Cat Chaord interprets Paul Armington's theory of leadership. She has manifested the spirit of self-organizing processes since the dawn of man in Africa. She fashioned her early intelligence as a pet of ancient Nubian princesses, who presided over the development of traditional communities in Africa. Later she served as advisor to the queens of the Pharaohs, and she rode on the shoulder of Moses as he walked through the Red Sea. Since then she has helped those who would help themselves (mainly women, as it turned out) to create the wellsprings of civilization through participatory governance. Herself created by The Original One through three deft strokes of a celestial randomizer, her spirit has progressed through the ages of Man, simultaneously gathering transparent simplicity ("order") and infinite complexity ("chaos"). Seeing the powerful result of His handiwork, The Original One named her Cat Chaord, reflecting the synthesis of her essential opposites-a synthesis that describes the progress of life, that is, the struggle of all things to become one with The One.

Cat Chaord now appears to us as a semi-transparent symmetrical "head" (without ears, which she internalized ages ago), having four "poles" and four "eyes." As interpreter of Paul Armington's theory of social change, she presents her four "poles" as the essential pillars of leadership: character, charisma, know-how, and vision. When she first appeared to Paul, she said: "Mieyaou", including all vowels to indicate the oneness of sound. Looking closely, you can see the complexity of her crystalline circuitry. When you look deeply into her eyes, you see the world: the expanse and envelope of our planet, in all its plain and changing complexity. Viewed from a distance, she appears to be rising from the primordial soup of life itself.

A bright but indistinct source of light, positioned near and behind Cat Chaord, passes its beams both through her and around her. She creates both her reflection and her shadow in the foreground. This is Africa.