"Master, how long is forever?"

The first thing you need to understand is this: The universe is only apparently infinite. Or merely infinite. There's a fine line there somewhere I think. 

Imagine you are just a function of F; --a tiny frame in a larger "Julia set" of experience and perturbation. You are fractally part of the larger equation by default, and share in its substance and form. The universe is only merely infinite. It is infinite for all intents and purposes you can muster or imagine. That's "close enough" for all sorts of godgames the universe likes to "play" with itself. 

On one hand, you are made up of unimaginably tiny atoms, joined together in clusters of energy known commonly as "things." On the other -- a single atom is mostly "empty space." 

You are the middle path between the infinitely small and the infinitely large. Between the infinitely simple and the infinitely complex. But only apparently, or "merely" so. 

Your perspective is a function of F; its depth or range is based on the resolution you are capable of displaying given the tools you possess or have invented to augment your experience of largeness, or "smallness" from within the set itself. 

This doesn't diminish or magnify your experience of universe in any way, as even your threshold or tolerance for "unknown unknowns" is like an event horizon marking the limits or boundary of your (apparent) ability to perceive them in the first place. Basically --It's a lot of empty space in either direction for you to shout your questions at from here. 

Listen to your smallest inner voice. Those are often "other peoples questions." Answer them if you can


"Is that the secret of multiverses, Mua Haha?" 

Not at all. It is merely a secret of the multiverse. It just happens to be yours, for now.

"JULIA SQR( SINH(Z2) .jmb" by Josep M Batlle i Ferrrer - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:JULIA_SQR(_SINH(Z2)_.jmb.jpg#mediaviewer/File:JULIA_SQR(_SINH(Z2)_.jmb.jpg

The Monster

Nobody fired the "starting gun."

None of the big things matter anymore and there are too many "little things" to track anyway. Yeats had it right, but was iffy on the timeline. Things didn't fall apart; at least not all at once. Everything that happens happens over time, where no one  ever bothers to look. 

Most people have a hard time imagining themselves a year in the future, but the monster is eternal, and invisible; its machinations intersect our reality at all the right angles; daily, over decades. Centuries, even.

If home is a pale blue dot, the monster is a Boa constrictor the size of Mars, suffocating all light. Few know it exists, outside of a handful of key players. Most of them don't really understand what it is for. Everyone inside plays their part to a T, dutifully sincere in their private belief that -- who they imagine themselves to be and what they present to the rest of us -- remains coherent. I wish I could tell you that there was/will be a moment once when a hero steps up and smashes the facade, but I can tell you those who try are fed to dragons for their trouble.

People don't change; that's the first key right there. Except some do, and the rest of us buy their tee-shirts. I was into marketing before I learned to type, and my job was to keep the illusions fresh and -- the hype -- "larger than life."

I guess my actual job title is "content creator." It's vague enough that most who hear it fill in the blanks themselves, which suits me fine and saves me the trouble of lying. Truth is: I make stuff that appeals to a particular niche in a marketing segmentation report. One group is comprised of wealthy freelancers, frauds and assorted "free thinkers." Another? Coffee-cup stay-at-home "moms" with smartphones, SUV's and 16-plus hour days. The trick is to map it all out, like a role-playing game with just a few variables. When you look at a job in the 4th dimension, its easy to see where it all comes together. I simply apply a little pressure where the niches rub together, and let human nature do the rest.

If feeding niches was my path to riches; I wanted "insider access" and everything that comes with it. I saw right away that the whole thing was for show only, --fronts and no backs. Once you see it, "getting ahead" is as easy as crossing a busy street in rush hour traffic. Avoid the cracks if you can: you aren't worth any bonus points until you look down at your feet.