Infinity

A novella.

Part I

First:

Letter to the Future Peoples, Number Three

Written when I was twenty-four, zero years before The End

This is probably not the first time I’ve said this. Maybe the seven hundredth, I don’t know. This is a message to whoever finds this.

Listen, eventually, the universe will die. When it does, it will fade into nothingness. Pure abyss. But in time, a new universe will be created, maybe with another Big Bang. That universe will turn out to be an exact replica of this one. Everything you’ve ever known, everything that’s happened in your universe, will happen again. Exactly the same way. The greatest people in history will be born--and the worst. Our history’s greatest achievements will unfold--and the worst. The rise of empires, the fall of civilizations, the extinction of species… even your birth. Everything will happen again, and everyone’s lives will be exactly the same as the last universe, and the ones after.

It is only through science this knowledge was realized. We don’t know how many universes have already been created and how many times it has restarted, but we predict seven hundred. We’re one of the first humans to ever find out all of this, and we’re figuring out how to stop it, to break the cycle; the time loop. Because what’s the point in everything we do if it will all die, rebirth, and repeat? Everything you do right now will repeat in future universes for eternity to come. Infinitely. 

I’m sending this message to you because we have failed. Failed to try and invent an algorithm to prevent the death of our universe. It will die, and then get reborn, and everything that ever happened will happen again. So you don’t even know how many times you’ve read this message.

That’s why our plan is to put this message and all the work we’ve done into a time capsule that will make the trip into the next universe, which may be yours, right now. This will be in the hopes that one day in the very distant future, a generation of humans will find this and continue our work in completing the algorithm to stop the universe’s death and to stop the cycle of infinite universe deaths and rebirths to come. 

I, personally, am depressed at this thought because it tells me everything we do in life is for no reason, as the universe will die and everything we do will happen again, the exact same way it did before. I don’t think it’s going to work. The algorithm. It’s such a shame, that some things can never be changed. 

But why do we keep trying? Hope. Even if we know it will never work, we don’t give up. It’s part of human nature. And yet, hope won’t save us. 

Love, choice, verity, freedom, theology--anything and everything you ever stood for will die. Anything you do, say, or think is for no purpose or reason, and you have probably done all those things countless times before, as you will countless times after. Memories serve no purpose, as they are just remnants that will be lost and rewritten. Everything you know will fade away.

That’s why it’s so important that you understand this message and take action. Do the impossible, and finish our work. If you do not complete it, then send your work in a capsule like this, for the next future generation of humans, much like what happened to us, in hopes that they will continue our fight to stop the universe time loop cycle. We are all trapped in a loop, and the only way for something different to happen is if we keep sending this message. I just want the loop to end, no matter what. It has cost everything for me to try and stop this depressing loop. My life was dedicated to this sole purpose. 

I don’t have much time left, and the universe is going to die, with everything in it. Please, before it’s too late, don’t let our work go to waste. Stop the cycle, stop the infinite loop, stop the universe from fading from existence. Do the impossible, no matter the cost. 

And one last thing. Do not at all forget your life here, your life’s purpose whatever it may be, and give up. Live out your life, as if it was a normal day. Because in reality, aren’t we all on a timer? Our lives are short, and for the universe, we only have seconds to live it out. So cherish it, as that is the most important thing in all the history of the universe. 

Second:

The Boy Has A Dream

Fourteen years before The End

On a clear, sunny day, on a planet known as Prime, people worked in their workplaces. People cooked in their homes. Children played their games and parents made rules for them to follow. It was an ordinary day in the life of the people, yet they all knew what was to come.

In about fourteen years, scientists predicted, everything in existence would end. The universe would die. It was called the Ultimate Fate of the Universe, and it couldn’t be changed or altered. 

But that didn’t stop all the scientists of the world to try and invent an algorithm. They’re all still working--in their desks, in their labs, in their homes. Trying to save humanity from doomed extinction.

Then there was a little boy, no older than the mere age of ten, who also lived as if the universe wasn’t ending. He wished to find the algorithm too, and it was everything he ever wanted in his life. Just like his father, who was a scientist also working toward the same goal. 

His name was Orion, and he wasn’t scared of the Ultimate Fate of the Universe. He knew that they could do it, though it seemed hopeless. Find the algorithm. It was his dream. 

“People should stop chasing their dreams… and instead, catch them,” he muttered one day after he came home from school. He rode the elevator to his apartment where he and his father lived. 

Aeons had passed since humans were first born, and here was a mere little boy going to his apartment all by himself. How humans have kept their traditions! They still had elevators, and school, and--

“Pizza,” his father said on the phone when the boy called him. “There’s some leftover pizza in the fridge. Have that for dinner. I’m sorry, but I won’t be there tonight again. Not even all week. I’m very busy, and I’m sure you understand. What did you learn at school today?”

“A lot. We learned that Fate is the ultimate deciding factor of everyone’s future and we cannot argue with her.”

“Well, that is part of the curriculum,” his father said. “What else?”

“That there used to be this idea called aliens where people used to believe there were other intelligent beings out there like us. But my teacher said it was just a tactic to cure misery for people that were sad that we were alone in the universe. It was just a thought to hide them from the truth of reality.”

“That we truly are alone,” his father said. 

“We learned more about the galactic civilization we currently have right now. More about the demographic and geographic aspects of Prime, where nearly eighty per cent of it is urban. And for homework, we have the Big Crunch and the Big Bounce theory.” He frowned. “I was hoping you would be here tonight to help me with that. It’s quite confusing.”

“Nothing too confusing. It’s how the universe will end.”

“How does it work?”

“When the expansion of the universe doesn’t exceed the escape velocity of natural gravitational pull, it will contract so much that everything will crunch into highly dense areas called black holes. Then all of them will combine into a mega black hole that will envelop the entire universe in itself and destroy everything as we know it. The Big Bounce is when over a huge amount of time, the Big Bang will happen again and the universe will restart.”

The boy nodded. “I understand.”

“Now, I have to go. Remember to eat, wash up, and get to sleep before the next day. Not getting eight hours of sleep every night can cause problems to your daily routine which will affect your grades and--”

The boy hung up. How complicated the world was! He couldn’t imagine a time when life was simpler. Was there a time when a normal kindergarten’s project wasn’t to construct an artificial planet? Was there a time when grade sixes didn’t have a black hole containment experiment for a science fair? 

The boy sulked on his couch. He was lonely and bored because he did not have anyone to talk to. He never did. He had no siblings, no mother, and no available friends. Everyone he knew always seemed to be busy. 

He wondered if he would spend his last days like this.

“Nothing else matters if you’re happy,” he said. “If you’re sick, but you’re happy, then you’re fine. If you’re in pain, but you’re happy, then you’re fine. If you’re dying, on your deathbed, but someone said a funny joke and you spend your last breaths laughing… then you’re fine. That’s how I want to spend my last breaths. Laughing.”

Tomorrow was the weekend, and he realized he would be bored the entire time if he didn’t find something to do. He decided he would sleep, and in the morning, he would continue on his quest on finding the algorithm, like everyone else on the planet.

His ambition was definitely present and potent in his sleep. He dreamed of finding the algorithm, while people treated him like a hero. They cheered and carried him through the streets. 

He laughed the entire time until he suddenly realized he didn’t know why. Everyone was happy, but what reason was there to be? He had just delayed their deaths by how many more years they each had to live. And when those lives would run out, would they still remember how he saved all of them? How he found the algorithm? Or would they hate him for only delaying their deaths, never saving them in the first place? So he had to ask himself again, why did he want to save everyone?

Third:

The Boy Meets A Woman

Fourteen years before The End

The boy once found a woman cooking in her home. When he entered, she asked, “Why have you entered, child?”

“All my friends have mothers,” he said. “I am the only one who doesn’t. I never got to experience what it’s like to have one since she was murdered for being a left-handed person when I was two. Some people still believe being left-handed is a curse from the Devil. Anyway, my friends; they all speak of things I do not know. How their mothers take care of their cuts, from the falls of their bikes. Or how they sing lullabies when they can’t sleep. I have always wanted a mother. And look, Fate has brought us together. Will you be my original mother’s replacement?”

The woman paused for a moment and chuckled. The mind of a child was so… oblivious! 

“It doesn’t work that way,” she said. 

“Why not?”

“To have a lasting, committed relationship, you must work at it. It’s not easy. It takes years and years. But since we don’t have years and years because we are all on a ticking clock, yes, I will act like your mother. I can teach you the many things you have yet to learn. There is not enough time to build a strong relationship due to the death of the universe coming ever so near. First, what is your name?”

“Orion.”

“My name is Eve.”

“Are you going to tell me to follow any rules?”

The woman looked confused. “Rules? Why would I do such a thing? I have never been a believer of those.”

“But my father always said rules are what guide us on the right path. They teach us to be safe, and we follow them. Sometimes, we have no choice but to follow them, like the Rules of the Universe. Like the laws of physics, or the chromosomes of a cell. They cannot be changed, and they cannot be broken.”

“Is your father a scientist?”

“Yes. One that is also helping to find the algorithm to stop the death of the universe.”

“That explains it. Also, you are right about all those things. But let me tell you a story. Sit down.”

This is another thing my friends’ mothers do to them, the boy thought. He sat down in a chair on a nearby table. 

“Once upon a time there was a boy named Adam. Now, Adam was a very good boy. He followed all of the rules given to him. He brushed his teeth, ate his vegetables, and was never late to class.

“But he was lonely. His mother had told him that right after school, he was to go home. He could not do anything else because it could be too dangerous for him. Whenever other kids invited him to play after school, he always refused. And so they had fun without him. They played some ball at the park. They played tag over creeks and swamps. They climbed trees without a harness.

“This is why Adam had no real friends. None of them were like him. They all played, sometimes dangerously, and had fun while Adam stayed at home, doing his homework. He was the only one who was a mature adult, and all the other kids were still in their childhoods.

“When Adam grew up, he did not know how to ride a bike. He did not know how to blow a bubble with gum. He did not know how to snap, whistle, skate, climb, or even laugh. He didn’t even know what a scraped knee felt like. He used to be a child, but he never had a childhood.”

“Because of his mother’s rules,” the boy said. 

Nodding, she continued. “One day, he met a friend who was also a grown-up like him. But she still biked, and chewed gum, and laughed at jokes. In some ways, she was still a child. It’s because she never forgot her childhood. She was very persuasive, too. She convinced Adam to try out the things that he never got to experience. Adam could now since his mother didn’t have control of his life anymore.

“His friend took him to do all the fun things. They skydived and felt the thrill of the fall. They rode a rollercoaster and felt the thrill of the speed. They climbed a tall mountain and felt the thrill of the height. Adam didn’t know that all of this was missed in his childhood. 

“‘But how does this connect with my childhood?’ Adam asked his friend.

“‘When we skydived,’ his friend said, ‘it’s the same as jumping off a diving board in a swimming pool. But on a smaller scale. When we rode the rollercoaster, it’s the same as having your father carry you on his back, running faster and faster until your world is a blur. But on a smaller scale. When we climbed the tall mountain, it’s the same as climbing a tree. But on a smaller scale.’

“Adam didn’t know that these same thrills were the exact thrills he had missed in his childhood because he was so intent on following the rules and being safe. He realized then, that the reason why he never felt the pain of a scraped knee, a part of almost every childhood, was because of the rules; because he had been safe. But now he regretted following them because now he would never get to feel what it was like to get a scraped knee as a child. 

“In the future, Adam and his friend fell in love and got married. 

“The lesson? Follow the rules to be safe. Follow the rules so others are safe. But do not, for one moment, let them restrict you to what you want or need. To do that is regretful, for when you look back you will realize that your life was boring and safe. Take risks and live your life. After all, we only have one.”

“That’s neat,” the boy said. “What was the friend’s name?”

