Intergalactic

The stars created a dazzling spectacle that surrounded, consumed, and penetrated. It should have been overwhelming, but I couldn't look away from the eyes.

"What... what are you looking at?" I asked

There was an eternity waiting for a response. The answer came in a wink that washed over my being.

My tenacity.

My questions.

My struggle.

The question that answered my question.

"How do you persist?"

"I need to know more. I must know more. I want to know how it all works."

The eyes pierced me. They evaluated me my limp form. I stared them down. I knew there was more to know about this world, this life, this universe.

I wanted them to tell me.

I waited for them to tell me.

Eventually.

Indefinitely.

After a million years, a billion years, I got my answer.

The eyes opened up and the universe unlocked. The gears and numbers and mechanics were made plain to my eyes, to my being.

I understood.

The next question formed itself unbidden. "What's next?"

"Well, Dr. Hawking, the future is up to you."

[written 12 April 2018]