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Creation

I – Udna At first, there was nothing, except spirit. A vast void and just one dot of spirit floating in the abyss. Time and space did not exist, as both are created by the relative motion of objects around other objects. So it therefore came to be that after around no time and all the time, I, the spirit, decided to move. But I could not simply “move,” as I had no other relative object to which I could move; therefore, any motion I attempted would ultimately leave me in the same dark void. At length, I decided to split myself in half, leaving half behind as I moved away from it, thus creating time and space in the same moment. It is here that my story begins.

Next, I decided there must be light, and more relative space, so I shattered the half of the spirit into many millions of shards sent far off and close by: stars. I had created self-perpetuating light, and vast distances, and the first elements. One star in particular I chose to be my center, and around it I drew up materials from the void, materials that needed only a little manifesting to procure. I rose up dust, all around—light-years and light-years of it across the vast void. I began to form this dust into the first exo-planets when I found a new wrinkle I hadn’t intended. The planets seemed to form by themselves. It was the beauty of gravity that I observed watching fields of interstellar dust collecting itself to make spheres (and I could really observe such a slow process take place, as time as you perceive it was far from the way I perceived it then). It was therefore that I created the first few planets, while the rest formed themselves.

But on these planets, I found nothing but desolation. Rocks, dirt, and gravel formed itself, but nothing that lived, that breathed, that felt like I did. And so I set out to create Life. But I could not be so hasty—first I needed to create a proper environment. So I began by raising the skies. The atmosphere I upheld, and I began to create an atmosphere on each of the nearby planets, although some eventually fell to ruin because of the intense sunlight or lack thereof. It was around this time that I noticed another beauty of my creation: the planets began to revolve around the Sun, and the moons around the planets. Day and night were created, as were the seasons, because of gravity—it was gravity that propelled the universe into motion, and so I stepped back and watched.

Although I only rested for a short while. Then, I returned to one of the planets, the fourth one from the sun. It had two moons, and I named it Lisué, for it was not too hot, nor too cold. It was here that I took up residence in my creation. I raised a mountain, higher than ever seen before, or ever will be seen. This mountain I created tall and large, so that none but I and those I permitted may have access to the top. Its slope was not steep, but it was a giant shield on the fourth planet. Some ancient cultures still remember this mountain in vague tales of the past. The Dwelling of the Gods, they called it, or “Mount Olympus.” It was here that I would rest in the first days of creation, and here that four others would dwell as well. We eventually built a city here, as the top of the mountain was flat as the ground.

I soon found that raising mountains and felling valleys was far more difficult than I had expected, and so I split my spirit once again, this time into five parts—one for myself and one for four others. But my spirit was still not affected, as it grows onto infinity, and any division from it

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results in the same amount. These four other divisions I called The Aillé, but I soon found that they called themselves

by individual names. I learned that they had all come out of a separate part of myself, and thus were created with entirely different personalities. Their names were Ulmua, Anyu, Aazen, and Lyna, but they have been called many names throughout time. With them, I created the first environment suitable for the Gift of Life. It was Ulmua who helped me with caves, ravines, mountains, stones, and all things of the land and ground. He raised giant halls of stone for himself on my mountain, which came to be called Hailu, and inside them he stood tall and proud. When he did not dwell here, he lived southeast on three large mountains in the land Gìza. But Anyu looked upon the structures that Ulmua and I had created and still saw ruin, so she decided to fill the planet with a new form: water.

Our valleys became ponds and lakes; our cracks and ravines became rivers and streams; and then she created oceans, seas, waterfalls, and all things that ran smooth and flowing. Ulmua was very impressed, and created valleys and holes in the ground for her. It was not long before clouds began to form, and rain, thunder, hail fog, and all of the other weather, including snow which was common on the mountains, where Anyu lived by a lake flowing down Hailu.

