Quest for Knowledge (Volume 1 of the FirstWorld Saga) by Christopher Jackson-Ash (chromebook ebook reader txt) 📖

been part of the science fiction stories he was fond of as a young teenager. He had never been religious and the story of Adam and Eve he had treated as a fable. He believed in natural selection and evolution as Darwin had described. Taken to its logical conclusion he supposed that a non-corporeal existence was possible. He stole a moment to check out the others. They were all transfixed by Manfred’s words. I’d better concentrate.

The old wizard was continuing. “Then something happened that shook the very foundations of the universe: two children were born. It is not known whether they were siblings or had different parents, or even how procreation was still possible. The Great Old Ones were few now and realised that their days were numbered. They felt that the children offered the hope of a new future for their race and they endeavoured to teach them as much of their eons of acquired knowledge and experience as possible. As an aid to this teaching, they found an obscure planet at the edge of an unremarkable galaxy and set up an experiment that would enhance their children’s learning. The planet had abundant life, but few advanced sentient life forms. That planet was Earth.”

You could have heard an autumn leaf fall from a tree. Manfred had their undivided attention. “The two children were given the names Satania and Jeohab. The Great Old Ones used their technological skills to enhance life on earth, creating sentience. Elves were created to follow the teachings of Jeohab, dwarves to follow Satania. Primitive humans were given the freedom to evolve and choose their own paths. Both Satania and Jeohab were given limited access to influence human decisions. They were perceived, of course, as gods.”

“The experiment was quite simple. Satania had a goal to achieve total chaos, while Jeohab’s task was to achieve total order. The Great Old Ones wanted to teach their children about the eternal battle between law and chaos. Jeohab was not a merciful god and tried to secure order through fear. Satania worked behind the scenes and achieved chaos by much the same means. Imagine, if you will, a child being given an ant farm. So it was with Jeohab and Satania. Compared with them, we are but ants. Like all children, they became bored with the experiment and left Earth to its own ends for long periods. After several millennia, the remaining Great Old Ones and the Children made a further evolutionary step, becoming beings of pure thought or consciousness. At this point, they achieved the ability to move outside this universe to explore what lies beyond. They left this universe then and have never returned.”

Simon wondered about the Great Old Ones. How could Manfred describe them as benevolent when they subjected humanity to such experimentation? And why did they need to teach their children about law and chaos? What are they anyway and where does the Balance come into it? It’s starting to sound too much like science fiction now.

Manfred was just hitting his stride. Simon realised that he was enjoying his self-appointed new role. “Before they left, however, they had to decide what to do about Earth. They remained a merciful race and could not bring themselves to destroy their creation. They were worried about leaving things as they were, for it appeared that the Earth and the universe might swing wholly to the side of law or of chaos, both results being equally abhorrent. They created a new race of men and called us Wizards. We were few in number; only fifty-two were created, twenty-six for each child. Each of us had a name beginning with a different letter of the Common alphabet. The Great Old Ones created this place, Melasurej, to be the centre of our world and to symbolise the Balance we were created to maintain. The first seven were named the Great Sages and they formed our ruling council. In those days, I was little more than an apprentice to one of them, the Great Sage Bedwyr. He was a thoughtful wizard, very strong, with firm views on the role of the Council of the Wise. I learned much from him, and grieved deeply when he fell protecting Elvenhome from Gadiel. After his fall, I felt it was my duty to continue his work, although the rest of the council did not share that view. I was viewed as eccentric and barely tolerated. Eventually, I was named as Manfred the Fool and exiled. The long years have taken their toll and there are few wizards remaining, even though we were given life spans that even elves would consider immortal. Our appointed task has been to maintain a balance between the forces of law and chaos, to prevent either one getting too far ahead of the other.”

Simon sighed and shifted in his seat. Jhamed gave him a stare and dig in the ribs, presumably to keep quiet. So he could have been Merlin. He serves the Balance. I’m starting to understand.

The old wizard was still speaking. “You all know that this is a battle we have been losing. Two things happened that made our task impossible. The first was the creation of the new gods. With Satania and Jeohab gone, we had hoped that the races of Earth would learn to live without gods. Elves and dwarves have been successful. Except for their hatred of each other, that still runs deep, they have almost forgotten that they were created to follow law and chaos. Humans, on the other hand, seem to have an inner need to believe in gods, to explain all of the things that cannot be explained by their current level of scientific knowledge. With Satania and Jeohab gone, they began to invent new gods. It appears that the Great Old Ones made a mistake, omniscient as they appeared to be, for the essence that they used to enhance humans gave mankind the power, when working collectively, to create gods. Now there are minor gods everywhere, creating mayhem. You have already heard the story of the most feared of them, the Dark God, Gadiel. Gods can only exist while enough humans believe in them. Unfortunately, their numbers are growing and their powers too, as more and more of humankind are ensnared into belief. With the slow demise of the elves and dwarves, the time of humankind is upon us. The Balance tips, some say inevitably, towards chaos.”

