Lake Washington/Wed Jan 6/2:50 am: Officer Stephanie Marks reports: "I was in full uniform in a fully marked patrol car working in my capacity as a Seattle police officer. At about 0250 hours, I was parked on Lake Washington Boulevard South when a white Dodge Dakota pickup truck drove into the closed parks area. The truck stopped and the occupants came out of the truck appearing to be upset and shaken up. Each stated that they were just shot at several times nearby and pointed to what appeared to be bullet holes in the rear driver's side door of the vehicle. All of the victims reported being in the vehicle at the time about four shots were fired at them. According to the occupants, the shots came from a black Lexus and the incident occurred 'just up the street.'

"We spoke at length with a person who was identified as victim one. Victim one stated they were in the area visiting a friend and had pulled over to call the friend and ask for directions when the suspect's vehicle, a black four-door newer Lexus with deeply tinted windows, drove past and started firing rounds at them. The victims were describing the incident as appearing to be very random and otherwise unprovoked. It was very cold outside so, after determining that none of the victims had been physically harmed, I directed them back inside the truck so they could stay warm while we interviewed them about the incident."

There is much, much more to this story, but for reasons relating to victim one's safety, I will not reveal it. Let's instead turn to Hegel, the greatest German philosopher of the romantic period.

The philosopher wrote a very interesting passage many years ago. It can be found in a celebrated chapter of Phenomenology of Spirit called "Master and Slave," and it goes a little something like this: "For this consciousness was not in danger and fear for this element or that, nor for this or that moment of time, it was afraid for its entire being; it felt the fear of death, the absolute master. In that experience it has been melted to its inmost soul, has trembled throughout its every fiber, and all that was solid and stable has been shaken to its foundations."

Likewise, when the victims in the report exited the shot-up truck, "appearing to be upset and shaken up," the officer saw that every fiber in their bodies had been seized and dissolved by the fear of death. In Hegel's words, "All that was solid and stable has been shaken to its foundations." Indeed, death is the absolute master.