If I were to look for the best simile, I would have to say that the Grand is most similar cosmologically to an onion.

I know that the onion is not nearly as beautiful as the water lily, nor as romantic as the rose, nor as beautifully poisonous as the herb-paris. Still, the onion has a few special qualities to ponder.

It is said that if a man is hungry, the onion smells nicely to him, and if he is full or overfed, it stinks. Parable. It is surely no coincidence that onions are an ingredient in many dishes and that they give them strength and energy. And it is certainly no coincidence that a man cries when he cuts through the onion scales. In the case of onions, this is due to some rather superficial physiology; in the case of stories, I would speak more of psychology. But what is no longer coincidental at all, and what is the greatest similarity between the onion and the Grand, is the existence of the scales.

Yes, Grand too has scales. Each of the stories you’ll hear here, each of the Grand Explanations of Everything you’ll get to, each aspect of a character, each nature, each structure of the world you uncover, is inscribed on a scale, underneath which is another scale. The outer scale is waiting for anyone who walks by and just blinks “how things are”, you’ll find the outer scale right here on this site.

To make it short, the outer scale is free. And that’s why it’s not worth much. It’s good as a starting idea, as something that allows us to have a first, second, third or sixteenth wonder that actually everything is different after all. But those who don’t want to just ogle the outer scale and who are not afraid to sacrifice a little of those happy or tragic tears to cut through the onions of the cosmos will soon recognize the flatness of the first scale, even though the scene it depicts appears plastic.

The flatness stands out in contrast to the depth of what is ‘underneath’. We do not condemn the outer scale because it remains true. However, it is so inadequate in capturing the mysterious region of reality that it needs to be radically expanded. And so we expand. But even this is not definitive. And so on and on. It is just an onion.

Welcome to the first scale!