Sunday, January 27, 2013

Synchronicity: How I Created The Universe - Part 3



I awoke in a state of complete daze. I really couldn't tell you if I had been asleep for 15 minutes or 15 hours. It was a bizarre feeling; I could remember my last waking memories clearly, me driving towards San Diego in my car, with Nathan. But I couldn't for the life of me, remember what happened after. It was as if I drank a fifth of whiskey in one gulp, and completely blacked out. After my eyes finally adjusted to the waking world, I started to look around. I know this place...I know this place well. I was on top of Mt. Ridge, a scenic lookout spot just outside of the town I grew up in. How could I possibly have gotten here? We are more than 100 miles from San Diego, at least. I looked down at my watch, 6:38pm. Strange, I could have sworn that was roughly the time we were driving into San Diego...
"That watch wont work here." The now familiar voice was coming from behind me, and as I turned to look I saw Nathan walking towards me, with a couple bottles of Gatorade blue, and what appeared to be a bag of Jalapeno chips. Awesome, I love Jalapenos chips. "Where the hell are we, Nathan? Er, scratch that, I know where we are. How did we get here? Weren't we just driving into San Diego? Did you drug me? Which is weird, because I don't feel hungover at all...but we were..I mean I swear I thought...I mean... FUCK. Talk to me man, I might go fucking crazy if you don't. And pass me those chips." I may be going crazy, but that doesn't mean I have to be a hungry while losing my mind. I had always loved Jalapeno chips, because they combine the perfect blend of spicy and flavor. I took the bag from Nathan, who had now sat down next to me, and started eating. Took the first chip, and it had absolutely no taste; Thanks Nathan, of all the bags of chips in the world, you had to bring me one that was completely stale. "These chips are completely stale, man." I told him, disappointingly. "Take another bite. Do they really taste stale to you? Really try and taste them this time, though." Nathan said. So I took another bite, and yep, still stale. But, actually, not really stale. They actually tasted more like...well.. more like nothing. I could feel myself crunching, and I could feel them breaking up in my teeth, but no taste at all.
"You don't taste anything, right? Now take a couple sips of this Gatorade, and once you do, we can start talking." Said Nathan, as he handed me the bottle of G. I took a sip, expecting the delicious and refreshing flavor of Gatorade blue, but what I got was nothing; the taste was...well, tasteless. Almost like drinking water, but without the refreshing feeling afterwards. "Am I high? I cant taste anything. This is really weird, what the fuck is going on in my mouth?" i demanded as I stood up and started pacing. "Come sit back down, Neko. I'll explain everything. I needed you to taste these things first, before I started talking. Because its much easier for me to tell you whats going on now, now that you know something is definitely different. Come, sit. We have a LOT to talk about. And we only have 13 minutes."
What did he mean by that? 13 minutes? Where would we be going? I looked down at my watch again. 6:38pm, still. It must be broken. "it's not broken, Neko. How can it tell you the time, when there is no time to tell." The most confusing day of my life was getting more confusing literally, by the second. I felt like running away, but I needed answers. So I sat back down next to Nathan. I took a deep breathe. Than I took another. And than I realized, that next to a forest full of trees and flowers and life, I couldn't smell a fucking thing. Yet my nose wasn't plugged or blocked.
"Do you remember me telling you about Project TASM?" Nathan asked, as he looked down at his watch. I did remember, so I told him so.
"We call it that, because we needed an official name for it, and also because that name gives it a shroud of mystery, so we could discuss it in public places without having anyone around us really know what we were talking about. Project Time And Space Manipulation. It's been discussed about since the beginning of the human race. Contemplated by the greatest minds throughout history. Many of which, came very close to creating it, but of course they never could. Project TASM, Time Machine. We created the time machine, Neko." I listened intently, while eating the jalapeno chips. They had no taste, but I often eat when I'm nervous.
"It's creation was a lot easier than you would think. Humans have been very close to discovering it many times, but either they didn't know what they were discovering, or it hid from them. But we found it, Neko. Only 14 people on our earth know about its existence. Me, my fellow colleagues that I told you about, and the group that funded our project."
"When did you start using this, time machine." I asked him. "one week ago. But please, Neko, we haven't much time, so I really can not go into the basics. Please let me finish telling you what I need to, before it happens." I was tempted to ask him 'until what happens' but I knew Nathan well enough to know he would ignore me. So I let him go on.
