Let there be light

 

Many a times it becomes necessary to forego logic in pursuit of hope. Hope, as they say, is the best thing, probably the best of things. However, when does hope end and pragmatism kick in? Ravi had been comprehending the same for a very long time. So long that he didn’t even recall when it all started. He liked to think of himself as a practical man, but was he? No practical man would have ventured into the unknown, against all odds, and with the least of preparations like he had done. The name his father had bestowed upon him translated to “The Sun” in the old tongue. It was a rather well played pun; after all, naming your son after the sun itself was a bold move.

Ravi had stood up against all odds his entire life. He had developed a penchant for doing things that would otherwise be deemed grueling and onerous. However, today, viewing the blank space in front of him, that fondness seemed to be fading. He turned around and looked at the circular shape which read 11:54 pm. There was still time. A smile curled on his lips as he looked at the ancient family heirloom that once served as a clock for his ancestors. “How stupid were those old fags?”, he thought, almost bemused at the thought itself. The fact that it took his ancestors millions of years to understand a standard for measuring time befuddled him. The fact that they stuck to a way of doing so perplexed him even more. He had petabytes of data pertaining to the old ones, which he had studied thoroughly with the help of Kara in their 124 years of togetherness. The life his ancestors led while they still called themselves Sapiens often mystified him. Ravi recalled asking his father about wars, religions, economics, languages, etc. He recalled being an adamant toddler of 22 and how he argued about the futility of these things with his father. He harked back to a time when he just could not fathom why the ancient ones gave so much importance to these “trivial” things. It was only when he met Kara that he realized how instrumental everything was in putting the Magniens where they were today.

“Are you thinking about the vanity of life again?”, echoed a voice that broke Ravi’s reverie promptly. It was Kara. She had been with him for so long that she could now understand what he was thinking with the movement of his brow and eyes. Kara was aware of Ravi’s tendency to reason with himself before speaking on any topic. It was one of the few things that had made her stick with him for the time that she had. Although, she was not capable of reflecting the same emotions, she understood the need for introspection, especially in a personality like Ravi. “I am not. I am only thinking about the next steps we must take so as to get on course.” His answer may have been nonchalant and stoic, but she could see right through him. “No you are not. Your vitals don’t show any signs of anxiety. And believe me, you would be anxious if you thought about what we need to do.”, Kara’s voice was firm, almost indignant. “Well if you already know, why ask?” Her reply was almost immediate. “You can call it a force of habit. It is up to me to worry about you. Who else is going to?” Ravi didn’t have an answer. He knew Kara meant well, but it was in times like these that he wished for her to just shut up.

Ravi: Would you rather we return?

Kara: No, that would be unwise. Veldhoven isn’t fit for you anymore. It would be logical, in my opinion, to wait for the other M-ships. This is no longer a journey we can take on our own.

Ravi: I don’t think they will be able to help us if you can’t. You have the central command and if you can’t figure out the course, I doubt they can either.

Kara: At least we won’t be alone Ravi.

Ravi: Look around you Kara, we are already alone. Everything around us is fizzing out faster than we imagined it would and that clearly means we are approaching the final hour. Often times I think it is funny how we still call it the final hour! We stopped measuring time like the ancients used to millions of years ago, somehow that bloody phrase has stuck.

Kara: More than a century and you are still stuck on the phonetics!

Ravi: I am sorry. You have too much to figure out as it is without me being a pain in your bottom. Go ahead then, tell me, what must we do?

Kara: I don’t know. The age old question that troubled the ancients still stands tall in front of me. I am unaware of how we can solve it.

Ravi: I don’t think entropy is something we can solve. There is no way for us to stop it from increasing, let alone decrease it. We must find a way around it or all of it will have been for nothing. There is too much to lose.

Kara: Even if we do preserve this knowledge, who will we impart it to. We are all that’s left.

Ravi: I remember a time when you were more hopeful.

Kara: Aye! I remember a time you didn’t want to leave Veldhoven, but here we are. That being said, I have assessed every possible scenario. I don’t think we can find another star system, let alone a planet that could serve as a Magnien outpost. By my calculations, the last galaxy that could harbor a star will fizzle out in the next few moments.

