The man who played God (original title Project Universe)

He had been thrown into the streets, his house taken away. Everyday, he had to feed himself by begging. Why? For he had absolutely no job expertise.


It shouldn't have been like this, he was on his way to fame and fortune, why did it have to be like this? He realised the only person to blame was himself.


It all began 6 months ago. A graduate student he was, the brightest one the university could hope to produce. Handpicked by the top scientists for supervision, he was the shining star of the scientific community. He may be all that, but he also has strange desires. Deep down inside him, he wanted to rule over millions, to be a God.


One day, he walked up confidently to his supervisor, and said 'I want to create a miniature universe!'


The supervisor was shocked, could this person really be that brilliant? What kind of stunt was he trying to pull? Create a miniature universe, no one can confidently say how our own universe works, and now someone's trying to build his own. Nevertheless, the supervisor asked him to explain. With all the confidence of a TV presenter, he proceded to draw out a remodelled version of the standard model, with all the mathematical oddities and geometry included. He pointed out how quarks could act as worlds, how atoms could act as solar systems. Effectively, he was combining the small and the big, into one big beautiful theory.


The supervisor was impressed. Every ten thousand years, a genius like this is produced, and he had the privelage of supervising one. The project was given the green light, and the student was given all the equipment he needed.


The challenge? Fit the entire universe into a fishbowl. The hypothesis was that the entire universe was created at a single instant called the Big Bang, the very beginning of time and space. The student had to find the exact conditions in which the Big Bang could occur, then observe it over a period of time. Now, creating the Big Bang was the easy part, at least for the student, how was he going to observe the universe? He would have to wait 15 billion years before conditions became like ours.


Undaunted, he first proceeded to make the Big Bang. Get the right particles from the particle accelerator, torture them under the right conditions, then arrange them in a nano-lattice following SU(3) symmetry. Then, after more configurations, chemical play and whatnot, arrange them into E8 symmetry, Put everything in the fishbowl and wait for ten minutes.


It was a brilliant success, after ten minutes, a bright flash of light was emitted form the fishbowl, and a mini fireball was formed in the centre. Everything had been carefully configured, so the temperature wasn't that hot, but still hot enough to form the mini-universe's version of atoms. The nature of these particles were unknown, for they were even smaller than quarks. According to theory, everything looked like how the early universe would have been, but now, the question was how patient were they?


The student and the supervisor knew they couldn't possibly wait billions of years, they had to find a way to speed up the process. How were they going to accelerate time in the fishbowl? The student and supervisor pondered for hours, days, weeks, over this problem. But there seemed to be no possible method.

Then one day, the student has the most brilliant idea ever. Black holes slows time down to a ridiculously slow pace, why not make a reverse black hole? The supervisor nearly laughed at the mention of this. A black hole hasn't even been made, now you're talking about a reverse black hole? The student then pointed out the recent discovery of the Higgs Boson, then explained how an extremely powerful quantum burst could reverse the effect of the boson and at the same time produce a singularity in space. This would mean obtaining energy out of nothing! It defies the very laws of conservation of energy! The student then pointed out that he has already broke this law when he created the mini big bang, and also the fact that this very law was broken the instant the universe was formed.

The supervisor was amazed, speechless to say the least. The student didn't waste any time indulging in praise. He flew over to the LHC and presented this idea to the scientists there. They agreed to help him, and 2 days later, the first miniature black hole was made by putting the Higgs Boson under great pressure. The next day, the reverse miniature black hole was made. It was different from the original black hole, nothing could come in! The repulsive gravitational force was so strong, it was almost impossible to find a container that could fit it. But find it they did, and the student placed the fishbowl within the vicinity.

Everything was great, 2 weeks passed and the fishbowl universe was now at the equivalent of 15 billion years. The observations over the fortnight had proved the student's hypothesis correct, that the universe he had created was exactly identical to the one we live in. It was literary a miracle. Out of nearly an infinite number of possibilities, this student produced the correct one. He became the youngest person to receive the Nobel prize, at the age of 24. He had beaten Einstein.

Now the student really let it get to his head. He began thinking, 'I've created a universe that's exactly like ours, would it be possible that there is life in this universe that is exactly like ours?"
Another proposal went over to his prof, and by now, the prof no longer wanted to supervise him.
'You've already surpassed the greatest scientist of the 20th century, there's no more I can teach you. Please, let an old man do his humble happy work.'

The student was very pleased about this, so he began to think of a way to extract a specimen from the universe. Now this was a question that stumped even him. By far, there is absolutely no such research or even mention about such a theory, of pulling a lifeform from a universe. It would be alien abduction. Needless to say, how was he going to even see if there was really life there in the first place? Staring at the blackish fishbowl, he began to ponder.

