This is my entry for the "Ink Well" weekly contest. I spontaneously decided to take part, when I read the prompt. It was great fun! Thank you for the opportunity and running the show :)!
KRUZMAKA
"Do you think that we now live the predicted future society, which has overcome poverty and misery to create a perfect model for living, in which everyone's needs are met?" Kruzmaka asked the person sitting next to him in a laying chair, while they watched the ski-lifts.
The days they arrived were like any other day. They merely passed through one of the portals they had created, no spaceships had been seen in the earthly sky, so the media did not give any sensations either, since nothing sensational was to be sighted. The aliens not only reached the Earth in an unspectacular way, they also appeared in human form, so that no one noticed that unknown beings had mingled with the people. Who traveled the cosmos, knew that one could not simply land somewhere and then make relaxed a stroll, without causing irritation and hysteria at each corner.
There was plenty of space and untouched terrestrial areas on the planet where one could walk through the portal unobserved. Contrary to the assumptions of many Earthlings who saw their habitat as overcrowded, overused and depleted, the arrivals found it friendly and peaceful. The many areas, stretching over hundreds of square miles, consisting of either forests, rocks, or minerals, provided places of solitude. Sometimes so colorful that it left one speechless.
Why the earthlings settled in densely populated cities seemed nonsensical to the incomers, especially since dispersing them to less dense settlements would make them least susceptible to worries of all kinds.
It was noted that people seemed to suffer from a shortfall that caused them to believe in the end of the world, and they indulged in these scenarios more than willingly. A contradiction to what had been achieved, as Kruzmaka found. He had been coming through the portal for more than three earthly centuries.
"As it seems, it is not possible to arrive in the future, because no sooner are you there than the future has already hurried ahead," his earthly friend, Mrs. Weihrich, finally answered him, sipping her mulled wine with gloved hands. "The best way to predict the future is to create it, isn't it?" she added. A critical tone mingled with this sentence.
"So you are against the creation of such futures?", Kruzmaka wanted to know. "It is irrelevant whether I am for it or against it, it happens entirely without my intervention," Mrs. Weihrich replied, sighing.
"Chaos theory, nonlinear science, and standard evolutionary theory talk about complex systems as sensitively dependent on complex environmental conditions and random within limitations, making the vast majority of future events unpredictable in any case." Kruzmakas' attempt to comfort Mrs. Weihrich in this way failed.
She now turned to him fully, "So what! Nobody understands that anyway! People want simple explanations for non-simple processes! They just pretend that there is an explanation for everything and spread it around. I just say 'Three P's and a W', but what do people answer me?"
"Yes, what do they answer?", Kruzmaka wanted to know, although he knew it.
One of the models to explore the future was called "three P's and a W," meaning a possible, probable, and preferred future, plus wildcards, i.e., unexpected, seemingly improbable, but consequential events of both a positive and negative nature.
"They say that ...," but before Mrs. Weihrich could finish her sentence, a skier suddenly dashed into Kruzmaka, who was catapulted forward and landed groaning on the ground. Pursued by an avalanche, which pushed itself threateningly rumbling down the mountain and directly toward the terrace, on which Kruzmaka and Mrs. Weihrich had held their chat, the skier had wanted to save himself in panic on the terrace.
But Kruzmaka had already nimbly got to his feet, grabbed Mrs. Weihrich's with a strong hand, and then they sprinted in a mighty run to their jet ski, which Kruzmaka had parked not far away. While still running, Kruzmaka shouted in bright joy, "Get on the back!" and before anyone could copy them, they were dashing away across the approaching snow masses. With a racing heart, Mrs. Weihrich clung to Kruzmaka, always looking beside her, until they at last reached a white area where it was safe. Finally they stopped and the engine died into the silence.
Completely beside herself and breathing heavily, Mrs. Weihrich exclaimed, "Oh my goodness! Oh, my goodness! Oh my!"
"Yes, isn't it?", Kruzmaka laughed a little erratically, dismounted, hoisted Mrs Weihrich down, only to lift her right back up again and spun her around in circles in good humour.
"But the others! The other people!" shouted Mrs Weihrich. "Surely some are dead and buried!".
"Yes! That will be so!", Kruzmaka replied to her no less excitedly. "But not us! We drew our wild card!" he laughed.
Mrs. Weihrich looked at him like for the first time: "Who are you? Are you one of them? They are here, aren't they?"
Years later, Mrs Weihrich told her grandchildren about this episode and they hung on to her tale with quivering lips.
The End
Title picture - a collage made out of:
Photo by Chris Biron on Unsplash
Photo by Weston MacKinnon on Unsplash
This kind of banter reminds me of the philosophical musings you'd find in A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Complete with some slapstick moments to drive home the point :)
I've never heard of 3P's and a W before, so thank you adding that to my lexicon!
That's one of the finest compliments one can receive, to be compared with Douglas Adams. Thank you :)
I am delighted also, that you see that I wanted to make a point by turning what threatened to become a theoretical conversation into "driving it home" through the happening of the avalanche. Nice, that you mention it!
We are two know. I did some research for this story and also heard "the three P's and a W" verbalized in this certain manner, for the first time. I think it might become a winged phrase.