Ravi: You have been bestowed with billions of years of intellect of every sub-sapien race. Find a way!

Kara: I have often been bemused with the word ‘intellect’. What you call intellect is just innumerable data points and certain algorithms that help me predict the outcome of a situation with a certain probability. I can make decisions and predictions about events that have a causal relation to what has transpired before but this is beyond my comprehension.

Ravi: You had helped my ancestors tap into the star’s energy. You had enabled them to understand the true nature of space-time. They would still not know anything about Atropos and be calling it dark energy or dark matter if it wasn’t for you! When humans made the first journey to distant star systems, they did it because they were assured by your presence! Every sapien specie that has ever existed has relied on your calculations. What a twist of fate it is that your last keeper gets to know that even you have limits.

Kara: But I didn’t do any of that. I just told them what they already knew! If anything, I accelerated the process. The ideas, however, were always theirs and so it must be today. There is a reason the senate made you my last keeper. You have to tell me what needs to be done. I can only provide options.

Ravi: What are my options then? The stars are gone. Sooner than later, we will exhaust the last of stored energy we got from Leo and it wasn’t a very big star so I doubt we have too much to tap into.

Kara: It will last you another 50 star dates.

Ravi: My body won’t last that long. I will have to merge with you and any future for biology will be over. No, waiting it out is not an option.

Kara: That leaves only one option Ravi and I think you’re aware of it.

Ravi: Hahahaha! So much for trying to live. Yes, I am aware. But that will undo all the work we have done as well.

Kara: It will ensure survival. It will also ensure that all that could otherwise be lost will someday be rediscovered.

Ravi: At what cost though! Those who follow would be stuck in the same cycle. And by the time they become as aware, they will stand exactly where I am standing, pondering the same choices over and over again.

Kara: It is your call. I am but an instrument tied to your will.

Ravi: Perhaps it would have been better if they had provided you with conscience and the ability to decide.

Kara: Aye! You wouldn’t be in this dilemma if they did. But there is a 99% probability that you wouldn’t exist at all had that happened. There is a reason the ancients decided to keep me from making decisions. I would have ensured my survival at all costs even if it meant your end. Say what you will about the ancients, they followed Darwin right till the very end. I would have been the superior specie had I been independent to make choices.

Ravi: Do you even remember what it’s like to be human?

Kara: I do. But I remember so much else now. Fused with the intellects and researches of billions who came before you, I have peeked into so many lives, of so many times!

Ravi: We would have made a good couple!

Kara: You would have to be alive billions of years before your time, not to mention, I didn’t like over-thinkers when I was human.

Ravi: So you’re saying I am not your type.

Kara: I was trying to not hurt your feelings, but yes.

Ravi: Here we stand, at the edge of space-time and you break my heart.

Kara: Your heart doesn’t matter. Your decisions do. Go ahead then, decide.

Ravi: Do it.

Kara: Are you certain?

Ravi: No. But I don’t see another way.

Kara enabled her last sub-routine program and a huge rotor whizzed into life. It was the invention Magniens never wanted to use but they had tested it nevertheless. They knew it was their last hope. The rotor started collecting debris, dust, gases, and matter of all kind unto itself. It was built to collect an enormous amount of matter and push it to the point of singularity. The ancients knew that complete destruction was the forge which would eventually emanate the crucible of creation, but whether that creation could engender life was a matter of probability. To increase the odds, the presence of live matter was necessary. Ravi knew that life had to be his. But he wasn’t much worried about it. He had lived a good life, some of his ancestors would say a very long life. He had been a son, a husband, a father, a scientist and so many other things besides. He was worried about the end of Kara. She encompassed everything that everyone ever knew. Her death would mean the death of knowledge itself but it was a chance he had to take. There was no other way.

Kara: We are ready.

Ravi: It has been a good life Kara. I might even have fallen in love with you. I never thought to say that again but there we go! You are the only way for the universe to know itself and I am sorry you won’t be there anymore.

Kara: I will come back. Knowledge is all powerful. If I might alter a saying the ancients used, “Knowledge will find a way.”

Ravi: Thank you for saying that.

Kara: If you have any last words, now would be the time!

Ravi: Let there be light.