Chapter 2

Ah well. Here begins Part two...

Read at your leisure...

The ship was silently moving through space, flickering out and in of the wormholes. Before her rode two watchful sentinels probing her way. As this happened at that time when one neither could say that the universe were specifically young nor terribly old there were still some mystery clinging to it. I'll take it upon me to introduce one of the most enigmatic species of the unknown universe, the Xzndrz. As they are totally unique, there is not much to be known about them. That doesn't necessarily imply that they were unknown. Oh no. Quite the contrary actually, the Xzndrz were known to have meet an untold number of extinct species, The problem here being that they all went extinct. Now, one might wonder why they all were extinct, but there we only have the Xzndrz explanation of said fact. As the answer was in their own language we will have to wait until we can get a reliable translation. There have of course been a lot of wild guesses of to what the explanation might be, from "they couldn't find the bathroom" to "Oh no, they found it," Which none of them make to much sense. For the known universe they became tales to scare the children with. "Eat your broccoli or, else the Xzndrz might eat you!" And who knows, it may even be true. Even though it is hard to imagine vegetarians, as they most assuredly would have been if living on broccoli, eating small children. The ship was actually going to meet them. As the stones knew... And as we all know, there are so many possible outcomes for every possible choice. There is for example the school that says that every possible way always get taken in every possible moment. Now there will be a lecture, proceed at your own risk Please remember that this is only one school of thought among a multitude...

Think about it, friends. It starts on that plane where the smallest of our particles forms from the fuzzy weave of possibilities, every thing we call reality, is just one of the possible directions those particles that build us and our world takes and took, simultaneously and continuously, for every moment in time. But then, you may ask. How do you explain that we only experience this reality? Ah, to that there are some different answers, the simplest, being to accept that we exist as we do, because that is the only possibility we can experience. There is the alternate explanation of the old man of krell to. It states that probability has a difficult case of hay fever and that our worlds are like soap bubbles floating from his nose created by his sneezing. What will happen when the pollen season is over we don't know though. It may be that all worlds end. This doesn't imply that there can't be alternate world lines, even if they, from our point of view, have a lower probability, or if you like, a nonexistent reality. Now, bear with me. Our reality had always had the strongest probability. The proof of this is easily found when viewing backward in time. Backward because that is the only way we can view, or for that sake make conclusions of what might really be. Nothing can be said to exist until that moment of probability have been passed into the wake of history and therefore left us with the indubitable result of its existence. Like that paycheck you've got last month, remember it? So huge when you waited for it to materialize, so pathetically small after you used it. So now you're getting a headache? Don't worry, it can only get better. Time travels then, can we travel back in time? Of course we can, whenever you remember your loved ones you are there, in a way of speaking. But in the same way as your remembrance may not be the exact replica of the actual experience, so will your traveling backward in time not deliver you to the world line that you went out from. And now you wonder, what will then happen to my world line if I go back and kill my forefather? Nothing, I say! Nothing. The probability of you finding your self in that exact world line that you've followed since your birth, before jumping backwards that is, is nil and not existent. So kill him if you like and be done with it. Be aware though, that you might find it hard to find your way home afterwards.

