My initial mess created a bad start of some sort and right now one could say that I have been grounded at home, or what counts as my inner courtyard of the mansion.

 

The first day of my awakening here was bad and the only other person aside from the men I met was a female servant that brought me food. From the way she entered my room and knew where everything was, I knew she was familiar with the former host of my body. 

 

In regards to the events that happened, I ignored her for now.

 

Any other interaction was done with nods and hand motions and it would stay that way until I gained a better grasp of the language. Thanks to the residual stuff left in the brain, it was easier but like any language, it would take time to learn, especially if the culture here that is following the Asian theme has the same language structure as the one on Earth. 

 

The food brought to me was obviously different from what I was used to on Earth. It mainly consisted of steamed rice, some meat of unknown origin to me, but if the taste is indicating anything, it was a bird of some kind. Alongside that were some veggies and sauce. It was a bit bland but thankfully the main problem didn’t appear as I had feared. 

 

It seems that there was enough residual muscle memory in my right hand to operate the chopsticks enough that I would not create a mess out of myself.

 

Unknown to me as to why it only happened on the second day, it was on the second day that I had to fulfill this body’s much-needed expelling. After a bit of back and forth with the servant, I was led to the right place, a toilet. Well, a version of it. 

 

There was no familiar shape but what was there was a slightly ornamented replacement. I just sat there doing my business and immediately left. As to how it was made and how it functions, I didn’t bother to ask, after all, what you don’t know won’t bother you.

 

The only thing of interest to that event was that I had to get rid of most of the clothing, after all, there is no convenient thing to take out and just aim. 

 

It was also at that moment that I saw my lower naked half. With a few more touchy-touchy moments for my inner knowledge repository before I gave way to the much-needed pressure. The only difference I noticed there was the different place it all came out of.

 

Resisting any more experimentation at that moment I went back into my room and waited for some changes to happen. Not having anything to take my mind off, like a convenient source of entertainment like; the internet, Tv, or radio, I had to find something else to occupy my mind.

 

The solution to that was; to play with Life Essence, the mysterious Power my original had used to attain Transcendence. With it, a whole new world was given to me. 

 

Thanks to it I observed my body’s insides to such a degree that I even gained knowledge of how my body worked even if I did not have the terms to name the processes in question.

 

It was more instinctual, which is the best explanation I could find. 

 

While my brain could record the processes in question, it lacked the empirical knowledge to organize it all for a better understanding. That left me with, push this lever and that happens for the foreseeable future.

 

Aside from studying myself through Life Essence, there was another set of educational memories that I could review. 

 

Just as the original promised, the Dream I had been in before my awakening here stayed with me, in mystical clarity that I could recall them anytime I wanted.

 

***

 

“ Any particular reason I need to know about the Big Bang? Was there something special to it that modern scientists could not find but was quite freaking obvious to magical knowledge? ” I asked the original who sat before me in the dark red leather sofa chair. 

 

I sat in the same one all while around us white eternity went on for what felt like forever.

 

“ Sort off, but it’s more like it was ignored in the science department for being too obvious in their opinion, so it had to be wrong. Either that or they chose to ignore it on purpose. Wouldn't know, don’t care anyway. ” Replied the handsome version of me, nonchalantly 

 

“ Before I say it, listen to this little bit of wisdom of mine. Think of this Dream you are in as a prologue to a new story. And like any good prologue, it has to catch your attention in some way as otherwise you won’t get hooked on it. The same I am doing to you as there is no better story start than a narrative of the beginning of everything. ” He explained to me, and I could immediately see the appeal. 

 

Nodding for him to continue his educational prologue. I listened with more attention. “ I know that you watched some science documentaries since you are me, and some of them explained how the universe was created in so little of the cosmic time scale that it’s mind-boggling. Here is the first trap. If the universe was created in such tiny little gaps of time, then how is it that, now when we look back into that time window and theorize that everything looks so fucking streamlined as if it came out of a factory? With building blocks making building blocks for making building blocks and you know the drill for that, it just goes on and on. ”

 

“ Soo, the universe was created by somebody? ” I remarked but somehow deep down I wasn’t surprised at all but it did nurture a thought that I just had to get an answer for. “ Does an omnipotent and omniscient being exist if that is the case? ”

 

“ Yes, nope, and nope. ” Was his reply. “ But what does exist is a limited version of both omnipotence and omniscience and I know of those because as I Transcended I have created my own Realm. In the future, you will too, and so too will understand why I call it limited. ”

 

“ Realm? Me, I mean, you? ” In a true surprise expression, I evoked my desire to know more.