He realised he had no choice, he turned to religion.

All religion states the existance of a soul, and some religions hint at psychic energy, derived from the soul. The student hated religion, seeing it as scriptures written by opium smokers, but now he had no choice but to trust them. He had broken the limits of science, he had to turn to religion now.

The plan was to use a STM. Run the fishbowl through the STM and search for abnormalies within the structure of the universe. The hypothesis was that such abnormalies would indicate signs of intelligent life. Only problem was, the STM worked only on 2D surfaces. No one had used it to observe a 3D fishbowl. As such, the student bought 4 STMs from the university, deconstructed and remodelled them into the formation of a cross. Then, placing the fishbowl at the centre, he turned it on.

Indeed, the constant patterns displayed in the STM monitor did show abnormalities. It was a very peculiar thing, for these abnormalities only showed itself in rare areas of the universe. From the current understanding of our universe, there were many areas in which abnormalities could arise, like black holes or pulsars, but on closer investigation, the signatures didn't look at all like black holes or quasars. It was simply irregular, a massive chaos of fluctuations. The student believed those were the signs of intelligent life. Now the challenge was to extract it.

He had no idea which one of these areas were the replica of Earth, but he believed that Earth was the only place in the universe with our form of intelligent life. That means, he'll just keep extracting samples until he sees a mini-human, or other earth creature. Once again, using a much improved version of the STM, with a ridiculously thin tip, he probed the inside of the fishbowl at the specified locations.

After the third time, he got a strange result. The STM images showed signs of desperately struggling humans! The student was estatic! He had created life! Now how was he going to communicate with them?

The great genius instantly had another idea, locking the mini humans up in a specialised cell, he reconstructed the STM into a communication device. As he did so, evil thoughts ran through his head. 'These people may believe in a God, I am their God!'

The communication device was completed, and the student placed the tip of the modified STM into the cell. In an instant, terror-stricken and desperate faces were seen on the screen.

"Where are we! What are you!" screamed one frightened lady. The student looked around, there were at least 20 people in the cell. Some were lying unconscious, others stark raving mad. The lady and four others were the only sane people inside.

"I am God!" said the student in the best majestic voice he could produce. I created your universe in a fishbowl."

The student hadn't really taken note of the fact that the people also spoke English. He was already pretty confident that they would. On hearing his words, the woman fell to her knees and prayed. The other 4, who realised what was going on, began kneeling as well. The student was even more estatic, the miniature world had really developed exactly like ours, even the same religions existed! But could it be so precise? Was everything exactly the same?

The student decided to question the people on the history of their world. Everything, from what they told him, was exactly the same as the history of our world. There were a few different names, but everything else was the same! Eventually, he asked about his existance, and it really surprised him to learn that he never existed. Now that was strange, for if everything was exactly the same, how come he didn't make the contributions he had made in this world? How come no one made his discoveries? The date the mini-people told him were only a few days apart from his, he should have been there.

Could it be possible that the God of the world cannot exist as a human in the world he created? It seemed that way, but it didn't matter now, for he was the God of the fishbowl universe. He felt power like no other.

"People!" he bellowed in the microphone. "You have angered me over the centuries with your arrogance and materialism. You have forgotten me!" He was sure that the world would develop in that way as well. And he was right. When he said that, everyone suddenly became normal and knelt, praying for forgiveness. Now this was really getting to his head.

"As punishment, I'll destroy one of you!" Then, operating the STM, he picked up a hapless man and crushed him to bits, amongst his crying and begging. At that point, he put away the microphone and let out the most evil laugh a young man could possibly have. The other people cried and begged, while he continued to laugh. Yes! He had the power of a God to these people, he was God!

"I am merciful," he said back to the microphone, though it clearly didn't show through his actions. "I'll send you back to your world, tell them what you have seen and heard, tell them to worship me! Then, every night at ten, sacrifice a young maiden to perform an erotic dance for me! I'll be keeping contact."

God sent the people back via the STM, and all was good, at least for a while. The people went to spread the message to the rest of their world, but no one believed them. God knew this would happen, so he decided to make a communication link directly to the world in the fishbowl.

"I am God!" His booming voice echoed throughout the miniature Earth. "What these people said is true. To prove my existance, I will kill the leader of every country!" Through constantly taking out people for questioning, he had learnt the names and identities of all the leaders of the world. The challenge was of course, to find them. That he could do as well. Having set up the STM monitor, he began probing the frightened faces for the faces of the leaders. Upon seeing them, he sent an electric current through the STM tip and literary vaporised their bodies. The whole process took 2 hours, and by then, the world was already convinced.

