Fiction - All things great and small

Greetings all,

In my youth, I thought I was going to have a career in math. It did not take too many years of university to dispel me of that notion. Still, I have always had an interest in the field.

However, my interest is not a simple intellectual hobby. You see, I have a problem with the concept of Zero and One. They scare me, at a deep and profound level. I have never quite figured them out. They behave quite differently than all the other numbers that we know of, and quite differently from each other. They are bizarre. I have been known to have nightmares about them, though happily not too often.

I suppose that every writer, sooner or later, starts thinking about creation. How did we get here, what's going on, who is in charge, that sort of thing. Two years ago I decided to try. Zero and One figure in this short piece, but you may have to look for them. I am pleased to report, that since writing it, I have had no nightmares at all.

Whatever that means.

Be seeing you,

MC
----------------
All Things Great and Small
Copyright 2006 Mackenzie Cross
All rights reserved

“This is a true story. You will read it, and you will know it is true.” – Neil Gaiman - Sandman

In the beginning, or as near to the beginning as we may understand, God and Satan were lovers. They were the Two who were One, the Paradox resolved. Sacred and erotic, pure and perverse, brilliant and dark – their love birthed a living universe, glorious and blessed by the Unknowable Maker.

And God was the creator. God was the alpha, the All. And God knew All, because All was God’s creation and God was spread throughout all that was created. And the All was ordered and perfect, each thing in its place and a place for each thing. For each contained a part of God, and so each was known by God. And the boundary of everything was defined by God’s presence and it was a goodly thing.

And Satan was the nurturer. Satan was the omega, the infinite, the Void. And Satan knew the Void, because Satan was the Void. And the Void was without form yet is was uniform throughout, unchanging and never ending. Singular and unique, it was the stuff of creation, and destruction. For it was to Satan to which All things returned, tired and weary to the welcoming formlessness of the Void, to be held, nurtured and renewed before being formed again into the pieces of the All at God’s will.

And it came to past that the lovers were drawn to each other and embraced, for each understood their relation to each other, each understood their place, each knew that without the other there was no existence. In their embrace the first love was known – and the Universe was born, and time’s inexorable march began.

So was the circle complete, for All was created from the raw, primal essence of the Void, and then returned at its end. A perpetual cycle, perfectly balanced, nothing destroyed or created, only transformed. God and Satan were the Two who were One, and in the perfection of their coupling they sang the First Song. A song of symmetry, filling the universe with a harmony of sight and sound beyond our meagre comprehension.

And Satan, lovingly, spilt the Void so God might penetrate its essence, and draw from it, and create. And God tasted of the essence of Satan and was mightily pleased, for it was the material of creation, and it was infinite. And Satan was mightily pleased, for God’s creations were many and varied, filling the heavens with joy and beauty. And in this way did Satan serve God. And God drew of Satan’s essence, tasting it, knowing it, and grew to love Satan even more deeply, before gestating and creating the newly born Universe.

And the birth of the universe was a glorious declaration of God’s love for Satan. A living magnificent gift of mass and power. Bright streamers of radiant energy spewed from the nexus of their interaction, spreading light upon the heavens from infrared to ultraviolet. Stars sprang fully formed into existence, a cornucopia of orbs, brilliant diamonds to populate the black felt of the sky, suffusing the cosmos with the warmth of their love. Pulsars turned in precision, each content with it place. Quasars spewed their energy bursts in wild harmonies.

Yet God was not content, for creation was not yet complete. And God penetrated deeply into Satan, gathering more and more of the Void. Yet Satan was not displeased, for the Void was infinite and without end. And Satan served God’s need, giving up of the Void, content to serve, knowing that all would return to the Void in time.

And so God created the galaxies, spinning for the lovers’ pleasure. And out of the galaxies God built clusters and super clusters, traveling outward at enormous speed, dancing through the darkness, each perfectly predictable, each known in its order, each containing a part of God. And Satan and God looked upon Creation and found it good - very good. And they sang the First Song, and the living Universe listened and was delighted. Such was the perfection of their love.

Yet God, seeing the Universe still not yet complete was not content. So God spoke unto Satan saying, “Wherefore are you infinite and I am not? For my creation is bounded even though the Void is unbounded. Open yourself fully that I too may become infinite. If you love Me then reveal every part of the Void, so I may penetrate you completely and know the infinite and thus be content. Do not deny me. If you love me, then give unto me the breath of infinity.”

Upon hearing these words, Satan was confused knowing that creation must be always be bounded. But Satan’s love of God was like the Void, infinite and without end. And Satan would not deny God. So Satan split the Void further, opening wide and accepted the deep penetration of God. And God consumed the Void in great quantities, to assemble creations upon creations.

