An interesting phenomenon occurs when a space is hitherto devoid of recognition or sight: it fails to exist. Well, at least the chance is present. It more so resides in a quantum state where its binary value is a conflation of both possibilities. In essence, a space unseen both exists and doesn’t.

It was with this ontological quandary unthought that a man appeared at a tree -- a hemlock to be exact. The time was early spring, so while the tree had unsurprisingly maintained its irrevocably green color the ground had begun sprouting lush, verdant grass at the base of the trunk where the fallen needles of past had decomposed. The man looked forward, frozen in form and orientation. To him, there was no ‘before’-- as a baby being awoken with consciousness.

The path that the man had taken to that tree is unknown; perhaps one has never been. What is known is that, currently, there is a man standing erect, oriented towards a hemlock tree and standing on lush, burgeoning grass. What isn’t known is everything besides this. The world -- if there is one -- is an unplatted map, as perceptible as the realm behind one’s head.

Shelter

Shelter was the first thing on his mind. Intrinsically, he had an initial goal to gather the resources to make an axe.  Without being aware of it, the man knew what a felling axe did, how to make one, and how to use it.

With that, he stepped forward and scanned his environs: hemlocks before him and to his sides; a slight underbrush of ivy, ferns, and bushes around him; and a faint blue sky streaked with the occasional wispy cirrus cloud above him. Beneath one of the hemlock trees to his left lay an adequately sized stick.  The man discerned it to be about 16in. length with a radius of approximately 1⁄2in. He walked towards the prospective handle, and in doing so revealed more depth to the seeming ceaseless forest. This time, however, rather than just the exemplar trees a small pond disclosed itself to the man a couple dozen meters past his destination. He made a mental note and picked up the stick.

Now retrieve stone and binding

Conveniently, a length of bindweed was nearby, climbing up a fern. Adroitly, the man scurried over to the plant and plucked the weed. As he stood to locate the rocks needed for the axe head his hands proceeded to remove every leaf from the central vine.

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Contrary to the ease of finding the bindweed, there didn't seem to be any stones large enough for their necessary constituency in the tool. The man experienced chagrin.

Check by the water

Broken from his slight emotional sojournment, the man cast his gaze to the water. Scanning the waterfront, he was able to spot a couple small boulders with what appeared to be smaller stones nestled around their bases.  With these, he felt, he would be able to craft the axe head and begin to construct his shelter.

His walk to the boulders divulged more information of the world to his nescient mind: feeding the pond ahead was a small creek, which extended out to the edge of his vision; some slight variation in foliage towards the east was marking itself visibly as well with its vibrant variegation; and a barely perceivable oscillation in the nearby ferns was (finally) announcing the presence of auxiliary life. The man understood these things, for within him was a comprehension of laws and forces without him. He understood the effects of force, the results of gravity, and the necessary processes to maintain the homeostatic balance of life. While affairs of the present were immanent from his advent, those of bygone eluded him. This is not to say, however, that history is absent. Rather, it is to say that the histories of this world have yet to be disclosed. 

The walk to the pond was brief yet informative, and soon he was approaching the cluster of debris and stone. Sizing up the rocks, he found a wide variety of sizes laying on the waterfront, all having been smoothed and weathered by their presumable journey down the babbling stream stemming from the mountains above. Among the rocks were various tall grasses and small leafy plants, contributing to the microcosmic ecosystem of insects and plants, the which were finding habitable shelter in the shade. Discerning these to be of no use, the man, still maintaining the stick and bindweed in his left hand, began to more closely inspect the smaller to mid-sized stones before him. The first couple of rocks to be under scrutiny proved to be unfit and undurable, as they were riven with small cracks -- some even sporting lichen growth. Discarding these quickly, the man resumed searching.

The third and fourth stones proved inept as well, but the fifth stone to be inspected seemed suitable: no cracks to be seen and there was negligible plant growth. With a slight tinge of what can only be described as satisfaction, the man arose and glanced around. His instincts were urging him to secure safe ground, and from this he deduced that his current location was ill-suited for loiter. 

At the midpoint of the rock cluster was boulder, the mass of which undoubtedly constituted a preponderance. Standing a couple meters above the rest, the man sought to surmount this boulder and secure a vantage point against potential, yet ineluctable, threats.

The man, despite the brevity of his emotions, now experienced relaxation.