Chapter 1: A Curious Void

I was here again, a void of nothingness. A contradictory statement considering a void is nothing yet, I would still use this statement to describe it. Ever since I was given life on this failing planet, I had come to this place, if you could call it a 'place', and it always felt the same... nothing. There was no feeling here. No function or facet of life or some unexplainable cosmic horror that lurks beyond my senses. No, there was just me standing, or rather, suspended, above the colour of nothingness.

Long ago, when my brain was young - adolescent - and couldn't compute the vacuum, it scared me. Terrified me. Unable to understand, it associated it with darkness, coal-black, like in the womb, and thus, everything turned that colour. It was reminiscent of the darkest regions of space, lost to light as if it had been snuffed out by God itself.

My feeling remained until the age of eleven, petrifying me every time I visited and being unable to reject it. Every time I went to sleep, I went, dreading that the same dream would come again. But yet, it never came when I expected, as if sentient, waiting for days upon weeks upon months for me to peacefully rest and be plunged into the cold, abyssal darkness again.

There came a time, eventually, when I got used to it. I emotionally matured; I got braver. And thus, I did what a logical person would do; I searched online for answers, anything to help me understand. Nothing stuck out to me as a clear and obvious answer, but I did come to a conclusion. What if it was just a lucid dream? A common phenomenon in which the rules and laws of reality don't apply. One in which I could do anything and everything I wanted.

With that in mind, I tested it; made some changes to the void. No longer was it an abyss, devoid of all light and sensation; it now contained a wooden cabin, like one found in the woods or countryside. I decorated inside, of course, my teenage mind filling it with all types of clutter and miscellaneous items.

At first, I thought everything would disappear whenever I returned to this... place. But, surprisingly, I found everything stayed as I left it. The burger, as if in suspended animation, having added senses to the realm, was still hot, not the repulsive rotten food you'd expect if left for two weeks.

And now, at the age of twenty-two, I enjoy going there, an escape from the expectations of reality. Considering everything stays perfectly the same, it was a library of everything I had done in my lifetime. Anything from old revision notes, magazines and comics to children's books, all of which I could use and peruse at my prerogative. Did I have a test to revise for tomorrow morning? Just do it in my dreams, no longer kept at bay by my reluctance but let through by my acceptance.

Learning that time ran parallel to the outside world, I know there always around seven hours before I hear the familiar beep of my alarm clock. And with it, I would leave with a refreshed body yet, a knowledgeable mind. Well, knowledgeable for tomorrow's test, anyway.

And thus, here we are, on the eve of yet another trial on the geopolitics of the Middle East. A rather boring subject to most, but for me? I enjoy knowing more about the world than being stuck in an enclosed bubble like most of the West.

Opening my notes from the past few weeks, I got to work on my revision. The test tomorrow is not a test per se; more a debate on the reason why the Middle East united and what the causes were. The reasons were obvious, but the morality of the issue? That was the discussion. But either way, my knowledge will be examined by the professor, so better to add pressure and call it a test than a lax debate.

The hours pass as I revise, slowly becoming inattentive before finishing the last two hours by summoning a television to watch the next episode of 'A Hero's Fall'.

It is an entertaining show, one I've always found quite interesting. The main character is a standard human on alien steroids and gifted superior strength and speed, aerobic ability and senses. Everything was better, far beyond anything we will achieve in the next few millennia. One would be suspect to think this is a typical superhero flick, yet, the theme and premise revolve around power. How it corrupts and influences those with it. It is a telling story about morality and power. How control and authority breed arrogance and contempt, negative emotions towards any that they consider lesser.

As to why I think the main character's descent into a monster and, somewhat simply, a villain; is because of what it tells of humanity. Everyone likes to believe they are the good guy, a hero, if you will. You say hello to strangers, offer thanks to the cashier and open the door for a frail old lady. Few people think they are the bad guy, a miscreant or a wrongdoer, merely that what they do is 'right' to them. As they say, the villain is the hero of their story. So, what would happen if you gave an ordinary human power beyond the norm? Well, you have the character of the show: An average joe pushed over and over by others. With ultimate power that corrupts and warps his mind towards decadence, he becomes the same thing he stated he would not become.

And with that, I find myself just like everyone else. Watching the show for entertainment, believe that if they had that power, they'd reign themselves in. That they wouldn't become a murderous psychopath or an authoritarian tyrant who thinks of themselves as a god-king. It is an interesting thing; that power, sometimes so little, can corrupt so absolutely.

No one wants to believe they would become the villain; everyone wants to be the hero, like a comicbook. Adored and loved across the globe and beyond. But life isn't a comic book written by good-natured writers who believe in valuable lessons. Nobody is a perfect person. People always have flaws or imperfections, perhaps even sins, judging by the religions. So, that brings the question: what would happen if an ordinary individual gained powers far beyond their imagination? Would they be good, bad or something in between? Perhaps, they wouldn't ascribe to notions of good and evil, doing as they see fit. Just as someone crushes an ant, something not recognised as a fell deed. But what if, instead of an ant, humans were the insects?

And thus, my story unfolds with a ripple. Something impossible in the void, but it did. As Mark left, his alarm clock beep ringing out into the vastness, the place he once thought so scared, his and his alone, was violated. Whether he had triggered it, his alarm or destiny... something had awoken. A thing, that should have stayed slumbering for eternity. And with that ripple, everything Mark had once known would change.