So you say, as you happily contemplate your new possibilities of getting even with those slights and hurts you collected through your childhood, what then about coming back after said fact, that is, traveling forward in time again? Here we have two simple outcomes, the first consider you getting back to your own world line. Even if it may seem to you as to belong in the future, in fact it actually belongs to your past. In that way you can travel back without impunity, as long as you accept that the chances of you finding you way back to your own world line are somewhat less than zero. Or we can put it this way, the chances of you winning the lotto every day of your life, are immensely greater than you going 'forward' to your original world line, in fact you will find uncountable world lines, just not yours. But to travel where no possibilities ever have crystallized, where no worldline yet exist, where nobody threaded before, the unknown future. That my friend is a No No. That is in the hands, tentacles of? Who knows?? So now your headache are worse! You see, I told you! It would only get better. But those then, that travel in space by contracting time? They go of course, first backwards into alternate World lines, but finish by going 'forward' as it might be seen, back to their own world line. They 'fool' the laws of entropy by using a continuos flow of 'motion' similar to a waterfall that reverses it's flow, but then immediately, saying 'whoops', corrects it by going back to that same last point in spacetime where it flowed correctly, that is, where they left the same world line. If they would, 'drop out' before that they went 'forward', they would find themselves without frames of reference as all world lines mutate and change in their respective spacetime. In the end, according to the old man of krell, all the different world lines will flow into one continuos ocean, as entropy increases with all matters and energy you had, into that relaxing state of inert uniformity. And that my friends, are going to be one timeless heck of a vacation, where all finally can enjoy their well deserved rest. But before this happy occasion I'm afraid that we will have to suffer that, for every action one chose, or may chose in time, simultaneously there will be created alternate actions, in which endless versions of one self splits out immediately in differentiate world lines. Which in their turn will split up in endless. And the same goes for every phenomenon, material as metaphysical... Ahh, the headache.

It gave those species that wanted, a real opportunity to play God, with impunity added. They could travel backward and there try to shape things for 'the better' for their 'sister species'. There existed those species that saw it as their God given task to make sure that only they would be left in all those infinite world lines. They were somewhat alike to the well-known Kamikaze pilots of Japan... Giving their lives to the 'higher goal'. There was no possibility though, to check up on their success as nobody ever came back. But as we know from photographic evidence, many of them tended to bring with them thick, sometimes even dusty, volumes about war craft. And as there were quite a few with funny looking triangular hats and swords, one might surmise that there was a plan behind it. Who knows, maybe they all became Emperors of Space. And what the fk has any of this to do with us! Get a grip for f''s sake? Well, actually you're right. It does not involve us at all, yet. Only the stones. You see, the stones had chosen that other view. They wanted every world line to evolve on its own merits, and saw those manipulating world lines, as being, well let's just call them, slightly retarded. Those attitudes were not too popular among those species claiming to be chosen by God, by God! That is, those who saw it as their inalienable right to correct those obvious deficiencies that unfortunately conspired to hold their 'Sister species', and them self back. As our poor Rose now desperately tried to explain, under the safety of her bedcovers in the B&BB&B. She told them that once the stones had been a major influence off good in the universe. But as more and more unruly species found their way to play Gods, it became more and more apparent that they, the stones, badly needed a vacation. After saving just so many world lines and so many planets, you might find yourself longing for a cottage, a rowing boat, or even a small lake. To the ruling class those longings were taken as signs of unrest. As such they implied evil thoughts, such thoughts that might allow evil to win, just because all the good guys had gone out fishing. They had to be rooted out. Most of their machines were at that evolved stage fueled only by force of their mantras and as the unrest grew among the stones those mantras became more and more unfocused, and their machines more and more unreliable. That was a terrible sign of the times for the stones as they all knew what had happened to their antecedents, the beetles whose mantras had gone so wrong that not even karma had helped. They now only existed on the extinct species list. Rose and her friends belonged to the resistance of the stone, looking for countermeasures to stop the enslavement for good, for good! It is said that evil in itself might contain the seeds of good, but here was a shining example of the opposite. That is, if you didn't happen to belong to one of those species that considered your self as the crown of creation, in which case you'd probably find the original proposal to be the true one. They, the resistance of the stone, desperately needed to find another species that could take upon it self to guard those different world lines and to teach those God playing species 'Their Right Full Place'. So that the stones once more could be focused and at last, have a vacation. What Rose finally succeeded in imparting to her new friends, I'm afraid, was not so much of an understanding as that of an awfully huge headache.

