nothing before the world? Or was there already something that no one saw?" Viracocha : "Pure nothing is a word people use when they can't imagine anything. Many traditions speak of darkness, of water, of mist, of silence. These things feel empty, but they are already material for stories."
Perusino: "A fog is like vegetables in food. Everyone knows it's there, but no one wants to see it." Viracocha : "Invisible doesn't mean it's not there."
Perusino: "How do you make a sun from darkness? A button in the sky would be practical." Viracocha : "Myths explain with images. Some images say that light was set as a decision. Others say that the sun and moon emerged from the water so that days could be counted. In all variations, there is an idea: order needs signs."
Perusino: "Order is a word that adults love when children are having fun." Viracocha : "Fun without limits often ends in tears. Limits without fun often end in anger. Both need a measure."
Perusino: "Then people come. From clay, from stone, from something. What's true now?" Viracocha : "True is a difficult word in traditions. Clay fits because it is malleable. Stone fits because it remains. Different places choose different materials because the world speaks differently there."
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Perusino: "Some stories say that you first made people and then took them away again. Why would one tell such a thing?" Viracocha : "Because people know mistakes. A failed attempt is sad, but understandable. A second attempt seems like hope. These stories don't say that destruction is fun. These stories say that learning can hurt."
Perusino: "You sometimes wander around as a beggar. Why? A creator could just say: It is I, everyone be friendly immediately." Viracocha: "Friendliness out of fear is not the same as friendliness from the heart. A powerful appearance makes many people quickly obedient. A small figure shows who helps voluntarily. That's less of a test and more of a mirror."
Perusino: "A mirror is mean because it doesn't lie." Viracocha : "A mirror is honest. It only becomes mean when someone doesn't want to bear the truth."
Perusino: "Boss question, because children always want to clarify that. Are you the boss of Inti, Pachamama, Illapa, and everyone else?" Viracocha : "Boss is a word from offices. In the Andes, power often functions like in a village. Every force has a task. Respect arises from this task. Sometimes a force is in the spotlight because the time demands it, and sometimes it steps back."
Perusino: "Many say you live high up, somewhere in Hanan Pacha. Others say you wander around. Which is true?" Viracocha: "Places in myths are often directions in the mind. Up means reverent. Far away means hard to grasp. Wandering means that an idea can appear anywhere, even where no one expects it."
Perusino: "So an idea like you can also appear here in the studio, right in the middle of spotlights and coffee?" Viracocha : "It's happening right here, right now."
Perusino: "A question many children would ask, even if they didn't dare. Can you do everything?" Viracocha : "Everything is a word that sounds like control. Stories give me great power, but they also leave room for decisions. Without decisions, people would be puppets, only moved. Then there would be no responsibility and no real joy either."
Perusino: "Then comes the mean question. Why don't you just make it so that no one is hungry? One click, boom, everyone's full." Viracocha : "A full stomach can make one grateful, but it can also make one forget. Many ideas suggest that people learn through scarcity to share, to plan, and to stick together. A gift without a task quickly becomes a habit. A habit quickly becomes a given."
Perusino: "A given is like when someone says: That's just how it is. Then it's usually wrong." Viracocha : "That's a clever suspicion."
Perusino: "Respect is important to the Inca. What does respect mean to you? Must one whisper? Must one look serious? Is it okay to laugh?" Viracocha : "Laughter is allowed. Respect means not treating the world like a playground that only belongs to one person. Respect also means that a person does not belittle others just to feel bigger themselves."
Perusino: "That's mockery, right?" Viracocha : "Mockery is laughter that hurts someone else."
Perusino: "Do you need temples, offerings, and rituals?" Viracocha : "Many rituals are for people. A ritual organizes the mind. A gift makes a promise visible. Whoever gives something remembers that taking is not free. A world that only takes will eventually become empty inside."
Perusino: "Another children's question, secretly a big one. Are you afraid of anything?" Viracocha : "Fear is a sign that something is important. A primal being fears indifference less than an opponent. Indifference makes everything small, even mountains, even children."
Perusino: "Indifference is like a shrug, but huge." Viracocha : "Exactly."
Perusino: "Nonsense question, because nonsense questions are mandatory. Do you have a favorite sound?" Viracocha : "Rain on stone. Wind through grasses. A child who thinks for a moment and then still asks."
Perusino: "Last question, because the airtime is almost gone. If you could only change one thing in the world, just one, what would it be?" Viracocha : "More listening. Less shouting. Especially from adults, because shouting is often disguised as an argument."
Perusino: "One last sentence for children. A sentence that sticks. What would yours be?" Viracocha : "Greatness is not loud. Respect counts even when no one is watching."
The red light above the camera went out. A technician audibly exhaled, as if he had just carried a mountain. Perusino looked at Viracocha and realized that a modern studio can sometimes feel like a sacred place when someone inside stops shouting.