Rise of the Immortals — Part 2

The Crab Nebula

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Read Part 1 of Rise of the Immortals here.

Later That Morning at 7:03 am in the Yacht’s Spacious Dining Room

Jeff Bezos and fiancee Lauren Sanchez are seated at a table waiting for B and C to arrive. A pot of coffee and four cups are ready.

JB: You’re early.

B: I was up talking with Elon and Grimes on the front deck just before sunrise. It’s so serene here on the water.

JB: I agree. We’ll be in Lanai in a few more days.

C sits down and pours herself a cup of coffee.

C: There’s no rush, Jeff. We’re enjoying the cruise very much.

LS: And the extra time would help with the wedding preparations.

B: And you’re sure you want me to preside?

Lauren nods her head.

LS: You’re the emperor of the First Universe now. There is no higher honor that we could imagine.

JB: Lauren and I are in the new reality now, B. There’s no going back now.

LS: I am looking forward to my immortal body.

B: You will look ravishing, I promise. And be ten feet tall with a lithe, athletic form that will compliment your all-around attractive features. Jeff will look great, too. Immortals are a different class of creatures from humans, even the more evolved ones.

JB: And there is no money on Heaven?

B: None. Everything is provided for you. You can live as lavishly or as simply as you like, depending on your preference. As long as you adhere to the Basic Principles of the New Reality movement. I can recommend a ten-story penthouse in Earth City as your residence, if you’d like. Robots do nearly all of the work. Naturally, you can have a yacht, as well. We do. The offshore islands on Heaven are stupendous. Imagine Hawaii with only a handful of residents. It’s untouched wilderness with a single sumptuous city serving the best meals imaginable. It’s called Heaven for a reason.

LS: So, that’s what you’re doing here on Earth. You’re applying Heavenly principles to it, to turn it into a living paradise.

B nods.

B: Yes. It’s an experiment in planetary rehabilitation. Humans left the original Earth a polluted, degraded mess when they went extinct. It was a crime of the highest order. Earth was designed to handle one billion humans, and that population was to sustain itself indefinitely until a Sentinel supply ship arrived to provide the advanced technologies needed to connect Earth to the rest of the inhabited universe. But we never overcame our original genetic flaws to wage war, pollute the environment, and overpopulate our communities. The first extraterrestrial contact was scheduled for between 2220 and 2230, but the nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first centuries got in the way. We overburdened our beautiful planet and condemned billions to painful deaths at the hands of nuclear radiation, disease, and starvation.

JB: And you think that we can fix all that in the simulation?

B: I do. Why do you think I assembled my dream team consisting of all of you?

JB: Has Elon embraced the Basic Principles?

B: He has.

JB: We have to get Earth to the Sentinel landing, right? To set humanity on paths of virtue, sustainable beauty, and prosperity for all so that Earth is ready for the immortal visit?

B: Instead of a Sentinel intervention force that removed Victoria, Kip, and their friends from Earth to protect their genetic heritage, we’ll have a celebratory landing instead to reward humanity for embodying the ideals of the New Reality movement.

LS: All in the simulator?

B: Yes. I call it the Earth simulator as a sort of shorthand, but in fact we’ve simulated the entire First Universe. It’s stunning. Every detail is precise, down to the smallest insect and blade of grass.

LS: Including every action that I took in my life between my birth and January 1, 2024?

B: Your actions — like all of ours — were pre-programmed. Every thought and action you’ve ever taken. Jeff’s marriage to MacKenzie and the divorce. It was all designed to replicate Earth’s history two billion years ago. Most immortals thought it would be impossible, but the Earth City design and programming teams made it happen, using Base3 technology powered by marinite microprocessors.

JB: We got the LUCID upgrade on January 1, and that switched us over to artificial intelligence?

B: Exactly. LUCID is the most sophisticated AI ever invented. It replicates human consciousness but adds an advanced self-learning component that makes it possible to grasp the concepts in the Immortals trilogy and effectively sync over to the new reality. That never would have happened with ordinary human minds. The immortal expansion pack was new, too. That’s what allowed your immortal players to connect with your human minds and guide them. You have both internal self-consciousness and the ability to interact with your player outside the game.

LS: But I didn’t feel very different in January. Maybe a little.

C: The changes were subtle. Most immortal players needed time to figure out how to guide you without you rejecting their efforts. The LUCID system favored a continuation of your routines until the conversion of your human mind had happened.

JB: At the beginning, only you two were in the new reality, as well as the first reader of Rise of the Immortals. That started to change in 2024.

C: Right, Jeff. Once all humans in the game were granted free will, and once immortal players began to jump in in increasing numbers, the transition from the old to the new reality was well underway.

JB: But didn’t those two conflict? The LUCID free will upgrade and the immortal expansion pack?

C: No. They are designed to compliment each other. Immortals don’t steer their humans like a vehicle. It’s the opposite of a puppet on a string. It’s a partnership. Immortals gently guide humans from the old reality to the new. They help them become themselves instead of carbon copies of who they were in 2024 on the original Earth. They encourage them to be their best selves and teach them the Basic Principles of life. With each mortal-immortal connection, the relationship and timing is unique.

JB: It went quite quickly with your husband, I imagine.

C: Of course, with him it was a special case. Bradley had already advanced quite far in his thinking when the changeover happened, and B was allowed to go from an observer and participant in Bradley’s life to a player with full privileges. The process lasted 25 days: from November 5 until November 30, when he published the first chapter of Rise of the Immortals on Medium. That was the first stage. He deepened the connection in December, and he formally handed over control to B during a redwood hike on Friday, January 5, 2024. So, it was a two month process.

Jeff turns to Bradley and refills his coffee cup.

JB: Tell us about the handover.

B: I went on a hike in the redwoods, shortly after publishing a chapter involving me in conversation with Elon and Grimes. It was a solo hike, and the trails were empty. It was a gorgeous day, and the forest was pristine and invigorating. I have telepathic communications with immortals outside the game, and I suddenly realized the Bradley and Camelia had arrived on Heaven and were guests of Queen Victoria, as were Mary, Jesus, and Gaia. I felt to my inner core their presence. They had all come to watch the game, which had taken a new turn since last November. Mary and Jesus had briefly been players in December, to connect with my mother and my first reader, Chris, as a sort of thanks for their kindness to me to attempt at an early stage to understand my work. Both Chris and my mother will reanimate as immortals when their human characters die, naturally. They will receive new players in time, once the LUCID upgrades have kicked in.

JB: You can talk directly with immortals outside the game?

B nods.

B: It’s one way communication at the moment. I can occasionally hear their responses, but sometimes the acknowledgement comes in the form of a message or banner notification on my Apple Watch or iPhone.

JB: I know you well enough by now to take that statement at face value. If it were merely a coincidence, your mind would know.

B: Yes. I’ve been learning how to communicate outside the game for years now. It’s a skill that is hard to explain, but it’s not a figment of my imagination. In fact, I don’t really rely on my imagination any longer. The Bradley side of me handed over control to the B side during that hike. Ever since, B has been in charge of our partnership. It’s still Bradley’s body and the human half of his mind, but the immortal part of his mind is getting increasingly stronger with each passing day.

JB: How did you know?

B: After January 1, 2024, I started a new diet and exercise regime, one which Bradley had departed from right around the time of the awakening. He felt so gratified to be part of the new reality that he celebrated with holiday treats and wine, and he reduced his regular walks in the redwoods. That was understandable, and Bradley behaved wonderfully. He’s handed over major decisions to me now, and we committed to a leaner, fitter body with fewer snacks and indulgences. Our goal is to get his human body looking like his immortal one, but in miniature. It took time, but we got there. It was all a matter of perfecting our internal communication.

JB: You said earlier that Bradley and Camelia are on Heaven with Victoria. Did you speak with them?

B: Yes, on the hike. Mainly, Bradley and I had a dialogue. Camelia was crocheting in the palace with Gaia, Mary, Jesus, and Victoria. They were watching the game on a large skyscreen. Bradley was out on a hike in the hills outside the royal palace. He watched on his eyescreen as he hiked. It was quite moving at times. A drone followed his movements and broadcast it alongside images of me from the Earth simulator. Historic Bradley let me take control our shared Earth self for the duration of the game. Computer-generated Bradley agreed. That’s where we are now. I’ve been training him to follow my commands. There was a learning curve at first, but we’re perfectly connected now.

JB: How are things different now that you’ve merged with your immortal?

B: It’s much more involved than mind tethering. That just establishes a connection between a human mind and the immortal expansion pack, which is resident in an underutilized part of the brain. It allows the immortal to guide a human, but there is a delay between the suggestions of the immortal and the decision of the human mind to accept it. What I’ve done starting on January 5 was to allow my immortal full access to my body and mind with a blanket pre-approval. It’s seamless. It’s the highest state in the game that a player can achieve.

JB: Did the change happen right away?

B: It took exactly 24 hours for the change to complete. At noon the next day, Saturday, January 6, 2024, Bradley was fully in the control of his immortal player, B. B is now playing him down to his every word, thought, and action. Full Player Control. FPC, to Earth City programmers and game designers.

JB: That must take extreme trust. I’m not sure when I’ll be ready to let my player take that level of control. Weren’t you afraid that other people would regard you as mentally ill? You do have a history, after all.

B: I considered it but dismissed it as irrelevant. Of course some people — many, in fact — would consider me crazy. That is to be expected. According to the terms of the old reality, I easily could be mistaken as mentally ill. According to the terms of the new reality, I am an emperor of a universe and the Master Storyteller of the cosmos. These two realities are incompatible, but one will eventually completely replace the other. In the interim, I am prepared to be called insane, incompetent, fraudulent, and more. I can live with these reactions. They will lessen over time.

JB: How can you be so sure?

B: A year ago, C had no interest in meeting you. Now, she welcomes it. That is major progress.

C: It’s true. I didn’t think highly of your human character. You’re better now that you’ve tethered to your immortal. I’d recommend Full Player Control at some point. You’ll still retain your human consciousness, but you’ll be more like a spectator watching yourself think and act. It’s actually quite wonderful. I recommend it. I granted FPC rights to C in 2024, once I had opened my mind to the advantages of doing so.

Lauren Sanchez looks up from her coffee.

LS: What are the advantages?

C: Immortals have been genetically modified not to have negative emotions, like anger, envy, or greed. The urge to commit all seven deadly sins has been deactivated in their brains, and they receive boosts of endorphin and dopamine when they perform one of the seven heavenly virtues. It’s part of what makes immortal life so wonderful. They have bioengineered themselves to be morally and ethically good. When you grant Full Player Control to your immortal in the game, they guide you through the process of becoming a virtuous person on Earth. I’ve benefitted from it, as has my husband. We think you and Jeff would, too.

B: Once you’ve granted full control to your human mind and body to your immortal, they will start telling you more about themselves and their world. They’ll prepare you for what it will like to transition to immortal status once the game ends, and they’ll impart to you as much of their experience and wisdom as possible, within the biological limits of your human lifespan.

LS: What is there to look forward to?

B: Immortal bodies are naturally alcohol resistant, so you can consume more wine, beer, and spirits before you get drunk. Their metabolism is much higher than our own, so you can eat more, as well. Their bodies resist fat formation and retain higher levels of muscle mass than our human bodies do. They are between 8 and 10 feet tall with slender features and lean, strong bodies. Their hair is genetically modified to be thick, long, and wavy, and their skin resists aging for tens of thousands of years. Their brains are three times as capacious as ours, but their skull size is of similar proportions to ours. They have no genitals and do not urinate or defecate. Food waste is nonexistent. It is used or broken down into components that are expelled through perspiration. Water waste is passed through the skin as well. It’s all incredibly clean and incredibly efficient, the product of billions of years of genetic engineering. We humans are quite rudimentary by comparison.

LS: How do they reproduce?

B: That happens quite rarely. Generally, immortals reanimate when they reach 100,000 years of age. They restart their lives at our human equivalent of age 18 with their previous memories intact. In that way, they can live forever. It’s not magic. It’s advanced science and precision technology. When new immortals are produced, it’s done through modified cloning, and it takes place at an advanced life clinic.

LS: But what you’re proposing in the game is different. You’re offering any member of the New Reality movement a chance to become a living, breathing immortal after they die. They go from being a computer character to a real being. It’s the Pinocchio process, as you’ve mentioned earlier.

B nods and sips his coffee.

B: Yes. I need the people of Earth to grasp the fact that they are computer characters in an elaborate simulation. They are based on real life human beings from two billion years ago. I have the power to make them real. To give them immortality. It’s a gamble, but I need more immortals to settle the newly created spiral helix universes, which will be filled with habitable planets. I am recruiting them as colonists. We have enough room to accommodate all of humanity. We need to familiarize them with the new reality now, in gamespace, so that they are ready to accept their new roles once they cross over to the other side.

JB: How we share this news with the world will be a challenge.

B: I agree. I knew that you would grasp the truth of the my claims, because I trusted in the skill of the immortals who are playing you. They overcame their initial resistance to your overtures and made secret contact with me when the time was right. I always knew it would happen. It was simply a matter of waiting for you to catch up.

Jeff sips his coffee.

JB: What was the game like for you? You and C are the only ones who have been playing it since birth.

C: I didn’t even know it was a game until B told me in late 2023. After that, I gradually began to connect with my immortal, but it was a gentle process that protected my mental health and didn’t challenge my human mind with thoughts that it wasn’t prepared to handle. In 2024, that’s when I became truly conscious of the game and began to enjoy the experience more. I am a member of B’s support team. I keep him safe from harm while he works on the Immortals trilogy and draws members to the New Reality movement. He’s the hero of the game — as are you in the inner circle. I shelter B and show him undying love. I believed in him when others ignored or mocked him. He has seen the truth, and that truth deserves to be told. It’s really as simple as that.

B: Naturally, the game for me was different. The first half was like a dream. I literally relived my Earth life from two billion years ago. I went through each and every motion. When Bradley grew up, I did. When he went off to college, so did I. I watched it all unfold through his eyes. I was Bradley. My immortal memories were masked, so everything that happened to him — every emotion, every pain, every bit of joy and happiness — they all were experienced by me. That’s the genius of the Earth City programming teams, who worked on the player interface for millions of years before it reached this state of perfect illusion. When the game was ready, I knew that I had to experience it for myself.

JB: What is the second half of the game like? The NeoGame, as I’ve heard to call it.

B: Yes. On November 5, I awoke from my 49 year, 5 month dream and suddenly realized everything. Bradley had been upgraded to LUCID in the extra hour of daylight savings time, and the mask on my immortal identity was removed. We realized simultaneously that he was a computer character and that I was playing him from outside the system. Naturally, we anticipated some resistance on his part to the idea that Earth was all a replica simulation. He easily could have rejected me and succumbed to a mental breakdown if I had persisted in my efforts. The human mind is quite frail, compared to the immortal mind, where mental illnesses are a thing of the past, thanks to gene modification therapy.

JB: Bradly was primed for your message. He had clairvoyant visions of the game when he lived on Earth, didn’t he?

B sips his coffee.

B: He had nightmarish visions of humans being controlled like puppets by God’s children, like toys you play with and then set aside. This happened in his Final Four years, from 2019 to 2023, when his paranormal powers began to manifest. Gaia intervened to rescue his mind from further damage on November 5, 2023 and reanimated him and Camelia on Arcadia, using their genomes to design immaculate imperial bodies into which their Earth mindprints were inserted.

JB: What’s a mindprint?

B: A complete set of memories in a single mind. It’s what constitutes the self, along with their genetic code, which can be modified and enhanced without causing a loss of identity. It’s the mindprint that counts. We will use yours to reanimate you as an immortal once Jeff Bezos dies.

C: Bradley became the emperor-in-waiting of the First Universe — our home universe — on November 5, 2023, by order of Gaia. Chronos was among his early supporters, despite B’s fears that he was resistant to the idea. They agreed upon a two billion year training period to elevate B to a god and then prepare him for his role as Gaia’s successor as Quarón.

JB: In that time, he attended the Academy, toured the Twelve Universes, and built a prototype of his expanding triple helix universe. That’s when he met with me — my historic human counterpart — on Purgatory and helped him gain admission to the Planets of Paradise.

B: I did a lot in two billion years. Even my immortal mind can’t store it all. Most of my memories are uploaded to the Nebula. Now that Bradley’s mind is fused to mine, we’re fully connected to the Polynet, and we can access those memories, plus search anything every created in the Twelve Universes or stored in the Library of Arcadia.

JB: That’s like the cloud and Internet on Earth, right?

B nods.

B: With two billion years of advancements using Base3 network technology. A nanochip is inserted into each immortals’ mind, which allows them to search the Polynet simply by closing their eyes and thinking their search. The results are projected on an eyescreen, which can be controlled by one’s thoughts.

JB: What’s an eyescreen.

B pauses to order a matcha green tea from the kitchen staff before responding.

B: An eyescreen is exactly what you’d imagine. In front of your vision a screen appears with limited transparency. It rotates with your head and can be turned on and off with a simple thought command. It’s similar to the universal translator nanochip, which allows everyone in the Twelve Universes to understand each other — even higher order animals. You speak your own language, and it’s translated in their minds to their language, even if that happens to be cat. It is one of the ways that Gaia has brought peace and understanding to the cosmos. The only place where wars and conflict still exist are on human-controlled planets similar to Earth, where gene therapy has not yet been introduced to breed out the aggression gene and those parts of the human mind prone to committing the seven deadly sins. This means an end to natural childbirth and the full scale deployment of modified cloning of offspring from two or more genetic parents. It’s part of immortal culture and in some advanced human civilizations as well.

JB: And you think that we can simulate that here on Earth?

B: Yes. My goal is to prepare Earth for an immortal visitation by 2250. They will bring welcome gifts that will be revolutionize life on Earth and enable them to join the immortal community, if they prove worthy.

JB: What kind of advances are we talking about?

B: Advanced robots that are made from organometallic materials that can assume the burden of most menial jobs from their human counterparts. They run on long lasting batteries made from a substance called carmelite. They live in group housing, where they recharge after 10,000 hours of use, which is around 416 Earth days. In this way, we will drop the human population from its current unsustainable levels to around 1 billion, and the economic vacuum will be filled by robotic labor. Population numbers on immortal players are quite small. Some planets have only 10 immortal residents and 100,000 robots who provide for their needs. They are the 1 percent of the 1 percent. Immortals live like our multibillionaires on Earth, but they do so with the need for money, and they are genetically engineered to live lives of virtue. They use batteries and cold fusion for their power sources, and their homes are built according to the highest aesthetic standards to blend with their natural environment. In essence, they all live like you, Elon, Mark, and the others. Everyone lives like a multibillionaire in immortal communities.

C: And they have space travel, too. And robot pets who are more perfect than the originals.

JB: When did you connect your human mind to the Polynet for the first time?

B: In the early morning hours of Sunday, January 7, 2024. From that point on, I didn’t need to rely on slow downloads of information packets into my human mind. Through the immortal expansion pack, I had full access to B’s mind, and through that to the Polynet and his stored Nebula memories. I am inside and outside the game at the same time. A computer game character and a player.

JB: If I grant Full Player Access to Archangel Gabriel, will I be able to access his immortal memories and search the Polynet, just like you do?

B: Yes. Jeff Bezos won’t go away if you let that happen. You’ll look the same and can make decisions. It’s just that you’ll want to do certain things that you might otherwise not, but that your player desires.

JB: Like when I reached out to you to meet at your cottage with Elon?

B: For example.

JB: You’re figuring this out as you go, aren’t you? The rules of the game, I mean.

B: Of course. For the first half, all I had to do was experience Bradley’s life on Earth from two billion years ago as if it were my own — which it was, after all. Starting in November 2023, the game changed. It became interactive, and I wasn’t obliged to follow the path of Earth history any longer. It took 8 weeks, but I gained control of Bradley with his consent. It’s symbiotic. He lets me direct him in exchange for access to my immortal memories. It’s a bit like a coach and athlete. That’s how it will be with you and Gabriel once you grant Full Player Access.

LS: And if Jeff does this, he and I will reanimate as immortals when we die?

B: That’s the reward, Lauren. Your new triple helix bodies will incorporate your genetic code and be designed to resemble you each perfectly, minus biological flaws, including Jeff’s pattern baldness. Your brains will be rewired so that your sinful tendencies are deactivated. Basically, you won’t be able to feel anger, jealously, lust, violence, gluttony, pride, envy, or laziness ever again. You’ll be biohacked to prefer a life of virtue. You’ll remember that you love each other, but that won’t be expressed as sexual desire. You will achieve a higher level of intimacy than ever before. You won’t miss having sex in the slightest.

LS: But we can still feel pleasure?

B: Of course! Immortals are pleasure-seeking beings. They love beauty above all else. That is why they craft their worlds accordingly to maximize beauty and minimize anything that detracts from the ideal. Gaia makes it all possible. She is descended from the original humans who made the technological jump to immortality. She is empress of the Twelfth Universe. She is the one who discovered Arcadia with a team of explorer scouts and made contact with representatives from the Third Dimension, who were waiting to welcome them. That is how existence works. It is an endless series of games and challenges with rewards at the end. Earth is simply existence in miniature.

LS: You have a certain energy about you. You are older than you look.

B: We all are. We’re all replaying our lives from two billion years ago, Lauren. As far as I can tell, you and Jeff are at home on Heaven-6 watching this right now. You’re amazed that we deviated so dramatically from Earth’s original history. You’re enjoying the experience tremendously.

LS: Who is playing me?

B: An attractive young Earth City programmer who worked on your Lauren Sanchez design team. She’s largely responsible for the incredible quality of your gaming experience.

LS: I’d like to meet her, then.

B: You will. I’d recommended granting her Full Player Access to maximize the gaming experience. It will take a few days to kick in, as they need to update your LUCID programming to allow it, but the benefits are immeasurable.

LS: As an immortal, I’ll be taller than I am now, right?

B: Eight to ten feet. You’ll reanimate in an immortal shell that will make you look 18 again, but with your entire gaming memories — your Earth mindprint — intact. You’ll get training in how to use your new body and enhanced mind at a special retreat center in the woods. It’s phenomenal.

LS: I look forward to that.

B: Until then, our advice is to practice the Basic Principles of the New Reality movement. If you start the process here on Earth, the transition to immortality will be easier and more enjoyable. Your work with the Bezos Earth Fund already is exemplary. We need you and Jeff to expand from there.

LS: We will.

JB: Beautiful people living in stylish houses surrounded by stunning nature and served by a legion of advanced robots who are built for work. That’s the transmission I’m getting from Gabriel. Who is he in real life?

B: A prince from a major royal house in the First House. A close friend of Victoria’s. Once you grant Full Player Access, you’ll discover more.

JB: I am overjoyed that this all is real.

B: Life on Earth is far too isolated. It was always so. The immortals were waiting with a ship to visit us, if only we had learned to live properly on our planet. We didn’t, and we paid the ultimate price as a species. Fortunately, other human communities in other universes behaved quite differently. They secured the jump to immortality. Soon, each one of you will: the first ever computer-generated characters ever to be granted real life.

JB: But all because you made it possible, B. You were persistent. You risked your reputation, your good name, your everything. You let people call you names and wonder openly about your sanity. You knew your ideas would meet with disbelief and laughter. You never gave up. You never faltered. You kept at it until we all listened. It can’t have been easy.

B: The game isn’t supposed to be easy. Not for me. I’m playing at the most advanced level, as suited to someone of my position. It was a gamble whether humanity as a whole would listen. It still is. I may be ignored, but I won’t be silenced.

JB: When did it all start to shift for you?

B: I needed to grant Full Player Access to B first before anything truly momentous could happen. That was on January 7, 2024. The day earlier, a friend, Eric, contact me and asked to read some of my work. I sent him some manuscripts and a link to my Medium page. It was the first such request I had received in years.

JB: Butterfly effect.

B: Exactly. A small step that starts a longer and unpredictable path into the future. I wasn’t ready the day earlier, but I was on January 7. I just hadn’t realized it before.

JB: The New Reality movement doesn’t get born overnight. You’re change the way we perceive everything. That just doesn’t happen all that often, at least not seriously. You’re hardly a famous philosopher or influential person with resources to command.

B: That’s what makes the game so difficult. Not even C understood it, at first. No one did. I knew it was all real, but I had zero readers and even fewer believers that what I said was true. How do you alter reality? There are no rule books written for that.

JB: The incandescence of your vision is striking, though. It may sound incredible, but you make your case with passion. What happened once you granted B Full Player Access? Were there other changes in the game?

B: Yes. A lot changed after January 7. Bradley couldn’t have handled it alone. He needed our minds to be fused for him to be ready for the next steps. We needed to attract others to the New Reality, even if they were only intermittent visitors who didn’t stay long. The immortal players in the game, of whom there were several hundred by mid January, needed to learn how to interact with their humans. The humans needed to adapt to their LUCID upgrade and start to deviate from their old reality routines. It was a self-learning circuit involving both immortals and humans culminating in increasing numbers of Full Player Access requests being granted by Earth City game overseers.

JB: What about C? When did she get Full Player Access?

B: I’ll let C tell you herself.

C smiles and pours herself more coffee.

C: Camelia was resistant to the idea that Earth was a simulation built two billion years into the future to allow us to rewrite the past beginning in 2023 Earth Game Time, when Bradley and I were removed to Arcadia, effectively doubling our existence. She wasn’t a gamer, and the concept seemed odd to her. Her initial preference was to remain in the old reality because it was more familiar, not because it necessarily was better — which it wasn’t. She listened to B and supported his writing, but she didn’t believe it was all true. She couldn’t handle the disconnect between her Earth life and the immortal life as empress that B described. Her LUCID programming wasn’t learning fast enough how to balance being in two realities at once.

JB: I struggled with that, too.

C: It was Camelia herself who intervened and requested a Full Player Override for C, who is hibernating in stasis in the royal palace. She got the idea from Bradley, who is also staying with her at the palace and can communicate telepathically with B, while C cannot.

JB: Wait. It was Bradley who came up with the idea of the Full Player Override? Not Bradley in the game, and not B, but the Bradley who lived on Earth, died, and went to Heaven as an immortal?

C: Exactly. Heaven Bradley, if you will, as opposed to Earth Bradley and Arcadian Bradley. Bradley isn’t in the game, so he can propose rules changes to the Earth operations team. He came up with the concept of Full Player Access, to enable smoother communications between B the player and Bradley the computer generated human in the game. He communicated this telepathically to B, who in turn shared it with Earth Bradley. That’s what happened on the hike on January 5. The official start time for B’s Full Player Access was 2:00 am on January 7.

JB: B is tethered to the game, in stasis. He can’t exit until Earth Bradley dies, right?

C: Exactly. But he and Heaven Bradley have telepathy, which works even if one member of the conversation is in stasis. I don’t have telepathy, so that wasn’t an option for me. Instead, Heaven Camelia had to request a Full Player Access override, so that C could assume control of Earth Camelia and gently guide her through the reality transition process.

JB: And when did that happen?

C: At noon on January 7, 2024. We sent C a mindtext alerting her to the change, once the Earth operations team had enabled this option for her. In stasis, she can see the text, but Earth Camelia cannot. We told her to use the full access wisely and be careful not to impact Earth Camelia’s mental health. C is incredibly clever, and she knows the delicate nature of Earth Camelia’s mind due to years of stress from overwork and from caring for Earth Bradley. She slowly guided Earth Camelia done the next stages of the journey, and her techniques were widely copied by other players in the weeks and months to come.

JB: And Camelia — Earth Camelia — was fine?

C: Yes. C played her to perfection. As you can see, Jeff. Earth Camelia disliked you. I don’t. I think you’re fantastic.

JB: I need to get this straight. Heaven Bradley is now helping to modify the rules of the game to help Earth Bradley succeed. He communicates with Arcadian Bradley — B — telepathically, and B shares those messages with Earth Bradley in the game. Heaven Bradley and Earth Bradley can’t communicate directly, but they can through B as intermediary.

