Out there in the multiverse
Okay, it’s Monday. I will apologize now for taking this blog off into a bit of a different direction today. Well… off in a whole slew of different directions all at the same time.
Join me as we take that big first step into the Multiverse. Any way you turn, your influence on what happens is unique.
Oddly enough some scientific minds think there is enough evidence to consider if this or real and not just good fiction. And of course, there are scientific minds who pooh pooh the whole concept as simple fantasy.
It’s an interesting concept when you think about it. Just imagine that for every time you turned one way or the other, the alternatives all actually existed in some plane of reality. Did you go right, go left, forward or backwards? Each choice you might have made would have provided a different impact. Perhaps taking a later train, you may not have met someone who played a big role in your life. A basic bit of physics in that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
We all have those moments in our lives when a decision leads us down one path. But what if you had taken another one instead? What might have been? Sure, you could have bought that lucky lottery winning ticket, but you chose not to make the purchase instead and never took the chance.
I’ve mentioned before in this space that I am a fan or speculative, a.k.a. “what if”, fiction. Things like what if the South had won the Civil War. With so many entertainment franchises looking to reboot, the possibilities are endless. A good example of how this has worked is how the Star Trek world had seen the Gene Roddenberry universe become the J.J. Abrams universe with the splitting of timelines leading to things being different. Everything from technology to relationships familiar yet new and different. The characters of James Kirk, Spock and Leonard McCoy audiences came to love the first time around have an entirely new series of stories to live through and entertain audiences all over again.
The concept of the Multiverse is alluring yet frightening at the same time. On one hand, everything goes right, where we got the flying cars and transporters to get us from place to place. And yet, the other side of the coin is likely to offer a post apocalyptic dystopia with the survivors of nuclear war barely alive and fighting for every day of life. If you can imagine it, there is probably some scenario where it all comes to pass. That’s the beauty of the concept, there is no right or wrong. No prime universe, just alternatives that don’t stop offering choices.
One of the best bits of the Multiverse in popular culture right now is “The Man In The High Castle”. The television series is based on the 1962 novel by Phillip K. Dick of the same name. With enough of the familiar, people can see that things might have turned out that way, had the US lost World War II. That, “what if” captures the imagination of audiences who want to learn more.
Yes, I know, time travel paradoxes make for good head aches as well as good stories. But haven’t you had that moment of wonder, that indecision leading your steps along a path?
So what will it be? Coffee, black or with cream and sugar? Or maybe a cup of tea?
See you out there somewhere on the road to the Multiverse. Or maybe not… you decide.