When Dr. Athena had first heard of Lord Flare, she had imagined a sinister, fiery version of Stalin, a being so sinister he was willing to kill on sight, torturing his victims with vicious electrocution methods and forcing those around him to submit to his will. Now that the fallen emperor, the destroyer of versions of Earths was now in front of her, she didnt know what to think. This Hothead looked more sullen and scarred than evil. His voice seemed more intellectual, smooth, and calming than sinister. Lord Flare looked up and said, Well? Dr. Athena snapped out of her stupor. She suddenly remembered all of the horrible things Py told her Lord Flare had done, how Lord Flare was in the process of obliterating all versions of Earth, effectively causing the most horrific genocide in all existence. She remembered how this being had once subjugated the entire Multiverse to his rule. She thought of all the innocent children of many alien races whose lives must have been scarred by shortages and plagues caused by this... by this... Dr. Athena suddenly screeched, YOURE THE PURE EVIL MONSTER WHOS BEEN TERRORIZING ALL OF EXISTENCE? I HATE YOU!!! YOU HORRIBLE, EVIL, WRETCHED, HITLERESQUE PIECE OF FILTH!!! I WISH YOU HELLISH SCUMBAG GET RIPPED APART BY A BLACK HOLE!!! YOU...YOU... Dr. Athena stuttered. Lord Flare was just nodding his head--or body, his head pretty much was his body--and sadly added, Really? Pure Evil Monster? Scumbag? Ripped apart by a black hole? Knowing what I have accomplished in my life, and what you have learned about me, I would daresay I deserve much, much, much worse than petty name calling. If youre going to resort to personal attacks, at the very least curse. Or perhaps even slap me. Shoot me. Murder me. I deserve everything you throw at me, and much, much, more. Lord Flare took laser gun out of his pocket and casually tossed it over to a stunned Dr. Athena. She grabbed it and stared at it, in total disbelief at what this despicable lord had given her. Go ahead. Shoot me. I deserve it. Dr. Athena frowned. You--you feel--remorse? Or are you...tricking me? Lord Flare just sighed. Dr. Athena, my number one policy is truth. Truth is the best policy to keep in this Multiverse. Unfortunately, ever since I have gone in hiding, much gossip has spread about me, inevitably leading to conflicting accounts of how horrible I am. Not much could be done about that. I assure you, though, that I am much, much worse than what you have heard. As for remorse, I only regret that my plan did not work out the way I wanted it to. Because of that, all the terrible things I have done were in vain. All in vain. So, if you may, please unleash all of your hatred, all of your anger, all of it, by shooting me in the face. Shoot me as much as you wish. I will feel pain and agony with every blast, and my immortality will leave you with as many satisfying shots as you desire. After youre done, you can put the gun in your pocket--you can keep it, by the way--and we can get to why I had you brought to me. A discussion that will notify you on all you need to know. Dr. Athena was absolutely dumbfounded. This...this monster...he has just given her the chance of a lifetime...to blast at him as many times as she wanted...but was it really worth it? Why would this monster willingly allow her to shoot him? This wasnt the Lord Flare she envisioned... Dr. Athena shot Lord Flare in the face. Once. The Lord screamed in horrid agony, flailing his long arms and steaming with blisters all over him. The blisters gradually disappeared, but he was lying on the ground, headfirst. He slowly got up and grunted, ready for more. Dr. Athena then shoved the gun in her pocket and said indifferently, Im done. Lets talk. Lord Flare smirked. So I see you just want to get right down to business? Well then, lets commence. Suddenly, the walls of portraits changed to video screens, displaying images of the Universe. Dr. Athena gasped as she and Lord Flare floated from the ground, rising high until the floor was the size of a movie screen to their eyes. It, too, turned the color of black spacetime. They were in the middle of a grand-sized movie theater. Lord Flare interrupted Dr. Athenas fascinated stupor. Dr. Athena, tell me. Have you heard of the... Infins? Infins? What is that supposed to mean? Lord Flare grimaced. Observe the walls and floor, as I tell you a tale that has taken me millennia to piece together from loose pieces of information, scattered from sources too few and far in between. Dr. Athena looked at the colossal wall. Suddenly, it displayed many images; images of phenomenally technological civilizations; of suited representatives shaking hands; of entire worlds merging together; of galaxies