Simon remembered his science classes. Disorder and chaos is thermodynamically inevitable. Entropy must always increase. He dragged himself back to concentrating on Manfred’s speech and gave himself a metaphorical pat on the back for being one step ahead of the wise wizard. I’m good!

“Many of the Great Sages believed that the energy required to reduce the effects of entropy was not sustainable indefinitely and that therefore chaos would eventually emerge victorious, whatever we did. Bedwyr did not subscribe to this theory and neither do I. Were it a universal law, the Great Old Ones would never have reached the stage of their development where they were able to create us.”

Simon’s self-belief took a dive as Manfred shot down his theory in flames. I never liked thermodynamics or statistics.

“All of this we could have dealt with if it had not been for the second, more profound change. We do not know how or why this happened, even though we have been studying it for millennia. I hope that Rheanna may be able to shed more light on the matter later. At some point, and I think that I have now identified that moment in time, the multiverse was formed. An event took place, so momentous that the universe could not accept the outcome. Two realities were created, one where the event occurred, one where it did not. Everything else up to that point was identical.”

Simon put thoughts of entropy to one side. He knew that scientists had been postulating the existence of additional dimensions for many years. The prospect of a multiverse had always excited him. There’s a dimension where I’m not still a virgin. He had already experienced the reality of the multiverse on his journey here. He had accepted that he was no longer in his own dimension, that the Earth that he called home was not the same as this one. A realisation dawned on him. I’m special. I can travel through the dimensions of the multiverse.

“After the split, they continued to develop separately. In the new universe, and all subsequent universes formed, similar types of events caused the formation of new realities. The multiverse was slowly formed and is being formed still. It is a fifth dimension. It can be best thought of as the layers of an onion. FirstWorld is at the centre and the various dimensions are wrapped around us. We don’t know how many, or if the multiverse is even finite. Some believe it is the ultimate manifestation of chaos, and if the multiverse becomes infinite then chaos has won.”

Simon felt the pressure building in his head as if a migraine were coming on. Was each dimension infinite in size? Were there an infinite number of dimensions? Was there infinity in five dimensions? Was there a beginning to it all? Would there ever be an end? How could infinity be kept in balance? What caused the sundering in the first place? Manfred became a blur as he was surrounded by floating blobs and zigzag lines that Simon knew emanated in his own head. He closed his eyes but the aura remained. He struggled to continue listening.

“We believe that FirstWorld has not generated further dimensions since the first one. We don’t know precisely the types of events that precipitate a split. Clearly, they are significant events. There is one other important factor; as you move out from the centre of the onion, time seems to speed up. Many of the dimensions follow similar development patterns, as you might expect. However, the newer universes are moving faster than the older ones. We believe that many of the outer dimensions have already reached the end of time as we know it and have become total chaos worlds.”

Manfred paused for a while. Whether it was to let the momentous information he had imparted sink in or whether it was to gather his thoughts for the next part, Simon didn’t know. He opened his eyes to look around the room. As far as he could see through the aura the participants all seemed stunned. I think my head will explode soon.

As if reading Simon’s thoughts, Manfred continued. “I don’t want to say too much more today. You already have an enormous amount of material to process. There are a few more things I must tell you though, before I let you rest. The first is that we have limited ability to move between the dimensions of the multiverse. As we have already heard, Firstborn elves had this innate ability. Wizards have limited ability. As far as I know, dwarves have never tested their ability. Very few humans are blessed. It remains an enigma. Why would the creators have provided this ability, unless they knew that the multiverse would form one day? My dear friend Jhamed al Suraqi is one of a few special beings of the Balance. He has unique skills in travelling between the dimensions. He comes from a line that includes both elves and dwarves.”

Simon could swear that Jhamed was blushing. I knew it! I’m going to get the story out of him later when I feel better.

Manfred was continuing. “There is one great artefact that we have never been able to understand or use until perhaps now. It is located at the top of the highest tower in Melasurej. It is a special gateway. It may allow some of us, or more specifically one of us, to travel not only through the dimensions but also through time. After millennia of study, both here and in Rhakotis, we are close to understanding its function