At this time, Aazen began to create as well. It was he that created fire, and all things hot and bright. He made volcanoes from mountains and could burn anything with a thought. But he did not often dwell on the fourth planet, for he would look towards the skies and go out to furnish new light in stars far away, and he would create more stars all the while and give light to that which sat in the darkness. He was not remembered as often, but always recalled fondly.

It was Lyna who at first sat idle. She watched all that took place around her, but saw nothing good. Nothing lived yet, and she waited eagerly for the day that I would create life—when the planet was ready. Her time would come, as I told her. But she was not at all unimportant, for out of boredom she conceived a notion that would change the fate of the universe. Out of herself, she created two others that came to be called Liza and Léga. They were similar to her in mind, but possessed certain differences. It was thus that Lyna first created the Visilou, a group of beings below the four Aillé in power and wisdom but above the life that was to be created. The others followed suit and Ulmua created four Visilou, Anyu created seven, and Aazen created three. Some of these, with the same abilities and motives as their creators, left to other nearby planets to create a similar environment, and soon the third and second planets from the Sun were began. Any Visilou or their offspring were welcome to live on Hailu.

Soon, Lisué was ready for Life. It was Lyna who I allowed to plant the first seed. She scattered many small organisms on the fourth planet, and some on the third and second planets. The Aillé and the Visilou then went back to work, further readying the planet for these creatures, which now dwelt mostly in the seas of Anyu. But it was a short while before Seza, one of the Visilou of Ulmua, found a single green leaf sprouting from the ground: the first complex organisms had been created. Lyna then used this small sprout to raise forests, jungles, and woods. She planted grass wherever she could and soon many species of trees and other plants had evolved in brilliant shades of green and brown. But the first flower had not yet come.

While plants began to evolve, so did the first animals. Fish they started out as, but Anyu

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and Ulmua raised them out of the water and gave them legs so that they could become land animals. These animals soon grew and evolved even quicker than the planets, giving many varieties of animals, with some soon even taking to the skies. They entered the greenness of the world, and soon flowers began to appear to appeal to the animals, and so the second period of history begins. The first took place between the first movement in the void and up to the first flowering, while the second took place between the first flowerings up until the appearance of humankind. The first period was later called Udna, while the second was called Eden.

II – EdenFruits and flowers appeared on almost every plant, and none were poisonous or inedible. It was more than enough for any animal to eat, and the animals began to spread rapidly all around the planets that could support them. It was in this way that Eden passed, for the most part always the same. Animal Kingdoms rose and fell and by the end of Eden, ape-like creatures would appear on the third and fourth planets.

Those living on Hailu did not sit idle, however. They continued to provide a suitable environment for life on the three living planets, with the Aillé and myself living on the fourth planet and most of the Visilou living elsewhere, although their population began to grow. Many others left to go to distant places to set up the stars or shape other planets, and some were never heard from again.

Eden was a period of pristine tranquility. Little occurred in this time, and it was only at the dawn of mankind that history begins again, in new intensity and wonder. This period, from the first humans to the first corruption of the humans, was called Donhudlu.

III – DonhudluThe first humans appeared on the fourth planet, and a few thousand years later on the third planet (it was not by chance that mankind evolved similarly on both planets; Léga, one of the Visilou of Lyna, took the first ape creatures from the fourth planet to the third). Humans would never appear on the second planet, as the Sun began to wear at its atmosphere by the beginning of Donhudlu and life would soon become difficult there, eventually becoming completely non-existent.

The first humans spoke freely with Lyna and soon she became a Goddess to them. Only she and her Visilou could speak to animals, and humans were not yet capable of advanced language. But soon, Ayne, one of the Visilou of Anyu and good friend of Lyna, urged Lyna to teach the humans a language. Lyna spoke to me and I urged her to do the same so that we may all be able to speak to these creatures, although I asked her to teach them a language other than the one used by the Aillé. She did just this, and it was thus that the first human spoke in the second language in existence:

“Who are you?” one human asked me as I approached to speak to him. I was surprised and glad all at once, as these creatures were curious and confident. I explained to him that I was creator the universe and those that create. I was soon known as “Life-Giver” when I began to visit groups of humans, which translated to “Ezos” in their tongue. After some time, humans began to settle down into permanent civilizations. They learned domestication, agriculture, the arts, social structures, economic systems, and law. Most of these ideas came from the Visilou,

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who walked among humans often in the form of taller and more fair humans (as we usually appeared to them), but the Aillé and I were more distant from them, staying at the top of our mountain on which the humans looked with wonder and worship. Some would imitate the shape of the mountain and built large ziggurats or pyramids, although this was more common amongst the later humans of the third planet.