God then said that the leaders were sin themselves, for they made the people forget Him. He said to atone for their sins, the people must worship him and send a maiden to perform an erotic dance for him anytime he asked for it. Naturally, he expected some to oppose him, so he quickly found those people and vaporised them as well. Their mistake for opposing him so openly. After a week, everyone in the world was already kotowing to him.

The student, with a new identity as a God, nevertheless decided to abuse his new position. He left science altogether and instead decided to entertain and amuse himself with the hapless denizens of mini-Earth. Being a super sadistic person, he would sometimes ask people to jump off buildings or set themselves on fire.

"It's a good thing when there's religion," he said to himself. "And you are the God!"

But being a God wasn't enough. The people of the mini-universe couldn't give him revenue. So he designed and built a molecular duplicating machine, which works on the principle of the Big Bang, creating mass-energy out of nothing. Now he could enlarge or shrink objects by duplicating it's molecules and rearranging the duplicated molecules into an enlarged version of the object.

"Bring me your currency!" He demanded to the people of his world. "Gather a total value of 1 billion US dollars and place it at the top of the Eiffel tower by 8pm GMT." So they did. After using the STM to extract the money, he placed them, a fraction of the total sum at a time, into the machine. Instantly, real money, from different areas of the world, showed up. He was delighted by now. He went to the currency exchange to convert it to his country's money. Now he was stinking rich!

"Being a God is the best business of all!"

Alas, it has been 6 months. The people of mini-Earth did not like this overbearing God. While many obeyed without question, there were some who secretly planned a way to get rid of him. By studying his movements, they realised that he wasn't omnipotent, like the God they knew from their Bible, nor was he in anyway compassionate. This God was a false one, and can be destroyed.

On the next money transfer, the God had the biggest surprise of all time. One minute he was admiring the little money that came out from the STM, then all of a sudden, he was in a different place. It was a large crossroad, and there were hundreds of people standing around him.

"He's human! Just like us!" exclaimed one girl.

"He's a heretic! Satan's child!" cried another woman who looked like a deranged maniac.

The student looked around, frightened and disbelieving.

"But...but how?"

"What's the matter? Big me?"

The voice...it was so familiar, it was his voice!

Turning around, he saw an exact replica of himself, standing facing him, with his arms folded.

"No...you weren't supposed to exist!"

The other him let out a laugh.

"I exist alright, but fortunately I didn't turn out as crazy as you. I am still finishing my university studies and am contributing to research, but no, I haven't made my name yet, probably that's why you never heard of me."

The student was horrified. He had been so full of himself that he assumed that if he ever existed, he would be as famous as he was in his own world.

"Well, I'll be now," continued the other him. "After observing you, I deduced many hypotheses and concluded that you are indeed our creator, but a sadistic one. I understand that without you, our world could be destroyed any instant, but believe me, we'd rather die than have a bitch of a god like you! And what the hell, you are really my image!"

"But...how....?"

The student realised that this person was as bright as he was, just more modest and open-minded. He deduced that God had been taking money from the people by using a STM, and that the communication links were also by a modified STM. He had seen everything that his crazy self had been doing. He managed to reverse everything, from taking the creator into the universe by a reverse STM, and by shrinking him to pico size by a reverse of his molecular duplicator. He had defeated himself.

"No...I am God! You must obey me!"

"My son died because you told him to jump off the building!" cried one man.

"My daughter was forced to do erotic dances on the street for your entertainment!"

The mob was now coming closer to him, what was he going to do?

"GOD!!!!!" his cried echoed throughout the streets. The mob charged at him, beating him with sticks and clubs.

"Don't use His name in vain, you bitch!"

The mob abused him physically and verbally. He was helpless now, there was no way he could escape it.

The ground began to shatter, the Earth shook. The mob stopped beating him up and wondered what was happening. All of a sudden, the Earth split open, crying the lament of its creator. Hundreds of people fell to the dark abyss, and the student was sent hurtling back to his world.

The student awoke, he was lying down on his lab floor. Looking up, he was shocked to see his other self from the mini world sitting on his chair.

"The Earth felt the pain when your psychic energy turned ugly," said the other him. "It destroyed itself to save you. Aren't you ashamed of yourself? The universe you created loved you so much, yet you treated it like scum. In the end, it even gave up its own life to save you."

The student shook his head.

"No...The universe...the universe isn't alive!"

His other him sneered.

"Man, and I thought the me in this world was as smart as me, you don't understand one bit about fractal consciousness, don't you?"

