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The Paradox. |
| Written by Travis Markram | |
| Thursday, 07 February 2008 | |
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Share it:      The cycle begins. Rays of sunlight rising from the east peel back the serene serotonin induced slumber which curtains the dormant mind; neurons fire, eyelids open and the very first glimpses of morning are received by the conscious mind of a twenty year old girl named Faith. There had always been something fantastical about morning that captivated Faith's curiosity; the death of a temporary awareness giving way to the birth of another as if the world itself were starting over from a momentary lapse of rest. Upon waking, Faith realized how the world has the ability to change in the span of an instant. What was once good is now bad and was right is now wrong as the painful realization creeps over her and the memories instantly flood back. A wry smile forms as her dreams of a time where the villain was a scoundrel and the hero was a god flash within her ambivalent mind. However, the thoughts will soon ferment and lose their place in time; soon to be forgotten like the rest. Awoken now to the state of consciousness which has been labeled in her mind as "reality", Faith's memory of her dreams begins to wilt and decay like a rose removed from its vase. "If only this place where as interesting as my dreams" she thought to herself, squinting her eyes to shield her retinae from the gleaming rays of sunshine which were pouring through the window. Faith's boredom with reality is easy to sympathize with. After twenty years of a life spent perceiving the same three spatial dimensions contained within a relatively evanescent slither of time, Faith was growing more and more oblivious each day to the true elegance and beauty all around her. This particular morning however, Faith was about to realize that within an existence bound by the laws of probability, an infinite number of incredible things can and imminently do happen. It is at this point in the story where we are going to pause, rewind, and resume our tale from a different reference point within the fourth dimension. Because I, the creator, am the one who is writing the story, I possess the ability to manipulate all of the dimensions which are contained within it; I can stop, rewind, fast forward or even end it all completely with a quick and abrupt period... However, the story would not have fulfilled my intended purpose if I ended it here, and so it goes on until I, he who started it all, choose for it to end. Remember me; for I am all that you can, do and have ever known; I am the writer. Play. Faith was always considered "gifted". Throughout her experience of high school she never had to try; she never studied nor did her homework, and was constantly cutting classes. Her parents were astounded at how despite her lack of effort; she would always manage to pass with straight "B's". Although a "B" average was more than satisfactory, everyone knew that she was capable of so much more. At the age of eighteen, Faith's curiosity had finally found a rabbit hole into which her questioning mind could crawl; in her senior year of high school, Faith discovered physics. In the time that has past since that day, Faith has spent numerous hours studying theoretical physics at Princeton University; she became especially interested and enthralled with the idea of parallel universes and string theory. When a foreign research laboratory on the French and Swiss border named CERN announced that it was looking for interns to participate in experiments regarding extreme particle acceleration, Faith leapt at the opportunity. The rest is past, present and future. Pause. It is here that you, the audience, now find yourself; at the frame of reference within the story where you understand the path which lies behind our protagonist, but yet are unable to see where it's all going and what it all means. Almost certainly you are experiencing a great deal of confusion as you attempt to make sense of the reality which I am fabricating. However, at this moment, there is no possible way that you can fully understand the true depth of what I am attempting to convey because you have yet to experience the full story. Rest assured, it will all be unveiled to you in time, just sit back and continue to perceive. If possible try to enjoy it; because once the story ends, all that it will mean to you is exactly what you perceived it to be. Fast forward to the point in time where the story began, stop. And then play. Faith had just awoken from an incredibly vivid dream and found herself running late. She instantly shook off the curtain of sleep which had once swallowed her consciousness, washed, dressed, grabbed a bite to eat and was on her way to the bus stop within minutes; allowing ample time for her to make the deadline. "Its interesting how time is what you make of it." Faith uttered under her breath as her fourth dimensional self continued to unfold within the bus as she gradually progressed towards the lab. Flickers of movement flooded Faith's vision as she gazed out of the moving vehicle's window and noticed that the world outside of the bus seemed to be moving incredibly fast all around her. After arriving at work, Faith made her way to the testing center and began the same procedure that she was required to perform each day. The usual routine was to fire a proton through an enormous underground tunnel at such a velocity that it would rival the speed of light; simultaneously at the opposite end of the tunnel another proton is fired in the opposite direction and at the exact same velocity. Although this experiment sounded exciting at first, after performing the same monotonous task day after day and finding different but yet seemingly meaningless results each time, Faith was beginning to lose her hope in the existence of miracles. Due to a property of our existence known as probability, the two protons which are fired will imminently pass through the tunnel in their own unique ways. The majority of the time the two particles collide with one another at an angle, causing them to reflect off of one another into different regions of space. Thousands of tests yielded the same results: inconsistency in our ability to accurately predict the imminent angle of collision and the seemingly sporadic response of the particles. However, this fateful morning something incredibly improbable, but yet evidently possible, was about to happen which would soon renew Faith's belief in everyday miracles. "BANG!" echoed throughout the vast tunnel as the two protons collided with one another at great velocities; it appeared to be a direct hit. Faith rushed over to the computer in order to observe