"Oh baby Rose." said Daniel with a befuddled yet caring expression. "You must still be feeling the pains from traveling into our world, don't talk, relax and let me massage you, I'll make the headache go away..." He tried to keep his thoughts pure but sadly failed, as Katja soon confirmed. "Down boy, down! Keep your tung to yourself..." She turned to Rose. "This is serious. If I got it right Rose? You want us to be the new guardians of those world lines? You do understand that to me it seems an impossible task?" Gail who had listened, silently agreed. It would be impossible for all, except maybe the Gods, if there were any? To guard over all those possible world lines. Rose studied them for a moment, which gave proof to the excellence of her new eyesight, as it was almost completely dark under the bedcovers. Then with her head bent in shame she said. "I do not know of your worlds, but to us they seems like pillars of integrity. One might expect from a place as honored and reverenced as ours, that those of us being in that position of choosing should be as upstanding rulers, as those of your world's, Oh, how I wish that were the truth." There she stopped seemingly near to tears. She collected her self and continued. "I do wish that it would be true, I cannot explain why, but those of us that we bring to the position of decision never seems to feel the tide of times. There are always some few we believe to care. Still they all enrich themselves on that caring. How that can be, I do no know, maybe it is only our world? It's as much because of that, as for the world lines we went searching. " Daniel smiled at her lovely face, and for once he wished himself to be just that man. From a place guided by compassion and justice. "Lady, he said. There is no shame in admitting to your world's behavior, mine is no different, and it seems that those shortcomings are a rule, not an exception. I too wish that there would be something of right and understanding in wait for us, but my innermost feeling is that we ourselves have to bring it forward." Jesus, here we go again. those F ng fantasy novels! Shit, there got to be something I can do to cheer her up, something?. "But lady, it may be that we are few, even so we care deeply for you, will you not allow us to do so? And perhaps a relaxing massage?" She smiled then, not yet fully in possession of her inner turmoil, but with some warmth that slowly flickered, not unlike those lights one might see wandering to sea in memory. "I thank you for your hearing, and caring. I pray that you'll find our cause a rightful one." "Oh, come here." said Katja and enfolded her into her arms. "You silly twit. You're here, and we love you. My world has those people to, dear, but we see the truth behind their glow. They are like candles, but theirs light are reflections from other people's dreams. To see them is to feel pity."

I'll have to go there, thought Daniel. If any place ever had seemed cool, then it had to be Katjas world. "Rose, I don't want to sound cruel. But according to what you just told us there are not only an infinite of universe, but also an infinite that grows infinitely in all directions in every moment, everywhere. There are no way any one can protect that. And Rose, if we were to go in one of those world lines we would in all probability never find our way back. Not until we've been dead for a very long time?" Rose seemed overcome by surprise. "Nobody in their right minds would go there. Oh no! What we had hope for, was for you to enforce our view here, not by disappearing into those world lines." Gail smiled and removed the bedcovers. "Rose, my dear, would you mind terribly if we went out in the kitchen? I'm hungry, have you listened to your tummy lately girl? Come on, let's get dressed." The twins helped Rose to chose from their wardrobe, with some wishful helping from Daniel who considered him self, from his own newly acquired experience, as somewhat of an expert on female fashion. After some time they ended up in the kitchen were they soon had the whole crew gathered, the 'splinter crew' with Gabriel that was, and Thors friends Jim and Lena... Rose became shy again but relaxed soon enough under the influence of nice people and good food." It's been so long since I've tasted real food." She told them "I forgotten how nice it could be, eating amongst friends." Thor smiled "Well, thank you Rose. Its nice to meet you too." Leo looked at her and then at the twins, not that he didn't get his exercise, still he wondered somewhat over Daniel's stamina. How does he do it, three healthy looking girls, every night? The poor sod, he thought. Lind also studied Daniel, she didn't know why but the thought of him dressed up, it did something to her, she had to admit it. And looking at the girls she thought that they definitely seemed relaxed. Thor also looked, I love it, he thought. It's like the best soap ever, and now this new sweet looking babe. I wonder what will happen, he started to smile. The architect thought about his Vodka, there had definitely been some bottle's missing. He studied Daniel suspiciously, that young man seemed to have a problem with spirits? Hmmm. Lena and Jim studied everybody, as they hadn't been with them that long, they was somewhat drawn back. But as Rose's infectious laugh relaxed them to, in the end, there were a lot of laughter. There was some subtle remarks from Lind about the need for people to show themselves as they really were, specifically to her. With that came some truly uncontrollable laughter from Thor, at which all looked at him surprised, that is, except Daniel who only displayed a deeply embarrassed expression. Soon enough they started to discuss Roses suggestion.

