The Dance

by Ron Wm. Hurlbut

Imagine the eternal now that is entropy. In the middle there was a nothing. A mind bogglingly vast and empty void. So pure and unsullied inside. No light shone within or without. One might say that it wasn't very bright either. Although it lacked self-awareness, it did have an awareness of itself.

Its awareness of its immense self made it proud and boastful. So it willed into existence a river in which time flowed. It surrounded itself within this river of time and let the flow carry it along. It could now observe all manner of other beings along the banks of the river. To them it would call out, “Sense my perfection! Am I not great? My vast and immense self, a pure void. Unsullied in any way! I alone am something to behold!” And on and on it would bloviate in this manner.

Of course, this is in the absence of light and sound, but in spite of these limitations, all of existence was made aware in unpleasant ways of this vacuous entity.

This was obviously very annoying to any observer. Of which there were untold infinities. Diffuse as they were throughout entropy. 

All of those great and small observers, which were subjected to this great nuisance began to discuss how to silence and banish the terrible void. One could have even have said they abhorred that vacuum. 

One of the many was Catlin. A tiny bit of matter. A subatomic particle which was also pure and perfect; infantissimal and indivisible. 

Catlin called out to the many, “I volunteer to address the void.”

Catlin was surrounded by laughter. They scoffed, “You'll do no such thing, as you are incapable of such a feat.”

“How could anything fathom such a one as yourself, so small, to overcome such an immensity as that obnoxious one?”

They were obviously dubious about Catlin's ability to take on such a mind bogglingly vast and powerful foe.  However, Catlin had already formulated a  simple but cunning plan, which they kept to themself.

The multitudes were singularly and collectively frightened of the vacuous entity, yet they continued to scoff and laugh at Catlin. But since none of the others had any plan, they had no choice but to accept Catlin's offer.

Catlin went to the river of time and waded in, and got swept away in the current. 

The void took notice and became very upset. Exactly as Catlin had hoped.

"HOW DARE YOU DEFILE MY CREATION!"

Swirled along in the currents and eddies, Catlin chided, "Why won't you share this wonderful fun?"

The void bristled, "It is my own personal contrivance on which I ride to display myself and my perfection. Mine alone."

Catlin pointed out, “Others of us are perfect in our shapes and forms as well. Myself included. Yet we have the decency to refrain from arrogantly flaunting it and tormenting others with horrid boasts and braggadociousness. Yourself and your river have encroached upon us in a very unpleasant manner, which we abhor. It is only right that if we so choose, we should also therefore be allowed to ride the river of time with you. Or else banish you and your river so that we may return to our comfortable entropy.”

"But," the Void thundered! "You diminish me! You make my creation less perfect with your tiny speck of self. You are a blemish and I order you to leave my river of time at once!” If there were such a thing as spittle, it would have been sprayed as the vacuous one vehemently ordered Catlin's egress. 

“I unequivocally refuse. You must accept our terms.” Catlin stated hotly by way of a reply.

In retaliation the Void tried to lift and push Catlin out of the river of time but could not muster the force required. The river of time sloshed and swirled, but try as it might it could not eject Catlin. The efforts only made things worse for the Void by sweeping others out of the surrounding entropy and their flotsam into the flow.

"Tell me," Catlin inquired calmly. "Since I am here, we should get acquainted. What is your name? I am known as Catlin."

The seething Void pondered this, “I only know of myself as Perfection.”

"We can't all share the same name so I shall call you Rutherford." And so it was henceforth so named.

Rutherford continued to frustrate and strain itself with the task of eliminating Catlin, and the many others, out of the river of time without success. Only succeeding in sweeping more and more from the entropy shore into the currents of time.

The river swirled and churned into a boiling and raging toroidal torrent which then folded itself further into the Klein Bottle of Rutherford's rage. But to no avail. All entities refused to be ejected.

In frustration it decided to change tactics. All at once Rutherford stopped pushing and instead pulled Catlin and the others into the expansive void itself. 

Swallowing them all, a deluded Rutherford proclaimed to Catlin, "I have won! My creation is now clean and pure once again."

“However, you, yourself, are no longer pristine." Catlin observed.

All the former denizens of entropy now sloshed around inside of Rutherford. They gasped and giggled while Rutherford became apoplectic with confusion and rage.

Perplexed by this new circumstance, Rutherford started to formulate yet another plan.

Instead of attempting to expel Catlin and the others to restore its own perfection, Rutherford would defile them in turn.

Vindictively it began pressing and squeezing the infinite number of particles together. A mass of unimaginable scale crushing all in on Catlin. Hoping to make them merge and distort; crush and deform.

Catlin and the others laughed at the exertions.

"We are all incorruptible!” Cheered all the sub-atomics. All together they laughed and danced together in a boiling mass. 

The dancing became more and more frenzied as they were squeezed tighter and tighter into themselves, but alas Rutherford could not contain them there. They exploded outward again. Filling the vacuous void that was Rutherford.

Their dancing expanded and expanded outwards from the miniscule confines of the singularity Rutherford had squeezed them into. Blasting out heat and motion that was unimaginable.

Above, below, around and around, from beginning to end Catlin raced. Observing, energizing and encouraging the expanding dance of the universe. Catlin was now the electron; the master of the eternal now within time itself.

The dance split and regrouped to form the atoms. Collapsed into fiery balls and exploded out again. Over and over. Forming stars and arranging into galaxies and nebulae. Turning, swirling, churning in the void. 

Around the dance Rutherford spun and expanded, accelerating infinitely faster in every direction as it tried to escape the dance. Only to find itself trapped inside its own eternal construct of time. 

Fin. 

The Big Bang.