Pondering the effects of time

I’m revisiting The Rule of Four, a book I enjoyed over a decade ago. It contains content on secret codes, a topic that appealed to me in the past, and still does. I’m fascinated by the fact that there are two authors, best friends who wrote the book at a very young age. Now, from the perspective of ten more years, I have a different view of the plot and characters of this work.
The Rule of Four exposes the dark side of academia, one that I know exists, and I’ve heard colleagues discuss it. Fortunately, in my own career, I encountered very little of the cloak-and-dagger element. (Nurses are consistently voted the most honest of professionals for a reason). But, as Rule points out, if you work hard, if you’re a genius, if you discover or uncover something, you’re open to exploitation. This loss of innocence is one of the book’s major themes.
Here are some of the thoughts of one of the protagonists: “Like all things in the universe, we are destined from birth to diverge. Time is simply the yardstick of our separation. …we are lonely in proportion to our years.”
Yes, we do separate from others in our formative years. Most of us don’t keep in touch with many of our high school, college, and other young adult friends. But as we diverge, don’t we “bump into” others and form new alliances? I definitely don’t find myself getting lonelier as I get older. How about you?