"We had been studying time travel for 14 years. So we knew that he had to be very, VERY careful of how we went about it. As you very well may know, the butterfly effect. Even the smallest of changes in any time in history can and probably would, alter the entire history of the earth. So we started our trials slowly, and cautiously. If we didn't, we knew that we would probably be erasing earth's history, and in the essence, ourselves. We understood that. The first trial, we sent a high tech, self powered, camera, to one minute in the past. We had the capability of time travelling to any point in history, and to any place on the earth. And we could do it very precisely. So we sent this camera to a rural jungle where there couldn't possibly be anyone around. We didn't want to alter history, even though it was only a minute before. It worked, the camera recorded 3 full minutes of video and audio before we summoned it back. We did the video camera trial 30-40 more times; each time going progressively farther back in history, and each time to a different place. By trial number 4, we already knew that this camera was going back in history, because on trial number 4 we sent it to the year 3400 BC, to what is now downtown New York. What we saw was a vast landscape of trees and forest, and no sign of humans or modern technology. We had our camera pick up some leaf samples, which on the return, we were successfully able to determine were in fact, 5,000 years old. Time travel, was a complete success. We were then ready for a human trial." Nathan then paused, but not to let me talk, but rather as if, to gather himself.
"How is your girlfriend, Nathan? How is Natasha?" This didn't seem like the time or place to be catching up, but I decided I would go along with it. "She is fine, Nathan. We have been going strong for 14 years. Since..well, you know. Again, I'm sorry about that." Nathan smiled, and said, "No need to be sorry, Neko. I'm very happy for you. Natasha was a great girl, but if I was still with her, I would have never met my wife, the love of my life. I met a few months after Natasha and I broke up, in a coffee shop in Boston. She was absolutely wonderful, Neko. She completed me, every thing I felt was missing in my life, she filled those voids. We got married a few months after we met, and we had our child less then a year after that. Cynthia, we named our daughter." I wasn't really sure why Nathan was telling me all this, but I knew better then to question him now, especially since it had been, by my account, 6 minutes since Nathan had told me we only had 13 minutes left until "something would happen." So I let him go on.
"I loved her Neko. People often say that they love someone in a way that no one would ever understand. And well, I too fall into that, and use that tiresome cliche. Everyday I spent with her was a beautiful dream. But that dream ended 3 years ago, Neko. A drunk driver t-boned my wife's car while she was taking a left onto our street. My daughter was in the back seat. My daughter died instantly, but my wife... she had to suffer being in a coma for 3 months before she, too, passed away."
"I'm so sorry to hear that Nathan, I really am. I know how hard death can be, especially like that. I'm very sorry if I am in anyway being rude, but what does that have to do with all this, Nathan? I thought you said we only had a little time left before something happened.." I asked him, as cautiously as I could, not trying to upset him over a very touchy subject.
"I know I shouldn't have, Neko. I KNOW this. It went against everything I learned, everything I believed in, everything we had worked for. But sometimes, the heart makes decisions that the brain can not stop. You have to understand, I know that I am selfish, and I know that I am a terrible person. I am just, trying to fix everything now..." I could see tears coming to Nathan's eyes, and I started putting 2 and 2 together, and I knew what he was going to tell me next.
"I was selected for the first human trial. Well, less selected, more demanded. But I was the project leader, so of course, it had to be me. We decided for the trial, I would be sent back to 3,000 BC, as it would be the safest place to send me. No humans, and the area I was being sent to was not inhabited by many known animals or insects, according to our extensive research. All in all, it was a spot in history where I couldn't make a difference, and hence, keep the butterfly effect at bay and not effect history. I was to go to this spot in time, record myself for 4 minutes, grab a few samples, then return back to our time. So I did just that, and returned exactly .025 seconds after I had left. Nothing changed, the world was exactly as we had left it. We ran extensive tests on me, to make sure my physical and mental health was the same, and that the time travel hadn't effected me in anyway. It didn't, I was the exact same person before and after time travelling. So we did some more tests, every time sending the selected researcher to random spots in time, making sure that there would be no human contact, and minimum interaction with any creatures. We ran 15 successive tests, and each time no change was observed to our history, or our world. Test number 16 was to be my turn again. My mission was to go back 15,000 years, gather some oil and mineral samples. We wanted to know if these minerals could be used and how time travel would effect them. This was met by me and my team with precaution; but the people who funded us told us to do it. their greed started to show, and we started realizing what their motives for the time machine really were. So the moment for test 16 came. But I knew I wouldn't be going back 15,000 years, like my colleagues thought. Right before I was to leave, I changed the time and location of my travel. I knew this was stupid, Neko, I KNEW IT. But, I just had to. But I also knew that my team could not track me in anyway, and would only know about my whereabouts once I returned to our time. So I pressed the button, and re-appeared in my Boston apartment on march 23rd, 2009, 8:45pm, precisely 2 minutes before my wife