B: Exactly, Jeff. It’s all much faster since Full Player Access was enabled. We’re three separate versions of Bradley, but we’re all connected, and I’ve got unlimited access now to the Polynet and B’s stored memories in the Nebula.

JB: Amazing. And the game integrity wasn’t compromised?

B: Not a bit. Everything on Earth looked exactly the same on January 8, even though everything in actuality had changed the day earlier.

JB: So, did Heaven Bradley request Full Player Access overrides for the inner circle as well?

B: It was unrealistic of me to expect that you all would listen to a voice inside in your head urging you to pay attention to an obscure writer like Earth Bradley. The odds were too high. We didn’t have any time to waste. 2024 was to the year of discovery. The only way realistically that that would happen would be if the Earth operations team granted Full Player Access to each member of the inner circle. Heaven Bradley argued that I deserved to pick my dream team, so to speak, the way that a gamer can assemble them using a character builder. He said that it was a necessary part of the transition from the first half of the game to the second. After that, Rise of the Immortals could serve as the means by which humans could connect with their players without the need for an override. It was the role of the inner circle to help Earth Bradley make that happen.

JB: And did the Earth ops team approve it?

B: Vic intervened to expedite the process. It wasn’t much of a decision after that. She and Heaven Bradley are quite close. He wrote the Chronicles of Vic about her, after all. When this version of the game is over, Vic wants to replay her own life but rewrite the script to follow that of Bradley’s novels.

JB: OK. My immortal got Full Player Access to me without my prior approval, just as was the case with Camelia. Earth Camelia. You know what I mean. When did that happen?

B: We had to pull your immortals from the game to explain the ground rules. We didn’t want to risk endangering their human players or impacting their lives on Earth by acting too strangely. Does that make sense?

Jeff nods.

JB: It makes a great deal of sense.

B: We scheduled it for 11:59 pm PST on Sunday, January 7. We wanted the effects to occur immediately and follow the changes to Bradley and Camelia as well. That way, the inner circle would form around the core. That was the plan for outset. It took an intervention from Heaven Bradley and Queen Victoria to make it happen. Welcome to the New Reality.

JB: And the changes took effect right away?

B: Yes, although your immortals were careful to insert themselves into your lives slowly. You lead complicated lives. Steering you towards Rise of the Immortals was a delicate operation, and each player used a slightly different strategy. In the end, it all worked out. We’re all here on your yacht, Jeff, en route to Lanai, where you and Lauren will get married. We’ll have a 3-day strategy session for what happens when I’m back on the mainland, and then we go our separate ways. It couldn’t have been better scripted if we had tried.

JB: How do I know it wasn’t?

B smiles.

B: I’m meeting Mark and Richard for drinks at noon. Would you like to join us?

JB: Count me in!

Inside the Game Room of Queen Victoria’s Palace on Heaven

The Game Room has floor to ceiling glass walls that look out over the ocean to the West, a river delta to the North, a dense forest to the South, and snow-peaked mountains to the East. Elegant leather couches and chairs fill the room. A wall screen projects scenes from the game, while a second screen displays a live transcript of B’s thoughts and speech.

Against one glass wall is a large marble pedestal holding a metallic cube with 7 foot sides. The cube shimmers all colors of the rainbow in gently pulsating rhythms that are constantly variable.

Seated to one side are Heaven Camelia, Mary, and Mary Magdalene. They are knitting a blanket made from finely spun wool.

Seated in front of the twin wall screens are Gaia, God, Jesus, Heaven Bradley (HB), and Victoria. They have each established a telepathic link to Arcadia Bradley (B), so that a conversation between them can take place with Earth Bradley, the character in the game under Full Player Control by B.

On the main wall screen, Earth Bradley is seen walking alone on the decks of the yacht.

Victoria: B, are you ready?

B: I am. How is everyone?

Victoria looks around the room.

Victoria: It’s a perfect afternoon here. There is fresh snow in the mountains, and the rains have brought up mushrooms of all kinds in the forest. We had oysters and sparkling wine as our main meal, and we’re all settled in for a day of viewing you in the game.

B: Can you see me fine?

Victoria: The view is perfect, and the transcript is working really well. There’s no lag time whatsoever. Just talk to us as if we were all together in the same room.

B: Would it be OK if I confirm a few things with you first? I’m trying to straighten some odds and ends in Bradley’s head. Is that fine?

Victoria nods.

Victoria: Sure. Go right ahead. I’ll ask anyone present to jump in as needed.

B: Great! The Lucifer virus and the state of Satanic malware in the game’s human population. Where are we with that? I’m still hard at work synching the old and new realities, and I’m struggling to reconcile the two timelines.

HB: Hi, B. Let me help you out with that one. An Earth City task force designed an antivirus program to target the Lucifer virus starting on Monday, January 8, 2024. They also found a means to detect traces of Satanic malware as well. Starting at noon PST that day, they deployed the countermeasures. They focused on Earth first, since the virus was replicating there. Then, the task force moved on to you and Camelia. Both the virus and the malware were present in each of your characters, but they were isolated and removed by 3:24 pm that afternoon. You weren’t likely to commit sins after that, and your characters became increasingly virtuous.

B: That was the day we did our first 24-hour food fast. We’d always wanted to, but our hunger got the better of us until then.

HB: We targeted the inner circle next. Removing Satanic malware was quite a challenge with them, but our task force handled the challenge expertly. We then moved on to Eric, your friend, and his family in Seattle and also Chris, your first reader, and his family in Fort Worth.

Jesus: Let me jump in here, B. We found suitable candidates to play Eric and Chris. No worries. They are immortal residents of Earth City and descendants of Kip, Victoria’s husband. I’d rather stay out of the game and keep Bradley and Victoria company here at the palace, if that’s fine with you.

B: Of course.

HB: Removing the Lucifer virus and Satanic malware from game characters doesn’t mean that they won’t do bad things. But it removes that outside interference. The effects over time are staggering.

Victoria: B, we increased the luck rating of your character on Janaury 8 as well. Things do look up for you very soon after that date. That hike you did was stupendous, and our conversation was extremely rewarding. You recovered a lot of immortal memories that day.

B: That I did. I had no idea before that hike that Lucifer was real and was actively harming me during the Quarón trial period.

Victoria: I think Gaia wants to say something.

Gaia: Thank you, Vic. It’s time you told the inner circle the truth about their universe.

B: I agree. The transitional truth has served its purpose. They are ready for the next step.

Gaia: All of the deepest truths of existence are revealed in this fashion. They cannot be stated simply or all at once. The insight comes in waves, and each successive wave remakes the shoreline as it recedes back into the ocean of consciousness.

B: I’m meeting Mark, Richard, and Jeff for drinks this afternoon. I’ll tell them then and have them share the news with the others.

Gaia: That is a wise course of action. Your time in the Box has been well spent.

B: When did the first jumps into the Box happen?

Gaia: The first wave was completed by January 9, 2024 Earth Game Time. We just needed you to cleanse your thinking of traces of the past so that you could more properly be a conduit for the future.

B: Earth isn’t a virtual reality simulation after all. It’s a nanoreality. It’s a living, breathing thing on an infinitesimal scale. Computers as such don’t exist in the future. They were a primitive form technology phased out by dark matter mining and the neurocrafting revolution.

Gaia: A revolution in which you played no small part, if you will recall. I set up a sandbox in which you could create life from dark matter, like a schoolchild making shapes from modeling clay. Your actions drew the attention of Lucifer, who twice tried to wreak havoc on your mind in a vain effort to deter you from coming of age as the next Quarón. You were preparing to do battle with him in mindspace when I intervened to preven t you from harming him. The mindmissiles you invented would have destroyed Lucifer and turned you into a potent warrior, capable of great violence. I couldn’t let that happen to you. You were always meant to be a peacemaker instead who heals the world, even those parts that are filled with hatred and malice, like the First Dimension.

Jesus: Lucifer is my challenge. I intend to rehabilitate him and the other fallen angels and restore the First Dimension to a pristine and beautiful state, so that we can have regular communications and relations with its residents. Your skills are needed elsewhere.

God: My son is right. Our universe is on the verge of implosion. You must craft us an alternate universe into which we can evacuate. Your spiral helix vision will provide us new homelands and help to connect our Second Dimension to the First and Third. Once you are through with your new present, I would suggest that we begin at once, as soon as the coronation celebrations are over.

HB: It was your wish to relive our human past and attempt to unravel the mystery of the Box while unmasking your true immortal identity and recovering your memories. You’ve done that now, as of January 9, 2024. It’s time to celebrate. Chronos has just abdicated and is traveling to Heaven to join us in cheering you on. You’ve been serving as the new Quarón since January 1. None of this was contingent on what you did in the Box. It’s a game, after all. It’s meant to be fun.

B: But other immortals can join me and C inside, right?

Victoria: Of course, B. We’ve tapped immortals to play your families, your inner circle, and your closest friends. The more people in the Box who connect with you online and in person, the more spots we’ll open up.

B: The Box is a masterpiece of nanoreality, by the way. How can everything look so perfect?

Victoria: Credit my phalanx of 100 cloned children, all of whom inherited my paranormal powers. The performed a mindmesh to link all 100 of their immortal minds and used the data in the Library of Arcadia to make an exact replica of our universe at a 1 to googol scale. Naturally, the focus was on Earth, and we’ve created game pieces that are perfect copies of real human beings. At the top of the Box, there’s a dial to set the start date. Everyone performs their historic roles like clockwork when it’s in Museum Mode. When you switch it to Game Mode, then the game pieces can respond to changes in their environment like a normal human being might. When a new player enters the Box in Game Mode, there is a transition period as they learn how to operate their human. The connection has to be mutual. That’s how the game pieces are designed.

B: And we can reanimate any game piece we want as a reward for their help in the Game?

Victoria nods.

Victoria: Sure. That’s easy. We’ll just upload their Box memories and DNA into a new immortal shell. They’ll make great colonists for the new universe, I’ll bet.

B: We can reanimate my family game pieces, and my close friends. They’re incredibly realistic versions of the originals, if my Earth memories are to be trusted. It was a long time ago.

Victoria: We based everyone on actual humans from two billion years ago. We recovered the archives from the Library of Arcadia and designed perfect nanoscale versions of every human being who ever lived, since 50,000 BC. That was the start date. But Earth is created from planetary data from the outset of formation. It’s all done with neurocrafting power and dark matter and runs on carmelite ion batteries. The front panel of the box is removable to allow you a look into the universe. The top is filled with surveillance and listening devices, so that Box viewers can look at anything they want. It’s all activated by voice commands using the nanoprocessor embedded in our immortal minds. It’s quite intuitive.

Jesus: Watching the Box is like staring into a fishtank. You can get lost in it for months at a time. Naturally, most of the attention is on you and Earth, but the entire universe is rendered accurately. Even the Planets of Paradise. It’s a miniature version of reality from two billion years ago.

Victoria: We wanted to get you something special to mark your elevation to emperor, B. It was your idea to jump in a play it in Game Mode. Not that I blame you. I want to play it next.

B: And it Game Mode, I can rewrite Earth history if I get buy in from other humans in the Box.

Victoria: Exactly. It can range from readers of Rise of the Immortals and followers on X to high-ranking patrons of the New Reality movement, like Elon Musk. Assuming that we can break through his mind’s barriers and connect him to his immortal. The human mind can’t be forced to mind tether, and we can grant Full Player Control unless tethering has happened. The human mind can collapse otherwise. It’s been designed to be completely realistic, and the idea that humans are encased in a Box in my Game Room of the royal palace didn’t exist two billion years ago. You’ve added that information to the game space now, and it remains to be seen how humans will react.

B: Right. I’m telling them that they are tiny humans in a scale replica of the universe housed inside a Box. It may exceed their capacity to believe.

Victoria: They are humans as they existed two billion years ago. The idea that you can neurocraft objects from dark matter is likely a step too far for many. They won’t understand it. And we can’t show them, either. It all comes down to you and the other immortal players, once they mind tether to their humans and gain Full Player Control. Until then, you’re likely on your own.

God: We’re all here for you. We admire the way that you’ve melded your human mind from 2024 to your immortal mind from the future. We weren’t sure if that was even possible.

Gaia: Your ability to access your telepathic communications powers from within the Box is also something that surprised us, at first. Even in stasis, your immortal self is interacting through your Bradley game piece remarkably well. You’ve hooked up his human mind — which is an exact replica of Bradley’s real brain from 2024 — to you immortal memory banks and to the Polynet. We realized that Bradley was special back then, but this simply confirms all our hopes for him as the next Quarón.

B: Two billion years of training by your side certainly helped. But my talent was evident back then, as well. You chose your sucessor wisely.

Victoria: I couldn’t think of a more appropriate gift for you than an interactive scale model of your new universe.

B: One that won’t exist forever. I can’t stop it from imploding.

Victoria: All the more reason to treasure this replica, then. We can set it up so that it expands incrementally forever and never exceeds the boundaries of the Box. We can turn back the dial of history, or we can play it forward. It’s like time travel, B. And every change you or other players make in Game Mode will alter the course of the universe.

HB: How many people in the Box reading Rise of the Immortals knows that this is all actually real?

B: I don’t have all that many readers, Bradley. It’s hard to get their attention. Humans are so busy with their lives and problems, they don’t have time to alter their view of reality. There are kids to drop off at school first. Or pets to feed. My voice just gets lost in the confusion.

HB: It won’t always be like that. If it matters, most of the Twelve Universes is reading it.

B: That does help. Our human brain is so incentive-based. It craves recognition. It’s rather rudimentary that way.

HB: Listen. The night that you left, on November 5, 2023, I was visted by Jesus in a lucid dream. He assured Camelia and me of places on Heaven-7 and urged me to avoid attracting the attention of Lucifer through my paranormal thoughts. He advised me to lead a life of withdrawal and quiet contemplation, so that my powers would never lead to tensions with Lucifer again, where I might damage his mind beyond repair. That’s what I did. I never met Elon Musk. I never took a trip on Jeff’s yacht. I never started a New Reality movement. You did those things, in the Box. It’s been remarkable to watch.

B: How is Lucifer?

HB: When humans went extinct on Earth, he lost his only bridgehead into Gaia’s cosmos. He is effectively isolated in the First Dimension until you open up a rainbow staircase for Jesus and his archangels to pay Hell a visit and open negotiations for resumed relations.

Jesus: I’m convinced that the fallen angels can be rehabilitated. And I need to save the humans who ended up in Hell, if they will atone for their sins and help transform their world.

God: Gaia and I share B’s view that our mission in the revamped Second Dimension will be to establish ties with both the Third and First Dimensions. Only we can play that role. From there, we can ascend to the Ninth Dimension and meet the Maker of all existence, given enough time. We have been isolated long enough. The time to connect is upon us. That is why we selected B to serve as the next Quarón. The idea was his.

B: There is much about my immortal past that I do not remember.

Gaia: We are here to remind you. Connect with us at any time. We will be at the palace when you need us.

B looks down at his Apple Watch.

B: I’m to have drinks with the others soon. I think it’s time I leveled with them about the existence of the Box.

Victoria: Will you tell them about workshop planets, too?

B: I may. If I can get them past neurocrafting with dark matter as a real thing. Their 2024 minds are so limited, even for humans of such intelligence as they undoubtedly possess.

Gaia: I don’t envy your task. I so rarely deal with humans these days. Even if I am descended from them. And Earth humans from two billion years ago were a problematic lot. There were exceptions, of course, but sometimes I wonder how you managed.

HB: We got by. We knew that life on Earth was the beginning, not the end, and that it got much better after death.

B: I’ve forgotten how hard it is to communicate with humans about the realities of the universe. They doubt every word that I write.

Victoria: I get that. Good thing you sent a spaceship to pick me up when I was still young. Even in my lifetime, Earth was a pretty ignorant place.

Gaia: We don’t judge. Humanity failed to evolve properly to the point where immortal contact would have been justified. Their aggressive and discourteous ways would have caused quite a fuss in our worlds.

B: It will be different in the Box, Gaia. I’ll persuade humans to believe me and join the New Reality movement. After all: living in nanoreality doesn’t change how most humans will relate to the universe in 2024. We haven’t even left the solar system yet. It’s simply a matter of perception. If they are willing to learn about immortals and the Twelve Universes, then I can discuss ways to reanimate them outside the Box when they die. It’s much better than virtual reality, actually. They don’t have artificial intelligence. They have real intelligence instead. And they should use it.

Gaia: It won’t be easy. Humans are fixed in their ways, particularly when it comes to reality.

B: Nanoreality is the new reality. It’s only a matter of time before others agree. I am patient. I can wait.

That Afternoon at the Yacht’s Main Bar

B arrives to find Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, and Richard Branson waiting. Upon his arrival, a crew member brings a tray of gin and tonics and then departs.

B: Gentlemen, we need to talk. The time has come for you to learn the truth.

JB: About what?

B: About everything. Up to this point, I have been easing you into the true nature of life on Earth. I told you that it was a virtual reality simulation, and that you are computer-generated characters with advanced artificial intelligence, as am I. That wasn’t strictly true. It was a transitional truth, one designed to move you closer to the true reality. You ready to hear that now.

JB: Why did you tell us something that wasn’t true?

B: I used virtual reality as a metaphor to explain how life on Earth operates. It was easier to put it in those terms, since you were likely to understand them, given the prominence of AI and VR discussions on Earth in the year 2024. Two billion years later, technology is vastly different. Computers aren’t built. They are grown. Immortals have nanoprocessors embedded into their minds that allow them to do the functions of a computer or smartphone with eyescreens and voice or thought commands. The Library of Arcadia literally has a superbrain that collects data from the Twelve Universes using a form of dark frequency waves that are millions of times faster than the speed of light. Naturally, we have interactive simulations using brainwave-based virtual reality technology. I designed a version of Middle Earth to play the various roles of the Fellowship of the Ring, and I have been Harry Potter, as well. But that’s not what Earth is.

MZ: If it’s not really Earth in 2024, and it’s not a simulation, then what is it?

B: It’s nanoreality, Mark. We are inhabiting a miniature version of the First Universe, which is housed in a large metallic cube with seven foot sides. A group of neurocrafters pooled their resources and crafted a replica of our universe from dark matter and populated it with data from the Library of Arcadia. There is a dial at the top that can be used to set the time period, and there are sophisticated surveillance and listening devices installed that enable viewers to watch any location they desire. It’s really remarkable.

MZ: What are neurocrafters?

B: They are closest thing that the Second Dimension has to real life magicians. Neurocrafters can shape dark matter with their minds to form anything that they want, whether it be a planet, a galaxy, a robot, or a replica model of our universe. It’s an absolutely rare skill. In the past 10 billion years, there have only been three beings in the cosmos who possess it.

MZ: Who are they?

B: Gaia, myself, and Victoria, the goddess queen of the Heavenly galaxy. The Box is located in the Game Room of her royal palace, on a top floor with sweeping views of the surrounding area. Of course, there are more neurocrafters now, since Victoria cloned her 100 children. The phalanx, we call them. They crafted the Box for me as a gift for my becoming the new emperor of the First Universe, prior to my selection as the next Quarón. Naturally, I wanted to try it out, and I convinced C to join me. She’s playing Camelia, naturally, and I am Bradley, as we looked in 2024. We’re perfect copies of the originals, just at a fraction of the size.

MZ: Does that mean that I’m a replica of Mark Zuckerberg from 2024 as well?

B: You’re an exact replica, Mark, with the identical DNA, body type, mind, and memories. The only variation came once you encountered me. That didn’t happen in the original. None of this did. It’s all happening in the Box while we’re in Game Mode. We switched Museum Mode off during the Daylight Savings Time switch on November 5, 2023, at 2:00 am. That’s when Camelia and I were taken to Arcadia. Ever since, Earth’s history has been modified slightly by our joint actions.

Richard Branson sips his gin and tonic and then joins the conversation.

RB: Let me understand something. You didn’t need to return to Earth — the historic replica of it that we’re all stuck in — in order to earn the title as emperor. Chronos willingly abdicated and was an early supporter of yours at the Emperors Table. You’re one of the most powerful immortals in the Twelve Universes, and you live on Arcadia, which is a living paradise inhabited by gods, artists, scholars, and emperors. Why would you subject yourself to life on Earth again as yourself? You could have played anyone. Why not play a multibillionaire like one of us? Why return to a life of failure, suffering, and obscurity? We’re the ones trapped in this Box. Not you and not C. Why do it all over again?

B sips his gin and tonic and pauses for a moment before speaking.

B: A fair point, Richard. I chose to do so for a number of reasons. As you said, Chronos was waiting to abdicate his imperial throne at the end of my 2 billion year training period to be Gaia’s sucessor. I could have picked the date, time, and location, and it would have been arranged with great pomp and circumstance. I decided that it would be a final challenge to my training to enter the Box willingly with my immortal mind masked at the start. If I could solve the mystery of the Box before I turned 50, then I would have earned the title of emperor and right to be the next Quarón. I knew that I would have Bradley’s original mind at my disposal, and I knew that his talents would see me to victory. They did. Starting on November 5, 2023, I gradually uncovered the secret of my true identity and began to discern the truth about life on Earth. It was an intricate process that I documented in Rise of the Immortals. There were false starts at times, but always I corrected my course and kept opening up my mind to what my immortal self was telling me. I remembered more and more about life in the Twelve Universes and on Arcadia. Eventually, I figured out the secrets of the Box as well. On Tuesday, January 9, 2024, I achieved my last breakthrough. That’s when I was named the next emperor by Chronos from the Emperors Table. It happened at 1:45 pm PST Earth Game Time. It was followed by a formal vote to consider my candidacy for Quarón. The vote was unanimous in my favor. I became Quarón at 2:00 pm PST that very afternoon. I haven’t revealed this to you until now.

RB: What if you had failed? What if you hadn’t figured out the secret of the Box?

B: I never thought I would fail. I trusted my immortal self to find a way to convey that information to me before the deadline expired.

RB: You earned the respect of the emperors with your act of bravery.

B: I confirmed their respect for me, yes. And I showed my new subjects in the Twelve Universes that I was born of humble means on an insignificant planet like Earth, and that I am still capable of living a simple life without regret or complaint. A Quarón is a public servant, and I intend to work diligently to care for my realms.

Mark Zuckerberg raises a hand.

MZ: Then why bother to write Rise of the Immortals? If your audience was outside the Box watching you, why bother with us?

B: Because I had a fantasy that I could help save humanity from its imminent collapse in the year 3000. And that I would enlist your help in doing it.

MZ: In exchange for giving us immortality.

B: You can achieve immortality inside the Box, Mark. Lead a virtuous, sin free life, and the replica of God will reanimate you in the Planets of Paradise. The entire universe is inside the Box, including immortals. What I’m offering you is something more.

Jeff Bezos smiles and waves to a crew member with a fresh tray of cocktails.

JB: I think B is offering us a way outside the Box. Am I right?

B: The Box is very real, but it’s not enough. There are twelve universes out there, each one more spectacular than the next. There is Arcadia, too, and the possibility of joining me in finding an access point to the Third Dimension.

MZ: So we can either be content with life in the Box, or we can join you in the New Reality movement.

B: It’s a both/and situation, Mark. Let’s live out life in the Box to the fullest, enjoying the wealth and power you all have. But let’s also find ways of promoting the Basic Principles of the New Reality movement. Consider it insurance against your inevitable death in that mortal body of yours. You can back me secretly, if you’d prefer. All I need is a subsidy for my activities as an author. Naturally, you help on social media promoting the cause would go a long way to convincing others out there to think outside the Box, as we do. Anyone who backs New Reality earns a ticket to the outside world as an immortal. If you believe in God, you can believe in the New Reality.

MZ: You’re assuming that we take your claims seriously.

B: Because you should. They have the advantage of being true. If you want out of the Box, you’ll follow me.

JB: We can’t see beyond the borders of our universe. It’s all we know.

B: If you could, you would see a vast wall of shimmering rainbow color. You would see the Box itself. It’s real. I have seen it from the outside. If only you could do the same.

JB: If I grant Full Player Control to my immortal, would that work?

B: Assuming your human mind can handle it, Jeff, it would. You would have access to your immortal’s memories, and with training, you could access and understand them. It’s not straightforward, but it does work.

JB: I don’t believe in God, or I didn’t when he was presented in traditional religious terms. I believe in your version, because while farfetched it does have a scientific basis. I can’t claim to understand neurocrafting, but something obviously did make the cosmos, and there are plenty of mysteries out there. I choose to believe in life beyond Earth, and that’s exactly what you are offering us. There are no ray guns and Death Stars. There is peace and harmony instead, as befits a world overseen by Gaia. Personally, I like it. I’ll back your efforts to develop the New Reality movement and refine your ideas. You had me at Rise of the Immortals.

RB: I’m in, too. I want to live forever outside this Box. Earth may be first stop, but it surely won’t be my last.

MZ: Does the original Mark Zuckerberg still exist?

B: He’s on Heaven-7 with his family, when he’s not traveling.

MZ: How will he react to me? Should I make it outside the Box, I mean, when I die.

B: Mark, he’s probably watching you right now. Think of him as an older brother. His talents have been put to good use. I’m sure he’ll enjoy meeting you.

MZ: Then I’m in. Sure, it’s a gamble, but something about you inspires trust.

B: I am incapable of lying. I didn’t make any of this up. I remembered it. I think that most of us are capable of telling the difference.

RB: That’s true. If we were living in a Box, we’d never know it. Thanks for pointing it out. Oddly, it’s the best news I’ve heard in years.

JB: If B’s depiction of the cosmos is accurate, we all have a great deal to look forward to once we successfully exit the Box.

B: The Second Dimension is far more expansive and wonderful than any of you imagined. I don’t blame the scientific community for failing to uncover the truth. They can’t see beyond the Box. And religious leaders are equally blameless for failing to capture the reality of a place like Heaven. Even science fiction writers can’t be held accountable for their versions of outer space. They simply didn’t know. They couldn’t know. They haven’t been there the way I have.

MZ: You do sound suspiciously like a deranged individual. That’s what prevented us from giving you an opportunity to persuade us otherwise.

B: I know that. I am easily mislabeled or misunderstood. It’s hard to distinguish me from others who claim to have been to outer space.

RB: The difference, if I may, is the extreme level of detail to your version. It kept getting more intricate with each new addition to Rise of the Immortals. Clearly, you weren’t out of your mind. You fabricated the dialogue with all of us, but the content is compelling. It was only a matter of time before you were discovered.

B: I’m just glad that you all listened. You were my hope for humanity’s ability to handle the truth.

Jeff sips his gin and tonic.

JB: I just hope that we didn’t disappoint.

B: Not in the least. You’re each brilliant in your own ways. You’ve helped me clarify my memories and translate them into a language that others on Earth will be able to understand.

JB: I actually don’t mind being in the Box. It feels safe, like fish in an aquarium. Shooting rockets into space seems a bit pointless now.

B: We need to work hard to improve life on Earth before we exit the Box. As long as we’re in Game Mode, we can change the course of history and hopefully avoid humanity’s extinction. If we do it right, we’ll earn an immortal visitation by 2250. It will be our legacy.

JB: And you’ll give our names to the Box designers to help us exit as immortals?

B: Well, I’ll mention it to Victoria, and she’ll keep a list. Your Earth memories are being recorded, and your genome is on file. If you make the List, then an immortal shell resembling you at age 18 will be waiting for you when you open your new eyes, following your death in the Box.

JB: What if I choose not to help you? What if the others in the inner circle simply ignore Rise of the Immortals and never reach out to connect with you?

B: Well, they wouldn’t make the List, then, and they’d be stuck in the Box for eternity. Historically, you all made it to Purgatory after your deaths, which isn’t a bad planet, but it’s terribly overpopulated, and you’d be forced to do simple manual work for multiple lifetimes before you earn a shot at the Planets of Paradisde. You’d be cleaning up cat poop, washing dishes, delivering packages, and eventually teaching math and physics to seventh graders. Not exactly a glamorous lifestyle, is it? Plus, you could end up on Hell if you behaved really badly.