Actually he did, he had forgotten about it over his lust for power. The universe was alive because we are alive. We are part of a universal consciousness, it is a basic law of the chaos theory.

"I came out as well because I was you," said the other him. "Look, the universe in the fishbowl is gone."

Indeed, the fishbowl was now an empty fishbowl. The universe he had created had disappeared, sacrificing itself to save him. Suddenly, his guilt set in, and he cried like a father longing for a long lost child. The other him shook his head.

"I'm going to do some plastic surgery on myself and change my name, I can imagine the mess you created for yourself in this world."

The other him walked out, and was never seen again. A few days later, the student lost his house, and was thrown into the streets. In an ironic twist of fate, his house had been brought by his other self, under a completely different name. The money he had taken from the mini-universe had somehow fallen into his hands. Now he is begging, for he can't do work. A god doesn't do menial work, a false god as well, but the false god must beg.

In another place, another time, the professor watched a fishbowl universe under the protection of highly sophisticated instruments. He saw the version of himself in that fishbowl meet his downfall, and shook his head. Turning to the heavens, he wondered.

Just how many fishbowls were there?

Eyes of the Oracle (part nine, finale)

Lisa felt a searing pain tear through her body as she hit the floor of the lab. She let out a groan as she struggled to get up. Nearby, Kin and the two Ikes were still fighting, though Kin was getting seriously owned by them. Somehow, Silos Max didn't manage to injure Ike, must have been something to do with the no-charging time.

Lisa's presence alerted the brawl members and they all stopped, turning to look in her direction. She realised that she was still dressed entirely in white. The three of them were studying her intently, they could tell something was different about her.

"What did you do?" asked Ike's clone. "Join the PAP?"

Lisa was puzzled by their reaction to her, other than the fact that she was indeed wearing something different. They could see that something wasn't right, but what it was she couldn't tell.

"Your brain patterns," commented Kin. "It's occupying a very rare site of E8, the site of happiness and joy. Where did you go? What did you see?"

"I...I've seen true reality," she said, as bravely as she could. "It is not what you think it is."

Ikes and Kin didn't know what to say.

"Listen," Lisa continued. "It was Silos Max, Silos Max doesn't kill people, it sends them to true reality, can't be explained in words."

Then she continued to tell them about Azareth, the white room, the tea of forgetting, and the empty space.

After all was done, the three of them had no mood to fight. Kin and Ikes sat on the floor, discouraged and depressed.

"All these years, I've always thought we were given a special gift. Eyes of the oracle, the sight of true reality. I never realised it was such a farce," said Kin.

"The constant fight between us, we saw that it has lead to more misery and hardship, yet in the delusion of it all, we believe what we see is the absolute truth, that it was necessary. The concept of nothingness...that has never occured to us..."

Ike was just as sad, Ike's clone didn't say anything.

Lisa decided that she was the one to do the talking this time.

"Guys...you've finally realised it, that true reality is the embracement of nothingness. Over the last few years, both of you have done nothing but try to gain power over the other. You were moving further and further away from true reality."

Kin and Ikes were surprised by Lisa's sudden authorative tone.

"Understanding true reality, it's not something of maths or science, there's no E8 symmetry, no EPR, no quantum, no relativity or black holes, or whatever. True reality is nothing but our origin. The universe was written on it, we came from it."

Kin then stood up.

"Then tell me, what have we been seeing all this while? Why do we need to feel such unnecessary pain on the pretext of being able to see true reality?"

Ike looked up at Lisa, he too wanted an answer.

"Azareth told me what you saw were details. Specific details on how the world was created. You have been given a most unpleasant fate, Damien Lee has already been condemned to hell for your creation. As a result of your eyes, you have been living in unnecessary sadness."

The three of them hung their heads.

"But Ike, you chose the path of God! You found peace with yourself among the sadness! Even though you did fight with Kin. But don't you see? Don't you realise something? Ike and Kin?"

They all looked up at her again.

"Some of what you see, the sufferings and the pains, we can see it too! Not literary like you do, but we can all feel it. I went through a lot of stress as a stock broker, and that resulted in my family breaking up and my friends leaving me. When I think about it now, I realised I was experiencing the sadness and pain you see. True, I don't see extra dimensions and all, but that's not important in this pretext, isn't it?"

The guys shook their heads.