The humans never ceased to surprise us; they always created more and more out of their environment and lived in harmony with the animals and plants. After their civilizations had become more established, some humans, the rulers of large groups of them, would be invited to Hailu. There they would dine and speak with us, staying for short periods of time, receiving our wisdom and knowledge. Later on, the civilizations became more advanced and humans started to produce more literature, art, and music. Philosophy also became well-respected at this time, as did governmental and judicial systems. Humans gave many gifts to those that lived on Hailu, and we returned the favor by aiding them in advancing in their civilization. Every human lived for hundreds of years and population soon started to grow. As this happened, larger and more thought-out civilizations formed and the golden age of humanity began.

At one point, near the middle of this period, King Donhudlous of the Eastern land of Tholrian grieved over the death of his daughter, Lyvilèn, and begged the Aillé to let her return to Lisué. The gods long thought on Hailu, and finally they decided that they would not allow humans to be immortal, nor would they allow them to be brought back from death, but instead of allowing the human souls to scatter across the universe to do what they please, they would each be reassigned to a new body with little memory of their previous lives. And so, reincarnation was created, although the King Donhudlous never again saw his daughter in the flesh.

For some humans, ascension was possible into higher dimensions created at the same moment as the lower ones. The gods and Visilou inhabited all dimensions at once unless they chose to retreat from some, yet mortal humans could only inhabit three or four at one time. These higher dimensions were weaved into lower dimensions, and may now be observed, not physically, but in a nebulous way through the actions of other dimensions. It is into the dimension directly above the third, sometimes known as the Dark Dimension (for light need not exist there), that some could enter, and here it is thought that Donhudlous’ Lyvilèn may now dwell, escaping her fate to be born once again.

This period ended with the Great Winter, in the start of a period known as Dèlu.

IV – DèluPure evil does not truly exist, but it was evil that came to possess the minds of humans. Not all of them, though, although most humans split away from those that still remained faithful to the Aillé.

The burning evil of the humans had multiple components: first, the wood was created when humans were designed to desire. They desired basic necessities, like food and sleep, but they soon began to desire more and more as they became rich. Their environment only doused this firewood with oil, as they had plenty of what they needed and more than they could want, but they still desired more. They soon refused to learn humility or gratitude. Then, the spark finally came. In the Great Winter, thousands of years since the appearance of humans on the fourth planet, there was a food shortage that led many to die and dwindle. The length and

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intensity of the winter had not been seen before and has not been seen since. Many trees were felled, many animals killed, and many mouths were fed, but in the end, the winter continued and still the humans could not make ends meet. It was then that King Dèlous of the lands east of the mountain in Tholrian came to march up to Hailu, demanding that the winter be ended and accusing the Aillé of sheltering and feeding those that lived north and west of Hailu in Cyriatum (those that remained faithful that lived by the ocean). We had no food either, nor did we need any to survive, and we tried to explain to the King of Tholrian that we did not control the course of the seasons, but he had brought with him as much of his military as he could muster, and with them he marched up the mountain. But the mountain had been designed specifically to keep such intruders out, and they gave up after climbing nearly half of the mountain in five weeks, losing many. Instead, they decided to siege us at the foot of the mountain, but they were only besieging themselves, which made them all the more angry at us, and those that lived in Cyriatum. It was thus that the war of Dèlous began.