 

“ Yes, I named it The Dreamscape. ” With a smirk, he fulfilled my desire.

 

“ Dreams? “ Hmm, thinking about my current surroundings I could see the correlation. “ I remember informing myself of this before but is that why you said that you and Morpheus had a few things in common? ”

 

“ Yes, it was a bit of an accident of mine as I discovered the aftereffects of Transcendence. It was when I investigated my Dreams that I found out the truth of how Transcendence works, well partly as there were other things to discover too. ” My original explained to me. “ Trust me on this, Dreams are far more interesting than you would think. From their true purpose physically and spiritually in nature to the biological need ingrained in living beings, it’s all connected surprisingly. ”

 

“ But before we get sidetracked, let’s get back on track with your education. ” He said and immediately waved his hand. What appeared to me was a 2D screen and it showed me a familiar scene. 

 

“ I am sure you know this as a 2D spreadsheet with distance markers, also known as GRID, and the workplace for designing programs. They give precision markers for ease of planning and work. ” He explained to me that, as I had learned to use AutoCad programs in school, it was familiar. “ But what is important to us is not what it is, but the markers it leaves for us. ”

 

With a wave of his hand, the 2D GRID changed from a vertical position to a horizontal one. Now I had to look slightly down to see it in whole. Again he waved his hand and a point appeared in the center of it all. The next wave and more points appeared all around it. Next wave the center one became bigger and started to shine. Immediately I recognized where this was going.

 

“ Are you trying to show me a representation of a stellar system, or maybe the galaxy? ” I inquired. 

 

“ Stelar system will suffice for us. In a few of your memories, a scene like this would be seen in many documentaries. ” He remarked at how well he knew what memories I currently possessed. “It’s an ok representation for the average uneducated people of a stellar system and how things like the sun and the planets affect it, but it’s flawed for one simple reason. Can you tell me the reason? ” Ending his presentation with a question for me, I fell into thought.

 

It took me a few seconds to remember all those times I actually watched those documentaries and it came to me. “ The flaw is that space is not 2-dimensional but 3-dimensional. ”

 

“ Close but not there yet. “ He answered my deduction with a wave of his hand. The GRID gained volume and this time it showed me how a stellar system was affecting everything or something close to it. 

 

Then he continued his explanation. “ The flaw is that we humans are so tied to the 3 dimensions that we fail to consider that there are more than 3 in place, but the language we have created called mathematics shows us that there are more and yet even that is flawed for one simple reason. Space doesn't have any dimension or Laws but the one we create for it to which we tie our limited perception of existence. Space is just that Space and nothing more. The best explanation we can even give is that Space is a Concept. ”

 

“ Right… ” Was all I said while tilting and scratching my right cheek in a habit that portrayed I was in deep thought. “ I guess that means that this part of my education has to do with Concepts and their importance to me? ”

 

“ Yup, that being said, which concepts are the most famous ones. ” He asked me in return. Sinking in my thoughts again I replied. “ Since science is the wrong knowledge fountain for this, I guess this means philosophy is where I should direct my thoughts. Umm, I think I can see where this is going. This is about Chaos and Order, isn’t it? ”

 

“ Indeed, if one can dig deep enough, one will find that everything leads to them in some way.” My original agreed with me. “ Yet, even that is an incomplete truth, and here is the truth. As I have made my own Realm, I have had plenty of opportunities to observe, investigate, conclude the results and finally create a Theory of Everything. ”

 

“ Ha, and how did the scientist react to your Theory of Everything? ” I inquired.

 

“Actually, they already had it figured out in your timeframe, but as always they tried to find a different answer. You know it by the saying that everything is energy. ” Oh, right, I remember that one.

 

“ And what is your truth? ” I asked, my original. 

 

“It’s surprisingly simple. Everything is Chaos and there is no Order. ” He declared to me.

 

“Umm. ” Thinking for a second I asked. “ Then why does everybody think Order exists at all? ”

 

“ Now that is the question that boggled me the most. So I went and brainstormed an answer. ” Stopping for a second, he went on. “ To define what is Order I first had to define what is Chaos. So I went through a lot of literature, from religious to scientific to magical theory and other occult stuff. After going through everything I came to the result that it was simply impossible to define Chaos as that is going against its very essence. But what is possible is to take out a chunk of it and obtain a downgraded version of it. I call it Potential Chaos or Potential Points as the users of my own System know it. ”

 

“ System eh? ” Now that is an interesting thing. 

