The Brain, is wider than the Sky

For, put them side by side,

The one the other will contain

With ease, and You, beside

Emily Dickinson

~

"Watch." The man rested an arm across the young boy's shoulders as they sat looking out over the lake. Although a gesture was unnecessary, he lifted his free hand, concentrated, and then gave his wrist a peculiar little twist, watching in pleasure as one of the clouds before him shifted, tendrils of vapour appearing to do his will. The boy's mouth dropped open and he watched in wonder as the cloud roiled and twisted into the recognisable shape of a hot air balloon.

"That was the coolest thing I've ever seen," stated the boy with the certainty of his eleven years experience.

"And now it's your turn."

"Me?"

"You." The old man lifted the boy's chin with one bony finger. "You'll be amazed at what you can achieve if you just apply your brain. It is a tool almost beyond your imagination, and yet imagination is the only limitation you have.

"Concentrate. Centre yourself as I have taught you and reach out to the other cloud. You need no gesture or motion; that is the province of old fools like me. Let your mind do the work, imagine what you want, and make it come true."

Master watched student, the boy screwing his face up in an approximation of calm. He felt the boy reach out toward the distant hills, and watched with a smile as the cloud adjacent to his now dissipating balloon began to shape itself into something loosely resembling a squid crossed with blob of whipped cream.

"Oh. It's not very good is it?"

"My first one looked like a baboon's backside lad, it's pretty good."

Beaming, the boy leapt to his feet, his skin cast with an orange hue in the calm sunset. "I did it, I did it!"

"Aye, you did, now sit down there's a good lad, you're making me feel old."

"But you are old."

"I'm ancient boy, older than the hills," he said chuckling. "I'm proud of you, you really did do well. Not many can master the cloud exercise at eleven, you show promise. All we have to do now is teach you patience."

"Yes master," the boy said and sat down, his eyes travelling back out over the vista before them. A crescent moon appeared from behind the wispy remnants of the boy's 'whipped squid' and he sighed, a look of longing painting his features.

A small smile twisted the mouth of the old man and he sat silently, waiting for the inevitable question.

"Do you think maybe I could go to the moon one day?"

"I don't see why not. Others are still there."

"Others?" The boy frowned, catching the wistful tone of the man sitting next to him.

"Other types of humans: once there were many more than there are now, but over time we have dwindled as people have left to explore the cosmos. Sometimes entire races up and leave to form new colonies. Sadly too, some races were pushed into oblivion.

"The ones who left the Earth thought they had left us behind, but they merely flew in a different direction. Why fly out there when you can fly further, faster and in a myriad of worlds in here?" The old man tapped a finger against his temple and sighed, looking to the shoreline below. A small fishing boat had meandered away from the shore, the soft slapping sound of moon driven waves on the boat carrying through the still night air to where they sat.

"Tell me." A gentle hand rested on the man's arm and he gazed into dark eyes.

"Very well. Even now we are being watched. On the edge of a flat world lies a mirror guarded by the moon, where buildings pierce the shallow sky. Created by science to allow the exploration of the stars, it is called Reflector City, and it is both a place and an entity.

"Although the Towers of man are inhabited by their descendants, it is questionable whether man himself would always recognise how disparate and strange the human species has now become.

"You and I are utterly different from the clumsy tool wielding apes who called themselves 'humanity'. They would not recognise you and I as human, yet by our own definition we are. We are but one of the many variants who evolved from the original, although whether we evolved, were pushed or willingly engineered our original form is still open to debate. The history of our species after the Chem Wars is sketchy at best."

The old man paused. "My apologies lad, I seem to drop into lecture mode almost out of habit these days; the curse of being around for centuries perhaps."

"But I want to know. I don't want to make the same mistakes. If you don't tell me then how can I know what to avoid?"

"True," he smiled gently. "And I will tell you some of what I know. But be aware Asta, an old man like me, given the presence of a willing ear, could go on for some time."

The boy grinned as he carried on.

"Evolution never stops. Whether it be due to the development of bigger brains, opposable thumbs, use of tools or through bio engineering. After mankind discovered the secrets of micro-fusion power plants allowing centuries long power in a tiny space, and utilised nanobots to repair damage to the biological system known as the human body, the possibilities of modification and bioengineering seemed almost endless. As humans evolved some of our tools, like the nanobots, evolved with us and technology, as ever, continued to race ahead at breakneck speed.

"I mentioned the flat world earlier. That city was created by some of the greatest scientists of the age to look deep into the stars in the hunt for habitable solar systems. Reflector City was, and is, run by a human brain. An infant, born crippled but with a functioning brain, was bio-engineered and linked to a computer from the day of its birth. Without intervention it would have died and its parents gave permission for 'her' to be 'linked'. She was the first.

"Although in effect a brain in a jar, she was superbly intelligent and her brain evolved to cope with her new body with almost childlike joy. As she grew up, her body was changed, extended and modified and eventually became the first city of the moon colonies. Biomes, spaceship jump points and habitations were added on the surface as time went on. She was in charge of Reflector City and the moon colonies, and still is. She is a remarkable being but, as with all beings, is capable of huge ranges of emotion. However, being able to experience emotion is what makes us different from the machines. She is capable of love, of compassion and the desire to exist in a state of peace. Sometimes however peace must come at a cost, and she has also been capable of great anger and powerful retribution."

The old man paused and looked at his young student. "Are you bored yet?"

