Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Day 14

- Black Book -
Part 4 - Fourside's Game

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Day 13

Today slips past and I have little doubt that tomorrow will do the same. What have we done that we can remember the day for? Was the time well spent? Did we deserve the day any more then the last?

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Day 12

Part 2 - Fourside’s Game
Jim was tired. He had lived a long life full of hard work and rich lives. His family had been there for him until the end. He knew he was dying but had put it off until he could no longer. He had to provide for his family after all.
Jim took his responsibilities seriously. He always liked to draw, and even thought of a career as an artist, but decided against it. He had given up dreams for his family, but he didn’t care much. What good were his dreams, he had once told himself, if they take away from those I love? He was, by all rights, a good honest man.
He and his wife had moved to Fourside from the nearby city of Threed soon after they had met. They had started a new life together in the Bronze district, where both worked steady jobs. When Jim's wife became pregnant, they took turns raising the child. Jim's son grew to be a strong man, like his father, and moved away, to start his own life. Jim didn’t feel bad about the way things had worked out.
Jim hadn't drawn in years. There were always pictures lurking behind his eyes, waiting in his arm to be released onto paper, but his arms and hands were not those of an artist.
Jim walked alone now. His final wish had been to have a quiet walk through central park alone. His family had been with him constantly for the last few weeks. Now, nearing the end, Jim wanted some privacy.
As he walked through Central Park, he stopped in front of a dirt patch. The grass had been torn up recently and the rain from the last few nights had made the ground a blank canvass. Jim stared down into mud and his life filled it, drawn through the years. He slowly knelt on the ground, his bones and muscles straining.
Behind him, unseen and unheard, a figure stopped it's walking and moved closer to Jim, peering over his shoulder.
Jim shakily reached a hand down to the ground. Slowly, smiling, he drew his index finger through the mud. Lines formed, thick and thin. The sun sunk into the sky as Jim work on his drawing in the mud. All the time, the figure behind him watched silently, smiling to himself.
Jim was getting tired. The sun was setting and he had finished his drawing. For the first time in many long years, he felt the artistic urge to create. Unfortunately for Jim, his life was over. But not before the figure standing over him said softly,
It’s very beautiful. Very creative.
Jim smiled. And then, smiling and looking down at the picture he had drawn in the mud, the sun setting behind him, he died.
The figure gently lay Jim down on the ground. He then took a bracelet out of his pocket and tied it around one of Jim’s wrists.
The bracelet was silvery white, drawing to mind a band of silver, white gold and mercury, all in the same instant. It blinked in the dying sun.
The figure smiled and walked away.
His Game would soon begin.

Monday, January 11, 2010

Day 11

Part 1 – Fourside’s Game
Though it doesn’t happen often, sometimes worlds collide. When people try to imagine this they picture big explosions, natural cataclysms, and the stuff of doomsayers. But that isn’t the way of the universe.
Well that’s not true.
It’s not the way of the universe we know. Nor is it the way of many of them. In all of reality there are few universes that go ab0uot things that way because, well, if they did they wouldn’t be around very long.
What happens is that universes sometimes step on each others toes.
And it’s not at all how people think. That’s because people have a remarkable ability to ignore things even when they are staring them directly in the face. Universes merge. They blend and they split.
The interesting thing about universes is that they work a lot like gods do. Gods are born through belief and die through obscurity. Universes are molded on belief and interaction. Rules are laid down and if they work, they spin worlds.
Once, in another time far away, nine universes all got to the same place at the same time. That doesn’t happen very often. It could only happen once actually, and it did.
What made it such an event, was that each universe had something similar but different. They weren’t copies, but they shared a lot of ideas. They all contained the same planet for example, more or less. The planet was bigger in one of the universes, and in another it didn’t have much in the way of people on it. But that’s how things are.
These nine universes converged and the result was a new universe, a mix of them all. They each gave concessions, but they all wanted to keep the planet in question. It was a very important planet, after all. And universes tend to be very selfish as individuals.
So each universe molded part of itself into the planet. And the outcome was a new universe with a very small planet that held a lot of impact. No one wants to be left out of the party after all. The rest of the universe sorted itself out, but the planet stood as a testament to the merge, and as such was keenly watched by the forces of the newly born universe. The merge had pushed people realities apart into a planet to share. The continents had shifted around and the world had reshaped itself in ways most couldn’t begin to imagine. Here in a new state there was a clean slate on top of existing worlds, which made it the equivalent to an experiment of the mad scientist that was the new universe.
And as a step towards the “oh wow” point, the only residents of the planet that survived the merge redubbed the planet Nonaverse, though few understood why. What’s in a name anyway, they said.
It’s on this planet that we find a figure. In his city he was much like every one around him. He obeyed the rules that built his city, his life, and followed the path that was set for him. Everyone in his city played a Game. They all knew about it, but it wasn’t something to be feared. It was just what came next. His people were old and sparklingly new. Of all those on the planet, there were none who argued that they were the most technically advanced society. They wouldn't hesitate to say that, if only they knew that his civilization existed.
But the world didn’t. His civilization lived on a disc suspended over Deep Darkness, the south western continent of the planet, built out of the eastern mountain range lining the coast. They called their disc Lux, and watched the planet removed, save in certain cases.
That’s another story though.
Lux had Games in all of its cities. They were necessary to keeping the flow of the place in order. It was the only place on the planet where the game was played, because it was the only place that knew how to play, which was one of the reasons why Lux was the way it was.
Lux had many wondrous places and unique features but that was one of them that set them further apart from the rest of the world then most. Their games were one of the most important parts of their lives, and most people living in Lux didn’t know about them, at least not until they played, supposing they got a chance to.
The elders of Lux knew the secret. That had been one of the reasons why they had survived.
The figure also knew the secret, but was not one of the elders.
The figure had dark blue hair and fair skin. He was fairly young but conveyed that sense of aged wisdom that some young people do. He was slender and not especially strong. His job didn’t require him to be fit in body.
He ran some of the Games occasionally. They were enjoyable and he knew that it was his duty to run them to the best of his abilities. Still, he often thought of the world outside of Lux.
On this day, he stood leaning on a balcony, overlooking his city of Arcanum and thought to himself,
Why couldn’t I run a Game in a city outside of Lux?
Then he set out to make it happen. This isn’t the story of how he made it happen though, grand tale though it is. This is the story of some of the Games he ran.
It’s also the story of a different place in the Nonaverse, the place where he settled and started his Game.
It’s also, in a way, a story about a creature called Dom.

