"Given all the historical cycles you have seen, what do you see for the future?"

This question was posted by Susan Schwartz Jones.

What can I say about the human race? I imagine people will continue to repeat the same mistakes, and find exhaltation. An end to prejudice or suffering is too much to hope for, but mark my words: Tottenham Hotspur shall win the cup.

New possibility does not take the seat of old wickedness. Great and terrible things are sure to come. Just don't go expecting them to arrive wrapped together in one neat little parcel. Don't go tying them together. Don't go looking for the pattern and the reason why, and you'll manage just fine.

"What does one have to do to live to 600?"

This question was posted by Jerry Bramwell.

Fair question. As you may imagine, it's one I've put some thought into. As I've mentioned in previous posts, I've got no bloody idea. With regards to my own condition, popular theories include successful alchemy and congress with the infernal.

For those who aren't aware, alchemy regards the transfiguration of the base into the divine. For many alchemists, this pursuit apexes with the transfiguration of the mortal into the immortal. By purifying the human form, the original sin is undone and Eden is restored.

Sounds pretty good, am I right? Am I right?

Yeah. Sounds good to me too, mate. My old engineering teacher was an alchemist, but I never set foot in his shop until long after I'd stopped maturing... Take that how you like.

On the other hand, the suggestion has been made that I've gone and made pacts of a biblical and diabolical nature. Maybe I was drunk at the time. Still, it seems like something you'd remember.

To those looking for immorality, good luck. Matter of fact, there's a pretty good blog on the subject:

WhoIsSamBailey.com

"How the HELL are you still alive?"

This question was posted by Stout Lager.

As you may well imagine, this is not the first time I've encountered this question. If you're familiar with the writings of St. Germain, then you may be assured that I devoted half a century to finding an answer myself. More than once, I found myself so convinced that an answer was so close within reach that any agony or torture I visited on my own person was worth those final steps to illumination.

Those were the sacrifices I was willing to make. Perhaps you can imagine what others have been willing to take or demand of me for the same information. If my history on this world is secretive, it is because I have made pains to hide myself from those who would lock me away and perform acts of torture in the name of discovery or justice. In the end, I'm not dying, no person can make me die, and that simple fact is the most extraordinary breach of fairness.

Such inquiries are always fouled by a sense of injustice. For that reason, and because I've had quite enough of the agony and torture, I'm not really inclined to seek answers.

"What were the woman like then to now?"

This question was posted by Jake Galasso.

Since the beginning of time, feminine nature has been essentially the same. Whereas the masculine tends towards the fulfillment of a purpose, which is something all masculine persons struggle with, the feminine person - I say this because there are many men with feminine qualities, and vice versa - the feminine person finds fulfillment in connection, first and foremost. Remember your mythology. Where a male god is defined by his actions, creating floods and whatnot, a female god is generally defined by omnipresence. Nature. Life. Connection. That's every bit as true today as it ever was.

That said, things have changed for women in America. The ritualistic drowning of women in lakes is no longer condoned, and that's by and large a positive. Nevertheless, intolerance for womanly virtue has made itself at home in the sexual revolution. From a very young age, women are rewarded for placing goal-oriented thinking above their gift for creating and maintaining connection - which is an unconscionable waste in my opinion. The feminine way of doing things is not linear, and it's kept our civilization growing this long. Men would do well to leave it the hell alone.

Of course, unconscionable waste is the cornerstone of America's general policy these days. We're all far too sober for that diatribe at the moment... but perhaps we won't be for long.

"What do you eat for fun?"

This question was posted by Jake Galasso.

There's nothing more crucial to a man's well-being than fine ales. Whenever I'm away from Britain, that's what I miss most - and when I'm living at home, I indulge in regular pub crawls. It can take sixty or seventy years to know every good pub in Northern Britain. I have something of a circuit, really. I'm an amateur brew historian, and I love keeping up on developing brewers.

It's a tired cliché, but I also love a good curry.

"How did it feel to know the earth was round?"

This question was posted by Jake Galasso.

Europe's discovery that the world was round is more or less accredited to Pythagoras in the 6th Century BC, mate. That whole thing about Chris Columbus worried about falling over the edge of the world is something some bloke made up.

Back then, discoveries weren't the sorts of events they are today. Having a global media helps spread information quickly and accurately, whereas I imagine people who found out about the work of men like Pythagoras, or even Galileo, were apt to treat it like rumor. Eventually, enough people are going on about something that it just gets accepted.

Hopefully that addresses the spirit of your question a bit more helpfully!

"Do you remember a day when you were seven years old?"

This question was posted by Florica Cimpoies.

You realize that's asking a lot. There are days when I have trouble recollecting my wife and son, and days when I remember them quite well - but those are few and far between. From my childhood, the most steady recollection I have is of my mum. At some point, I was taking apart the stove and she was insistent that I stop before my father got home. She used to encourage my drawing, and she was... She had brown hair.

There's a portrait of her and my father that I've managed to find and preserve, so I can tell you what she looked like.... but I'm never sure how much of those memories I've made up to fill in everything I've forgotten.

My father was, as I recall, stubborn and boorish. His work kept him away much of the time, but mum always anticipated his return. They must have had a good marriage, but I left home when I was in my teens to study in Italy. My first strong memories are of Nicolo, the master engineer who apprenticed me...

...but that's another story entirely.