Once Dèlous had attempted to siege mount Hailu for almost a month, he decided to attack Cyriatum in the north, in a desperate rage for food and vengeance. It was Ulmua who came down the mountain to warn the Cyriatians of this attack and provide defense. He raised tall mountains between the military of Dèlous and the land of Cyriatum that would prove to be difficult to cross, and long to go around. The Aillé then chose to shorten the lives of men and women in the Kingdom of Tholrian to an average of eighty years, from hundreds of years. However, the people living north, south, and west of Hailu were not yet affected, as they had no rash desires for war. But soon every human became plagued by this curse, having given in to hate and war.

The King Dèlous was angry, but not unwise. He chose to retreat back to his homeland, returning with many fewer than those that had come, and build up strength, never forgetting his intentions. The winter continued for almost one more month, until the first flowering. It was then that Dèlous began to make plans for his people, but he had aged rapidly and was growing ever older. He had three sons that could have inherited his throne: the eldest, Ligan, was faithful to all of those that dwelled on mount Hailu and would make peace rather that war. The second eldest, Thol, was most like his father: angry and spirited. He had been named after the founder of Tholrian in the period of Donhudlu. The third and youngest, Uylé, was like Ligan, and would follow his example. It is well known among the people of Tholrian that, in his last days, Dèlous banished Ligan from Tholrian, forcing him into the wild lands far from the Kingdom, where Ulyé would forever follow in search of his brother. It is thus that the songs of Ulyé came about, and rumors that said he could still be heard calling his brother’s name over the fields far East.

Thol came to inherit his father’s throne when Dèlous died, and the war continued. After two short months, Thol had mobilized his still-famished military and set out to attack Cyriatum. He was wiser than his father and would not attempt to attack Hailu itself, but rather the God-Lovers, as they would call them. There they thought they might find many Visilou or one of the Four Aillé.

Thol went all the way around Hailu in the south to pass the mountains that Ulmua had raised in defense of Cyriatum, and he even gathered some ten thousand people to join him while passing through lands far away from his home. It was after this pass that he at last came to Cyriatum, where they were waiting for him in peace or in war. It was at the outskirts of Cyriatum, in the fields of Miae that the Tholrians were apprehended. The people of Cyriatum

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requested Thol to come to their land where Thol could speak to their leader and have peace, but Thol would not listen, and instead led his entire military onto the people of Cyriatum. This legendary battle came to be known as the Battle of Mra, and here is how it was won:

The Tholrians were weary, but powerful and motivated. They had almost 80,000 men, all well-equipped and disciplined. They marched in neat, rectangular groups and were said to be fearless. The people of Cyriatum were armed well, and well-trained, but they only had about 25,000 men: 10,000 foot-soldiers from their homeland, 7,500 fierce spearmen from the west, and 7,500 skilled riders from the south. One advantage that the Tholrians didn’t have was the military genius of Haldèn of Cyriatum, which was mimicked many times throughout history. He organized his men in such a way: the foot-soldiers stood ready in a wide, slightly-curved line, facing the Tholrians. The spearmen waited facing almost inward on either side of the line, but looked out to the fields. They were at forty-five degree angles from both ends of the line of foot-soldiers, and after them stood the skilled rides, so that they made a crescent moon facing the Tholrians. It was then that I appeared on this field, and spoke to Thol of the dangers of his choice, but he would not listen, and cast a spear in my direction. None could reckon with the anger of Thol.

He then ordered his men to attack. They marched in three large rectangular formations into the crescent circle to meet the foot-soldiers, and many Cyriatians died from that attack. But it was then that the spearmen came riding forth to meet the Tholrians at the sides, and soon afterwards the horsemen had arrived at the end of the three formations. The people of Thol had been trapped, and were quickly being picked off at the edges while those that remained desperate in the middle could not move. The Cyriatians soon closed in onto the Tholrians, and none escaped from that vicious trap, not even Thol himself. It was therefore that the Battle of Mra was won and the empire of Thol began to fall. Few that had originally set out returned home, and Thol’s only child was a toddler. It was therefore that the nephew of Dèlous came to the throne, and the latter part of Dèlu had come into motion. The mountains that Ulmua had raised in defense were lowered, and Cyriatum expanded into that land.

