章 2: Prologue (part 2)
Fen Chiang couldn't believe it. Parallel universes existed! And they were more than a hundred billion! He knew more than one astronomer who would die a second time at that revelation.
But a doubt seized him: God's words sounded familiar to him... why did the worlds of his previous lives seem to belong first to a fantasy story and then to a science fiction?
"Because what you call 'stories' are actually events that really happened, they simply happened in another world" God said suddenly.
Fen Chiang jumped. "I didn't say anything! How... can you read minds?"
God seemed to roll her eyes. "You should search 'omniscient' on the dictionary" she answered simply.
Fen Chiang felt stupid at those words. He quickly changed the subject: "What do you mean? Why are all the stories real?"
"Because the humans of the world where you spent your last life, the Earth, have a particular power: their imagination" God explained. "With it, they can break the barriers of their universe with the mind and see what is happening in the others. Whenever a human imagines something, he is actually looking at another reality where that is happening. Consequently, every story, tale or novel ever invented by earthlings is a reflection of something that took place in another universe"
Fen Chiang was silent for a moment, unable to process what he had just heard, then he felt pervaded by excitement: "So universes like Star Wars or the ones of the Avengers really exist?"
"Of course, in all the various versions that humans on Earth have painted them in" God answered. "If you hadn't interrupted me earlier, I would have told you that in your third life you had the name of Aragorn"
Fen Chiang's eyes became two balls. "A... Aragorn!? That Aragorn? The one of the Lord of the Rings?"
"Exactly. Although Tolkien didn't quite describe all your adventures. Most have been missing, in truth" God replied, nodding her head slightly, a movement that seemed to shake the very pillars of creation.
Fen Chiang looked down at his shaking hands. "I... I am the mythical Aragorn! And not only! Before I was a dragon... and before that a space general... but... this is absolutely cool!". He looked up: "Who was I in the fourth life?" he asked, expecting another glorious tale.
However, he was disappointed. "You just finished it" God answered him, making him feel stupid again.
Fen Chiang scratched his head: "Right... I forgot..."
"You chose it" God said. "When you wanted to reincarnate a fourth time, you asked me to give you the life of an ordinary man. Even though this led to an unhappy end to your last life, I still granted your wish"
"Can I remember my old lives?"
"Of course, once you enter Heaven. Before then you can't do it"
"Why?"
"Because at this moment you are still in limbo between the mortal world and the afterlife. And only in the afterlife a soul can remember all their lives, since if by chance they remember them in the mortal world this could create different... problems that I let you imagine" God answered, and then she stared at him intensely. "However, sometimes I made some exceptions. And I would like to make one for you too, of course assuming you want to"
Fen Chiang felt the atmosphere change around them. "What do you mean?"
"Very simple. I would like you to reincarnate right now. However, don't feel obligated: you can say no if you don't want and go to Heaven. I can wait a few billion centuries before you want to try again the thrill of a mortal life, after all here time has no value" God said. The smile on her lips had widened.
Fen Chiang was confused, but he decided to leave biased: "Why do you want this?"
God looked nostalgic. "Sometimes, when a world is particularly in danger, I send someone, a soul that has already proved its abilities, to resolve the situation. I would like you to save a world too"
Fen Chiang raised an eyebrow: why did the situation seem to take the turn of a fantasy manga? "Sorry, but couldn't you save it alone? Aren't you supposed to be omnipotent or something?"
"Of course"
"So why don't you do something?"
"But I'm doing something. I'm talking to you"
Fen Chiang wasn't sure, but it seemed to him that God was secretly laughing, as if she considering his questions silly. The tone of her replies in fact seemed to be one of someone saying the most obvious thing in the world, even if from Fen Chiang's point of view they were completely meaningless. "Forget it. What threatens this world? Indeed, what world is it? Fantasy? Epic? Maybe something with cultivators and demon kings?" he asked showing off his culture as a fan of light novels.
God shook her head, which seemed to generate the force of a thousand supernovae. "Not exactly. The world I want to send you to is very similar to Earth, but a little more... complete". Between them appeared what looked like a hologram: a large blue planet with five continents, full of plants and life. "You see, every living species that has ever existed on Earth, in this world exists forever"
Fen Chiang took a moment to understand, then he opened his eyes wide: "You mean that in that world..."
"... dinosaurs, humans, prehistoric mammals, synapsids, all coexist. The rules of evolution are the same as those of the Earth, simply the concept of 'extinction' is removed" God replied. "You know, I was a little disappointed that the living species on Earth had a limited duration in time, so... I created this universe. I don't tell you the efforts of bringing together all the animals and all the plants of different ecosystems... but in the end I succeeded, and this is the result. It is called Eden"
Fen Chiang couldn't believe it. A world where dinosaurs and humans coexist? What was it, the advanced version of Dinotopia? "How can everyone stay there?" he asked, knowing from the knowledge of his past life that the habitats could only contain a limited number of species.
"This planet is very large. It has about ten times the diameter of the Earth" God answered.
"What!?" Fen Chiang was stunned. Ten times the diameter of the Earth? Such a planet was almost as big as Jupiter! "How do they resist gravity?"
"The laws of physics work a little differently in this universe. Gravity, for example, is ten times weaker" replied God. "Anyway, the gravity felt on this planet is the same as on Earth, but space is much greater"
"I understand..." Fen Chiang murmured scratching his chin. "And what is threatening this world??"
God smiled. "Humans"
"Excuse me!?"
"Are you surprised? Even in your old world you weren't exactly good guys. It can be said that you have destroyed millions of years of hard work"
"For real? Wait, what do you mean?"