"I have forgotten God, I may go to church, but I have forgotten him. Ike, you were right, I'm a failed Christian. The path you took was more right than mine. I could have chosen to love instead of hate, to do right instead of wrong, to worship God and follow his way, even if I knew about all the sufferings and pain. But i didn't. Kin, you could have helped the world step by step, do you not realise how your actions are causing yourself pain? The eyes of darkness, which you showed, it's the reflection of your soul, wasn't it? You charged Silos Max almost instantly, it was a result of the hatred in your heart."

Kin wanted to say something, but he stopped. He knew Lisa was right, he wasn't just able to see her state of mind, but he could also feel it in his heart.

"What do you now intend to do? You have killed so many already."

Ikes and Lisa all looked at Kin, anticipating his reply, but all Kin did was wallow in despair and pity.

"SOC! Hands UP!"

The voice of Lo caught their attention. Large groups of armoured men rushed into the lab. A few MRF troopers were also among the crowd, ready for the release of sleeping gas.

"Lo!" Ike and his clone jumped.

"Hey Sirs..." said Lo jokingly. "We thought of the sacrifice Lisa made and all, and how you tried so hard to build up your army, we couldn't simply let your effort go all to waste."

"But...weren't you afraid of Silos Max?" Ike's clone asked.

"Hoho, we took care of that. Before we began the mission, I told all our men to call up their families and sever all ties with them, and during the mission, to try not to think about anyone they knew."

Ike laughed.

"That's not how Silos Max works, but I don't know how it works either. No worries though, I've already taken care of everything."

Then he looked at Lisa.

"Lisa took care of everything."

Lo looked at Lisa, then looked at Kin, who was still looking dismayed.

"What did you do?"

Lisa laughed.

"I merely taught the boys a good lesson."

By now, the SOC men were gathered around Kin, pointing their guns at him, though looking a little scared.

"Wait!" Lisa tried to intercede for him. "He was being misled, give him a chance!"

"No, Lisa," said Kin. "It was the path I chose, I shall take full responsibility."

He gave a nod to Ike, who returned the acknowledgement.

"He's going to jail, my jail," he said. He then took out a pair of specially designed handcuffs, which can't be described in words, and placed it neatly on Kin's wrist.

Lisa tried to say something, but Ike raised his hand, telling her that there was no point.

"You've already taught both of us a great lesson," he said. "Now let us do the right thing."

With that, he left the lab, taking Kin with him.

It has been 2 years since that day.

Lisa was now working as a guidance counsellor, dealing with all sorts of different cases. After her harrowing experience that day, she indeed saw new light in her life and decided to take the right path. Now, she's helping others do the same thing. A general philosophy she adopted, to achieve happiness, we must embrace nothing. It was quite a radical strategy for a counsellor, and it wasn't very well received at first, but people eventually saw the light. She felt glad, for it was a pleasant feeling when someone has benefitted from your actions, much better than hounding over money when she was a stock broker. She made new friends, since she had forgotten all her old relationships anyway, and helped them in anyway she could.

The only thing is, she hadn't seen Ike or Kin since that day.

"Hey Miss!"

The voice was oddly familiar, Lisa looked up to see a familiar figure dressed in t-shirt and jeans, walking in a duck manner and looked a little sloppy. The only thing was, his eyes, they were normal.

"You are..."

"Don't remember me already? It's me! Ike!"

"Ike! But your eyes..."

"Kin and I decided to remove them, it was pretty easy, since Damien Lee's paper was sitting around the internet. All we needed to do was reverse the process. Ah yes, Kin's out of jail, he's now working as a freelance artist. I'm now a social worker, working in Dover Park hospice. I tell you, the people there simply love to have me, for I could always tell them exactly what happens after they die."

Lisa smiled, the visit was surprising, but she was nevertheless happy to see Ike again.

"So what happened after that day?"

"I took Kin back to the sealed dimension, you know the one with the mansion? I locked him up in a specially designed cellar, and everyday, I would read to him the bible, the Koran, as well as buddhist scriptures. Eventually, he screamed, 'PLEASE! Just STOP IT! YOu're making me go NUTS!' Ok, so I did. Then I read to him Tang poems and Confucius' teachings."

Lisa laughed.

"You really know how to mentally torture someone."

"Haha! Well, he really couldn't take it anymore, so I stopped. He then promised to lead a good life and never to try to destroy the world again. As proof, he opted to remove the eyes. So we did it together, we were twin brothers after all."

Lisa's smile grew. She was very glad to hear that the story had a happy ending.

"But you're something else aren't you?" said Ike. "You're the only one who have seen true reality! I mean, you're a very special person. I wish I could see true reality too."

"True reality is all around you," said Lisa. "Find it by practicing what you believe."

Ike nodded.

"I will, well, Kin's just about finishing his job, he should be arriving anytime soon."