“Eve,” she said as she smiled. “Adam is my husband.”

The boy’s jaw dropped. “That’s amazing.”

“All things are amazing. You just have to find out why.”

“But you cheated. You didn’t tell me until now!”

“I merely broke the rules. Sometimes, breaking the rules are necessary.”

The boy thought about that for a moment. When would rules need to be broken? They were always there, so you would be kept safe. They were important but yet hated by some people. The biggest ones of all, the Ten Commandments of God, were to always be followed as well.

When he asked his mother this, she said, “There are many instances when rules need to be broken. You just have to find them. When you arrive at an experience when you need to, then you shall. Rules are important, but the necessity is even more important.”

The boy thought of how this all tied in with what he had originally asked about. The laws of the world that could not be changed or broken.

“What about the Rules of the Universe?” he asked. “Everyone knows they exist. For example, one of them is gravity on planets. When you throw a ball up, it will always come back down. Gravity is something we’ve known and gotten used to our entire lives. There is no origin of it, no reason behind it, it’s just… there. And it cannot be changed. The only universe we know of is one with gravity. We cannot imagine another without it.

“So I ask, once again: how does your story apply to the Rules of the Universe?”

“You are asking this so you can figure out how we can stop the Ultimate Fate of the Universe, aren’t you? So we can stop the Big Crunch and the Big Bounce? Because we definitely need to break some law of physics to achieve that, since it isn’t humanly possible to stop gravity from collapsing the universe.”

“Yes, I am.”

“Well then, the same things apply. To rules you can’t break.”

“And what is that?”

“Do not let rules of any kind restrict or bind you from what you need. The Rules of the Universe indeed need to be broken for our lives to be saved. And that, I tell you, is one instance where rules need to be broken.”

The boy nodded. He slumped in his chair. “I see. I just wish someone, maybe me, can find the algorithm already. I don’t want to miss out on the rest of my life, and I’m sure I’m not alone on that.” 

She sighed. “It’s truly sad how the second son of a king will always be a prince. Never will get to have the chance to be a ruler.”

But then she smiled. “But want to know the truth?”

“What is it?”

“Not always.”

Fourth:

The Boy Meets A Girl

Fourteen years before The End

After a while, the boy wanted to find more friends to converse with. His current ones were afraid to talk of things such as the Rules of the Universe, or the Ultimate Fate of the Universe. They wanted to ignore the entirety of it all, and they wanted to avoid the problem. They chose to not care that the universe was ending.

So he went to the park. Once there, he encountered a girl sitting on a bench. When he saw her, he froze. There, in front of him, he knew, was the prettiest girl he had ever seen. The person meant for him. 

“Hello,” he said calmly, smiling.

The girl looked up and smiled back. The boy loved her smile. “Hello.”

“I think I love you. Can you be my wife?”

She shook her head. “It doesn’t work that way.”

“That is what my mother said. But why not?”

“Probably for the same reasons. To have a lasting, committed relationship, you must work at it. It’s not easy. You start small, like… friends.”

“I understand, now,” the boy said. Before, he was completely unaware of such strange traditions. Why was it that way? Why could you not simply ask someone to be your friend, and they would be your friend? When he was little, that was how he made friends. It seemed that the big, outside world was different and more difficult. But he was beginning to understand it now.

“Okay,” he said. “Hello. My name is Orion, and I want to be your friend.”

“Hello,” she said, smiling. “I’m Thalia. I would also like to be your friend.”

“So how do we get from here to partners in life?”

“It’s a long and complex path. It doesn’t happen in a day. We have to spend more time if we want to have a stronger relationship. Right now, we’ve just met and we are friends. Come back to this spot, every day, and spend more time with me. Then you will learn that time is the source of nourishment all relationships need.”

“But why is it that way?”

“That is just the way the world works.”

So the boy followed. Every day, he came back to the same spot in the park and spent more time with her. He began to feel something he had never experienced before: the feeling that she was becoming more important to him every single day. Finally, on the last day, he understood what she had meant when strong relationships needed time. 

One day, he came to her while she looked sad and lonely. 

“What is wrong?” the boy asked her.

“Oh, it is nothing,” she said. “I have just been thinking about the Rules of the Universe.”

“So you too, know something that many do not.”

“Yes. The Rules of the Universe cannot be changed, as you know. Water flows. Time travels forward. Hot air rises and cold air falls.”

“Do you know why?”

She shook her head. “That is just the way the world works.”

“So why are you feeling sad and lonely?”

“Because I am thinking about the death of the universe. The end of us all. I am imagining what it is like to not be able to live a full life. And because I was missing you.

“Now look up. One may see that the Rules of the Universe never fail to happen. As we all know, the sun shines when someone in the world is happy. Since there is always someone happy, it shines a lot. But it also rains when someone in the world is sad.”

They both watched the sky and waited. After a moment, the boy heard thunder and felt a few raindrops. All of a sudden, rain poured down. 

“The world knows when someone is sad,” she said. “And now, we must get under a tree for cover.”

They both went under the nearest tree and watched as the raindrops fell heavily.

“But why?” the boy asked. “Why when it rains, we need to go under a tree for cover? Why can’t we stay out there, in the rain?”

“That is just the way the world works. Haven’t you been taught by your mother this rule? When it rains, you mustn’t get wet, or you could get sick. And you need protection from lightning.”

“I never had a mother to tell me that.”

“But you said--”

“Shh,” the boy said. “I will explain some day. Now continue on with why you are sad.”

“I am sad because I know that whatever I do, no matter what, it will be for nothing, as the universe will end soon. Listen, through this revelation, I have come to a conclusion. You must stop coming here, every day, to see me.”

“Why? I thought we were going to pursue this relationship until we’re partners. We both accepted this, and we both said we can’t back out.”

“But rules must sometimes be broken,” she said.

Again, that is what my mother said, the boy thought. “Please tell me the reason.”

“There is not enough time to have all the necessary joys of life. Both of us were born in a time where the universe’s end is so near. If we pursue anything, it is for no cause. And we will never finish, as we will soon restart into the next universe. We simply do not have enough time to be with each other. I’m sorry.”

The boy nodded, understanding. “You are saying that at this current time, we cannot afford to have any ties, because they will be pointless when we all die. Do you not wonder if the scientists will succeed in their algorithm, and we will live?”

“To think that they will is a false truth. We know that the universe keeps repeating. Those scientists, just like what happened in the previous universes, will never find the algorithm. You have to learn to say goodbye.”

“Well, I think that’s wrong! To think that Fate decides everything--that’s the false truth. One day, in one universe, we will find that algorithm. And we will keep trying and trying in every universe. We will never give up.”

“Well, we should, since we know there is no point. There is simply no point in everything, when we are all going to die.”

“So, what if the universe isn’t ending? Would you be happy? You shouldn’t since we’re all going to die anyway. Even if the universe wasn’t dying, at some point in all of our lives we’re going to die too. What makes you think this is different? You said that there is not enough time to have all the necessary joys in life, because of the death of the universe ever so near. But in a regular life, there also isn’t enough time. That’s why people should get out of their mundane lives and do what they were destined to, from the start, as soon as possible. Because every second lived is every second spent, one step closer to death.”

She shook her head. “I’m sorry. If you want, meet me at this spot, again, in four years. Or in fourteen. We’ll watch the universe’s death together. Listen, I also really like you, but I also don’t want to pursue something so pointless. We are going to die before we experience the true joys of life together.”

“Fine. But in four years, if you still haven’t changed your mind and opinions about the Rules of the Universe, then I won’t remember you. I’ll throw you away in the forgotten memories in the back of my mind. I’ll be angry, and I’ll do that to you. And do you know why that is? Why people do mean things to other people when they’re angry?”

“Why?”

“Because that is just the way the world works.”

And with that, the boy left her alone under the tree, storming away in the pouring rain.

Fifth:

The Boy Meets An Old Man

Fourteen years before The End

Once the little boy stumbled upon a formal plaza while exploring, where people were dressed in fancy suits, drinking champagne, sharing jokes and laughing as they lived the last few years of their lives. There were gold staircases, gold curtains, and gold-wrapped chocolates served by waiters on plates. 

In the centre of the plaza, there was also a grand piano, the most beautiful one the boy had seen. Playing it was another boy about the same age as him, and with one glance he could tell that he was deaf. Beside the boy, in another comfy chair, was an old man, teaching him how to play. 

There was also a crowd of people around them, with people booing at the child’s mistakes, whenever he hit the wrong key.

“Why don’t you play, old man?” one said. “You’re much better! Teach the child another time!”

“We live our last moments listening to beginner’s play?” another said, shaking her head in disgust.

“We were all once beginners at everything we do, but most of us don’t remember,” the old man said. “Now, shoo! I am teaching this boy how to play, and your incessant complaints will not stop me. Nor will they stop him, since he can’t hear you.”

The crowd dispersed, annoyed, muttering their curses under their breaths. The old man shook his head, muttering his own, and brought out a strange assortment of physical papers to read while the child continued to press keys until he got them right. 

The boy went up to the old man, and asked, “What is that?”

The old man saw that he was pointing to the strange assortment of physical papers. “You are too young to understand. It’s called a book. Before, there used to be many of them.”

“I know what a book is. At least, I’ve heard of one. What book are you reading?”

“It’s called The Bible.”

“Everyone knows what The Bible is. One of the oldest-living human scriptures. But why are you reading it in its physical form, when you can easily find one on your tablet? The need to flip pages is nonexistent there. Also, it’s free. That book must have cost something.”

The old man shook his head. “You understand so little. I prefer the book form for so many reasons.”

The boy nodded, pretending to understand. His attention was drawn toward the child near them, playing, not able to hear their conversation. 

“May I ask, why do you prefer a non-professional to play, making mistakes, rather than listen to a professional as you play?”

“It simply reminds me of our main human quality.”

“And what is that?”

“That we’re not perfect. Nothing is, not even God. After all, He almost killed the entire human race with a flood one time, remember? The earth had been virtually devoid of human life--”

“What is earth?”

“Oh, of course. Again, too young to understand. It’s the original planet of humanity. The first ever planet for us to exist on.”

“Ha, a good one,” the boy said. “What a funny myth you believe in.”

The old man shrugged and continued. “So yes, nobody’s perfect. If I listened to a professional, well, one such as that reminds me of the wonders and extreme talents to which a human can go. I prefer to think as all of us as a beginner at piano. We always make mistakes when we hit the wrong keys, but we always finish the song. When we stumble along the way to find the algorithm, we will find it. Eventually. Beginners are like professionals: the same interests, same goal. It’s just that one of them got a head-start.”

“They’re the same?”

“Oh, yes. When little children look up to their idols, they see someone they can never be. But if they work hard at it, and never give up, they can achieve it no matter what.”

“No matter what?”

The old man nodded. “Keep running through obstacles. One after the other. Because you never know… one may be your last.”

Do not let rules of any kind restrict or bind you from what you need, he remembered his mother say. 

The old man sighed. “Once, we thought that establishing a galactic civilization would permanently ensure our safety from inevitable extinctions since we would be spread over multiple planets. But now we have found out that there is no stopping extinction, for any life, forever. Always at some point, the life cycle has to restart. And everything has a life cycle, even the universe itself.

“Which is why we have to ask ourselves: what are we doing? Where are we going? What is the point? If our sole purpose in life is to give it a meaning, which most people never find, then is there a point at all? Do people birth, live, and die for the sake of birthing, living, and dying? Or is there a reason?”

“There must be a reason,” the boy said. “And we know that for sure. Because we are here.”

“Surely, you are right. Maybe one day, we’ll learn life’s purpose. But for now, we’ll live like there’s one.” 

They stayed in silence for a moment, the boy thinking about what the old man had said. Then he asked, “You said most people don’t find their purpose in life. For those who do, what is it?”

