Sin Fronteras Spring 2018 Sin Fronteras 2018 | Page 28

Sky-man , as I had decided to call him , wore the same grim expression , just as I had seen him last . “ Alright . With that out of the way , do you know your number now ?” I thought to myself , and realized that my number just identified my universe . Like a very long username , or a hexadecimal code for a color .
The number , for some reason , instantly popped in my head , so I started to write it down . It was 50 or so numbers in length . A couple of minutes passed . Just out of curiosity , I asked Mr . Sky-man how long I had been watching the life of the universe .
“ You were in there for nineteen billion years . However , for me , you watched the entire thing in less than a second . You see , there are ten dimensions - you might remember the first dimension to be a line , the second to be shapes , the third to be the space that beings live in , the fourth to be time , and so on . I am a sixth-dimensional being , and my job is to manage universes at the end of their life-spans . It ’ s not a very well-paid job , but it ’ s the best I could get for my family . Hard times . Very sad job , too .” I tried to reply , but he continued like some nonsensical telemarketer . “ You are a fourth-dimensional being - born out of a concept you might know as time - which dies every twenty billion or so years . Then , another universe is born , and the whole cycle starts all over again , with a few differences from the previous . We sort your universes ; they are sold for the public to watch .” “ So ... I ’ m literally a universe ?” I ask . Sky-man had once again lost his cool , grinning an impossibly fake grin . “ Yes . You are every atom , life-form , world , star , and galaxy to ever exist in the universe you represent . In the sixth dimension , I have infinite universes just like yours . Simple .”
I shook off the myriad thoughts this statement had prompted me to think , and instead focused on the argument . “ So why ’ s that a sad job ? Getting to see 19 billion years worth of life and death ? Some people live to see much less than a crumb of that !”
“ OK , what I ’ m about to say might be a little hard to grasp . You ’ ll probably think I ’ m lying , but in actuality , I just really envy your life , and want it more than mine .”
I raised my eyebrow , incredulous . “ Why ? You ’ re like some sort of god , and you want mortality ? I don ’ t believe you !”
Sky-man continued . “ You don ’ t have the power I do . What you interpret as ‘ power ’ is barely anything close to what I have . You don ’ t share our vast knowledge . You don ’ t share our time . You don ’ t have our infinity . But your
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