Beliefs about the nature of our world, and about how its inhabitants are related to it, have progressively evolved since consciousness first developed the capacity to perceive it. This will have been a very long time ago. While it may be a somewhat contentious view it is likely that consciousness on this planet is much older than our human experience of it dating from as early as the very genesis of the planet itself. If consciousness is as old as this then it may be seen to occur simultaneously with matter itself and therefore spans the length and breadth of existence. In this case it is likely that consciousness has always been as analytical as we are, and to answer the controversy inherent in this view I will offer an explanation shortly, but first let me point out how tenuous our theories are in terms of our own experience of such vital speculation.

It is an implication of evolution that our ideas will undergo a progressive development as the course of time unfolds. For example it is now several thousand years since Moses wrote the opening chapter of Genesis and even then the story which is told probably represents the essence of ideas which date from as early as one or two million years ago when humans first undertook their crucial evolutionary divergence. The Genesis story is one whose cryptic symbolism makes it especially poetic which may explain its enduring popularity, but with the emergence of scientific thinking over the course of the last two hundred years or so it is now subject to some serious paradigmatic competition. Whether or not scientific representations of our fateful origins are able to eclipse the popularity of Biblical ones may depend on the generality of their abstractions, but it may also depend on the ability of scientific representations to accommodate the tender human sentiments which the Biblical account addresses with such satisfaction. It remains to be seen whether our current scientific thinking will be as popular as the Biblical account of our origins in several thousand years from now, provided of course that we are able to survive that long. And it remains to be seen whether scientific theory will be able to answer our need to believe in something greater than ourselves when we are evidently so able to alter the ecologies on which so many depend for their survival.

You may be thinking on the basis of your prior experience that there is a fundamental conflict between scientific representations of our world and Biblical ones, but I believe that far from there being a conflict between the two there is merely a missing link which joins the two representational paradigms. This may seem like fairly surprising news to you, so to save you from suffering any more suspense than is absolutely necessary I will proceed directly to my explanation of the fundamentally judicial nature of the world in which we live.

I begin with the rather surprising observation that the continents of Planet Earth are not randomly drawn topographical figures. On the contrary, I believe that the continents of this planet represent the figure of a planetary being. According to this view the American continents represent the hind legs of our planetary host. Hudson Bay and the vast Canadian wetlands represent the creature's rectal cavity, while Bering Strait represents its lumbar-sacral junction. The Pacific Ocean represents its belly, the vast Eurasian continent is its trunk, and the African continent represents its forelegs. The creature's head is found in the vicinity of Europe, and Australia is its foetus strung at the end of an umbilicus, the Indonesian archipelago.

If this represents a valid interpretation of the topographical evidence then I don't know how you can avoid the inference that the planet is both an individual living being, and one who is not unlike ourselves in terms of the essential features of our existence. And I believe that we may further infer on the basis of how closely we resemble the planetary host that we are an integral component in a pattern which recurs throughout the constitution of matter. But before I enter into further discussion of this subject let me deal with what amounts to an astonishing interpretation of the significance of continental topography.

You may, of course, be one who is inclined to adopt a sceptical view of new ideas such as the host model of Earth. Let me tell you, however, that I conceived of it many years ago, and in that time I have discussed the matter with perhaps no more than twenty five people among whom the overwhelming majority were partial to an acceptance of its validity. For these people its validity was self evident on the basis of common sense, and I can confidently report that in my case I have never been in a position where I could reasonably doubt it. But if you happen to be among those who cannot accept its validity at face value, or who are naturally sceptical of such new ideas, then let me try to win you over to the natural majesty of this intriguingly novel idea. I have seen a look of awe on the faces of some of those with whom I have shared this idea, so I find it difficult to believe that you are not at least curious to hear this subject discussed in some detail.

Let me begin with the suggestion that, in spite of whatever reservations you may have, the gross features of the host model, the legs and the trunk of this hypothetical planetary being, comfortably fit the configuration of the continents of Africa, Eurasia, and North and South America. I like to think that they resemble a gorilla who is hunched over on all fours, and whose shoulders resemble the bulky protrusion of western Africa, but they could also resemble any number of creatures from extinct dinosaurs, to an assortment of modern day grazing animals. Yet, as compelling as this resemblance may seem to some observers of the model, I believe that the intricate topographical details are even more so.

I have already mentioned how Bering Strait and Hudson Bay resemble certain features of the pelvic region of a nominally representative vertebrate animal, but there are other features of North American continental topography which can be seen to fit the planetary model as hypothesised. It is worth noting at this point that such features should not be interpreted too literally, that the significance of individual features has to be seen in terms of the global matrix of representations rather than in terms of a correlation with anatomic identities which approaches unity. In this case the Great Lakes and the Saint Lawrence Seaway favourably compare with the location of the urinary tract in vertebrate animals, but it is the location of the Greater and Lesser Antilles which especially deserves interpretation in this representational context.

