John: If we return the idea of truth for a moment, Jupiter, your reputation also precedes you.
Jupiter: I am fascinated. Do tell!
John: My understanding is that as the planet of expansion, you tend to, well, expand things…
Jupiter: You catch on quickly! I don’t see a point here yet, though…
John: If I could finish the statement, please.
Jupiter: As you said, it’s your world.
John: Consequently, there is a distinct tendency for you to expand the truth. How do you respond to that?
Jupiter: You’re saying that I exaggerate, that I somehow make things bigger than they should be, that I intentionally increase…
John: I’m going to start calling you Monsieur Roget if you’re not careful.
Jupiter: Who’s that?
John: The guy who wrote a famous thesaurus.
Jupiter: I love those! There can always be more ways of expressing the most glorious…[looks at John] You crossed your arms again. That can’t be good.
John: To borrow a phrase, ‘you catch on quickly’. [pause] Would you care to answer my question?
Jupiter: Of course!
John: “Of course”? Is that the answer to my question or a signal that you will eventually answer it?
Jupiter: You do NOT give up! But yes, I will absolutely answer it.
John: Excellent. That’s what we’re all waiting for.
Jupiter: Then you shall have it. The short answer is yes, I do have a tendency to exaggerate things.
John: Everything or just some things?
Jupiter: Everything. If you’re going to exaggerate, you gotta do it big.
John: That could almost be your motto!
Jupiter: What? “Gotta do it big!”?
John: That’s what I’m thinking.
Jupiter: Can’t deny it! Sounds good to me!
John: I realize this is kind of a leading question, but here goes: Don’t you see any potential problems with making everything bigger?
Jupiter: It’s what I do. It’s up to guys like you to figure out potential problems. But generally speaking, as I was saying earlier, people like having me around.
John: Well, I would posit that they like the IDEA of you about half as much as the actual you.
Jupiter: [mock frown] Wow, you went all Andy Rooney on me there. Kind of a downer, aren’t you? That’s why Saturn likes you so much! That old bastard brags on you all the time.
John: In Jupiter-speak, that means he made a moderately favorable statement about me at one time. Correct?
Jupiter: [hands up] You got me! [smirks] Yeah…I don’t really pay attention to amounts or numbers. I mean, it’s the overall view of life, that’s what counts.
John: Just making sure. I’d like my readers to make sure they have an accurate picture of who you are.
Jupiter: Well, I mean, to be fair, accuracy has its place, but I need to be free to take some poetic license! The idea that words mean exactly what they’re supposed to is so…Mercury’s department.
John: Of course. [writes on iPad] So let’s see. Desperate need for freedom: check. Exaggeration of the truth: Check.
Jupiter: Now wait a second! What is truth? How can you say I exaggerate if we don’t talk about what that IS?
John: As you may recall, I was attempting to get to that topic a little earlier.
Jupiter: [thinks for a moment] Ah yes! Of course you were! The truth is really about how I see the world, and that can change.
John: So what you’re saying is that your “truth” evolves, based on the overall principles and situations I find myself in at a given point in my life?
Jupiter: Will you look at that! That’s EXACTLY what I’d have said.
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