Wonder’s Witness: Introduction

       The cosmos has lived longer than any mortal could understand. It has billions of years in its lifetime thus far, and so does sentient life, let alone life as a whole. The universe is made of incomprehensibly large numbers, and unfathomably minuscule numbers too. It is made of numbers and complexities and marvels and magics that no mortal being can truly process, let alone grow accustomed to. Thus, when a mortal is confronted with such things, it is hard for them not to feel some sort of profound awe. Even I, as old as conscious life, have never ceased to be amazed.

      I have been to many places, and I have seen many things in my existence. I was there when the first soul was gifted a body, as the new man opened his eyes for the first time, and saw the vast forest and mountains that surrounded him, and the great Eternal who had given him spirit. I was there when his children, and his children’s children, looked upon the myriad stars beyond their world. I inspired the first philosophers to contemplate, the first scientists to experiment, and their successors to take up the torch. I’ve spoken to the ear of the poet and composer, to the eye of the artist, to the spirit of the preacher, and many, many others. 

            I tug at the heart of the heart of the child, and the heart of the child within the grown. Through my eyes you can see the canvas of the cosmos, and through my ears you may hear the song of the stars. I have been to these places and more. Wherever one marvels at the realms of creation, whenever they humble themselves in the face of nature, whenever they admire the vastness of universe, I am there. I hope that I have been with you before, and I hope that I will be with you again. I do love being with mortals, and in my preferred circumstances, they love being with me. Though I may inspire fear, or hatred, or subservience, these are not the times when I prefer to meet. I prefer the times when I can appear in my purest form, untainted by any other passion, untainted by any other thought at all. Then, and only then, do people call me by my true name, for it is Wonder.

       It is because I want to see you in this form that I write now. I have seen many things, in many forms. I have seen beauty the mind’s eye cannot truly see. I have seen horrors that would shred your sanity beyond repair. I have seen worlds be born, destined to brim over with life. I have seen this beautiful life annihilated in an instant. I have been through miseries and joys that are utterly beyond compare. So, it is with that in mind that I write to you, for I plan to try to share some of these things I’ve experienced with all who may read it. As I do this, as I present the breadth of events I’ve witnessed to you, I very sincerely hope that maybe, just maybe, I will get to visit you again.