The humans had been scarred by the evil of themselves and others, and peace had finally been broken. The people split into the two large empires: Cyriatum in the North and West, and Tolnas in the South and Southeast. The third empire, Tholrian, wavered and fell to civil war while the other empires rose, the last people of Tholrian escaping to the land of Tolnas. The people of Tolnas were more like those of Tholrain than those of Cyriatum, and would be wary of the gods on Hailu, but would never openly attack them, and would at times make deals with them. They were for the most part neutral. Those of Cyriatum, however, would trade with the gods commonly and made friendship with as many as they could. Their most-respected were Anyu and Ulmua, from whom their capitals in the West and Northeast were named. The people of Cyriatum became the best builders and even better wonderers. It was then that I predicted that they would be the first people to travel to the third planet from the sun, and I was correct. This happened at the beginning of the period known as Peretzi, but first, Yvennia took place, in which the Cyriatians began to understand machinery and technology, helped by the wisdom of the gods.

V – YvenniaThis period initially saw almost as much peace as Donhudlu, but the people had been shaken up

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terribly by the war and the Great Winter. However, these hard times allowed better leaders and creators to emerge and thus the resulting period, Yvennia, was much more prosperous. It was a young woman by the name of Raulyn that discovered the way atoms interact in electrical ways, and was able to harness energy for the first time using metals and materials she had been given by the Aillé.

This knowledge became widespread within a few decades and soon the people saw themselves as the creators. They built stronger cities, faster vehicles, and machines that would not err. This ability spread to all of the peoples around Hailu, yet it was mostly centered in Cyriatum. There the sun never set, and the people never slept but to stop and dream up more creations. Some of those that dwelt on Hailu became concerned that the people would attempt to use this technology four foul purposes, or to take control of the mountain, but most praised Cyriatum for its advancements.

The empire Tolnas, however, did not fare as well. It received little aid from the gods and was plagued by poor rulers who upheld deceit and injustice. It then came to be that many would flout this power, and soon pockets rebellions formed in Tolnas, though few took direct action. Many left to live in the bustling and busy Cyriatum, although most were too stubborn, hating the gods and the empire that lived so closely to them.

At the resolution of this period, Queen Yvenna came to power in the great Cyriatian Empire. The entire focus of these people was on advancement on all fronts, and some rumored that they would raise another mountain like Hailu. But it is at this time that a great fall in humankind also occurred in the Empire of Tolnas: the first modern weapons of war were created.

Seventeen men and women worked together, supported by the empire, to create a weapon that would fire with greater force than they believed the gods could oppose. It was a great debate what to do with such a weapon: some wanted to deconstruct it, others wanted to march onto Hailu, others wanted to take over the rule of Tolnas for themselves, or even Cyriatum. All of this talk and rumor eventually was the inspiration for an infamous revolt in Tolnas. Two men who had originally built this weapon stole it and brought it to the gates of the grand steel and stone castle in which the king dwelt. He at once sent the best of his men out to fight, yet the walls were quickly toppled down with the might of this energetic weapon. Many had joined the two rebels, and now the fight became fiery and long-lived. The castle had been attacked from all fronts, and its defenses were quickly reduced to rubble, yet its offense was powerful, leaving many killed in the initial stalemate. It was thus how the first three days of the battle took place. On the fourth day, the weapon was destroyed by a party of unknown attackers, and on the fifth the king had been taken, although the two original men who had sparked the conflict had been killed.