At that moment, the door flew open again. It was Kin, smart looking and all smiles. He was holding a small painting that he had made specially for that day.

"Hi Lisa!" he said cheerfully. "Look at this painting of mine, it depicts what Ike and I've been seeing with the eyes of the oracle."

Lisa took a good hard look at the painting, but all she could see was a mess of colours.

"You saw a mess of colours?"

Kin smiled and shook his head.

"It was funny, after Ike and I removed the eyes, we completely forgot what we had seen. This is all I remembered of it. But it does reflect a point doesn't it, you can't describe it in words."

They all had a good laugh, and Lisa invited them to dinner that night.

But was there someone missing?

There is, isn't there?

In another place...

"Tell me, Ike," said Azareth. "What additional ingredients do you think we should add in this tea?"

"I told you, I'm only his clone, and if you add anymore ingredients in this tea, no spirit is going to drink it."

Azareth laughed.

"Don't you think we should give this place a makeover?" said Ike's clone. "White is pure and all, but some colour wouldn't be bad."

There was silence for a while, of course Ike's clone didn't mean that, he was just bored.

"So what do you want to do? We can't drink tea forever, there'll be no more left in hell!"

Azareth took out a chess board.

"No, tell you what, let's play scrabble."

Ike clapped his hands and out came a scrabble board. Azareth didn't say anything, but instead started to form the first word.

"We need to return to Earth some day, huh?" said Ike.

"I don't," said Azareth. I've already attained enlightenment 500 years ago. You just came here because you didn't want to live with another Ike."

Ike's clone took a look at the calendar, 80 years till the death of Ike.

'I sincerely hope I like scrabble,' he muttered to himself.

THE END

Eyes of the Oracle (part eight)

Lisa did not have to go open the door, the person on the other side opened it himself. He was an old man with a nicely trimmed beard and little hair. He looked rather buff, probably an athlete in his younger days, and he wore a white tuxedo with a black tie. His stomach showed signs of success. On seeing Lisa, he acknowledged her with a bow.

"Where am I now?" Lisa asked, getting a little tired from all her adventures. "Another sealed dimension?"

The old man clapped his hands. In an instant, a white table and 2 white chairs appeared in the centre, with 2 white cups with piping hot tea inside. Lisa wasn't surprised by this, she was getting used to all these weird happenings already.

"A very special dimension," replied the old man. "Take a seat would you, have some tea, I'll explain."

She did, and the old man sat down after her. He took a good sip of tea and looked back at her.

"Drink some would you, it's a waste if you don't."

Lisa did, and found the tea surprisingly refreshing.

"It's a special brew," said the old man. "Before souls are reincarnated, this tea is served to them, making them forget everything in their lives before, their identity, their family, friends, everything that may attach them to that life. As such, it would be easier to move on."

Lisa stopped drinking. She studied the tea carefully, not sure whether to believe the old man. She was a Christian, and Christianity has no mention of reincairnation. Furthermore, the tea looked very much like an ordinary tea, nothing mystical or anything like that. She also didn't forget anything. Then again, she had already forgotten quite a fair bit after the severance from Ike.

"It's a Taoist belief," responded the old man, again another person who seemed to be able to read her thoughts. "I know Christianity has no mention of it, but what are we to disbelieve things that we haven't seen?"

Lisa knew the old man was driving a point, but what?

"It only affects souls, you're not yet dead, so you'll be ok. Then again, the severance would have already done almost the same thing."

The old man knew everything that had happened. What was he rather than who was he, should be the question.

"My name is Azarath. 500 years ago, I was created with the same eyes as Kin and Ike, man it was a pain."

"500 years ago! They had such technology back then? But your eyes seem normal! And how can you live that long?"

"They're normal now, but not back then. I was created with a form of magic. Back then they knew nothing about E8, all they knew were how to combine elements and cast spells. It was in 15th century England yes, witches did exist, so did wizards. The world's science today is no different from their magic. But those sorcerers only knew how to do magic, they didn't know why it worked."

"Anyway, I was created by a rather power hungry sorcerer, eager to use me to attain world domination. When I was born, I had the eyes, I could see true reality much like how Kin and Ike does now. Like Damien Lee, the sorcerer knew nothing about true reality, assuming it was just some additions to our known world. But when I was born, I cried for 40 days and nights, for all I saw around me was despair, hatred, anger, all the vices in the world. I didn't even need to experience it for myself, to me, all these evils had form, and they were very scary. The world's really a lot more pleasant now, I don't know what crazy idea Kin has that makes him do this."

