Radiant Reality

I didn’t think it would end this way. I thought the ability to transcend space and time would elevate humanity to a new level of existence. Now, everything is ending. 

I don’t know where this message will find me. Perhaps there’s a version of me in these nexus points of reality with the wisdom to learn from these mistakes. Unfortunately, I cannot see the potential of each version of myself. There are countless branches forming the tree of existence that continues to expand from every decision made.

It is the balance of reality. It gives us an expanse of experience to grow into who we were destined to be. The artifact offered to open that expanse further, but I wasn’t ready. Perhaps with more time, I would have deserved the gift that fully unlocks the radiant reality of creation. Instead, I brought one universe to ruin.

Which me declined the Enceladus mission? Which one did the artifact reject? Which one was worthy to discover the secrets of how it holds infinite versions of creation together, without caving into the pride to bend it to my will? Which one has the wisdom to consider the full implication of this power the moment I see that gleaming piece of metal rising from the South Pole Ocean of Enceladus against the darkness of space, glowing with the light of endless possibilities?

None of the telescopes, scans, probes, or satellites picked it up. It evaded centuries of space exploration until humanity ventured into space and then it emerged from Enceladus. Scans showed new and fascinating elements, along with energy readings and neutrinos not native to our solar system. We brought it aboard, and it enhanced our computer systems and Artificial Intelligence in ways that would have taken us decades to do on our own. Then the visions started, and I realized this was no random object. As I saw myself living parallel lives across space and time based on different decisions in my past, I realized that this wasn’t an artifact; it was a key to time. It opened me to parallel universes, alternate dimensions, and crossing strings of reality. I was chosen to glimpse its power, and I felt like a god. With time, I could manipulate events not only in my past but also in the present and future of this and other universes.  I knew no limits, just endless possibilities. All things end and my unrestrained enthusiasm caused this universe to collapse into nothing.

I called it the Nexus. It emanated a beauty across all possibilities that glowed with a radiant reality promising a release from the pain of grief, regret, mistakes, accidents, and pain. It was frightening, but that fear melted in the mesmerizing peace of the metal glowing with the light of endless life. My heart said to hold back but my head – and my crew – urged exploration. Probe deeper. Learn more. Unravel the mystery of this object and learn how to control it. As team commander, I should have exercised more caution. 

Nexus must be a relic of the Big Bang. It emanates with energy so pure that it could come from no other source. It moves to where humanity is evolved enough to discover it, and then it comes to me. These two things are constant in every reality. I know because I see that now, in this space where it all converges in crossed branches of existence. I thought it was here to free us from the bonds of a single reality, but the truth revealed here is the collapse of time. No fiery apocalypse; only shrinking into the pride of believing we can control something that’s beyond our comprehension. So many of these nexus points end in darkness, while others continue to branch out in expanding light. Are those the ones where I had the wisdom to leave it alone? More likely, they are the ones where Nexus hasn’t been found. We know all will end in darkness. Eventually, time ends. It's just a matter of how and when. We will reach our highest evolution, and when growth stops then expansion stops, and all collapses into nothing. This artifact seems to be the key to linking it all back into the single point of creation. It’s too bad that I didn’t realize it sooner.

It was the key to eternity until I turned it into the key to destruction.

I learned that Nexus is more than a reset key too late. I was consumed with ego and selfish desire and didn’t consider the interconnectedness that it was here to serve. I should have left it where I found it. Instead, I brought it aboard to take to Earth. Our salvation! This would set the planet right. This would help us to fix the environment, fix the population problems, and fix the mistakes of humanity that led to pandemics, wars, and disasters. The problem is that these disasters are as critical to the evolution of humanity as our personal mistakes are to our own growth. Life is about expansion and growth, and that only happens through challenge that prompts us to rise above complacency. A desire to explore and learn will only get you so far unless you have a catalyst that pushes you in the right direction. Constant resets to erase mistakes or unwanted circumstances weren’t the answer. They were our doom.

We didn’t make it to Earth. My selfish wishes to fix the present problems never gave us a chance to learn that some things can’t be fixed, and you have to learn to live with them. That is how we grow and truly connect with one another and the universe we live in. Instead of salvation, I watched in horror as our sun swirled into a pulsar, thrusting our reality across the undefined planes of existence that glowed with the nexus points of these radiant realities emerging and collapsing as the Nexus moved on to other dimensions. For all of our corrections, I didn’t realize that nothing really changed. Reality is balanced in all things. Correcting one thing destabilized other things critical to the expansion of the universe. The shock waves of our interference resonate through reality.

It's too late for me. There will be no tomorrow. My choices led down the path of darkness until we were too far gone to come back to the light. I can only hope that sending this message will find a version of me who allows Nexus to lead us to embrace the radiant reality of creation in its ultimate form before all comes back to that single light. There is purpose in that light. There is a me somewhere that can find it. It’s why Nexus chose me. It just had to choose me in every reality to find the right one, at the right place, at the right time.

It was not this one.

I cast this message into the nexus points of randomness with the hope that this message finds me a bigger person with the wisdom to make better decisions when I come to Enceladus. Maybe a version of Earth who is open to hearing truth beyond what they know and understand, so they can grow beyond tunnel vision of their limited ideas. Maybe a universe evolved enough to understand how to embrace their reality without trying to manipulate it.

The artifact obviously has intelligence that it chose not to share with me. That was the wisest decision of all. Perhaps this message will show it that humanity can grow. We just need more time, more space, and more prompting in the right directions. Maybe it erred in showing itself too soon in too many places. Or maybe it’s a reflection of who I am when I find it.

I can’t choose where this goes. Maybe this is a letter to my past self, or maybe it’s to a future self. All I know is that I have neither. I will soon cease to exist in the nexus of a dying reality, leaving only this message in hope of preserving others.

Dear me, choose wisely. Trust your instincts, and don’t cave into the shallow parts of your soul. Embrace and expand your authentic self until Nexus invites you beyond it. I didn’t, and it led to extinction. Don’t make the same mistake. Grow. Learn. Move forward. And most of all do not be afraid and never give up.

Godspeed.