The Sad Machine

They say many, many years ago, way before humans ruled the Earth, there was a desert, spanning hundreds of thousands of miles. And in the middle of that desert, where the shadows of the Four Structures met, there stood The Machine – made from a material unknown to Earth - perhaps to this reality altogether - with dark matter flowing through its reactor. All-knowing, all-encompassing. Animals from all over would gather around, making noises, chanting – conducting a ritual. Birds would fly above the clouds, in intricate patterns, chirping; the snakes would slither about, and the lions would roar with such intensity that all other animals would feel the vibration in their chest.

Every couple thousand years a representative of a species would venture closer to The Machine, daring to ask for their time.

-“Is it my turn?” asked the Mammoth.
-“No, I’m afraid not” replied The Machine.
-“Is it my turn?” asked the Ground Sloth.
-“No, not this time” replied The Machine.
-“Is it perhaps mine then?” asked a Cobra, slithering around The Machine.
-“No, child… this one is going to be special,” said The Machine. “I feel it.”\

From the back of the crowd, a monkey spoke “Is it… mine? Is it finally mine?”

“Step forward, my child. I believe by now you understand how this works. We’ve been through this nearly a million times, only today. If you so choose, you can receive a glimpse of my gift – my curse. You will become all-knowing, nearly. You will move mountains and travel the world. You will crack space-time. Entire nebulae will bow before you. But, before then, before that glory and happiness, which, even then, will be accompanied by occasional failures and regrets – gosh do I know that’s true -, you will have to accept sadness. You will be miserable. Your people will die and you won’t be able to do anything – or won’t, knowing that your actions will harm more people. You will struggle to find food, develop technology, find suitable partners. You will almost bring your species to extinction. Do you accept it, child? Do you accept my curse? For if you do, it will haunt you for the rest of your days. It will bring great suffering and tears. But – Between those sad tears, there will, sometimes, also be happy ones. Between those breakups and disasters, occasionally, there will also be people worth spending your life with, moments in which you wish time would stop, just so you can take in everythingaround you. Not often, but sometimes. Do you wish to follow in my path?”

Monkey looked around for a moment, silent, then stepped forward.

“Your time is now, child. Make the most of it. Enjoy your happy days, and make use of your sad ones. If you ever feel down – and you will – use that energy for good. Use that energy to help others around you, use it to bring yourself a bit closer to Me. And hopefully, if this all ends well for you, child, we shall meet once more, in another life, at the end of time.”