This passage delves into the mind-bending physics and spiritual concepts underlying the characters' journey to the World of Fire. Witness Oscar's awe and trepidation as he grapples with the nature of the universe and the daunting task ahead. Get your copy of Infinite Tomorrow today.“Here we are on Drexton,” Truss said as his hand traced out a perfect sphere on the textured paper. He drew in an array of constellational points. “Drexton is near the outer edge of the created universe.” Truss sketched a jagged line that encompassed the entire page. He shaded it to look something like the membrane of a bubble. “At the outer edge is the ribbon of light,” Truss said.
Oscar had heard the term before, but never quite understood what it meant. It had been described to him as the outside wall of the universe. Oscar saw an opportunity to gain a deeper understanding, so he asked. “What is the ribbon of light?” Oscar said.
Truss seemed to light up with the question. He kept his finger on the page he was working on, but turned to a new one to make a fresh drawing. The sketch was so vibrant as it took shape that Oscar could almost see colors in the monochromatic scrawl. “The ribbon of light is the Primary Directive. It is the ever-expanding word of the King. The original word,” Truss said as if it made any sense. His hand continued to draw as Oscar looked up at his face. Oscar adequately expressed his confusion, so Truss continued. “The Primary Directive of the King was, ‘let there be.’ It is the spark of creation. The ribbon of light is the ever-expanding tidal wave of creation energy that moves outward from the original singularity.” Truss said as he penciled a heavy center point on the page. He tapped it with his finger as he continued. “Creation was not one single event that took place in the past. It is a continual expanding occurrence that is always happening. It happens at the outer spherical belt of the cosmos where the something is touching the nothing.”
Truss flipped back to the previous page where he had drawn the curved ribbon across the paper. “It is the living boundary of the universe. It is constantly gaining ground and moving away from us, making the universe ever bigger every second,” Ruth added.
He felt like his brain had just been twisted around three times inside his skull. He had no idea that these things were possible. Truss continued as Oscar tried to wrap his brain around the concept. “The ancients from your world noticed this phenomenon. They saw with tiny optic devices that the universe was expanding quickly, but they could not understand the equations because they were missing variables. They called these unknown variables dark energy and dark matter.” Truss now wrote numbers and equations across the bottom of the page. His hand moved so quickly that Oscar could barely keep up with his eyes. “What they didn’t understand was that the ribbon of light introduces new energy and matter into the universe as it ripples outward from the source point. They thought that the inception of the universe was one singular big bang.” Truss drew arrows radiating out from the center point of the page. “They saw the ribbon of light but didn’t know what it was. They thought it was leftover radiation from that singular event, instead of activity that was constantly happening. The equation becomes balanced when you consider the variable of continual creation, instead of single point action,” Truss said as he added a few numbers to the equation at the bottom of the page.
Oscar looked at him, stunned. He was no mathematician, but he generally grasped the concept. His eyes jolted from Truss to Ruth and back to the page. Oscar could hardly think straight; his mind was racing so quickly. It was turning out to be a very interesting day. “Pretty swell, huh?” Ruth said.
He nodded but then added another question to the growing pile of mystery. “I was told that nothing could ever reach the ribbon of light, because it moves so fast,” Oscar said, letting his tone imply the question. Truss responded. “Yes, that’s right. The speed of light itself is based on the speed of the ribbon. So we would never be able to reach the ribbon with conventional methods. We can’t jump past it because there is no space-time beyond to jump to. We can’t jump to it, because by the time we are there, it will be gone,” he said. “It’s like hitting a moving target, but in this case, the target is moving at light speed,” Ruth added.
It felt like they were setting up an impossible situation just so they could wow him with the solution. “What’s more, the World of Fire sits beyond the edge of the created universe. It rides the tidal wave of the ribbon of light. It is suspended in the void. Not even space exists beyond that point.” Oscar stepped back from the conversation and rubbed his hand on his chin. He could not see the solution, but he knew there must be one. He had been given instructions to go to the World of Fire. He realized that he was in over his head. He didn’t understand the forces at play. He was as close to scared as an Elvangaleen could be. “Is there a way? I am supposed to go to the World of Fire,” Oscar said with a note of defeat in his voice.
“I will provide the passage,” came the booming voice of General Zath. The rumbling tone startled Oscar. As he jumped he turned to look at Zath. His burnished aesthetic awed him as he let his eyes follow the lines of the statue like creature. Of course, he thought, why else would a star-born be needed. “General Zath will create a tesseract arc through the ribbon of light. He will tie the tesseract to the gravity of this world so that we will be able to return. Through the tesseract, we will be able to exist within the World of Fire for a short time,” Truss said.
Oscar was seeing the pieces falling into place. Only minutes before he had been in the Holy City wondering how he was going to fulfill his mission. Now the answer stood right here in front of him. As he looked to each of the characters that were about to play a role in this great epic a singular question arose in his mind. “Is it possible that we will fail, or worse?” he asked to no one in particular. It was Ruth who answered in her low-pitched, alien voice. “Failure is always an option, but that’s what makes it fun.” He was surprised at her strange, lighthearted candor. He wondered what she must have gone through to feel that way about going to the World of Fire. Oscar saw himself as small and inexperienced next to these great figures of courage and strength. This would be a day to remember, if he made it out of the World of Fire. He had to consider the possibility that something could go wrong. He whispered a silent prayer. “My King, be with us as we enter-” He trailed off as he looked into the starlit sky. Somewhere out there was the torrid flame-covered world that rode the tidal wave of light. He could barely bring himself to whisper its proper name. Quieter this time, he whispered it as chills tickled his spine. “My King, be with us as we enter Hell.”