If I may suggest that the evidence is of a somewhat lyrical nature rather than of a doggedly literal one, then the imminent entry of Cuba into the Gulf of Mexico constitutes a symbolic representation of staggering proportions. These topographical features may not correspond with the location of the womb in animals with which we are familiar, but the representational captivation of an egg and sperm at the very instant of conception is unmistakeable. The Gulf of Mexico undoubtedly represents an ovum. And with its tail extending to the island of Grenada at the tip of the Lesser Antilles, the Greater Antilles represent the head of what is a symbolic model of a fully motile sperm cell. I hope it will become clear to you that the surface of the planet may be likened to a kind of scratch pad upon which is written summaries of cosmic experience. And consistent with the location of our bodies within this representational framework we can think of anatomy as a manuscript which encodes a similar repository of this experience. There is evidently a sense in which biological functions have significance in a purely representational context.

In this case the union of egg and sperm in a sense represent the beginning of all time, but just as crucial to their significance is the sense in which they represent a point in space, and so it is not surprising to find that the relationship between the centre and its periphery is portrayed in some detail elsewhere. The Sun itself is one example, surrounded as it is by countless bodies which orbit at different distances, as is the slowly rotating Galaxy. But even here on Earth there is a topographical representation of what must be a fundamental feature of space itself. Notwithstanding the suggestion that such representations may be of a somewhat lyrical nature, the location of the Hawaiian Islands close to the centre of the Pacific Ocean suggest that there is a relationship between the belly and other representations of this spatial origin.

It should not be too difficult for you to see how the fleshy belly resembles the vast Pacific Ocean. The belly consists mostly of salty water as do the oceans of course, and the remnant of the umbilical cord coincides with the location of the Hawaiian Islands in a way which reflects the poetic nature of these representations. But it is the way in which the Hawaiian Islands resemble a map of the Solar System that the representation of a point in space is portrayed in terms which are really quite profound. Quite apart from the way in which the smaller islands seem to be in orbit around the larger island of Hawaii, it is the tidal interaction between the rocky islands themselves and the surrounding water that is especially poetic in so far as it depicts the essence of time and space itself. Those jetsetters among you will have noticed while flying over oceanic islands that they are often surrounded by concentric rings as the kinetic energy of waves crashing on the shoreline is reflected sometimes as many as several tens of kilometres back out to sea. So, not only do the Hawaiian Islands resemble the Sun and its numerous planets, but their interaction with the surrounding ocean also resembles the natural electromagnetic and gravitational radiance of these celestial bodies.

There are, of course, other islands in the Pacific Ocean. There are the Midway Islands and the Marianas in the northern hemisphere, but it is in relation to the countless islands of the South Pacific Ocean that these islands are of particular interest to us here. This is because, consistent with the sense in which features of planetary topography may be located in a purely representational context, the islands of the Pacific are themselves not without some kind of representational significance. In this case, while the Hawaiian Islands resemble a map of the Solar System, the islands located elsewhere in the Pacific Ocean resemble the countless stars which spiral quietly across the vast galactic sky. If it is reasonable to associate these representations with the bellies of vertebrate animals, then there is the sense in which our long and winding entrails resemble a map of the universe itself. In this case our very lives may be seen to unfold as we pass through the length of our own alimentary canal.

A little to the west of the South Pacific islands is Australia which is another representation of the geometric origin not actually located as such. A foetus is not unlike the egg and sperm we found in the vicinity of the North American continent which is also displaced from the true origin of time and space like virtually everything else which has a physical existence. In Australia we find the representation of a foetus which seems to look outward from its own spatial origin across the South Pacific Ocean where it encounters a representation of the inky blackness whose emptiness goes on and on indefinitely. If you haven't quite grasped what I am referring to then perhaps you should turn your map of Australia upside down. According to this orientation Tasmania represents the head of the planetary foetus, while its rectum may be found in the vicinity of Australia's western shores. Its legs are found pointing north to the equator where its belly joins with the Indonesian Archipelago which represents the foetal umbilicus. Since it faces easterly when oriented in this way it therefore looks out across the South Pacific Ocean.

I might just mention in passing how dramatically the presence of Uluru affects the mood of visitors to the deserts of Central Australia. Uluru is that magnificent sandstone monolith which is unique among the various geological features of this planet, rising as much as 350 metres above the surrounding desert, and occupying an area of close to seven square kilometres. It is perhaps even more impressive in view of the implication which follows an acceptance of the host model that its particular function is to represent the planetary foetus. It is impressive to the point of being spooky to think of the sense in which the Olgas, which are located some 30 kilometres to the west, represent the tribal clan who faithfully watch over their precious infant at a time when it is most vulnerable. I can think of few places on this planet which are quite so able to affect the senses.