 

“ Yes, I and a few friends of mine are working on a System. It’s still in its infancy but it’s not important right now. ”

 

“ Okay. Go on, I am eager to learn. ”

 

“ Where was I, ah yes, Chaos by its very nature can not be defined, it has no form or substance and in truth, it’s immeasurable and incomprehensible. It is nothingness before something gives it something. Even my description only entails a part of Chaos and every time somebody tries to define it they only ever get a limited version of Chaos. It is what they gain that I call Potential Chaos and it’s through studying that, that I came upon my theories. “ Stopping there for a second he shifted his form a bit in his chair and went on. 

 

“It’s with that Potential Chaos that some beings create their own Realms and it is also how I made mine. And it’s beyond simple to do it. You just Will it and it becomes that which you envisioned. ” Raising a finger at me he smiled and went on again. “ And here is where it gets interesting. By the very nature of Chaos, this downgraded version still follows the core essence of Chaos as being undefinable so how does one get to do anything with it? Again it’s simple, you just have to use its very nature of undefinable and define it in a way that its core concepts apply but allows for that which you envision to exist. ”

 

“ Go on, I have narrated here a bit, so think about it, for a bit, too. ” Leaving me with a thought experiment to engage in, I rolled my eyes at my original and did just that. 

 

Thinking for a while and considering what I had been told so far, it came to me. Just like he said it was simple really. “ All this is about what Order was and why everybody reasoned it existed. If I am following you right then, Order is Chaos defined by Time? ”

 

“Close. ” Was all the confirmation that the original gave me, but soon he explained his theory. “ Order is structured Chaos envisioned in change. That way you give Order a temporary form before it eventually has to return to being Chaos again since everything is Chaos, to begin with. Time is the echo of Order before it reverts to its natural state. ”

 

Again the original waved his hand and the 3D Grid of a stellar system before me changed. The sun and planets vanished and only the GRID stayed. “ Here is an example. The GRID here represents the temporary structural form of Chaos which is Order. Let us say somebody defines the lines as Space, you get some kind of measurement of a Realm. So far it’s all good, you have given the shape but what is missing is the change, otherwise, all of that would return to Chaos immediately. ” 

 

Again he waved his hand and this time inside the rectangular shapes that the insides of the GRID represented appeared color and started to shake and bend the GRID and soon after it broke as if the instantaneous force inside the structure could not withstand the pressure from all sides at the same time. Next hand wave, the Grid reformed but this time instead of this force or pressure instantly being applied everywhere on the GRID, it changed, and instead, the color flowed alongside some unknown force. In some cases, it bent and broke the GRID but overall it stayed in shape. 

 

“ The color represents Chaos and its core principle, the GRID represents Space and the structure of Order, the Flow of Chaos represents change. Time is the echo of those changes already partaken. ” Not hearing anything from him anymore I take my gaze away from the model and my suspicion. 

 

“ While it’s a bit hard to understand without context, is this not surprisingly simple? ”

 

“ Indeed, it is so simple in broad terms that anybody could create a Creation story of the Origin of anything, but that’s where it stays simple. If you tried to define it more, you would sooner find your head going bonkers than actually understand it all. ” He replied.

 

“ But all this is the background for what you want to tell me? ” I ask him.

 

“ Yes, now that you have the foundational knowledge of the forces of Creation it’s time we move on to the more complicated stuff. In our case, how is it possible to even enact such a change of state in Chaos no matter how temporary its form is? ” That’s an excellent question, indeed. 

 

Seeing my eyes eager for knowledge, he spoke with a question. “ In your memories, there should be a moment you watched on Youtube of how Robert Lanza was giving a presentation of his belief that the Universe is centered around biological life. Remember that? ”

 

“Ughh. ” Thinking for a second, it comes to me. It was an interesting presentation in which he stated that the Universe is centered around the consciousness of the biological lifeform and that the very biological lifeform shapes the Universe in return. What stuck with me most from that presentation was the thought experiment of the observer effect on something that was not observed, in this case being some room, and how its state was undetermined before one’s eyes looked at it. 

 

“Ah, now it’s time to learn about consciousness? ”

 

“ Indeed, consciousness is the most mysterious part of existence. ” With some melancholy in his eyes, he continued. “ Right now I can tell you how consciousness is formed as your existence is the very result of that knowledge but what I can't tell you is how the very first consciousness that I call The First Observer came into being. ”

 

“ And it was this First Observer that produced the Big Bang? ” I asked as that thought popped into my head immediately. 