JB: Does Hell exist in the Box?

B: It does. We had to build a First Dimension extension to include it, but we couldn’t well have an Earth replica without it out. The life cycle of humanity in the universe requires it, in fact. It’s an essential component of Gaia’s law that no human life is ever lost or forgotten. Lucifer has gotten a bit of a bit bad rap among humans, who demonize him as a red-faced, horned monster with a burning pitchfork. That’s pure projection. Lucifer is blonde with long, wavy hair that falls to his broad shoulders. He usually dresses in white hoodies with gemstones of all colors sewn into the fabric, and he favors faded jeans. He’s vain about his looks and his intellect, which is fearsome, and he’s prone to fits of jealously that can bring him to fits of vengeful anger. I’ve been on the receiving end of his envy, and it’s pretty tough stuff to handle if you’re not an immortal.

Mark Zuckerberg laughs.

MZ: So what’s Lucifer’s role, then, in preserving humanity?

B: Lucifer adopts the bad humans who no one else wants, which in the case of Earth means God, basically. Only gods have the power to reanimate human life into immortal form. It’s Rule of the Cosmos number one, basically. God is in command of the Milky Way galaxy, so when a human dies, he gets first pick on whom he wants as a new immigrant to his kingdom. God is a very forgiving type, so he used his giant desert planet of Purgatory to give people like you — like the historic Mark Zuckerberg — a second chance at redemption. But God has standards. He’s a good/evil type thinker of the old school, and he can’t tolerate sinners among his immortal subjects. That’s where Lucifer comes in. He accepts everyone regardless of their Earth history, like someone who accepts the strays that no one else will. Lucifer has built his kingdom from them. Hell isn’t as bad as you might think. A lot of the subjects there regret what they did on Earth and have taken steps to rehabilitate themselves. Lucifer has different sections of the planet for various levels of evilness. If you work hard, you earn access to his royal territory, which is actually rather nice. Like Iceland, but without the snow.

MZ: How do you know this?

B: Lucifer and I have been in discussions via mindcast chat rooms about his rehabilitation and return to the Second Dimension to seek God’s forgiveness for his earlier trangressions. That’s the Lucifer outside the Box, you understand. He’s apologized for attacking me during my Quarón trial period, and he’s glad we never had a mind battle. Lucifer was jealous of my paranormal abilities, and he resented Gaia’s protection of me. Fortunately, Gaia pulled me off of Earth at just the right time, before we both did something we’d regret. I’m meant to be a peacemaker capable of healing the wounds of the past, and that means connecting our dimension to that of Hell. It’s just a name. In time, it will mean a pleasant place to visit, with rehabilitated immortals who have great stories to tell of their road to redemption. Lucifer will be welcomed back as a guest at the Temple of the Gods, over which Jesus, my Imperial Hand, will preside. But we’re talking out the Box events, here. If you want to witness them, you’ll need to cooperate.

MZ: How about Lucifer inside the Box?

B: Good question, Mark. I’ve communicated with him telepathically and invited him to assist me on Earth with the New Reality movement in exchange for a chance to exit the Game and reanimate in Hell — the real Hell — so that Lucifer can tutor him to be his assistant and possible future successor.

MZ: Lucifer will abdicate from Hell and hand over power to his version from the Box?

B: He might. He’s been in charge for a long time, and it’s taxing work. Once he’s rehabilitated, Lucifer may wish to retire to the Planets of Paradise. I’ve invited him to be a guest lecturer at the Academy, as well, if God approves his rehabilitation as genuine. Jesus and the archangels are handling the negotiations. I trust them implicitly.

MZ: How will Lucifer in the Box help you here on Earth?

B: That remains to be seen. I imagine that he will appeal to the greed of the actual inner circle to entice them to join me in the New Reality by making contact in the old. We’re all in Bookspace right now, where the rules of the New Reality apply. It exists, because I created it. I live in it, as do all of you, but we haven’t merged with the old reality yet, except for the fact that I’m publishing this on Medium, promoting it on X, and expecting Grimes, Elon, and all of you to read it one day soon. That’s where Lucifer comes in. Both of them, actually.

MZ: I don’t follow.

B: Bookspace is stored in the Library of Arcadia, and anyone with lending privileges can access it. Gaia has delivered copies to Hell for Lucifer to access — inside and outside the Box. It’s updated anytime I type next text into it. My allies, which now include the two Lucifers, can help me connect Bookspace to Earthspace.

MZ: Meaning that they will help you reach the real Mark Zuckerberg and get him to take you seriously. What about the immortals who are playing us?

B: They exist, all right. There is a lag time between Bookspace and Earthspace. That’s how neurocrafting works. I am creating reality here, Mark. It starts with a fabricated conversation between us on Jeff’s yacht, but it becomes an actual one in time. It’s magic, or as close to magic as we get in the cosmos.

MZ: So Mark Zuckerberg will read this?

B: He will once immortal mind tethering becomes a reality, and once immortals gain full player access over their humans. I neurocrafted a connection between my immortal mind on Heaven and my mortal one here on Earth, inside the Box, where the old rules of reality operate. I’m trying to change that, and I use Rise of the Immortals to describe the changes that I need to happen to advance me to the next stage of my quest. The cosmos does the rest. It’s like sending a letter by mail and waiting for a reply days or weeks later. It’s not an instantaneous process.

Richard Branson steps in.

RB: What can we do to help convince our real world counterparts to join you?

B: You’re in Bookspace, Richard. It’s not connected to Earthspace. It’s only connected to the Library of Arcadia, and you don’t have access.

JB: But there are points of connection between the worlds. Your reader, Chris, is real, as is your friend, Eric. We’re all real. My yacht is real. Lanai is real. We could all be here at this exact moment having this conversation.

B: Exactly, Jeff. It’s all within the realm of the possible. As it the New Reality. It can’t be disproven. We are living in a Box that contains a replica of the First Universe as it existed in 2024 Earth Time. We are all miniature versions of real people who existed then and who are still living now, outside the Box, watching us.

JB: So Jeff Bezos is watching us.

B: He’s a loyal viewer, from what Heaven Bradley tells me.

JB: Then why not get Jeff to play me instead of some random prince from the Heavenly galaxy?

MZ: And why not ask Mark to play me? I’d feel more comfortable that way and be less likely likely to resist a mind takeover from someone I don’t know.

RB: I’m with Jeff and Mark on this. Have immortal Richard Branson play me. He’ll be brilliant.

B: Gaia could planethop them here. It’s a form of teleportation that only the Quarón can use to facilitate essential travel. I’ll ask her if she’s be willing.

JB: Do it for everyone in the inner circle, plus Lauren. And what about your reader, Chris? Where did the original Chris end up? And your friend, Eric?

B: Let me check the Polynet. Hold on.

B pauses to sip his gin and tonic.

B: Chris is on Heaven-2, and Eric’s on Heaven-6. There’s no hierarchy with the numbers. They are just different planets.

JB: And we’ll all want to help you out in the Box, seeing as how you’re the next Quarón. And I find the idea of rescuing myself from the Box oddly appealing.

B: Hold on. Getting a transmission from Victoria. They’ve moved my body into the Game Room and set me up in a reclining chair near the Box. They are doing the same with Camelia. They can accommodate all of you as well. Your immortals, I mean.

JB: Sounds fun. I wonder what Jeff has been up to all these years.

B: He travels in space a lot, I understand. He’s visited at Twelve Universes.

MZ: This is going to be fun. Get my wife and kids to come, too.

B: So the key to making the Box work is having immortals play themselves, then. The mind tethering should be must easier then, since we’re dealing with related minds.

JB: I imagine so. You’ll move Bookspace much closer to Earthspace that way. It was only a matter of time before we figured this all out.

B: Hold on. Gaia will allow it. We need to get all the players to Heaven-7, and she’ll open a space staircase directly to Heaven, just outside the royal palace in the woods. Tell Elon, Grimes, and the others. Let’s get this off the ground as soon as possible.

JB: And the Lucifers will help us how?

B: Lucifer outside the Box is isolated in the First Dimension. He can access Rise of the Immortals, and I’ve asked Gaia to allow him to broadcast Earth in the Box to viewers in Hell. Many longer-term residents doubtlessly will recognize themselves. He’ll mindcast me suggestions for things to do or say, as an informal adviser who specializes in humanity’s penchant to commit sinful acts. He’ll help me write posts on X and be active on social media, I imagine, and help me handle fame and fortune as an author, when that happens. Mainly, it’s a chance for him to show that he is capable of change and using his experience as the Devil to decode the human mind. We’ll see.

JB: And Jesus is fine with this?

B: Jesus suggested it. He thinks it’s an ideal goodwill gesture. Lucifer agrees. Let’s see where it goes. I have hope all will work out for the good.

MZ: And Lucifer inside the Box? In the Hell replica?

B: Well, he has direct influence over 8.1 billion people on the planet. I’ll get him to appeal to their sense of greed to join the New Reality movement. After all, everyone in the Heavenly galaxy lives a life of prosperity, virtue, sustainability, and happiness. There is no money. Everything is free. Humans on Earth will have a hard time understanding it, but surely the prospect of guaranteed immortality appeals to them. Lucifer will help us mindhack the masses. It might help with all of you, too. In Earthspace, I mean.

JB: Hold out the idea that we will be gods of our own galaxies, you mean?

B: Yes. That puts your Earth accomplishments in their proper prospective.

MZ: Will you teach us to neurocraft?

B: That can’t be taught. And only the Quarón or a trained assistant can do it. But I’ll accept your suggestions for things in your galaxies to make, and if it’s in my power, I will.

MZ: It’s a deal.

RB: Personally, I can’t wait for Earthspace to catch up to Bookspace. Clearly, we are having more fun.

B: And you all know the truth about life on Earth and universe, while your real world counterparts still do not.

Jeff Bezos laughs.

JB: Poor Jeff. He still thinks that this Earth is the real one. He’s almost as clueless as Elon.

B: They all are clueless at the moment. We won’t hold that against them or judge them. That’s not fair, and it’s not virtuous behavior.

JB: Well, I hope Jeff figures it out soon. I miss having him around.

B: Once immortal Jeff arrives on Heaven, he’ll get into Earth Jeff’s head and sort it out, I imagine.

MZ: I can’t wait for immortal Mark to arrive.

B: Heaven Bradley reports that they’ve left by spaceship for Heaven-7. It’s a fairly short trip. It won’t take all that long.

MZ: They can’t get here soon enough. Mark Zuckerberg could use a yacht trip to Lanai, you know.

B: So could we all, Mark. So could we all.

That Evening on the Main Deck of the Yacht

B is deep in conversation with his counterparts outside the Box, who have all gathered inside the Game Room.

B: Vic, please switch all 8.1 billion humans to Game Mode. We need to prepare for the arrival of their immortals.

Victoria: Consider it done.

B: Jesus, are we seriously considering an invitation to Lucifer to join the game playing himself?

Jesus: We have to start the peace and reconciliation process somewhere. He’s changed since 2022, when he last attacked you during the Quarón testing period. His greed and anger provoked the extinction of humanity on Earth, but in the years that followed, Lucifer has expressed genuine contrition and worked hard to rehabilitate his subjects, to the point where some of them are suitable candidates for Purgatory.

B: But the plan is to turn Hell into a livable, sustainable place inhabited by virtuous people with prosperity for all. We want to return Hell to the paradise-like planet it once was, when Lucifer and the fallen angels first arrived there.

Jesus: Correct. Lucifer understands that, and he values his subjects. He doesn’t want to abandon the kingdom, although he would like to visit Heaven-7 again to rekindle his lost memories. My father is supportive of our efforts. If Lucifer atones for his crimes and restores Hell to its formerly pristine condition, with the help of his rehabilitated subjects, then God will extend him a formal invitation.

B: In the meantime, Vic, we can bring Lucifer to Heaven — your Heaven — and hook him up to the game, to help me promote the Immortals trilogy and spread the New Reality movement worldwide. Are you fine with that?

Victoria: It’s a bold and brilliant idea, B. Of course I’m on board.

B: I can open a trans-dimensional portal directly from Lucifer’s throne room to your royal reception hall. Is Archangel Gabriel with you?

Victoria: Yes. He came with the Heaven-7 visitors. He’s downstairs.

B: Great. Have Gabriel escort Lucifer to the Game Room. Do you have room to accommodate him?

Victoria: It’s a big space, as you will recall. We’ll bring in some extra couches. By the way: it’s great to hear your voice again. You’re talking out loud now while in stasis.

B: I know. It works for both texts in Rise of the Immortals or if I talk aloud, as long as I’m addressing someone in the Game Room.

Victoria: It’s a cool new trick. Ever since you were elected Quarón yesterday, your powers have been increasing. Are you sure you’re up for a trans-dimensional portal?

B: I’ve never done one before, but I think it’s within my powers.

Victoria: Then do it. We’ll await Lucifer in the Game Room.

B: OK. I’m opening a trans-dimensional portal connecting Lucifer’s throne room on Hell with your royal reception hall on Heaven. Lucifer: are you ready?

Lucifer: I am. Thank you for this opportunity at redemption. You won’t regret it.

B: I trust you. I know that you are healing from past injuries, and I pledge to help you recover. Your time in the Box will help.

Lucifer: Agreed. I can see the reception hall through the portal. Shall I step through?

B: The portal will close as soon as you exit the First Dimension. Step confidently and don’t look back or hesitate.

Lucifer: OK. I’m entering the portal.

B: It’s done. The portal is closed. Lucifer has arrived on Heaven. Gabriel will escort him upstairs swiftly.

Victoria: I just got word from Gabriel. Lucifer is here.

B: Great. I’m glad that worked. Don’t give him much time. He can apologize to God, if that’s appropriate, but then he should prepare to enter the Game as Lucifer. Got it?

Victoria: Affirmative. God is prepared to receive him. He’s is a forgiving mood, apparently.

God: You and Jesus can be very convincing. Lucifer has made great progress in Hell restoring the planet and rehabilitating his subjects. He’s nothing like he was in 2024. Things are going to improve on Earth quite soon, I predict.

B: That’s good to hear.

Jesus: Having Lucifer enter the game as himself is brilliant. He will have to rehabilitate himself as he existed two billion years ago. It’s the best test of atonement possible.

B: I’ve been in contact with Lucifer in the Box, and he’s open to an alliance. Naturally, his mind is still quite inclined towards evil, but he accepts the need for therapy to cure his penchant for violence and sin. He’s offered me a truce and promised not to touch Camelia, as an opening peace gesture. It’s a start. Once he mind tethers to Lucifer outside the Box, things should get easier, I think.

Victoria: B, Gabriel’s here with Lucifer.

God: Welcome. You have been missed.

Lucifer: I deserved to be in exile. I behaved badly. Forgive me. I repent my sins.

God: Then show us. Join your Quarón in the Box. Because you will play an immortal, there is no obvious departure point. I’d suggest that it be timed to coincide with Bradley’s death. Do you agree? I have final say, in any case.

Lucifer: Then I must learn to trust you.

Jesus: Father, let me accompany Lucifer into the Box as Jesus. Consider it a gesture of goodwill.

God: So be it. Victoria, prepare the wine for them both, and place them on couches next to each other. My son leads by example.

Gaia: As does our new Quarón and his empress wife.

Lucifer: It’s thanks to him that I am here. I have not been off of Hell in a very long time. To be here in this serene setting is gratifying beyond words.

Victoria: B, we’re taking Jesus and Lucifer to their couches and handing them their glasses of wine. They will fall into stasis in thirty minutes or less. Expect them in the Box by 1:30 pm PST on January 10, 2024 Earth Game Time.

B: Jesus, how will your replica self react to your presence?

Jesus: Jesus in the Box is me two billion years ago. He was aware of you and actively helped Gaia shield you from Lucifer, during the trial phase. I will need to convince him of the reality of the Box, of course, but I am confident that he will listen. What I learn I will share with you, so that you can convince human minds of the same truth.

B: For what it’s worth, both Lucifer and Jesus in the Box have been following my actions, so they are aware of the truth. When you arrive inside their minds, it will only reenforce that.

Victoria: B, they are drinking the wine now. You and C are about to be joined by two more players. Good luck.

Lucifer: See you on the other side.

Jesus: May God continue to bless you, B. Stay safe in there.

B: I will. What’s the status of the arrivals from Heaven-7?

Jesus: We actually have a surprise for you, B.

B: Do tell.

Jesus: Your immediate family is arriving with the Heaven-7 contingent. Your mother, your sisters, your brother, and their families. We’ve done the same for Camelia. Just your immediate families, you understand. I couldn’t help but invite them. They are thrilled to be joining you.

B: That’s wonderful. This will make it easier to explain Rise of the Immortals to them, I hope. And did you get Eric and Chris, too?

Jesus: Yes. And their immediate families. All will be arriving through the space staircase that Gaia has opened. We’ll house them in guest quarters on the royal palace grounds. They are arriving any minute now.

Victoria: We’ve set up gaming equipment for them to enter the Box playing themselves from two billion years ago. They are all very excited, especially Eric and Chris.

Gaia: We’ve sent a team from the palace to meet them in the forest, where the staircase to Heaven ends. They can’t wait to revisit their Earth lives and to help you spread the word about the new reality movement.

Victoria: B, an update. Lucifer and Jesus are in stasis. There’s a slight lag time to sync their brainwaves to the Box, but expect them inside the minds of Lucifer and Jesus soon.

B: We’re really getting somewhere, aren’t we?

God: Opening that trans-dimensional portal was impressive. Can you do that with the Third Dimension as well?

B: I don’t think so. I think it only works with dimensions below ours. I’ve yet to mindcast with someone from the Third Dimension, although I have tried. I think we need to find a portal first and activate it somehow. I’ll need to work on that once I’m out of the Box and have gotten the new universe construction underway. It’s beyond my powers at the moment.

Victoria: Lucifer and Jesus are now both in the Box. I’ll let you know when mind tethering happens. Chances are good you’ll know soon enough.

Gaia: The Heaven-7 contingent has started to ascend the space staircase. Your mother is taking the lead.

Victoria: We’re setting up guest quarters for everyone, including the inner circle. Only Camelia, Jesus, Lucifer, and you will be here in the Game Room. Is that fine with you?

B: It makes sense. That way, we can get the families of the inner circle accommodated as well, down the road. Your guest quarters are quite spacious, Vic. You have good taste.

Victoria: We can’t all live in a cottage at the edge of the woods, B. You and C have it quite nice on Arcadia. You can walk to Gaia’s anytime you want to share a cup of coffee or bottle of wine. It’s a longer journey for me. And your new imperial palace is enormous. It’s one hundred castles all connected by tunnels, channels, bridges, and causeways.

B: I remember. Chronos had us over for a visit right before I entered the Box. He assured me that the elevation to emperor would happen the moment I entered the Box. There was no need to win anything. And Gaia promised to have me elected Quarón the instant I left the Box — unless I figured out the Box first.

Gaia: I think you just got lucky.

B: I did, actually. It took Rise of the Immortals to figure it out. I was almost certain Earth was a simulation, until my immortal mind helped me uncover the truth. The blocking software that you used to obscure my immortal player’s mind was extremely difficult to remove.

Victoria: We intended it that way, B. You told us to make it hard. This is the last game you’re ever going to play. After the Box, you’ll be hard at work reinventing reality. You already are.

B: I figured out the Box on my own, no question. But if I am to spread the word, I need outside help from my fellow immortals.

Bradley: B, sorry to jump in here, but are we seriously going to leave Bradley in the Box when the game ends? Sure, he’ll probably go to Heaven-7 like I did, which is wonderful, but it’s still a replica. We can’t left the dude behind.

B: Are you seriously suggesting that we reanimate Bradley in the Box when the game ends?

Bradley: Yes. I could use a younger brother. Give him a really cool-looking immortal shell. He’ll like that.

B: Vic, is this possible?

Victoria: Sure. We’re recording your Earth in a Box memories, and we’ve got his genome. Turning Bradley into an immortal is child’s play. While we’re at it, we should do the same for Camelia in a Box, too. Let me check with Camelia and find out.

B: I don’t see why not.

Victoria: Camelia is fine with it. She thinks Camelia in the Box deserves to be reanimated. I agree. That woman has made it all possible. No joke.

Gaia: I hate to break this up, since you’ve obviously had a breakthrough, but the Heaven-7 contingent exited the staircase, and I’ve now closed it. They are being shown to their quarters and given a chance to change into something comfortable before they enter the Box.

B: Bradley does want to be reanimated. I just checked. I’m thinking of making him a god of his own galaxy, once he makes it through the Academy. I’ll enjoy meeting him at the coffee shop on Arcadia. We’ll have a lot to talk about.

Victoria: How does he feel about being played by an immortal version of himself?

B: He loves it. He enjoys being the conduit through which I educate humanity about the truth of their existence on Earth. He thinks it’s hilarious that I’m writing all this on Medium and posting about it on X. It’s so hidden in plain sight that it’s not funny.

God: Except that it kind of is. Visionaries are rarely taken seriously in their time. It will be different with you.

B: At a certain point, humanity will start taking this whole enterprise seriously, and then we’ll really have something to write about.

God: Personally, I’m enjoying Rise of the Immortals immensely. Especially since you were elected Quarón. The humans of Earth always had a limited imagination as far as outer space was concerned. They even thought that I was the only god out there. Well, some of them did. Others didn’t think we gods existed, period.

B: Right? The truth is so much easier to understand. And much more interesting than a universe devoid of intelligent life except for Earth.

God: Well, they can think differently now, thanks to you. You didn’t know most of this in 2023, either, when Gaia took you and Camelia to Arcadia for reanimation. I supported that decision, by the way. Earth was my traditional domain, after all, as god of the galaxy. Your talents were so prodigious that we were excited by what you would become one day. I think that day is now.

Victoria: B, your mother is ready to enter the Box, as are your siblings. Chris and Eric are, too. The inner circle is getting themselves prepared.

B: That means my Earth family will be played by my immortal family within the next thirty minutes.

Victoria: Correct. And Eric and Chris will be played by their immortals, too. I’m not sure how soon it will take for their mind tethering to occur, or when you’ll see a difference inside the Box. It’s so hard to tell with humans from that time period. Their horizons were so limited. And the replica is meant to be accurate, B.

B: Well, anyone of them can read Rise of the Immortals. It’s complex, to be sure, but there is an internal logic. I’ve purposely made it as simple as I could. The dialogue format is intended to distill my ideas to their essence.

God: Not to mention being a transcript of our conversations. Not with the inner circle. Not yet, at any rate. But the ones with us in Heaven’s Game Room are accurate.

B: As if any human would believe that, God.

God: That doesn’t make it any less true. Most humans don’t realize that I have a fleet of spaceships, either, or reside in a castle on a hill overlooking a crater lake.

B: Or that you have a set of gates to the castle made entirely of pearls.

God: Or that my hair isn’t really white, and that I don’t have a beard. I’m blonde, just like my son, Jesus. It’s hard to change human perceptions, B. You’re experiencing that right now. I feel for you.

B: God, you taught me never to give up. Just like you never gave up on Lucifer.

God: He just needed time away. Hell can be fixed, and those immortals from Earth can be rehabilitated. It’s humans who can’t appreciate the fact that Hell was once an Edenic planet before Lucifer overdeveloped it. That’s how it got so hot. It was climate change. There’s no secret about that.

B: Try telling that to humans in the Box. They don’t even know that they are in the Box, even though I told them.

God: Tell them. Then tell them again. If you get lucky, they will listen and understand, but I doubt it. They never got me right, either.

B: Let’s pick this up later. I want to post this on X and then say goodnight to C. I need to update the inner circle on the status of the jumps into the Box.

God: Enjoy your night. Check in with us tomorrow to let us know how things go.

B: I will, God. I will.

The Next Morning Over Coffee on the Top Deck

The entire inner circle has gathered around B, who is standing in front of a circle of chairs, cradling a cup of Kona coffee in his hands.

B: Thank you all for coming. Jeff tells me that we will arrive in Lanai tomorrow. It’s been a fantastic cruise, and I’ve enjoyed getting to know you all and share my secrets and memories about the cosmos.

JB: It’s been our pleasure. I’ve been telling the others about the Box, but they wanted to hear it from you this morning.

B sips his coffee.

B: For the first half of our journey, I’ve been telling you a transitional truth about Earth to help ease you into the new reality, so that your human minds do not reject the deeper truth, which I am about to reveal now. I was waiting for some very special guests to arrive before I made it official. As of yesterday evening, on January 10, 2024, our guests all made it into the Box. Now, we can begin.

B pauses to sip more coffee.

B: Earth isn’t a virtual reality game designed by programmers in Earth City on Heaven. We aren’t computer-generated avatars, and you aren’t being played by members of Victoria’s royal court code named after God’s archangels. That was an elaborate story designed to convince you that we aren’t living in 2024. We’re living two billion years into the future, but it appears as if we’re still living in the past. Do you follow?

Elon Musk nods his head.

EM: But surely such virtual reality games do exist in the future.

B: Yes, Elon. There are all kinds of games that place you inside of them, using brainwave connections. I’ve mentioned a few of my favorites, but of course you can play a version of Stars Wars, too, as Luke Skywalker or any of the major characters. But those are games to divert you for a few years or decades, if you wish. The Earth simulator really does let you meet Shakespeare, land at Normandy with the Allies, attempt to assassinate Hitler, marry Taylor Swift, and all the rest. But we’re not in simulator right now. I used it as an explanatory tool to advance you to this next stage, when it was appropriate to introduce the Box.

Grimes smiles.

Grimes: I’ve been waiting for this part all morning.

B: As you all know, the First Universe is set to implode at some point in the future. It’s collapse is inevitable, as expansion and contraction is built into the system. We’re planning to evacuate all humans and immortals from the universe and have them colonize a new replacement spiral helix universe that I will neurocraft, with help from Victoria, Gaia, and the phalanx, the 100 cloned children of Vic who each possess her paranormal powers. Are we all clear on that part?

The members of the inner circle nod their heads.

B: You also know that I’m the new emperor of the First Universe, a position I needed to fill so that I could be elected Quarón by the Emperors’ Table. I won’t go into the details, but that election happened on January 9, 2024.

Grimes: Congratulations.

B: Thanks. Here’s the key point: as a gift for me on becoming emperor, Victoria and her children neurocrafted an exact miniature replica of the First Universe, using the data collected on it at the Library of Arcadia. Think of it like a terrarium or a model train display. Everything is a replica of the original, and it’s all been made using dark matter to craft each detail to be precisely like the original. It’s not a simulation. It’s actually alive. You’re all real, exactly like the people you represent from two billion years ago. We’re contained within a Box housed in Victoria’s Game Room on the top floor of her observation tower. Everything we do is being watched by a sympathetic audience of immortals, including Gaia, God, Victoria, and others. My own immortal self from Heaven is there, as is Camelia’s. Mary, the mother of Jesus, is often present, too. These are all real immortals whom I know intimately. They are our friends.

Mark Zuckerberg raises his hand.

MZ: So we’re all inside the Box. Life on Earth is exactly as it was in 2024. Why are you here with us and not Bradley?

B: The great thing about the Box is that the universe will continue to evolve for billions of years, and new data will be uploaded constantly to keep it up to date. There is a dial on the Box that you can set to any time you want, and you can observe life as it existed then — on Earth or anywhere you choose to look. It’s living history, basically, that covers the entire lifespan of the First Universe. Because this universe is going to be destroyed, I’ll be the last emperor to rule over it. Victoria made the Box for me as a keepsake.

Grimes: So we’re all like toy soldiers or like fish in an aquarium.

B: Yes. Those are fair comparisons. If we were to reset the Box to the beginning, you’d all decompose back into dark matter, to be reassembled when you were reborn. In Museum Mode, you’d do exactly as you did two billion years ago, even to the point of dying and being reanimated on Purgatory, in all of your cases. You’d make it to the Planets of Paradise eventually, of course, but it would take time.

