On the Subject of Infinity

(Journal Entry 2.309.096)

As the number of Restricted Realities begins to far outweigh those of Unrestricted Realities, and as our little [REDACTED] continues to bow under the pressure of total calamity, I really have to ask: what good can twenty thousand soldiers do? I have no answer. I’m just going to say that was rhetorical, even though I wish someone would tell me.

But, seeing how my previous entries have gone, I suppose it’s best to discuss my least favorite concept: infinity. We [REDACTED] are taught to comprehend infinities from an early age—mostly through the shock of long-term exposure. It’s a practice bordering on abuse, as any child unlucky enough to undergo the process would tell you. Seeing [REDACTED] over and over, pushing past the limits of one’s own mind at such a young age, recontextualizing that innate sense of mathematics and physics one learns from birth, shaving off the edges of a square peg in a desperate attempt fit it into a round universe… it kills you inside.

But eventually, you begin to understand, bit by bit. It’s never perfect, but… it’s enough to fight back. And just in case anyone reading this—assuming I don’t [REDACTED]—hasn’t undergone that particular ritual, allow me to give you a simple overview. It won’t give you that innate sense a [REDACTED] has for it, but… it should help a little.

First off, one must accept that one infinite set can be greater than another, even if neither has an endpoint. Countably infinite sets—such as the quantity of atoms within a reality—pale in comparison to uncountably infinite sets—such as the quantity of real numbers between one and two. The first example is never-ending, yes, but with the second, you don’t even have a starting point. Where do you begin? 1.1? 1.01? 1.0000000001? It’s nonsense.

Thus, you have to learn to think in a way that breaks logic. If you speak to a [REDACTED] for long enough, they’ll eventually talk about how many “eternities” they’ve lived through, and though it may feel tempting to assume they’re exaggerating or using a figure of speech… they aren’t. Indeed, some beings have lived through multiple sets of infinite periods of time. And it gets worse from there—The First Age was uncountably infinite, with no beginning and no end. And yet, one single moment did mark the end. But only in the same sense that the limit of an integral marks the endpoint of the infinite equation it represents. Therefore, in a sense, The First Age never ended—but it also ended four-and-a-half eternities ago. The Second through the Fourth ages were merely countable eternities, beginning with certain events, while only technically being never-ending in that paradoxical way of things. But this Fifth Age of ours? It’s on the same level as the First. No one could truly describe when it began if they tried. Now, one might object and say, “Ah-hah! But there is an endpoint, and that endpoint is the present!” And they’d be correct. But then, just as the number one leads to two, so too does the past lead to the present. But then, where do you end the transition from one to two? 1.9? 1.99999? 1.999999999999999999999? Start looking back on a large enough scale, and you will find it impossible to comprehend, as time and causality eventually becomes abstract and unknowable, only unfolding into a sensible, comprehensible flow near the immediate surroundings of that odd, objective moment we call “the present.” Hence, many refer to our current moment as the “halfway point.” Even my own memories have begun to distort in that way… it’s odd, I’ll be honest. It definitely makes you think differently. Sadly, only a [REDACTED] can truly comprehend the process. Yet nonetheless, in that same convoluted manner, somehow, the Fifth Age will lead to the Sixth Age, whatever that will look like.

Of course, that all depends on me. Sad to say, I’ve somehow stumbled my way into mattering on a cosmic scale. Ironic, I know. I have often introduced myself as a fundamentally insignificant person—in fact, I still do. And yet, all at once, it’s become a lie. Sigh, sigh. I suppose it’s important that I start thinking about what I’m going to do about all of this. After all, I’m stuck in a bit of a corner, and I need to think ahead if I’m going to be responsible. That's what everyone wants, right? For me to take this seriously? So, if I had to make an honest guess about the matter, I̵’̸d̸ ̸s̷a̶y̶ ̴i̶t̴’̸s̴ m̷̙̘̠͚̈ỏ̶̯̤͔̄̉͠s̴̼̳͉̋t̶̢̹̋͒̄̓̕͜ ̶̩͖͓̣͐́ľ̸̺͙͖̪͓̄̚i̴͔̞̿́̚k̶̢͔̈ͅe̷̞̱̱̪͌͜ĺ̴̢̹͓̠͎̃͑͝y̶͔̙͆̉͑ t̷̠̜̫̭̃ḧ̸̹̈́̓a̸͉̓̓͗ṫ̶͖̉͆ ̷̥̂͂̚I̴̟͝'̶͉̱̬̾̀͘l̶͚͉̜͆̂l̸̜͙̪̀̈͊ͅ

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