by RP Halliway
“Aliens?” Evie asked with a slight smile, engaging in Roger’s game.
Roger matched Evie’s smile. “Probably the same as ghosts—only more mind formed. The mind is a very good interpreter of information that it recognizes, but also fills in a lot of gaps to ‘make sense’ of information that doesn’t quite fit any known situation. Some fragments of another multiverse—possibly a far away finger type—could connect to a person, and that information seems so foreign in nature that the only reasonable interpretation for the brain to make is to envision some alien being.”
“Does all this mean the reclaimed memories are from other universes?” Silas asked.
“It does seem that a lot of—if not most—children have times when they are more open to a multiverse connection to things,” Roger said. “Most children experience things we call nightmares, and those seem to disappear after a certain age, or at least reduce in occurrence. Even waking nightmares all seem to happen up to a certain age, and then diminish or disappear entirely. This seems to suggest a connection in children to other aspects of the multiverse that closes up as the child ages.”
“Or learns more things,” Silas suggested.
“Good!” Roger said. “The more we learn, the less the brain has to fill in, or the more comfortable we are with the world around us.”
“Fairy tales,” Evie said. “Or mythology. Is there any way the different mythological creatures could be real and connect to different universes?”
Roger thought for a moment. “I could imagine that at some level there is a way for physical things to transport from universe to universe, but that seems like it could break a lot of axioms of a multiverse.”
“Or,” Maggie started, directly challenging her mentor, “It could totally be conceivable that physical travel between universes is possible, within a narrowly defined context. Like you know how the Bible says that ‘sons of God’ dwelt on the Earth. The common phrase ‘sons of God’ in that context usually means something besides humans. That would lead to the possibility that a select set of beings are able to jump into a particular universe and interact along the timeline. This would allow for super jumpers—if you want to call them that—to inject themselves, supernaturally, into a universe for different purposes. Fairies, leprechauns, or gremlins.”
“And angels and demons,” Jessica added, perking up at the talk of religion. “Angels appear to many people in the Bible, and Jesus cast out many demons from people, so there must be a way to travel from the ‘cloud’ to any particular universe.”
“Absolutely,” Maggie said.
Roger tapped his head, making a mental note of the idea. “I have to ponder it for a while. My supposition is that timelines are fixed by the birth of the observer. But I get that beings that don’t have a physical birth into a universe may appear and disappear without upsetting the balance significantly. In fact, I remember meeting someone that studied mythological areas at some conference.” Roger moved to his computer and rummaged around the desk drawers. “I will add that information for you.”
“And reincarnation?” Silas asked after watching Roger search for a short time.
Paul spoke up. “I can give my opinion on this. Much like Jessica, I believe in the Soul that controls the body through some kind of connection, although I don’t know what it is. The Bible is clear with many verses on death and hell. For example, there is a verse: Hebrews 9:27, ‘And it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment,’” Paul quoted. “This could be speaking of two different outcomes, depending on how you read it. If the verse is read with emphasis on ‘once to die’ then there is no reincarnation and each person only gets one life.
“The other interpretation reads, ‘once to die, but after this’ with the emphasis on ‘but after this.’ This reading may state there is a judgment to come, but it comes after one particular death. Roger says that everybody that ever lived is still alive, in their own page or life. So, when a person dies, in order to accommodate Roger’s thesis, that soul would be respawned into the same or another universe. Jeremiah also says that ‘before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee’ which seems to imply that there is permanence to something in heaven or at least outside the current universe.”
“Then what keeps people bouncing around the multiverse from reincarnation?” Silas asked. “Just getting experience?”
“The religions that believe in reincarnation typically deal with a ‘good life’ being rewarded with better position, and a ‘bad life’ being punished with a more base existence,” Paul said. “Although there may be one goal of all this—1 Timothy 2:4, says of Jesus, ‘Who will have all men to be saved’—so maybe the end goal is to end up in the life cylinder where everybody is saved.”
“That’s an interesting thought,” Evie said.
“Are you a Christian?” Jessica asked.
“Off and on,” Evie said, her face warming. “My family is very spiritual-minded, but not strictly religious. I haven’t studied the Bible in a long time, but I know most of the New Testament.”
“You probably mirror many Americans in that way,” Jessica replied.
“Tell me more about this cylinder where everybody is saved,” Silas said, “if nobody minds straying into religion.”
Roger shook his head. “True science should never be afraid of any discussions. In fact, science should be willing to entertain any ideas for further study, and stand up to all challenges by presenting evidence, not stifling thought or debate.”
“Being saved,” Paul said, “is the state of realizing the incredible flaws of the human condition—called Sin—and realizing that this Sin is a fallen state. In the Old Testament, the Laws of Moses instructed a Sin Offering yearly at the Temple, to beg forgiveness of the sins—an atonement, for that year. But these Sin Offerings were never permanent. Only one sacrifice—Jesus Christ on the Cross—could bring about permanent forgiveness of all Sin in a person’s life. The realization of the sinful nature of man, and the need to accept the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and then the actual calling upon Jesus in repentance, is called being Saved.”