"In a future not too far from the time period in which you existed, the human species on Earth with the pollution and the excessive exploitation of resources has caused a global catastrophe that has destroyed a large part of the planetary ecosystems" God replied with a veil of sadness. "Humanity will survive and learn from its mistakes, but much of the planet will be destroyed. Now, the same is unfortunately happening on Eden". Now God's voice sounded angrier. "Although they are not yet at irreversible levels, the humans of that world are slowly destroying the environment. They may end up bringing the concept of 'extinction' to Eden. I created that world on purpose so that lifeforms could coexist without disappearing, so I cannot allow them to destroyed all. Here you enter on the scene"
Fen Chiang shook his hands. "Ok... and what am I suppose to do?"
"You will become a dinosaur"
"A dinosaur!?"
"What's the problem? It seemed to me that you liked them in your previous life"
Fen Chiang swallowed. It wasn't so much the idea of becoming a dinosaur that worried him, instead it excited him: he remembered having loved those creatures in the past. The problem is that he couldn't figure out how to stop the human advance in the form of a dinosaur. "You don't have to worry about that, I've already thought about it" God said, making him jump again and reminding him that she was omniscient. "I intend to provide you with a System"
For an istant, Fen Chiang thought he misunderstood. "A System? You mean... like those systems from web novels, which characters are transported to another world and have an interface like that of a video game?"
"All the stories are real, I already told you. Even web novels are" answered God. "The System that I will provide you will allow you to grow and evolve continuously, and when you have reached a certain level it will also allow you to reunite the other dinosaurs and create an army". The deity seemed to smack her lips. "At the head of such an army, you will be able to make humans listen to you"
Fen Chiang was tempted: becoming a dinosaur was already extraordinary, but having a System was even better. However, he still had doubts: "I don't know... humans still have millions of super destructive weapons. What can a dinosaur army do against a nuclear bomb?"
"The humans of that world have not yet developed too dangerous weapons. You will have time to evolve and think of a strategy" God replied. "You will understand that world and the System once you are reincarnated. From that moment on, I will not interfere with your existence: you can do whatever you want. So, are you ok with this?"
Fen Chiang bit his tongue. Now he was really tempted. If there weren't too powerful weapons like nukes in that world, then he could really have fun... come on, who wouldn't want a life like that? Become a dinosaur with a System and lead an army against humans! It was like a dream!
However, he had a certain nostalgia for his family. He had a strong desire to see them again. It had to be said, however, that he could easily go to Heaven after his fifth life... after all, God had said that there was no time in Heaven, so he would not even have made them wait.
In the end he made his choice. Come on, such occasions only happened once in... okay, not life, but we understood each other. "Okay, I'll do it!" he said solemnly.
"Gorgeous! I knew I could count on you!" God exclaimed standing up. The movement seemed enough to make the whole universe explode. "Let's start immediately then"
"Wait a second! Which dinosaur will I be reincarnated as?" Fen Chiang asked.
"Oh, I chose one that you liked a lot in life" God said, and in front of her appeared the image of a creature similar to a crocodile with a large sail on its back.
Fen Chiang was a little surprised. "A spinosaurus?" he asked doubtfully: he likes that dinosaur, but in terms of fighting power a t-rex was much better.
"You will be able to evolve, remember?" God laughed again.
Fen Chiang slapped himself. Of course! He would have had the System! If so, then he could go from a quiet fish-eating dinosaur to a ruthless killer like the one in Jurassic Park franchise!
God pointed raised her hand (which gave Fen Chiang the impression that a huge shockwave was rushing towards him, far more powerful than the worst hypernova ever) and pointed to a place on the planet projected in the center of the room. "All the specimens of 'Homo sapiens sapiens' are concentrated here" she said, pointing to two large continents and part of a third. "They haven't reached the rest of the world yet, so to make your job as easier as possible, I'll send you here" and she pointed to a spot on the third continent not far from the human settlement. "Here you will find everything you need"
"Why so close to humans?"
"You will understand when the time comes"
"Ok... but how am I going to have a System? Well, it's a magical thing, and this doesn't seem like a magical world to me... how will I justify it if someone will ask me about it?"
"Don't worry, you will not have to explain nothing to anyone. I'll use a trick"
Fen Chiang wasn't convinced, but he didn't ask questions. After all, if he couldn't trust the opinion of God themselves, who could he trust?
"I say that your doubts have been clarified. You can go now" God said, moving her eyelids slightly. "However, there is one more thing you need to do. You won't be able to remember your old name, as well as most of your old life. I will allow you to remember our meeting and your knowledge from your past life, but if you want to reincarnate you will have to forget your old identity. So choose a new name and I'll give it to you"
Fen Chiang thought for a moment. He felt a little weird at the idea of giving himself a new name, but... basically it was a normal thing in a reincarnation. He was already lucky enough to be allowed to keep his memories. He looked at the figure of the spinosaurus in front of him and had the enlightenment: "If I have to reincarnate in this animal, then I can't think of a better name than 'Sobek'!"
"The name of the egyptian crocodile deity? Smart" God commented amused. "Now go"
Fen Chiang saw the room begin to fade and the figure of the woman blur in front of him. "One last thing!" he shouted, taken by a last afterthought. "How can you be sure? If you really won't interfere, how can you know I'll save that world? How can you know that I'll not just fail?"
"Because I know you'll never give up, little child. It is in your nature, I created you like this" God answered with a crystalline laugh. "And then... I trust you"
And upon hearing this, Fen Chiang's soul completely left the hall, heading for the universe of Eden.
Left alone, God smiled. "He should also search the meaning off 'all-knowing' on the dictionary..."
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