I will discuss the significance of Asian and African topography in a later chapter, but at this point in my discussion there is a more important issue which I would like to draw your attention to. I'm going to move on to a discussion of European topography because it constitutes a vital component in the unfolding of my story. Of particular interest is the unmistakable shape of Italy, but I'm going to postpone this discussion because it is of such a disturbing nature that I believe a number of issues need to be resolved before I can address it. This leaves two other topographical features in the vicinity of Europe which are of particular interest to me, namely the British Isles, and the Skagerrak Strait which lies between Denmark and the Scandinavian Peninsula. Suffice it to say for the sake of rounding off this discussion so far, that so many features consistent with the planetary model are unlikely to be coincidental. I suggest that so many features consistent with the model implicate the involvement of a controlled morphological intention to shape continental outlines, and I find it difficult to believe that any one of you could be in a position to seriously doubt it.

The Scandinavian Peninsula and the Skagerrak Strait simply add to the accumulation of topographical evidence which indicates the validity of the host model of Earth. It doesn't take much imagination to see how the peninsula resembles a brain stem, and how the strait resembles the synaptic cleft which provides a vital chemical link between the ends of otherwise electrically charged neurons. But the British Isles have a much more profound impact on the significance of the planetary model than any of the topographical features I have discussed so far. In the curious case of the British Isles there is an opportunity to introduce to our discussion of the host model the somewhat unnerving observation that two ends of a spatial progression terminate in spatial infinities.

Let me tease you with the suggestion that this spatial continuum resembles the fascinating recursion which results when two mirrors face each other, and I mention them in the present context because the British Isles represent the start of a spatial regression whose vanishing point is very similar. When two mirrors face each other their mutually reflecting images ultimately vanish over an ever diminishing horizon, but only because of how difficult it is to ensure that their surfaces are exactly parallel. Were it possible to ensure that their surfaces were parallel then their mutual reflections would extend to what appears to be infinity. Each recurrence of the other mirror's reflection would seem to get smaller and smaller until their images became too dark to distinguish. The most distant reflections would seem to converge on a point which only retains the essence of the original reflection. In this case it can be said that each successive reflection summarises the original image, and that the summaries regress to a point of infinity. While this may seem like a somewhat artificial construction I believe that matter is organised according to a similar principle.

I therefore suggest that the British Isles represent a summary of the topographical pattern portrayed by the planet in its entirety. According to this view the British Isles represent a figure which is identical to the planet except for its diminished magnitude, and accordingly the planetary head is characterised by this sort of representational diminution. Consistent with the pattern of regression the head of this topographical summary can be found in the vicinity of Scotland where it can be seen facing to the west. Its forelegs can be seen protruding west of Scotland's Southern Uplands, and its hind legs can be seen east of Land's End in the south of England. Wales represents an umbilical link to Ireland which represents the creature's foetus, and which completes the representational diminution. In the case of Ireland you may see how the legs of the foetus protrude along its western shores, and it is curious to say the least to see how the creature's head coincides very closely with the political boundaries surrounding Northern Ireland.

This summary of the global pattern may not seem so remarkable to you until you realise that a similar pattern can be seen to structure the bodies of animals among which our own will be of most interest to you, and the observation of which elevates the representational pattern to another level entirely. While this may seem like a somewhat novel idea to some of you, those Art lovers among you may already have an idea of what I am referring to. In 1934 Rene Magritte produced a Surrealist painting called The Rape which depicts a face made to look like a female torso, breasts for eyes, tummy for nose etc. While Magritte's painting flippantly associates the mouth with the female genitalia, ironically comparing the consumption of food with sexual brutality, it is more consistent with the formalism of this discussion to associate the organ of ingestion with the stomach, the organ of digestion. In this way the relationship between head and body can be likened to a simple harmonic relationship, like the recurrence which occurs between progressively higher octaves in the case of musical scales.

Comparing pubic bone and chin, embellished perhaps by a little goatee representation of pubic hair, suggests a nodal boundary, while the curvature of ribs ending at the sternum satisfies the search for an area corresponding to the nasal cavity, between and below the eyes. The diaphragm is found dividing octaves at the second harmonic node, while throat and belly button correspond to fourth harmonic nodes, two octaves above the fundamental, the indivisible human trunk stretching from head to tail.

In the context of discussion concerning the host model the recursive diminution already evident deepens further. The head of an animal body, and also that of the planetary host, is thus a kind of homunculus sitting on top of the body, which in our case makes it a little man within the man, notwithstanding the gender bias implied by my use of this idiom. On the basis of this evidence I propose that matter consists of a chain of representational structures which physically encode memories within the greater universe, and which regress infinitely to a point of ever diminishing proportions, and outwardly in the sense of occupying the infinite egress of space.