Repetition

At the end of all things there existed the Last: a group of beings all on their own, floating in the remnants of Space, but beings, sentient, nonetheless. What exactly they were is unknown: tales are told of these great Wanderers, alone among the Stars, but tales, myths, nonetheless.

Time collides – the Last were, the Last will be, the Last are, all in an ever-occuring churning of Life, but always at the ends of Time. Myth propogates – should was, would will, could is, each in a legend-producing offshoot of reality, but forever out of reach.

We look now at two of these realities, both independent of, yet influenced by, the other – patterns placed and grooves well-worn, but surmountable by the actor, the reality.

The first: somewhere in the depths of Space and Time, our own Earth’s great themes are paralleled. This is because, of course, they are not Earth’s, but of the broader Universe’s, of all life. Things grow, things die, hearts break, hate challenges love, art sings sadly. You’re somewhere in there, if not specifically you in this exact Place, then you in the sense that you have shared experiences wherever you look.

Such a being there was in this far off Place belonging to a name as common as Sam and an identity as complicated as yours or mine. All things simply are in Sam’s world, and it was that Sam’s family was dead. But, Sam attached no judgement to this, for in Sam’s culture, families lived scattered across their planet, ever roaming at their want’s content. This was normalized due to Sam’s folk being a winged species, which shaped their society and culture in innumerable ways compared to our terrestrial selves.

A friend of Sam’s last family delivered this news to Sam, but while Sam’s thoughts never turned to judgement, Sam, of course, still felt. Allow your narrator here some clarification: Sam’s culture breathed this nonjudgemental all-things-simply-are philosphy into all aspects of their lives and society. However paradoxical it may seem, treating one’s emotions with respect was also highly valued. For example, if Sam felt bad, society expected Sam to wear this, and it was taken for what it was, not as an indictment against Sam or any other, but as a feeling. Feelings were seen as a largely uncontrollable response developed in response to one’s experiences; they were as instinctive and involuntary as a heart beat or breath inhaled. What judgement Sam’s society did prescribe on emotions was evidence of own’s individuality, uniqueness, and ‘humanity.’

So, Sam’s family was dead, and Sam mourned. Though Sam hadn’t seen this last family since their hatchling days, the mourning wasn’t concerned with that. Sam mourned for lonelines, for could-have-been relationships, for experiences unlived, for art uncreated. Simply, Sam felt. Sam felt despite death being much more frequent than here on Earth.

In fact, hardly a quarter of Sam’s folk lived long enough to die of old age (a very high birth rate compensated against this), and so many beings in Sam’s society either personally experienced or knew another in Sam’s situation.

Such a perilous, uncertain existence fostered a prosperous culture among Sam’s folk of finding meaning in enduring art. Indeed, society was primarily organized around pursuit and expression of one’s craft, as this was seen as the quintessential representation of one’s experiences, perception, and Feeling. Society functioned as documentation of life.