Written In Stone

We started out in a place where things were able to grow. And so we farmed the land. We explored the world.

Soon, War found us. And so we fought with all our might. We conquered the enemy, and we ruled the land we won with a just hand. Our leader treated every soldier as if he or she were his own son or daughter. Our army transformed over time to an elite force.

Leaving war, we shifted our focus to the stars. We invested in public school, and robotics. We lifted up our species to the sky. We flew to the stars.

All of this was millions of years ago, when we were mortal. When our bodies were made of flesh and bone. The discovery of other dimensions and the realization that the edge of the universe really exists as the edge of time, gave way to our leaving the physical realm. We look back upon those moments with quiet reflection. Each epoch looked savage to the one that followed.

But now. We are at peace. All of us.

Our leader was something of a map nerd. But he was also someone we loved. Someone we admired. Each soldier that fought for him and lived to tell the tale — also taught their children, and their children’s children — the art of war. We passed this knowledge from generation to generation, refining our attack until it was so powerful — it became an age old question of what infinite attack would work against an infinite defense, and we chose war no more.

But even here, in the great beyond — there is conflict. We still find strife. Though we can explore the universe we cannot yet escape our galaxy. There is a beast at the center of all stars, a devourer. We send our sentinels but they do not return.

Spring is coming. The leaves are turning. We are here on the hillside. We see the days and nights, the sunrise, and the sunset. Be here with us. Stay for a while.

Listen to the ground. Listen to the water. Listen to the wind.

Listen to Carl Sandburg.

Gather the stars if you wish it so.
Gather the songs and keep them.
Gather the faces of women.
Gather for keeping years and years.
And then . . .
Loosen your hands, let go and say goodby.
Let the stars and songs go.
Let the faces and years go.
Loosen your hands and say goodbye.