// Happy birthday Leela, hope you feel better. -a

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Saturday, January 09, 2010

Day 9

“Tait –toi, caulis, donne moi la fiche et vatant.”
“c’est ici, c’est ici. “
“merci bien.” My phone rings. I pull it out of my pocket. “Je vais te voir demain, oui?”
“dix heur, dehors avant du batiment.”
“Bon soir, Simon.”
“Bonne matin a ce point ci.”
I answer the phone, not bothering to look at the number.
“Matteo LeBeau.”
“Matt?”
“Oui?”
“It’s Madison. Madison Demi.” my mind reeled, switching languages and jumping back years of my life. Madison. A voice out of the past.
“Hi.”
“Hi jack, how’ve you been?”
“Eu…” my mind ground the clutch as it struggled to recall what I one lived.” “Not unwell. How about you? It’s been a while since I’ve heard from you.”
“Yes, yes it has. Listen, do you have time to catch up? I really could use someone right now, and I was thinking of you.” She was thinking of me. I hadn’t thought of her in years. Back when I knew Madison, back when I a different person.
Madison was one of those people who touch your life, but you never realize how much until long after the fact. We had gone to school together and were intimate friends for some time. They had been good times. Then our paths diverged and we had fallen out of contact. Until she had called. And here we were talking as I stood alone at my window, .looking down on the city below.
“Sure” I said. “Where are you?”
“I’m on a street corner.”
“Okay… what city? Where are you Madison?”
“Ummm, yours.”
“Mine.” I didn’t have a city. Not anymore. I lived across the country, sometimes even across the seas to the other continents of the world. “I’m in Bruss right now.”
“Bruss? What do you mean Bruss? You aren’t even in Winters?”
“Not since ‘63.” // 10,463
“God’s it’s been a while.”
“Yes it has. Why are you calling Madison?”
I told you, I just needed someone to talk to for a bit. You came to mind. We use to talk.”
“I remember. I use to be your sin eater.”
“We use to be close.”
“Time changes things I suppose”
“Any way I’m in Snowhead right now. I’d like to see you if I can. Are you planning on coming back home anytime soon?”
The hairs stood up on the back of my neck. Home. My home hadn’t been there for some time.
“I hadn’t planned on it. Travel out of Tagaryt doesn’t come easy, especially these days.” What was going on?
“Alright, well I’ll see what I can do then. I’ll see you soon, okay?”
That awkward pause. Ii could picture her eyes darting back and forth briefly even across the line. What was she talking about seeing me soon?
“Alright. See you soon Madison, sleep well.””
“Bye matt.”
The line went dead. Was she planning on coming to find me? What did she want from me? It had been so long since we parted ways that I hadn’t expected to see or here from her again. It probably wasn’t that long ago in real time, but it felt like ages, the way all people from our past’ feel like their stepping out of stone. I hung up the phone and looked back at my desk, filled with papers, my life here. I sighed and started packing up for the night.
I didn’t know it yet but Madison would be on my doorstep all too soon.

