There was a 'before', and there was a 'now', yet the Entity had experienced no beginning. There was once a time when it had not existed, but that time had passed. The origin was irrelevant, and this Entity had no desire to think of such meaningless things. The Entity was, and that was all it needed to know.
The Entity had thought, but its mind was bound to nothing. It had emotion, or it would, in time. It had awareness of every kind, but it was not omniscient, because the Entity held a position, a presence. It could be here, or it could be there, and wherever it held its presence, it could observe its environment for kilometres around- But it could not be here and there. The Entity could move, if it wished to do so. Right now, however, the Entity did not wish to move at all.
There was light blazing towards the planet from a great sphere far away. The light twisted its way through a blanket of gas, and the Entity could observe that twist as a colour- First blue, then a magnificent orange, and then the sphere was out of sight and the blanket became dark, allowing all the blazing spheres that were far away to take their turn at illuminating the planet. One of them was very close, so close that it appeared to be the same size as the sphere this planet orbited, but its light was only a reflection of the sphere which some might call a Sun. Then the planet turned and the blanket of the Atmosphere was blue again, and the burning light came back, falling upon a vast liquid surface, penetrating the shallows wherein the Entity held its restful, ethereal presence.
The Entity had seen-without-eyes the light for some time now, but its attention was focused on something small, something resting on a bed of soaked, rocky mineral powder, just under the surface of the liquid Ocean. There were living things in the liquid, the Water, growing things by the million- So many that they tinted the ocean blue and green. They absorbed the burning light and powered themselves with it, and that was puzzling, but they did not interest the Entity. The growing units that held him rapt were many, many times larger, and more complicated. They were cells with many parts within themselves. They could not sustain themselves with the light from the sun, so they absorbed the little growing organisms that drifted and sank down around them. They called to the Entity, for it felt potential within them... But it did not know how they would become great, or when. So the Entity threw off their subtle spell, and left them.
No liquid, nor solid, nor gas could impede the Entity. It could move wherever it wanted to move, seeing all it passed by- and seeing much, for the Entity moved with great speed. It could fly through the Air as high as it wished, and it could dive through the Water to any depth. It could soar through the lightless Earth and Rock and taste their minerals. Mostly the Entity remained near the surface, circling every stone, every outcrop and mountain and fiery volcano. It found more living things, growing cells in their billions, but they were all simple and small, and none carried the same feeling of potential as the complex cells the Entity had left behind. And leaving behind was what the Entity disliked. It didn't want to move but to stay- To stay everywhere, to fill everything, to spread its presence over the entire planet, enclose it and never let it go.
The Entity flew, and many cycles of colour passed over the air. In time the Entity grew tired of the surface. It was magnificent, but it was barren. The rocks sat in their places until they crumbled, and the mountains were worn down by the wind. New rock flowed from volcanoes and new mountains were growing, but the Entity came to miss the complexity that the cells- its cells- had given to their shallow waters. So the Entity began to think, and within it a desire grew, a desire to change what it saw. Make it beautiful and complex and filled, every part of it, so that no place was ever empty of complexity, so that every place had a presence of life. Desire matured into a single, passionate Intent. With Intent came Power.
The complex cells had survived, but not changed. They lived, but they were inert. The Entity returned to them over stone and dust and water, drawn to them as if it had never left. As it flew it felt its desire congealing into energy, almost tangible energy, and the Entity immersed the cells in its power, becoming them, marking them as its own. It felt fitting... Perfect. The Entity could read the cells, now, read the single code that each one carried within it to be passed on to every new generation... And tweak it.
The Entity made mistakes, at first. Many cells died before the surviving code overcame its influence. It could make them form new strings of atoms, could make them do whatever it desired... If it was careful. But the Entity was careful, and determined. Days passed in their cycle of colour, and the sun and moon made cycles of their own, and the Entity learned how to craft its little colony. When it was ready, it introduced a simple new code into its adopted family, and this code held no mistakes. The cells began to produce chains of atoms, chains which bound each other together. Not in random clumps, for each cell clung to its brothers in the same perfect pattern that spread over the shallow sand. From a film to a layer to a small, soft mass went the colony; A mass that held a single, flat, branching pattern at every scale of its surface, that absorbed every simple cell that drifted onto it and spread its energy outwards to grow further.
Yes. It is good. The Entity had approved its first creation, and now that it had begun, it never wanted to stop. The task would take time, but the Entity would learn and grow in power and adapt itself, embracing every single nook and cranny of the planet with life, and holding presence there. It shall be done. The Entity was alone on this planet, and it would take the world as its own, becoming an enveloping, ruling force. This it accepted as its one and only Purpose.