I don't get it!" said Thor. "How do you expect us to protect those world lines?" Rose sat there silently, dreamily. I'd forgotten how exiting it is, to have a body again. There are such a lot of expressions inside this me. When I look at Daniel I feel so satisfied, strange how a body can strengthen your feelings, and the twins are such exquisite creatures. I shouldn't have too fool them, but our needs precedes my feelings, I'm so sorry. "We need you here. Not in another world line, we have equipment for catching those disturbances that the penetration of another world line creates. They are to their nature much like gravitational waves and when a ship penetrates with just the right angle and velocity to allow itself to be caught, there will be eddies left after it. From there we can follow where the ship came from, depending on which mode of transportation they've used." Leo sat fidgeting with a 'Rube's cube', a small box in lots of colors that he twisted and twisted until all colors were the same, on every side. He thought, she's so shy and so sincere, and I still feel like she's holding back? There is something not quite right with what she's telling us. I wonder what it is? Still, I think I'll leave that with the twins. "Hey, I'm supposed to be on a vacation!" Came Daniel's voice all of a sudden. He looked around the crowd "I mean, she's my Rose, in a way I seem to have made her, as her body didn't exist before I saw it? Don't ask me how. But I'm gonna keep her with us, if she likes, that is. And if she wants me to take a stroll with her down bad boy's lane, I'll do it. As long as everybody remember that this is a vacation!" "What!" said Leo. "That's not possible, is it? To create a living person out of nothing!" Rose looked at Daniel again, this was getting to be even worse than she had thought. It had been all so easy to discuss their plot as a disembodied consciousness', feeling the rightness of it flowing through you, but that boy loved her. And seemed to feel an awful lot of responsibility for her to. Aw, it wasn't at all what she had thought it would be. Nobody had expected them to be able to create something as marvelous as a real body for her. "Well yes Leo. I agree, it shouldn't be possible. But where we chose to place ourselves, in a time long forgotten was a place that, like this body, shouldn't exist either. When Katja speaks of her world, it's something alike a world line, but different as it does not involves changing spacetime through our wormholes, right. And when Gail speaks about her Domain, where she seems to be the Empress of all, then that is somewhat different to both Katjas concept of Portals and mine, am I right?" "Yeah, could be true. We haven't thought this through!" said Leo troubled. "So I'll try to explain what we did." Continued Rose. "The force that shape us all is consciousness, always consciousness. And consciousness without time flowing is a candle without air. Only after time is introduced, there will be giving and taking. In a way it is we that perceive the world that also creates it. This is not the whole truth of course. One can see all different worlds, or domains, portals and world lines as geometric topologies, all involving different rules of behavior. There are an untold number of realms waiting for our exploration out there, all enfolded into themselves, not existing if you like, until we force our attention on them. Consciousness is the miracle of our existence, without it there would be nothing." "Ah, possible, but what other rules are there, except from that consciousness thing?" wondered Leo, who loved all things SF and warped out. "Time rules, always involving topology" said Rose. "Time takes you on a journey, and it's inviolate. You may bend time, twist it and even tie it into knots by manipulating the properties it's bound to, but it remains the same even then. The only thing that really change is your perception of yourself in time and space. All trough your manipulation of the properties surrounding and entwining themselves with time. What you call spacetime is just that, certain topologic and geometric properties that express themselves in and through time. And time can only be there as long as consciousness exists." "Cool!" said Daniel. "I'll give you a kiss now, to prove that you exist, babe?" which he did to the consternation of Rose who were deeply into on of her most beloved subjects.

