ABSTRACT
Christine Bell main objection to the proposal from the Church of Scotland and other faith groups for services of reconciliation was that 'to call for reconciliation presumes hurt and damage'. The language used on both sides of the independence debate might have been heated and intemperate at times, particularly around closing time in bars all across Scotland. As many readers will be aware, the utterance of the words 'closing time' in a bar late in the evening does not necessarily mean that the talking stops and everybody goes home. The chapter summarizes a cautionary tale, as this may shed further light on the risky enterprise of attempting to determine the shape of the University of the Future. This takes place between the great emperor Kublai Khan and the intrepid explorer Marco Polo. It also celebrates the qualities of literature that have animated this inquiry – lightness, quickness, exactitude, visibility and multiplicity.