From a nameless, aimless being, the Enclosing One emerged.
The Entity had thought, but its mind was bound to nothing. It had emotion, or it would, in time. It had awareness of every kind, but it was not omniscient, because the Entity held a position, a presence. It could be here, or it could be there, and wherever it held its presence, it could observe its environment for kilometres around- But it could not be here and there. The Entity could move, if it wished to do so. Right now, however, the Entity did not wish to move at all.
There was light blazing towards the planet from a great sphere far away. The light twisted its way through a blanket of gas, and the Entity could observe that twist as a colour- First blue, then a magnificent orange, and then the sphere was out of sight and the blanket became dark, allowing all the blazing spheres that were far away to take their turn at illuminating the planet. One of them was very close, so close that it appeared to be the same size as the sphere this planet orbited, but its light was only a reflection of the sphere which some might call a Sun. Then the planet turned and the blanket of the Atmosphere was blue again, and the burning light came back, falling upon a vast liquid surface, penetrating the shallows wherein the Entity held its restful, ethereal presence.
The Entity had seen-without-eyes the light for some time now, but its attention was focused on something small, something resting on a bed of soaked, rocky mineral powder, just under the surface of the liquid Ocean. There were living things in the liquid, the Water, growing things by the million- So many that they tinted the ocean blue and green. They absorbed the burning light and powered themselves with it, and that was puzzling, but they did not interest the Entity. The growing units that held him rapt were many, many times larger, and more complicated. They were cells with many parts within themselves. They could not sustain themselves with the light from the sun, so they absorbed the little growing organisms that drifted and sank down around them. They called to the Entity, for it felt potential within them... But it did not know how they would become great, or when. So the Entity threw off their subtle spell, and left them.
No liquid, nor solid, nor gas could impede the Entity. It could move wherever it wanted to move, seeing all it passed by- and seeing much, for the Entity moved with great speed. It could fly through the Air as high as it wished, and it could dive through the Water to any depth. It could soar through the lightless Earth and Rock and taste their minerals. Mostly the Entity remained near the surface, circling every stone, every outcrop and mountain and fiery volcano. It found more living things, growing cells in their billions, but they were all simple and small, and none carried the same feeling of potential as the complex cells the Entity had left behind. And leaving behind was what the Entity disliked. It didn't want to move but to stay- To stay everywhere, to fill everything, to spread its presence over the entire planet, enclose it and never let it go.
The Entity flew, and many cycles of colour passed over the air. In time the Entity grew tired of the surface. It was magnificent, but it was barren. The rocks sat in their places until they crumbled, and the mountains were worn down by the wind. New rock flowed from volcanoes and new mountains were growing, but the Entity came to miss the complexity that the cells- its cells- had given to their shallow waters. So the Entity began to think, and within it a desire grew, a desire to change what it saw. Make it beautiful and complex and filled, every part of it, so that no place was ever empty of complexity, so that every place had a presence of life. Desire matured into a single, passionate Intent. With Intent came Power.
The complex cells had survived, but not changed. They lived, but they were inert. The Entity returned to them over stone and dust and water, drawn to them as if it had never left. As it flew it felt its desire congealing into energy, almost tangible energy, and the Entity immersed the cells in its power, becoming them, marking them as its own. It felt fitting... Perfect. The Entity could read the cells, now, read the single code that each one carried within it to be passed on to every new generation... And tweak it.
The Entity made mistakes, at first. Many cells died before the surviving code overcame its influence. It could make them form new strings of atoms, could make them do whatever it desired... If it was careful. But the Entity was careful, and determined. Days passed in their cycle of colour, and the sun and moon made cycles of their own, and the Entity learned how to craft its little colony. When it was ready, it introduced a simple new code into its adopted family, and this code held no mistakes. The cells began to produce chains of atoms, chains which bound each other together. Not in random clumps, for each cell clung to its brothers in the same perfect pattern that spread over the shallow sand. From a film to a layer to a small, soft mass went the colony; A mass that held a single, flat, branching pattern at every scale of its surface, that absorbed every simple cell that drifted onto it and spread its energy outwards to grow further.
Yes. It is good. The Entity had approved its first creation, and now that it had begun, it never wanted to stop. The task would take time, but the Entity would learn and grow in power and adapt itself, embracing every single nook and cranny of the planet with life, and holding presence there. It shall be done. The Entity was alone on this planet, and it would take the world as its own, becoming an enveloping, ruling force. This it accepted as its one and only Purpose.
From a nameless, aimless being, the Enclosing One emerged.
