Interview with Bartleby

Bartleby, alias Bartek, the oldest tree of Poland and of the world
Photo from ©Agata Borgia

What was the world like when you were born?

The world was a very beautiful place, and I thought it is always going to be like that. It was very colourful, and it was very full of life, and everything was always for you, and - and it changed.

Is the world like that anywhere nowadays?

No, it's not like that anywhere.

Really? I never had the chance to check myself.

No, I checked and it's nowhere like that.

Well, yes. But children still can have everything they need, or don't they?

Not everything they can have. And the nature is hidden from them always. They only have access to books. From there they can read what the world was like. To some things they can have access. I don't think you realise how wonderful the world was in the beginning. I was born very in the beginning of the world. 

So the fact that children, especially animals, can have access to flying clouds, and flying stars, and talkative water, is not everything there is in the world?

No.

So it's painful to talk about beginnings of the world nowadays?

Yes, very.

So let's not talk about it. What are your hobbies?

What are my hobbies. My hobbies are fishing, just the way it's done in Wizard City and other places. And the fish is the same, because I enchanted my fishing, so it would be exactly the same.

So you like playing Wizard101?

Yes, very much.

Do you do other stuff in the game?

Yes.

What do you do?

I battle enemies, and I gather jewels, and in my everyday life I have many activities which are like in-game interactions.

The game tells us you sang dragons, tritons, and giants into existence. How did it happen?

It happened a very long time ago, I was two years old only. And I wanted to understand music of the world, and I learnt everything about biological music in the course of three days. But learning was very easy those days. Life was like living in a giant crystal ball, in a grand spell.

So, your memory doesn't fail you?

No, it doesn't. I remember everything. Always.

So, what happened that you had to sing those creatures into existence?

Well, they wanted to start existing. They did not die before or anything. 

You learnt about them from the music of the world?

Yes, I learnt about their souls and I sang them into life.

Do you have a pet?

Yes, I have many animals, and all of them are my children. I gather all stray cats and care for them. And I gather flowers, and care for them too. They are my babies.

What do you think about Wizard101?

I think it is a very wonderful game that has a great potential but it's still unused.

What would you like to be different in Wizard101?

I would like the historical facts to be realistically shown.

Something else?

I would like many things to be different. First of all I would like, I would like it to be correct with real knowledge data, and also with real knowledge science. Then the game would be perfect.

Yes, it would be very immersive. The characters would be more fascinating if they were realistic.

Yes. Well, yes, I could say more about that, that the characters are not exactly interesting the way they are, because their identities are hidden, and thus their personalities are hidden.

Do you think Wizard101 well presents your personality?

I don't think it does. But it shows me a lot of respect and I like that.

Do you really live in Wizard City?

Only in the game. And in the future.

I actually know something about it.

Yes, you do?

Well, what do you know? Tell me more.

Because it's a Polish city, Wizard City.

That's what I know.

It's a Polish city of Miami, otherwise called Mamma-Mia. And I will love to live there.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

This interview took place on 10 August 2019, right before 4 o'clock in the afternoon, over a radio.
Conducted by: Agata Borgia