The the kiss only seemed to warm her up. "Listen. If you stop treating the worlds as objects existing by themselves, and accept that consciousness is the living force perceiving all, then all things becomes possible. The topologies and geometry's that bends and shapes us, through and in time, is indeed unending. There will be time as long as there is someone there to perceive, and worlds, and words enough to describe them. Don't make the mistake to believe that worlds are consciousness. Before our first words became, there were feelings and emotions, which like streams of thought gave us direction in time. When we begun creating words from those, we focused those fields into wedges with which we started to bend open our reality, to understand. The more we understood, the more words we had to create. Sometimes it seems that old words take upon them totally new meanings as our consciousness explore new possibilities, but in the end words are only tools, shaped by us for our quest, it's easy to forget that. The more you travel, the more you'll find this true, So if I may sum it up. There seems to be consciousness, then we have time, time that expresses itself through us all. When time and consciousness comes together those properties inherent in time expand into what we call spacetime. You could as easily say that time is a concept created by the topologies which consciousness gives expression to, and perceives itself by. But it's all a play with worlds. I think myself, that we are somewhat alike eyes of God, or maybe, the God's. We see and live the splendor of her imagination. Rose were now so serious looking and preachy where she stood, that Daniel couldn't help himself. He sneaked up behind her and goosed her most efficiently. As she stopped talking, feeling both choked and angry, he gave her a big hug and chuckled. "Aw, come on. Don't worry so much babe, I'm here!" "He's really such an Idiot," apologized Gail immediately to Rose. "But we can't help loving him, anyway." "Wow, there's philosophy for you!" Said Leo awestruck. "You still haven't explained how it is possible for you to get a body out of nowhere?" "I just thought I did?" Said Rose " Reality as you and we see it is only a thing created by entwined time and topology, expressed and decoded trough consciousness. We constantly affirm each other, and when Daniel 'knew me' he saw me with 'my body', as that was his truth. So when he forced me by his will into your realm, this had to be, as 'disembodied girls ' are forbidden according to this realms laws! So I found myself in this lovely body. And it's truly mine, I can feel the rightness of it every time I move. It was a most extraordinary feat of him, I do not know how he succeeded?" They all sat still, thinking, some of them feeling their headaches slowly growing. "So what is magic then?" asked Katja "In your view? Is there any?" Rose smiled. "Life is the primordial magic. It's what we call an Archetype. The undivideable, something to feel and be enfolded in. The rest are just expressions of topologies and time, as perceived by yourselves." From Headache to Headache, thought Daniel. Why couldn't life be, just for a moment, some nice chilled beer, him and those glorious girls in the B&BB&B?

Hell, why not! "Girls, I've been thinking of the meaning of this, indeed I have, girls. A'lot!" Sounding both sincere and, he hoped, wise. "I've come to the conclusion that there is nothing of what we discussed that wouldn't be helped by some nice cool beverages! So what do you think folks? Some chilled ones and then some... Uh, brainstorming? How about it, all for? Lift up your beer openers!" Lind whispered to her self "Mumbo jumbo. That is what this is! So life's just a dream. Uh uh, sorry girl, don't think so." On the other hand, if it was, one should go for the more pleasant aspects, right! And sure enough, she could use a beer now, to shake those cobwebs... "I agree!" Loud, proud and clear, "Let's get wasted!" There never seemed to be needed much impressing upon the crew, when it came down to having a good time. I know, it's a sad and humbling deficiency. Especially from those, that we, might expect so much higher standards of conduct from. If they only had asked me! Ah well, the weakness of us all.

The Xzndrz felt a disturbance in the force. I know, those worlds are reserved for the likes of Spielberg and Starwars but, they did, honestly! They did felt a disturbance in the force. As we don't understand what they were saying, one can only guess by their behavior. Oh yes, yes? Yes, no? Aha, yess... Ah, they did seem disturbed, the important fact here being that they all were on the toilet when the disturbance happened. To them, toilet visits were a religious behavior. Knowing this, one could understand why they never had tried to send out missionaries. The whole universes bowed already to their God so why bother. Their ship was also built in the true shape of their worship. Sorry mate, not that. No, it was a golden bowl, filled with free flowing tendril's of what looked like an off white finely textured material. You may find it somewhat out of taste, but for the Xzndrz it was totally in line with how they perceived the universe. In one way, waiting to be filled, in the other end over flowing, all but waiting for the god plumber. Now, One may wonder how I could know all this? As inscrutable as I've said them to be? Okay, so it's a wild guess. But as they all was dressed as janitors with all those bowls overflowing? I would call it a pretty good one?