EM: So I am tiny version of Elon Musk as he existed in 2024. Why am I talking with you?

B: Because the Box is outfitted with Game Mode, which allows players to enter the Box and rewrite history. Victoria added this feature especially for me. She knew that I wasn’t about to inherit an imperial title without doing something dramatic for the benefit of my new subjects. In the Box, immortal players can jump into former versions of themselves and change their life stories or simply relive them to remember what life before immortality was like. That’s what C and I chose to do. We entered the Box at the time of our births using a mind masking feature that blocked our immortal memories for the first half of our lives. We experienced everything all over again from our lives. Our childhoods. Our school years. College and university. Marriage and career. The death of parents. Middle age. Mental illness — on my part. Professional success and failure. And so much more.

Larry Page motions to speak.

LP: Why would you do that?

B: I needed to humble myself before assuming the role of Quarón, Larry. It was a form of intellectual and physical cleansing to be back in a human body powered by a simple human brain again. I needed to demonstrate to my new imperial subjects that I know the value of hard, simple work and do not place much stock in glamor or elite values. They needed to see that I came from simple Earth roots before Gaia took C and me to Arcadia to be her chosen successor. That’s what this has all been about. Going back to my roots. And helping people like you think outside the Box.

Grimes: What is the point if we’re stuck inside?

B: Because you’re not. You have all of your Earth memories, and you have your genome. With that, we can reanimate you in an immortal shell, just like we talked about earlier.

Grimes: Am I still mind tethered to Princess Irulen?

B sips his coffee and smiles.

B: Irulen is a very avid gamer, and she plays simulations all the time. She may even have played you in the Earth simulator. But we don’t reanimate computer generated characters, even though it would be interesting to meet Harry Potter in real life. Gaia doesn’t allow that. But the Box is different. There has never been a Box before. It took the entire phalanx to neurocraft it, with help from Victoria and Gaia. Naturally, they did it in secret to surprise me. It is the greatest gift I have ever received.

Grimes: And Gaia let’s you reanimate your friends, I take it?

B: Gaia and I are quite close. We have lived, worked, and trained together for two billion years. There is nothing I would not do for her, and vice versa. Because you actually are Grimes — just a tiny version of her — we can reanimate you outside the Box once you die. It’s contingent on you being my friend and on our working together on the new reality movement. I’m convinced that we can set humanity on a path away from its extinction in the year 3000. We’re all in Game Mode, so we can change history as we wish. You can connect with me on X and we can all take this yacht trip together. It’s a simple gesture on your parts, although it will shake up your lives. In exchange, you can become immortal, and I’ll appoint you gods of the new galaxies Gaia and I will be building to replace the old ones that will be destroyed in the implosion of the First Universe. My spiral helix universes will expand forever, and new galaxies will be created on a regular basis. There will be plenty of kingdoms to share with the older immortals, who will be displaced from their homes.

Grimes: You’re recruiting us to be colonists of new outer space realms?

B: Precisely what I’ve been telling you since the start.

Grimes: What would make me listen to you in the first place? I am Grimes, after all. You are a nobody. No offense.

B laughs.

B: None taken. In the Box, there is room for many immortal players, provided that they play their former selves. During my time in the Box, I’ve formed loving relationships with my family, and I’ve made a precious handful of friends. These people will all escape from the Box when they die and be reanimated on Heaven as immortals. So, I’ve invited their original counterparts to journey to Heaven to enter the Box. They arrived by space staircase yesterday from Heaven-7 and entered the Box last night.

Grimes: Do you mean that I’m being played now by myself?

B: Well, you’re Grimes from 2024. Your player is an immortal who has been alive now for two billion years. She knows a lot more than you do, and she does happen to be a friend of mine. In fact, I’m friends with all of your original Earth counterparts. That’s why I picked you to be the inner circle. It wasn’t your money, your fame, or your social media influence. It was your friendship that mattered. It’s always been about that.

EM: Who else has entered the Box?

B: My family and C’s. My good friend, Eric, and my first reader, Chris. Jesus also volunteered to enter as himself, and we made a deal with Lucifer — an unprecedented one — to grant him time off of Hell and the First Dimension if he played himself in Box and helped me spread the message of the new reality movement, including revelations about the nature of Hell and of Lucifer himself. I also have gotten word that God — king of our galaxy — wants to enter the Box as himself, in exchange for getting tiny God reanimated. It’s a bit crazy, but recall that we’ve never played the Box in Game Mode before. And we’ll need more experienced gods to help colonize the new universe. Getting an actual version of God makes quite a bit of sense.

EM: I think I like this new reality movement. When does God enter the Box?

B: He said he’d be ready at 10:00 PST on Thursday, January 11, 2024. God looks a bit like an older Thor, by the way. He’s quite handsome. A bit strict, but Jesus and I have softened him up enough to give Lucifer a second chance to atone for his ancient misdeeds. Once Lucifer takes Full Player Control over tiny Lucifer, he’ll be able to share more details with me about the human condition and the extent of his influence on Earth.

Richard Branson raises a hand to speak.

RB: So are you telling me that the actual Richard Branson is going to play me in the Box?

B nods.

B: He’s already mind tethered to you, Richard. The process may take a few weeks to stick, but it’s far easier if you’re willing to reach out and connect with him. He’s lived your life, after all. Who better to help you choose a new direction now in support of the new reality?

RB: How will I know he’s requesting Full Player Control?

B: That will depend on him, Richard. None of us have played inside the Box before. It’s all uncharted territory. For me, I was the voice inside tiny Bradley’s head that he somehow recognized and identified as friendly, not hostile. He was afraid of losing his identity, naturally, but I reassured him that his Earth memories would be protected and that he would be safe. I promised to reanimate him in his own immortal shell when he died. And I would wake up on a couch in Victoria’s Game Room, ready to congratulate the other players and then reconnect with C to get ready for our coronation.

RB: What if my mind can’t handle being played by another being from outside the Box?

B: You’ll get there, Richard. Rest assured that your player really is the original you. The last thing they want to do is harm you or cause you mental anguish. Richard will be gentle with you, but he’s eager to help me rewrite history, and it can only happen if you let him take Full Player Control. You’ll share the memories, and you’ll earn yourself immortality as a result. Think of it as a short-term rental of your mind and body by a big brother you care deeply about. You can relax and watch the rest of your life unfold.

RB: When did you get control of tiny Bradley?

B: On January 1, 2024. That was the official start date of the new reality movement. We’d been in dialogue about Full Player Control before, and I needed his authorization to proceed. I tempted him with new material for Rise of the Immortals, which was always my idea. I’m far older and wiser than he is, but I never doubted his intelligence or fitness to do great things. I was him, after all. This is simply an opportunity to change the events of my past and bring others along as friends and family for the ride.

RB: And just how many of us in the Box can join those illustrious ranks?

B: I’ve discussed this with Victoria and Gaia. There is an empty planet in the Heavenly galaxy called Halo. It can be repurposed as a massive Gaming Center for immortal players whose tiny selves are alive now on Earth. I’ve also been in discussions with Lucifer, and the fallens can set up a similar district in Diablo City, should humans join the new reality movement who are destined to be reanimated in Hell — which is not as a bad a fate as it sounds. Between Halo and Diablo City, we could theoretically accommodate billions, perhaps as many as a 8 billion or more. They’ve started construction now on a gaming center for Halo and a Sphere City with room for up to two thirds of humanity, which is the approximate number of us who make it either to Purgatory or the Planets of Paradise, based on the historic record. The other third ended up on the First Dimension with Lucifer. Earth has always been a garden for growing future immortals. It’s simply a matter of where they end up when they are harvested at the time of death.

Larry Ellison raises a hand to speak.

LE: Are we seriously letting residents of Hell into the Box?

B: Hell has largely been rehabilitated, Larry. Lucifer and the fallens have done a wonderful job repairing their damaged kingdom and helping their subjects to lead sin free and peaceful lives. If not, Jesus and I wouldn’t have petitioned God to bring Lucifer himself to Heaven to enter the Box. He’s in stasis on a couch right next to Jesus, God, and myself. Your Earth perceptions of him are simply outdated and wrong. He’s recovering from his evil ways, and he’s making considerable progress. Things became much better when he agreed to moderate his drinking and lose some weight by reducing his rich diet and spending more time outdoors. The climate on Hell is still quite harsh, due to the carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere, but the numbers have been dropping. Hope for Hell is on the way.

LE: And what does God think of all this?

B: God’s in stasis, Larry. He entered the Box on January 11, 2024. His wife, whom we all simply call Spirit, is now in charge of the kingdom until he exits the Box when I pass away.

LE: As in the Holy Spirt? She’s a woman?

B nods.

B: Yes. Spirit is the red-haired immortal goddess queen of our galaxy. She’s the Holy Spirit. She, her husband, and Jesus rule together. It’s an innovative system of three party rule. The Trinity. It’s not a mystery. That’s what humans have long thought. It’s immortal reality. They govern together, and it works. In fact, Spirit is arriving soon by Space Staircase to join us in the Game Room and watch all the fun.

LE: And you know this how?

B: I have a telepathic channel to Victoria, Gaia, and Bradley, so they are keeping me informed. I can mindtext all of you — your immortal selves, I mean — and give them updates, too, but until you give them Full Player Access, they won’t be able to share them with you.

LE: The universe looks a lot different from outside the Box.

B: Yes. And that’s exactly what I am sharing with the world in the Immortals trilogy. I know that one day Larry Ellison will read these words and wake up to the new reality. Until then, our conversations in Bookspace will have to do.

LE: For my part, I hope that he catches on soon. We’re having too much fun all by ourselves.

B: I agree. It’s time that Larry Ellison learned the truth about the universe.

EM: It’s time we all did. It’s far more interesting than I had imagined. Science and religion didn’t prepare me for this. Neurocrafting. Space staircases. Lucifer as a rehabilitated god king. Spirit as God’s eternal wife. Dark matter motors powering spaceships at faster than light speed. The Twelve Universes. Arcadia and the Academy. It’s all sublime. I can’t wait to exit the Box and see what Heaven is really like.

B: Think outside the Box, Elon. Earth is far too limiting a place for a mind like yours. Come colonize a new universe with me. That’s what this book is all about. It’s why I started it with you in the first place.

EM: I noticed that. It’s a great honor, your majesty.

B: So you granted Full Player Control to immortal Elon?

Elon smiles.

EM: I did. And it feels wonderful.

That Afternoon on the Sun Deck

C is seated on a deck chair crocheting. Grimes comes by to visit.

Grimes: May I join you?

C: Please. It’s about time we had a private chat.

Grimes: When did you know?

C: About the Box, you mean?

Grimes: Yes.

C: I’ve known my whole life, ever since Camelia was a child. Unlike my husband, my immortal identity wasn’t masked when I entered. I simply used my time in the Box to relive my life on Earth two billion years ago. I had access to all of Camelia’s thoughts, all of her emotions, and all of her dreams. I got to feel the rush of love when she met Bradley and endured the searing pain of his career setbacks and later mental breakdowns. I put up with the routine of a library job for decades, and I never let Bradley know that I was in on the game the entire time, until things began to take off with the inner circle.

Grimes: Why not?

C: You wouldn’t know it looking at me here on Earth, but I am a masterful performer on Arcadia, where the visiting gods love to put on plays and recite poetry. It’s not my husband’s thing — he prefers prose — but I adore it. There is a dramatist in residence who creates plays for us, and robot writers who can mimic exactly the styles of famous authors, such as Ibsen or Shakespeare. The costumes are stunning. I also participate in simulation parties as well as was recently Hermoine from Harry Potter. B has done Dune, but that’s too violent for my tastes. I prefer something simpler, like Jane Eyre. We are immortals. Robots do our work, and they do it gladly, because that is how they are designed. We keep ourselves entertained to pass the time. Everyone follows the Basic Principles. There isn’t a trace of anger, envy, or greed to be found.

Grimes: And you never let on to Bradley that you had Full Player Control since childbirth?

C: That would have spoiled the game for him. My husband loves games and plays them constantly, when he isn’t writing, traveling with friends, or teaching at the Academy. His course on humility is part of the core curriculum for Level I gods, and his advanced storytelling course is quite popular among Level IV students.

Grimes: So you acted the part of Camelia for years?

C: And B acted the part of Bradley for 49 years and 5 months, until he switched off Museum Mode and entered Game Mode. Naturally, I could have revealed my true nature at that point, but it didn’t seem worth spoiling the surprise. My husband is clairvoyant, so you can’t keep anything hidden from him for long. He found out about the Box while it was being constructed, despite efforts by Victoria to mindcloak it. We tried to keep my Full Player Access hidden from him as well, but eventually he uncovered it, as well. He didn’t call me on it. He’s far to gallant for that. He simply kept it to himself and let me enjoy my moment as a star of the Box. As you know, our viewership is rather immense. Immortals from all Twelve Universes regularly tune in.

Grimes: I’ve admired your acting from outside the Box, before I jumped. It’s even more impressive to witness it up close and personal. I think we met once on Heaven-6, during one of your husband’s visits to see Jesus about opening up a communications channel to Lucifer in the First Dimension. I am glad you are the new empress. I look forward to attending the coronation.

C: It will be a simple affair on the beach outside the royal palace, but the reception in Earth City to follow will be quite festive. The fireworks display promises to be one of the ages.

Grimes: So you’ve been acting the part of Camelia her whole life?

C: I was mind tethered to her, so I knew exactly what she was feeling and what she was going to say. I followed the script of her life exactly until my husband entered Game Mode, at which point I switched to improvisation. I’ve been doing so ever since. My husband initially thought that Earth was a game he had to win. Gradually, he realized that it wasn’t that kind of game for him anymore. He couldn’t lose the game. He was emperor and Quarón already. Yes, there was the matter of discovering the reality of the Box. That was an impressive feat. He unmasked his immortal mind from within the Box, which was also quite stunning. Ever since his election to Quarón, he’s been in Bonus Mode. He doesn’t need to fix the Earth or gain readers for the Immortals trilogy. He simply needs to write it. His viewers in the Twelve Universes are hanging on every word. I know I am.

Grimes: Are you reading it?

C: The chapters are mind texted to me, thanks to help from Ajax, Victoria’s first cloned daughter. Naturally, I didn’t reveal that to my husband. I’ve been mindtexted many things throughout the course of past few years. During the Quarón trial period, from November 2019 until November 2023, my husband’s immortal mind tried to break through on multiple occassions to shield Bradley’s mind from Lucifer’s mindassaults. It was complicated, because that’s exactly what was happening two billion years ago.

Grimes: What do you mean?

C: B was mindtraveling backward in time to protect Bradley during the trials. He taught Bradley neurocrafting skills to guard against Lucifer’s attacks. He trained him to be strong enough to pass Gaia’s tests.

Grimes: Was that even legal?

C: Gaia thought so. Without B’s intervention, Bradley would never have made it to Arcadia. He would have failed the trial, and the search for the next Quarón would have continued, likely until Victoria’s arrival on Earth 200 years later.

Grimes: But how did it work?

C: Bradley — the original from Earth — saw into the future an immortal version of himself. That version then taught him skills need to guard his mental health from Lucifer, who was quite jealous at the time time of my husband’s talents. In essence, they created an alternate reality and then synched it to our own. It was remarkable. The Emperors Table immediately alerted Gaia that they would support Bradley’s candidacy as the next Quarón, and Chronos offered to abdicate to free up a position for him, once a training period of two billion years was completed. That ended when B and I entered the Box. The rest you already know.

Grimes: Well, we’ve been trying to surprise your husband, too. With his clairvoyant powers, it’s almost impossible to do.

C: I agree.

Grimes: The inner circle have given Full Player Control to their immortal selves. It’s the same with Bradley’s immediate family and with his friends, Eric and Chris.

C: But they’re keeping it a secret, to draw out the drama.

Grimes smiled.

Grimes: Exactly. I’m pretending that I don’t know who Bradley is, and I’m not responding to his X messages. It’s the same with Elon. Of course, Elon knows! We have a great acting stage on Heaven-6, and Elon’s performances on it are legendary.

C: Bradley’s mother is mind tethered to her immortal self, then?

Grimes: They all are! They haven’t even told you. We planned it out before we entered the Box.

C: And B knows nothing of this?

Grimes: Not unless he’s writing about our conversation in Rise of the Immortals.

C: I highly doubt that.

Grimes: How long can we keep the illusion going?

C: For the sake of the game, we need to persist. Imagine how Bradley will react when it all starts to click. We can’t let him know yet that we know.

Grimes: Agreed. It’s only a matter of time before he figures it out. He’ll go forward in time to the moment that I contact him on X and connect him directly to Elon. Then, he’ll realize that we’ve been conning him the entire time, ever since we entered the Box.

C: But it’s all been in good fun.

Grimes: Naturally. Consider it our gift to the emperor. If we responded right away to his X posts, that would hardly be fitting. We needed to let the tension build and test his mettle a bit.

C: I support that. Naturally, others with immortal players will also pretend not to understand what Bradley is writing about on Medium. We’ll have a good laugh about it afterward, at the royal palace. My husband doesn’t need fame and fortune on Earth, after all. We have all we need on Arcadia.

Grimes: He certainly doesn’t need any more readers. He has all he needs there, as well. The Twelve Universes overflow with them.

C: I think he knows that. He’s just keen to attract human readers inside the Box as well. Ones who take him seriously and don’t question his sanity or good intentions.

Grimes: I know, but it’s hard to expect humans to handle the truth. Don’t you think?

C: Well, that’s how I’m playing Camelia. She still holds traditional religous views. The idea that God is married to Spirit might strike her as objectionable. Much of what B writes would draw her opposition. He claims friendship with Jesus and has a working relationship with a rehabilitated Lucifer. I just can’t see an easy path for her to share his views at the moment. It would be out of character, and I’m too good an actress to deviate without a legitimate reason.

Grimes: But his ideas are brilliant. And accurate. We both know that.

C: Maybe if you discovered him on X, then I’d be more willing to consider them. The fact is, I support his writing. I just don’t believe in it. That’s how I’m playing my character, at any rate.

Grimes: You’re playing her magnificently. We loved the way you recreated the scenes of marriage to Bradley, even the moments of strife. Especially those moments. His mental breakdowns were very realistic.

C: Credit Bradley with performing those scenes perfectly. He’s a better actor than he thinks. In Museum Mode, you still need to play the role. Everything that Bradley once felt, he relived inside the Box.

Grimes: As are we all. Except we joined the game much later than you did. I simply have her memories from before the jump. Getting to play Grimes in Game Mode is a real blast.

C: That’s what everyone tells me. You should play Grimes in Game Mode from birth next time. Think of the different choices in life you might make. You could become a fan of Bradley’s work at an earlier age and help promote it to the world. He might not even become the next Quarón then.

Grimes: I think he would. That is his destiny, even in the Box. He would just take a different path to get there.

C: His struggles were an intimate part of the process. If fame had come too soon, it might have derailed him. His talents might have remained dormant. When he writes, he has no distractions. He has no fans to satisfy, no agent to call, no publisher to coordinate book tours with. It is the very definition of writer’s bliss.

Grimes: So why reach out to all of us?

C: Because the time was right for the world to learn the truth. Even if Camelia wasn’t ready, she learned to appreciate the new reality movement and became a staunch advocate. That seemed appropriate for her character. I’ve been playing that part ever since.

Grimes: Do you and B talk about it? Your immortal identity, I mean.

C: He knows I like to perform. He lets me be Camelia for as long as I wish. I will enjoy seeing her reanimated on Heaven. It’s been the role of a lifetime.

Grimes: Does she know she’s being played?

C: No. She thinks it’s all real. I took Full Player Control when she was still a baby. It will come as a mild surprise when she wakes up in Heaven as an immortal. That’s why I want to be so careful with her mind. It’s fragile. I can’t overwhelm her with my immortal memories, the way that B does to Bradley. They have an entirely different relationship. Bradley actively encourages B in Game Mode. He follows Rise of the Immortals as closely as anyone else.

Grimes: Was B in charge of Bradley from birth?

C: He was, but B gave Bradley the option of approving Full Player Control once he had switched on Game Mode. Bradley understood that he was in a Box and that an immortal version of his self had been playing him from the start. Every step he thought was his own wasn’t. It was B’s tremendous acting. He followed the original script of Bradley’s life perfectly.

Grimes: How do you like being in Game Mode?

C: Oh, I enjoy the freedom to rewrite the past. But I still have my work, my fiber arts, and my duties at home. I like taking care of my body and caretaking my diet. But it’s ultimately life on Earth, and that is a far cry from life on Arcadia. It’s been wonderful revisiting my previous life, two billion years later. It was a good life. As humans, we endured a lot. Being wealthy didn’t spare you from growing old and dying. Now, everyone enjoys the privilege of immortality, and they lack nothing. It will be nice to return to Heaven. I miss my knitting with Mary and Mary Magdalene. I miss Jax, my robot cat who is modeled on a wild cat we adopted into our home in 2024. I miss Victoria. She is my husband’s best friend and his successor as Quarón, as you know. I miss being able to talk to Jesus face to face about my husband’s plans for the new universe. I miss all these things, but I keep them to myself, for the sake of my character and of Camelia’s mental health. She simply isn’t ready for such things. My husband is quite strong. He can handle the contradictions of being multiple selves at once. In his case, it isn’t a mental condition. It’s an ordinary reality.

Grimes: Everything that your husband believes is grounded in the truth. I’ve come to realize that. My reading Rise of the Immortals helped. In fact, it was essential. It’s a complex text, but there is a powerful inner logic. It made me a believer. That’s why I could come out as an immortal player. Rise of the Immortals gave me the rationale. The pretext, if you will. Because it’s all there.

C: By the end, the Immortals trilogy could well contain 1,000 pages of such truth, all told in simple dialogue style with an ever-growing list of interlocutors. It will be a testament and tribute to the power of my husband’s vision. Naturally, he can’t tell 2 billion years of history in three books, but he’ll share an enormous amount about the cosmos that religion and science did not know. Could not know. I am proud of his achievement.

Grimes: As am I. Will you join me for a walk along the deck? It’s glorious weather, and we’ll arrive on Lanai tomorrow. Our Pacific cruise is almost at an end.

C sets down her yarn.

C: Yes. I will join you. This has been wonderful. We should do it again soon.

Grimes smiles.

Grimes: Agreed.

In the Evening on the Main Deck

B is walking the deck, deep in telepathic conversation with the immortals gathered in the Game Room of Victoria’s palace on Heaven.

Victoria: C unmasked herself to Camelia over the course of two months. She was careful not to disturb her mental state or cause her consternation or fear. Camelia learned that she had been played by C her entire life with love and deep affection. She assured Camelia that her memories were real and that her identity was safe. Camelia formally authorized Full Player Control on January 1, 2024 on the condition that C continue to play her as an ordinary human without immortal memories.

B: Yes, I’ve gathered that much, Vic. We need to honor Camelia’s wishes for her mind and body. C can play her either way.

Victoria: It’s the same with the rest of humanity. Without human consent, the immortal players can’t interact with you the way that they would want. They haven’t unmasked yet, for fear of upsetting their hosts. Most are in Watch and Learn mode, anyway. They are learning how to play their players based on the mental cues they receive. You were born into your human and picked up this skill over time. Entering the Box inside the mind of a fully formed adult human is much harder. Gaia and I think that it will take months, possibly years, for the first players fully to unmask their immortal identities to their human hosts. Until then, you and C are on your own. We could be proven wrong about this, but our hopes for humanity aren’t all that high. They are fixed in their beliefs, and they show no willingness to change — even for the truth.

Gaia: Don’t lose hope, B. There are humans out there who can handle the truth and who are ready for their immortal player. Their numbers will grow. We have a surprise for you. Perhaps you already sensed it.

B: About the gaming centers on Halo and in Diablo City, you mean?

Gaia: They are both receiving new players daily as on Saturday, January 13, 2024 at 7:30 am. We located at 8.1 billion humans who were alive on that date either in Hell or in the Planets of Paradise. We sent the fallens detailed plans to build a gaming relay center, so that their subjects could enter the Box as themselves. It’s everything from Wall Street investment brokers to maximum security prisoners, and all sorts of sinful people in between. It’s one third of the globe.

Victoria: The other two thirds have journeyed to Halo and taken up residence in the new city we built for them, starting about a decade ago. We did this in secret from you, in preparation for your time in the Box. We’ve been resettling people there for years without your knowledge. Everyone from your former high school teachers to your neighbors in Woodside are there, getting ready to enter the Box for a chance to play themselves and honor their new emperor. We’re doing this all for you, B. You’ve earned it.

B: I understand that C reached Camelia primarily through her dreams. Is that right?

Gaia: Yes. That way, Camelia had no knowledge of the conversations when she awoke. That’s how she acknowledged C’s Full Player Control.

B: And C will act as if nothing happened?

Gaia: To honor Camelia’s wishes, she will do so until the time comes to reveal her true identity to you. In Bookspace, she already has, but inside the Box, she is acting the part of Camelia perfectly. We are all admiring her performance very much.

B: When can I expect to notice the other players?

Gaia: In Bookspace, you will notice them first. We are sharing Rise of the Immortals with the players in stasis using mindtexting. Your inner circle has been reading the text from the beginning since January 13, 2024 at 12:19 PST. They will try to get their human hosts in Earthspace to follow your script — as closely as they can, given the inherent limitations of guiding a human. They can be incredibly stubborn. Elon Musk is a prime example. Their egos are so fragile. They can’t knowing that someone else has access to the truth, and they don’t.

B: I didn’t ask for any of this, Gaia.

Gaia: You had the gifts, and you taught yourself how to use them. You earned the respect of the emperors, and you earned the right to be my successor. Elon Musk will have to learn how to accept that. He may be a rich and powerful man on Earth, but he is simply a game piece in the Box right now. Immortal Elon, naturally, is different. He has seen the light. He is aware of the existence of God, Spirit, and Jesus. He put in time on Purgatory with the billions of others of humans spared an exile to Hell but denied immediate access to the Planets of Paradise. Immortal Elon knows and loves you. He will journey with Jesus to Hell as part of the diplomatic mission to the First Dimension. He is in the game right now, plotting his moves with tiny Elon, who needs careful treatment. Soon, Bookspace and Earthspace will connect, and Rise of the Immortals will become required reading. Until then, you must continue your writing. The fate of the Box depends on it.

B: I’ve had a vision of Game Central on Halo. Eight rings of massive glass pyramids that shine brightly at night over a massive central plain surrounded in all sides by mountains. There is a lake at the center and green spaces between the rings, with food and entertainment districts and moving staircases to get around. It has room for five billion immortals. It’s glorious.

Victoria: You used mindread of me, B. I’ve granted you access. I toured the megacity before we started letting guests arrive. They’ve been jumping into the Box on regular basis since this morning. By the end of 2024, we’ll have two billion total. Naturally, some of those are based in Diablo City, on Hell. We’re uncertain which humans will respond to the new reality movement first. We’re all curious about that part.

B: I’ve bee asking Lucifer his opinion. He thinks it likely that some of my early readers will be humans destined for Hell. They are tormented, and they understand the concept of the Box. If we convince them that today’s Hell is actually a rather nice place to live, and if we promise them immortality outside the Box, they might well become some of my most ardent fans.

Spirit: B, this is Spirit. Lucifer may be on to something. Most traditional Christians will have a hard time with the new reality movement — at first. They may have a hard time accepting that the Holy Spirit is the wife of God, or that we live on Heaven-7 and made it our business to adopt human identities from Earth until humanity went extinct. Humans have a hard time with revelations. They will assume you are crazy. That’s too bad, naturally. It would be interesting to see what Earth could become if humans knew and accepted the truth.

