Memoirs of the Unborn. Time

Brief introduction.

 The series “Memoirs of the Unborn” was conceived as a collection of 10 short stories, the plots of which intersect with each other. This series was written and completed (as I believed at that time) in 2014.

 

In 2018, I showed my stories to a virtual friend, who advised me to add “Memoirs of an Unborn Time” to the series. I accepted his idea, for which I am sincerely grateful to him, and this is what I came up with.

Time passed, ran, rushed and flew. It seemed as natural as it was necessary. Time was torn between everyone who needed it. And everyone needed it. At all times, eras, in parallel realities, worlds.

Everyone was so accustomed to it that its existence was taken for granted - like the existence of the sun, water, air. It was believed that they had always existed and would remain so forever. Although, Eternity is the diocese of Time.

But no one asked him. It seemed to work for people and served them. And this also went without saying.

Life itself, which was born once upon a time, was self-evident. And as a phenomenon and institution, it was considered eternal. Even if the living were mortal.

It is paradoxical that both Life and Death were a matter of Time. Both literally and figuratively.

People could not imagine their world without Time, outside of Time. We couldn’t imagine ourselves without this dimension. It seemed that it was everywhere.

Everything reminded of his existence: watches (both wrist watches, sand watches, sun watches), clocks, chronometers, speedometers, flasks and chimes, and other meters.

It was measured, divided, sold, rented, delayed and deferred. They won, they gave, they lost... as an object, an item, an essence, as something that exists, tangible-physical - without any doubt.

But there was only one catch: Time did not know, did not suspect and could not even suspect about all this. It was a fiction, an invention, a convention.

Time did not live and did not exist. Never.

And for only one reason - it was never born, just as all the heroes and characters of all previous episodes were never born.

They were not born precisely because Time was necessary for their conception, maturation and birth.

That very Time that was never born.

9.05. 2018, original (Russian) version.

Smell Exchange

The Curious Everyman approached a room on the façade of which hung a sign with a name that seemed unusual to the Everyman: “Smell Exchange.”

 

He arrived at the beginning of the establishment’s working day. Upon entering, he was surprised: the exchange was working, life was in full swing and exuded a variety of smells. And, like music, the stock exchange was a place of harmony and cacophony... of smells. Sometimes they attracted, like the smell of fresh melon or mint, sometimes they repelled, like jasmine.

 

On the man’s right hand were stands, above which stood a sign: “Futures.” Along the left hand were the same rows of racks, but above them hung another sign that read “Illiquid Stock.” The exchange traded the past and the future. Only the auction itself was its present time.

 

Trying to see what the brokers and dealers of the exchange were selling and buying, the Curious Everyman found himself at a loss: on the racks with the names of companies selling scents, there were empty jars, reminiscent in appearance and size of jars of baby food, and piles of papers. Voices were heard from both the right and the left: “I’m selling 20 banana’s!”, “I’m buying 30 orange’s!”, “I’m selling, I’m selling!”, “I’m buying, I’m buying!”. There was a mixture of smells and screams in the air, smelling of hope and despair mixed with raspberries and lavender, coffee and tangerines.

 

The number of jars and papers on the counters of brokers and dealers was constantly changing - trading was quite brisk.

 

The gazes of both were directed to the scoreboard, where sets of letters and numbers incomprehensible to the Everyman constantly flashed.

 

It is worth noting that all those trading on the stock exchange had an exceptional sense of smell. It was for this quality that exchange companies selected brokers and dealers. Each of them could blindly distinguish the smell of next year's orange futures from last season's orange illiquid stock. Illiquid assets were sold at bargain prices, but were still a hot commodity. Their scents were mingled with the aroma of hope or despair, depending on the progress of the auction.

 

The same thing happened with futures, because exchange manipulation and speculation, which are the basis of this industry, could easily, in a split second, bankrupt or enrich sellers or buyers. Those who had the best instinct and excellent sense of smell won.

