Chapter the Zero: The World Says Hello
In a Weary World
Chapter the Zero: The World Says Hello
the Waver -- noun. Verb: the Wavering.
1. The tendency of the World to change.
2. The act of the World changing.
3. The magic of change; the magic that is responsible for the changes in the World.
4. The will of the World; the will behind the World; the will of the magic of change.
Welcome to the World. Or, rather, to be specific… Welcome to the Wavering World. It may remind you of your own world, whether it is blue and green, red and gold, silver and magenta, or urple and wilver. It is all of these, and none of them, simultaneously. How? Why, it is the Wavering World, of course.
It changes. It responds to your thoughts, your emotions, your desires, your fears. The world is as you see it, and so is the World. If you see positivity, the World is positive. If you see negativity, the World is negative. Because, after all, it is the Wavering World.
The World is not without its will, just as it is not without its sense of humor. Is it sentient? Is it a god? What is the World? The World is the World, and that is all anyone knows. It loves irony as much as it loves its people. Just because the World is sensitive to you, do not expect that it will always bend to your will. Because, after all, the World is not without its will.
However, the World, just like any other world, is also not without its laws. These laws are what remains constant despite the chaos of the Waver, and thusly they are aptly called the Constants by the people. Just because they are laws, that does not mean they are written out for all to see. The Constants are often discovered, and there are false Constants thought to be true or presented as true, but these will eventually be proven to be inconsistent in the end. After all, the World does not want people running around thinking it will do something that it will not do; who does? The World will therefore set out to prove these falsities in as humorous a fashion as it deems appropriate (and these fashions are guaranteed to be humiliating for those who, although knowing the Inconsistencies to be false, purposefully spread them).
The World is connected to other worlds, because it is its nature to be connected. Sometimes, natives of these other worlds will find him- or herself in the Wavering World, with no explanation or knowledge of how and why. The World will not (usually) help him or her find his or her way back (unless the timing was highly unfortunate for the individual, in which case the World may take pity and try to push them in the right direction occasionally) -- for, after all, there are two laws that would interfere with the World interfering. Constant One: “What is worth doing, the World will not do for you.” Constant Nine: “The Waver feels no need or obligation to explain itself. Figure it out for yourself, you lazy mortal.”
If, for whatever reason, this otherworldly (as the World’s people call off worlders) decides to stay in his or her new setting, integrates, and has offspring, these children will possibly operate also under some of the laws of the parent’s home world. For example, in the case of the first two children you will meet, their mother came from a world in which people’s consciences were made manifest outside of their bodies in the form of animals, and these soul-animals were called dæmons. Because the children’s mother has a dæmon, they, too, were born with dæmons. There are many similar cases to this, but often relating to different systems of magic and races and so on and so forth. How is this possible? Because the only laws the World knows are the Constants, and the Constants speak nothing against the laws of other worlds applying here. In fact, there are two Constants relating to otherworldlies. Constant Fifteen: “There are visitors from other worlds. No, the World is not going to help you get back and no, it will not tell you how you got here and why you’re here. (See I and IX.) Good luck.” Constant Sixteen: “Sometimes, rules of other worlds apply to the World and its people. Especially if your parent/s are from another world.”
But the World is not healthy, just as your world is unhealthy. You may hear of your world’s temperature rising, of pollutants in the air and water, of forests being killed and lakes drained. In these ways, your world is unhealthy, but those are not the ways the World is unhealthy. The World is unhealthy because of the attitudes of its people.
The negativity -- the sorrow, the anger, the bitterness, the helplessness, the self-loathing, the jealousy, the depression -- of the World’s people is slowly turning it into an unhealthy, unhappy place. The World cannot change the individual worlds of the people, because the World is sensitive to the people, and since their personal world is negative, there is an astounding, horrifying, saddening amount of negativity in the World. The World… It is poisoned. And no one seems to realize it, so no one seems to be taking action… except that is about to change, as all things in the World.
The stories contained in this novel are about change, about people, about the world, about life. This first story is about two children who learn that all it takes is a connection, a mouthful of words, a smile. “All it takes to what?” you ask. Well… Read it, and figure it out for yourself, you lazy mortal.
“How far that little candle throws his beams! So shines a good deed in a weary world.”
