The Forest of Speculation

After I was unplugged, I was sent to the Canyon of Contemplation. I came out of the slipstream and landed right on the edge, almost falling into the gorge below. They should really be more careful when transporting people. I made a mental note to bring this up with a customer service representative.

So, the Canyon of Contemplation - there I was. It was just a big hole. Lots of rock. No people. I yelled: “Helloooooooo!” It echoed.

Wait a second, I guess I should explain. You know those whacky theories about multiverses and alternative timelines and all that stuff? Yeah, it’s not a theory. If a person learns multiverses are real, they get unplugged. Not physically, it’s not like there’s a plug in the back of your neck or anything. It’s just that the ground beneath you opens up and you get transported through the slipstream.

Basically, what happens is you’re living your life, minding your own business, when everything all of a sudden turns from three dimensions to five (that’s right, there are five dimensions - height, width, depth, horizontal density, and finite invictus). Everything stops and now you’re screwed because you can’t unsee what you’re seeing. The world is frozen at that moment, but you understand on a finitus invictus level that this moment and every other moment breaks off into multiple timelines, which snap off into millions of fractoids and so on and so forth.

It’s the job of The Watchers to keep an eye on things and if anyone - like me, for example - got caught in The Inbetween, they hit a button (I think it’s an actual button, and I believe it’s red) to open up the Earth under you, sucking you into the slipstream.

“Helloooooooo?!” I yelled again. What was I supposed to do now? I just sat down on the edge of the canyon and well, contemplated my next move.

After some time, I don’t know how long, I decided to climb down the side of the cliff. There really was no other option. When I reached the bottom and my feet were on horizontal land again, I turned to find an expanse of dense lush trees spread out in front of me. The trees were not visible from above. I instantly knew that this was The Forest of Speculation. Without thinking, I stepped between the trees and the light from above dimmed.

As I walked through the forest, I thought about how none of this was probably real. I was probably dreaming. Or I got hit on the head real hard. Or I was in a terrible car accident and in a coma. Maybe I would never reach the edge of the forest? I would keep walking forever. I mean, I had no sense of direction, had no idea if I was making any headway. Or even if I was travelling on the right directional plane. At one point, I just sat down on a rock under a tree, exhausted. I put my head in my hands and sighed.

When I looked up, all the trees were gone. In front of me was a lake. I couldn’t see the other side. I intuitively knew that this was The Lake of Solitude. I also intuitively knew that I had to cross it. So, I dived in. Nothing lived in the water. I saw no bottom, no life forms, no vegetation. I swam and swam. When I broke through the surface for air, I looked around and saw no more land. Before I was unplugged, I had a fear of open water - oceans, huge lakes, that kind of thing. I remembered that fear, but I did not feel afraid.

I kept swimming.

The next time I came up for air I again saw no land. I felt so alone, but not lonely. I knew what I had to do. I had to go down. So, I took a big breath, the biggest I could muster, and I swam along the line of horizontal density. Down and down and down.

And even though I was swimming downward, I broke through the surface, which was in the opposite place that it should have been. I crawled out of the water to find a desert. By the time I turned around, there was no more lake. No hills or trees or anything. This was The Land with No Name.

I felt that it didn’t matter which direction I walked, so I just stepped forward. The light never changed, but it was a desert with no heat. And no sun, which added to the fact that there was no indication of time passing.

At some point, I saw a cloaked figure in the distance. And the next moment, the figure was in front of me. It was a woman, wearing a maroon robe and a bright blue scarf. She sat down and I did the same. From a satchel, she took out a piece of bread, broke it, and handed me half. We ate in silence, slowly. Next, she brought out a canteen and offered it to me. I drank, handed it back, and she drank.

She stood up and started walking. I followed. After who knows how long, she stopped and said one word: “Surrender.”

And she disappeared.

And the land - and my heart - had a name.