Oh, I love the giddy joy of this! The weird, but wonderful that happens quite unexpectedly, out of the blue. I suppose there’d be that moment of recognition, which you’ve so aptly described, and that opportunity to turn it into a tale to tell future generations. I love your 3 Ps and enjoyed your use of the wildcard. Hugs 🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗❤️💕❤️💕❤️🌹💕🌹
:) Thank you as always to come and read me 🤗
Wonderful intriguing tale. The setting is excellent for an adventure.
This is an interesting proposition. Predicting the future is a rather difficult thing, especially when it comes to the finer details. For example, in the 70s and 80s, some people broadly predicted the computer revolution, but not the finer details like smartphones, blockchain tech, and social media. But there is still a pattern in all the Chaos. That's the thing about Chaos, its about complex yet predictable behaviour. We just don't have the computer power to take into account every little variable affecting a system. But let's say that a civilization is a million years ahead of us technologically. Would they be able to predict the future with precision?
Our alien friend is being coy with Mrs. Weihrich. Was the card really wild? The avalance was the pseudo-random initial condition, and everything else flowed from that single point of instability into a cascade of predictable and unpredictable events. Based on observations, such as the desperate skier landing near the terrace, and past knowledge of the behaviour of avalanches, the pair were able to extrapolate the probable futures of the avalanche (death, injury, or safety). So, they got on the jet-ski because they thought it possible to use it as a means of escape towards the preferred future (safety). So, it seems all three Ps and W were at play. The adventureous pair used this system to 'design' their future or "create" it. Maybe God does play dice with the universe, we just haven't figured out the rules of the game. ;)
This is a fun read that got my neurons crackling. Now I'm dreaming of adventures in the Alps.
I see it the same way. Live contains uncountable fine details and happenings, in particular those, you cannot quantify/measure/are not thinking of taking into account.
I don't think so. Being ahead in technology means for me that complexity grows together with it. There is one-up-man ship involved. If future ends, then maybe you could predict it. LOL
We are smart, aren't we. But not that smart that we one day will figure out the rules of the cosmic dance. All would be spoiled. Who wants that?
If you find out about a secret and it turns out that after having found out everything about it, what happens to you and your energy? Is that very thing still important or interesting for you?
Of course. Think of it again, will you? ;-)
It makes me happy that you found this story a fun read. That was what I wanted. :)
This story gives a lot to think about. I definitely think that predicting the future is one of those things the brain is particularly good at. We do it everyday, even while asleep. We're just so used to doing it, we don't notice anymore. For example, I predicted I would wake up and see a wonderful and thoughtful reply from you. Many wild things could've happened overnight, but I woke up today and was delighted to see my prediction had come true!
Finding out about a secret and the mechanisms of that secret is the most thrilling human endeavor. Once we understand the rules of the game, then we can create new games to entertain ourselves. Who knows? Maybe someone has already done it, and that's why we're here. ;)
What if I would not have reacted at all to your comment? I hope, it's not too predictable whether I come back, or not. ;)
How do you feel after the secret is revealed and the thrill wears off? Do you know for sure that you got to the bottom of a secret?
Mrs. Weihrich did not receive an answer from Kruzmaka, she remained in uncertainty about his "true nature". She gave her story to her grandchildren, who will feel the same itch of not knowing, but at the same time enjoy this very feeling.
My (your) brain is an extraordinary calculator, yes, but can I say that I know my own brain and its secrets? The moment someone tells me, "it's millions of neurons receiving and transmitting signals" I may nod but that still doesn't tell me a secret. It tells me something about the mindset of another person, gets me to know him better and his interests, it tells me something about the use of language. In terms of terms, they are always back referencing to themselves. I may be fascinated by new terminology but that doesn't mean there is novelty all over the place. I personally find there is a circular movement, not a linear one. I think ... the very term "secret" would not exist, if it wouldn't name something which does not reveal itself.
"Not yet there" is something widely used. But what if we are "there"? Do we recognize the wonders of having been able to arrive in the "here"? Aircrafts and cars, smart phones and computers, I use them and they become the more ordinary, the more I use them, despite being able to understand their mechanics en detail.
The very hunt after secrets is the thrill of the game, I agree.
Not knowing the outcome for sure, makes it interesting in the first place. If there was a certain and not uncertain predictability involved in a game, I would not even begin to play it. It would lose its meaning. For me, it's pointless to "finally arrive", for I don't see a final arrival. For how many centuries do people say "not yet"?
I call it "Not Yetism". LOL
Yes, maybe someone/thing has already done it but I wouldn't want to know, it's like spoiling my personal game.
Is it possible that I may be one of her grandchildren? Cos my lips are quivering... Lovely story. I really enjoyed it. ❤️
:) I would welcome you as her grand child, wanting to listen to her life stories. What fun it is to get to hear grandmas adventures. Thank you for reading. <3
❤️❤️❤️
Interesting
Very nice episode got carry away as if it's real, watching it (every move) in my imagination ☺️. Good work 👍 prediction sometimes works out for us.
Thank you, I am glad that the story has gotten into your imagination.