The Kiva, Pueblo Bonito

[Malaclypse 666]

"Umm, thanks for writing em down, Skripto. I'm either approaching Samahdi, or the blind staggers here".

Mal squinted at the paper. This was going to be tough to explain...

Where were you? Or when were you? Or why were you? Or who where you? Or what the bleep does it mean anyways?[/b][/color] He then slips a paper into Mal's hands which reads "You must answer to all five questions or to a multiple of 5 fnord".

"Where? That depends on which time, sir. I've left with a "Pineal Meltdown" five times now, I believe. How's that for synchronicity?

"To explain 'where' would require you to understand and believe in the existence of 'alternate realities', I suppose. I do remember some of the 'wheres', along with the 'whos'..

"At one time, I recall being an Italian fellow named Sigismundo, just starting a life on an 'alternate' Gran Canaira. At another time, I was a foppish gent named 'Malhuer', raising merde in some Gallic 'Universe next door'. The most bizarre, and in some ways 'real', was my alternate life as a trader and miner named 'Kaihokohoko McIver', in a strange sector of 'alternate' space called 'Minmatar'.

"The 'why'? Only Goddess knows, Gypsie. I'm sure Doc can attest to wanting to 'run away' from it all, at times. Goddess can be a harsh Mistress when She wants to be; and sometimes the exit from Chapel Perilous doesn't always dump you out on the same street you entered from..

"'When' is rather a meaningless question. Chronological order seems to break apart when you visit the Universe Next Door. Suffice it to say that on each return from these different realities, I found myself back 'here' at approximately the right times to account for my 'absences'.

"Is there meaning? Bleeped if I know. The more pertinent question would be 'was it real?' Quantum topology suggests there 'might' be alternate realities, branching off from ours each time we make a decision, or choose a path. Heinlein posited that such places might be created through 'consensus', through a shared belief in favorite stories or 'heroes'. He dubbed this phenomenon 'Multiperson Pantheistic Solipsism'.

Mal looked down. The joint had gone out while he had rambled on. He handed it back to Skripto and his eternal flame.

"Or maybe I just had too much of our beloved 'Santa Maria', the night before... who knows?

"Whatever the case, it does tend to give credence to my favorite quote from the Prophet Wilson:

"Reality is indeed what you can get away with."

"And the number '42' has meaning only if Heinlein was correct."

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