Rover's eyes widened. That voice in his head also spoken outside his head just moments before. Now he knew who it belonged to at the start. But how? How could an older version of Insect have been talking to him before he even met the younger version?
"How about,"the older Insect began, "I tell you everything--like you asked--and you just sit there and listen? You look like you could use some rest from thinking too hard. Your head might just pop," he added with a chuckle.
"Alright," said Rover, unsheathing his curiosity and practically holding it in front of him.
"It begins, like many stories do, with love. A young boy and a young girl-whose names I'll share in just a moment--were perfect for each other. They were, as people tend to say, a match made in heaven. But you know, or perhaps you don't you due to your short life, that there will be times when love can get torn apart. It may have seemed like true love, but not everything is made of solid steel. Even mighty mountains can be eroded by a tiny stream of water over time. This young boy and this young girl grew older together and got married. But that's when tragedy struck.
"It was an accident that was so..
Unexpected. The young girl, or rather the now-married wife, was the victim of a shark attack. You know what, I guess I should just get to the point and say that the young boy turned married man in this story is me. The one who died was my wife. For our honeymoon, I decided on going to Australia New South Wales to be exact and learning to surf with her big mistake in retrospect. We lived in Northern California and she wanted to stay a reasonable distance from home. By that I mean she wanted to visit a placed called Tofino on the Coast of Vancouver Island in Canada. Apparently you can surf in Canada who knew, right? She said she wouldn't mind the colder weather up there but I insisted on going somewhere exotic. Anyway, she succumbed most unexpectedly and of course I could only blame myself."
"That's not your fault." Said Rover.
"It was," echoed older Insect's voice. "But let me explain why'd you're involve in this. As you may have noticed, I am currently in a research facility. Ever since that day the twenty first of june I have been working on a way to bring her back. Now, before you call me crazy for attempting to reverse the effects of death, let me elaborate."
"Dose this have to do with my future determining the past?" Said Rover quickly, before older Insect could continue.
"Ah, about that. To a degree, yes. However, when I was putting that thought into your head, the "past" I was referring to wasn't your past. It was my past, I created you, Rover, to fulfill a mission for me. You were my ace in the deck. You know that you are unlike any other when it comes to time. But what you do not know is that you only exist inside this research facility. I constructed an intricate simulation that would allow you, an artificial intelligence, to alter the course of my past. I introduced you to a younger version of myself and your perseverance gave that younger version the courage to push forward and meet Madison. Then, once you two officially met her, I created something so Malevolent that you wouldn't dare go near Madison ever again. If I could Steer you clear from her path, with the minimum being a formal introduction between us, I could change the past so she wouldn't have gotten married to me."
"Married to you?" Said Rover, consumed by confusion. "You mean you married Madison!?"
"Indeed. And I have forgotten to tell you my real name. Arturo Albany, pleasure to have worked with you."
''Yeah, yeah, a pleasure," said Rover, waving his hand through the air in front of him. "But how does this simulation work? In terms of decoding the laws of time, I mean."
"You see the button here," said Arturo, picking up the camera in which he was talking into. He moved it so Rover could feast his eyes upon a cartoonishly-red button labelled Reverse Infinity. "Now that you've completed the requirements, I can push this button and it will activate. From there, a new timeline will be established and Madison will never have perished in Australia"
"Well, then how would you ever find her again?"
"It won't be too hard, I imagine. I'll travel north to Tofino. Madison always said she wanted to learn to surf on the first day of summer when the sun is up extra long. I'll spend every june twenty first waiting there. I'll find her again, Rover trust in that."
Rover suddenly grew angry. His bloodstream began to boil. "You invented a way to reverse the effects of time and this is what you've chosen to change?!"
"Of course," said Arturo
"What about going back and preventing that house fire?!"
Arturo looked displeased. "Though my family's deaths were tragic, that was a crucial ingredient in my independence. I don't think I could ever invest my love in someone like Madison if my family was still breathing down my neck every day. It was a sacrifice I was willing to make."