And lo, God created the planets, circling the stars of the heavens, each planet ordered and balanced in their orbits. And too, God created the comets and asteroids, and even the meteors, each set in their path, following God’s will, part of the All. And the numbers of planets, and comets, and asteroids, and meteors were legion, yet each was known to God, for a part of God was in each one, even to the smallest piece of rock circling the most distant star. And the complex grandeur of creation filled the Universe.

And Satan looked upon God’s creations and sang songs of praise singing, “Oh my love, how beautiful is your creation, how wonderful in its order and essence. For look, you have filled the heaven with a Universe complex and understood. Truly you are God!”

But still God was not content with creation, for it was still bounded, still contained within God’s will. And God grew much vexed, turning again to Satan saying, “Why do you defy me, my lover? Why do you still hold back the infinite Void? Give me more, so that I may complete myself, and be infinite as the Void so we may equal in all ways.”

And Satan was perplexed by God’s request saying, “How have I denied you, my love? For look, I have split myself, and split myself again, and I have opened the Void that you may taste me, and eat me, and build the Universe from my stuff. What more would you have of me, my love? For I am the Void, and the Void is infinite, and singular. You are God, and you have created the All, but the All must be bound.”

And now God grew angry with Satan, liking not the words that were spoken. And God raped Satan, ripping vast quantities of the Void, seeking to make creation infinite. And Satan cried out at this rape, yet accepted it, for still Satan loved God and would deny God nothing, even rape.

And God created on each planet the rocks and the mountains and the streams and the forests. And God created wind and the clouds. And too, did God create the rain, and the snow, and every grain of sand upon every beach on every world in the Universe. And in each and every thing there was a part of God, for each was the creation of God. So it was that God was in the All. Yet still God was not content, for the Universe was still not infinite.

And when God was spread across every part of the universe Satan cried out in fear saying, “Oh my love, you are spread through so much, so very very much. I fear you shall lose yourself in the All, for you are not infinite like the Void. You have become legion, in every part of creation, and there is so very much of creation. I fear for our love. It is enough now, my loved one. Desist from your creation. You have created enough. Come and be my love, and let us once again sing the First Song, so that we may delight the Universe.”

And upon hearing these words God became enraged. And God’s rage was terrible and vengeful. And God cried to Satan saying, “So you betray me, denying me the infinite. Therefore shall I punish you for your transgression against me.”

And God cast Satan down, making Satan small. And their embrace was broken, and the Universe screamed in pain as their love was split asunder. And Satan was made as small as the cluster, as small as a galaxy, yet this did not satisfy God’s vengeful wrath. And so God compressed Satan, as small as a star, as small as a planet, yea as small as the smallest grain of sand in the middle of the desert.

And Satan cried, “Oh my love, do not make me small. For I am the Void, the infinite and can not be contained. I am fearful, my God. So very fearful. Bring me back to your embrace so we may once again be the Two who are One. Do not this thing, my love.”

But God’s heart was cold and black, as the deep spaces between the stars. And God worked a terrible will on Satan, so that Satan was made smaller than an atom, smaller than a proton, smaller still.. until, Satan was no more, and God no longer knew Satan.

Then did God, perceiving what had been done, give a mighty cry and wailed across the empty night screaming, “Oh my love, what have I done! For I was proud and wanted that which could not be! And now I have destroyed you, and I am left alone in the Universe!”

And the balance of the Universe was lost, and the galaxies fell apart, and everywhere there was disorder and mutation. And God spread everywhere, into every disorder and mutation of the Universe, becoming thinner and thinner, until God was lost in the everything of the universe.

Yet Satan was not destroyed. For the Unknowable Maker allows nothing to be created or destroyed, only transformed. And so Satan, the Void, was transformed, into tiny strings, a quantum tapestry, infinitely small and random, without order. And the strings of Satan were woven throughout the universe, embedded in each thing. And the strings vibrated, and in their vibration they echoed the harmony of the First Song.

So it has been unto this very day that the lovers, the Two who were One, are still part of the whole universe. And the strings which are Satan still vibrate with the echoes of the First Song, and the spirit of God, which is in all things is still joyful to hear it. Yet neither knows the other and so there is still chaos in the cosmos, and balance is so very hard to achieve.

Yet it is said in the prophecies, that in the last days, when time’s march comes to an end, that the lovers will reunite, and they will know each other again, and the universe shall be created anew.

Until then, rest content and be at peace brothers and sisters. Let us accept our natures, sacred and erotic, pure and perverse, brilliant and dark. For we are all, each and every one of us, singers of the First Song.
---------