Interlude 4: It Turned

It is said that information cannot be destroyed.  Stating an absolute in a tricky Universe is, for sure, asking for trouble.  But assume the statement is generally true.  What does it mean?  It means that one event triggers another, which makes something else happen, and then something else again – ad infinitum.  Basically, for every action, there is a reaction.  Something Newton codified centuries ago.  A butterfly flaps its wings, the air currents change the course of a mold spore.  It lands in a Petri dish and is observed by Dr. Fleming, who invents penicillin.  Humans live longer and venture forth into the Cosmos.   Everything affects everything else.  That is called information.  It spreads and cannot be stopped.  And, given enough data, the chain can be backtracked – back to the butterfly.  Theoretically.

An interesting corollary concerns energy.  It cannot be created or destroyed in a closed system.  And the Universe is a closed system.  This is another absolute that one should be cautious of.  Technically, everything that was initially part of the Big Bang is still here, somewhere.  And don't forget – matter and energy are equivalent.  We know this thanks to Albert Einstein, the original one.

The third factor which must be brought forth for the purposes of our discussion is entropy.  What is entropy?  Answer: it's the second law of thermodynamics.  And basically, it states that energy equalizes; it tends to spread out.  A glass of cold water in a warm room will eventually warm, and the room will cool a little.  That's due to entropy, and it's just the way the Universe works. 

What's my point?  The point is, events happen and, as a consequence, those happenings create reactions which, in due course, spread out – further and further.  The big question is – where does this chain reaction end?  Answer: at the edge of the Cosmos, where else?  The Great Barrier.  All information stops there and leaves its imprint.  A record of all that has transpired, every flutter of our butterfly's wings is recorded there.

Until now.  There was no trace left of the perfidy perpetrated by the “Others.”  The punching of 1.27 billion tunnels in the Progenitor's Outer Husk.  For what purpose was this malevolent deed perpetrated?  This was the logical question that had to be asked.  Answer: to change its critical density via the injection of large quantities of various forms of energy.  But there was no record of the deed.  No traces, no clues.  Though this was, in itself, evidence of what we were dealing with – an entity indigenous to the Aether with the power to destroy information and the power to destroy Universes as well.  This was a wake-up call for all those living in Pleasantville, the locus of the First-Born. 

Among the First-Born, there are thousands of different species.  But someone had to come first, the first of the First-Born.  The Eldest were the Ang, and it was, at this time, a collective consciousness.  It commanded, "Define the results."

"Closure of the tunnel points is 72.3 percent complete.  No new breaches have been detected."  This answer was provided by the First Observer, the one who made the initial discoveries.  His standing had risen; indeed, the entity had even acquired a certain celebrity status.

"Specify damage extent."

"Dark Energy accretion has expanded by a factor of 19.32 x10 ^-33 percent.  Confinement shall continue as scheduled; insignificant damage will result.  However, . . . the energy is degenerative."

"At what rate does it degenerate?"

"The rate is exponential." 

This confirmed malicious intent.  The First-Born had divined a plan for the Cosmos.  Promote expansion to a certain point, then slow it down to a nice steady state for eternity.  It was a good plan.  How it was divined, that's another story.  And somebody just threw a monkey wrench in it.  The forced influx of these particular types of dark energy, if unchecked, would result in a universal decrease in density.  As a consequence, the Macrocosm would expand at an ever-increasing rate until it ripped itself apart.  Every last atom.  Also, false vacuums would form.

Another voice emanated.  Younger and brighter, with a deep penetrating penumbra, "Why does this Entity seek to destroy our Progenitor?"

The First One replied, "Unknown; this we must discern."

And the fibrils of the Old Ones were extended.  The Younger Ones, the Observers, and the Implementers entered their ships and ventured forth.  A new design, “Orbs,” as they were called.  And they journeyed far, farther than ever before.  Mapping the Manifolds, the clouds of elemental materials, setting up monitoring beacons, and early warning systems.  Nothing discernible would be able to sneak past again.  After a while, they noticed something.  A Manifold had turned, and it turned towards . . . Pleasantville.