“And that is what God wants?” Silas asked.
“Yes it is,” Paul said. “God cannot look upon sin, but wants everybody to go to heaven. The only way for those two things to happen at the same time is if everyone accepts the Sacrifice of Christ on the Cross for Salvation.”
“This is getting deep,” Silas admitted. “Just believing is enough?”
“Believing is the key, but there is an important part of ‘believing’ that is often lost,” Paul said. “It isn’t enough to just say you believe, and then continue as before. You must have faith and trust in your belief, and act on it. A good example is if I was to build a chair out of scraps. I could look at it and say ‘I believe it will hold me’ and never sit on it—that would be brain believing. Many people brain believe a lot of things. In fact, most everything we talked about today, is based on brain belief. The key is that I need to actually sit in the chair and believe it will hold me.”
“A lot of Christians seem to be brain believers in the Sacrifice of Christ,” Jessica chimed in. “But still ‘add’ to the Sacrifice of Christ by trusting in good works, or their religion, or their genetics, etc. Very few people actually seem to fully believe with faith that Jesus is all that is needed.”
“Confessing sins isn’t needed?” Silas asked. “That’s one of the things I grew up with.”
“Biblical Salvation comes from the Sacrifice of Christ on the Cross, where Jesus took all of the sins of the world onto himself and paid for them,” Jessica said. “Confession is good for the soul, but isn’t part of what gets a person to heaven. Confessing that Jesus is Lord and has paid for all our Sin is the only confessing that works toward getting to heaven.”
“How does that relate to the cylinder?” Silas asked, motioning at the table.
“Ah, yes,” Paul said.
“If we accept that the ultimate goal of wandering about the multiverse is to draw people to this One cylinder, then every person over the age of accountability must accept Jesus Christ as Savior before they die.”
“How likely is that?” Evie asked.
Paul looked at Jessica for a moment, then visibly saddened. “Probably not very likely.”
“Why not?” Silas asked.
“For one, the Bible is settled. “Psalm 119:89 says, ‘For ever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven.’ and that seems to say that the Bible won’t change. The Bible is very explicit in how many people will be saved. Matthew 7:13 to 14 says, ‘Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.’ Jesus even asks in Luke 18:8, ‘when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?’ And Revelation talks about how many people will die having rejected Salvation. All in all, not a very positive outlook.”
“But there are so many religions and versions of the Bible,” Evie said.
“The myriad of versions can be explained as a way for Satan to create a huge lie for the world,” Jessica said. “Religion is how people interpret events and beliefs, which don’t necessarily coincide with how God has things set up.”
“Which Bible is the right one then?” Silas asked. He knew there was one on the bookcase in his apartment, but he had no idea which version it was.
“I believe that the King James Bible is the true version,” Paul said. “That is the Bible I use. I believe that the King James Bible is the Literal and True Inspired Word of God, written through Godly men, and that my God is powerful enough to not just write the Bible, but also preserve it, without error, throughout all time.”
“But what if the Bible is different in each universe?” Silas asked. “So the Bible can be different but still be true and preserved in every multiverse?”
Paul pondered the question. “It might make sense that different circumstances could lead to the need for different Bibles in each universe. And God would be able to keep track of them. Even then there should only be one version in each universe, not the hundreds that are around now.”
“And all the people that think a newer version is needed because of needing to be ‘updated?’” Evie asked.
“They don’t seem to know the history of the Bible, or don’t trust God enough to preserve it,” Paul answered.
“And these people think that somehow we now have better knowledge that the original translators—who actually spoke the languages—didn’t have,” Jessica said, shaking her head. “That just doesn’t make sense.”
“But then what about all the various religions?” Evie asked. “Like—what is the word . . .” She paused for a minute, trying to remember. “Things are already determined?”
“Ah,” Paul answered. “Predetermination and Predestination. Calvinism is one religion that believes in a version of that. It is the belief that God has chosen everyone, in advance, who will be Saved or not.”
“How can that be?” Evie asked. “If God wants everyone to be Saved?”
“Calvinism seems to focus on one word,” Paul answered. “Romans 8:29 says ‘For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son’, and from that, the religion of being called or not was established. There are several verses that talk about God predestinating a group of people.”
“And you don’t believe that?” Silas asked.
“No,” Jessica said. “I believe that everyone can be saved, not just a select group, or select religion. Also, predestination implies that the person has no say in being Saved or not. And there is no evidence given for who are the called and who isn’t. That doesn’t sound like a very loving God to me.”
“But God is more than loving, right?” Silas asked. “God is Just? So there is judgment for some people?”
