A Tribute

There are certain rules in this universe - you must have rules, how else can you have a universe, the gods would not allow it otherwise - and while there are certainly rules like “Thou shall not eat cheese that has been in direct sunlight for more then four weeks … even if you catch it” there are also rules that direct the universe to its being and do not worry at all about runaway cheese.

One of them is the rule of change.
Everything must and will change at some point of time. Even cheese.

Change is essential for living. Everything in this world, starting from a grain of sand to huge planets made of gases - inhabited only by the invisible gassy races - wants to be alive.

But what does it mean to be alive?

It is simple to see that an animal is alive - until it is eaten by a bigger animal, that is.
It is easy to see that bugs, birds and all the living things in the world are alive.
Living thing, however is a funny concept.

Can an Idea be alive as a living thing?
It is created, it multiplies, and it changes into bigger ideas – so it does act like a living thing. An idea that came to life from a violent angry apple hitting someone on the head, can inspire people in years to come to create ideas to explain the relativity of everything.

Is a story alive?

The change is the only real constant and the biggest enemy of all the historians in all the universities in all universes. So it can be, that a true event in one point of time can cause numerous interpretations and stories in years to come.

A hooded robber in woods who mainly robbed the rich – as there was more to gain there - can soon have a story of its own. A few years later he was known as Rob (nickname from robber) in hood, who rebelled against the rich and took care of the poor. Some time after that he was called Robin Hood and not only was he not wearing a hood anymore but he was wearing bright colored tights and also had a team of merry tight-wearing guys. People do have twisted minds.

Humans need heroes and historians (who, as we know are not so much human) need stories to stay the fuck still. If you could pile up all the different stories about only one event in time, the pile would be as huge as Great A'Tuin himself and the only certain conclusion you could pull out from it would be this: humans are weather very creative or pathological liars.

It is part of being human not to see things as they really are, but as you would like them to be and therefore we rarely see stories about runaway cheese.

However there are special stories. Stories that might be true, but might also be not, but that inspire us, move us deeply, that put a mark on us. Stories that cannot be taken back to the pile after they have been read. Stories that must be alive. Stories that grow, evolve and give birth to the next generation of stories, and these will inspire stories to come… and so on… until it is like a big messy grand family tree.

When it comes to the writers, that start it all, they may perish, but in a sense they will always be alive. Their stories, their pieces of mind will have hundreds of kids and thousands of grandchildren and millions of readers whom their writings will inspire to do marvelous things. 

So it is.

The story is alive.

The turtle moves.