The Purple Dimension

"Liam?" spoke softly the young girl floating in the light Purple color.

~ Sorry to have shocked them away. We have a reputation in the Lower. ~ he tried to explain, ~ I did declare war on them a short time ago for daring to attack your world. Happy to see they took me seriously. ~

"They look really scared."

~ They should be, ~ said the elder, proud of himself. ~ I threatened them with mass destruction unless they changed course. The Metils sadly follow only one course: the most violent path. Too many races remain close to that instinctual layer we talked about earlier. I fear your world may be in danger. ~

"No need to be judgmental." Sophie looked around. In the vastness of this purple space, millions of little spinning objects were appearing like bubbles. She had not seen this the last time she entered this place with the creature in her dream. She looked the blooming rocks. These were growing debris like mushrooms or popcorn coming in existence from nothing.

"Liam, what do you think those are? A weapon?" Sophie loved having an invisible companion.

The little floating structures looked to like pieces of strawberry granola hitting each other in some type of exploding popcorn motion. Each floating rock was different. Some of these could be living structures.

~ See how these things grow. I believe our own size is unstable. These structures are not really growing; I fear we are shrinking. Just feels like they are changing. Wave worlds are very strange. In this place, it is called scaling from very small to very big. The world is very mathematical. ~

"What can we do?"

~ We appear to be shrinking fast. Try to imagine yourself as if you are growing, getting larger. See yourself back at the size you were at the time of our arrival. You can also look at a piece of rock and image it getting smaller. ~

Sophie had no eyes, but in her mind, she imagined what Liam had just suggested. With some effort, one rock stopped growing and stabilized at the size of a mountain, then it began slowly to shrink in size. Liam was right; they were shrinking. Slowly, with concentration, the scaling stopped. As if someone had hit a rewind button, the debris began to shrink back down into smoke. The purple color of the world returned.

~ We are back! How wonderful! Truly exceptional. ~

She opened her mental eyes.

"Where are we?"

~ It seems we are back where we arrived. Look to the left, in the distance. Notice the difference in color in this area. We spoke of how the darker purple zones must be their cities. The creatures live from warm areas where energy seeps in from the stars from your own world. We must find the one linked with your sun. ~

"This darker spot is the location of our sun? You just said this world was smaller than ours."

~ You are a quick learner. That is correct. Distances, like sizes, vary in every world, often strangely. The only thing constant is the direction of time. In every layer of the Multiverse, time unfolds in one direction: forward. It does, however, unfold at varying speeds in different places. ~

Sophie was intrigued by the concept of an alien city.

"Sun creatures, I like it. Why are you upset at them?"

~ The inhabitants of this particular place have broken several rules of the code of conduct that exists between worlds. We, from the Lower, are the enforcers of these rules. ~

"Your race is powerful. Do you know what we look like to them?"

~ Good question. I have no idea. ~

"You told me no one can walk between worlds. Why would they expect to see you here?"

~ You are right, those were my words. No one can directly come here. These are not the brightest creatures. Generally, my race conducts retribution indirectly between worlds. We can always increase or decrease the energy pouring into this place. Energy seeps naturally between worlds in many different ways; energy always originates in one place and goes to another. What we can do is regulate these flows. We generally abhor doing so, because it forces the Multiverse out of equilibrium. We cannot know the purpose of the Multiverse. ~

~ The Metils are primitive in many ways. They do not know about the rule of impermeability, nor any of the Multiverse's other laws You already have a deeper knowledge of worlds than most here. They found and opened a communication door, and as the rules require, we had to connect it to the Nexus. They must think our arrival here is somehow linked with the coming war. What shocking is their vast understanding of your world. ~

"Well, isn't my arrival linked with the war?"

~ Again, young one, you shame me with your wisdom. ~

"Liam! Don't take this the wrong way, but all this world stuff is getting way too complicated. If I learned one thing since the accident that took my family, it's this: don't sweat the details. I just want to save my father, be with him, and give him joy before he leaves me. If I was picked, it's because I'm easy to predict. Or maybe Electoral is playing games here. Maybe you're only part of the computer reality. All this could be of her doing. I'd never know the difference."

~ I cannot give you the reassurances you seek. If our interaction is made up, this would be a rather sadistic game to play on one such as you. ~

Sophie was on a long road, far from where she really needed to be. She had been lost before, when the courts first ruled against her and refused to give her custody of her father. She then went to Mars, then to the stupid Center, and now she was lost here, in a different world. She just had to be herself, keep calm, and think.