“Many things,” the old man said. “Love is one of them, I’ll tell you that. Love is a strange sort of feeling. I feel bad for anyone who has never been or chooses not to be in love. It makes you feel as if you have a purpose in the world. Most people believe that in their future they will someday find the one person waiting for them. That they are just one half of a body, and their partner is their other half. And then when people think them crazy, that’s the time they find their person. Also, Fate is an ultimate deciding factor whether you find that person or not. Tell me, do you love anyone?”

“A girl,” he said. 

“How did you get to her?”

“My father is very busy as one of the scientists working to stop the death of the universe, so he doesn’t spend much time with me. I was lonely because I don’t have a sibling to talk to. Nor a mother, so I found one to be mine. And then after that, after talking to her, I realized that most of the time I felt lonely and I needed to find people to talk to. Then I went to the park and walked and walked until--” Suddenly, the boy saw what the old man meant. “You are saying that Fate made all those circumstances so I could get to her, right? Everything in my life leads up to that one moment?”

“Indeed. Time flows one way. When you go with the stream, you find your destiny. But when you try to fight it, you get your obstacles. Most people fight the stream because they are impatient for their destinies. They can’t wait for time and Fate to work together to get them their destiny. They don’t understand it’s not just them who get them to their destinies--they also have to work hard too. Also, as we all know, Fate controls all our lives. There is no arguing with her, there is no changing yours. That’s why the Ultimate Fate of the Universe is irreversible. It’s what’s supposed to happen. The reason why the time cycle goes forever and never stops is because of Fate. She is responsible.”

The boy nodded. They were all taught that. So it seemed that he was wrong when he had told the girl that Fate didn’t control their lives. She was the right one--never could anyone change their destiny. 

“So your girl,” the old man said as if he knew what he was thinking, “how much did she affect you?”

“When I know it’s pointless since the universe will end, she makes me feel something. Something that makes me want to continue on. I, I can’t place what it is.

“Oh, I know,” he said. “She makes me want to live.”

“And that, I tell you, is why people in the world still eat, work, and sleep,” he said. “Before ending everything manually.”

Then, the child on the piano finally finished the piece, after many mistakes. The boy understood what the old man saw in beginners now. For everyone, they would never finish the song, since the universe would end. But that was just a mistake, or, in their case, an obstacle, that they had to overcome to finish the song. To live their full lives. 

“Good job,” the old man said to the boy on the piano. 

“Why are you teaching him how to play the piano?” the boy asked. “When he can’t even hear the music he creates?”

All the old man did was wink at him.

Sixth:

The Boy Meets A Robot

Thirteen years before The End

Next, the boy found an android. The android wasn’t much. Just one of the hundreds of thousands that lived everywhere in people’s homes. 

“Hello,” the robot said when the boy approached. “I am a robot. You may call me, Mr. Robot.”

“Hello Mr. Robot,” the boy said. “Why should I call you that?”

“It is what I am, isn’t it?”

“But you should have a unit number, that people command you with,” the boy said, looking around the robot for it. It was usually engraved somewhere on the plating. But the boy gave up in doing so, and he just let it go. It didn’t matter as much.

“So why did you give up in looking for my unit number?” the robot asked. “I see you tried, but you stopped so quickly.”

“It’s pointless,” the boy said. “I will just call you Mr. Robot.”

“I see that you are one to give up easily.”

The boy got frustrated at that. “No, I’m not! I am helping my father to stop The End.”

The robot smiled. “It is every child’s dream. I wish I could be like you children.”

“What do you mean? You are a walking, talking, knowing person, just like us.”

“But I am not alive. I am not breathing, or living. I am not conscious. I can make decisions and speak as if I were a real human, but in the end, I am just a plain, ordinary robot that can’t perceive the world like you at all.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“You, child, are so lucky to have your ability to see the world. To smell it, taste it, hear it, and most of all, feel it. I can only touch it.”

“What is the difference between touching and feeling?”

“For me, I touch things and make my decisions based on things I touch with a computer-mind. If I touch a cactus, I know to avoid it because my sensors and scanners feed that information to my artificial brain. However, if a human touches a cactus, they will not only do everything a robot will do, but they will also feel the pain. It is the ability to perceive the pain that makes the difference.”

“So why are we lucky that we get to feel pain? Shouldn’t robots be more lucky, since they will never feel it?”

The robot shook his head. “Ah, you see, when you feel pain, you understand pleasure. You see it more vividly, and you see its importance evermore. A life without pain isn’t a life at all.”

The boy thought about it. The robot certainly couldn’t feel anything. Not pain, or pleasure, or even emotions. He couldn’t get angry, and he couldn’t be sad. The worst yet--he couldn’t feel love. 

He must’ve been loyal to his owners. But not because he loved them, and wanted to help them, but only because he was programmed to. That depressed the boy. The robot understood that too. He knew that humans were lucky to experience the true joys of life. 

“But wait,” the boy said. “Why do you see our senses as such an amazing thing? They’re so… basic. Practical. Every human is born with them, and they use them their entire lives without realizing their value. They take them for granted--and, why shouldn’t they? They’re just senses. Why are they so amazing?”

“All things are amazing. You just have to find out why.”

“My mother said that once. But I still don’t understand why. And how does this connect with pain?”

“Imagine a life without your senses. How terrible would that be?”

“Unimaginable,” the boy said, shivering. 

“Yes. Let’s start simple. Imagine yourself blind. You would wish to be able to see the world, wouldn’t you?”

“Of course.”

“Now how about a person that has perfect eyesight? If he could improve his eyes, what would he wish?”

The boy thought, then shrugged. 

“Giving up easily again,” the robot said. “The person wouldn’t wish anything. Because he already has perfect eyes. Don’t you think a blind person would value perfect eyes more than a person born with them?”

“Yes.”

“Of course. Because he knows what it feels like to not have perfect eyes. But one who was born with them does not. When you experience pain first, you learn to appreciate the little things in life. Why do people value life? Why do they think it’s precious?”

“Because it isn’t infinite. It will eventually end, no matter what.”

“And if the Rules of the Universe were changed? If it was made so people never died?”

“They wouldn’t think life is precious.”

The robot nodded, smiling. 

The boy saw his smile and said, “So you can feel emotions?”

“No. My sensors indicate a time when I am supposed to smile. It’s in my programming. That’s why I am smiling. You, on the other hand, will do the same thing. Your brain will indicate the right time to smile, and you will because of it. But at least you understand the meaning of it, and you know why you are smiling.”

The boy nodded. “About why life ends: why does it?”

“That is just the way the world works.”

“You remind me of someone that annoys me.”

“Tell that person to keep annoying you, then. Because whomever that person is, he or she is right.”

“I still do not understand why you wish to have feelings. If by some fix, you were able to have them right now, it wouldn’t be so good. You’d feel sad because the universe is ending. Right now, at your state, you don’t. You’re happier than ninety-nine per cent of the world right now if you don’t have feelings.”

“Some people think ignorance is bliss,” he said. “They think if you do not know about the bad things happening in the world, you’re happier than everyone else. But think about it. If you gave up all your feelings, you’ll say goodbye to your ability to feel sad. But you’d also give up the ability to be happy. And then, in the end, there’s no point in giving up your feelings at all. Since you made the choice in the first place to feel happy. Never give up anything.”

I see, the boy thought. Yes, he would not be able to feel depressed at the universe’s death if he didn’t have feelings. But he also couldn’t feel joy or love. He would not care about Thalia if he didn’t have feelings. He would not care about stopping the universe’s death if he didn’t have feelings. 

“And that,” the robot said, “is why being a human is better than being a robot. That is why your senses, though you see them as regular, plain, every-day tools, are more important than you think.”

All things are amazing. You just have to find out why, the boy remembered.

“Thank you for helping me to understand,” the boy said. 

“Yes,” the robot said. “A north-born sees snow as a regular and ordinary thing when winter comes. But a south-born person may see snow as a wonderful thing when he sees it for the first time in his life. You have to be the north-born that sees it like a south-born.”

“How did you come to understand this? You couldn’t have yourself, since you are a robot, and you don’t have feelings.”

“My owner is a traveller. He has many homes around the galaxy, and he travels a lot. You can call him wealthy if you see him like that. He will be coming back here, to Prime, next week. You may wait if you want to meet him. He is a very intelligent man, and therefore I am a very intelligent robot. I am lucky to have such a great teacher.”

“I will do so. Thank you, again.”

“One more thing,” he said. “I said that it’s every child’s dream to find the algorithm to stop The End. Don’t let that fact discourage you from succeeding. Just because everyone wants the same thing, and no one has gotten it yet, it doesn’t mean you won’t. Never lose hope, or give up in what you need. Do not let the Rules of the Universe, or Fate, stop you.”

“But I thought you couldn’t change Fate. At least, my teacher said that. I thought God created everyone’s fate, and free will is just a myth. He always knows our next step, and if He does, that means we can’t choose our next step. It’s already decided.”

“That,” the robot said, “is something all people in the world falsely believe in.”

Seventh:

The Boy Meets A Traveller

Thirteen years before The End

So the boy waited for a while. He continued to dream about finding the algorithm, the solution to everything, while he waited. He continued to ponder about the Rules of the Universe and if they could ever be broken. And about the Ultimate Fate of the Universe, and if it could ever be changed. 

The day the traveller arrived, the boy went to meet him. 

“Hello, boy,” the traveller said. He was on a strange, big, and muscular animal when he greeted him. The animal had four legs that were striding towards him.

“Hello,” the boy said. “If I may ask, what are you riding?”

“A horse, my boy,” the traveller said. “You are a city boy. They don’t teach much about the culture of other planets here. Here in Prime, everything is urban. But it is also here in Prime that has the best scientists of the human race, working to find the algorithm. The technology level is high here, so it would make sense. But yet I don’t find much to see here. I travel a lot, you see.”

“So I’ve heard. If you travel a lot, then why return here? After you just said there’s not much to see.”

“Why, I was born here!” he said. “And I have my family here! Sometimes it’s not the box itself that attracts you, it’s the possibility of what’s inside.”

“Your family is the thing inside.”

“Very well.”

“Why do you like to travel?” the boy asked, interested in his knowledge. This man surely knew much, for his voice sounded oddly different even though he spoke the same language. And he knew a lot about animals and places not like Prime. 

“Here is my secret,” the traveller said, getting off his horse and tying it to a post with a rope. “I want to see as much of the universe as I can before it ends.”

The answer was completely surprising, and the boy was thrown back. To do such a thing was so… pointless. It was so strange! 

The look on the boy’s face must’ve said it all. “Yes, yes,” the traveller said, “it’s quite odd. Nobody ever thinks of doing such a thing, because… well, why would they? Why would they waste everything, their time and money, to see the universe when it’s going to end anyway? And then when you die along with it, you’ll lose your memory of even doing it, so it makes it totally useless.”

“I’m sorry sir, but I have to agree with them.”

“But listen,” he said, “it’s because I think differently than everyone else. There was a time when what I would be doing would not be considered strange. There was a time, when, if everyone found out the universe was ending, they’d all do the exact thing I’m doing now.”

“But why?”

“Because they understand. They value the world they live in. We all know that it’s scary to think that the universe will die, and we will all die along with it. But… aren’t we all going to die at some point anyway? Does that mean if the universe isn’t ending, we should all be scared anyway, since life isn’t infinite?”

“I once thought the same thing.”

“Once? Well, I suggest you continue to think that way. There’s an idea called optimism. A truth that the world of man has forgotten. Now, I have spread my knowledge of it to you. Tell me, boy, what is your dream in the world?”

“Like all the other little kids. To find the algorithm to stop The End, so I can be rich and famous and seen as a hero. My father is also doing the same, as he is a scientist.”

