CASE FILE NO. AOS-1173-Δ
SUBJECT: THE ACE OF SWORDS
CLASSIFICATION: INSTRUMENT OF CLARITY (SELF-DECLARED)
STATUS: STATEMENT RECEIVED, UNVERIFIED
I. PRELIMINARY NOTE
The following statement was submitted to this office by the Subject on the morning of the reading, prior to any question having been posed. The Subject did not wait to be addressed. The Subject has never waited to be addressed. Reference is made to prior filings AOS-0442 through AOS-1172, all of which remain open. The Subject has been informed that unclosed filings accrue. The Subject has indicated that accrual is the point.
II. STATEMENT AS RECEIVED
The Ace of Swords wishes it noted, for the record, that it did not cause the drama. The drama was caused by the querent. The querent is aware of what the querent did. The querent has been aware since approximately the second week of the situation. The querent has elected, nonetheless, to consult the cards.
It is further stated that the Subject’s function is incision, not instigation. The blade does not choose the wound. The blade is presented; the wound is preexisting. This office has received this claim before. This office has received this claim from every blade it has ever logged.
The Subject additionally stated, unprompted, that the querent “knew better” and “did it anyway.” The Subject offered no evidence in support of this characterization. The Subject did not need to. The Subject was described, by the Subject, as “not the villain in this.” No corroborating witness has been located.
III. OBSERVATIONS OF THE QUERENT
The querent was observed at 14:07 hours, seated, shuffling. The querent’s hands were noted to be steady. The querent’s hands were noted to be too steady.¹
Upon the Subject’s appearance in the spread, the querent was observed to experience emotions. The querent’s respiration altered. The querent’s jaw was set. The querent did not speak for eleven seconds. When the querent did speak, the querent said, “Of course it’s that one.” The querent then laughed. The laughter was not joy. This office has a classification for that laughter. The classification is withheld from this document per protocol.
The querent was observed to look toward the ceiling. The querent was observed to look toward the door. The querent was observed to look back at the Subject. At no point did the querent look away from the Subject again.²
IV. RELEVANT HISTORY
The Subject has been involved in this matter from the beginning. The Subject maintains that it was not involved. The Subject maintains that it arrived afterward, to name what had already occurred. This office notes that the Subject’s arrival and the querent’s crisis share a timestamp. This office further notes that timestamps have been disputed by the Subject in prior filings. See AOS-0889, in which the Subject described itself as “a consequence, not a cause.” See AOS-1015, in which the Subject described itself as “the thing you asked for and then resented.”
The Subject has a documented history of arriving at thresholds. Thresholds include: the moment before a confession, the moment after a betrayal, the hour in which a person decides to leave and has not yet told anyone. The Subject is not present at calm dinners. The Subject has never been recorded at a calm dinner.³
V. THE QUESTION OF THE NORMAL LIFE
It has been suggested, by the Subject, that the querent had no right to a normal life. The Subject’s reasoning, as transcribed: a person who asks for the truth has already forfeited the conditions under which normal life is possible. The Subject states that it is merely the instrument of that forfeiture. The Subject states that it was summoned. The Subject states that it does not arrive uninvited.
This office has reviewed the invitation. The invitation exists. The invitation is in the querent’s handwriting.
This office is required to note that being invited does not constitute consent to what follows. This office is required to note that the Subject knows this. This office is required to note that the Subject proceeds regardless.
VI. POSITION OF THIS OFFICE
No determination is reached at this time. The Subject’s statement is logged as received. The querent’s statement is logged as pending. The querent has been advised that pending statements may be filed at any time, and that the Subject will be notified, and that the Subject will arrive.
Prior filings remain open. Prior filings will remain open. The Subject has been observed to prefer it this way.
VII. FOOTNOTES
¹ The steadiness was later attributed by the querent to “having already made the decision.” This office has not been able to confirm what decision, or when, or whether the decision preceded the reading or was manufactured to survive it.
² The querent’s gaze was sustained for the remainder of the session. The Subject was observed to sustain it back. Neither party blinked. This office does not assign meaning to this. This office records it.
³ Exceptions exist in the archive. One exception was logged in 1997 and subsequently lost. The Subject has denied knowledge of the loss. The Subject has denied knowledge of 1997.
VIII. DISPOSITION
Statement received. Statement unverified. Statement, per standard procedure, forwarded to all parties listed on the distribution sheet, including the querent, including the subject, including three offices that no longer exist.
The matter remains open.
The blade remains on the table.
Distribution: All Parties of Record; The Querent; The Subject; Office of Wands (cc); Office of Cups (cc, for context); Office of Pentacles (cc, for cost); Archive Retention (do not shred); One (1) copy filed under seal, to be opened only in the event the querent asks again.