 

Despite the fact that the exchange was no different from the market - in appearance and the atmosphere that reigned in this place - in this harmony and cacophony of sounds and smells, the positive dynamics of trading prevailed, which either attracted or repelled the Curious Everyman. Trading - the lifeblood of the exchange - seemed sometimes unsteady, sometimes unshakable, but they flowed - sometimes sluggishly, sometimes dynamically, ensuring the circulation of the blood of this huge organism with its complex mechanisms, sales techniques, manipulations and speculations, agreements and their violations. There was everything and everyone - hopes and disappointments, victories and defeats. There was life and death, ups and downs, and it all had its own smells.

 

Despite all the incomprehensibility and unknown principles and mechanisms of the exchange, one thing was clear to the average person: the exchange is alive, thriving and smelling. Everything flowed, changed and replaced, but, most importantly, did not stop.

 

Gradually delving into the elegant, graceful logic of the operation of stock exchange mechanisms, the Curious Everyman began to like everything he saw, heard, and smelled. Walking between the endless rows, he was not bored. Even if some smells irritated him, they were immediately replaced by others that were pleasant to his nose.  

 

A little tired from his adventure, the Everyman headed towards the exit to have a snack and then continue his observations. As a diligent student or researcher, he wrote down everything new and incomprehensible in a notebook. Next to some of the entries there were question marks, which indicated points he did not understand and required clarification. Next to the others there were exclamation marks, meaning that he understood the essence of what was happening. Ultimately, his goal was to assemble a mosaic of smells and numbers, answer all questions and describe in colors everything he saw, heard, felt. After all, he sinned with writing.

 

Approaching the exit, he noticed a man in a raincoat and hat, which greatly surprised him, because all the events of this story took place in mid-August. The Weird Stranger wore leather gloves on his hands, and his eyes were hidden behind huge sunglasses that hid more than half of his face. He quickly walked between the rows, quietly taking out from his bag small jars identical to those that stood on the tables of brokers and dealers, at first glance, no different from them. In the crowd and noise that reigned on the exchange, none of those trading or buying paid attention to the Weird Stranger while he pulled out his jars and placed them on the tables. At some point, his bag was empty, and the Stranger hurried to the exit. The glances of the Weird Stranger and the Curious Everyman met for a split second. The man in the street managed to see the Stranger’s face and was horrified: he had no nose. This means that he did not smell. Couldn’t distinguish smells.

 

Suddenly, the Stranger made something similar to ultrasound, causing everyone on the spot to cover their ears. At that moment, thousands of jars standing on the tables exploded. Everything was mixed up. A moment later, a previously unknown smell filled the exchange. It caused suffocation, the eyes of everyone present began to water, and people fell to the ground. Ten minutes later, which was enough for the Weird Stranger to leave the exchange and hide, everyone in the building managed to recover from the shock. But only partially. The smell from the Stranger's jars not only absorbed all the usual smells of the stock exchange. It created a new, pungent and disgusting smell, a stench that completely deprived all brokers and dealers of their sense of smell. This meant a complete collapse of the exchange.

 

Luckily for the Curious Everyman, he had a runny nose. Before the jars exploded, he sneezed and took a handkerchief from his trouser pocket, which saved him from the terrible consequences of the explosion.

 

The villain who detonated numerous bombs in the market miscalculated. He was sure that the collapse of the stock exchange would destroy the smells, and this would compensate for his complex, his congenital disease. And everyone will become like him. Or rather, he will become like everyone else. And he will no longer be a freak and an outcast.

 

But the Strange Stranger encroached only... on the symbol. On the effect, not the cause. The Weird Stranger did not take into account the fact that the exchange was only a place where one could buy and sell this or that smell, or a mixture of smells. But they were not released by people. They were produced by Nature itself. And the collapse of the stock exchange is not the collapse of Nature. After all, killing Nature is a task that cannot be accomplished by one person.

 

Over time, brokers and dealers received aromatherapy treatments. Their sense of smell was restored, and the exchange started working again.

 

This story became known thanks to the notes of the Curious Everyman. You can view them in the local museum, located not far from the exchange, which still operates to this day.

 

May 26, 2017, original (Russian) version.

