Tuesday 24 May 2016

Story (?): 'Origami'

Just outside the universe, next to the cake shop that bobs up and down on the extra-universal quantum foam, and opposite the fountain dedicated to Bob the Notorious, five Beings sit calmly and fold little papers into origami shapes. Each of those Beings influences the destiny of the universe, our universe, by what they fold. Sometimes they fold generally, and sometimes very very specifically. A green crane by the Being of Order (One) could indicate the beginnings of life on the planet Oogalek, or the arrival of a parcel unexpectedly on time in Chiswick, while a little box by the Being of Randomness could send a box of chocolates into our Sun.

Three of the folders had spent time doing similar work as part of the ancient Greek mythology, but they had tired of the hours, and of the relentless harassment from Zeus and his army of unexpected penguins. Finally, after one sacrifice of fish too far, and one particularly unrelenting chase above the Parthenon, the three Fates retired to life back outside the realm of linear existence, and traded in their threads for a never ending supply of paper. The facts that the cakes were particularly good there, and that the fountain was wonderfully pretty, were not at all a factor. Oh no.

So, the papers continued, and the five Fates became ever more inventive. There, One made a unicorn and sent it fluttering into the foam, perhaps to found a new dimension all its own, while Two built ever more beautiful sculptures and houses, as well as the occasional little boat and simple bird. Three, Four and Five would alternate between their own little projects and combining their efforts into magnificent modular assemblies that reflected their prior partnership in Earthly the realm. It was an idyllic time.

What, then, did it mean when a small fish and chip shop popped up on the opposite side of the fountain, and a little girl called Regina began to watch the Beings fold, and was it connected to the origami works that had begun to return undelivered to the Beings that had folded them? And where was the fish and chip finding newspapers in which to wrap its food?

A beginning?

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