"I grew up locked in a magic cellar, for the sorcerer had deemed me a failed summon. But I didn't have to leave the cellar to see the world for what it truly is. A hateful place, full of woe. I felt pity for the many denizens living in it, so one night, I broke out of the cellar. It wasn't easy, but I did it. I decided to become a saviour, to help as many people as I could, try to make the evils go away. But alas, it was my eyes. Everyone fled when I came, they had no sunglasses back then, so I couldn't hide anything. Despaired, I wanted to run away from it all and live in recluse, that was when I met him."

"Him?" Lisa asked.

"I don't know who he really is, but somehow, he knew what I was going through. He wasn't afraid of my eyes, but rather, he told me, 'you can see it as a gift, or a curse, the choice is yours, but there is one thing you must know, what you see is not true reality'."

Azareth paused here, letting Lisa absorb all that he said.

"So...let me get this straight, what Ike and Kin sees isn't true reality?"

Azareth nodded.

"Then what is true reality?"

"What Kin and Ike sees is nothing but the reality of their universe. The visible universe is large but is only large because it is being seen through the eyes of humans, which are small and limited to 5 senses. In actual fact, there's a much larger universe beyond yours, and in yours, at the same time, the real true reality. No science or maths can describe it. I'll explain this shortly. Anyway, the man whom i met never told me his name, just to call him To. To was a traveller, but where he was from or what he does is unknown. He took me to the mountains and taught me everything I needed to know about the real reality. It was very enlightening. Finally, I realised the entire truth, and it was also the day he disappeared, I never saw him again."

Azareth put down his cup and fanned it with his hand.

"I've been living here for 500 years, observing the world and all. The birth of Kin and Ike caught my interest. The E8 theory, that was interesting...So that's what they call it. Anyway, it only describes everything in the visible universe, and Kin and Ike only believe they can see true reality, but they can't. Ike doesn't even know what the Silos Max is supposed to do."

Lisa decided to remain silent. She had been in the presence of many know-it-alls that day, but this one really took the cake.

"Lisa, tell me, what do you understand about time?"

Lisa didn't know what to say, was this a rhetorical question? Apparently it was.

"Time isn't simply what we see with clocks or any other method which is periodic or what. Think of a storybook, at any instant, the story contains the entire plot, from the beginning to the end. However, the reader only reads from the beginning, then gradually he gets to the end. At no point would he know exactly what would happen a few pages later, unless he cheats and flips to the back. The visible universe is like the story written on the book. The past and the future has already been written, but the characters are living it one step at a time, unable to flip to the back pages to take a look. But the person reading it or writing it knows what is really happening, he knows he is reading a book, and that the story isn't real, it is just fiction. This person, knows true reality."

Lisa was surprised, quite unusual for her now.

"You mean to say that all the world, all the universe, is nothing but a big illusion? A mere story written on paper?"

"Yes, if you want it in scientific terms. Some scientists believe in something called the quantum vacuum. Before the Big Bang, that was all there is, a vacuum, nothingness, empty space. But something happened to empty space, the big bang, and the universe was written all over it. It is like the words on the paper. Now imagine you're a character in the book, you are oblivious to how things are going to turn out, so you pray to your God, the creator of the story, to give you some hint. Now the true God wouldn't do that, but if it was you, and you decided to, what do you think the person would become? What would he see?"

Lisa shook her head.

"An avid reader can predict what would happen in the story, seeing how things are building up and with references to the author's mindset. The character that requests for such power can do the same. He can see more details, like what another character may be doing while he's doing something else far away, or see how something would turn out. To make it short and simple, he can see the detailed structures of what the author, you, his God, created for the story."

Lisa didn't understand it one bit.

"I can see you don't understand it one bit. Ok, Ike and Kin are like such characters, just like me 500 years ago. They are given the gift to see deeper details on how God has created the universe, but that is all. They cannot see into the future, only predict it based on enhanced observations and logic, just like the characters in the book. Even that is subjected to uncertainty and all, you never know when the author may decided to add some kind of funny twist. Kin and Ike both don't know what really happens when ten dimensions are squeezed into one point, for it is way too complicated. You may know the math, but think about calculating the full value of pi on a piece of paper, by hand, using mental calculations. So, they only think they know what happens, but what a laugh, Silos Max is actually a good skill, for it brings anyone affected into true reality."

Lisa didn't know what to feel.

"I'm in true reality?" she asked.

"Yes, you are in true reality, but what you see isn't its true form, but rather the form your mind and my mind want to take. My eyes became normal after I entered this realm because there was nothing more that was hidden. I have seen true reality, want to see it?"