"No, I want to know what happened. The City is up there, what happened here?"

"Well, back here on tired old Earth, those who remained behind experimented, flying both with and without wings. Vast Tower cities were constructed reaching into the sky, and piercing the very edges of space. Endless energy tapped from the very core of the earth, and leaps in technology, allowed mankind to re-engineer himself at any level he chose. Those Towers housed computers that could store so much detail they mapped the human soul. Even when the body dies, the virtual human now lives on if he so desires, his imagination the only limitation in an endless panoply of worlds, virtual, but seeming almost real.

"Almost.

"Many humans live their lives in the virtual world. Those too crippled to move or in a similar condition to the lady who runs Reflector City have the choice to live virtually so they can run free or fly on virtual legs and wings, or they can do something in the real world and be installed in a city, spaceship, rover or explorer unit. Thus the exploration of mankind still continues.

"For many though, the real world became all too real as mankind managed yet again to disagree to the point of war and at that time far too many abandoned their corporeal form for the supposed safety of the virtual world. Many perished even there."

"But we survived," interjected Asta. "We're still here."

"We are: but so many aren't. It all started with one city; one mind, one human brain in control who went mad. He came to be known as The Insane. A brain that powerful can marshall vast forces, and he did. Other Cities and Towers joined in and suddenly we found ourselves at the nadir of our existence. Reflector City remained neutral as long as she could, using every diplomatic tool at her disposal to try and halt the march of war and reduce casualties. She failed.

"In the end it was The Angels who saved us all from descending into complete annihilation, although not by choice. They were a small group, adventurers mostly who lived for exhilaration and extreme sports. They had evolved over long centuries into flying creatures capable of extraordinary feats of aerobatics and athletic prowess. Unlike most city dwellers who were predominantly human in physiology and thinking, the Angels evolved into winged beings with skeletons of metallic alloys who spent most of their waking hours soaring through the skies. We think their nanobots had evolved alongside them to modify their skeletal shape, and they lived for fun, delighting everyone on both sides of the war with their acrobatic skill and dexterity. They were truly neutral, friend to all, and enemy to none. Except one: The Insane. After the Angels refused to take his side, he destroyed them wherever he found them, a mass extermination event that left both sides reeling and many of the opposing side defecting with rapidity.

"It was at that point Reflector City acted. She interceded to prevent further atrocity, destroying her fellow brain by sheer mental power in an epic battle fought out on the mindscapes of the virtual worlds. None of us can know what went on, but given the imaginative scope of the human brain, who can know the depths of madness Reflector City had to wade through to finally meet The Insane on the field of battle. Thankfully for us, she prevailed, anger and passion driving her through to the finish. The Angels almost to the last member of their species unfortunately perished.

"There is a park by The Insane's now derelict Tower; one day I will take you there. Two Angels remain forever frozen as a tribute to a fallen race, their metallic skeletons shrouded in flowers as a sign both of peace and memory, a memory we hope will prevent anything like this happening again.

"And now we find ourselves able to install humanity in its bodiless form in cities, towers, and ships that can travel to the stars. A mere human could not do that; the races of man have evolved through engineering to become Homo Galacticus. We can reach out and touch infinity Asta, we can hold the stars, but only if we hold on to our humanity and our imagination.

"And so concludes tonight's lecture," said the old man with a wistful smile.

"You've not told me everything though, have you."

The old man grinned proudly at the boy. There had been no question, only a statement, a certainty that he didn't know the whole story.

"No, I have not told you everything. For a start, I do not know everything, but there are things which we will discuss as time goes on. We do have time Asta. I may be as old as the hills, but the hills are enduring. Now, I suggest you run along, your bed is waiting for you, and I feel the need to watch the last remaining light, and wait for an infinity of stars to greet me. Also, I shall contemplate what you have taught me."

"What I have taught you?"

"As you learn from me, I learn from you. Think about that. Now, off you go."

"Okay, but I look forward to learning more of what you know."

"And I look forward to bending your ear."

The boy stood and sketched a quick bow, which the old man acknowledged with a nod of his head, and then sped towards the edge of the lake, barely pausing before diving in and swimming strongly for the boat sitting calmly in the water, the old man watching motionless from his viewpoint.

He sat for a while as the stars slowly blinked into wakefulness, then stretched and moved away from the water's edge out of sight of the boy and closed his eyes.

"Disengage," he commanded and a few seconds later he opened his eyes to clean white walls and the eternally smiling face of his assistant George.

"How's he doing Doc?"

"He's doing very well." Doctor Takei looked over at the clear vessel in which Asta rested, the brain and spinal column supported in the bio-gel compound keeping him nourished, connected to the Tower computer and secure in his world. Takei disengaged from the Tower and flexed his arms, silently rolling forward on liquid metal tracks to peer into the container.

"We have to take this steadily, but soon I'll break it to him that his reality is just one of many, and sadly not the reality he will one day live and work in. He's a good kid though. I think he'll make an excellent space ranger ship."

"Aye, he seems to be looking beyond his current horizons," noted George with a grin.

"At present George, all he wants is the moon. We can give him the stars..."

The End 

~~~

Gavin Wilson's user name is a loan from Terry Pratchett himself. Do you remember the librarian from Unseen University? Is there more to say about the man who manages the Wattpad ambassador program? Yes, certainly. But if you want to get to know him better, you best take the plunge into one of his amazing stories published right here on Wattpad!