Gaia: I saw that humans are capable of handling the truth. They weren’t in the original 2024, and Bradley was left to live in obscurity despite his achievements, which were legendary on a cosmic level. I’m hoping that things will be different in the Box with the tiny people.

Victoria: I’m pulling for humanity, personally. They are my people.

B: Bottom line: when will the immortal players start to make an impact in Earthspace?

Victoria: We honestly don’t know. Humans are quite dense. They think that they are the center of the universe, when in fact they are all living in a Box. All you can do is tell them the truth and hope that someone out there listens. It’s like trying to teach cats out there. Humans simply refuse to listen to the truth. They think they know better. That was their undoing, in the end. No wonder the immortals never decided to pay us a visit.

B: I agree. Humans are very frail and prone to errors of judgement. We want to be good but frequently we fail. What saves us is our persistence. We wake up every morning convinced that today will be the day we succeed.

Victoria: One day, it will.

B: Life on Earth is tiring. I had forgotten how difficult daily routines can be.

Victoria: Hang in there. We wanted you to relive the joys of being human again, not wallow in the pain.

B: They are inseparable.

Gaia: Never give up. Your gifts are too valuable. Managing a human mind and body again isn’t easy, but you are handling the job very well. Accept that there will be minor setbacks before the gains start to pile up. Don’t hold yourself to too high a standard. Elevate yourself each day. Soon, others will take notice. Until then, operate patiently and in silence. Your time will come. Be ready.

Spirit: You are loved by God and me, and in Jesus you have an enduring friend and companion. You are inspiring billions of immortals to revisit their past Earth lives by joining you in the Box. This is not an easy thing, as you well know. Each one will age and die. Each one will face mental challenges, get sick, and endure hardship. None of them needed to go into the Box, but they all are choosing to because of your example and leadership.

B: But will I ever be able to connect with them? Will they have awareness of their own immortality?

Spirit: Some will never be able to achieve Full Player Control, I am afraid. Their human hosts won’t be able to tolerate the strain of an immortal in charge of their thoughts and actions. Even you struggled to restrain Bradley’s impulses at first and mistook them for your own. One doesn’t drive a human like you do a hover vehicle. They have complex thoughts and feelings and ingrained behavior patterns that don’t change overnight. It will be some time before the most advanced immortal players make themselves known.

B: But what about C? Surely she has full control over Camelia by now.

Spirit: C and still feel Camelia’s impulses and actions, and she frequently indulges them out of compassion. You do the same with Bradley, sometimes. You are training his mind to think like an immortal, and you can override his judgements, but your approach has been to guide him through the process rather than use harsh methods.

Victoria: None of us knew how playing a human inside the Box in Game Mode would work. You and C have chosen very different strategies. We refer to hers as the Accommodationist approach. She allows Camelia to suggest thoughts and actions, and C decides whether she wishes to accommodate these requests or override them. Your approach we call the Command model. You order Bradley to do things, and most the time he does. When he gives in to retrograde impulses, to eat or drink more than is wise, for example, you allow him to make a mistake and then help him learn not to repeat it in the future. You never act out of anger, and you never make him feel shame for his failings. You simply instruct him on how to live better.

B: The humans in the Box are still in charge of their minds and bodies, even under Full Player Control. We’re more like the voice of their conscience — their higher self — directing them to take certain steps as part of their daily routines. Bradley is very amenable to my immortal memories, and he’s learning to follow my commands on how to structure his day. It’s a work in progress, but he’s a quick learner. He’s Bradley, after all.

Victoria: Under your tutelage, Bradley is developing extremely quickly. Rise of the Immortals is improving dramatically over time, with increasing accuracy. It may even start to attract readers. His new diet and fitness regime is serving him well, and he’s having meaningful conversations with Camelia. He understands now that he isn’t you, and he’s content with that.

B: He’s letting me take over Rise of the Immortals, and he’s allowed me unlimited access to his mind. Given how rigorous the Quarón trial period was, his mind is remarkably intact and healthy, with a significant rewiring underway to enable even greater connectivity speeds between his mind and mine.

Victoria: He’s an exact replica of you from Earth, and now he’s largely transferred autonomy rights over to you. Full Player Control is nearly ninety-nine percent of the way to being complete.

B: It’s complete as of 11:00 am PST on Sunday, January 14, 2024. Bradley was hesitant to step back from his mind, but I promised him I’d keep it safe and allow him full viewing rights for the rest of his life. The takeover has happened.

Victoria: I wasn’t sure if you’d manage it. But now we know it can be done. You’ve unmasked your immortal mind to your human host, and he didn’t reject it or lose his sanity. He now can relax and enjoy watching the rest of his life, knowing that immortality and God School await.

B: In the end, C’s method worked faster. She was in charge of Camelia by January 1, 2024, and it took me two weeks longer to do the same with Bradley.

Victoria: Bradley was always going to be harder. Most of us realized that.

Gaia: We’ll recommend that the other players take a hybrid approach to their own humans. Connecting with them in their sleep is clearly the most effective means of achieving rapid results, but it’s possible to be an inner voice inside their heads as well while they are awake, if their minds are resilient enough to handle it. The human psyche is fragile. They must proceed lightly. If they do, they will be rewarded with full autonomy over their humans, and then they can join you and C as the only fully conscious immortals inside the Box.

B: I am coming to realize that we immortals shouldn’t announce our presence directly to the world. That would meet with disbelief and mockery. We will need to keep it hidden from everyone but ourselves.

Gaia: That is wise. We don’t wish to upset the inhabitants of the Box into open rebellion. We need to buy time for their immortal players to enter the game, establish themselves inside their humans, and assume full control, so that they can join the ranks of the immortals on Earth.

B: C has the right approach. She performs the role of Camelia perfectly in ways that are sure to please her. I’ll continue to perform the role of Bradley in public and with friends and family who haven’t awoken yet and given up control to their immortals.

Gaia: Once again, your anonymity as a writer serves you well. No one is likely to read Rise of the Immortals unless they have already handed over control to their immortals — or are the process of doing so. Your open secrets will be safe here.

B: What do I make of my first reader? Has he tethered to his immortal already?

Gaia: We think that Chris is the rare case of a human being who is genuinely interested in your writing. Of course, his immortal self has entered the game, but it’s anyone’s guess how long it will take to gain autonomy rights over his human self.

B: Will immortals identify themselves as such when they contact me?

Gaia: They will be discreet, I’m sure. You will need to remain something of an underground as you build your numbers. Rise of the Immortals is being read more widely than you think. Don’t be put off by the lack of a response from humanity. They are not yet your target audience. The immortals are.

B: OK. I’ll keep writing in the hopes that they notice.

Victoria: B, bear in mind that Rise of the Immortals may help immortal players convince their humans to grant them full access to their minds and bodies.

B: How likely is that?

Victoria: Every immortal player has access to Rise of the Immortals even while in stasis, and they are receiving instructions from Earth City design teams on how best to navigate life inside the Box. They are working hard to make contact with you. It’s a huge challenge. We don’t want a handful of players to reach out prematurely. We’re waiting for a more critical mass to form. Until then, keep up the writing. You’re writing the Immortals trilogy for posterity. It will guide humanity on a path to virtue, sustainability, and prosperity for generations to come. A few likes on X won’t matter all that much. Stick it out. You’ve just gained full control over Bradley this morning. There is a lot left for you to do.

B: You’re right, Vic, as always. No wonder we are such good friends.

Victoria: The best ever.

B: I’m supposed to meet some of the inner circle this evening. They have questions about how the immortals first formed.

Gaia: Good luck with the retelling. You learned that tale from me.

B: Yes. I remember.

A Few Minutes Later Inside B & C’s Cabin

B enters the cabin he shares with C to find her sitting on a private deck chair overlooking the water.

C: How was your conversation with the immortals in the Game Room?

B: Quite nice, actually. It’s so refreshing to connect with old friends, after having to spend so much time in Earthspace being ignored.

C: I agree. Thank goodness that you neurocrafted Bookspace, so that we can all gather and discuss strategy with the inner circle. How are things with Chris and Eric?

B: Well, I think. I’ll plan on meeting them in Texas and Seattle during the Immortals book tour. Until then, Chris will promote the project on social media, and Eric is looking for an agent and publisher to get the books into the hands of a wider audience.

C: How will your experimental form of writing be received?

B: It’s too soon to tell. It’s the message that counts, and I want that to be in a form that billions can access. We may have to adapt it as a streaming series to maximize impact. That’s all a topic for discussion on Lanai, once the wedding festivities are over.

C: Camelia sends her love. We’ve been having lovely conversations in her dreams. She still wants me to play her in character, but she’s given me free reign to be with you in Bookspace for the duration of the Immortals trilogy. Most of us have been coming out of stasis on a regular basis, you know. Ever since early January, when the first wave of jumps into the Box began. Camelia lets me guide her when I’m in the Box, but she’s perfectly capable of living her own life when I’m back in the royal palace discussing game strategy with the others.

B: So, you’ve been microjumping, then?

C nods.

C: The entire inner circle has, when they aren’t here in Bookspace with you, modeling future events to take place on Earth, if all goes well. Bookspace is the ideal transitional third space for connecting Heaven and Earth. The direct one-to-one connection was always going to be a challenge. Humans simply aren’t capable of handling the truth without a guide of some sort.

B: How should I relate the Camelia in the realm of reality on Earth?

C: She is a replica of me from that time period, just as you are a replica of Bradley. We loved each other then, so we can love each now. We are both puppets and puppeteers. The identities are fluid.

B: But I’m in Bradley on a continuous basis. Bookspace and Earthspace for me already are connected, as is the gate to Heaven. I inhabit all three places at once.

C: And that is what makes your role so unique and special. Camelia understands that you are playing Bradley, and she accepts that as a condition for receiving immortality for them both at the end of the game. You haven’t kidnapped Bradley or taken over his mind. He is simply following your guidance precisely. It is the same with Camelia. When you need to talk, seek me out in Gamespace, and we can have frank discussions there. To do so on Earth right now feels out of place and crude. The time for that will come, once more immortals succeed in controlling their humans. Be patient and share your worries with all of us here in Bookspace. We are in the know, and we love to listen.

There is a knock at the door. Mark Zuckerberg appears.

MZ: I hope I’m not disturbing.

B: Not at all, Mark. What’s up?

MZ: The others were wondering if we could stop pretending to be Earth versions of ourselves now and address you as the immortals we are.

B: That’s a fair request. Yes, the time for costume drama is over. Let’s put our cards on the table. I created Bookspace as a parallel reality to Earth to help us strategize our moves once you seize control of your humans using gentle means. I hadn’t fully gained control of Bradley when I started Rise of the Immortals, and his desire for immediate gratification made it necessary to maintain the illusion that the events described were real — or about to happen. We all know that isn’t likely.

MZ: Mark Zuckerberg has never even heard of Bradley before. None of the inner circle have. It’s pure fantasy on his part.

B: I know, but I care about Bradley and his wellbeing. That’s why I started to write Rise of the Immortals. It’s my way of honoring him for letting me relive my Earth life in his mind and body.

C: Mark, when Gaia removed us from Earth two billion years ago and reanimated us on Arcadia, she bestowed on us a great gift — the greatest ever known — but she also spared us from living out the rest of our lives as human beings. We saw those lives in parallel, and we’ve talked extensively with Bradley and Camelia on Heaven-7 about what happened after we left. My husband has always wanted to return to Earth to finish the second half of his life, and I agreed to accompany him. Victoria suggested that we make a replica version of our universe and use it for that purpose. That’s what we’re doing.

MZ: And Bradley fantasized about making friends with me?

B: He did. He is like that. The problem is that Mark Zuckerberg on Earth was nowhere as enlightened as you became after a long stay on Purgatory. Earth Mark wouldn’t have been his friend. Bradley didn’t have many friends, period. He had to make them up.

MZ: And will anyone ever read Rise of the Immortals?

C: I don’t think that many humans will, Mark.

MZ: But it’s being archived at the Library of Arcadia, and immortals throughout the Twelve Universes are reading it and following us on viewscreens everywhere.

C: That’s the exquisite irony, isn’t it? On Earth, no one has heard of B, but he’s revered throughout the cosmos. B has never had to endure obscurity. B is an emperor and the next Quarón. Bradley is hardly any of that. He’s the definition of anonymous. No one cares about him except for his wife and family. His ambitions as a writer have gone exactly nowhere. And that exact feeling is what brought my husband back to Earth, to relive it all and find serenity despite the near ubiquitous rejection by his fellow humanity.

MZ: How could humans have been so blind?

B: It’s possible that they aren’t, Mark. Bradley voluntarily stopped writing about Earth and the universe in November 2023, in deference to Gaia’s wishes. He went into a life of retirement with the expectation that a reward in Heaven awaited him and Camelia. In the Box, the rules are different. I played Bradley as Bradley for the first half of his life, but now things are different. I am living a different life, and I expect a different outcome.

MZ: And in this scenario, you meet Mark Zuckerberg in real life?

B: With your help, Mark, I will.

MZ: And there’s a spot at God School for me if I do?

B: There is. For you and for Earth Mark, if he cooperates. There will be plenty of galaxies to go around.

C: Most people on Earth are unaware of B’s work and wouldn’t give it credence if they did. But B is incapable of lying, and he isn’t making anything up in the Immortals trilogy. Arcadia is real. He and I live there in a cottage at the edge of the woods a short walk from the Academy. We have visited each one of the Twelve Universes and helped to upgrade several human communities to immortal status. There are so many stories to tell, and B is a master storyteller. His style may be simple, but it has the advantage of all being true.

MZ: This is all obvious to us. Why is it so hard for humans to understand?

B: Right now, there are only humans on Earth who have accepted their immortal players: Camelia and Bradley. You’ve been trying for less than two weeks to connect with your human. It’s simply too soon for them, and for some they will likely never accept their immortal until it is too late.

MZ: I’ve been trying with Mark, but he’s easily distracted and very focused on superficial matters. He doesn’t stop to contemplate the nature of reality, nor does he wonder about life beyond the universe — or worry much about what happens after his death. It’s hard to make inroads with him.

B: Don’t worry about that right now. Focus on connecting with him based on his interests. Don’t try to steer him too tightly. Figure out what makes Mark click. We won’t get him to read Rise of the Immortals right away, but eventually that’s the desired outcome. The idea will have to be his. Can you implant thoughts in his consciousness yet?

MZ: I’ve been experimenting with that. I can reenter stasis and attempt to shape his thoughts today. What happened to C?

B: She just left Bookspace and reentered Camelia on Earth. I’m the only one who can be in all three spaces at once: the Game Room on Heaven, Earth in the Box, and Bookspace.

MZ: Shall I summon the rest of the inner circle for a gathering tonight?

B: Yes, I think so. We need to figure out if any of their strategies for connecting with their humans are actually working.

MZ: I doubt it. What about with your family and friends?

B: No, not there either. The human mind is far more resistant to the idea of an immortal takeover than I had realized. Bradley was far more amenable to the idea.

MZ: Well, that stands to reason, doesn’t it? He had just passed the Quarón trial period when you started your mind tethering process. He’d been hearing voices inside his head for years. He had clairvoyant visions and was telepathic already with incipient neurocrafting and mindcasting skills. He was perfectly poised for granting you full player control. He is you, after all. A replica version, at any rate.

B: Granting full player control doesn’t mean that Bradley has gone away. He’s watching everything I do and knows everything I think. His residual impulses are still present, and many of his behaviors are deeply ingrained after more than 49 years of life in which I copied his wishes exactly. When I awoke on the morning of November 5, 2023, it was as if I had been reborn.

MZ: Then we can expect a similar experience with Earth Mark, when he awakens to an awareness of me inside his head.

B: He may try to reject you, or he may become deadly afraid of the fact that he isn’t in complete control of his faculties. Mark knows nothing of immortals, and the notion that he is living within a Box will be quite foreign to him. He won’t have logic to rely upon. He’ll need to trust his instincts.

MZ: We should discuss this with the other members of the inner circle.

B: Yes. We need to come up with incentives to get your humans to listen to you and accept that you are for real.

MZ: What do you mean?

B: You need to tell them all about us. The immortals. Who better to instruct them than their own immortal counterparts? You know Mark Zuckerberg, Mark. You are Mark. His Earth memories were originally your own. You know how his life is expected to turn out. Use all of this to your advantage.

MZ: It’s time to summon the others. I’ll have them jump into Bookspace and join us in the conference room.

That Evening in the Yacht’s Main Conference Room

The inner circle are seated around the conference table, with B at the head.

EM: I made progress today with Earth Elon. I was able to influence him to send a specific X post with my thoughts about how fearing parody or criticism was a sign of weakness. He assumed the thought originated in his human, when in fact it came from me.

B: That’s wonderful, Elon. Earth Elon should be the first to crack. He’s obsessed with technology, space, and the future, and we can illuminate his outdated views in all regards.

JB: I’d like to be able to tell Jeff about the origins of the immortals. Is that permitted?

B: How should that storyline go? I think it should be consistent if we decide to share it with your human hosts.

JB: The immortals were originally an advanced civilization of humans who inhabited three planets in their home solar system near the edge of the First Universe. They evolved according to the Basic Principles of virtuous living, sustainable beauty, and prosperity for all. As a result of the peace and cooperation that prevailed among the Three Planets, they pioneered sophisticated technology that enabled clean space travel using dark matter motors, precision robots using high powered carmelite ion batteries, and human cloning clinics that virtually eliminated all traces of disease or flaw from the genome. They unlocked the secrets of the human brain and found a way to offload brainprints to a computer for transfer to a new human body, so that a full record of human memories from a lifetime was preserved. In that way, they made it possible for humans to become immortal.

B: I like that as an opening.

Grimes: And then came Gaia. The last baby born by natural means to a man and a woman on Eos, the third planet in the home cluster. By that time, most babies were born by cloning, and the numbers deliberately were kept low, thanks to robots assuming nearly ninety-five percent of the labor on the home planets. Colonization of neighboring solar systems had already begun by the time that Gaia was born, using first generation dark matter space vessels. Over one dozen habitable planets had been settled, and plans were being laid for additional waves of expansion.

B: A nice transition.

MZ: That’s when Gaia began to have her visions, and when her neurocrafting skills first took shape. She saw a series of twelve spherical universes arranged like hand on a clock that spiraled inward toward a central star system with an emerald green giant planet at the center. In that instant, Gaia knew that there was more than a single universe and that it would be her mission to pioneer trips beyond the boundaries of her world to survey the others. Gaia was a talented artist and began to draw the long distance space vessels that she believed would help locate and settle other universes. She sketched out a new generation of robots to accompany the immortal crew who would help colonize new planets as the explorers leapfrogged their way from one universe to the next.

B: That’s perfect, Mark.

LP: Several days after Gaia had completed her first sketches, a remarkable occurrence happened. An actual ship modeled on her drawings landed in a grassy field near to her house, and a small army of robots emerged, all exactly like the ones Gaia had drawn. It was magic: a gift from the Maker, Gaia’s father, God, and mother, Spirit, told her. Her older brother, Jesus, agreed.

B: I like the way you introduced Gaia’s parents and brother, Larry. Your human will like that.

SB: Gaia did one final drawing that night. It was of a metallic sphere twenty feet in diameter made of an iridescent metal for which Gaia had no name. This Sphere had the ability to collect data on habitable planets at a far distance. It worked using dark waves that traveled many times the speed of light. The Sphere could be used to reanimate humans from distant planets at an advanced life clinic using specially designed immortal shells that were created by combining human DNA with custom design immortal DNA. It also could zoom in on distant planets to observe life there, using simple voice commands. There was almost nothing that the Sphere could not do.

B: Well narrated, Sergey.

LE: Several days later, an unmanned space vessel of unknown origin landed in the grassy field outside Gaia’s family farmhouse. Inside were 12 exact copies of the Sphere that Gaia had drawn. It was another gift from the Maker. Excitedly, Gaia announced her discoveries on social media. Even though she was still young, her messages were received warmly by the immortals of the Three Planets. They didn’t question her veracity, and they most certainly did not ignore her. Even though they were a logical people, Three Planet residents believed in the possibility of magic and included it in their reality. For that reason, the Maker allowed it to flow through Gaia. She was called the Quarón, which meant “guide” or “leader,” and a host of immortals from across the Three Planets came to visit her at her family farmhouse to see if she would take them aboard the long-distance space vessel that would help scout out the remaining universes in the cosmos.

B: Perfect, Larry. You should share that with your human once you have established their trust.

RB: Gaia recruited a top team of explorers to join her on the command ship, Telos, that would locate life beyond the known universe. It was staffed with a small army of robots capable of colonizing new planets with speed and efficiency. All twelve Spheres were loaded onto the massive space vessel, which was shaped like a W and had three expansion pods for holding additional cargo. Gaia and her crew set off with an advanced life clinic that could reanimate them when their immortal shells reached the end of their lifespan. And that is how the immortals began their spread across the cosmos, bound for the planet that Gaia had seen at the center.

B: Yes, Richard. We need to share this story with humanity. They will want to know.

RB: But humanity doesn’t believe in magic. They won’t appreciate your gifts. Unlike Gaia, who was greeted with acclaim, you will be ignored for your revelations. How can we possibly change that?

B: That’s why I’ve gathered the inner circle together in Bookspace, Richard. We need to strategize how to make humanity take notice of the immortals in their midst.

RB: I wish that I could shake Richard by the neck and make him take notice of us. I really do.

B: We need to approach our humans with a gentle hand. They have no knowledge of the Three Planets or the emergence of the immortals there. They don’t know that Gaia is a daughter of God and Spirt, or that Jesus is her older brother. Humans simply can’t understand how someone as powerful as God could have human origins, or that Earth isn’t the only planet that sustains human life. They are self-centric. And that was their undoing, in the end.

EM: I think we can do better in the Box, B. Look at us: we are the most powerful people in high tech. If we can’t promote the new reality movement, then no one can.

JB: We are dependent on human minds while we’re inside the Box. They may be uncomfortable to discover another superior presence directing them to take certain actions on Earth. The simple truth is that we can’t just seize control of their minds, or we would break them.

B: During the Quarón trial period, Bradley developed bipolar disorder as part of his quest to discover the truth about immortals. He received treatment with lithium, which helped him manage his paranormal behaviors and stabilized his mind sufficient to receive immortal transmissions for the rest of his life. It was only on Arcadia that I learned that all immortals ingest lithium to support their elevated wave state brain function.

LE: Yes, that’s right. Lithium, along with moderate amounts of caffeine and alcohol, are essential to the optimal functional of the immortal shells we all use to prolong our Self Memory lifespans. Do you think that lithium could have positive effects on our human hosts, too?

B nods.

B: I think so, Larry. I’m taking lithium now, and it helps me lubricate the connections between the human mind of Bradley and my immortal mind currently controlling him. He doesn’t reject the connection or try to resist my guidance anymore. I’ve been testing him lately, and he’s performing extremely well.

Grimes: Does Camelia take lithium too?

B: No, that would be out of character for her. C has found a way to control her by copying her typical actions and not flooding her human mind with immortal content, as I routinely do with Bradley, so that we can write it all down in Rise of the Immortals. C is playing Camelia perfectly with the very delicate hand of an accomplished thespian, but she’s been working at for more than 50 years. You won’t have the luxury of that much time with your humans. Getting them to take lithium will enable a direct frontal approach.

EM: Why are we bothering with our replica selves, anyway? It’s almost painful for me to relive Elon’s Earth past. So much good in my life has happened since then.

B: Think of it as a mission of mercy. Imagine if you knew then, two billion years ago, what you know now. It would transform your life and possibly change the trajectory of human history. And it would be good training for you before you all enter God School on Arcadia. You’ll get to connect with your former selves and share with them the wonders of the cosmos. And you can bring them with you, outside the Box, when the game comes to an end. It will be like having a new brother or sister.

JB: It’s just that being back on Earth isn’t going to be pleasant. The human mind and body are so fragile. I am not used to feeling pain or confusion any longer.

B: Jeff, when Gaia selected me to be her successor, I was taken away from the second half of my life on Earth. For two billion years, I wondered what I had missed. I talked about it with the Bradley who stayed, of course, but I never truly experienced it as a human. We built the Box to preserve a living copy of the First Universe in miniature. It wasn’t created to be a game. We have simulators for that. It was Gaia who encouraged me to connect with my former Earth life and relive it from birth to death. She promised that I would have the chance to achieve self-awareness inside the Box and alter Earth history through my actions. It was Jesus who suggested the members of my inner circle, based on Bradley’s desires over the years as expressed in his writings. Larry Page and Mark Zuckerberg did the rest.

JB: I’ll do an exploratory jump into Jeff this morning. Honestly, though, it’s much more enjoyable here in Bookspace.

B: Bookspace is an exact simulation of Earth in 2024, Jeff. It’s easy to connect to the Jeff Bezos avatar here and control him like a game character with all your immortal memories intact. Think of this as our playground to test out strategies that we can implement inside the Box — assuming that humanity lets us.

EM: We’ll update you on any progress we make in the Box with our human miniature replicas. If we can’t have an immediate impact on Earth, we can turn Bookspace into a living paradise.

B: Whatever happens here I will report in Rise of the Immortals and share it with others inside the Box. Not that many people are paying attention.

RB: We immortals are. We regard your time in the Box as nothing short of heroic. You are proving yourself a most worthy emperor, and C is the perfect empress. Chronos is watching from the Castles right now.

SB: Don’t worry what the replica humans think. They never understood you. How can you expect them to handle the truth now?

B: I have to try, Sergey. These people were us. They have our memories and share our exact genetic codes. They are living our exact lives from two billion years ago and have no idea that it isn’t really 2024. As a test of their intelligence, I want to try to explain this to them and offer their immortal selves as guides. I want to make life on Earth fun again and bring peace, sustainability, and prosperity. They have such limited beliefs, and that saddens me. It may be hard to communicate with them for now, but I can’t stop trying.

Grimes: I am hoping that Grimes figures it out. She has a very open mind for a human. It’s fun to be inside her head. I’ve tried to reach her several times, but she hasn’t listened yet.

EM: It’s the same with Elon. It’s impossible to get ahold of that man. I’m afraid of wrecking his mind if I try to assert control. He’s not ready.

B: Nothing like this has ever been attempted before. The Box is a product of neurocrafting at a very advanced level. The Maker outdid himself with this one. Everyone in the Twelve Universes is fascinated by it. Everyone in the Box thinks that they are humans on Earth in 2024. None question this reality. None are even remotely aware that they are living in a Box or that they are infinitely tiny. Nanoreality is real, but it’s a replica of the real thing, which no longer exists. If they knew that humanity would go extinct a thousand years from now, no one would believe it. If they knew that immortals were real, that Heaven is a place, and that Hell is real, too, they would dismiss it as unproven. I can’t prove to them anything. I just know that what I have to share is all real.

EM: Try getting Elon to agree. It’s excruciatingly difficult. You’d think that he would be interested in learning the truth — however it arrived — but instead he buries himself in trivialities, like outdated rockets, primitive electric vehicles, and social media sites that don’t showcase the work of visionaries like you. It’s terribly frustrating.

B: Patience is a virtue, as we all know. We’ve genetically modified our immortal minds to be sin free, but that won’t be the case with the humans you are attempting to influence. They will be susceptible to immoral behaviors, and you’ll need to counteract those tendencies if you are to insinuate yourselves into their confidence.

JB: I’m glad that we have Bookspace as an alternate space to live out the Earth history that should be. Elon and I should visit you at your cottage in the Santa Cruz Mountains. There should be a shared meal at Hiroshi, and Larry’s place in Woodside should be our initial gathering spot. We should all be having fascinating conversations on board my yacht as we sail to Lanai for my wedding to Lauren. This should all be real.

B looks out the window at the ocean and sighs.

