The darkness faded instantaneously, and it took me a minute or so to gather what exactly I was witnessing; I stood at the ground level of a massive vertical coliseum, in the rows of which were densely packed people, some of whom I thought I recognized. Below me was a sandy stone floor and no other comforts of any sort... but by far the most intimidating element in my new environment was in fact something missing--I could not glimpse the ceiling or roof of the structure I seemed to be held in. The people trailed off into infinity.
And a voice boomed: "YOU ARE ON TRIAL."
"For what?" I shouted back at the voice, again, one that I believed to have recognized. "I have committed no act to warrant such an extravagant ceremony of jurisprudence!"
"WE JUDGE YOU FOR BEING A LIVING PERSON."
At this I was obviously confused. "Now the courts are claiming existence to be a crime!"
Immediately another voice responded, this one female but just as dominating: "WE ARE NO COURT AND WE JUDGE MORE THAN CRIMES."
"WE JUDGE ALL DEEDS," shouted another.
"And what are the consequences if I am convicted?"
"THERE CAN BE NO FURTHER CONVICTION AS THERE IS CERTAINTY OF GUILT."
I remember growing more frustrated. "How is this possible? And if not crimes, then what point does this court serve?"
No response immediately followed, but a second later one of them, a man, jumped down from the first row and walked towards me. When he spoke, he sounded as I did, unamplified by the acoustics of the shocking chamber. "I and my comrades judge you for the manner you lived our life."
"My life?"
"Ours, as we are all the same person. Those of us that are not you, though, merely exist within the realms of probability and this astral plane where you found us."
For being odd, this was odd. "Probability? So you don't exist."
He smirked. "We exist here."
"Explain."
"A biological phenomenon forged the chamber. That is, you and you alone are the result of a specific union of two gametes, and we are those that are not." At this point he gestured at the rest of the chamber towards the ceiling. "Ah, we are arranged by probability. I speak for the individual that you are, in essence, first of, but as you are the version on trial, I am now first."
"So... you are the sperm that would have reached an egg if I hadn't?"
"I am no sperm any more than you are. But I am the extension of that line of events. The world hasn't changed, but you have."
"And why am I on trial."
"Well we all have the collective individual's best interests in mind. That being agreed upon, it makes logical sense that the one of us with the best initial conditions, purely genomic in our case, should be the one to exist."
"So if I fail..."
"I replace you. The process starts until the group decides upon an acceptable life."
Needless to say, I felt unnerved. "But I am the first."
"Yes. Not necessarily the last, though." At this, he openly smiled. I suppose he had no reason to conceal his vested interest in condemnation.
And a voice boomed: "YOU ARE ON TRIAL."
"For what?" I shouted back at the voice, again, one that I believed to have recognized. "I have committed no act to warrant such an extravagant ceremony of jurisprudence!"
"WE JUDGE YOU FOR BEING A LIVING PERSON."
At this I was obviously confused. "Now the courts are claiming existence to be a crime!"
Immediately another voice responded, this one female but just as dominating: "WE ARE NO COURT AND WE JUDGE MORE THAN CRIMES."
"WE JUDGE ALL DEEDS," shouted another.
"And what are the consequences if I am convicted?"
"THERE CAN BE NO FURTHER CONVICTION AS THERE IS CERTAINTY OF GUILT."
I remember growing more frustrated. "How is this possible? And if not crimes, then what point does this court serve?"
No response immediately followed, but a second later one of them, a man, jumped down from the first row and walked towards me. When he spoke, he sounded as I did, unamplified by the acoustics of the shocking chamber. "I and my comrades judge you for the manner you lived our life."
"My life?"
"Ours, as we are all the same person. Those of us that are not you, though, merely exist within the realms of probability and this astral plane where you found us."
For being odd, this was odd. "Probability? So you don't exist."
He smirked. "We exist here."
"Explain."
"A biological phenomenon forged the chamber. That is, you and you alone are the result of a specific union of two gametes, and we are those that are not." At this point he gestured at the rest of the chamber towards the ceiling. "Ah, we are arranged by probability. I speak for the individual that you are, in essence, first of, but as you are the version on trial, I am now first."
"So... you are the sperm that would have reached an egg if I hadn't?"
"I am no sperm any more than you are. But I am the extension of that line of events. The world hasn't changed, but you have."
"And why am I on trial."
"Well we all have the collective individual's best interests in mind. That being agreed upon, it makes logical sense that the one of us with the best initial conditions, purely genomic in our case, should be the one to exist."
"So if I fail..."
"I replace you. The process starts until the group decides upon an acceptable life."
Needless to say, I felt unnerved. "But I am the first."
"Yes. Not necessarily the last, though." At this, he openly smiled. I suppose he had no reason to conceal his vested interest in condemnation.
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