"I think I know how to get out."

~ You do? ~

"Yes. If this was really a world, a different place, we would not be simply ghosts. This means we are part of my dream. My body is home. I assume we are both in my mind, I am stuck in my own dream, unable to enter my father's mind."

~ I am not one to disagree. You are the Attractor. I am here to help. ~

She looked around. In the distance far away, she could distinguish structures and activity, as if she had some type of super-vision. "What's in the city?"

~ What do you mean? Buildings, I would suppose. ~ He was dying to see it more closely, but he kept his curiosity to himself.

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In the distance, the complexity of what she could see was amazing. From up close, it probably was even more spectacular. In the vastness between two deeper-colored spots existed millions of floating grains of rock, each cut like a gem. They all had different colors flashing inside of them and were like popcorn exploding and merging into different shapes. Some of the gems seemed to be animated of free will, like fish swimming together in banks. She was curious.

"Liam..."

~ Yes Sophie, ~ his voice was filled with admiration.

"I like you. I'm happy you're here. I only hope once I wake up, you'll still be with me. I'm so lonely sometimes, and it makes everything seem so much harder. Will you stay?"

~ Nothing would please me more. ~ The creature was genuine.

"This place has its charms. Sorry, but it looks much better than your brown world. No wonder you were so sad. Brown is the color of dirt back on Earth."

~ Sophie, how many colors exist in your world? ~

"Millions. The only beautiful thing in your place was you." She felt the compliment was warmly received. "Do yo dream?" she continued.

The question surprised him. ~ Yes. ~

"Do all life-forms dream?"

~ In one fashion or another, yes. Why do you ask? ~

"You will see my father. All he has left is a dream of some type. I must use a machine to enter his mind and join his dream. I have been wondering for a while what the difference between a dream-world and reality is. Why do we dream? It seems strange to me that dreaming would be found in other places. If dream is an illusion, my father is gone. If dream is a reality, he still exists."

~ We have no answer to this question. I do not want to bother you with more theories. I wish I could help. I want to meet your father, in dream or reality. I am sure he misses you. It seems like your first priority is to him. That is very sweet. You want to connect with him, where is he? ~

"Back in my world, he is sleeping and connected to a large machine. I used the machine hoping to connect to him; that's when I arrived in your world. Now we are here."

~ Having a father with limited abilities is uncommon in your world? ~

"Oh yes. Extremely rare. My dad is the only one in his situation. Why?"

~ What has happened to him was rare, very rare, or impossible? ~

"Absolutely impossible! He is clinically dead! Died many times. No one understands why he is still around. Why? Does that change anything?"

~ To me it does. If you do not mind the delay, there are some important concepts I would love to teach you, so that you can make informed decisions once we reach the city. That is our next destination, right? ~ Sophie's companion was talking out of kindness, she felt it.

"I have not booted up my school tutor in a long time, way too long. I guess a class will not hurt me."

~ Of all the souls in the Multiverse, the burden of Attraction was placed upon you, ~ he began. She interrupted him.

"Did you say soul?"

~ Yes. ~

"There are souls? What happens after we die?"

~ I assume your world's science is still at a stage before the godly concepts have been uncovered. These are difficult concepts to explain. Do you want me to do so? ~

"Once you die, what happens? My mother died, is she still here?"

~ Yes, of sorts. We never really die. Every living creature feels as much in its heart. Even before we can retrieve our past lives, their presence lingers in our mind. We feel connected, attached. You do not? ~

"So people resurrect?"

~ It is not that simple. Most souls pass between worlds. Impermeability only limits your body. The passage is made in a very strange energy form, not waves but pulses. The trauma of passage wipes away most memories. In many places, the flow of this energy is regulated. It is a crime to interfere with it. It must be hard not knowing about it. ~

"I heard my mother talk to me, in my head. I figured I was crazy."

~ You are the Attractor. By nature you attract energy. I would not be surprised if you would have a way to contact her. What is the last time you spoke with her? ~

"In the plane, going to Mars. That was yesterday. She told me all would be fine."