and my child would be leaving. I knew that I would be home, well, my past self... he would be at the office. So all I had to do, was change one second. I took my wife's car keys from the kitchen counter and moved them to the bedroom drawer. I knew it would take he at least an additional 4 minutes to find her keys, and in essence, save her life. I did this quickly, and then pressed the button to return to our time. I was expecting somethings to be different, but I thought there wouldn't be major changes as I didn't have any contact with anyone, and all I did was change the position of keys. When I returned to our time, I told my team that I traveled to the time I was suppose to, but I saw a creature coming so I time traveled back to our time, as to not disturb history. I relieved myself, and immediately went on my phone, to see what I had done. I went on google and put in my wife's name. To my utter shock and surprise, Neko, google told me that my wife died at exactly the same moment as she did before, at exactly the same spot, and exactly the same way. Nothing had changed. Nothing at ALL. So I demanded that test 17 was to be mine as well, due to the fact that I wasnt able to carry out my duties in the previous test. I was granted permission, so I went back to March 23rd, 2009, at 8:45pm. But this time, I sat down on the couch. My wife came out of my daughters room, carrying my daughter, and was surprised to see me, as she thought I would be working late shift that night. I held back my tears and my emotions, and told her as calmly as I could, that I took the night off to be with her. I hugged her, Neko, as passionately as I have ever hugged anyone. I took her, and my daughter, and we went to dinner. It was the most amazing night of my life, just being with them again. After a while, I took them back home, tucked my daughter into bed, and laid down next to my wife. 3 minutes before my other self would be home, so I pressed the button, and traveled to 15,000 years ago to take the samples, because I didn't need any suspicion on me. After doing so, I returned to our time, exactly .025 seconds after I had left. I told my team that everything went exactly according to plan, and ran to the bathroom. I couldn't hold my excitement, so I called my wife's old number. It had been disconnected, but I assumed that she had changed her number in these past 3 years. So after looking through my phone for her new number, and not finding it, I googled her."
Nathan took a deep breathe, and looked down at his watch. If my calculations were right, we had less then 3 minutes left. And then, Nathan started talking again. "NOTHING fucking changed, Neko. My wife and my daughter, died at the same exact time, the same exact way. Which was impossible, because I was with them." I had understood Nathan up to this point pretty well, but I couldn't comprehend what he was telling me now. What he was saying seemed to contradict itself, and time. "What do you mean? But you changed time? You changed history??" I asked, puzzled.
"that's what I thought too. Everything I knew about space and time, up to that point, was wrong, Neko. I didn't realize it right away, but after a certain time, I wrapped my head around it. I'll try to explain it to you as simply as I can, Neko, we only have 3 minutes left. Think of time and space, like a set of domino's, set in a circle. You know what dominoes are, right? And how they work? Of course you do. Time, and space, are like a set of dominoes, in a circle. One domino falls onto another domino, and so on and so fourth, in a perfect circle. One domino, or event, relies directly on the action of the domino before it. Think of time and space, like this circle, Neko, but instead of the dominoes staying, just imagine that they set themselves up again. So our universe, as we know it, is this perfect circle of never ending dominoes, falling onto the next, and so on and so fourth. What I thought I was doing, when I altered my wife and daughter's past, I thought I was going to a specific domino in this circle, and adjusting it ever so slightly, not destroying the perfect circle, but rather adjusting the speed and the motion, ever so slightly. But that's wrong, Neko. EVERYTHING we assumed about time and space, is wrong. You can not, and will not ever, effect this perfect circle. Imagine that you are sitting next to this circle, watching it go round and round. Now imagine that you stick another piece into this domino circle, what would happen? The circle would stall at the new piece you put in, and the entire circle would stop working... the entire universe, would stop existing. Time, and space, can not, and will not, allow this to happen. I also found this out slowly, but that story is for a time time, not now. So what was I doing, Neko? We knew we were travelling through time, so how can we explain the fact that we never changed anything? Think of the perfect circle again, Neko. But now, imagine that at some point in this circle, you place another domino piece right next to an already existing piece, not touching, but close enough so that the piece before it hits both pieces. What you have now done, is create another circle, one that is running adjacent to our original circle, but never touching, and never at the same speed. This is what we did, Nathan. We were never travelling to our past, we were creating a new past, a new world...a new Universe. One that started from the exact moment that our time travelling selves arrived, and the events that happened afterwards to that universe were completely unrelated to our universe. Every time we time traveled, we created a new universe. All the universes never touched each other, and never interfered with another "circle of dominoes", rather created their own circle."