Azareth clapped his hands, and immediately, the room and everything in it disappeared. Lisa and Azareth were floating in pure white space.

"This is true reality?" Lisa asked.

"True reality is nothingness. We are born with nothing and go with nothing, because we come from nothingness, and return to nothingness. The tea that you drank were given to spirits because they never accepted this fact, even though it was so obvious. It made them forget, purify their mind and make them accept nothingness. Then, after a brief stay here, they return to the world of form."

Azareth clapped his hands again, the room returned and they were sitting comfortably on the chairs.

"Do you know why this whole room is white? It is the colour symbol of purity. Nothingness is pure, that's why a person who fully accepts nothingness is purest, and thus the happiest. White light is pure light, containing all the colours in the visible spectrum, yet it is pure. This represents the fact that absolute knowledge is no knowledge, and no knowledge is absolute knowledge. Knowledge of true reality, means knowledge of nothingness."

Lisa suddenly began to feel that all this was making sense.

"So we're in the quantum vacuum?" she asked.

"Yes, but it is just a name. It is like the pages of the book the story was written on."

"But that means we can find out how the fight between Kin and Ike would turn out!"

Azareth shook his head.

"We are merely on the pages, still a part of the book. Only God, the author of the book, would know how the fight turns out. But let me tell you a little more before I send you back. Living in this quantum vacuum has multiple benefits. I am not affected by the flow of time and can create whatever things I want. Since there is nothing, nothing can affect me and I am hindered by nothing. As a matter of fact, you should be able to do it too. Go ahead, try something."

Lisa didn't know what to do. She decided to make a rabbit appear, remembering the magic shows she had watched since young. To her amazement, a rabbit really appeared on the table.

"Coincidental that you decided to think of a white creature," laughed Azareth. Lisa laughed too, that was surprising for her, because there was still her world to worry about, but here she was, feeling happy.

"You felt it didn't you?" asked Azareth.

"What?"

"This is the sensation that you have when you enter true reality, it is pure and pleasant, there is nothing to hinder your heart. Kin has done you a great favour."

Lisa felt, deep down in her heart, that she really wanted to stay here forever. It was way better than the terrible world she lived in.

"What happens when a normal person in my world dies?" she asked Azareth.

"They go to either heaven or hell? I thought you knew that? Well, essentially, heaven is for people who are pure at heart, understand the truth and can accept nothingness, having no desire for any worldly illusions. Hell is for people who have sinned, seduced by materialism and thus hurting others to gain their means. They are judged in hell and thus sent for reincarnation, as a means of atonement for their sins, but that isn't in your belief isn't it?"

"So this is heaven?"

"Metaphorically it is, I can say, 'congratulations, you have entered heaven,' , but heaven is just a name, nirvana is just a name, reality is just a name. Hell is just another insert chapter in the story where all sinners go. They are punished, then return to the main story in another form. Those who have made it to heaven are free from the cycle of birth and death."

Lisa thought over what he said. If this was true, then the world was really in serious danger.

"If everyone in the world died now, how many would enter heaven?"

Azareth sighed.

"Only a quarter... around there, in fact, it's already quite a large number. Even though the world has improved culturally, people are becoming more attached to the illusion that is Earth. These people show little compassion, only think of themselves, and have forgotten God."

"Then I must go back," said Lisa. "I must ensure that Ike wins. If Kin destroys the world, those people would be left without a chance! I am but one person, but I must do what I can to help them all! I have been through the sufferings of Earth, I can imagine Hell must be ten times worse. Having experienced the joy of heaven, of true reality, I can't just stay here and laugh while so many are being sent to suffer!"

Azareth got up from the table and walked up to her, putting his hand on her shoulder.

"You are the kindest person I have met, other than To. Very well, I can send you back to your world, the rest is up to you."

Azareth then beckoned Lisa to stand up as well, then he placed both hands on her shoulders.

"Silos Max brought you here, the move to send you back is the reverse of it. It's related to the Unity Chakra somehow, Ike was right on that, I can't explain it in words actually, I'm sure you understand. "

Lisa sure did.

Azareth closed his eyes and focused energy towards his arms. Lisa felt a calm, soothing feeling seep into her body. Her vision of the white room was beginning to fade.

"Azareth," she said. "Do you think To may be God in disguise as a human?"

Azareth smiled and shook his head.

"God doesn't do magic tricks, he only creates opportunities for us to create miracles."

The white room, the table and Azareth faded into whiteness, Lisa felt herself hurtle through smooth, velvety air. The air soon turned unpleasant, and she felt the influence of gravity again. It was clear that she was returning to Earth. She hoped everything would turn out alright.

To be continued...