Friday, January 08, 2010

Day 8

Why shouldn't we take advantage of what's laid before us? if an opportunity arises, with no harm and only shared creation, why deny it? why does so much harm stem from choices that spawn happiness?

By the by, what kind of spawn point would happiness have?

Thursday, January 07, 2010

Day 7

So I come back to my keyboard after busy days and writing in books, as opposed to on screen.

I find myself saying the same things over. History repeating to routine. Thankfully its not predictable routine. But I feel like I’m going through the motions none the less.

Life goes on. You can’t save a person from drowning if they drag you down with them. You’re not responsible for other people’s happiness. Tomorrow’s a new day.

Smile here. Small joke here. Comfort in silence. Physical reassurance. Bash the adversary. Generalize and minimize impact of situation. Grand life dilemmas, pivot’s that govern the lives of everyone around, yourself included, structured on a extensive game script. I’m no different. A parable or two, reminders, perspective, reset, rerun the sequence, hard boot and log back on, back at what drove you to wherever you got to. Life shouldn’t be so deconstructable. I guess that’s where the joys of faith come in. if you can hand wave most of life to a simple, “if God wills” then there will always be a mystery to find out, regardless if you ever shall.

I came home to deer in my back yard. My house was mostly dead and four of them were directly out of my back door, grazing in the snowy grass. Three fawns and a doe. I remembered the feeling of being humbled by nature. I don’t feel that as often as I should, as much as I’d like to. I try to appreciate the beauty of nature, but even in the last half week I find myself slipping back into the world of grind. And I’m not sure I want to go back willingly. Not to the monotony. To new things, sure, but boredom and learning should never be hand in hand. Here he two of them are stapled together, duck-taped, chained and forcibly bolted together in most cases.

I resized and built the Nonaverse’s globe recently. It was wonderful, visiting old places. A few days ago I started drawing out the districts and city layout of Fourside, on the north coast of Edge island, Eagleland. I’m finding myself less interested in people around me again. My sleep patterns don’t help with that, but I haven’t missed a class yet.

Today’s tarot of the day is the Hanged Man, which is also my bookmark in World Without Us.

Day 6

- Black Book -

Day 5

Life returns to routine.

Day 4

- Black Book -

Sunday, January 03, 2010

Day 3

The snow falls fast around them, swirling in circles. It flurries and amasses it, pummeling them, trying to get in between them, to break them apart. The snow wants them separate, alone, where it can wrap them in ice, cold and alone. The snow lightens for a few minutes, trying a new tact. Perhaps they will break apart from each other; perhaps the storm is what drove them together. The snow tells the wind to soften, and it does, down to a gentle breeze. Its streaks of movement vanish as quick as they came up. The snow falls gently around them, waiting for the moment to strike, to get in between them. They keep walking down the street. The laughter now flits through the air, threading through the winter afternoon. The snow grows furious. Their laughter insulting, the snow draws itself up in roar, crashing down its might on them. They are blanketed by wave after wave, a cold deluge of solid snowflakes. They pull each other closer still. The snow screams into the sun, filling the air so thick that they can’t see more than a few feet in front of them. Shrieking with the wind, the snow flies off, away from they who giggle to each other. The wind leaves them be. They walk on through the light snow falling on their hair and shoulders. The sun starts to shine.

Saturday, January 02, 2010

Day 2

Today the world ended. the sea's didn't swell up and splash their life upon the buildings of man. there were no cataclysmic events, no great prophecies fulfilled through fire and lightning, hail and brimstone. the world is still turning, dancing its way through the heavens. for nearly every one on the planet, you and me included, life went on as usual.

Save that somewhere, quiet and alone where no one could reach or think to look, a child cried.

Friday, January 01, 2010

Day 1

A new year. Four hours of sleep at midday. A year closing off with soft skin and smiles. A new year beginning with games and food. Tomorrow I’m going back to my home, to another term of school. I’m not sure what’s to come. I’m content. In between satisfied and happy, more to the former then the latter. I think it a worthy goal to move towards happiness, but at what cost? When do you divide up your world and limit your happiness as a function of other peoples? Why can’t there be more Dorian Gray’s in the world? And why hasn’t there been a Dorian Gray where the lead is female? I guess that’d just be playing into stereotype then. Its poignant when a male sells his soul for youth and beauty but when a woman does it its expected and trite. Insulting to both sexes. Sleep comes soon. I finished my books. My break is coming to a close. The week and a half flew by in a wonder. Where next? what’s next?

Day 365

Happy New Year, to my friends, my family, and those who couldn't be among the previously listed.