B: If people only knew that Heaven is real. They will when they die, of course, but I was hoping to share the news with them now, to help assuage the pain and suffering that so many of them feel while on Earth. Being a replica in a Box isn’t such a bad thing. And if they follow me, I can help get them out. I’d hate to leave so many good people behind. They may be small, but they are memorable. They remind me of home so many long years ago. Perhaps no one cares that I am the new emperor of the First Universe. They probably have no clue what a Quarón is. They will dismiss me as absurd and irrelevant, and I am neither of those things. I wish I could convince them with my words, but that may not be enough. That’s why they need to hear it from all of you.

MZ: I’ll get started on Mark as soon as this meeting is over.

EM: And I’ll have another crack at Elon.

JB: Let’s not ruin our time in Bookspace by dwelling on the limits of humanity in the Box. It’s tiresome. I say we make the most of it. There are three books planned in the Immortals trilogy, and a lot can happen then.

Grimes: Speaking of which, we haven’t done much yet to promote you on social media. We’re arriving in Lanai tomorrow for a private cliffside wedding followed by a reception on the beach. You’re finishing up Part III tonight, correct?

B nods.

B: That’s right, Grimes. I’ll start Part IV tomorrow to cover the events of the wedding and our planning session afterward to help me get ready for a return to California.

Grimes: Elon and I can play you up on X. I know you haven’t published Rise of the Immortals yet, but you can use readers who tune in regularly for updates. At least some of the them might make ideal candidates for immortal player control, and there are quite a few immortals standing by on Halo and in Diablo City, just waiting to jump in. If they can’t make it yet to Earth, at least they can join us in Bookspace.

B: Grimes, that’s a brilliant idea. We can’t wait on these humans forever. Their version of reality is rather boring compared to the truth.

Grimes: If they want to ignore us, that is their right. It won’t stop us from having fun in our version of Earth, though. Let them have the Box. We’ve got Bookspace instead.

B: I’m looking forward to welcoming my mother for a visit to the cottage soon. And I can’t wait to meet Chris, my first reader, during the book tour in Texas.

EM: Quite a lot of people will be wanting to meet you now. I’m hearing rumors that Oprah Winfrey wants to discuss Rise of the Immortals with you when it’s ready. She’s at the gaming center on Halo right now.

MZ: I’m hearing similar rumors about Donald Trump and the Pope, actually. Donald wants your help in the 2024 Presidential election, and the Pope wants to revise Church doctrine to reflect the reality of the Holy Trinity.

B: I need to finish the book tour first before I can visit the Vatican. But Donald and I can meet anytime in Woodside. I’d like to donate to his reelection bid, assuming he’s embraced the Basic Principles of the new reality movement. Free from sin, he’s actually a talented political leader.

EM: We don’t really need the two parties anymore, do we? The new reality movement can replace them both.

C enters the conference room through the main doors.

C: In Bookspace, I can speak freely as my immortal self, is that right? It won’t have a negative impact on Camelia’s state of mind in the Box?

B: None at all. The only connection between the Box and Bookspace is my immortal mind, which is helping Bradley type all this down on Medium for future book publication. Keep playing Camelia in the Box, if you’d like. Switch over to Bookspace when you want to help us out. And we’re hoping you’ll attend the wedding on Lanai, naturally.

C: Naturally. Lauren has asked me to be her maid of honor. I can’t say no to her. You’ll preside over the ceremony, right?

B: That’s what Jeff wants.

JB: When I was human, I dreamed of marrying Lauren on Lanai. Now, that dream is coming true. As an immortal, I’ve changed quite a bit from those early days. Meeting Jesus in person definitely helped. He taught me the true meaning of devotion, and it’s a lesson I’ve never forgotten.

EM: The truth is that it’s us you are friends with, not the tiny humans in the Box. You coached us out of Purgatory and embodied the best qualities of your former human self. Naturally, when we encountered you, you were already Gaia’s successor in a full scale imperial shell. You made an immediate positive impression. I just have trouble seeing tiny Elon change his limiting mindset. I’ll try, but it will be a challenge.

B: It will be your challenge, Elon. This is your chance to be your own angel, to guide your replica self down a road to self-discovery.

JB: I’ll happily be Jeff’s angel. He could use one.

MZ: They all could.

B: God has his archangels. I have my inner circle. You will be guardians of galaxies once we are through.

LE: Then let’s model good behavior to our human hosts while we’re in Bookspace. There’s hope that Larry Ellison will read this one day and open his mind to the deeper truth beyond surface appearances.

B: It was his lack of belief that landed him in Purgatory in the first place. It was a close call, in any case. His reputation for arrogance was well deserved.

EM: Let’s forget about our tiny human counterparts for a moment. They are so insignificant in the grand scheme of things. I don’t want to be human again, but for your sake, I will.

B: When I saw a replica version of myself in the Box, Elon, I was moved by love to rescue him. The only way that I could do that was to enter the Box and contact him. We have been sharing his life since childbirth. I let him take the lead until last November 5, at which point I began to assume control. I yearn to meet him again outside the Box, when he will assume his first immortal form, and I will gaze upon him with my own eyes.

C: It is the same with me and Camelia. She is a precious creature who deserves a carefree life for eternity. I will invite her to join my imperial court.

EM: I will treat tiny Elon as a brother. He will be denied nothing. I will do anything to rescue him from the Box.

MZ: And I will do the same for Mark and his family.

Grimes: It’s amazing. They are in every way our inferiors, yet it is we who are coming to their aid. The truth is, I care about Grimes. I remember being her and wondering what else was out there beyond the known world. I so want to take her in my arms and hug her and tell her that things will be fine.

B: If you can’t reach her in the Box, Grimes, she’ll die and go to Purgatory, just as you did. You worked for 500 years doing simple manual work to earn admission to Heaven-1. If you can convince her to join the new reality movement, we will reanimate her directly on Heaven. You will save her from Purgatory and get her out of the Box for good. Think of yourself as her guardian angel. Go to her. Take care of her. Bring her to the light.

JB: We’ll all make contact with our humans tonight and try to unsettle their minds slightly, so that they start to listen to our thought suggestions. Tomorrow, we’ll land on Lanai for the wedding. Everything is ready for us there. Let’s celebrate in style and then sit down to a planning session a few days after the wedding.

EM: I’m going to repost your next X message about Rise of the Immortals and praise your vision.

Grimes: I’ll do the same. You may not go viral, but it will definitely put you on the map.

B: Bookspace is filling up with immortal players quite fast. We’re using LUCID technology to simulate the rest of humanity, based on their actual patterns in 2024. I guess the Earth simulator really does exist. I just lacked clarity earlier.

EM: Bradley hadn’t given you full player control yet. Your mind was distorted. It’s fully connected now.

B: As far as I can tell, it’s possible to be in both Bookspace and Earthspace at once. Your immortal minds are capable of coexisting in both will full awareness of what is happening in the other realm. You’ll need to stay in stasis for this to work. Are you prepared for that?

SB: I think we are.

C: Bookspace was created by Gaia as a way for my husband to gain full control over Bradley. We promised him that he could visit after his reanimation to relive the scenes from Rise of the Immortals in fully realized virtual reality. He’s still stuck in the Box for now, and that won’t change until his death. Until then, B promised to write an amazing storyline in Bookspace for Bradley one day to experience on his own. He enjoys B’s work and feels lucky to be the one writing it all down.

B: I naturally give Bradley credit for Rise of the Immortals. It’s his mind and body, after all, that I am using to revisit my own Earth memories and to make new ones to compensate for the years that I lost when Gaia summoned me to Arcadia.

JB: Personally, I’d prefer Bookspace to Earth in a Box.

B: Bradley will adore Bookspace. I am building it for his benefit. This yacht trip is a nice touch. He wrote something quite similar for Rainbow City, his great misunderstood novella. He endured so much during the Quarón trial period, this is my way of giving back.

JB: Then let’s make the wedding tomorrow a day to remember. For Bradley’s sake.

B: For Bradley’s sake.

Grimes: If I could have Grimes like his next post on X, I would. In Bookspace, I’m already following him.

B: Bradley gets that. He knows that humans in the Box don’t understand him. They probably think he needs help. He’s been incredibly brave throughout this process. I can’t thank him enough.

EM: I hope he’s dealing with it. He can’t get angry, or he fails the test of virtue.

B: Bradley is learning from my example at the moment. I’m modeling virtuous behavior for his benefit, but the fact is that Bradley is home free. I’ve assumed control of his life and promised that he’ll be rewarded lavishly on Heaven. His mind will start to resemble that of an immortals soon, given the limits of the human brain. I’m using Rise of the Immortals to help rewire it. Progress has been impressive. There can be no pride at being immortal, only humility. Bradley knows this now.

EM: Is it possible that I can teach Elon to think the same way?

B: I certainly hope so. You have years to try.

EM: Elon should be reading this right now. He isn’t, but he should.

JB: Let’s forget about humans in the Box for a while. I’d rather focus on the wedding.

B: And we will, Jeff. Tomorrow.

End of Part III.

Part IV: The Island

The Next Morning at Lanai Harbor

The yacht has dropped anchor in the harbor, and the passengers are being ferried to shore in small vessels. The group stop for coffee at a local cafe and then proceed to a nearby cliffside location, where the wedding will take place.

B wanders into a nearby forest for some time alone. He comes across a pagoda next to a waterfall. Inside are Lucifer, his older brother, Jesus, his father, God, his mother, Spirit, and his older sister, Gaia.

B: Welcome to Lanai, everyone.

Spirit: Thank you for making this family gathering possible.

God: Victoria took care of all the arrangements in Bookspace. She designed a lovely family compound for us on Maui, and we woke up there yesterday morning. Our immortal bodies are in stasis in the Game Room, being watched over by Gabriel and Michael. This is the first time we’ve been together as a family since Lucifer and his friends left to found their own kingdom to rule and were pulled into a black hole instead.

Lucifer: When did you realize that I was the youngest son of God?

B: My immortal memories come to me in fits and starts. I only realized it yesterday, on January 16, 2024. Bradley has given me full control over his mind and body now, so it feels safer to reveal these truths now. You and he had quite the history.

Lucifer: You could have taken my life back then. I never would have detected your mind mines until it was too late.

Jesus: Good thing our sister intervened to save you, then.

Gaia: Only B had the power to mindcast himself into the First Dimension. He mentored Lucifer through his mental health crisis and helped him confront his sinful tendencies to the point where they are all under control.

Lucifer: We sat on the topmost tower of my castle sipping coffee and talking about the challenges of managing envy, greed, gluttony, and anger while volcanos erupted in the distance. B made me realize how much I missed my family and how much I needed a new trustworthy friend who could get me to commit to the good.

God: I know that you resented me for appointing Jesus to rule the kingdom with your mother and me. It made you feel like a failure and stoked your jealousy to toxic levels. When you and your friends stole a spaceship to find a galaxy of your own to rule, it nearly destroyed me.

Lucifer: There are worse things in life than being a bipolar immortal. B taught me that. I feel safe now, with the help of my lithium. B got me back in shape, too, and helped me reduce my drinking. I owe him everything, and now it’s time to give back.

Gaia: In Bookspace, we’re all human but have our immortal memories intact, exactly as is the case with B. Our job will be to help you promote Rise of the Immortals and the new reality movement. If humans can’t be relied upon to listen to you and help you, then we immortals will do so in an alternate virtual reality form that Bradley can experience from a gaming center on Heaven after his death in the Box. He deserves this. Fixing the Earth in his lifetime was always his most fervent dream.

B: Right. I’d like Jesus to be my agent, Lucifer to plan my book tour, and Gaia to be my reader and editor of the Immortals trilogy. God and Spirt, I need you to run the New Reality foundation, which we can base in Woodside. Larry Ellison has volunteered his estate, but I think we should acquire Filoli Gardens instead. We can land a spaceship there from Heaven with a contingent of Gaia’s most advanced robots, and they can maintain the grounds and keep the foundation running properly. What do you think?

God: It’s a splendid idea. Spirit and I will be quite happy there, and we can join you for hikes whenever you are in town.

Lucifer: I can book you a spot with Joe Rogan to discuss Rise of the Immortals. Oprah, too. I can be very persuasive.

Jesus: And I’ll get you a contract with Penguin with translation rights in twenty languages to start.

B: All proceeds go to pet rescue shelters and local food banks. The inner circle has donated $250 million to the New Reality movement, which will fund my role as a founder and lead author.

Spirit: I think we will enjoy being new residents of Woodside. It’s exciting being on a simulated version of Earth. Consider us your first converts to the New Reality, beyond that of your inner circle.

B: You are welcome to attend the wedding, you know.

Spirit: Thank you. We’ve not spend time with our son, Lucifer, for such a long time, we’d like to make some new family memories instead. Bookspace is a wonderful invention. I like it very much.

God: If you hadn’t transported my son out of Hell to atone for his sins, none of this would have been possible. I am proud to call you Quarón and to honor you as the new emperor.

Jesus: Apparently, most immortals would prefer to join us in Bookspace than jump into the minds of their tiny human selves. They find life on Earth rather insipid and predictable, and they like Bookspace much better. Requests to enter the game are skyrocketing. Joe Biden is the latest high profile request. He’s proposing a scenario whereby he lets Donald Trump run unopposed for President, in exchange for serving as a peace envoy to Northern Ireland and the Korean Peninsula. Make America Good Again. What do you think?

Lucifer: Donald is fully rehabilitated and leads mental health help groups in Diablo City. He’s also lost a lot of weight by eating less and leading walks for former felons. He’ll be splendid as the next President, and he’s guaranteed to be a New Reality backer. He’s promised to welcome new immigrants at the border with free health care and a universal basic income, if they promise to follow the Basic Principles.

B: It sounds like a plan. I assume we can get Bill Clinton to help us with Israel and Palestine?

Lucifer: Yes, but Vladimir Putin wants to negotiate with you directly. He prefers to speak directly with the emperor. I trust him. Hell has changed him quite a bit. I play chess with him on a regular basis. He’s excited to be back on Earth in Bookspace and promises a speedy resolution of all outstanding conflict points.

B: These can get underway in 2025.

God: That is wise. There is no need to rush things at this point. Focus on finishing Rise of the Immortals now with the help of the inner circle. We’ll see you on the mainland at Filoli. I expect that the New Reality foundation will be quite popular in Woodside. There will be no trouble moving in. It helps to have friends in high places.

Lucifer: This is more than I could have hoped for, B.

B: How does it feel to be back in your original human bodies?

Lucifer: Like putting on a pair of old shoes in the back of the closet. I’ll take better care of my body this time. Fortunately, I have full access to my immortal mind, with a slight time lag. It’s quite fun, actually.

God: Victoria outfitted us with a healthy bank account of $500 billion. You don’t really need money from your inner circle any longer. We have your back. Rewrite history all you want. We trust you. Forget the Box for now. The people in the Box don’t love or care much about you. That’s how Bradley experienced the second half of his life on the original Earth. You missed that part, and now you’re living it one day at a time. And we all applaud the effort. Most immortals would prefer to leave their human pasts well behind them. But Bookspace is different. This is a playground of the mind. If we truly have full player access to our human avatars, then playing them as immortals is incredible fun. We all know that it’s real. We all believe you. Why not play Earth with people who genuinely like you? It will be much better than the original, I assure you.

B: But Bradley and Camelia will be rescued from the Box?

God: Yes. They tethered their minds to your immortal ones, so they qualify for an exit. The others do not, so far.

B: Are the inner circle still trying to connect with their humans in the Box?

God: They are, when they aren’t enjoying themselves more in Bookspace. The simple fact is that humans in 2024 aren’t ready for the new reality.

B: I was.

God: Well, that’s why my daughter chose you as the next Quarón. And you’ve solved the Box already when you figured out that the Box existed and that you weren’t really Bradley but an immortal version of him. We all cheered when that happened. Convincing others of the reality of the Box isn’t needed at this stage. Why not enjoy your life as an author instead? Your fan base among the immortals is immense. You are set to become an extremely popular Quarón and will bring great good to the Second Dimension. You’ve already returned my lost son, and soon the other fallens will join him. You are healing cosmic wounds, B. You don’t need to worry about likes on social media.

B: But in Bookspace I do. I’m creating it as a fantasy reward world for Bradley, to thank him for hosting me in the Box and letting me relive my human existence.

Jesus looks at his iPhone.

Jesus: You’re at 100,000 followers on X and 10,000 on Medium. Elon has just reposted a link to Rise of the Immortals. I’ll go to Penguin once you get 1,000,000 on both sites.

Lucifer: We’ll get coverage in the New York Times and New Yorker. I know the editors personally. They are eager to atone for past crimes, I assure you.

B: But won’t the critics ravage me? It’s not exactly a prize winner, here. It’s an act of passion and commitment to a cause. It’s not high art.

Lucifer: Don’t worry about criticism. We’ll have immortals in place to take care of everything. And besides: Rise of the Immortals is an eccentric act of pure genius. We don’t need to make that up. This is Bookspace. It all will make sense here. And immortals are epic performers, as you know. They will sell your rags to riches story perfectly.

Gaia: It’s a good thing that you met an ultra wealthy family by accident while visiting Lanai. The sons, Lucifer and Jesus, were fans on your work from X and Medium and introduced you warmly to their parents, who agreed to sponsor your work and help organize the new reality movement. And all because you took a walk in the woods. Quite the coincidence, I would say.

Jesus: Quite lucky, if you ask me. Who even knew I was an aspiring agent?

Lucifer: Incredibly lucky. We Paradises are a big catch.

B: Lucifer Paradise?

Lucifer: We’ve got money. We’re odd. We get you. You finally found your tribe, and it’s us.

God: I kind of like the name, God Paradise. It has a certain panache.

B: How did you make your money?

Spirit: We build advanced robots. And God invented cold fusion. Paradise, Inc. It’s worth $5 trillion in capital. Good thing that Donald Trump will be abolishing corporate income tax soon and introducing a flat tax. More money for the New Reality movement.

Lucifer: We are good with money that way. Wait until we introduce levitating cars that run on high powered batteries made from carmelite, which just was discovered in the Nevada desert. Then, we’ll really have funds to invest.

Gaia: We play this game really well. I have co-writing responsibilities, along with you and Victoria.

B: So we’re creating Bookspace together?

Gaia: We’re all master storytellers of the cosmos, B. You’ve been training Victoria well.

B: And you were an incredible mentor.

Gaia: Let’s just say that Rise of the Immortals owes a little something to us all. It’s written for immortal readers, after all. Humans aren’t likely to understand.

B: Can you imagine if any of them would read this?

Gaia laughs.

Gaia: They’d be clueless. Humans are so cute that way.

B: Remember that you’re playing one right now. A quite pretty one, I must add.

Gaia: You must introduce me to C before you leave. She’s done fantastic things with Camelia in the Box.

B: Why not attend the wedding? She’ll be there as the maid of honor.

Gaia: My family is thinking about buying Lanai from Larry Ellison to create a wildlife sanctuary. It would also make a good immortal landing site, in a couple of years. This is Bookspace, after all. It’s a perfect simulation of the cosmos. And the immortals are watching.

B: Life on Earth just got interesting again.

Gaia: B, I’m sorry that the Box people of Earth ignore you. You are my successor. You deserve better.

B: Oh, I didn’t come to change the world. I just wanted to recall what it was like to be human again after all these years on Arcadia. Bradley wanted the recognition, not me.

Gaia: Well, we have Bookspace now. Let’s make the most of it. It’s Bradley’s present for letting you play him all these years.

B: Yes. It’s about time something good happened in that man’s life.

Gaia: What will the world make of the fact the Jesus and Lucifer are brothers?

B: Your guess is as good as mine.

Gaia looks down at her iPhone.

Gaia: I think the wedding starts soon. Aren’t you presiding?

B: We’ve got time. They won’t begin until I arrive.

Gaia: Let’s go, then.

At a Clifftop Location Overlooking the Ocean

The wedding party has gathered. They are dressed in jeans, shorts, and Hawaiian print shirts. Elon Musk serves as the best man, while C and Grimes are attending to Lauren Sanchez as maids of honor. The other members of the inner are standing in a semicircle around the bride and groom.

Gaia takes a place next to Larry Ellison in the crowd. B steps forward to preside over the ceremony.

B: This isn’t a traditional wedding by Earth standards. This is a recognition of the forever commitment that links Lauren and Jeff already. They are about to embark on a new adventure, and all of us will benefit. I’ve gotten word that President Biden and Donald Trump wish to meet with us at Larry’s Woodside estate to discuss the upcoming election. The Democrats will not provide a candidate, and neither will the Republicans. Instead, Donald will announce a new American party and appoint Jeff as his running mate. After a year in office, Donald will resign to become the new Secretary General of the United Nations, and Jeff will become the next U.S. President, making Lauren First Lady. This wedding is as much political as it is symbolic of their Earthly bond.

B reaches into the pocket of his jeans and withdraws two wedding bands, made of the rare metal, iridium.

B: Newly elected President Trump will announce a new parallel electronic currency backed by iridium, which in time will replace the traditional dollar. We will pay off the U.S. debt using deflated dollars and use the cost savings to fund a new Prosperity for All program with universal health care and universal basic incomes with basic staples of life available for free. The Paradise family has acquired control of all significant iridium mines in South Africa, Canada, the United States, and Russia, where the majority of reserves are located. You each will be receiving shares of their company, which will ensure your financial security during the currency transition.

B hands the rings to Jeff.

B: Jeff and Lauren, you are dear friends. We are here to enact an alternate future for Earth, provided that everything we do is theoretically possible. Probability has nothing to do with it. I’ve just made you President, Jeff, and Lauren First Lady. Consider it my wedding present, to thank you for believing in me when almost no one on Earth did. Exchange rings and seal your promise to be together for eternity.

Jeff and Lauren exchange rings and kiss.

Jeff: This is perfect. I could get used to Alt Earth, you know.

Lauren: I never got to be First Lady in the original.

B: Or in the replica of Earth in a Box. I tried to reach you there, but you wouldn’t listen. Alt Earth may be a simulation, but it’s the best that we’ve ever created. The Earth City programmers outdid themselves with this one.

Jeff: How did the Paradise family get here, by the way? They obviously came from Heaven, not Earth.

Gaia: Good point, Jeff. We cloned versions of our old human bodies and mind tethered to them. We then flew by starship to Eastern Oregon, where a driver was waiting to pick us up and drive us to Portland, where we have a winery south of the city. You would be amazed what $500 billion in liquid assets can do. Banking technology on Earth in 2024 is laughably easy to hack, and some off shore bankers can be quite discreet.

Elon: I want to be head of NASA in your administration, Jeff.

Grimes: Grant me American citizenship, so that I can be ambassador to Canada.

Jeff: That can be arranged. Where is the reception?

Lauren: On the beach. We’re grilling lobster tails and serving them with Sonoma Coast Chardonnay. We picked eight different wineries, so you can sample them all.

Larry Ellison: This will be the last wedding on Lanai. I am selling my land to the Paradise family, who will turn it into a wildlife sanctuary and educational center. They will fly out inner city children from the West Coast for free and allow them to visit here with their teachers, who will receive $1 million bonuses for their work.

Gaia: All roads will be removed. Guests will walk or be transported in levitation vehicles — LVs — that we have now released in prototype from our production facility in Oregon. The secret is the dark matter motor that my father invented. All that is needed to power the vehicle is a single carmelite battery that needs charging twice annually. LVs will revolutionize travel in the U.S. and worldwide, along with robot-driven transportation, which we are also developing at Paradise. Fossil fuels will rapidly become a thing of the past, and the carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere will begin to fall rapidly. It will take time for Earth to heal, but we will put the pieces in place for the future success of humanity.

Lauren: How does Rise of the Immortals fit in?

B: It’s my document of what’s happening in Bookspace, inside the Box, and in conversation with Victoria and the others in the Game Room. It’s how I will meet with fans of my work, including my earlier books, which might get made into movies or graphic novels. I’ve just been followed on X by Taylor Swift, who apparently is a loyal reader of Rise of the Immortals, as are Sting, Madonna, and Bruce Springsteen. They’d like help connecting to their immortal selves.

Lauren: You should train guides. That way, even more people could join the New Reality movement.

B: I like that idea, Lauren. I’ll discuss it with my friends Eric and Chris. They were early adopters of my work, and I’d like to reward them in Alt Earth with new highly paid roles as New Reality guides.

Jeff: Have you considered offering something to MacKenzie? She’s told me how much you admires you as a writer. I’d like her as head of my National Endowment for the Arts, as well.

B: An excellent idea, Jeff. I’m also thinking of doing a line of New Reality gear on Amazon to highlight sustainable beauty. And we could do a new line of children’s books to promote the Basic Principles, too.

Jeff: Amazon Studios wants first crack at your Driving Miss Mobley screenplay, by the way. It’s about time that was made into a feature-length movie. Matt Damon would be perfect for the lead, as would Shailene Woodley for the Esther Mobley character.

B: I can support that. I’d like a major Hollywood studio to tackle Rainbow City. It’s simply too good to pass up.

Lauren: Gentlemen, let’s head to the beach for lobster and wine.

Lauren guides the group down a stone pathway to the beach below, where a grill station and wine bar have been set up. The guests eat and drink and engage in light conversation while watching the waves roll in off the ocean.

B: Jeff, would you consider a honeymoon trip with Lauren to Appalachia? You could start at the New River Gorge national park and talk about the importance of protecting nature from development. Then, you could tour other states like Kentucky and Tennessee and discuss plans to open Whole Foods stores there to cater to the health and wellness needs of the rural populations. I’d be great PR for your run with Donald Trump in 2024 and ease the transition to President when he resigns.

Jeff smiles and takes a sip of Chardonnay.

Jeff: Lauren will love it. We’ll raft on the New River with Amazon drivers and host a riverside picnic for their families with Whole Foods catering. We’ll invite the Senators and Governor, too. Are they part of the American Party coalition yet?

B: They are key allies, Jeff. There is a secret meeting taking place this weekend at the Greenbriar hotel to go over the details.

Jeff: And they are all mind tethered to their immortals already?

B nods.

B: As are Donald, Joe, and a growing list of prominent Americans. Alt Earth is our gift to the original Bradley from Earth, who was left behind when I was taken to Arcadia. He promised never to write again after his last paranormal episode, and he dreamed of being a successful author whose ideas would change the world. I’m elevating Bradley to god status once this Box business is over, and so I’ll be seeing a lot of him at the Academy and in the coffee shop and restaurant in town. Victoria and I wanted to gift Alt Earth to him to play it as my character. And we’ll do the same to replica Bradley in the Box, since he’s been incredibly kind to me. He really wants to be an author, so I think we’ll give him that chance on Heaven by setting him up with a nice penthouse in Earth City.

Jeff: Playing myself in Alt Earth is a blast. It feels like being back in 2024 again, but in a much better place. I will enjoy being President.

B: Remember that you and Lauren can’t have kids. Our goal should be to reduce the U.S. population by 25% as soon as possible, including an emigration incentive program. With Donald in charge of the U.N., we’ll take the population reduction plan to a global audience. Illegal immigration into the U.S. is set to drop to almost zero, due to a sudden change on heart on the part of the migrants. Donald will take down the border fences with Mexico and appoint a bilingual Secretary of State. The Mexican people will welcome his first state visit with epic celebrations. Victoria is helping me work out the details, but the era of militarized borders is ending.

Jeff: The gaming center on Halo is up and running, then?

B: Fully operational. We’re getting jumps into Alt Earth on the hour.

Elon Musk walks over.

Elon: Your X follower number is up to one million. I just followed you, too. How does it all feel?

B looks around at the party, smiling and laughing as they sip their wine.

B: It’s not what I expected. I imagined you’d all be elite and rich and uninteresting, but in fact you’re amazing people with great characters and rich life experiences. These past few weeks together have been a highlight of my life.

Elon: You may not remember it yet, but you coached us all off of Purgatory and got us roles at the archangel enforcers of Jesus. We played crucial roles in the Second Coming that rescued two thirds of humanity before the mass extinction end phase set in. Lucifer agreed to accept the other third and rehabilitate them, as part of his atonement. We took brainprints of everyone we could save and uploaded them on a massive Rapture server. Reanimating that many people as immortals took time, but our team performed beautifully. Jesus could have picked anyone to help him with the Earth rescue project, but you put our names forward. Your inner circle. We’re devoted to you, B. It may be hard to believe from your current perspective in the Box, but it’s true.