“True,” Paul said. “God is Just, and Merciful, and True, and so many other things that we can’t really comprehend. And it really comes down to how much faith a person has and what they trust in.”
“So, many religions could be completely true, as long as the people believe?” Silas asked.
“I would be willing to accept some version of that idea,” Paul answered with a nod. “Although I would probably qualify that by saying there are many people in different religions that have true faith, whereas the religion itself doesn’t necessarily contain much truth.”
“Religion and science seem to have a lot in common,” Evie said.
“Parts of religions actually could explain many aspects of the multiverse that science can’t. And as I said before, much of Time as used by ‘science’ is like a religion in itself,” Roger said.
“The concept of the Souls watching and interacting outside of the multiverse is quite intriguing,” Evie said. “I have memories of learning about angels and a ‘cloud of witnesses’ in Sunday School.”
“Hebrews 12:1,‘Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses’,” Paul said. “Hebrews 12:1 follows from chapter 11, which describes all of the people of faith in the Bible, such as Abraham, starting all the way back with Abel, son of Adam and Eve, up to David. They are all witnesses to us now.”
“If they are witnesses, then they can’t be alive?” Silas asked looking from Paul to Roger.
“That’s a good question,” Roger said. “If the theory that a person exists only in the physical form is correct—like you, Silas, sitting right here, right now—then yes, they couldn’t be witnesses to us and still be alive somewhere else in the multiverse.
“But if the theory of Jessica’s is true, and the Souls of everyone exist outside of the multiverse then we could all be witnesses of everything, yet still live from one cylinder to the next, not really knowing that we are being watched by ourselves and others.”
“That could really be confusing,” Silas said softly.
Roger took a small breath, as if to respond, but then waited a second for things to settle more. “I know this is very confusing the first time it is presented. This could be just information overload at the moment, and a lot of this information needs to be dissected and assimilated to make it make sense. Take some time, and think about it all, and if you do have questions, let me know.”
“I’m still a bit shocked by the whole ‘Time’ thing, actually,” Silas admitted.
“I am, too,” Evie added. “I just am so familiar with seeing the clock tick, and now I learn that time doesn’t exist?”
The group laughed together. “It is hard to grasp at first,” Roger said. “I will admit it took me a long time to actually verbalize my theory, much less put it to paper in a way that can be explained. This is probably why nobody else accepts the Fundamental Theory of Change.”
“I started to work through it by creating a habit. I substituted ‘Change’ for ‘Time,’ since right now that fits perfectly,” Maggie said. “And then I started using the statement ‘Change needs an observer’ to make past and future fit.”
Roger scribbled several bits of information onto a piece of paper at his desk. He walked over and handed Evie the paper. “Here are several contacts that may be of interest, including the address of the psychic I mentioned,” he said, “She should give some answers on how she interacts outside of the physical world.”
“Thanks,” Evie said, taking the paper and reading it quickly. “Is she close?”
“Oh yes,” Roger said. “Shouldn’t take you long to get there.”
Silas looked at his watch. “I know time doesn’t exist, but is she open during business hours?” Silas asked, seeing that the time was approaching four PM.
Roger laughed at Silas’ comment. “She has very flexible hours,” Roger said. “I’m sure you’d be able to talk to her t
oday. Call her and ask.”
“What do you think?” Silas asked Evie.
“It would be interesting,” Evie said. “And, no offense Roger, but my brain is pretty full with all this information.”
Roger laughed again. “No offense at all. I’ve had years to digest and refine my thoughts on this, and you have had it thrown at you in only two days. And if you’re hungry after to talk to her, I’ll be firing up the barbecue in an hour or so. It’s been ages since I last ate.” Roger rubbed his belly for effect.
“Thanks,” Evie smiled. “We’ll call and let you know our plans.”
Silas slowly shook his head. “Even though this is hurting my mind, I’m blown away that these ideas exist.”
David nodded, “We all felt that way at first.”
Chapter 12
Silas brought up the navigation app on his phone again and entered the address as Evie read it. “Looks like a twelve minute drive.” He set the phone on the dashboard holder and started the car.
“I’ll give her a call too.” Evie dialed the phone number. The phone rang several times, but there was no answer.
“No answer,” she said. “Do we go anyway?”
“Driving there won’t put us any farther from the hotel,” Silas said, more familiar with the area now. “We can drive there and if she’s not home, we’ll head to the hotel.”
“I’m down for that. As much fun as Roger is, I think my brain is full.”
“My brain was full six hours ago.”
Evie laughed. “That was at breakfast this morning!”
“Exactly!” He pulled away from the curb and started following the GPS directions. Twelve minutes later he stopped the car at a dark gray two story business.
“It looks empty,” Evie said, looking out the passenger window at the building. “It actually looks like this part of town is almost deserted.” She scanned the street and buildings.
“Maybe the residents are older and stay in more,” he said with a shrug.