City of Illusions

Once, a Lie was spoken—like a wave it passed through the memory of human generations, giving rise to countless smaller deceits and weaving a web of illusions and distortions, in which—ultimately—not only those who became its victims got confused, but also those who uttered it.

They arrived from nowhere and seized the ruined Earth. They dealt a crushing blow to the League of Worlds. They are rulers.

But what did they bring with them? Nothing. They have nothing to give—they fled from themselves and seek comfort in lies. Lie is their only art, in which they have achieved perfection. They are the Sings.

In Le Guin’s work, the Sings are rather the embodiment of the idea of Absolute Lies. This lie corrodes everything—culture, morality, individual people—and destroys even the very concept of “civilization.” What is salvation—speaking the Truth, always only the Truth? Don’t lie even in thought, because lying mentally means lying to yourself. That’s all there is to it.