“But why?”

“Why else? So everyone can live.”

“Have you ever stopped yourself to ask why you want everyone to live?”

“No.”

“Exactly. Why try to make everyone live, when their lifespans are going to end sometime eventually, and they will all die?”

“I guess so I can still live as a hero that found the algorithm before I die myself. And everyone else gets to continue and live their lives to the end too.”

“And now, you think like me. Now you have my logic.”

The boy smiled. He had learned a lot of things lately. He was glad that now he knew the right things in the world.

“The most important thing is to live life to the fullest,” the traveller said. “We only have one life, so people should stop wasting time working many hours in their cubicles, and spend more time with their families that miss them. Not everyone realizes this, but now they have an easier time because of what’s happening right now. We are approaching the end of everything as we know it. But it doesn’t just scare us--it also teaches us to value everything in life more. Because the truth as it is, whether the end of the universe comes or not, it will come to everyone, when they die. When someone dies, it’s the end of their universe. So even if the universe isn’t ending right now, people should learn to cherish the time they have.

“Do you have anyone that you want to spend your last moments with, boy?”

“A girl that I love. And probably my father, and mother.”

“So why are you here, and not with them right now?”

The boy shrugged. “We have time, don’t we? The universe isn’t ending yet. It will come in thirteen years. So I am spending all my time trying to figure out a solution to it, like all the other scientists.

“But I have also taken in what you have said. I do not know which is more important: spending time on an algorithm that might or might not work, or giving up and spending time with those I love.”

“That is for you to decide,” the traveller said, patting the boy’s shoulder. 

“I have been taught to never give up, but I have also been taught that I should and just spend the rest of my life living it out. I don’t know what to do.”

“Just know to trust your heart,” the traveller said. 

“But my heart says that I should give up since the algorithm search is useless. It says that if the universe keeps dying and repeating, why should this one be any different? I used to think that it’s not true. And that one day we would find it and break the cycle. But now I’m not sure. Now I’m leaning towards the side that was taught to us when we were all little children in school: that Fate controls our lives, and we only think we have free will, but we don’t since our futures are all set and time flows one way.”

“Then listen,” the traveller knelt down to the boy. “I’m here to tell you that teaching is terribly wrong. We control our lives, and only us. It is our decisions that decide our destinies. Your decisions have brought you here, to me, whatever they were. Everything in the universe has happened for you to come to this moment. First, it created our first planet. Then humans. Then aeons later, we’re here, on this planet. And then I was born, you were born, and our decisions both lead us to this moment, talking to each other.”

“But I’ll never know what would happen now if I didn’t come here since time only flows one way.”

“Yes, but the point here is that Fate didn’t make you come here. You did.”

“How can we know for sure?”

The traveller frowned and stood back up, watching the horizon. “What is one thing that we know Fate follows?”

“The Rules of the Universe. Fate won’t make me die yesterday since yesterday has passed. It’s impossible. That’s just an example.”

“Exactly. Fate follows the Rules of the Universe. And so, what is needed in order to find the algorithm to stop The End from happening?”

“The Rules of the Universe need to be broken. At least one of them. There is no possible way to prevent The End without doing so.”

The traveller winked. “When we succeed in stopping The End, we will know for sure Fate doesn’t control our lives. And we will succeed.”

“Again, how are you so sure?”

“Because I have faith. Because I dare to hope. It is only those who hope that achieve something. Those who don’t will never get what they want, because they don’t work hard at it.

“Let me tell you one thing, boy, and one thing only. It’s impossible to defeat a person who never gives up.”

“That’s not true.”

“Oh, but it is. No one can die if they never believe in death.”

“It doesn’t matter. They will die even if they don’t believe in it.”

“But will they really?” the traveller asked. “I tell you this, boy. There are only two types of people in the world. Those who let Fate control their lives, and those who don’t. I reckon the people of the latter live their lives happier than the other, no matter if Fate truly controls our lives or not. As we all know…”

“Ignorance is bliss,” the boy said.

“Remember, it’s all about belief. It’s all about hope. It’s all about faith.”

So it turned out the old man was wrong. The teachers in his school were wrong. Well, after all, it was the old man himself that said nobody was perfect. 

When you really want something, Fate couldn’t stop you from getting it. They will eventually find the algorithm, one way or another. After all, nothing in history so far had ever stopped humanity from achieving what they wanted.

The traveller checked his watch. “I am late for something. I’m sorry, but I have to leave. Do you have something to do?”

The boy pondered a while. “Yes. My father is coming home soon. I wish to spend my time with him.”

“Do so, then. Remember, the universe is ending soon. We are all running out of time.”

Eighth:

Letter to the Future Peoples, Number Two

Written when I was twenty-two, two years before The End

So when I first wrote these letters, I realized I forgot to add numbers to them on the outside. Oh well. Now the people of the next universe, whomever they may be, shall pick any one of the three at random and not in order now. I will try to write them as if you don’t need to read them in order, then. 

Wow. It’s been a while since I wrote one of these. My hand is not used to it. The future world is full of screens these days, I haven’t realized the true pleasure of writing for real. I think the last time I ever wrote for real was when I was fourteen, writing the first of these letters. It’s been such a long, long time.

Once, about nine years ago, I met a person who travelled a lot. He knew much about the universe, and of other worlds and their cultures, and was very logical in his opinions. He was such an interesting man, and one with such important verities. He had taught me many things that day that I had never forgotten. He was a great teacher; I never understood why he wasn’t one. 

This man changed my life. He showed me the way, to see that everything I had ever stood for before was correct. If there is any man that the world ought to thank for my invention of the time capsule, it shall be him. He helped me to realize the true reasons as to why I made that time capsule. And, he also helped me create it, in a way.

The idea for the time capsule was that it would be much like the last one, from the last universe. It would make the trip into the next one, with these three letters, and give the message of everything that’s happened to the people of the future. The idea behind it was that maybe our generation of humans in this universe won’t be able to stop its death, but one in the future will, with all this saved information. 

This couldn’t have been possible without that traveller I met nine years ago. I doubt he still remembers me, but to me, he is unforgettable. He helped shape the man that I have become today. Right when I was about to give up in my dream, he showed up and showed me that I shouldn’t. And therefore, I didn’t. I made the time capsule. 

He also showed me to live my life to its absolute fullest. Something that everyone should do. Without him, I wouldn’t have beautiful Thalia as my wife, or my delicate child--my daughter that I have been waiting my entire life to see. The one Fate brought me. She is such pure joy in playing with--it’s a shame she’ll cease to exist along with the rest of us when The End will come in two years. But this was Thalia’s and my decision. We would live a normal life and pretend that The End wasn’t coming. We would not let the Rules of the Universe ruin the joys of our lives, something my mother Eve always told me to do. After all, to let that happen is like letting natural death burden you. In all ways, The End and natural death are the same: inevitable, and a stop sign for everything. 

I’ve always wondered in my life, why do we celebrate birthdays? Sure, when you’re turning one year old, it’s a huge milestone. It symbolizes your ability to grow and learn, your maturity into babyhood from a newborn. But after that, when you’re past eighteen, every birthday celebrated is like a party for you stepping one step on the staircase down to death. 

And I laugh at that. But now I know, what makes humans so much different from anything else in the powerful and ancient universe, is that we understand what is going on, and we still hope. We know we’re going to die, but we still live our lives. It’s because of hope; and the feeling that we will miss out if we don’t live our full lives. 

So when I have my birthday, even if I know it’s a step closer to The End, the cease of everything, I’ll celebrate it. Because like the traveller…

I dare to hope.

Part II

Ninth:

The Boy Meets A Depressed Man

Twelve years before The End

The boy then went around until he found a depressed man, grieving and in pain on a bench in the park. He knew that there were many in the world, but this was his first time seeing one. 

“Hello, mister,” he greeted. “Why are you sad?”

“Is it not obvious?” the depressed man said. “Because of everything. Because of death, because of The End, and mostly because of… pointless repetition.”

“Pointless repetition?”

The depressed man muttered something about ending everything manually. He took a swig from a wine bottle he was holding. “Want some?” he offered. 

The boy drank for about three seconds before giving it back. “So tell me more.”

“Ah, yes.” He smoothed his pants. “Think about it. Every day we get up in the morning. Brush our teeth. Take a shower. Dress up. Walk on the same path, or drive, or take a bus, to work or school. We do the same things there. Then we get home, repeat everything we did in the morning and sleep… only to do the same exact things the next day. Doesn’t it get tiring for you? Boring? Repetitive?”

“Well, yes, sometimes. Sometimes I wonder what a day would be like if I didn’t have to do my routines. But I don’t have a choice.”

“Yes, and see, there’s the problem. Repetition is everywhere in our lives. I don’t know how everyone else tolerates it. For me, I cannot anymore. I choose to try to forget everything. When I die, I will anyway. Starting early makes no difference.”

The boy understood. In fact, he understood this man very well. For he was once like him. But not anymore. The traveller had opened up his eyes to reality.

“Nothing else matters if you’re happy,” he said. 

The depressed man lowered his bottle after another swig. “What?”

“Nothing else matters if you’re happy,” the boy repeated. “It was a line I always told myself when things got hard. If you’re in pain, but you’re happy, then you’re fine. It’s impossible to dishearten a person that’s laughing, no matter if you insult him, impale him, or… do whatever.”

“And why is being happy important?”

“It’s… another way of forgetting everything,” the boy said, eyeing the wine bottle. “When you’re happy, you barely have a care in the world. So nothing can bother you. If everyone couldn’t be sad, no matter how hard they try, do you think any problem would be one? So… don’t end everything manually.”

“Kid, do you even know what ending everything manually means?” the depressed man asked. 

“No.”

“That’s good, then. I envy how children are kept safe from the truths. I also envy how ignorant they are to reality.”

“I would not call myself a child, then.”

The depressed man raised his eyebrows. “Oh, you are not? Let me tell you this: when a person dies, movement still flows. People still walk. Cars still move, and conversations continue. Most of all, time still moves on. The world doesn’t grieve for a death. Maybe only the victim’s loved ones if any. So how come for one, it’s the end of his or her world, but for everyone else, it’s not?

“Things will happen without us. If all of humanity dies, it won’t matter to time, which will still move on. Because time is infinite and eternal. In fact, the universe is. We have to stop acting like we’re the centre of the universe. Because we’re not.”

“Funny,” the boy said, “because my father, a scientist, once said that any point in the universe can be the centre of the universe. It’s a scientific fact. The universe expands like a balloon. Draw two points on one, and fill it up, those points will move away from each other, because space is being created everywhere. Our universe is the same; it’s expanding everywhere. It’s expanding away from you, but also from me, and everyone else. There’s no true centre of the universe.”

“You seem to know a lot about the Rules of the Universe.”

“I seem to recall saying my father was a scientist,” the boy said. “The point is, we can act as if we are the centre of the universe because, in our eyes, while we have life in our tiny bodies, we are. The body I have is the only body I will ever get to experience the world with. Your body is the only one you get to have, too. So doesn’t that mean that in your eyes, you are the centre of everything? You can look everywhere, but only from your point of view.

“Everyone’s greatest failure in life is the moment they believe they are one. My father told me that. We all know we only have one life. So I suggest you get up and live it. Things are waiting for you, and as you said, they will happen without you. So why not join in, and make sure that it doesn’t? It’s better than being dead.”

“What do you mean?”

“Yes, I do know what ending everything manually means. And I know you’re planning to do it.”

“Oh.”

“I do also know that maybe one day, we’ll learn life’s purpose. But for now, we’ll live like there’s one.” 

“You are hoping to get me out of my depressed state?” the depressed man asked.