For rent

Everything that happens in this Universe or, for example, on one of its inhabited planets, could seem extremely strange to an outside observer or time traveler.

 

It just so happened that the people who inhabited one of the planets of this Universe used all the benefits, goods, services and even habits... for rent. For example, they bought houses for rent, visited museums and concert halls, and parks for rent. Everything that could be purchased for some time was, in fact, purchased for rent. The exception was food.

Books were rented and libraries were used for rent. Various knowledge was also for rent. Many people could use them, immediately and simultaneously, naturally, if there was a need for this knowledge. Equipment and technologies were purchased for rent.

 

Religious practices and beliefs were also borrowed, even Heaven and Hell. As do ideologies and social formations. Tastes and morals. Traditions. Health was also given for rent.

 

There was even music and art for rent. They were just created for the longest rental period. Everyone used them, always and everywhere. They rolled for centuries, millennia, eras.

 

Everything that could be used repeatedly and for a long time (if it was all stored and preserved properly) was rented and purchased, as well as rented out and re-rented, resold. Even money was purchased or rented. Often their use ended so quickly that they were rented again, which became increasingly more expensive. And yet, they were one of the most popular goods.

 

The rental cycles themselves - from birth to death - were also rented. Because people were renting their lives. And they disposed of them as best they could, knowing that this rental would end sooner or later.

 

The dialectical nature of this strange situation of existence lay in the fact that they also rented the planet on which people lived and breathed, and the planet itself gave them for rent everything that they used on it - from their very life to its benefits and fruits.

 

However, it was precisely this strange way of rolling coexistence between people and the planet that guaranteed its continuity. After all, the planet itself existed for rent - from the moment of its birth until the renters living on it destroyed it.

 

In any case, the possibility of destruction of the rented planet was predicted by the people who inhabited it for rent. And they thought about renting new worlds in order to continue their strange way of existence there too. For rent.

 

And only death was not for rent.

 

November 20, 2016, original (Russian version)

Memoirs of the Unborn. Universe

Memoirs of the Unborn. Universe

Tenth story

Our Universe is infinite. Although, a renowned scientist called Einstein purportedly said, "There are only two infinite things: the Universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the first one." He undoubtedly knew what he was talking about, but we still cannot say where the Universe begins and where it ends. Everything in life (at least, in our Universe) is based on hypotheses—birth, life, death. All these and other concepts can be considered both in a physical sense and abstractly or through philosophy—in an attempt to understand, comprehend, and make sense of these phenomena.

 

The origin of our Universe has intrigued and kept many scientists awake throughout different periods of human history. And to the extent that the level of science and technology allowed them at the time, their ideas and conclusions regarding the Universe differed. In essence, its history can be traced through their research, in which these wise and intelligent men presented not only abstract thoughts but also numbers. Including the birthdate of our Universe and, in some cases, even the date of its death.

 

For example, it is generally accepted that the Universe owes its birth to the "Big Bang," which happened 13.72 billion years ago, and it is destined to die in 100 trillion years from the moment of its birth due to a heat death, as predicted by the German scientist Rudolf Clausius. Galileo Galilei viewed the Universe as a giant mechanism with the Sun at its center. Nicolaus Copernicus believed that the Earth and the Sun are not unique, and there are similar entities in our Universe. He also believed that Earthlings are not alone in the Universe.

 

Universal conflicts also threatened to put an end to our Universe. The causes of such conflicts were intergalactic crises of various kinds. Among them, the well-known energy crisis of 2075, which, fortunately, was resolved before the outbreak of hostilities. Man contributed here as well because conflicts and wars are embedded in his very nature.

 

The question of the finiteness or infiniteness of the Universe has troubled the greatest minds of humanity. And today, it is generally considered that our Universe is infinite.

And since the Universe has no end, it can be assumed that it has no beginning. In other words, it never started or, simply put, was never born. And if it never started, it will never end. Our Universe will remain unborn. Just like these memoirs about it—a figment of the imagination of an unborn author.

October 27, 2014, Original (Russian) version.