Another Creation Myth -Unfinished

There was a time before gods. A time before monsters and demons and angels and anything you might ever have known. There was a time when the universe wasn’t empty: the universe didn’t exist at all. There was only a vastness of nothing, or perhaps a speck of something, and it lasted for an indefinitely long second.

And then it ended.

It ended with the appearance of three sisters called Mass, Energy and Thought, though they didn’t have names for a handful of milliseconds. It would be a lie to say they were sisters, and it would be a lie to say they were gods, though perhaps it would be a lie to say they were anything else.

In fact, there was only one thing they were sure of: They existed.

And that was all they did for a long time. Or maybe a very short time: the concept of time hadn’t been realized yet.

But then they realised that they could Create. It was Energy who found this first, when she felt something rip from her and travel away faster than she had ever known. She felt like a child discovering snow for the first time, only this discovery was far more revolutionary. Thought named it ‘Light’, and it followed Energy around wherever she went.

The sisters had split apart, and hadn’t seen each other in assumedly decades. But they felt the effects each other had.

Sometimes Thought would see dust, or gas, or some other wonder Mass had Created, and she would whisper it's name. Sometimes Light would burst away from Energy, and with a laugh, would sprint past Mass, revealing a body she didn’t know she possessed.

They were scientists with a brand new subject, and like any good scientist, made most of their discoveries by accident.

One important discovery was made when Energy and Mass met once again. They hadn’t seen each other before- they had split apart long before Light appeared- and they were curious to what else they could learn.

At this point, they had found the knack for Creating, but they had never had the opportunity to work together.

And when they did, they discovered something felt even on the other side of the universe.

They didn’t know they could work together, not until then. Not until they created something Thought called ‘Star’.

They stared in wonder at what they had created. Another being appeared. If Mass, Energy and Thought were sisters, then Light and Heat were brothers. It was something that would puzzle Thought later.

Accidents and creations continued like this. Hundreds more stars were Created, which led to planets and comets and nebulas and finally, a universe which was starting to look like the one we know.

And with every new Creation, a new being was made. There was Nuclear and Hydrogen, Wonder and Kinetic. Millions and millions until there was nearly an empire of these beings dashing between their namesakes.

But it was Thought, Mass and Energy who held the real power. Only they could Create, and they were responsible for what laid before them.

Thought was the explorer, and she had charted seas of hydrogen and mountains of gold. There was a tally in her head of every new being she came across, and so she noticed when she found a new one. It was sitting on the edge of a crater, legs swinging over the abyss which was so deep Light couldn’t find it.

“Whose are you?” she asked it.

“Yours,” the being replied.

Thought blinked, because that couldn’t be right. She knew what she had created, and she didn’t know of this being.

Then the being laughed. “Mass and Energy don’t realise they’ve created things all the time. Don’t think you’re special just because realising is your speciality.”

“What are you?” Thought pushed on.

“Loneliness,” the being replied, staring up at the green-tinged atmosphere.

“Oh,” said Thought.

Loneliness nodded, but didn’t say anything else.

The sat by each other for centuries before Thought said, “I didn’t realise I was lonely.”

Loneliness shrugged. “I’ve been with you for a while, but you always thought I was someone else. Though maybe that’s part of who I am.”

“I should probably do something about this, shouldn’t I?” Thought mused.

Loneliness hummed. “I don’t think I’m good for you, no.”

Thought stood up, brushing of the dust which had gathered on her in the slight atmospheric changes. The sky was now purple.

“Thank you,” she said. “Good bye.”

Loneliness then wasn’t there, apart from her voice, which was a memory. “Don’t worry,” she said. “I think I’ll be around for a long time.”

Thought found that she disliked having a plan, but hated the alternative, and so forced herself to follow it. The plan being to find her sisters; she doubted anyone else could understand her, and then she realised she classed themselves differently to the creatures they had Created. She wondered if she was right or if it was a folly of her own, because she apparently had those. Apparently, she could be wrong.

She found her sisters over a star’s third planet. It was covered in a cloudy mixture of hydrogen and oxygen, and some other, smaller particles, and her sisters where watching them interact.

“Look at those,” said Mass.

“What are they doing?” asked Energy.

Thought joined them. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think they were Creating,” she said.

Mass and Energy had spent long enough apart that they didn’t comment the arrival of this familiar figure they’d never seen before. Energy and Mass had been together long enough that they found her familiarity strange for someone they’d never seen before.

“What do you mean?” asked Energy.

Thought nodded at them. “Well, now there are more of them, and they are different than the one they just left, which makes me think they were Creating. But if you focus on them, you can tell that they’re actually just reusing what’s already there. Exchanging, not Creating.”

“Huh,” said Energy.

Mass and Energy exchanged a look, but still said nothing. Thought watched the things in the water, amazed at this complex exchange.

“They’re using both mass and energy,” she mused, before jerking her head up. “Did you make these?” she asked.

Mass nodded.

“Have you done anything like this before?” Thought asked, her eyes shining in a way that had nothing to do with Light.

“A few times,” shrugged Mass. Energy had gone to the larger, more exciting planets further out from the star.

“And were they unique each time?” asked Thought.

Mass shrugged. “I can’t say. There is some sort of variable affecting them, but I never really thought about it.”

Thought looked back down at the creatures, muttering to herself. Mass took the opportunity to find her sister.

“Wait!” called Thought, a few seconds later. There was no air to carry the voice, but there never had been, Thought realised. Yet still, Mass returned, with Energy at her side. She wondered what connected them.

Energy and Mass exchanged another look, and a few years later, Energy said, “What?”

Thought blinked back to the current moment. “Sorry,” she said.

“Why did you call us back?” asked Energy.

Thought blushed. She was the first of them to have done that, because she was the first to realise her faults. “Sorry,” she said again. “I was just thinking that perhaps we should stick together, you know?”

Energy furrowed her brows, and Mass spoke up. “No, I don’t know. You’ve never shown interest in being together with us before, and we’ve gotten along just fine.”

“And I don’t want to ‘stick together’ with anyone,” snapped Energy. “I won’t have you hold me down.”

Mass nodded as Thought recoiled. “I’m sorry you feel that way,” she said, but was cut off by Energy.

“I’m not,” she said.

“I’m sorry I’ve apparently ruined any opportunity of a relationship between us,” revised Thought. “I’m the one who made the mistake, and I apologise for that, as I will continue doing until I believe any damaged caused by it is healed.”

“But will you really?” asked Mass.

“I wouldn’t say something I didn’t think,” Thought said indignantly. “I haven’t approached you just because of some random idea. I thought for a long time about this, and though it isn’t going the way I hoped, I foresaw this and prepared myself for this. So yes, I am prepared to grovel at your feet for the next millennia or so, and I would appreciate it if you could acknowledge that so we may progress.”

When they were younger, they were all guilty of blurting whatever was on their mind. Thought because her thoughts were just so loud, Mass because she wanted to see how people would react, and Energy because she was a very blurting-character.

But since then, Mass had learned other methods to read the situation, Thought had grasped a stronger hold of her thoughts, and Energy now directed her blurting-characteristics into more entertaining actions.

So it had been many, many years since one of them said something thoughtlessly. None of them quite knew how to react to Thought’s outburst.