Page 26, line 26 by Scott Moyes
Inspired by line 26, page 26 of ‘The Enigma of Desire’ by Galit Atlas.
So what?
“Pragmatic levels of existence envelop each other,” noted something, somewhere, with a hint of triumph. “All matter accounted for. All possibilities predicted.”
“Does this mean... it is complete?” remarked another, tentaively.
“It is ready.”
And they both marvelled at the magnificent floating globe.
It rotated gently, revealing every masterful detail. It had a majestic cerulean glow, shrouded in swirling pearlescent clouds. Tiny ridges and divets textured the surface, impressively unveiled with each new horizon.
“I was going to make it flat, but that seemed kind of counterpructive.”
The other moved closer, completely hypnotised. “It is stunning! Glorious! But how does it work?”
And now, the face began to shift. Great land masses drifted apart and collided. Searing volcanic eruptions scarred the surface, before lush green forests blossomed far and wide.
“There won’t be anything interesting for quite some time. Just bacteria and dinosaurs. But they get scratched pretty early.”
The orb continued to transform, sweeping in and out of bristling ice ages and pelted by tiny hurtling rocks.
“It’s the humans that have all the fun.”
And suddenly, there was a hive of activity, with glitteirng clusters of light emerging.
“Fascinating things, they are. They’ll build impressive cities. Form powerful armies. Pick unfortunate leaders.”
“They’ll discover fire. And gravity. And social media. They’ll leave. Then they’ll come back. Burn the whole thing down, and find a way once more.”
There was a long, ponderous pause as entire civilisations thrived and crumbled.
And then, just as quickly, it was gone. Vanished. Complete and utter nothingess.
“They’ll think they’re pretty important, alright.”
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Scott Moyes