“Well, yes. That is the goal. May I say that I was once like you until I learned that grieving for something not gone yet is useless. So you told me The End is one of the reasons you are sad. But it hasn’t happened yet. The world is still here, as far as I know. You can still live as you choose, you can still cherish it. So why be sad, when it’s not the time to be sad yet?”

“Because I know it will inevitably come. Like death.”

“But it hasn’t yet. People say to stop living in the past, but it’s also important to stop living in the future. The present is the most important because it’s the moment we’re all living right now. We can live without a past--as you’re trying to do right now, trying to forget everything--or without a future--since it hasn’t happened yet. But we can’t live without a present. 

“I once heard a story where there was a man who kept planning his entire day for the next day. He planned everything that he would do. When tomorrow came, he couldn’t do the things he planned, since he had to plan the next day that day. He kept doing so until he might’ve well just planned his next day to plan his next day. The lesson? If you keep planning tomorrow, you’ll never live today.”

“I see,” the depressed man said, nodding. “What you are saying makes sense. The End hasn’t come yet, so why be sad?”

The boy smiled. “The good thing is we won’t get to be sad for it either, since when it comes, well… it’s The End.”

“Thank you for making me realize,” the depressed man said, getting up. “There is no point in being sad. It just makes you… sad. You have opened my eyes. I have… a son! And a daughter! I must spend my time with them.”

I wish my own father would receive the same epiphany, the boy thought. 

“Very well,” the not-so-depressed man said. “You remind me of another person I have met. A man that believes in the same things as you. A wise man. He is alone, so he usually spends his time enjoying the sights and sounds of the city, and the pigeons that peck his feet for food. I must go, now. Goodbye.”

Tenth:

The Boy Meets A Wise Man

Twelve years before The End

The boy found the person the depressed man was talking about one day during a stroll through the city. As described, he was found sitting on a bench near the main street, where crowds of people passed, cars honked, and pigeons cooed. 

The sun was just beginning to set on the horizon. The light was fading slowly, trying to seep through the numerous skyscrapers. It was turning dusk, but one can say the city never sleeps at night. 

The boy joined the wise man on the bench, who wore a trench coat and a fedora that was low on his face, while he also tapped his fingers on a cane. 

“Hello, mister,” the boy said with his usual greeting. 

“Hmm?” the wise man looked up. “Hello there, lad. So someone sent you here.”
“How do you know?”

“No one bothers a dozing old man on a city bench.”

The sat in silence for a while. 

“Do you know it’s a lie that we will ever find the algorithm?” the wise man finally said. 

“And why is that?” the boy asked.

“Because we all know what the scientists said. The universe infinitely repeats exactly the same way every time it’s created again. Since it keeps dying, we know we won’t find the algorithm. We never will. Because what will make this time any different? If the past universes, the past humans have had no success stopping the loop, how will we? The loop is the same--that’s why it’s a loop.”

“That is a very conceivable and understandable point.”

“But I like how the scientists don’t care about that fact, and they still keep working. They don’t lose hope. They don’t care that they might be wasting their time. I like that. They never give up. It’s impossible to defeat a person who never gives up.”

The boy nodded, agreeing. The traveller told him that. How can you defeat someone that refuses to be defeated? 

“Tell me, boy, are you sad the universe is ending?”

“Why of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“And so it seems the world is ever more beautiful as it was before, doesn’t it? Would you see the world the way it is if you never found out the universe was ending?”

“I never thought about it that way, but yes. It would just be a normal day.”

“Exactly. Normal,” he said, smiling. “It’s funny, isn’t it?”

“What’s funny?”

“It’s funny how we learn to appreciate things only when they’re gone.”

“I suppose. I have never missed my father this much before. Because before he wasn’t as busy since he didn’t know the universe was ending yet. He’s a scientist, and as we all know, they’re all working to find that algorithm. I never realized how much I would feel his absence.”

“My point exactly. Your father must be doing what he loves, am I correct? Being a scientist? My father didn’t have a fate nearly as good as yours. He died because of his extreme allergy. It’s strange how we design our cities and towns to be the safest possible, but yet the things that kill us come from within.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Sorry for what?” The wise man took his hat off. “Ah, well, Fate is a very mysterious and unpredictable lady. Sometimes she’s quite nice, but other times she’s as deadly as snake venom. It’s impossible to be friends with her. But that doesn’t stop everyone from trying.”

“What do you mean?”

“Everyone tries to not die. To survive, I mean. In doing so, they are hoping Fate doesn’t get to them; doesn’t give them a bad ending to their journeys through life.”

“That is true.” The boy made a mental note then: I will try to befriend Fate, then. It shall be one of my challenges.

“My father was a good man,” the wise man said, “but Fate didn’t care. A death by allergies--now that’s something! We were at a restaurant table when he said to pass the salt. Then his attack came, and I was helpless to stop it. Of course, I knew I was, so being my usual panicky self I stood there and watched. I’m never good during emergencies.”

“But he was dying!”

“But aren’t we all?”

The boy was silent.

“Life is short compared to the age of the universe. I miss my father. I am about his age now. I did not love him as much as I do now when he is gone. Again, I say, it’s funny how we learn to appreciate things only when they’re gone.”

After a moment of silence, the wise man unexpectedly whacked his cane against the ground. “Egad! I tried to warn him! I always told him to carry his--whatchamacallit--that injector thingy that stops his attacks! I told him, ‘you old fool! Where’s your injector?’ He never did listen. I never worried because I never thought it would get him killed.

“Of course, he was nearing his time limit anyway. Your father is at least… forty, I presume? Isn’t it like twenty years of training to be a full scientist nowadays?”

“Yes.”

“Can you believe there was a time when he would already be expected to die? The average lifespan is so high in today’s world… I do not even know why people still complain about death.”

“Because they’re scared. Also, you are the one that said life is short.”

“Do you believe only when things are old, they deserve to die?”

“I do. That is why I don’t think it’s fair that Fate gives us The End so soon. I am too young still.”

The wise man chuckled. “So you have no trouble dealing with the death of the universe, then. Billions of years old.”

“Oh. I did not think of that. Everything comes to an end because age is not an enemy able to be defeated. Even for the universe, which used to be seemingly infinite and eternal. Age is a Rule of the Universe, and as I was once told, the Rules of the Universe never fail to happen.”

“Agreed. The rivers flow, the winds blow, the grasses grow. Leaves fall, leaves sprout. Light gets reflected, and shadows exist. Time passes one way. Everything in the universe has a force of attraction to each other called gravity. We need oxygen, food, and water to live. Why all these things happen, you may ask? That’s just the way the world works. These are the Rules of the Universe, created by God, who creates all rules. 

“One thing I’ve always believed in is that you can’t play God. Those scientists out there in the world--they’re trying to achieve impossible things. Truly impossible things. Things that actually can’t happen, no matter what. They’re trying to stop the death of the universe, and there’s simply no way to do it. They’re trying to create and destroy, control the universe like God--which they can’t--since they are not Him. 

“But that’s what inspires me. I guess my belief is outdated now. In this situation, we have no choice but to try and play God. Even if those scientists know it’s truly impossible, they continue on. They walk forward because they know there’s a chance, no matter what, we will reach the end. And not the end of everything, but the end of the end of everything.”

“You mean the final outcome of doomsday?”

“Yes, I mean exactly that.” He knitted his eyebrows. “I’m trying to remember a story about doomsday I’m particularly fond of. Doomsday is a concept that is very possible--only it’s kind of aimed only towards us. When people mean doomsday, they really mean the extinction of mankind. They don’t really think of anything else. I mean, would it truly be doomsday if only we humans died, but the universe still lives?”

“I guess not. I once taught a depressed man that we act as if we’re the centre of the universe since, in our eyes, we are. But I guess we really are since we learned we are the only intelligent life the universe.”

“That is where you’re wrong. We’ve all been taught that, but we’re not certain. The universe is so big, we haven’t explored any of it, basically. We can still hope there are others out there, no matter what, as long as there’s space left to be found. Hope is the fuel for never giving up.”

“That is true.”

“Anyway, I remember the story now. It started when doomsday was nearing the end. This is some really old Primian folklore, by the way. Apparently, there was a trigger to start doomsday, and it would be when a giant bear would escape its cave prison and swallow the sun. A left-handed bear.”

“So naturally people thought it was evil,” the boy said, disgusted. 

“Yes. Some people still believe in Devil-kin. In the old stories, a group of heroes always stopped the beast from swallowing the sun by cutting its head off and returning it to its prison, delaying doomsday. But the threat actually never ceased, as the bear was immortal and would eventually regenerate its head.”

“So doomsday would still eventually arrive.”

“Many centuries pass, and the bear threatens to escape again. This time, again, a different group of heroes cut its head off. Centuries pass, again, and you can guess what happens.”

“They keep delaying doomsday. Even if they know it’s inevitably going to happen. Over and over and over.”

“Yes. They keep and keep delaying it, every few centuries. But they all know it’s inevitable. That doesn’t stop them from delaying it further. So they keep doing that for eternity.”

“For eternity?” the boy asked. “But that’s impossible since it’s inevitable!”

“That’s the funny part. The part I laugh at in the story. Maybe they don’t, then. Maybe they keep doing it until The End comes--like right now--for the entire universe, and doomsday was never about the bear after all. What I find even funnier is that many people laugh at this story at its contradictory issue. Even scientists think it’s foolish, for they see the self-evident stupidity in it. But yet those scientists don’t laugh at themselves.”

“What do you mean?”

“A group of people always trying to delay the inevitable. Never accepting that it is the true end of everything. Sounds familiar, does it?”

Eleventh:

The Boy Talks With His Father

Eleven years before The End

There was finally a day where the boy’s father came home from work. He had gotten tremendously tired, and he had insisted to continue working. But they refused his obligation and demanded that day-offs were mandatory for a person’s beneficial health. So, without any more rebelling, he went home to spend time with his son. 

“I’m home,” he said when he arrived at the door of their apartment. 

“No you’re not,” the boy said. “Not yet. You don’t deserve to be welcomed in here.”

“I know that. I won’t even argue against it. But I do deserve some rest from work, and I intend to do it in my property.”

“Our property.”

“Yes, now let me in. When the universe is ending, one doesn’t think of anything else than to try to stop it.”

No, ‘I’m sorry’, the boy thought. No, ‘I miss you’. No, ‘How are you doing?’ Only: ‘I do deserve some rest from work.’

He couldn’t blame his father, though. They were both undergoing tough times, and his father had it worse. Also, he had admitted that the boy was right when he chose not to argue about his point, a rarity for him. The boy thought those unusual words would be the closest thing he would get to saying sorry.

He opened the door, ran to him, and hugged him. 

“It’s okay, I’m home,” his father said. 

“I learned many things while you were away. I spoke to many people, I learned to cook more things… but I still mostly use your money to eat out. You’re always in and out of here a couple of months at a time, for three years!”

His father merely nodded, pulling away. “I see you’ve grown. A teenager now. Shame I missed those years.”

“And I think I can help you with the algorithm,” the boy said. “Well, not exactly help, but I have an idea.”

“We’ll talk about it.” He took a seat, and the boy sat across of him.

“You might not like it,” the boy said, “because it’s more of a backup plan. Father, perhaps we can’t stop the death of the universe--”

“Maybe,” he corrected. “Not perhaps. Hope, son.”

“--but maybe we can avoid it. Let’s say--not with pessimistic thinking, but with realistic thinking--that we don’t finish our work in time. We need a way to make sure everything we’ve accomplished doesn’t go to waste. If we can make some sort of time capsule, to put all our work in, maybe we can send it to the future generation of humans to see if they can continue our work. If they fail, they can repeat the same process, over and over, until one generation finds the algorithm and stops that black hole from consuming the universe. I think it’s a valid option, but I’ve only been having trouble finding the perfect material strong enough to withstand the black hole. Graphene, maybe? I doubt it. What?”

