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2112 005
Ante mare et terras et quod tegit omnia coelum
unus erat toto naturae vultus in orbe
quen dixere Chaos: rudis indigestaque moles.
-Ovid: Metamorphoses I, 5
ÜÜ ÜÜ
ÚÄÝÛÝ ÜßÜÜÞÞþ ÜÝß ÜÝß ÜßÜÜÞÞþ ÞÛÞÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³
³ ÝÛÝ ÝÝ Þ ÞÞ ÞÞ ÝÝ Þ ÞÛÞ So you want to know the ³
³ ÝÛÝ Üþ ßÛ ßÛ Üþ ÞÛÞ Meaning of Life ³
³ ÝÛÝ ÜÝß ÞÞ ÞÞ ÜÝß ÞÛÞ ³
ÀÄÝÛÝ ÜÝÝÝÜÜÜÝÝÜÝÝÜ ÜÝÝÜ ÜÝÝÝÜÜÜÝÝ ÞÛÞÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ
ßß ßß Volume I, File V [110493]
Writer: Sabren
IN THE BEGINNING, there was me. I was staring at the
blackness within me, and an idea struck me. Then I created
the universe. This one, anyway. Care for a tour?
Look, there's Earth. Yeah, it's flat. I've always said
there's only one down in any sensible universe. The stars are
the same, though, and most of the continents are there. Is
that better?
See the littlest continent, there? That's Australia. Okay,
so it's been done before, but this one's different. Get a
little closer, and you'll see what I mean.
Ah. There's the village we want... And _there's_ Andrew.
Have you ever seen a finer specimen of man? No neanderthals
for me, I tell you. I thought about the evolution bit, but if
you want to know a secret, building _homo sapiens_ right from
the start is actually cheaper. It's true! My humans know
exactly where they stand in the universe... There'll never see
a holy war on _my_ planet, so in the end, I save. Right,
Andrew?
"Right," he says.
I see that that disturbed you. Sorry. I don't get many
visitors. Sometimes I forget that gods aren't always
comfortable with humans.
What? Gods? Oh. That's what they call regular people. It's funny
what one learns when one actually listens to the little creatures.
"Right," says Andrew. Sorry.
As I was saying, I made these particular humans fully aware
of their situation. They know they're characters in my story,
just as we know we'd be nothing without the imagination of the
Celestial Author. In a way, we Creators are just striving for
our own chance at the divine.
You like that? Well, you can quote me, then. Incidentally,
you are getting my name right, aren't you? It's H'thuddamok -
with two D's. Two. D's. Right.
Where was I? Oh, yes. Humans. I don't want to sound like
I'm speaking for every Narrator in existence. In fact, I'm
hardly what you'd call a mainstream Creator. But you know
that - why would a leading journalist visit one so common as
the ruler of a universe if there wasn't something unique about
his work?
Let me just cut to the chase, then. Pardon? Oh, it's a
human phrase dealing with motion pictures. See, the chase
scene was traditionally the most... Forgive me. I don't mean
to heap all these technical terms on you. A "chase" is just a
part of the action in a human story. They tend to go on with
plots and action..
Plot? I can see I'm confusing you. Most of your readers
wouldn't understand all these humanisms, so why don't we just
skip it? If you're really interested, though, I can lend you
a great human-culture story.
Ah. Well, you're welcome.
As I was saying, why don't I just get to the point? I think
the main reason my work has caused so much attention in
Creationist circles is that my humans, despite their inherent
shortcomings, act and are treated as if they were regular
people.
Most Gods are a little afraid of what their humans could
become. When people think of humans, they think of stupidity,
wickedness, sloth, and greed. No one wants to let filthy
creatures like _that_ in on the secrets of the universe.
There'd be chaos!
I prefer to think that humans are just misunderstood. Maybe
they're such savages _because_ they don't know what's going
on. I mean, apart from their low intelligence level and those
peculiar fifth fingers, there's not much difference -
biologically speaking - between us and them. Wouldn't you be
a little unsociable if _you_ had to go through life not even
knowing for sure where you came from or where you'd go once
you die?
"Excuse me," says Andrew. "I know I'm just a human and all,
but I've been to some of the Almighty H'thuddamok's (may he
watch over us always) older worlds. I've seen what it's like
for humans who don't even know what their lives mean."