The forces of the king surrendered and the king was exiled, leaving none to rule Tolnas. War continued among the people, and many fled or were killed in this time. It was this that began the hate of machine and technology by the gods, and few that lived on Hailu would afford sympathy to those of Tolnas. Meanwhile, in Cyriatum, the people and the queen Yvenna had taken the example of the empire of Tolnas and created weapons of war lest there be any attack on Cyriatum. It was thus that the period of Yvennia ended: after hundreds of years of peace, Tolnas erupted into civil war of rebel against rebel while Cyriatum stood in vigilance, and those of Hailu were all the while displeased.

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VI – Peretzi The Cyriatians at last developed the technology to abandon Lisué, and in the chaos of the fourth planet flew off towards the third, where they found further disorder. There lived humans, the seed that had been planted long ago across the solar system, and their civilization was primitive and war-like. The Cyriatians soon came back to this planet, making many trips in the period Peretzi. They taught the people there language, agriculture, the many uses of fire, and domestication. They taught them, most of all, how to create, and taught them of the gods and their supreme example. It was thus that tales of Mount Olympus came to surface, with many gods, although soon religion became focused on just one or the other. The ancient people of the third planet, which was named Celsian, erected large structures to remember our names, often built in threes to remember the three Aillé while Aazen had gone out to other lands. They built pyramids and ziggurats all over Celsian from north to south, east to west, to imitate Hailu as the Cyriatians had taught them. The people of Celsian evolved and pleased the Cyriatians, soon becoming as advanced as many had been on Lisué in Donhudlu. But a great tragedy was taking place on the fourth planet, and so the Cyriatians abandoned those on the third planet to look homewards, leaving many memories and some creations behind.

In the early years of Peretzi, one leader had finally arisen in the land of Tolnas, a descendant of those of Tholrian and some said of Thol himself. He was the mighty Gèru, and his charisma and physical might had led many to follow him. Himself he called “Rightful Leader” of the people, yet he was wary to utter “king” or “ruler,” lest the people see his true intentions. The chaos and civil war had come to an end in Tolnas, but this was only because Tolnas was united under one goal: destroy Hailu.

Gèru had twisted and persuaded the people to believe that the gods had been the pure source of all that had happened to Tolnas, and now Tolnas was preparing to burn and kill all that looked upon Hailu with any other emotion than disgust. Although the gods had been growing distant from Cyriatum due to their technology that the gods so fervently distrusted, the people of Tolnas planned to begin with Cyriatum like Thol before them, to see who would join them and who would cower under their presence. The king of Cyriatum at this time, King Celsa, was primarily focused on the life and existence on the third planet, where he was regarded as a supreme saint. It was therefore that Cyriatum did not perceive the might of Gèru and Tolnas, which now became known as Gelzian, until the end.

It was the bloodiest war of history. The Cyriatians had superior technology, but the Gelzians had the will and motivation. Not one Cyriatian would escape any Gelzian unless the Gelzian had been killed. The Gelzians had made a long journey around Hailu and entered in the south of Cyriatum. It was not long before they took the south-most end, which was relatively weak in comparison to its west capital, Anyu, while its northeast capital Ulmua was not as strong. The Gelzians began to circle around the sides of Cyriatum and made their main offense from the west, where they fought into Cyriatum and isolated a large portion of the south of that land, which was promptly taken, all of its inhabitant shown a sliver of mercy and taken as prisoners rather than killed at once. During this event, the gods sat on Hailu, daring not interfere again, although some Visilou fought along with the Cyriatians.

This occurred in the initial few months of the desperate attack, and Celsa soon became overwhelmed. He did his best to unify his people, but many were distraught and grief-stricken

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with the loss of much of their homeland in a sudden jump into war. Some fled to the third planet on massive ships, although they were few and not many are thought to have survived. Celsa ordered his entire military towards the southern front, where they were able to push back against the Gelzians with a new-found strength, but Gèru flanked them on the west and Cyriatum was again reduced. Most of Gèru’s army crept up the westward borders and encircled the west capital while just enough were left behind to fight the weary Cyriatians in the south. It was then that the city Raun was invaded and taken captive, a turning point in the war.