 

Shaking his head, the original denied it. “ Maybe, can’t deny the possibility, but probably not. The current iteration of the Universe in which we live should be the results of multiple experiments to get the right results. From the general structure of the Big Bang and its growth, it is easy to see that the process was streamlined so hard that it is very easy to imagine more of them existing in Creation, after all my very own Realm was modeled after it in some fashion. No, what is special about the Big Bang is the relative scale. It’s the scale and sheer PC requirements that are beyond ridiculous to the current me. ”

 

“ Right. ” Silence stayed between us with that declaration. “ I think we should go back to learning about consciousness. ”

 

“ Sure. Where were, ah right, The Robert Lanza guy and biocentrism. He was a good scientist, and his theory shaped some of my experience to such a degree that I helped him gain recognition later on and even made sure to have his theory rooted in the fundamentals of science and biology. ” Taking a second he went on. “ Of course, his theory was incomplete as life wasn’t centered around biocentrism as a biological form isn’t the only one that carries consciousness. From biological life to elemental to ghostly and spiritual to the Divinities at the very top. I will be talking about each a bit later but for now, it suffices to say that biological life is only one form of life. Some would say that it’s the lowest level of life one could get but that is their opinion and not mine. ”

 

“ Now let us talk about consciousness itself. ” He declared and I listened. “ Aside from how the first one came into existence, it’s very easy to know how one forms. It all comes down to one basic fact, if you can observe Chaos then you have consciousness. Give a rock a consciousness and at some point, it will become an elemental lifeform. As I mentioned before aside from the First Observer, it’s very easy for Life to create Life. The specifics of the process can be different but it’s comparatively easy, but all that stems from one simple condition. ”

 

Stopping there he stared at me. I knew he was waiting for me to say it but in my defense, it took me a while to figure it out. “ The condition is that one needs access to some form of Chaos. ”

 

“ Close. ” He nodded. “It’s the awareness of Chaos in all its forms. By that I mean you need to have access to some kind of Power. Soon we will switch to that topic as all this will lead to that. I will first finish on the consciousness part. ”

 

“Consciousness is Chaos reflected inwards. This means that the moment you can think I in whatever form, you are conscious. At the very basics, there is no form, substance, others, or anything else but I. ” Taking a break from that revelation he asked another question. “ What do you think is the very first thought such a consciousness will think and want to do? ”

 

“Umm, I don’t want to die? ” I gave my assumption. My original nodded. “ Yes, when consciousness first observes itself it realizes that its form is temporary. No matter what, it can not deny that one fact. In that same instant, the very first emotion is created, Fear. Fear for ceasing to exist. Then the next emotion is born, Greed. Greed exists no matter the cost. ”

 

“ Once those two combine, pure selfishness is born. ” Saying this my original face turned serious and lowered his tone to embed his words for more effect. “ Take my warning for Life very seriously for there is no greater selfishness than Life itself. In Death, you will at least be released from everything. But in Life, you have to continue to take from others in some way to continue to exist. No one is an exception from this, not even I, even though I am biologically immortal in some sense. ”

 

“ Oh, OK. ” A bit stupefied at the turn of events I gave my reply.

 

“ I meant what I said. ” He added. “ Conscious Life will do anything to continue its existence and this trait is the most prominent in biological life as it's the easiest to notice. But it’s there that’s also the easiest to ignore. For other types of life like spirits or elementals and even Divine in some cases, it’s much harder to notice and much harder to ignore. It probably has to do with those of higher existences being more aware of what happens once you cease to exist. It’s why Life clings so much to living that they even had to invent an Afterlife to not collapse from sheer uselessness in knowing how small they truly are in the grand scheme of things. ”

 

“ That, umm, turned Grim. ” I said but he wasn’t done with it. 

 

“ So in this new life, when you meet somebody that defiles the truth known as Death like necromancers or similar, bring all hell upon them. Not because Life is sacred or such bullshit but because Death is what awaits everything and anyone and they are the most deserving of it. ” He said but added. “ Ah, when I hear their pleas as they grovel on the ground as I deny it to them. It brings out a certain joy to me. ”

 

“ Right? ” I murmured hesitantly.