He calls me Almighty! Ha! Humans so funny... Oh, but you'd
like to hear more? You could really use a few words from such
a human in your article? Then by all means, ask him what you
will.
No! Of course he won't bite!
"Well," he answers, "I suppose it's just like being anything
else. I can't even talk to you without the Almighty
H'thuddamok to narrate. I really don't know what it's like to
be anything but what I am. I'm sure it's not _that_ much
different from whatever you're used to. I feel perfectly
normal."
What? It really bothers you, having characters talk in the
present tense? Okay, it's fixed. Go on.
Andrew, a tall young man with tan skin and green eyes and
brown hair, scratched his head, pondering the question.
"Well," he said, quietly, awed that he was speaking to not
one, but two of the mighty beings which held the power to
create their own universes. Being fully aware, he had created
his own story to tell, but it was humble compared to the
wondrous tales of -
Eh? My prose leaves much to be desired? It's old
equipment, and as you can see, I'm more into the theory of
Creation than the practice.
What? Oh, yes. I thought you knew. Of _course_ humans can
have Creativity.
"Really?" gasped Andrew. "You'd really want to hear my
story?"
Very well!
"Once upon a time," he said, "there was a land which
contained some magic rocks. They were very bad for people.
There were some magicians who could used the rocks, though,
because it turned out that lead could save them from the
magic, and they just happened to have some lead clothing.
Some of them made magic buildings which sent energy to people
all over the land. But other magicians made magic boxes that
made big holes when dropped on people. One day, one of the
magic boxes made a very big hole indeed, and nearly everyone
in the land suddenly ceased to exist.
"The few survivors became nomads, and wandered the very
fringes of the land searching for food, because the magic
killed anyone who got too close. Eventually, some nomads came
upon the house of a magician whose building still made energy.
"'Let us in,' they said to her, 'for you have more than you
need.'
"The magician thought about it... And said, 'No.'
"And they said, 'Aww... please?'
"And she said, 'Mine are the only magic rocks left in the
land, but I have enough to give energy to billions of people
for billions of years. But you've seen what the magic can do,
when it's used for evil. Prove to me that you are worthy, and
I'll let you in.'
"The nomads went away, but they took the message to heart.
Thousands of years passed, and the descendants of the nomads
finally settled in a far off land, and there was peace. For
the nomads had told their children to strive to become the
best, the most honorable, the most kind. When they died, they
hoped that last great magician would deem them worthy, and
bring them into her house.
"None of them really knew _what_ happened after death, but
one thing was clear: when the great-grandchildren of the
great- grandchildren of those nomads discovered magic rocks in
their new land, they really had changed. They saw that the
rocks were used for the good of everyone, and lived happily
for countless generations more."
Well, thank you Andrew. That was nice.
Hmm.. Kind of sappy you say? Humans sometimes try to
_teach_ with their stories, see... No, not like the stories
that tell you how to program a VCR. Human stories sometimes
are intended to make other humans think about their own
lives. That's just the way they are, I suppose.
You say you have one last question before you go?
The meaning of life? For humans, you mean? Same as ours,
I'd guess. To be the best they can be, so that when they
reach that last chapter, they might be reborn.
That's common sense, though. I think what you're really
asking is why do we do it? Why do Creators bring the funny
little things into existence to begin with?
I think it has a lot to do with loneliness. Humans give
people reassurance. I mean, maybe it's okay for us that no
one's ever seen the Celestial Author. We're very advanced
people and can take it. But maybe, just maybe, we'd be just a
little happier if we really knew for _certain_ that a sequel
awaited us.
Traditional humans have almost always had such a
relationship with their Creators. Other people are content to
just imagine a world into existence and let the humans sort it
out. I prefer to give them a little nudge. So I let them know
that they were simply figments of my imagination, and despite
what everyone suspected, they took the news rather well.
Perhaps someday, if the Celestial Author's watching, it will
give _us_ a little nudge of its own.
No, not likely.. But I keep hoping for the day...
Oh, you're welcome. I enjoyed this interview. No, I
understand. There's work to do, eh? Anyway, I think there's
some trouble about a Messiah in one of my worlds, and I really
ought to get to it.
Oh? Well, good luck with your story, too, my friend.
_ _
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