All hope for the Cyriatians had been lost, as the major city Raun stood as the last defense against the Gelzians from the capital Anyu, which was not far away. The capital Ulmua in the northeast was of little concern to Gèru, and would fall soon enough after Anyu in the west. Many territories nearby Raun had fallen as well, and much of Celsa’s military was relieved from their duty in the south to defend the capital. Much of the land in the south was willingly given up as Cyriatians made their last stand at the borders of the capital, yet many surrendered in despair. The great empire of Cyriatum had collapsed, and after a five-week siege of the capital Anyu, all was lost. It was thus that the gods uttered the words that would bring Gèru to his knees: “enough.”

In the ensuing few months after the Geltien War, as it became known, Gèru rested in the devastated lands of Cyriatum while his military healed and became again ready for the final battlefield: Hailu. But the gods themselves would not wait for this time, and became completely disgusted by their evil creations. It was in the following period, known as Echlu, that the gods decided to arrest the pursuits of the humans and wipe them from Lisué, with the last hope for mankind resting on the shoulders of those that ruled the planet Celsian.

VII – Echlu As the Gelzians prepared to march on Hailu, a council was held on the top of this mountain. Although many, like Lyna, were opposed to such a destruction, the decision was eventually made to bring Life’s existence on the fourth planet to an end. The ground was hallowed, the oceans and seas dried up, the plants withered, and the atmosphere collapsed, leaving humans to die off in mere instants. The glory or the power was not with them. Earthquakes and dust storms ravaged the landscape and deteriorated all human creations that had not been buried deep underground. The gods left the solar system into higher dimensions of matter and energy not yet understood by humans, and the mountain Hailu was hallowed by Aazen to create a dreadful volcano, larger than any ever seen. The only life now rumored to exist on the fourth planet is known by those on Celsain. They tell tales of aliens, grayed by the lack of sunlight underground and with large black eyes to see in near darkness, with only the remains of an advanced technology and vast intellect. What became of anything else that once existed on Lisué, I do not know, and I had abandoned Celsian as well, fearing that the same would happen there.

As I later came to learn, empires and governments rose and fell on that planet as well, and humans soon advanced further, though their morals progressively disappeared into the modern age. They were relatively haughty and conceited, yet less driven than those of Lisué. Whatever periods they have drawn for themselves I cannot recount here, but I did return to this planet once, in the Celsian year 2015 A.D. I was the only one to ever return to lower dimensions, yet I was not overly satisfied with what I observed, and decided to leave once again, perhaps to

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return far in the future. I recall now my final memory of contact with humans. I had presented myself as a homeless old man and sat wearily at a bus stop in a crowded city. Three men and two women sat or stood nearby, huddled in the rain. The man sitting to my left turned to me and asked, “Sir, do you believe in God?”

“No, and yes,” I said, “I believe we are all a part of one consciousness, which we experience subjectively throughout lower dimensions in space and time.”

“You really believe that is true?”“There is no belief, only knowledge. I know that is true, but you may know something

different.”“What are you saying?” he asked, puzzled.“Your reality is subjective, like much else in this world. What is truth, as you know it, but

an arbitrary judgment founded on faulty sensations?”He seemed to think over this for a good four or five minutes. I looked at my watch, it was

getting late in this dimension already. The bus would be soon arriving, however.“Then what is reality, truly?”“Truly?” I answered, “Truly, it is a dream. A grand illusion. Many people live and die,

believing that they are separate entities in a separate journey to a separate place, but it is all one. It ends relatively quickly, then commences again, and however much you may put faith into the extent of what is ‘real,’ you will always be disillusioned upon awakening. Dreaming is the creation of a world—which is what you have here: a subjective existence; an individual, shared realm. Reality is simply what one makes of it, whether it be large or small, grand or dull.”

The rain fell heavily now, and the cars sped by in front of me.“Where are you headed to?” he again spoke up.“Home. And you?”“Church, where I may pray to an absent God who I have hardly met.”The bus pulled up. “God bless you,” I muttered, stepped on the bus, and awakened.