 

“ Remember that, my younger self. ” Nodding strongly, he lost his serious face and went on. “ It’s how we layer that innate selfishness that determines us in Life. The correct layering creates the kind of people we call Good people, as to what constitutes Good is a matter of definition as it varies like everything else. ”

 

Nodding once more, he went on. “ We are near to the main part of all this. Now consciousness has many names. Those names define it as much as it explains. Consciousness is a word that explains the whole of it and nothing more. I like to use Will in its place, as it takes Will to live no matter the cost of Life. Another reason I like that term is that Will also defines the mass of one’s consciousness. Think of it like this. Every experience you will undergo in the future adds mass to your Will. So the longer you live the stronger your Will. Normally that is as what you experience matters more than the amount you have gone through. ” 

 

Again he took a break for all this to settle in and continued. “ This part is very important for you to know. Since I couldn’t send a part of my Will to wherever you landed I had to think of a different way to make a clone of myself. ”

 

“ Oh. ” Nodding to my realization he went on. “ You are a new Spark of Will, which means you are a new consciousness born in that new body. But just a new consciousness is not enough, it has to be Me at its core. There is something called the Observers Uniqueness theory. At its core, it states that any consciousness is unique, even if people made a 100% copy of somebody it would still be a different Consciousness. It is partially correct as even when I made a clone of myself, the moment the clone observes its first moment it is different from me, but there is still a link to me. Think of it like having a number, let's say 1 but with a different integer like 1.1 or 1.2 and so on. To me, it doesn’t matter what kind of integer my clone gets as long as the number is the same and the key to that is memories. ”

 

“ So as long as I have my memories in some I would be tied to you the original? ” I stated for confirmation.

 

Shaking his head he denied it. “ No, memories can be falsified quite easily, even I can do it, much less those who specialize in it. No, the new Spark of Will has to contain all my memories and realizations and epiphanies imprinted onto that Spark. If that process goes accordingly, even if the memories are wiped clean if the Spark of Will is intact it will stay connected to me, feeble as it is but still connected. ” Again a serious face appeared, on the handsome me. “ And here lies the crux of it all and my reason as to why I have sent you across Creation. Somewhere in your future, once you are powerful enough and can project your Will into Reality on a vast scale. My hope at that moment is that I will be able to sense that Will and make contact with you or the other clones out there in Creation. ”

 

“ And descend on this new World if you want? Whenever you desire? Do whatever you want? Maybe in your desire to dominate it all? ” Is what I got from him or should that be myself? 

 

“ Hahahahaha. ” He laughed at my example, for quite a while too. When he was finally done he replied. “ Sigh, can’t expect anything less of myself, can I? Ah, anyway, to answer you, I don’t know. ”

 

“ You don’t? ” I asked in surprise. 

 

“ Didn’t expect that reply, did you? Ok, I will be honest with you. As I sent you all of this is but a little thought experiment on the side. ” He replied. “ I mean, I haven’t even finished deposing the current Pantheon consisting of that Idiot on Earth, much less being able to think of something on that scale. I did have a few thoughts but if I am correct in my theories and I must say that I am, then the scale of Creation is so enormous that it would take me an Eternity just to visit everything, if it was even possible in the first place, much less start on a Conquerors path. ”

 

“ Ah, well, if I consider the theme of all this, isn’t that usually what happens? ” I asked in return.

“ Maybe, and if I continue throwing my clones out there, at some point one of them will start something like it anyway. Currently, I have not thought of starting a World domination tour. If it speaks to your new mind, then go ahead and do it, after all, new life, new goals. ”

 

“ Hmm, I will think about it, at the very least. ” I replied.

 

“ Up to you. ” He accepted my indecision with ease. “ Now that we have covered the basics of the Forces of Creation and Consciousness, let's start with the most interesting part, Powers. ”

 

***

 

Stopping there I left the Dream memories but it was also in those moments that I realized the true nature of what that Dream was. 

 

For I was not talking to the original, even if it was just a message. No, who I had been talking with was myself and only myself riddled with complex IF AND processes loaded with an already written script that could only result from vast experiments and observations points in reactions of yourself waking up in new environments. 

 

‘ Through how many iterations did he go through, I wonder? ‘

 

And that was not the end. 

 

No 

 

The original had used this new me as a cassette player reading a book to myself without even knowing I was doing it in the first place. 

 

And there was still more to it. 

 

I understood only after I started to review the Dream of Remembrance, as he called it,  that I gained access to true content and not just the conversation I had with myself.

 

It was like opening a compressed zipped file only to realize there were more compressed zipped files.

 

‘ Talk about Dreams within Dreams. I guess only paranoid fuckers end up with an Aspect of Dreams, or should I say Dao of Dreams since I am in a Chinese archetype civilization. ‘