themselves merging to form strange looking hyperorganisms. Then, it cut to scenes of colossal, strange beings amongst a white background. Some of them were different colored spheroids with faces and spirals on them. Others were even stranger, colorful blobs with faces. These beings were all focusing around rainbow cubes, pulling up wormholes that honed in on certain aliens. An impossibly long time ago--a time so long ago that it is completely out of reach from any form of time travel (and believe me, I have tried to get there)--many a civilization reached the extremes of technological advancement. They reached such extremes that each one absorbed many universes, unifying the consciousnesses of their constituents and becoming extremely sentient hyperorganisms called Infins. Essentially, each and every single Infin is a sentient multiverse. After about a forty of these Infins formed, the most dominant Infin of them all, known simply as The Boss, decreed that all that was left of the Multiverse that was non-incorporated into Infin form--the Multiverse we live in today--be off-limits to absorption by Infins. Zhe--Infins dont necessarily have gender, so they are referred to as Zhe--created a form of spacetime beyond the Infins, a spacetime outside the Multiverse, and in it formed Hilberts Infinitely Grand Hotel--a place that doubles as the Infins home and an afterlife resort for everyone who dies in the Multiverse. The Boss also invented a game called Infinichess, a game to settle disputes amongst these godlike figures. Each of them has a different personality, you see, and henceforth different goals and ideologies. These games involve each Infin choosing one being from the remaining Multiverse--the term for this is Sponsored Being--and manipulating probability around this beings life to guide it into beating the other Infins Sponsored Beings at reaching a particular goal--which can involve something as simple as a boxing match or as complex as conquering a universe. Those strange beings you see on the screen--they are Infins. The cubes they are interacting with--those are the interfaces that they interact with the Multiverse in. Suddenly, the screen changed focus, and now displayed only seven Infins, each one with one particular being above its head. Above the head of a strange red blob with a face and strange rings around it was Weirdo Drinc. Above the head of an orange-skinned humanoid wearing a blue-and-white striped costume was Lord Flare. The others, Dr. Athena couldnt recognize. We are in the middle of a trillion-year old Infinichess game right now. These seven Infins are the ones playing the game. As you may have noticed, Weirdo Drinc and I are both Sponsored Beings, I of Infinimind, Weirdo Drinc of Infinigag. See that strange, black shadow creature with yellow eyes and two long, pointy ears pointing up? Thats the normal form of Darkness, sponsored by Infinidark. You havent seen any of the others, although you may meet them soon. Wait, how do you know who Ive met and who I havent met? The chip on your forehead is not only a universal translator, but it is also spyware, tracking your movements and what is going on around you. Go ahead and blast me again if you want. I deserve-- I dont care. Go on. Alright then. Now, this particular Infinichess game is the single most important Infinichess game in the history of the Infins. The stakes are higher than ever--the entire multiverse has been destroyed and recreated by scratch, with older sponsored beings being replaced by the ones here today, and three Infins have already been kicked out of the game for breaking the rules. There were ten, but now there are seven. Dr. Athena interrupted, Hold on, Ive got a million questions. Lets go back a few steps. So youre implying that we do not have free will? That these Infins are just controlling us in a game they are playing against each other? Lord Flare suddenly blazed even brighter. Oh, there is some free will all right. Randomness is purposefully inserted into the game to make it more entertaining. However, the Infins can influence these probabilities to bend to their will. Thats the primary reason why this Multiverse hasnt incorporated into an Infin yet. The Infins always interfere to prevent anyone from discovering their secrets. Theyre manipulative, all right. Then Lord Flare sneered angrily, the first time since the two had met. And I hate it! I hate the Infins! I hate the fact that my entire life purpose is to serve a godlike figures nefarious goals, I hate that these Infins have caused so much chaos in our Multiverse, I hate that theyve manipulated the evolution of Sponsored Beings such as Lightness and Darkness to make them essentially brainwashed slaves