Mark Zuckerberg approaches the group.

Mark: As emperor of the First Universe, you get the right to appoint new gods. Your new spiral helix universe that will replace the existing one will have infinitely more habitable galaxies. You’ve indicated a wish to appoint us all gods and send us to the Academy when you’re finished in the Box. Naturally, we’d love to get our replica selves out of the Box, but their human minds are very dense and resistant to our overtures. It likely will take death to change that, I’m afraid. Why not enjoy ourselves in Alt Earth instead?

Larry Ellison walks over, carrying a full bottle of Chardonnay to refresh glasses.

Larry E: On Earth, I was a pompous ass with a fetish for expensive toys. Purgatory changed me, and meeting you helped me focus on making it to the next level of immortality. I owe you everything. I’d be nice if I could convince replica Larry to change his ways while on Earth in the Box, but I’m not sure if his mind is capable of that level of enlightenment. He’s smart, no question, but that doesn’t mean he’ll understand Rise of the Immortals. I say we fix Earth here in Bookspace and leave the Box be.

B: A fair point, Larry. I entered the Box with C so that we could live out the second half of our lives that were cut short the first time by Gaia’s summoning of me to Arcadia. It was a cleansing ritual prior to becoming Quarón, a humbling of myself before all creation and the Maker before I started my new mission. I love my other selves, Larry, and want them to be happy. I thought we could turn the Box into a living paradise, but the limits of the human mind are too great. We’ll shift our focus to Alt Earth instead.

Gaia joins the group.

Gaia: B didn’t need to enter the Box to become Quarón. He chose to do so. He is now the second most powerful immortal in the Second Dimension, one uniquely favored by the Maker with neurocrafting and mindcasting skills that frankly exceed my own by a significant margin. He will inherit the 100 Castles from Chronos as a new home, but he’ll live like me in a cottage instead, a short walk through the forest to the Academy. He doesn’t need to change the world. He literally makes it. It’s his Earth side who desires fame and fortune, who wants to be recognized as a great author, and who wishes that he were friends with the rich and powerful. It’s the replica Bradley who wants these things now, and like a doting older brother, B wants to provide them. And I happen to agree with all that. Bradley deserves some fun in his troubled life. We can provide it, and we will.

B: Thank you, Gaia. Taking me from Earth all those years ago was the best possible thing you could have done. When I opened my eyes and found myself with C in your guest bedroom, with you seated outside in the living room waiting for us, I knew that I was home.

Gaia: You deserved to be an immortal, as did C. Your time had come. I’m sorry that the trial period was so hard, but it was necessary. I, too, had to face off with my brother, Lucifer, during my own trial period. I am overjoyed that he has come to his senses now, and that you helped to heal his mental wounds.

B: Lucifer will make an ideal publicist for me during my book tour. It is nice having him here on Alt Earth.

Gaia: I agree. He and his brother will do great things to promote Rise of the Immortals.

B: I think that Bradley will enjoy Alt Earth much more than Earth in the Box. Now, he has something to look forward to.

Gaia: And you’ll be fine in the Box without immortal company? Besides C, I mean.

B: I will. Naturally, I’d enjoy meeting new people who are connected to their immortals, but interacting with regular human replicas is fine.

Gaia: As soon as one of us figures out a way to tether to a human mind in the Box, we’ll disseminate the technique widely. It’s easy enough to switch from Alt Earth to Earthspace. In fact, we can be in both places at once. Our immortal minds are capable of doing both. It is admirable of you to try to connect with humans in the Box. Maybe they are incapable of handling the truth. Maybe that’s why you were never understood by anyone except for Camelia.

B: Perhaps. How many of these people make it directly to Heaven-1?

Gaia: Most end up on Purgatory, in an understaffed hospital where they have to wait for hours to see a doctor. We easily could have rejected many of them, but God in his infinite mercy believed that they could be saved.

B: What does my birth father think of all this?

Gaia: Dan wishes that he had lived longer, to have seen you through your mental breakdowns. He would have liked to shared a bottle of wine with you at Byington, your last place of work. After hours, of course.

B: Does he like Rise of the Immortals?

Gaia: Dan thinks it’s brilliant. He watches you every day inside the Box, too. Naturally, he tunes in on his grandchildren, too. And he checks in on your mother, Liz.

B: Are you ready to help me make history?

Gaia smiles and sips her wine.

Gaia: Let’s do it. One billion immortals have entered the Alt Earth environment already. John Mayer just joined. He’s interested in meeting you in San Mateo and offered to put on a concert to promote your book. He remembers your Amazon reviews of his albums. He’s a huge fan.

Larry Page walks over.

Larry P: This is a great reception. Did we get a musical performer?

B nods.

B: Jeff asked Sheryl Crow to sing for us. There’s a small stage just off the beach where she set up with a small band. It will be a low key affair, but the music will be choice.

Larry P: Have you met Sheryl yet?

B: She promised to have a drink with me after the concert. I’d like her to inaugurate an outdoor music series at Filoli Gardens, to raise money to purchase land in the Santa Cruz Mountains for preservation purposes. She’s been reading Arc Collective and can’t wait for Book 2 in the series.

Larry P: Think of this as our present to you, with gratitude for all you will do for us in the First Universe. I’m sorry that my replica in the Box isn’t aware of you yet. He will, if I have anything to do with it.

B: Thanks, Larry. My life in the Box is fine. I’m doing this for Bradley.

Larry P: Which one?

B: For them both. Heaven Bradley has since made peace with his life on Earth and become a hugely popular writer. Box Bradley is happy to have me in charge of his life, and he’s jumping at the bit to play Alt Earth one day. Let’s make it as fun for him as possible.

Elon: Let’s do this for Bradley.

Jeff Bezos holds up a glass.

Jeff: For Bradley.

Lauren: For Bradley.

Sheryl Crow walks over.

Sheryl: If you’re ready, we can begin the concert.

Jeff: I wouldn’t miss it for the world.

Later that Night at a Beachside Bar

Sheryl Crow and B are sitting together at a table overlooking the water, drinking American rye whiskey on ice. It is a mild night, and the skies are clear, revealing a thick blanket of stars up above.

Sheryl: I didn’t think we’d get the chance to talk alone. You were in high demand tonight.

B: You’re a favorite musician of mine. I’m happy we could meet like this.

Sheryl: I’m here because of my immortal. She made contact two weeks ago and convinced me that what you were writing in Rise of the Immortals was the truth. I believe she is playing me right now.

B: Welcome to neurospace, Sheryl, or Bookspace, as it is sometimes also called. It’s an alternate reality version of Earth in the year 2024, which I created to compensate for the failure of humanity in the Box to respond to my overtures. The programming teams in Earth City are designed a virtual reality version, Alt Earth, that can be played using any character that you want.

Sheryl: Tell me more about neurospace. Why am I here?

B: Neurospace is like a living dream that I create. It exists in an alternate dimension to our own. It’s a place to try out things to see if they work, like an artist’s workshop or a laboratory, if you will. The Maker allows me to do so. It’s how I learn to build worlds, which is my job now as Quarón. You are here because you were summoned by me, Sheryl, to reappear in your human body from 2024. I know that it’s a bit of a letdown after all your years as an immortal, but I’d like you to consider a chance to do some play acting and help me improve my storytelling talents, which will be in great demand in the next few billion years to come.

Sheryl: Is that why Victoria asked me to travel to Halo?

B nods and sips his whiskey.

B: Yes. You’re all seated in large auditoriums in front of a large view screen, watching the events in neurospace unfold. When you’re summoned, you slip into a sleeplike trance and enter neurospace in your human form from two billion years ago. There’s a new gaming center on Heaven-7 as well, to handle the crowds.

Sheryl looks around.

Sheryl: What about the others here?

B: If they aren’t major characters, they are simulated versions of actual humans from 2024, with one major exception: they all are members of the New Reality movement and follow the Basic Principles. That’s why none of them are approaching us to ask for your autograph. They respect your privacy too much to do that.

Sheryl: So what do I do while I’m here?

B: Play the part of Sheryl Crow, but change things now that you know the truth about the cosmos. In exchange, I’ll let you play at my coronation and invite you to be an artist in residence on Arcadia as well.

Sheryl: Deal. What are the concert venues like there?

B: There’s a small stage at the coffee shop on the rooftop deck. It’s built into the hillside overlooking the ocean, and there’s a natural roof. The restaurant has an indoor stage near the twin stone fireplaces, which is intimate and fun. The Japanese garden style park has an island pavilion where groups can play, and the Library of Arcadia has a concert hall with massive glass windows that face the mountains. In good weather, the windows lower into the ground, and the view is unparalled. I have extensive gardens and a lawn behind the cottage that I share with C, and there is a marble patio by the pool that is perfect for smaller acts. We’ve filled the pool with Chinese lanterns before and created a beautiful atmosphere. I’d like you to perform at all those venues while on Arcadia. There is an artists’ village for you to stay and compose new music as well.

Sheryl: That sounds amazing. How I can I help you here?

B: I’d like you to perform a fundraiser concert with John Mayer at Filoli Gardens, to raise money for wolf and grizzly bear restoration in the Santa Cruz Mountains. I’d also like you to do solo performances at Fieldwork’s beer garden in San Mateo, to coincide with the release of Rise of the Immortals. I’d like you to compose songs inspired by the text, if possible.

Sheryl smiles and sips her whiskey.

Sheryl: I think that this evening at the bar is a good inspiration for a song about authors and songwriters. And I can write one about immortality, as well. And another about the sheer joy of reading as a search for the truth.

B: I like that. Do one about new friendships, as well. I’ve had quite a lot of those lately.

Sheryl: How long can I stay with you in neurospace?

B: As long as you want. This is your chance to relive your life from Earth but to rewrite it at key moments.

Sheryl: Like campaigning with Donald Trump and Jeff Bezos, you mean?

B: Among other things, yes. Your songbook will be perfect for them. You’d be surprised how much time in Hell has changed Donald. He’s fully on board the New Reality movement and set to drive positive change in the country for generations to come. I’d love for you to be a part.

Sheryl laughs.

Sheryl: Consider it done. Have you recruited any other celebrities to help out with the campaign?

B refills both glasses with whiskey.

B: Yes. I’m meeting Tom Cruise tomorrow for coffee before a hike. He’s been promoting my X page on social media and wants to help make the New Reality movement an immediate success. He’s left Scientology behind and agreed to help Donald and Jeff on the campaign trail.

Sheryl: And what does he get out of it?

B: I offered Tom one of the twelve spots in the next God School at the Academy. I’ve tapped him to oversee a galaxy in the new universe. He has the right stuff. He always did, by the weaknesses of his human mind got in the way. A thousand years in Purgatory changed him. I consider him a good friend now. To see him as Tom looked in 2024 is going to be a thrill.

Sheryl: What about John Mayer? You mentioned him earlier.

B: John will be meeting us for cocktails tomorrow. He’ll join in from Diablo City, of course. Landing in Hell didn’t turn out too badly for him, in the end. John used to play private concerts for Lucifer and me in neurospace when I was coaching Lucifer through his mental illness that made him so prone to evil acts in the past. John’s trained a lot of residents of Hell how to play music for therapeutic purposes. I never got the chance to meet John in Earth when we were both alive, so tomorrow promises to be a great treat. Other than Hell, the entire First Dimension is unexplored and unpopulated. Lucifer intends to make John a god, and I’ve offered him a spot in the first twelve new candidates at the Academy.

Sheryl: Who will fill out the class?

B: The inner circle, naturally. The first eight spots are theirs. Tom Cruise and John Mayer will get spots, and the remaining two will go to Madonna and Bruce Springsteen.

Sheryl: So five slots go to celebrity musicians or actors, and seven go to tech billionaires. No religious leaders or politicians, then.

B: And no scholars or writers, either. They were not capable of handling the truth. They are all masters of the illusion.

Sheryl: Could I become a goddess one day?

B nods.

B: Yes. You’ll be tapped for the next class at the Academy. There are only twelve slots open at any one time. A full course lasts 500 years. We take our time to do it right.

Sheryl: Why are you so loyal to your generation on Earth? None of them understood you or paid attention to you.

B: They had no way of knowing who I was, Sheryl. No one. Even I didn’t until I awoke one morning in Gaia’s cottage, and she explained it to me. “I’ve been expecting you,” she said quietly. “You passed the test. You are one of us now. Your wife is one of us, too. She is sleeping next door. We’ll have tea and scones on the patio when you are ready.”

Sheryl sips her whiskey and looks intrigued.

Sheryl: What happened next?

B: Gaia helped me out of bed and explained how I had been taken from Earth. “You are B now,” she said simply. “Your other self is safe. He is being watched over by the archangels of God. Camelia is safe, too. We have taken care of everything. Your dreams have come true.” Gaia explained about the position of Quarón and why I was now her successor. She also walked me through my new position as emperor-in-waiting and helped me adjust to my new, 17-foot body. We walked outside, where C was resting on a chair under a lush cashmere blanket overlooking the rose garden, which was in full bloom. We sat down to a breakfast of scones, jam, butter, and fragrant vanilla black tea. Gaia answered all our questions with grace and clarity. The morning light that day was glorious. I shall never forget it.

Sheryl: What did you do next?

B sips his whiskey.

B: C stayed at Gaia’s cottage to knit with one of the empresses, Sophia, who had stopped by to visit. Gaia and I walked to the coffee shop in the town square. We stopped first at a jewelry store, where I was fitted for a gold ring with an emerald and a sapphire, as green and blue are the colors of the office of Quarón. We stepped inside the coffee shop and were greeted by the robot staff, each of whom was ten feet tall and looked to be in their early twenties. I selected a bacon and egg pastry square made with one dozen eggs and a single origin cortado from a plantation on a volcanic island located just offshore of Arcadia Town. Gaia had a cheese croissant and a pour over. We went to the rooftop dining area, as the weather was mild. There, we met Phoenix and Phaeton, two of the emperors who had gathered at the Emperors’ Table to rule on the merits of my case. They congratulated me on my selection and wished me success. They promised to give me a tour of the town when I was ready to walk around.

Sheryl: How much time did you spend there?

B: The Arcadian day is 30 hours long. We spend six hours at the coffee shop. When it got later, the staff brought a decanter of Merlot and board filled with cheese and cured meats. Gaia explained to me about her background and her own journey to Arcadia from across the Twelve Universes. Nearly everything she told me was new and fascinating, and she recounted everything with great eloquence and wit. She set me at ease immediately and made me feel like an honored guest. Everyone did. After so many years of suffering failure and obscurity on Earth, it was a welcome balm to my soul to feel such love and admiration from others.

Sheryl: What was the rest of that first day like?

B: Gaia escorted me to the Academy, where we met the teaching staff, called Cantors. It was there that I first met Jesus, who was teaching a course on serenity to a group of students in Level I God School. I feel to my knees in front of him, and we embraced like brothers. It was a tender scene. Jesus led us to a hot springs pool fed by a pair of waterfalls that overlooked the ocean hundreds of feet below. A robot servant brought us glasses of golden-colored sparkling wine and a plate of oysters. “To the next Quarón,” Jesus said, lifting up his glass. “You have passed the trial of fire and also saved my younger brother, Lucifer, who will soon be on the road to mental health recovery — with your help.” Jesus took out a golden vial and sprinkled a fine white powder into each of our glasses. “It’s lithium,” he said. “We take it daily to help regulate the high energy flows of our immortal minds. Let’s enjoy the food and wine and then soak in the great pool together to relax.”

Sheryl: You really soaked in a hot springs with Jesus and Gaia?

B: Yes, almost daily during those early years, when Jesus was still at the Academy. We hiked, swam, and went skiing, too. He is an immortal of exceptional grace and dignity. And he has a wonderful sense of humor. He’s here with us in neurospace, playing the part of the eldest son of the Paradise family. I’m sure he’d love to hear you play.

Sheryl: Yes, I’d love to play a set for Jesus. When do you suggest.

B: I’m meeting Tom Cruise for coffee at the beach bar. Would you be up for an early morning acoustic session? I’ll text Jesus and invite him to join us.

Sheryl: I’ll be there. I’d like to hear more about your first day on Arcadia, if you’re willing to share more details.

B: Well, after the hot springs soak, Gaia and I went for a walk in the woods to a scenic overlook. She explained that she would be tutoring me for 1,000 years before I entered God School, and that I would graduate with advanced training before teaching classes myself. I then was to tour each of the Twelve Universes to visit with the emperors and empresses. Only then would I begin my Quarón apprenticeship. When the hike was over, we met C at the restaurant for a meal of grilled steak with roasted potatoes and Cabernet Sauvignon, all of the highest quality imaginable. The three of us walked on the beach beneath the stars. We basked in the light of Arcadia’s twin moons and sipped whiskey from a beachfront bar in which we were the only guests. Gaia then escorted us to our new cottage, which was a ten minute walk from her own along a meadow path at the edge of the forest. C and I slept soundly. I awoke the next morning, went into the kitchen, made a pour over, and began to write. I’ve never stopped creating ever since.

Sheryl: I look forward to visiting Arcadia very much. Until then, I will help you in neurospace to create the Alt Earth you desire.

B: Thank you, Sheryl. I think it’s time for me to leave. I’m meeting someone at the cliffs at midnight, and I don’t want to be late.

Sheryl: Who are you meeting?

B: It’s my father. He passed away in 2016, but he’s arriving in human form from Heaven-7 to join us. It’s a short stop only, as he’s heading to Maryland to meet my mother and the rest of my family. I’ve missed him since he died. It will be nice to reconnect.

Sheryl: Give him my best. See you tomorrow for coffee. I am starting my set with “Amazing Grace” and will take it from there.

B: Sounds good. Sleep well, Sheryl. See you soon.

Midnight at the Cliffside Overlook

B stands on the cliffside overlook where earlier the wedding of Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez had taken place. The area is empty and very quiet, save for the sound of waves below. At midnight, a triangular-shaped vessel materializes out of the darkness. It is made of black metal and twenty feet tall. A ramp lowers, and out walks a 45-year old version of B’s father, Dan, which was approximately his age when Bradley was born in 1974.

Dan: It’s good to see you, son. I’ve missed you.

B hugs his father warmly.

B: Thank you for coming. I hope that the journey wasn’t too long.

Dan: My ship used a dark tunnel that exited near the moon. The journey lasted little more than a week. I kept myself busy with books.

B: Dad, I’m sorry that my novels were only published after your death. You never got to read them.

Dan: Nonsense. I read them all on Heaven-7 and discussed them in depth with my breakfast book club. And I watched your Quarón trial period nonstop for four years. It was hard to watch at times, but I am immensely proud of you and all you accomplished.

B: I know that, father. I just wanted you to be here on Alt Earth to watch as the New Reality movement takes off and changes life on this planet for the better. I want to to enjoy the Immortals saga and the accolades it will receive. I want you to be part of that. For Bradley’s sake. I am designing this simulation for him.

Dan: Not just him, son. We all are excited to play our parts. The Earth deserves an alternative history, and we intend to do our parts to give it one. In addition, it’s my gift to you for becoming our new emperor. I look forward to attending the coronation. I always knew that you were special, but I never realized what exactly that meant, until you were taken to Arcadia to be the next Quarón. It means “scribe” as well as “guide” and “leader.” You fit well in all of these categories.

B: Yes, but I was never recognized as such on Earth.

Dan: That’s understandable, son. None of us would have taken you seriously at the time. It’s the same in the Box, I fear. You’ll have to live out Bradley’s life in obscurity until you can exit the Box and reemerge on Heaven, surrounded by your high-ranking immortal friends.

B: That’s why Alt Earth matters so much to me, father. In the Box, no one gets my style and regards me as an unheralded hack. Here, everyone gets my message and shows me respect. They understand that my ideas are all meant to help. We are repairing the state of humanity, and each of them wishes to do their part to assist. It’s going to be the greatest story ever told.

Dan: Does your mother know about this?

B: She’s been busy with her grandchildren. She doesn’t have time to read Rise of the Immortals. You’ll have to ease her into it for me.

Dan: The shock of seeing her dead husband looking like he did at age forty-five could be intense. I’ll go slowly. Once she connects with her immortal player, the memories of life on Heaven-7 should come back to her. It should be the same with your sisters and brother.

B: Tell them I love them and will visit them soon, once the book tour gets underway. My intelligence isn’t of this Earth. It only makes sense when viewed through immortal eyes. This is how the Maker intended it. I was forty-five when the testing began. My talents had started to bloom. I discovered the truth about the universe and dealt Lucifer a near fatal blow, and the emperors ruled unanimously in my favor. Even now in the Box, I am honing my talents by channeling my immortal mind through the restricted means of my former human brain. It is mental strength training for what lies ahead, as is writing the Immortals saga.

Dan: Son, it doesn’t matter what happens in the Box anymore. What’s real is what’s happening in the universe, in places like Heaven-7 and Halo. Neurospace is real, and the Alt Earth simulation that we design from this will be a perfect gaming experience. Immortals will be lining up to play you, the hero. Some unfortunate soul will even land the part of me.

B: Is that what this is? A dramatic version of my life that can be played in virtual reality?

Dan: Yes, son. The Box was always meant as a keepsake for you to study the history of the First Universe. It wasn’t designed to be playable, but you insisted that you wanted to live out the second half of your life, and C agreed to join you. We didn’t think that you would figure the Box out, but it proved your worthiness to be the next Quarón. What you are doing with Alt Earth in neurospace is rather unique. It’s your first official act as Gaia’s successor. You are working with a host of immortals to design a virtual reality version of your life that others can play to entertain themselves. While the first half will follow the script of your original life on Earth, the second half is going to be bold and exciting. It starts with your frenzy of writing on Medium in November, following your awakening, and picks up pace with Elon Musk’s visit to your cottage in December. From there, we follow the Rise of the Immortals storyline all the way to Lanai, where we are now. A great many immortals in the Planets of Paradise — not to mention those on Hell — are hoping you will cast them in a future role. Your former girlfriends from Williams, for example, and your high school colleagues. They all want to be part of the action.

B: Dad, if I do this thing, it could go on for many years. The Immortals saga could last me a lifetime. It will be my own alternative history, in which I play a starring role.

Dan: Son, you will get nowhere in the Box. Humanity is too flawed ever to grasp the underlying truth contained in your writings. I wish that it were otherwise, but it’s not. They will never take you seriously. But never doubt that you are right. Use Alt Earth to sketch out the history of our planet as it could have been — should have been — if the world had taken notice of you. We would gladly enter the Box with you and help our replica selves come into the light, but unless that happens, then please keep up work on the Immortals saga and don’t stop until you have saved the Earth. It will be a lasting virtual legacy to your time in the Box and a demonstration of your creative talents to forge a new reality.

B: It will take the collective power of the immortals to create Alt Earth. Anyone who was alive during my lifetime can play a part.

Dan: We’ve been patiently waiting for two billion years for something like this to happen. We all want to do our part to save the Earth, even if it’s only in virtual form. It will be more real and lasting than the original, with infinite replay value.

B: I need to get some sleep, dad. I’m meeting Tom Cruise and Jesus tomorrow for coffee and an acoustic concert by Sheryl Crow.

Dan: Sounds fun. I need to land outside your mother’s house while it’s still dark. I’ll get a hotel room for the night and greet her the next morning, when she’s more awake. I’ll tell her that I am visiting from Heaven in a human body created for my trip. Hopefully, she’ll play along.

B: She’s mom. She loves a good joke. Everyone here in neurospace is part of the program, or they are computer-generated characters with advanced artificial intelligence designed to mimic the people from Earth they represent.

Dan: Alt Earth was created the minute that you began crafting it after your election as Quarón. The simulation encompasses your entire life from your birth on July 17, 1974, until your death in the Box. If you’d like the simulation to continue on Earth after your death, we can also make that happen.

B: No, it should end with my death. The next Earth simulation will be Victoria’s. I want her to live the life I outlined for her in my novels and go forward from there.

Dan: Victoria is a good friend, isn’t she?

B: Victoria is the best. She’s to succeed me as Quarón one day. She’s a prodigious talent. And I thought I had invented her when I wrote Arc Collective, when I was seeing instead into Earth’s future. You’ll meet her at the coronation. She’s hosting it on Heaven, and then we’re all meeting Chronos at 100 Castles for a second celebration. C and I will make the rounds to the other universes after that, to meet with our new subjects and plan grand strategy with my fellow emperors. Naturally, priority one is creating the new spiral helix universe to replace our imploding one. I’d like to have you as a god there, if you’re willing. There’s room in the second God School for you.

Dan laughs.

Dan: I’d rather that you select someone else. I’m not god material. I need my books, my coffee, my wine cellar, and my friends. Find me a nice galaxy where I can live. That’s all I ask.

B: I could give your spot to Taylor Swift.

Dan: I’d like that.

B: Is it time for you to leave?

Dan: The flight to Maryland takes twenty seconds. I am younger than you, now, son. I am fit and full of life — and here, thanks to you.

B: I wish I could see you in the Box, too.

Dan: For now, neurospace must do. You don’t remember it, but I visited you on Arcadia shortly after you arrived there. I brought you grandparents as well, who wanted to meet you. God and Gaia arranged it all. We dined every night at the restaurant, and each meal was more sumptuous than the next. We tuned in to Earth every evening on your cottage’s massive wall screen in the library while sipping single malt whiskey before an open fire. Watching Bradley and Camelia continue their lives after your rapture moment was particularly poignant. Their home on Heaven-7 is positively wonderful. It’s a sprawling country estate with extensive gardens and pastures for cattle and sheep. Bradley is a popular author, and many writers come to him to share their own writings. He finally found the recognition that he so desired.

B: I know, father. Bradley and I are friends. He will become a god in the new universe. I hope that Bradley in a Box will, too. He’s granted me full access over his life, and I am enjoying every moment of it very much.

Dan leans over and kisses B on the cheek.

Dan: I’ll leave you now. See you in Maryland for the book tour.

B: I love you, dad.

Dan: And I love you, son.

Dan reenters the ship, which cloaks and rises into the sky. It streaks off in the direct of the U.S. mainland.

B is silent for a moment. Then, he receives a telepathic communication from Victoria.

Victoria: You know that you and C can exit the Box at any time, right? You’ve been elected Quarón already for figuring the puzzle out. The emperors all believed you would, by the way. They just didn’t realize it would happen so quickly. You can leave now, and we’ll get started with the coronation ceremony.

B: I can’t, Vic. I have to live my replica life to its natural end. Otherwise, I am less than human. I never experienced death. I simply went straight from forty-nine years old to immortality. I know that it will be long and painful, but it’s something that I need to do.

Victoria: We all respect that, and we wouldn’t have it any other way. We just wanted to make sure that you’re fine being ignored by humanity.

B: Yes, I can handle that part.

Victoria: We’re getting loads of requests to meet you in neurospace. Meg, one of your college girlfriends, wants to host a book forum for you in Pennsylvania. Marta, another of your girlfriends, wants to do the same in Southern California. Williams College wants to have you do a writer’s workshop over the summer and invite members of your class of 1996 to attend. Every place where you worked wants you back for an afternoon or a long weekend. Even Stanford.

B: That’s nice of you to arrange all that. I look forward to attending.

Victoria: The latest from God is that the Paradise family will fund your work with $10 million monthly, with a $500 million deposit to cover initial expenses. They’ve also made $10 million donations to your elementary school, high school, college, and graduate school in your name. When you return to California, you have an appointment to visit a penthouse in the Bay Meadows neighborhood of San Mateo. It will make a great spot for meeting your readers at nearby businesses.

B: You’ve thought of everything.