~ I would love to tell you she is right. I urge you to understand Attraction. You must know about who you are. It is too easy for you to disrupt the natural balance of things. The Multiverse needs you to do one thing. If you do the wrong one, I fear your world and this one will vanish. ~

Sophie was suddenly nervous. Liam was right, she was unique, special. She remembered crying on the way to the hospital, in the ambulance on that awful rainy night. Her father's corpse was next to her, covered in blood. He was dead. She bent over, and willed for him not to leave. She cried all the tears her eyes could pour. Then, as if by miracle, a heartbeat returned. The shock to the ambulance staff forced the vehicle to veer off. It burst into flames. Her father died again, and again. Each time her tears brought him back.

In the hospital, and later at home, she had willed him to return. Each time it worked. It was all her fault. Laurent was a miserable cripple because of her waves. That was horrific. Instead of going with his mother in the other world, he was stuck here with her. She also only saved him, not her mother. That thought was even harder to accept. What type of awful daughter was she?

She gazed around the purple space, her mind elsewhere. She felt Liam. He felt her distress.

"I am a bad person."

~ No! ~

"I killed my mother, my brother. My father is even worse off than dead because of me!"

~ Stop this! ~ the voice was paternal. It was the voice of an elder, of a man who knew better. ~ How dare you second guess your gift! You may be the only thing standing between the destruction of hundreds of worlds. Untold numbers of innocent children. Peace itself. If there is one thing I know, is that things align for a reason. You must learn of the Attraction. ~ He was reassuring her. ~ You must know there are two competing universal theories, each is equally as absurd to me. The question is, why would a large thing such as the Multiverse ever care about the actions of one little girl? ~

~ First, what I know to be true. You, young lady, are called the Attractor and were given a gift designed to align things that, without you, could never align. You must create a set of desired events that will culminate in a solution to a problem that is unknown and important only to the Multiverse. I have been chosen to help you because, after almost two billion years, I have finally understood why you and yourself alone are unique. Our Universe has an itch, a problem it cannot solve, and you have been given the power to achieve what otherwise cannot be achieved. ~

"What must happen? What does the Multiverse want?"

~ I wish I knew. In fact, if I could understand what it needs, the Multiverse would have picked me. So I can safely assume, however hard I try, I cannot conceive of what it needs. The last four have failed. Each time resulting in the destruction of entire layers of the Multiverse. ~

~ I hope you see its beauty and simplicity in the Sixth Attraction. Something in the future has to happen; I call it the desirable consequence. Only the multiverse knows what it is. The Multiverse likes numbers, shuffling, and what appears to us as randomness. Our Multiverse can use numerosity to generate consequence. Each time the Multiverse needs something, using this numerosity, and given enough time, it will get its way. ~

~ Imagine the Multiverse wants really a piece of art, a very specific piece. It creates a race with millions of artists, and given enough time, one of them will do the Multiverse's bidding and paint that unique piece. That artist will wonder why him? There is one artist, one person only who can do the bidding. Today, what the Multiverse wants is so beautiful and so complex that no race, no artist anywhere can create it. Since there are no possible natural causes that can create the needed consequence, the Multiverse no longer can use its normal easy way to do things. It then moves to the next best thing: Attraction. I think, now I know, Attraction is the beautiful way for the Multiverse to work to get result in rare cases. It grabs the right sculptor, the one player closer to the goal in a game, but if left alone would not create the painting. It then gives the painter unique tools, a power, and hopes to get its way. ~

~ The last four Attractors were unable to figure it out. I do think the way to find out is to find what the sculpture is designed for; the purpose of your existence is key. I think the Multiverse has an itch to scratch, something it needs you to do. Maybe someone is about to damage it, and you must simply prevent this damage from occurring. ~

"Then what?" Her guest was silent. "Where do we start?"

~ Here. ~

"What?"

~ Instants before you arrived in my world, something very important happened, ~ Liam explained ~ I was informed on our communication bridge by the Metil Ambassador that a young creature from this world, a boy named Mall-ik, made contact with you and is now in your world. The Metils have a plan to create some interference in your world. They plan to extend your living area. I am unclear about what that exactly involves, because I do not know the precise nature of your reality. ~

"Liam, I am only a child."

~ We are well paired. I am the oldest creature in the Multiverse. The Multiverse asked me to help, and trust me, I will. Age is no predicate to wisdom; it's generally the other way around. ~

"This Mall-ik, the firefly as I call him, we must find him. He passed between worlds like me. He is part of the puzzle like you and I."

The strange couple began to move in the direction of the city. She just needed to find Mall-ik, and at the same time she would find her father. At least that was the plan.