~ William Shakespeare
Chapter the Zero: The World Says Hello
the Waver -- noun. Verb: the Wavering.
1. The tendency of the World to change.
2. The act of the World changing.
3. The magic of change; the magic that is responsible for the changes in the World.
4. The will of the World; the will behind the World; the will of the magic of change.
Welcome to the World. Or, rather, to be specific… Welcome to the Wavering World. It may remind you of your own world, whether it is blue and green, red and gold, silver and magenta, or urple and wilver. It is all of these, and none of them, simultaneously. How? Why, it is the Wavering World, of course.
It changes. It responds to your thoughts, your emotions, your desires, your fears. The world is as you see it, and so is the World. If you see positivity, the World is positive. If you see negativity, the World is negative. Because, after all, it is the Wavering World.
The World is not without its will, just as it is not without its sense of humor. Is it sentient? Is it a god? What is the World? The World is the World, and that is all anyone knows. It loves irony as much as it loves its people. Just because the World is sensitive to you, do not expect that it will always bend to your will. Because, after all, the World is not without its will.
However, the World, just like any other world, is also not without its laws. These laws are what remains constant despite the chaos of the Waver, and thusly they are aptly called the Constants by the people. Just because they are laws, that does not mean they are written out for all to see. The Constants are often discovered, and there are false Constants thought to be true or presented as true, but these will eventually be proven to be inconsistent in the end. After all, the World does not want people running around thinking it will do something that it will not do; who does? The World will therefore set out to prove these falsities in as humorous a fashion as it deems appropriate (and these fashions are guaranteed to be humiliating for those who, although knowing the Inconsistencies to be false, purposefully spread them).
The World is connected to other worlds, because it is its nature to be connected. Sometimes, natives of these other worlds will find him- or herself in the Wavering World, with no explanation or knowledge of how and why. The World will not (usually) help him or her find his or her way back (unless the timing was highly unfortunate for the individual, in which case the World may take pity and try to push them in the right direction occasionally) -- for, after all, there are two laws that would interfere with the World interfering. Constant One: “What is worth doing, the World will not do for you.” Constant Nine: “The Waver feels no need or obligation to explain itself. Figure it out for yourself, you lazy mortal.”
If, for whatever reason, this otherworldly (as the World’s people call off worlders) decides to stay in his or her new setting, integrates, and has offspring, these children will possibly operate also under some of the laws of the parent’s home world. For example, in the case of the first two children you will meet, their mother came from a world in which people’s consciences were made manifest outside of their bodies in the form of animals, and these soul-animals were called dæmons. Because the children’s mother has a dæmon, they, too, were born with dæmons. There are many similar cases to this, but often relating to different systems of magic and races and so on and so forth. How is this possible? Because the only laws the World knows are the Constants, and the Constants speak nothing against the laws of other worlds applying here. In fact, there are two Constants relating to otherworldlies. Constant Fifteen: “There are visitors from other worlds. No, the World is not going to help you get back and no, it will not tell you how you got here and why you’re here. (See I and IX.) Good luck.” Constant Sixteen: “Sometimes, rules of other worlds apply to the World and its people. Especially if your parent/s are from another world.”
But the World is not healthy, just as your world is unhealthy. You may hear of your world’s temperature rising, of pollutants in the air and water, of forests being killed and lakes drained. In these ways, your world is unhealthy, but those are not the ways the World is unhealthy. The World is unhealthy because of the attitudes of its people.
The negativity -- the sorrow, the anger, the bitterness, the helplessness, the self-loathing, the jealousy, the depression -- of the World’s people is slowly turning it into an unhealthy, unhappy place. The World cannot change the individual worlds of the people, because the World is sensitive to the people, and since their personal world is negative, there is an astounding, horrifying, saddening amount of negativity in the World. The World… It is poisoned. And no one seems to realize it, so no one seems to be taking action… except that is about to change, as all things in the World.
The stories contained in this novel are about change, about people, about the world, about life. This first story is about two children who learn that all it takes is a connection, a mouthful of words, a smile. “All it takes to what?” you ask. Well… Read it, and figure it out for yourself, you lazy mortal.
“How far that little candle throws his beams! So shines a good deed in a weary world.”
~ William Shakespeare