His father had a grim expression on his face. After a silent moment of thinking, he stood up and said, “Follow me.”

He lead him to his walk-in closet, in his room. As they walked, he said, “Your idea. It’s impossible. It sounds impossible.”

Do not let rules of any kind restrict or bind you from what you need, the boy remembered. Especially the Rules of the Universe.

“But yet…” his father continued, “it’s not.”

Searching for something in the closet, he brought out a casket behind a pile of clothes on the floor.

“Oh no…” the boy said. “No, no, no.”

His father brought the box to a desk, where the boy followed. It was slightly bigger than a brick and made of a material so dark it seemed to suck in every other colour. Like a black hole. 

“There’s nothing inside but this,” his father said, bringing out a slip of paper that said, ‘Infinity years’. “I found this years ago. In that closet. Sounds exactly like what you’re describing.”

“So it’s already been done,” the boy said. “This must’ve been from the last universe. I should’ve known! The universe is a cycle. This must’ve been invented by me.”

So Fate was good to me, he thought.

His father said: “The fact that there’s only one in this closet means this was the first time you thought of this. Or, at least, you succeeded in this. Now if you recreate it, this will be your second time. It’s impossible to break out of a loop. We never thought we’d be able to contact past generations of humans or future generations because everything we’ve done in every universe was the same and will ever be. But somehow, impossibly, you did it. This box here proves it.”

Impossibility is only a belief that humans can’t achieve it, the boy thought.

“But I do not know what the message means.”

“I do,” the boy said. “Because I was thinking of it myself. I was thinking of adding a piece of paper in the capsule that would indicate a prediction of how many years left to complete the algorithm. Right now, since we aren’t close at all, the prediction is an infinite number of years. If we keep repeating this time capsule process, over many universes, people will continue to work on our already finished work and add on to it. Each time they add their work to the capsule, they will send a new slip of paper that will say the new prediction of the number of years the algorithm search will take. It would go down and down until it reaches one, or zero. Where that universe would be the lucky one to live.”

“But right now it’s at infinity, so we’ll never get to know if we actually do succeed in finding it.”

The boy nodded.

“Listen, son. It’s the repetition of the universe. You have to complete the time capsule.”

My destiny, the boy thought.

“You may be repeating history, but it doesn’t matter. History repeats by itself, not by us.”

“Why can’t we just use this same capsule?”

His father picked up the solid, pure black box, and turned it. On the other side were engraved words: One use.

“I suspected it,” the boy said. 

“I’ll have to take this to my lab to find out how it was made. A new material, I suppose. As far as I know, nothing withstands the pull of a black hole.”

“You can’t start working on this. I told you, this is a backup plan. It won’t save us. Only our future selves.”

“Many think the algorithm is a lost cause. But I believe this will give us a better chance at stopping The End. And if not for us, then for the future peoples. It’s okay. This is more important because this saves our progress. Every time the universe restarts it deletes our progress, doesn’t it?”

“But what if we fail? It’s also impossible to break a Rule of the Universe.”

“You are one to give up easily.”

That is what the robot said, the boy thought glumly. He was also told that it was impossible to defeat a person who never gave up. He would not give up until the universe was saved. If it was impossible for that, and impossible to break a Rule of the Universe, one of those sentences must be lying.

“Everyone’s greatest failure in life is the moment they believe they are one, son,” his father said. “So stop worrying, or else you’ll get nothing done. We can make it. I’ll help you figure it out. The only problem is the expenses. We don’t have limitless money at the lab.”

“I have an idea for that.”

“Negotiations? Loans?”

“Something like it.”

He nodded. “Get some sleep, son.”

“But you just got here!”

“And yet you have given me more work to do.”

“The End is close, father.”

“What’s more important, son? Spending every second with your family until you all die, or spending every second trying to find something that can stop you from all dying?”

I’d say the former, the boy thought angrily. 

Twelfth:

The Boy Meets Fate

Eleven years before The End

One night the boy had a dream of the apocalypse. On the outside, he shivered and shifted in his sleep, but on the inside, things were much worse. 

He had a view of the entire universe. He could see everything. The little petals of flowers and small raindrops hitting the ground on distant planets, the little collisions of asteroids, the tiny explosions of flaming gas on stars’ surfaces. 

And in the midst of everything, he saw something truly sad. A little blue and green speck in the vast cosmos, a galaxy, where all intelligent life was situated upon. Every human ever born would live and die in that speck. When he zoomed out he saw the true scale of the entire universe. His magnificent eyesight took him beyond the observable part, and he saw everything. He saw how tiny everything was because when one looked at the big picture, the universe seemed purely and utterly filled with darkness. The stars that burned bright were only light bulbs with lifespans waiting to die. Everything has a life cycle, even the universe itself, the old man had said. 

Even something as ancient and powerful as the universe couldn’t bow down to Fate. Fate decided everything. 

Not everything, the boy thought. The time capsule shouldn’t be possible. But yet it exists. My father holds it in his hands. 

The universe, when seen from afar, was perceived as pure darkness filled with clusters of stars. The darkness enveloped all--there was nothing beyond it, and you could not see anything beyond it. It was everything and nothing. It was eternal. 

But then, he saw something strange. One by one, clusters of stars disappeared, their lights being extinguished from existence. There seemed to be a wave of darkness swallowing them, darker than the background of the universe, perhaps darker than the material that made the time capsule--which was already the darkest thing the boy had ever seen. 

Like torches being put out, the stars lost their light that reflected upon their planets and ceased to live. The planets lost their given light and died too. Light was beginning to slowly fade from the universe as the darkness grew, and he felt the background of the universe getting darker as well. 

He advanced his eyesight to see what it truly was that was doing this. When he did, he saw a massive sphere, the colour of absolute and pure darkness, with no light at all. It was growing bigger and bigger, faster and faster until it would envelop the universe. 

And then he saw a dark figure of a woman, who was so big she seemed to be bigger than the universe itself, having her hands around the growing sphere as if she was making it grow herself. Making the black hole that would end everything. 

“Fate,” the boy recognized. “Nice to meet you at last.”

Why is it nice to meet me? Do you usually say that when you see an entity ripping apart the universe?

“I once questioned the way of things like you. The traditions of our ancestors. The only answer I received for all of them was: That is just the way the world works.”

Ah, but that is only your world, she said. So it makes sense. The universe has many more extreme things than your world. 

“Why are you destroying all of creation?”

I am not. I am restarting it. You know I will.

“Please tell me why. What are you trying to accomplish? Is there a reason for the universe’s existence?”

I am only the entity of Fate. Everyone knows that fate isn’t good or bad, because I am both. A war may happen, and one side may win, but one side may not. Whatever happens, both get a fate that I give them. 

“So why are you friends with some people, but not others? Why do some people, unfortunately, die unfairly, while others live long lives?”

I cannot answer that. You can ask God. You may watch me here and think as if I look like the most powerful being in the universe, but I am terribly powerless, in fact, in comparison to Him. There is only one thing I fear in the entirety of it all, and that is God. After all, He created me. I do not ask why, so I suggest you do not ask why he created you, too. He is the most powerful creator.

“Yes,” the boy said. “God cannot have a fate. He cannot die, and yet, He was never born. He is eternal. So I can see why Fate wouldn’t affect him at all.”

Watch, young one. Fate pointed him to the direction of his galaxy. The black hole was nearing it. Soon it enveloped it, and suddenly the boy’s heart went cold. It suddenly stopped beating. It felt so real that he thought it actually happened in the real world, so his body repulsed and tried to wake up.

Not yet, Fate said. Do not wake up, or you will find yourself up in your bed, sweating and shivering. This is not a nightmare.

“Why does it feel like one?” Gradually, the boy calmed down and he got used to not having a beating heart. He didn’t know how Fate handled it since he knew with certainty she didn’t have one either. She was an entity. Not living. 

So he asked that next: “Why is there life if there is no need for it?”

But are you sure there’s no need for it? What if humanity’s only purpose is to find that algorithm, to stop the universe’s death? What if once you complete it, you will all cease to exist, because you have no more purpose?

“Did you bring me here so I can watch the death of the universe?” 

She didn’t answer.

“Please, tell me what you are to tell me. I cannot stand not having a beating heart. It’s a strange sensation.”

But yet you are able to withstand it for eternity when you are dead.

“But when I’m dead I’m not there to experience it.”

Are you sure?

“Yes. Just like how you are not alive, so you cannot feel anything.” 

But yet I am not dead either. So if I’m not dead does that mean I can feel?

“I…” the boy faltered. “No emotions are possible for you. That is why you don’t feel anything when you decided to kill everyone!”

I am not good nor bad. I just… am. And yes, I cannot feel. It is necessary for my existence. If I need to give a bad fate, I cannot feel sorriness or it might affect my job.

The boy sighed and stared at the black hole, slowly getting larger in the distance, until it would reach him.

“I’ll never see the colour black the same again,” he said. “It’s like that with many people. Once they experience something big, they never see it the way they used to. Not everyone sees everything the same way.”

No, Fate agreed. When you look at a man, you see a man. A stranger, perhaps. But one might see him as a father if that one is his child. One may see him as a husband if that one is his wife. One may see a son if that one is his parent. 

“One may see a terrible person that values his work more than his son,” the boy said. 

Perhaps.

“Why can’t you be everyone’s friend, Fate?” As soon as he said it, he knew the answer: to have a lasting, committed relationship, you must work at it. It’s not easy. He had been told that before. 

“Wait, I know,” he said. “You don’t love anyone, or hate anyone. Because you don’t have feelings. Like an android. So nobody’s ever been friends with you because it’s impossible. You can’t be friends with them either.”

It is true I am not familiar with the concept of friendship. 

It’s not easy, the boy repeated in his head. But he was told that it’s impossible to defeat a person that never gives up. And he had already deduced that when two impossible things collide, contradict, oppose--one of them had to be lying about being impossible. 

You must work at it, he remembered. So the boy started small and asked, “Do you want to be my friend?” After all, it was something he’d questioned many times before; why couldn’t you just ask someone to be your friend, and they would?

A person who befriends me would have tremendous power. That person can give his or her enemies a bad fate, and give his or herself a good one. So to do such a thing is not allowed. 

“So why can’t you befriend everyone, and give everyone a good fate?”

Everything would be chaos. Young one, I am here to tell you that mankind does not need to be friends with me. Mankind has the gift to solve problems with their hope. They are different from everything else. 

I’ve seen hares that run through the forest from their predators, only to give up and die when the wolves snatch their feet. I’ve seen Ant colonies give up and die off in panic when they’ve lost their queen to death. I’ve seen many more, and they all have one thing in common: they all don’t understand the concept of hope. 

But humans are entirely different. No matter what, they keep fighting, even when everything is against them. Even when there is no chance, they keep going, because they have hope. They never give up in the face of death. In fact, they stare down at the face of death and dare it further. 

It is this human quality that makes you all different from any other living thing. The fact that you never give up, and the fact that it’s the same quality of never giving up that has driven your race forward until you have gotten this far. 

You drive cars. You speak messages across the entire world. You launch spaceships into the cosmos and have colonized other worlds into homes. You have evolved into the intelligent beings you are today. 

Think about it. Has there ever been a time where humanity’s evolution has come to a standstill? Have you people ever been stopped by anything? After aeons, you have survived and thrived. 

Even when there is no chance of winning, and they’re repeatedly told that by the circumstances, mankind still keeps going. And sometimes, they win. 

Look at humanity right now, young one. What do you see?

The boy focused on his planet, surprised to see that even after the black hole engulfed it, it was okay and everyone had survived. He saw them working in labs, putting things under microscopes, writing formulas on boards on walls. Success, because of hope. That’s what he saw.

I see a race that goes against all odds, Fate said. That refuses to accept the inevitable end. I see a race that doesn’t stop trying. I see a race that never gives up, and never loses hope. 