Nathan looked down at his watch again, less then 2 minutes he told me. I was getting nervous, because while I was understanding what he was telling me, I knew there was a LOT more he had to say. I sat quietly, listening, and taking in everything he was saying.
"This was incredible news, Neko. We could travel to any time, and do anything we wanted, and not effect our own history in anyway. So that's what I did, Neko. I never told me colleagues my findings, and waited until test #22, when it was my turn again. I forgot what my mission was to be, but that didn't matter, I knew where I was going. I went back to the year 2002, the day before my wedding. I wanted to live my life again, Neko, or at least the best part of it, anyways. But I had a problem...my old self. I thought about it long and hard, how I could devise a plan that would get my 2002 self to go away, while I could effortlessly take over in his place. But everything I thought about, always led to one conclusion."
Nathan paused again, and took a deep breathe. "I'm a terrible person, Neko, I KNOW that. But I had to do what I had to do. And besides, This wasn't our universe, it was an alternate universe. Whatever I did, didn't matter, right? The people that existed in this universe, they didn't exist, right? Just like that bag of chips you are eating, it doesn't exist. You know that because you can not taste it. And that Gatorade, it has no taste, because it too, does not exist. So I killed him, Neko. I knew where my old self would be, and waited until he was in a position where I could do it aimlessly, and without anyone seeing. While I knew this person did not exist, I still didn't want anyone to see, because I wanted his life. So I stabbed him in the heart, and that Nathan was dead within seconds. I tied his body, took it a few miles out to shore, and dropped his body. And I went, and I got married, Neko. And I LIVED. It was beautiful, and perfect. I thought i could be richer, and save that world, because I already knew what would happen, but that wasn't the case. Everything changed. From the moment I arrived in that universe, everything was different then it played out in our universe. But I didn't care that I couldn't predict anything, I just wanted to live with my wife, and daughter. But we never had a daughter, we had a son. But even that, I let go. I loved my daughter, but I knew that she wouldn't be in our lives, from the moment I arrived in that universe. So we lived, a happy life, my wife and my son. We were happy, and we were contempt. After a few years, our universe, and our time almost seemed like a distant memory, almost like it never happened. But I was reminded that it did, every time i took a bite of something, or taste anything. Because, unlike everything else, that was never real. But I didn't care, a small price to pay to live happy again. And so it went that way, until January 23rd 2012, 7:45pm. I was walking back from the park with my son, when at that moment, everything....everything... I don't know how to explain this... Everything Stopped, Neko. And everything disappeared. But I remained. It took me a while to figure out what was going on, but I instantly knew it had something to do with me, and project TASM. So I pressed the button, Neko, and went back. I went back to the night before my wedding, and I killed myself, again, and again I lived life. Everything was different, again. EVERYTHING. But I was happy, and we were happy. We had a daughter, a different daughter, and we also had two sons. And life was happy...until January 23rd 2012, 7:45pm. And it happened again, just like before."
Nathan, again stopped talking, and looked down at his watch. I looked down at mine too, but it still said 6:38pm. So I asked, "hey how come your watch works, but mine doesn't?" Nathan, without taking his eyes off his watch, said "Because your watch is from our universe. This watch I have, is from this one. Your watch wont work here, or anywhere else, for that matter."
"I dint get it, but fuck it, go on with your story. What happened next? And, why did you say we only had 13 minutes left? Left to what? What time is it right now, anyway?" I asked. The more Nathan was telling me, the more questions I had.
Nathan waited a couple of seconds before replying, and then he looked up at me, smiled, and said, "7:44pm. Are you ready to see the end of time and the universe, Neko?"

8 comments:

  1. awesome .. ' we were contempt' ..

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    1. Enjoy part 4: http://higher-perspective.blogspot.com/2013/01/synchronicity-how-i-created-universe_28.html

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  2. This is possibly, if not Thee best thing I've ever read. Please, please, please keep up this awesomeness. I'm Thoroughly intrigued and amazed. :) Thank you, seriously.

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    1. Then enjoy part 4 my friend!: http://higher-perspective.blogspot.com/2013/01/synchronicity-how-i-created-universe_28.html

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  3. Replies
    1. Part 4 has been posted: http://higher-perspective.blogspot.com/2013/01/synchronicity-how-i-created-universe_28.html

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  4. waiting for Part 4 on pins and needles

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    Replies
    1. Just posted it today!: http://higher-perspective.blogspot.com/2013/01/synchronicity-how-i-created-universe_28.html

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