The Fermi Paradox - Stars #1900

[Archaeopteryx.]

xxxxxThe Cat was exhausted, but still they continued on.

xxxxxThe sand crumbled underneath their paws, each grain shifting against one another. The desert sunlight shone harsh against their back, the red-hot ache of a sunburn beginning to seep in, even past their fur.

xxxxxEternal desert.

xxxxxIt stretched far off into the horizon, arcing up into the mountains that shielded it from harsh winters, keeping this remnant of The Beginning pure.

xxxxxAnother footstep, white paws sinking into golden sand.

xxxxxAnd the Cat let themself think, to slip into something other than the repetitive motions of traveling.

xxxxxThe desert was a blank space. An empty canvas. In legends, it was the birthplace of All, mountains rising from the sands, water washing over it to become seas, grasses rising to turn to pine and spruce. All had come from the desert, and one day, all would return to the desert.

xxxxxAn endless cycle. The rising and falling of a world, born from the very sands the Cat walked across now.

xxxxxBut what had come before this time? A cycle implied something before the beginning, another world no one living would have ever seen. Were there other cats, before? Were they similar to the Cat, or different?

xxxxxA gust of hot wind blew over the Cat, and they grimaced, pushing onwards.

xxxxxMaybe there just wasn't enough time. Maybe, maybe this cycle hadn't been long enough for there to be others. Maybe the answer to their question was "not yet," instead of "never."

xxxxxThey flicked their tail at the thought, continuing to press on.

xxxxxThey couldn't stop.

xxxxxNot yet.

xxxxxThey still needed the Answer.

[Archaeopteryx.]

xxxxxThere was another God that they neglected to ask, who watched the Questing Cat as they zigzagged across the desert, stumbling over their paws in an confused and muddled mess, desperately searching for the answer to the question they asked so long ago now.

xxxxxAnd she wanted to answer as well.

xxxxxAnd so when the Cat stared up and into her eye one night, their awe transfixed them, locking them in place white the Moon purred overhead.

xxxxx"You have been looking for an answer to your question."

xxxxxThe Cat affirmed as such, paws shaking in exhaustion as the world spun around them, flashes of daylight re-enveloped by night.
"But are you listening?" The moon crooned, blinking her eye in another ktenn, the world all around them moving while they sat still, frozen in time. "You shout aloud to the heavens that you are alone, child, but are you remembering to to sit still and listen for the response?"

xxxxxAnd the Cat screamed that they were tired of it, of asking a question that never seemed to be worth the dignity required for a response. That they had, at first, but what was the point anymore, when no one else was listening to them in the first place?

xxxxx"I know you are tired, child. But you must endure it regardless."

xxxxxAnd that was it, then. The feeling returned to their limbs, pins and needles aching down their paws as they shook them out. The Moon returned to watching, and they stood.

xxxxxThe Moon had given her answer.

xxxxxWhen would they find theirs?

[Archaeopteryx.]

xxxxxBut the things that spun in the sky were not done with the Cat yet.

xxxxxThe Sun was a fickle God, as temperamental as it was absolute, and though the Cat had spoken to other Gods they were not so bold as to presume that it would decide to speak with them.

xxxxxBut as the days grew longer, and the height of summer loomed overhead, the Sun seemed to draw nearer and nearer, until at last it spoke.

xxxxx"Your fortitude is commendable, young one. Were you not out of my reach, I would ask if you would like to be one of mine."

xxxxxAnd the Cat replied that they were tired.

xxxxx"The Moon has not said anything that wasn't true."

xxxxx...Yes. That was true. But it didn't mean that it didn't sting to hear.

xxxxx"You wish to not be alone."

xxxxx"You have been asking questions. I wish to give you one of my own. If the answer you long to hear is out there, do you really wish to inflict the life you lead on them?"

xxxxxThe Cat asked them to elaborate, quelling the anger that rose in their heart.

xxxxxAnd the Sun spun far overhead, brilliant rings encapsulating it over and over again, a shield protecting its heart in a way that the Cat longed to have. "You live in a world full of pain and horror. There are places in the sand that fall away, where cats get trapped in a place they were never supposed to be."

xxxxx"You may be alone. Pray that is the case."

xxxxx"Because if you are not, then your isolation is deliberate."

xxxxxAnd the Sun did not speak again.

[Archaeopteryx.]

xxxxxThis was it.

xxxxxThe ending.

xxxxxThe Questing Cat stood at the end of the canyon, eyes fixated on a small cave tucked away under the sandstone and slate. A resting place. To sleep, to rest their weary bones, to recover away from prying eyes.

xxxxxThey had to stoop slightly to fit, a cold and damp breeze washing over their fur.. A welcome relief from the heat of the sun, the only real thing the Cat had felt in months, save for the freezing temperatures at night. It was overwhelming, after so long in the extremes, causing them to close their eyes and shiver.

xxxxxSharp claws tugged at their leg, and they turned their head to see their father's red squirrel, staring at them with dark beady eyes.

xxxxxThe weariness the Cat felt sunk deep into their bones. They knew what the answer was. It still struck fear into their heart, made their claws sink deep into the soft clay floor of the cave. It was out of habit rather than genuine curiosity that spurred the question out of them.

xxxxxOne last time, they whispered the question to their squirrel companion.

xxxxxAnd the squirrel said, "Stop running."

xxxxxAnd it said, "Stop pretending."

xxxxxAnd it said, "You know what you are."

xxxxxAnd Fermi met the eyes of the squirrel and cried.

[Archaeopteryx.]

xxxxxThey believed the question was, "Are we alone?" But that was ridiculous. Fermi had always been well aware of their world, that they shared it with the dogs and the crows and the beasts and all of their Gods and their afterlives. They could never be alone. Not in such a cacophony of life. Everyone had answered their own question. "Are the cats alone," "Are the crows alone," "Are the Gods alone," "Is our world alone."

xxxxxNo one had answered theirs.

xxxxxFor the question had always been, "Am I alone?"

xxxxxFor Fermi was the only cat to be born from both a God and a mortal, the only one to claim Divinity while still bleeding red. The only being both wildcat and desert cat and mountain cat, the only one to look a God in the eyes and not flinch while needing to avert their eyes lest they burn that of a mortal's.

xxxxxThe God of Knowledge and a mortal of regret, neither truly one or the other, a bridge in-between, knew the answer as the Travelers said they would.

xxxxxAnd they mourned it.

xxxxxFor the answer was simply;

xxxxxYes.