Because that’s what you are. Humanity.

Thirteenth:

The Boy Makes The Time Capsule

Eleven years before The End

The boy and his father went to a graphene supplier to buy the material to make their capsule. As they did, his father informed the boy of his research. 

“It’s graphene,” he concluded their suspicions, “but mixed with other materials. It’s like an alloy. One of them is obsidian.”

“All dark materials?”

“Yes. The trick is to make the colour of the capsule darker than a black hole.”

“Why? And that’s impossible. Black holes already delete any sort of light. They are the darkest anything can get.”

“I know. Just trust your past self, okay? The capsule can only withstand the spaghettification of the black hole only because the black hole can’t destroy it. Or suck it in, I mean. And do you know why?”

“Because it’s darker than it. It reflects even less light than a black hole… which means it can’t get sucked in by one! It’s impeccably genius! Black holes are the darkest anything can get in the universe because they suck in everything brighter than themselves.”

“Something like that. So the two materials we need until we can create it at the lab are from this supplier. He sells both graphene and obsidian.”

“Graphene so it’s strong enough to survive the pull…”

“…and obsidian so it’s dark,” his father finished. “But we both know obsidian is nowhere near dark enough. I found out there are some very complicated processes that were done for the capsule to be created.”

“Do you know all of them?”

“I do.”

“Now we need the materials.”

“But they’re very expensive. In fact, we have nowhere near enough money to get them, even for enough to make a small box. And we need a bigger box this time because we now have work to put in the capsule, along with the message that will read Infinity years. So I trust you have something planned to get those materials, you said?”

The boy took a deep breath and nodded. “You have been getting scientists all over the world to file in their work for this capsule?”

“I’ve been getting everyone. Oh yes, I’ve been busy. I’ve told the entire galactic civilization. Prime, as you know it, is the capital. The Leader of Prime is giving us a press conference so we can make an announcement to the entire human race. You’re going to have to get ready.”

“But this was only supposed to be a backup plan!” the boy said. “Never the solution!”

“Well, now it’s our solution. It’s our best chance at a solution. Son, you may not have found the algorithm, like your dream, but you have enabled others to do it in the distant future. All because of this invention. You have allowed us to save our progress, as I’ve told you. This is our algorithm.”

The boy honestly never thought that realizing his dream would be this unexpected, or… anticlimactic, to say the least. But he understood. This capsule would enable them to inevitably find the algorithm because it would keep saving their process from the deleter, so they never had to restart. They didn’t know how long it would take--maybe a hundred universe cycles--but eventually, no matter what, they would. He didn’t realize sooner the potential and creativity of his solution. He didn’t find the algorithm, but in a way, he did. 

But this was wishful thinking. There was also a chance they would never find the algorithm, and it was truly impossible, even if it was inevitable to be found. He had learned from the wise man that inevitable things can be delayed for eternity. But Fate did say that humanity had never in history stopped in advancing. They were here, at this moment right now, not planning to stop.

“I had a dream once, a while ago,” he said. “Where I met Fate. She implied that what they teach us in schools is wrong. She doesn’t control everything. We decide our futures.”

“And that belief has gotten you this far. I reckon she told you to not give up in this idea, right?”

The boy smiled. 

Finally, they reached the supplier in his office. A middle-aged man in a business suit, turning around a smooth, pure black stone in his fingers. “Welcome,” he said, shaking their hands.

The boy’s father told him everything. Their plan with the time capsule, what it would do, and why they needed his materials. 

“Ah, I see,” he said. “It could work. I doubt it, but my mother always told me to never lose hope. So I’ll help you. What do you need?”

“Graphene and obsidian,” the boy’s father said. “Well, those are the most important for the alloy.” He showed him a list of all the materials they would need. Even technologies such as machines and equipment were on the list since they needed it for their lab to accomplish it.

“Black hole containment chamber…” the supplier read as he went on down the list. “Cheap. My son owns one.”

“For testing the capsule. We have to make sure this idea works. It could determine our fate. We need to do many experiments, tests, protocols…”

“…quantum field generator… electrical modules… estimated electricity cost… wow! Even the government of Prime can’t pay for all this! Do you have any idea how much this costs? But you are here, so I suggest you have the money.” He looked up, and it must’ve been their expressions that gave it away. The supplier frowned. “Oh.”

The boy leaned forward. “Listen, the government is helping us pay this. Everyone has our back. But you’re right--it’s not enough. Nowhere near. The truth is, yes, we can’t afford all this. But here’s another truth: we need it. You need it. Everyone needs it. 

“We all depend on it. Even the universe depends on it. This capsule--it’s our one and only hope in saving this universe and all of us inside of it. Money isn’t important--”

“Let me stop you there,” the supplier said, raising his hand. “You don’t understand. Even if I give it all to you for free, I’m not going to be the one paying. Many people work for my company, and they need this money. I need it too. You can potentially be starving everyone--”

“No, you don’t understand. What I’m saying is--”

“Someone has to pay for this. I can’t give it to you, I’m sorry. This is practically the majority of my company’s economy. My company would lose a lot of money, everyone would lose a lot of money. Even jobs. Without jobs, people can’t buy the necessities, pay their bills, and it would all be chaos--”

“Do you not realize why I’m asking for all of this in the first place? I’m asking for you to give it for free because it’s going to save everyone’s lives! So what if people can’t buy food, or pay for electricity--if this doesn’t work, the universe is going to end anyway! We’re all going to be dead!”

“Calm down,” his father said. 

“My point is--you don’t really have a choice. If you don’t give it to us, we die.”

“But if I do, we still die.”

“But at least we have a chance to not, with this capsule, for the future peoples. Your company is all about the future. All about preserving it, making it better with technology. The world is ending, and you still care about the costs. It won’t matter when The End happens. Sacrifice for once. The universe is dying, and you still care about money?

“Never should you let materialistic things take over what really matters. Your want for money blinds you from what’s important.”

For a moment, the air was still. The supplier looked down and realized the boy was right. 

“Fine,” he said. “I’ll do it. You make a good point. You’d make a good businessman.”

“One day I might. But only a day where I don’t have a black hole blocking my future. When every universe repeats, I’m always born at a time when I’m going to die soon from The End.”

The supplier nodded. The boy’s father stood up. “Very well, then. I will help and direct everything to my lab.”

He left, and before the boy stood up to follow him, the supplier said, “Wait.”

The boy sat back down. 

“You are just a child,” he said, “and yet you have done great things in your life. I doubt you will stop in the future for that one day you said where everyone would live. I am glad to give our future to kids like you, who will grow up to be us, but a better version of us. You are all reflections of the last generation’s former glory, but you are the person staring at the reflection. The real thing. You are the next generation, and you will strive to be better than us.

“Listen, everything you stand for is correct. You are one to believe that Fate doesn’t control our lives, right? You rebelled against the very same thing that was taught in all schools when we were all young as children. You also believe in hope, and never giving up.”

He tossed the stone he was fidgeting with to him. “Take it. My gift to you. My gift to the next generation. Pure obsidian; and it represents a black hole. Also the material of your time capsule. I want you to one day, when The End is near, break it. Shatter it with a hammer. To show that Fate, and that black hole ending the universe, will not stop us. They will not control our lives, because we as mankind won’t let them. We have always advanced forward, and we won’t stop.”

The boy nodded, gladly taking the beautiful stone. 

“When you break it, it will also symbolize the new beginning, the moment where the future peoples open the capsule and when there will be that one universe in the future where they do stop The End. It will symbolize our hope.”

The boy nodded again. “Thank you.”

“No,” he said, “I thank you. You can make the capsule. And no matter how long it takes, that capsule will be the key to stopping The End.”

Time flows one way, the boy remembered the old man say. When you go with the stream, you find your destiny. But when you try to fight it, you get your obstacles. Most people fight the stream because they are impatient for their destinies.

So it seemed that patience, waiting it out over many universe cycles, would be the key to finding their algorithm. It was true that time flowed one way, and that no matter what, eventually, it would get you to destiny.

The boy went to find his father.

“That was good,” his father said. 

“What now?” the boy asked. 

His father smiled. “Now, I want you to write the speech that you are going to say to mankind, tomorrow. At the press conference. I also want you to write letters that will go in the time capsule. You invented it, so you have to make the messages. Explain everything.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Write the first letter now, son. I want you to.”

Fourteenth:

Letter to the Future Peoples, Number One

Written when I was fourteen, ten years before The End

So I’m fourteen now. Can you believe that in just ten years, everything in existence will come to an end? 

Once I wrote a really great speech about everything I’ve come to learn over the few years I have spent without my father. It’s here in this time capsule somewhere, in a pocket or something. You found this letter in a time capsule, right? I hope you did. I hope it survived. 

I’ll explain everything later. Maybe in the next two letters. First, I have many things to say. My father wanted me to write these letters. I think he did because he is proud of me for inventing the time capsule. But I know he’ll never admit that. This will be one of three letters I will write to go into the time capsule, for the future peoples, in the hopes that one day they’ll find it.

A while ago I met an old man who was at a plaza, teaching a deaf boy to play the piano. At first, I laughed at the idea. Who wouldn’t? The boy wouldn’t even get to hear the music he creates. There is no point.

When I had asked him this, all he did was a wink. And now, after many years, I finally know why. He was teaching me to never give up, something he told me earlier when we were talking. The boy couldn’t hear the music, but he didn’t let that stop him. He continued with his passion and chose to learn the piano, all because he hoped, he believed, and he strived onward. He didn’t let rules bind his life, as we all should do. 

Time constantly feeds Age, and Age constantly feeds Life. Life constantly feeds Death. The Rules of the Universe are a food chain, and this time, we’re not at the top. But as we all know, every component is important for a food chain. In ways, our existence benefits the universe by giving it a meaning to exist--because of us. And the universe’s existence always benefits us… by giving us a home. 

Reader, whoever you are, remember these numbers: nineteen, fifteen, nineteen. These are the numbers that represent the letters that convey the message of truth. Hold these numbers close to your memory and heart, because they symbolize the hope that humanity carries through any danger. The hope that allows us to defeat those dangers.

I have a feeling when The End comes near, I will feel as if I’m an old man, even though I would still be quite young. It is because I have been through so much already, while only being a child. The End has forced me into maturity earlier than expected for a boy like me.

When the time comes, the time will come. Everything will end. Then restart. Then end. Then restart. And it will happen again and again, over and over and over. It would be quite like what a depressed man told me once long ago: pointless repetition.

Because we don’t know what’s the point. We don’t know why we exist. It’s something I’ve been asking my whole life: what is the meaning of it? But I think I’ve finally found my answer.

Do we really need to know?

Fifteenth:

The Boy’s Reunion

Ten years before The End

One day the boy felt really down. He realized that he had completed his purpose in life, and now he had none. The universe would end in just ten years. This was it. It was time to say goodbye to everything, and it was time to say hello to death. His final fate. 

He realized that there was simply nothing left to do. He could have died right now and it would make no difference. 

So one day he sulked on the steps of his apartment, watching little kids play on the streets, fidgeting with his obsidian stone. The kids chased each other, hid behind trash cans, laughed as their parents scolded them. The boy wished he could be that happy. Sadly, his time as a little child was over. 

Suddenly, it began to rain. Tiny drops at first, then pouring pellets. The kids looked up for a moment and did not stop playing. They jumped in puddles and danced in the rain, and their parents continued to scold them further, telling them that they had to go inside or they would get sick. 

The boy smiled. So it was true that humans did not give up when everything was against them. A rabbit would go back in its hole for warmth if it began to rain. 

Then he had a vague memory… people go inside when it rains because their mothers tell them they will get sick. And for protection from lightning. That is just the way the world works. 