to their causes! Suddenly, the movie screens showed images of a younger Lord Flare, a teenager who appeared to be fighting with an enormous, electrifying purple two-headed creature. These changed to views of this youngster reading documents and muttering, The many-worlds government is... corrupt? The screen changed again, to the younger Lord Flare fighting against an impossibly powerful Darkness, and somehow managing to defeat him by capturing him in a black ball with yellow stars on it. When I was a child--when I was Lucas Flare--I was known for my genius. I lived in a Universe that was one of a few governed by the incorruptible Lightness, the happy-go-easy sister of Darkness that tried his best to stop him. I discovered, however, that Lightness was corrupt. That she was forcing anyone intelligent enough to create research and technology to work for specific government projects--and nothing else. And then there was Darkness. That nefarious monster summoned a hyperorganism that nearly tore my home universe--the Universe you are in right now--apart and nearly drove it as insane as the Weirdo Drinc Universe. But the most unforgivable thing Darkness did...he gained a power so tremendous that he was able to kill my parents, my best friend, my love, the whole government... and I managed to stop him. And I became Lord Flare. And then I had my orientation with the Infins, discovering my lifes purpose. And I realized that it was because of these maniacs that Darkness was Darkness, that Lightness was Lightness, that all the Sponsored Beings were the way they are. And thats when I began my ultimate plan. My plan to conquer the whole Multiverse and unite all points of spacetime with a mechanism I had created called the Eonix, transforming the whole Multiverse into an Infin with me in charge of its consciousness so that I could keep the other Infins from messing with anyone in the Multiverse forever. And I nearly succeeded... but I was stopped. Not by the movements against my rule--both of which were led by a sponsored being--and not by Infininos coming into the Multiverse to consume it due to a loophole in the rules of the game. Infinino, by the way got kicked out of the game for that. No, it was because of Wizel--a Hole. Oh, she was stopped--but at the cost of my entire empire and my Eonix. Dr. Athena was speechless. She now had an even more complicated picture of Lord Flare... A picture that made her actually feel somewhat sorry for him. She wouldnt want to be influenced by a godlike figure with ulterior motives, either. Then she realized that Lord Flare had mentioned this game was the one with the highest stakes, and something about someone being a hole. Dr. Athena asked, I get it. You lost everything. But how is this game the one with the highest stakes? And what do you mean by this Wizel person being a hole? Lord Flare heaved. Suddenly, the screen changed faces again and now displayed a mirrorlike circle, slowly spinning. Its edges were fuzzy, as if they were undefined, slowly becoming the whiteness around it. This is a Hole. The most fundamental pieces of Existence are not particles, not space, not time, but are Holes. There are ten of them in existence, each one consisting of a central mirror like circle and fuzziness beyond it, each of them consisting of fundamentally different determiners of physical laws. The most prevalent one, the Hole of Everything if you will, constitutes the entire Multiverse, as well as each and every Infin and their beyond-multiverse areas. How? It is extremely, extremely diluted. Its central circle itself is fuzzy, scattered everywhere into a myriad of Hole Pieces, constituting all of Existence in its fundamental form. The other Holes, they are not so scattered. Holes tend to condense into sentient life-forms, lifeforms that can learn to control their powers over probabilities over the course of millennia, becoming formidable forces for any component of the Hole of Everything to face. Holes are extraordinarily difficult to tear apart, but its not impossible. Once they are torn apart, they become scattered into Hole Pieces, which must come together again to condense into the intelligent Hole being it was. Once this happens, however, the Hole loses its memories and must begin anew with learning to control its powers. The wall now displayed nine humanoid beings, none of which looked familiar to Dr. Athena until she saw one that made her so shocked that she screamed. It was an image of her. Which meant... Dr. Athena, whispered Lord Flare, you are a Hole. Specifically, the Hole whose original name was Acel. TO BE CONTINUED... ~Pentachorus
Posted on: Sun, 06 Jul 2014 07:07:35 +0000
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