If you ever see a planet and the moon that orbits around it, you can tell that the moon doesn’t realize it’s just being held to the planet by gravitational force. “No,” the moon thinks, “it’s something more.”
You can tell the moon thinks the planet really likes and respects the moon and lets the moon hang around because the planet values him as a friend and confidant.
The moon isn’t cocky about the matter, but you can just see it retains a good portion of its self-worth through this relationship. “The planet, uh, really, really digs me, heh; why, I mean, why else would he hang around all the time? Heh. And that means I’m an OK guy. He thinks I am: so I am.”
But the moon’s just deluding itself. They couldn’t be more different. They don’t think alike. Act alike. They have grossly different mineral compositions. They don’t really like the same things. Have the same views. Enjoy each others company. All they have are their respective masses. And the inverse square of the distance between them. They are held inexorably together by a force neither can see or fully explain.
The planet knows what’s up. The planet knows it’s all just fake. The planet is well aware that if given half the chance, he would just go hang out with other planets or maybe a few dwarf stars. But he can’t. He’s been dealt his hand, and that’s OK. It’s all just gravity to him.
But he just can’t bear to tell the little guy.
And so the dance continues, the moon circling round and round the planet, asking stupid questions about movies and getting overly excited by the planet’s curt answers.
MOON: So, uh, I just thought, I mean, I thought the fight scenes in the second Matrix movie were, you know, cool, you know, but just, I didn’t really get into them as much. Heh. Uh, didn’t care, you know, and–
PLANET: It’s because they weren’t well-justified.
MOON: YEAH!!!! YEAH!!!! Yeah, TOTALLY!!! That’s, uh, I mean, that’s really IT, you know?
PLANET: Yeah. (sigh)
The planet looks off into the distance a lot. Dreaming about a day when maybe one day he can have friends he respects more. The moon wonders what the planet’s thinking when he gets silent and looks off like that. “Probably thinkin’ of some cool thing we can talk about later! Like different martial arts techniques or, or, or maybe baseball stats. Heh.”
The planet looks over at the moon and sighs again. “Gravity. He thinks. Just gravity. Nothing to be done about it.” And despite his thoughts, every once in a while he makes a slight tug in the other direction, in hopes of inching just a bit away. But the moon inches right along with him.
PLANET: I might go over there for a while. Why don’t you stay here?
MOON: Somethin’ over there? Huh? You see, uh, see somethin’ over that way? I’ll come with, you know, if there’s somethin’ cool, I’ll come too. You wanna go now? If it’s cool we should go now. Wanna?
PLANET: No.
MOON: Oh, OK, well, uh…OK.
PLANET: Nevermind. (sigh)
And the dance continues.