"Madison was that special to you?"
"Madison was more special than anyone, Rover. More importantly, her love was more special than anyone's funny thing about love, though. It's like the horizon-you never stop chasing it. Goodbye Rover... and thanks a million."
And with that, Arturo pressed the red button, throwing everything, including time itself, into one big supernova of light.
"That is the end of my offering," I said, bowing my head slightly. "That is my hypothetical way of you reincarnating me." For a moment there was nothing but silence and darkness. It was as if someone (or something) was pondering their choice of words. I grew restless waiting for any form of answer. Was my offering successful? Would I be granted the prize?
"I appreciate the offering, Madison," spoke a low and cold voice. It seemed to come from all around me, as if there was not one mouth but thousands creating a full 360 degrees around me.
"And have you made a decision?" I asked nervously into the dark.
"I have Madison." A pair of red eyes revealed themselves in front of me, their glare seemingly able to pierce through my soul. "Your offering has proved to be more viable than any other soul here. It was very clever, having someone create artificial intelligence inside a simulation to alter the past. Quite ingenious." "Th-thank you, Death," I said, my hopes accelerating like a space- bound rocket. "Do not thank me yet," echoed Death's sinister voice from every angle. "I still need time to put things into action." The red eyes disappeared. I didn't dare speak my thoughts aloud. Death could easily be listening intently. He's been known for playing tricks. Instead, I stuck to the inner workings of my mind, finding safety from eavesdropping. Could I have really won the prize of reincarnation? Is Death really going to select my offering? like Death said, my offering was definitely the most viable compared to every other deceased soul here. Mine was the most sophisticated. No one else offered ideas of creating artificial intelligence to alter the events of the past and ultimately rewrite history. If Death accepted my offering, I could be reincarnated. Chills crept up my arms and spiralled down my spine.
Then Death returned, or rather the two intimidating red orbs with vertical black slits for pupils. When it spoke, it was like being sucker punched from all sides simultaneously. "Consider yourself a lucky soul, Madison. Among the dozens of souls that you competed against, your offering has been chosen. Your method of time alteration is ingenious. I have concocted a way for you to return to your life back on earth." "Thank you Death," I found myself saying. I was at a loss for words and couldn't think of anything better to say.
"Go forth towards the light, Madison. There you will return to your life where your loving husband, Arturo awaits." A speck of light emerged from the darkness. Death's red eyes fizzled out of sight and I could see a bright white staircase ascending high into the unknown. Was this my ticket back to earth? There was only one way to find out.
Atop the staircase awaited a large, golden gate that was shimmering so bright I had to shield my eyes. Through the pristine vertical bars I could see a few figures cloaked in white,small rings of gold encompassing their crowns, large feathery protrusions on their backs. I was in heaven. Hung crookedly on the gate was a wooden sign with three words scribbled in blood-red lettering: HA HA HA
If there's one thing I've learned about Death, it's that he always has tricks up his sleeves. He was truly the joker in the deck, the one card you didn't want to mess with, the one you wished never existed in the first place to reverse infinity? Well, apparently not. Your subconscious may think it's possible, but in retrospect it now seems pretty clear that reversing something that's irreversible is a lost cause. You may find yourself in possession of a royal flush, ready to trump everyone else's hands, but when you come across the joker, even our comprehension of rules becomes shuttered.
Note to self: When you face Death head on, the bigger you are, or the bigger he makes you feel, the harder you fall.
But a more important note to self: Love, like life itself, is like the horizon-you never stop chasing it.
Author's Note:
Hello everyone, I'm back! 😁 It's been 1 week when I wrote my last article. This is it, my last part of Reversing Infinity I hope you enjoyed it❤😊 thanks to those people who enjoyed my articles love yah❤😊
Lead Image source: https://pin.it/70RHl01
Woah 😳 I missed the 2nd part... I to read that one too. 😍