The Great Possibility Actualization Project
The beginning of yet another rambling from WINGNUT!
Copyright (c) 2000 Larry "Wingnut" Wendlandt
Out in the great expanse that is existence, there lies two stars. We will label them as "Schtart" and "Phinisch". In-between these two floating stars, pretend a string of any length, snaking through the space between the two stars. ANY length! In other words, if the string had a mind of its own while traveling from Schtart toward Phinisch... it could easily "take the long road" if it wanted. Our two stars in existence might physically be 2 miles apart, but an adventuresome string of any length might use a route that requires 80 years to complete! There would be many routing possibilities.
Suddenly, you are in a technical-looking room. A sign in the corner assures you that you are welcome here in Schtart's String Room. Before you stands a giant technical-looking door with a sign over it that reads "To Phinisch". "String Pilots" are readying themselves nearby. They are wrapping themselves in some sort of protective layered suit. As soon as a suit is complete, a String Pilot steps through the doorway and begins his/her trip to Phinisch.
In another corner of the room their is a digital numeric display. After studying it carefully, you realize that it is a "possibility counter". According to the readout, there have been about 5 billion UNIQUE string flights to Phinisch... and there are still 683 septillion unique string-route possibilities still not actualized. ("septillion" = 24 zeros)
You gasp in shock, and now realize that this room and this door have been operating for many eons, and have many more eons ahead. What's going on here? Are they trying to actualize every possible string route from Schtart to Phinisch? Why would they do such a thing?
You pick up a pamphlet on a nearby table, and begin reading about The Great Possibility Actualization Project. According to the founders, this project was launched in order to actualize all possible string routes between Schtart and Phinisch. "We estimate about 800 septillion unique routes are possible. Once a route is actualized (flown by a string pilot), it can be used by students as a predictable learning tool. Once a 'possibility string' has been flown into place, it remains in place forever, easily reusable as an 'experiencing route' for anyone who would later want to fly it to Phinisch."
Currently, The Great Possibility Project is accepting String Pilots for the group of possibilities that take 10 minutes-to-150 years to complete. In this group, there are 639 quadrillion unique possibilities yet unflown. As soon as that group is done, they will paint this room a slightly lighter shade of green, and begin the group again. After that is done, they might fly the same group again, but this time all pilots are chewing gum. Then they'll fly the group again, with both a different shade of green room paint AND chewing gum. The next time, add one grain of salt in all pilot's pockets. Then fly the sextillion-possibility group with two grains of salt. Then two grains of salt and a RED room. Needless to say, there are MANY MANY MANY possibilities.
The amount of string flights that will be necessary to actualize ALL the possible "ways" a string pilot can get from Schtart to Phinisch... is truly staggering. Yet the line of volunteering string pilots extends out of this room and well out of sight. Why do they do it? What could they be doing if they weren't doing this? Don't they realize that a single unique string-flight can average 85 years in length, and requires constant attention to the piloting controls? Don't they fear forgetting that they are string pilots like many do?!
Reading-on in the pamphlet, you learn more about the layered String Pilot suit. It is an "intelligent" suit containing many specialized systems. The suit is "alive" in many ways. The suit regenerates itself continuously and does daily maintenance... each night. It protects the pilot in a myriad of ways... too numerous to list here. It self-customizes itself to "fit" the pilot, both mentally and physically. It seeks to refuel itself with numerous acceptable types of fuel when its tanks are low. It insulates the pilot from harsh conditions of many types, and it provides pilots with 5 high-resolution input sensors for monitoring the flight. It has the ability to shape-shift to some degree, and has external speakers for talking to other enroute string pilots.
The last 2 pages of the pamphlet are dedicated to "Combative Flights". You decide that its time to flop into one of the nearby strato-loungers before embarking on reading this. Once settled and adjusted, you begin reading...
"This possibility actualization project (PAP), like any other PAP, includes all possibilities in the attaining of a goal. The goal... for THIS PAP, is to fly a string from the floating entity called Schtart, over to the floating entity called Phinisch. Like many other PAP's, string navigation is accomplished via a neuro-link to the pilot's imagination synapses. During flight planning, a "loose flight plan" is developed, then a string pilot suit is designed specifically based around the loose flight plan, and then the string/pilot is launched. From that point onward, pilots turn on the 5 external sensors, learn to use the external speakers, and learn to fly amongst the myriad of other strings who are in THEIR actualization string flights."
You read further...
"Most string pilots forget that they are string pilots during flights. This is caused by the the high quality display system of the 5 super-sensors that are built-in to our string pilot suits. To further explain... the launch of a string is a fairly violent activity. At the time of launch, the flight suits are not "broke-in". The 5-sensor system turns on automatically at launch, and during the early parts of the flight, pilots are often dazed and confused by the wobbly flight suit and confusing-but-overwelming high-resolution sensor displays. Pilots eventually become acclimated to the string, but due to the very-realistic sensor displays, pilots often are totally engulfed in the flight. They forget about flight plans, they forget that they're headed for Phinisch, they forget which PAP they're flying-for, and they forget that they have an existence OTHER THAN THIS FLIGHT!"
"During the period of disorientation caused by launch and other factors... the pilot's imagination synapses are already wired to flight suit navigation, and string navigation can easily be accomplished, and almost always is. Imagination (a combination of creativity, intuition, reaction to displays, etc.) can turn a string in any direction, including a direction that sends the string on a collision course with another string pilot. Free will is always active during all phases of a string flight. Remember that only a LOOSE flight plan is developed pre-flight. ALL possibilities are possible, and free to be flown, including collisions."
"I think you see where this is going. During flights, pilots can use their imagination and creativity to do something that may be called "bad" by other pilots. We here at the PAP know there is no such thing as "evil", "bad", "assholes", "bitches", "top", "bottom", "good", "undesirable", etc. But these are recognized "conditions" amongst pilots during string flights. A pilot might launch, fly for 30 "years", then take a drastic turn onto a collision coarse with a newly launched pilot. The collision might terminate the new flight so early after launch, that the young pilot never even got time to get used-to the flight suit. This activity often seems "devastating" and "appalling" to other pilots who witness this action. We here at PAP, and you as an aware string pilot, know that "murder" is just another possibility. Murdering a string is no big deal... its just another possibility actualized. But WHILE IN FLIGHT, murdering, or otherwise harming another string... seems a terrible thing. Words like "evil", "bad", "good", "right", "murder"... only have significance while flying a string."
(to be continued or possibly not)
Wingy's Writings
Wingy's Homepage