SciFi and Fantasy Stories: Genesis

            In the beginning there was nothing, nothing except us. We lived in a void, being able to sense nothing but each other. Perhaps, though, we were not alone. It happened that a new thing came into being. It was bright. It was light. Hundreds of our people were drawn to it. They entered its bright beams, and as they did they were changed forever. They became a part of their light. Those of us who had not entered the light yet, paused when they saw this. Change was unknown to us. We didn’t know what to expect of it. This was the first time we had ever felt uncertainty. But before we could unravel these mysteries another new thing came into being.

            The light coalesced into a great orb. Our brothers and sisters who had joined with it seemed to dance on the rays it emitted. At its center a great heat was born. Soon the entire orb was transformed in an incredible explosion of fire.  Just as when the light had first appeared, many of our people were fascinated by this newer creation. They swept towards it in swarms. As they entered it, they too were changed. Their substance came to match its element. Then, those who had entered the fire and those who had entered the light began to hold conference. It was a strange interaction that those of us who remained outside did not yet understand.

            The result of their interaction was that a large number of both our brothers of light and our brothers of fire left the great orb and began to mingle some distance from it. This was the beginning of the third creation. All around those who had broken off, a lesser orb began to be formed. Its substance was not fire, or light. It was warm only where the fire and light touched it. Elsewhere it was cold. A third time many of our people left the void to explore this, the newest creation. Into the earth they flew, never to be the same again. Earth, fire, and light, mingled in the second orb.

            Great ranges of volcanic mountains covered the lesser orb. The fire’s volatile spasms sent great amounts of the earth up above the sphere, obscuring the light and forcing many of our brothers of light to leave the orb’s surface. After some time the earth and fire dwellers began to settle together more peacefully and great clouds of ash no longer obscured the surface. Amidst the surface of the lesser orb a fourth creation could now be seen. This is what checked the fires’ great agitation. There on the lesser orb were great masses of water. This creation too caused many of our brethren to leave their ancient home in the void. They entered the water and the element gave them substance.

            It was at this point that we in the void had our first conversation with those who had been changed. A brother of light and a sister of fire arose from the greater orb to speak with us. From the lesser orb a brother of water and a brother of earth came. They told us how this change had not harmed them. They spoke encouragingly of the new world. The majority of our people had still been undecided about the new creations, but hearing this the final exodus began. Though they could not join any of the elements as the first to leave the void had, they found that as they wandered the surface of the lesser orb they began to change. This is how the elder races came into existence. By that time the vast majority of our number had left the void. Only a very few remained. We watched as our world changed. Shortly after all this happened the night sky, our new home, began to be lit by the birth of other greater orbs, far, far away. It was only then that we knew for sure that we were not alone. We had never been alone.