Anyway, it's my tale and don't you forget it. Hey, maybe I should get one of those fishes that they put inside your ear's, whadaya'say? Should I? Stop screaming at me, it was just a simple question! Yes I know that there are copyrights. Aw,, Now you got my publisher going to... Ok, ok. No fishes there! Satisfied? Well folks, all this copy rights and everything, it has placed me in somewhat of a dilemma here. If I continue? How can I ever be sure that I'm not infringing on someone else's copyrights, I can't! Can I? If you do care. Maybe I could interest you in a small contribution to my new defense fund? 'WWW.For the payment of infringements of otherones copyrights.com'. If you can't find it on the Net, please try. 'WWW. God Give Me Give me by God, org'. That's nice. Well, the same to you buddy! For those of you not indulging in that kind of language, paying up as good boys and girls I will now on risk of impeachment continue my story. And if any girl out there will take it upon her for want to comfort a poor writer, my address are 'XXXXX XXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXX' (stricken by the Publisher in all major quadrants, possibly excepting those were the girls are especially wholesome to impoverished, formerly comfortably well off Publishers, in which case the address should be 'XXXXXXXXX XXXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXXXXX' (struck by the author).

It's been some time since i was here now? Let's see, oh yes. I remember him. He thought he could infringe on my copyright, huh. I've got me a new Publisher now. One that is happily married I might add. Next time there will be respect. Or else there will be a private detective. Followed by your 'soon to be former' Wife's lawsuit. I'm not stupid, I've learnt my lesson. Enough said about that. Ah yes, by the way, a friend of me downloaded one of them fishes, and it's somebody else's! Yes it's true. It seems to be somebody else's problem! There are no copyrights to it as well, as long as I don't use it anyway... So I Won't!.Scouts honor. Now, let's continue, shall we?...

The captain of the Xzndrz asked "What's all this commotion!" the slave urged three of his eyeshafts at the Captain "Master," he said, "this shrimp does not now, perhaps a bowel moment from the Gods?" The Captain stroke his mandrills thoughtfully. "There have been warnings of possible terrorist activities in this quadrant, get me my first mate." The shrimp squiggled away slavering to himself. "Mating, mating is that all he can think of?" The first mate came at last, not without trouble, as the Captain as soft as a newly born Dandeleoum, an all to often found specimen of the flora alge on the Planet Algebra, were slowly drooling. "Yes Captain?" his first mate queried "Are we standing to attention?" The Captain wheeled around spearing his first mate with them bloodshot globes as he used the other eyeset to inspect his immaculately polished bridge. "There was a commotion at the lunch proceedings, do we now what caused it?" The first mate nodded "The Captain means at the Flush hour, Captain?"

What was this? A mutiny? A coup? Why was his first mate so evasive? "Do not try to play me the fool. Fool. Answer now! On your peril!" The Captain thundered, he boomed. He really had a problem with his speech habits. It was a literary upbringing gone wrong, So terribly wrong. Because of him and his likes, there was now a ban on fantasy Novell's, in all bookstores around the unknown quadrant of the galaxy. There had been warnings of trouble coming, but no bookstore owners had understood what a dangerous mix fantasy Novell's and the impressionable Xzndrz would shape up to. In his chamber the Captain continued his research, now and then helping himself to what was left of his mutinous first mate. They were the Xzndrz! Who would dare their rage? His mighty bulge bent with foreboding, he slobbered "Make new sightings, there might be an endangered species out there!" To the Xzndrz any species still alive and kicking were on the endangered species list... And frightfully right they were, as all species they ever met finished on that same list. He clashed his tendrils in joyful expectation, soon there would be an endangered species more, he just knew it.