For as long as I can remember, there was nothing. I didn't mind mind, because it was all I ever had. There was just me, surrounded by a dark void, thinking.

After an indefinite amount of time, for even time didn’t exist back then, I realised something. If there was nothing, and I was in it, then there was something. After all, I’m not nothing. I’m not sure what I am, but I exist, so I can’t be nothing. Therefore, if I’m in the nothing, maybe something else could be. And as if it was waiting for me to realise that, something exploded into existence. You see, I hadn’t been alone in the nothing. Floating around in it, too small for me to notice, was an incredibly dense object. As if my thoughts had triggered it, it expanded to prove me right. I didn’t know if it should be called large or small, because the void was endless, and I had nothing to compare it to. I called it the Universe.

I stared in awe at the swirling lights that suddenly occupied what had previously been darkness. I had never seen light before, and was fascinated. I looked closer, and saw masses of rock and gas swinging around the lights. I named the lights stars, and the masses planets. They were very interesting, and I studied them, learning everything they had to offer. In a fraction of a millisecond, I knew everything about the Universe.

Now that I understood this thing that had suddenly popped into existence, I studied myself. I had no physical body, and had no size. It was as if I was a something created by the nothing, an impossible paradox that made no sense yet had somehow happened. I was able to interact with the Universe however I wanted, moving atoms into different formations, changing them to form new elements or destroying them altogether in bright explosions. I was a god.

Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

After the cycle of a planet around its sun, I realised that I was bored. Yes, something other than me was here, and yes it was pretty, but I already knew everything about it. There was nothing it would do that I hadn’t already predicted. With that in mind, I decided to create a being like me; untouchable, immortal, all-powerful. Someone who I couldn't control, who could surprise me.

I failed. Well, I half failed. Because I have no body to examine and copy, I couldn’t make anything like me. However, I did create a sentient being. I took apart a small galaxy that wasn’t influencing any others very much, and with the atoms it contained, created something that could think and could move atoms like I could. It wasn’t very hard.

The being started panicking. It didn’t know what it was or why it was here. It’s body shifted from a giant planet to a pool of gas to a black hole. It didn’t know how to control itself, and wreaked havoc on the surrounding galaxies. Not wanting the balance of the Universe being disrupted, I introduced myself.

“Hello,” I said. Well, I didn’t say it exactly, but rather implanted the thought of me saying hello in the being’s mind. It started to calm down. “Where am I? What am I? Who are you?” It was scared, but it was comforted by the fact that someone else was there. “You are in the Universe, a collection of billions of galaxies, each having billions of stars and planets. I’m not entirely sure what I am, but I’m pretty sure I’m a god. I created you out of a galaxy because nothing could surprise me and I was bored.” The being was shocked. It’s body stabilised into a giant star and it looked around. “You...created me?” It thought. It turned into a supernova. “Of course. Who else could it be? We’re the only sentient beings here!” With this statement, the being finally stopped changing. It was calm.

“I can see you’re still confused, so I’ll let you explore the Universe for a while,” I told the being. I was excited to see how it would react. Hopefully, it would be interesting. “Wait,” it said, “If you’re a god...does that make me a deity?”