People are bewitched into believing that time slips away, and this belief is
the basis of time actually slipping away.

"I am old, older than thought in your species, which is itself fifty times
older than your history. Though I have been on earth for ages I am from the
stars. My home is no one planet, for many worlds scattered through the shining
disc of the galaxy have conditions which allow my spores an opportunity for
life. The mushroom which you see is the part of my body given to sex thrills
and sun bathing, my true body is a fine network of fibers growing through the
soil. These networks may cover acres and may have far more connections that
the number in a human brain. My mycelial network is nearly immortal, only the
sudden toxification of a planet or the explosion of its parent star can wipe
me out.