The rain was a sign! An omen! He stood up in alarm, remembering her soft, beautiful voice. Her precious words.

One may see that the Rules of the Universe never fail to happen, she had said. It also rains when someone in the world is sad. 

It couldn’t have been him since he had smiled at the children, and he was happy. It was a sign to tell him that Thalia was sad and to remind him of his long-ago promise to meet her at the park in four years. 

Had it been four years already? Would she still remember him?

Maybe our reunion can help me cheer up, he thought.

So he went to the park. To the same spot he went to every day to meet her, four years ago, in the rain. 

When he approached, he found her on the bench, and not under the tree nearby where they would go when it rained. 

She was there, waiting for him, watching him arrive. 

“You’re late,” she said. 

“And you’re not under the tree.”

“Can I not wait for a friend?”

They went under the tree together, watching the rain.

“So why are you sad?” the boy asked.

“Not anymore. I was just missing you.”

“Why is it still raining?”

She shrugged. “Someone else is sad. It will stop, I’m sure.”

He studied her face. “You look different.”

“Older?”

“No. You’re… beautiful, now.”

She punched him in the gut as he laughed. “Very funny.” But after, she leaned against him and sighed. “Boy, what happened to us. Age is relentless.”

The boy nodded and agreed that they were both different. After all, four years was a long time. 

“So you promised something,” she said. 

“What?”

“Explain your mother. And your father, while you’re at it.”

“I’m not sure how you remembered that.”

They spent hours retelling their stories. The boy, who had always been a gentleman, let her talk first. Then after he decided to tell her everything. About his original mother, then his new one, Eve. His father, a scientist, and a man that wasn’t very loving on the outside, but truly on the inside. There was so much to say.

He talked on and on about the people he met, the places he’d been to, and the time capsule. 

“Oh yes,” she said, “you were good in that speech. It was broadcasted. So how much did you pay the writer?”

“Ha ha.”

After hours of going on and on, he finally stopped when he ended at the supplier. 

“Your story seems better than mine,” she said. 

A silent moment passed between the two as they watched the rain. Then, Thalia said, “I know you well, Orion. This is your doing because you’re secretly still sad about something. What is it?”

The boy sighed. “I know why you are always relaxed. It’s because you have two loving parents that took care of you your whole life. You know, I have never been relaxed.”

“Oh…” she said, her eyes watering. “You know your father is doing his best. And he loves you.”

The boy couldn’t help but have his eyes fill with tears, too. 

“You’ll feel better if you smile,” she said. “Smile for me, would you?”

Nothing else matters if you’re happy, the boy remembered, so he did. 

And just like that, the rain stopped. 

“Coincidence,” the boy insisted. 

“I think not,” Thalia said, laughing as she got up. He savoured the sweet sound. She offered a hand, and he took it. It was warm, mimicking his feeling inside after he realized that there was no reason for him to be sad. 

They interlocked fingers. The rain had gone from a slight drizzle to a complete stop in a few minutes. When it did, the sun shone through the clouds. 

“I’ve been wanting to do this for a while,” the boy said, letting go of her hand to fish out his obsidian stone from his pocket.

“The one the supplier gave you,” she recognized. 

“Yes. He told me to break it when we neared The End. I don’t want to.”

“Why?”

The boy threw it sideways at a pond in front of them, and it skipped three times. 

The number of letters I’m planning to write, he thought. And put in that time capsule. 

“Because problems never go away,” he said as they watched it finally plop into the water and sink to the ground. “They only hide under the surface until they pop back up. At least, the big ones do. The little ones--they may go away, but never from your memories. They’ll stay there, and you’ll think about them even after you solve them.

“One day, that stone I threw will pop back up. As it should, since obsidian has gases that may or may not eventually turn into bubbles, and if it does it will eventually be able to float on water as pumice.”

“You know a lot of things.”

“I seem to recall saying my father was a scientist. Anyway, that stone represents a black hole. We can hide it, but we’ll never let go of it. We can solve the problem of it engulfing the universe, but it will never leave humanity’s memory as one of the greatest achievements we’ve ever accomplished. 

“I was told that you can’t play God. But I was also told that in order to find the algorithm, the Rules of the Universe have to be broken. In order for that, something impossible needs to be done. Humans have always done the impossible. Think of something huge and say it won’t happen--in the next decade someone will invent it. It is because we never give up. And it’s quite impossible to defeat a person who never gives up.

“All things are amazing. You just have to find out why. I was told by Fate herself that you may see a man and see a man. But he could also be a father, a husband, even a hero lurking amongst the hundreds of people he walks through in the city every day. Like me. I walk by many strangers every day, and not many recognize my face. The face of the person who invented the time capsule. Not many see me as a hero, just a boy walking past them. But then there are those that do, and they enjoy greeting me. 

“When the world comes to an end, we will all cry. It is because we learn to appreciate things only when they’re gone. Right now, people live their everyday lives, not appreciating what they have at the moment. When it’s gone, they will. It’s just the nature of humans that we take things for granted. But it doesn’t have to be. We can live our lives while at the same time acknowledging that we are. It’s possible.

“Because rules don’t bind us. Yes, it almost feels like they do, but they’re set there because of the possibility that we might not do them, or follow them. A mother tells her kids to sleep early because of the terrible possibility that they won’t. Rules are easily ready to be broken. Do not let them restrict or bind you from what you need.

“And with that in mind, I created the time capsule. I created it with the reasoning in my mind that it was meant to break a Rule of the Universe. It was meant to survive a trip into a black hole. We all know that’s impossible, as they rip apart the very atoms of anything. But I did it. I did it because I never stopped believing that I wouldn’t fail. Everyone’s greatest failure in life is the moment they believe they are one. So people should stop chasing their dreams… and instead, catch them.

“The capsule is meant to hold information for the future peoples so that they might one day find the algorithm that would preserve all that we have. Because all that we have is all that we have. We must cherish it, as that is the most important thing in all the history of the universe. 

“We don’t know why we’re saving everything. We don’t know why we’re doing it if we’re still going to eventually die by natural death. Maybe it’s our purpose in life, as humans, to achieve this. Maybe not. Whatever it is, it cannot be defined. The meaning of life cannot be defined, but there is a definition. It’s whatever you choose.

“So to the generations of humans in the future, we hope that one day, we’ll learn life’s purpose. But for now, we’ll live like there’s one. Because that is what we do. We hope. When everything seems to be against humanity, we thrive because of hope. Hope is the fuel for never giving up.

“This is my message to the future peoples. But most importantly, even if we won’t live to see the future, this is my message to all. In ways, we right now are more important than the people of the future, not only because we laid down the tools for them to find the algorithm, but because we are the present. Everyone must live in the present because if you keep planning tomorrow, you’ll never live today. 

“The future people haven’t been born yet. They don’t exist yet. But we do. It’s our job to know that and cherish the present. You can live without a past--if you forget it. You can live without a future--because it hasn’t happened yet. But you can’t live without a present, because it’s the moment we’re all living in right now.”

After a moment, Thalia said, “Wow. That was good.”

“Thanks. It was my speech for the press conference.”

“Yes, I remember. But you didn’t say the last line.”

“Because I regret it.”

“I’ll say it for you, then: ‘And as you all know, presents can’t be returned.’”

The boy groaned as she smiled. “It took a lot from me to memorize it for everyone to hear. I think… I think I’ll sit down now. And look at the view of this park from here. Until I die, maybe. I don’t know. I’ve completed my destiny and everything I was meant to do in life.”

He sat on the bench, exhaled deeply, and enjoyed the view. She joined him after, and he put an arm around her.

“So why sit here until you die?”

“I told you.”

“After all you’ve just said? Look…” She sighed. “I’ve been thinking about what you’ve told me to think about the last time we were here. You told me that the universe was ending soon… but so what? It doesn’t matter. We would try to live a regular life anyway. That’s what you told me. Don’t tell me the positions are reversed now.”

The boy looked at the ground. “They are. You were right. I guess… after my father left, again, to work… I’ve been lonely again. I guess I do still have Eve. But I’ve been so angry at myself for feeling sad.”

“So why are you sad? I thought you weren’t afraid of The End.”

“Not that. The fact that after I completed my destiny, I am useless now. Just an old husk of my old self. Also, the fact that I won’t get to enjoy the rest of my life. It’s true that I’m not scared of The End, because I don’t see any difference between it and natural death. It’s just… The End comes so much earlier.”

“I remember you said you met a wise man that told you life is long nowadays. There used to be a time when… a person like your father would be expected to die.”

“I suppose.”

“Come on. Let’s live our life together regularly. I don’t care if The Ultimate Fate of the Universe will take it all away, and it won’t be for anything, and we’ll forget it all because we’re dead. We have to finish what we started long ago… remember? I want to experience everything. A family. The joys of one. Can we at least try?”

The boy remembered the story of Adam, which he heard so long ago. How he missed everything because he didn’t participate. He remembered telling a depressed man himself to join in and not let things happen without him, for to do so was a worthless waste.

Both had let rules overcome the best of them. The End was a Rule of the Universe because it was meant to happen, eventually. All because of time. Pesky, pesky time. And The End couldn’t be stopped. But he had learned that the Rules of the Universe could be broken now. 

Maybe one day, we’ll learn life’s purpose, he remembered the old man say. But for now, we’ll live like there’s one.

“I’ll try,” he said.

Sixteenth: (Afterthoughts)

Eternity

So we have reached the end of Orion’s journey. I have to say, it was a ride. You can say it was a wild ride, or a tiring one, but nevertheless, it was a ride. 

The boy is right that the obsidian stone under the surface of the pond will rise up again. Representing that the black hole problem that they call The End will come back, eventually. Because delaying an apocalypse will never stop it. You can keep cutting off the head of the bear, but it will always regenerate its head. At least, in Primian folklore, that is. Then you need new heroes to do it. Every few centuries. 

So the algorithm may solve the problem forever. Or it may not. We may never even find the algorithm; it may truly be impossible. But at least we can try. 

Maybe that stone in the pond will survive. After all, it’s half of the material used to make the time capsule. If it does, let’s just say that maybe one day, a new hero will pick up that stone in the pond. He will keep it. Then he will grow up into a scientist, add his share of work on the algorithm to the time capsule, send it to the next universe, and go back to the pond. Only to throw the stone back in. Because the problem hasn’t been solved yet, and it will come back. And then it will repeat, over every universe, each time a different boy or girl picking the stone up. Typical adults won’t bother with things like those--picking up a cool stone in a pond. They’re too busy with things they think really matter.

And then--who knows--maybe there will be that one day when scientists find the algorithm. They use it to stop The End. And then the latest hero will find that stone in the pond, bring it to his or her house, find a hammer, and smash it. Because the problem has finally been solved. 

But again, it’s wishful thinking. Maybe The End really can’t be stopped. At least, in almost everything, it can’t. Almost at some point, everything comes to an end. Good things, bad things, eternal things… if people forget the eternal things. The end is a natural thing. There is no such thing as endless except infinity, but even a concept such as that is impossible. 

With enough hope, the plan could work. It’s going to keep ticking down. First, the slip of paper will read Infinity years, as usual. Then, over many universe cycles, with scientists adding work to the time capsule, it might say… oh, let’s go with a hundred. Then ninety-nine. Then ninety-eight. Until it gets to five… four… three… two… and then the prediction of how many years it will take to complete the algorithm will be one. Then zero. Maybe it started at infinity, but as I said, everything comes to an end.

Until then, we will hope that the time capsule succeeds in making it to the next universe. We haven’t considered the possibility that it won’t, and everything will be for nothing. That would truly be unsatisfying. 

But if that were the case… oh well. Maybe some things truly are impossible to achieve… by humans, that is. If that were the case, well then, it would be the true end. The true end for us all. 

Because as I said, everything comes to an end…

###