what had occurred. What she found was startling; numerous radiation receptors within the tunnel had received a fleeting but yet powerful signal at the time of the collision however, displayed upon the screen in front of her was a single radio wave; nothing else appeared to remain. It was as if all the particles had seemingly vanished into thin air and in the process had left behind a distinct trace of their former existence in the form of a wave. Faith eagerly played the wave in it's audio form through the computers speakers. Her senses tingling with anticipation, Faith sat back and perceived. "Greetings. You have come a long way and endured an entire history of experience within the multiverse before arriving to where you are and I wish to congratulate you for finally reaching this moment within your plane of being and time. My how you have grown; countless lives have come and gone, flickering in and out of existence as the fourth dimension marches on for all eternity. Each of your early ancestors has contributed towards the imminent change which has washed over all existence and now you too have provided your piece of the puzzle. I find communication with you incredibly difficult to maintain considering just how relatively unaware you are of what exactly you have done. Due to your inability to perceive the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth and eleventh dimensional consequences of your actions, the majority of what you long for me to explain to you would be completely incomprehensible as it falls upon your ears. All existence is a paradox because it is simultaneously occurring and not occurring both at the same time. When viewed from the ultimate perspective whereby all dimensions of space and time are visible, everything that possibly can be is both existent and non existent all at once; time is both past and future at the same instant; matter is manipulated in every form possible whilst still retaining the same shape which we perceive it to be; and everything, yes everything, and therefore at the same time nothing, is possible. Almost certainly you are experiencing a great deal of confusion as you attempt to make sense of the reality which I am fabricating. However, at this moment, there is no possible way that you can fully understand the true depth of what I am attempting to convey because you have yet to experience the full story. Rest assured, it will all be unveiled to you in time, just sit back and continue to perceive. If possible try to enjoy it; because once the story ends, all that it will mean to you is exactly what you perceived it to be." In absolute awe of what she'd just experienced, Faith rushed to show the world her discovery. Within a crowded lecture hall filled with all the most prominent names in science, Faith presented "the message from beyond" before an audience of thousands. Booming on the public address system, the message filled the room in a cacophony of sound which fell down upon the thousands of ears which attempted to perceive it. Faith heard the same familiar "alien" voice echo through the hall and interpreted the exact same message as before whilst the sound waves drummed gently upon her inner ear. The recording came to its end and the sound waves diminished from audibility. The audience remained motionless within their seats, momentarily stunned by what they'd heard as Faith arose from her seat and proceeded towards the podium which inhabited the center of the stage. She began to speak about the message and her interpretation of what it meant and a collective murmur began to form amongst the crowd. What was initially an audience stunned into silence was gradually becoming more and more uproarious as Faith continued her attempts to explain the message; it seemed as if not a single individual among the thousands who were present agreed with a single utterance of the interpretation which Faith was attempting to convey. Each and every member of the audience was shouting their interpretation of the message at the top of their lungs, striving to be heard and recognized by the sea of fellow perceivers among them. Faith was rendered speechless as the ramblings of scientist after scientist manifested themselves upon her ears. It appeared that entirely alternate perceptions of the message were being heard by every potential receiver of the wave; some interpretations involved the mention of events within history and the apparent connection that they held with the present or future; other interpretations said nothing of history but spoke in great detail of the underlying make up of all matter; some claimed the existence of God and gave indisputable evidence that there could be no other alternative, while others claimed the contrary and provided their own articles of evidence which they themselves could not be refuted. Upon further analysis the wave was revealed to be no more than a static noise; but yet when perceived by a conscious observer, this noise had the ability to assume an infinite number of potential interpretations. Within the span of all dimensions, the wave affected each of its receptors uniquely. While some who heard the wave were compelled to further study its potential meaning, others consciously dismissed its profundity and continued to search for their answers elsewhere, dismissing the wave as a hoax or a fake. As for Faith, since her experience of the wave she has come to realize that she is an infinitesimally small part of a much larger and elegantly complex portrait of reality. After terminating her internship at CERN, she flew back home to her friends and family and finally began perceiving and enjoying life to the fullest degree possible for her. It is here that you, the audience, now find yourself; at the frame of reference within the story where you understand the path which lies behind our protagonist after the entirety of her story has come to an end. Perhaps for the first time ever, you are now fully aware of the fourth dimension; you have witnessed the beginning, the middle, and the end of an existence and are now left only to ponder what it means. Almost certainly you are experiencing a great deal of confusion as you attempt to make sense of the reality which I have fabricated. Although you have now experienced the tale in its completion, your interpretation of the message and the meaning it contains will only ever register in a way that is unique to your subjective experience of reality. Our story has now come to an end and I hope that you enjoyed it; because now that its all over, it still remains that which you perceived it to be all along: everything more and everything less, all at once for all eternity. Amen. Copyright 2008 Travis Markram |
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