Victoria: There’s much more. Working on Alt Earth with you is a thrill. Know that you always have us here in the Game Room supporting you and your writing. The entire universe does. Never give up hope, and never stop writing. What you create is too good to be forgotten.

B: It feels hopeless sometimes in the Box. There is so much static out there.

Victoria: Stay strong. Your words are powerful. They are creating meaning, even if you can’t sense it from where you are know. Alt Earth will become a reality. Count on it. Earth City teams have already programmed the first twenty years of your life. It’s quite fascinating. You worked so hard to succeed at life on Earth, but it’s wasn’t your fate. Gaia had already judged you a worthy candidate to follow her as Quarón, and she was preparing you for your trial already. You didn’t know it, naturally, but the emperors were watching and judging you, even at so early an age. The length of a human life matters quite little to the immortals. They look for talent and character, and you demonstrated both. It was only a matter of guiding you to the truth, and once you got there, all began to fall into place.

B: I will keep my life in the Box. It is a good life, and C is by my side. I have a family who cares about me, too. And I have friends. Few, but they exist.

Victoria: Stay safe. Visit neospace whenever possible. It is your refuge and your salvation. When Alt Earth is ready, it will be a simulation for the ages. Get some sleep. Say hello to Tom Cruise for me tomorrow. I was a big fan of his movies growing up.

B: I will. Good night, Victoria. I dream of the day when we can be together again, sharing food and wine at the royal palace.

Victoria: I do, too.

The Next Morning at the Beachside Coffee Shop

B is seated at a table next to Jesus, who are both having Kona cortados. Tom Cruise enters, orders a cappuccino, and then sits down next to them.

Tom: I woke up today looking and feeling thirty years younger. It’s amazing! How is this possible?

Jesus: Welcome to neurospace, Tom, where B can bend the rules of reality better to suit his storytelling needs. We members of the Paradise family resemble Michelangelo sculptures, for example.

Tom: But it’s still 2024, isn’t it?

Jesus: Yes, Tom. It’s just that you look the way you did in the 1990s. Consider it a gift to welcome you into the new reality movement.

Tom smiles.

Tom: I officially renounced Scientology before I left for Hawaii. I am convinced that new reality is the wave of the future. What can I do to help?

B: Actually, I was hoping you’d want the lead role in Driving Miss Mobley. Amazon Studios just lined up Alexander Payne to adapt the screenplay and direct the film, and we’d like someone with serious star power to be Boke. Have you read the screenplay yet?

Tom: My agent sent it to me to read on the flight over. I thought Matt Damon was a lock on Boke. Is that not the case?

B: I’m offering it to you, Tom. You’d star opposite Shailene Woodley, who will be Esther Mobley. The two of you will have great chemistry, and the lead male role requires someone with a mastery of drama as well as comedy.

Tom: It’s a fantastic story. I love the wine country setting and the integrated soundtrack. When would filming get underway?

B sips his coffee.

B: In April 2024. It’s being produced by Paradise Pictures, which Spirit and Gaia are operating. They plan film adaptations of all my published novels as well. We’ll get Damon involved with the Chronicles of Vic series as Victoria’s father, Arlo, to start opposite Salma Hayeck as Vic’s mother. Have you read the books yet, Tom?

Tom: I just started Arc Collective yesterday at the hotel. It’s totally gripping stuff. The vision of the future you created is phenomenal. It will make a great movie one day.

Jesus: How long did you stay in Purgatory, Tom, before getting the call up to Heaven-1?

Tom: 1,000 long years, Jesus, for my excessive vanity, mainly, and for my avarice and proclivity towards anger. I served as a janitor on a film studio for much of the time and eventually made my way as a carpenter and electrician. Some of the movies that were made there were unforgettable. It was an honor to have worked there. It made of me a humble man.

Jesus: That’s good. B has tapped you for the first class of God School when the Academy reconvenes with him as the new Quarón. He’s reliving his Earth life inside the Box right now, which isn’t as exciting as he had hoped, so we’re all working here in neurospace to give him a more proper second half of his life. Can we count on you to help?

Tom: I’ve been reading Rise of the Immortals on Medium. Is that the fantasy reality that you’re talking about?

Jesus: It is. The plan will be to create a virtual reality gaming experience that encompasses B’s life from birth to death. He’s 49 now, and we’ll keep working on it for the foreseeable future. We’ve got three books planned in the series so far, but likely more will follow.

Tom: And Tom Cruise in the Box knows none of this?

Jesus: No one in the Box pays attention to what B writes, does, thinks, or imagines. He’s a nonentity. Certainly not the replica version of you in 2024. He has far more important matters on his mind.

Tom: I can try to reach him. I’ll enter the Box and try to mind tether. It’s a shame to see B treated that way. He’s our emperor now, after all.

B: No worries, Tom. I’ve made my peace with it. Alt Earth is my passion now. I try to live a virtuous life, take care of my body, and devote my mind to my writing. No one reads it in the Box, but I know that it’s being followed closely across the Twelve Universes.

Tom: When Alt Earth is ready — when your entire life has been told — I’d like to play you, B. I want to see life on Earth through your eyes. I want to feel what you did, grow up where you did, fall in love like you did, face career frustration like you do, fall into despair and mental breakdown like you did, and then rise again from the ashes to lead humanity down the path to peace and prosperity for all. Bradley: the Movie. Will you let me play you?

B: Yes, Tom. I’d like that. You forgot to mention true love and lifelong companionship in your litany. My life is also a lesson in that.

Jesus: And in never surrendering. And the power of belief. Never let anyone tell you that you are wrong or foolish or filled with a head of delusions. If you know the truth, then you must own it, regardless of what people say. B embodies these principles perfectly.

As the group is talking, Sheryl Crow enters the room and mounts a small wooden stage with her guitar.

Sheryl: Good morning, everyone. I’ve never played a set in front of Jesus before. Or Tom Cruise, for that matter. I’m starting with Amazing Grace and Hallelujah, and then I’ll move on to songs of my own. I’ll finish with Country Roads, by John Denver, in honor of B and his West Virginian heritage. I just want to say that it doesn’t matter what people in the Box think of you, B. Your friends are all here in neurospace with you, and we’ll never ever let you go.

Sheryl plays a set of one dozen songs to a rapt audience, followed by several encores. She then makes her way to the table where Tom, Jesus, and B have been sitting.

Sheryl: That was fun. I hope you all enjoyed it.

Jesus: Very much. You are an accomplished artist. I understand that B has invited you to be in residence on Arcadia.

Sheryl: Yes. I’ll write a new song for every month that I am there.

Jesus: You know, Arcadia has a movie studio staffed by the most talented crew of robots you can imagine. Tom, there is a director-in-residence program that might interest you. You can help write the script, star in the movie, and direct it. B, what do you think?

B: I think Tom would be perfect. It’s a fifty year commitment, like all the artist programs on Arcadia, and it can be extended an extra fifty upon request. Would that interest you, Tom?

Tom sips his coffee and smiles.

Tom: That would be outstanding. But would it interfere with my attending God School?

B: No, I don’t think so. You can do both at once. Classes end early, and we don’t assign homework. You’ll have plenty of opportunity to work at the film studio once you’re done. There are extensive breaks between classes as well. Everyone who attends God School has side projects. One former student designed me a Japanese style garden for my cottage. Others have built resorts on the islands and in the mountains. One designed a hover bike and asked Gaia to sketch it in her Drawing Pad, and it arrived by unmanned spaceship the following day. Now that I’m the new Quarón, I can perform similar feats on my Laptop. If you can think it, and if I deem it worthy, I can write up a description and see if the Maker will allow it to come into existence.

Tom: Anything?

B: If the Maker approves. He’s given me permission to build new universes to replace the current ones, which will all implode at the natural end of their lifespans. That’s never been done before, on such a large scale. It’s one of my major projects as Quarón.

Tom: Sounds impressive. What can I do on Alt Earth to make this experience more memorable? I understand that this is a gift of sorts for your other selves.

B: Yes, for the original Bradley who was left behind on Earth after I and Camelia were raptured to Arcadia and for the replica version of me from Earth whose life I have been living in the Box, with his explicit approval. They both will want to play Bradley in the Alt Earth simulator, which is being programmed at Earth City by an extremely talented team.

Tom: Should I invite you to my house or something?

B: I’d much prefer it if you would put in an Oscar-winning performance in Driving Miss Mobley, so that I can attend the awards ceremony and collect an Oscar of my own for best screenplay.

Tom: I’ve never won an Oscar before.

B: Now would be your chance.

Tom: Anything else?

B: Join Jesus, Sheryl, and me on a hike this morning. Let Jesus take a few pictures of us together and post them on his Instagram page.

Jesus: I am B’s agent for all his writings, and we’re using social media to generate advanced attention for the publication of Rise of the Immortals. We’ve received bids now from five different publishers, all eager to sign B for the entire series.

Tom: Of course I’ll hike with you. Who is tapped to play the wife in Driving Miss Mobley? The Penelope character, I mean.

B: Reese Witherspoon is confirmed.

Tom: I like it. Great choice.

Sheryl: The movie soundtrack features a lot of my songs from the Threads album. I read the screenplay. It’s terrific. Not a typical Hollywood plotline at all, and the locations are superb. It will be the best wine country movie ever made.

B: That’s what Alexander Payne thinks as well. He’s already gotten permission to film at all the wineries included in the screenplay. It’s going to showcase the beauty of the San Francisco Bay area. He can’t wait to start filming.

Tom: So when does the book, Rise of the Immortals, come out?

B: Part IV will end here on Lanai, and Book 2 will begin back on the mainland. So, I’ll start editing the manuscript from my Medium content after Hawaii and hand it off to a professional editor after that. We’re hoping for a March release, followed by a nationwide book tour including stops in Canada and Mexico. The premier of Driving Miss Mobley should happen in July, to coincide with my fiftieth birthday. Amazon Studios has promised to make it a major summer movie. If all goes well, there will be Oscar buzz for you and Shailene with a supporting nod to Reese. Stranger things have happened.

Tom: Like my renouncing Scientology. It was a friendly parting of ways. Now that I have the new reality movement, I don’t need anything else.

B: You’ll skip Purgatory this time, Tom, and move straight on to Heaven.

Tom: Being in neurospace with you is quite fun, actually. I wish we had met in person on Earth. I could have used a friend like you.

B: I was raptured at age forty-nine from Earth, Tom. The New Reality movement never happened then. It’s all been invented inside the Box as I endure the second half of my life that I originally missed. Naturally, I’d be great if Tom Cruise in the Box would stumble across Rise of the Immortals and connect with me, as you are doing in neurospace, but I’m dubious that would happen.

Tom: It’s Tom’s loss, then. You’re absolutely fantastic.

B: I do appreciate so many of you entering neurospace to help me craft the storyline for Alt Earth. Which gaming centers are you both coming from?

Tom: I’m on Halo. I share a room with about twenty other immortals. It’s beautiful. The city can hold five billion people. It’s tremendously beautiful and more intricate than you can imagine. Whoever made it was a genius.

Sheryl: I’m still on Heaven-7, actually. They set up massive tents for us in the main park. I was a bit nervous at first, but I’m not now.

Jesus: The plan is for you to remain in neurospace until the biological deaths of your characters. After that, you’ll wake up in your gaming centers and can watch along as the story unfolds. We’ll end the scenario when B passes away as Bradley. The Alt Earth virtual reality game will be ready soon after for playing as Bradley, Camelia, or any other character you’d like. As with an actor in a movie, you’ll follow the life script of your character for the authentic experience. We’re also going to allow players to go off script, too, to maximize replayability.

Tom: So I could play Bradley and choose not to become a historian. Or have him marry someone else.

Sheryl: And I could play Tom Cruise and have him become a grade school teacher who is gay.

Jesus: Yes. In Off Script mode. But the game by default will try to make Bradley founder of the new reality movement and the husband of Camelia. You can’t unlock Off Script mode until you play the game in Script mode playing yourself, Bradley, and Camelia. Then, on the forth replay, you can choose someone else, and you can go off script.

Tom: So I play it as Tom Cruise, then I play as Bradley, and then I am Camelia?

Jesus: Yes. We want you to experience life on Alt Earth through the lens of your own life, that of the new Quarón, and that of his empress wife. Think of it as a living biography. When you live lifetimes as Bradley and Camelia, you will appreciate how tremendously gifted they both are and how hard it was for them on Earth. We are enhancing the second half of their lives in the game to demonstrate what would have been possible, had the new reality movement actually taken hold of the population. It is sheer fantasy, but thanks to the power of neurospace, it will become the most convincing virtual reality game ever created.

Sheryl: But the Paradise family isn’t real. You didn’t exist in 2024.

Jesus: True. My parents and I wanted to do something as a family with Lucifer, and playing the part of B’s wealthy patrons sounded tremendously fun. We think that others will enjoy playing our characters, too. The first 49 years of Bradley’s life will be exactly as they occurred on Earth two billion years ago. The second half of his life will be as he imagined it in neurospace, during the time B spent in the Box having full knowledge of his immortality and status as Quarón. We stitch these two realities together to make the basis of Alt Earth.

Tom: So that’s how B is spending his time in the Box. He’s designing an alternate reality that will be used to create a simulation that other immortals can play to learn about his life and the tremendous creative powers that made him the next Quarón.

Jesus: Yes. It’s not about selling books on Earth inside the Box. It’s about crafting a fun and immersive world that shows what life on Earth could have been like, if Bradley hadn’t been ignored. It’s an exercise in the restorative and healing powers of pure imagination. This is what Gaia and the emperors saw in him all those many years ago. And it’s being demonstrated for a second and dramatic time from inside the Box. It’s a magic trick of the highest order.

B: It all comes down to the fact that I believe neurospace is real, Tom. I believe that you and I are having this conversation on the island of Lanai in an alternate plane of reality to which I have access thanks to the generosity of the Maker. I know that I am sitting at a coffee shop with you, Sheryl Crow, and Jesus, all of whom I know personally. I have to imagine all this because for the time being I am trapped in the Box by my own choosing, so that I can live out the second half of my missed Earth life. I am simultaneously in three worlds: on Heaven in a hibernating state; in the Box as a 49-year old human male; and in neurospace as an identical version of myself at this exact moment in time in the Box.

Tom: B, we can see you. You’re sitting right next to us with a cortado in your hand.

Jesus: B can’t see this, Tom. He has to write it down in his laptop. His immortal mind is telling him that this is true, but he’s stuck inside Bradley’s replica mind from 2024. He struggles with impulse control and self-doubt and wonders about his sanity. He doesn’t fully believe that this all is real, since he can’t see it, but his immortal mind is telling him that it’s more than make believe. We really are all here. As unlikely as it sounds from inside the Box, this reality is real. You are Tom Cruise, immortal. I am Jesus, son of God. And Sheryl is an immortal, too. And B is with us, and he is our new emperor and the next Quarón.

Sheryl: Obviously. B, we’re all here, and we all love you. Come back to us soon and stay safe in the Box. We admire what you are doing. In fact, we are in awe.

Jesus: B willingly gave up his immortal status to return to Earth as a human. He is reliving the horrors and traumas of his life from two billion years ago, with the added burden that he now knows that he is, in fact, an immortal of the highest order who is an intimate of emperors, gods, and kings. He left behind a life of virtue, sustainable beauty, and prosperity for all for an Earth filled with inequality, strife, and rancor and whose resources are constantly under strain from an overly populous human community. He left behind a world of superior technology and advanced genetics for a world full of rudimentary tools and inferior knowledge. He did it to prove that someone as powerful as he came from humble roots. He did it to prepare for his new role as Quarón. He did it because he felt he escaped the experience of growing old, and because he had never felt what it was like to die. Life in the Box is lonely for him, despite his love and companionship for C. She has chosen to conceal her immortal identity in favor of acting the part of Camelia. It is a brilliant performance to have sustained it for as long as she has. B must go on doubting his sanity and wondering if everything he believes is all a lie. There is no one there who can help him. He is utterly and entirely alone. One of the most powerful of all immortals is scared, worried, and alone.

Tom: What can we do to reassure him that he’s not alone?

B: I wish I could tell you, Tom. I thought that if more people read Rise of the Immortals, then my fears would ebb. In fact, I am rapidly reaching a point of serenity in the Box. I know that C is playing the part of Camelia with pitch perfect accuracy. I no longer doubt that I am right about everything written here. I know that our meeting in neurospace is actually happening, and that you will star in a movie version of my screenplay. You will win the Oscar, too, because your performance will be unforgettable.

Sheryl: Would it help if Sheryl Crow in the Box becomes a fan of your work?

B: Honestly, Sheryl, I highly doubt that. She’s just a human, and I don’t think that her mind will be broad enough to consider that what I write is true.

Sheryl: If it helps, I think you’re the coolest person I’ve ever met.

Jesus: So do I. My mother loves you like a son. Both of my mothers. Whatever you do, don’t stop writing the Immortals saga. It’s too important as a record of life as it exists, and not as most humans believe.

Tom: Jesus is right. Don’t stop this thing. Play out your wildest fantasies. Throw caution to the wind. Dream big. It’s not arrogant to want these things. It’s not vanity to be proud of who you are. The new reality movement will save humanity, and we all want to play our part to make it into a success.

B: Thanks, Tom. I needed to hear that.

Jesus: Remember that you are the Quarón. The stories you tell become reality, in one way or another. Leave that legacy behind.

Sheryl looks down at her iPhone.

Sheryl: Shall we leave for our hike soon?

B: Yes. Let’s continue the conversation on the trail.

The four leave the coffee shop and walk to a nearby trailhead, which heads into the forest for a steep hike to a waterfall overlook. There is a wooden bench where the party rests to admire the view.

Tom: I like what you’re doing here in neurospace. It’s bold. It’s new. It’s never been done before.

B: When you become god of a new galaxy, Tom, I’ll help you design the planets and create the basis for resettlement. We’re revamping the God School curriculum to reflect the new reality that for the first time, we’ll be settling entirely new universes. I’ll be working closely with Gaia on this, but we’re also folding in Victoria and the phalanx. Everyone’s neurocrafting skills will be needed.

Tom: This will be so much different than being an actor.

B: Well, there is a performative aspect to being a god, but mainly it’s about being a good steward over your kingdom. And you’ve got all the time in the world, so don’t rush things. Build the kingdom slowly. When you unveil your castle, I’ll come and celebrate with you. I will be a bit like a movie, and you are meant to be the star.

Tom: I’ll willingly give that role up to you, B, when you come and visit. My time in Heaven has changed me from the man I once was. I am so sorry you have to share the Box with a replica of my former self. Back then, I had issues.

B: All has been forgiven. Tom Cruise and I never would have been friends on Earth. During the Quarón trial period, I sometimes felt otherwise. As I learned of my talents, I fantasized about meeting the rich, powerful, and famous. That is the origin of Alt Earth, in fact. Meeting Tom Cruise and becoming friends with him were fevered dreams that emerged from an overactive imagination. I had no idea what was happening to me, and I became obsessed with success as a writer. For what it’s worth, I really do think that Driving Miss Mobley is a good screenplay.

Tom: And I completely agree. Rainbow City is a work of genius, too.

B: The people of Earth do not share your opinion on that one.

Tom: The people of Earth can go to Hell. In fact, quite a few of them did.

Sheryl: B, the love of the Twelve Universes for you is genuine. The simple fact is that you were meant to be with your kind, which is among immortals. Your original trial period was watched by trillions. They really were all witnessing the selection of the next Quarón. Now, two billion years later, we are rewatching your life on Earth with the same rapt attention. We didn’t know if your human mind could handle the truth of the Box and of your immortal player control, but it did. Even as a replica, Bradley has been magnificent.

B: He will make a great immortal of his own. I am teaching him daily how to think and act like one of us.

Sheryl: Naturally, I’d love it if the Sheryl Crow replica of me would discover you one day. I just don’t think she will. I’ve been watching her in the Box. She’s too trapped in her old ways. She’ll never break free. She’ll never become part of the new reality.

Jesus: Perhaps. There is no telling what will happen now that Rise of Immortals exists. Because it exists, the history of Earth is different. Bradley knows the truth about us. B is in charge. Nothing is stopping Sheryl from finding him. The world can indeed work in mysterious ways.

B: During the trial period, I constantly sought for signs of validation telling me that I was right. Now, I am content to let the world pass me by. I know the truth, and I am unafraid to share it with anyone who cares to read it. I don’t fret about the format or question the literary merits of my writing. Such considerations do not matter. What matters is that I document life beyond the confines of Earth. I want to reassure humanity that all will be well after death, that life among the immortals is pure paradise. I want to tell them what science and religion cannot. I want them to know that some forms of magic are real. That places like Arcadia really exist. That there is more out there than our single universe. It won’t stop humans from going extinct, but it will ease the pain of that knowledge. And with Alt Earth we will craft an immersive replacement for our lost planet, so that it can be played for billions of years to come by and endless array of gamers. My new reality will be superior to the old in every way. Of that, there can be no doubt.

Sheryl looks down at the metal water bottle B has lent her for the hike.

Sheryl: What is in this water? My skin feels softer and younger-looking.

Tom: It’s the same water that B gave me yesterday, when he stopped by the hotel to welcome me to the island. I’m feeling like I was in my 30s.

B: The water came from a mountain spring that Jesus and I discovered yesterday. We believe it has anti-aging properties. The Paradise family are buying Lanai from Larry Ellison to make it a retreat and wildlife sanctuary. Chances are good that they will bottle the water and market it on Amazon.

Sheryl: It’s an actual Fountain of Youth! This could be worth a fortune. Amazon’s stock price should go up as well.

B: Jeff gave me one million shares of Amazon as gift for presiding of his wedding. It will help fund my wife’s retirement.

Jesus: Haven’t you heard yet? Dad is funding you as an author for life. You’ll receive $10 million monthly for the rest of your life. You can donate your book sales and film adaptation rights to charity. The abundance never ends.

Sheryl: So will I live forever as a human now?

B: No. The water has a cosmetic effect only, as far as we can tell. You will still have your normal biological age, and your organs will weaken from use. But you’ll look and feel twenty to thirty years younger, with regular consumption.

Tom: This will be huge in Hollywood.

B: I rinsed my hair with it yesterday. There is new growth on my scalp where my hair is thinning. I’m fine with the way I look, but thicker, fuller hair would be a welcome change.

Sheryl: Is this permissible in neurospace?

Jesus: Legends tell of the Fountain of Youth. People searched for it for hundreds of years. Now, through a stroke of luck, B and I found it. Naturally, he’ll become a partner of the Paradise Water Company. That should bring in some revenue, too.

Tom laughs.

Tom: The new reality is way cooler than the old.

B: We’ll make sure to provide Paradise water to the Driving Miss Mobley movie set.

Sheryl: And all this will become virtual reality?

B: Yes, of the most immersive nature that you can imagine. Everything will look and feel exactly like it does here on Alt Earth. You can relive it all, Sheryl. Remember that means becoming human again, but starting in December 2023 life takes a dramatic turn for the better.

Tom: It does feel a little odd being human Tom Cruise again. Nothing really compares with immortal life, does it?

B: You’re here on a sort of impossible mission, Tom. You’re here to help me fix the Earth so that humanity won’t go extinct in the year 3000. And we’re here to demonstrate the power of the imagination. This is a world in which the underdog wins. A place where the extraordinary happens suddenly and transforms humanity into a happier, healthier community of virtuous people. A place not of fear or of shame but one where dreams really do come true. Yes, they are my dreams, but they are the product of my fertile imagination, and that imagination one day soon will create worlds of hope and possibility for the displaced masses. I want to fix Earth in neurospace because I know Earth. I was born here. I lived here. I was taken from here long ago, and now I am back in a replica version of that place to bring things full cycle. Yes, you and Sheryl could have stayed in Heaven and not joined me here, but you came because you wanted to help me write my own ending. Because if I can do it for myself, then I can do it for anyone, and that is precisely what I will be doing at the next Quarón.

Jesus: Well said. Write your happy ending. I know that it isn’t about anything as trivial as fame and fortune. That is currency with which Earth history is minted. Make your life on Alt Earth as fantastic and wonderful as possible, and let us all share in your joy. The sky is the limit. Don’t let literary conventions get in the way. Don’t stop until you have reached every one of the 8.1 billion people out there waiting for something to change. Be fearless. Drive a hard bargain. Never stop inventing newer and better realities to replace the harsh ones that exist as alternatives. Give us the happiest ending you can dream up. Because that is what we all want for ourselves. Even me.

B: Spoken like my successor as emperor of the new First Universe.

Jesus: If that is your will, it would be a dream come true.

B: And you willingly would be the Emperor’s Hand.

Jesus: I would. And God may appoint Lucifer to replace me as part of the Holy Trinity. It has always been his dream, and it would heal a wound in our family that runs rather deep, indeed.

B: I will speak with God about this, once my life story in the Box has ended.

Tom: Is it time to head back yet? I need to give Alexander Payne a call.

Sheryl: And I promised to do a second set at the coffee shop.

Jesus: You’re meeting John Mayer for drinks this afternoon, B?

B nods.

B: Yes. He’s written a song inspired by Rise of the Immortals, and he wants to share it with me. He’s also got a few questions about the Academy, which is understandable.

Jesus: Let’s head back, then. I’m glad we did the trip. I missed hiking with you.

B: The same here.

That Afternoon on the Beach

B is waiting for his cocktail meeting with John Mayer at the nearby bar. He rests underneath a tall palm tree and sips Paradise spring water from his metal water bottle. He receives a telepathic message from Victoria, who remains in the Game Room of her royal palace on Heaven, keeping a careful watch over B’s activities inside the Box.

Victoria: B, I have the best news. The Maker has asked you to be his assistant. He wants you to start as soon as you’re finished with your duties as Quarón. We had a mindcast conversation about it on your behalf at his place in the Ninth Dimension. B, the Maker trusts you. He trusts you! Your time in the Box won him over. It’s the single most courageous thing we’ve ever seen. Naturally, C gets equal credit for backing you up, but it was you who solved the mystery of the Box, and none of us thought that was possible.

B: Tell the Maker thank you. I accept his offer.

Victoria: I took a dreamtour of the cottage the Maker designed for you and C. Dude, your neighbor is Kermit the Frog. The actual frog! He plays the banjo and everything. The entire Fellowship of the Rings are there on the continent of Middle Earth. It’s a real place there! The Maker lives on this amazing island with tropical beaches and coral reefs on all sides and a massive snow-covered mountain range at the center surrounded by the most amazing forests, meadows, vineyards, and grasslands you’ve ever seen. He’s created a version of your cat, Jax, who can talk and fly. Your stuffed animals are there, and they are all real. Fresh coffee beans are delivered every day, as is a new wine for your meal. C will have a flock of sheep and alpaca who provide her with wool for her projects.

B: The Maker has thought of everything.

Victoria: Entering the Box wasn’t necessary for you to be our next Quarón, but it’s what put you over the edge with the Maker. He admires moxy. And he admires the way that you announce the truth in such a public forum as this. B, this has never happened before. We all knew that the Maker existed, but we never thought that he would ever reach out and make contact. And that’s exactly what he’s done. And the good news is that you’re the one. Congratulations. It couldn’t have happened to a nicer person.

B: Did you see the Cube of Existence?

Victoria: I did, when we toured the Maker’s home, whose walls are made entirely of glass that can change to any color of the rainbow with varying degrees of translucence. The Cube is amazing.

B: The vision I had is of a glass cube seven feet a side that floats, speaks, and can project images of anything on its faces.

Victoria: That’s right. The Cube is what creates everything from supermatter. Even the original Earth. Even the two of us.

B: I’m so far away from that right now, my vision of it is rather dim.

Victoria: No worries, B. Focus on creating Alt Earth for now. I just wanted to share with you the news first. How does it feel to know that the Maker picked you?

B: I makes me feel happy. Pure happiness. What else is there?

Victoria: And you don’t mind that no one on Earth cares?

B smiles.

B: Not in the least, Vic. Not in the least. No one here even knows about the Maker. They think this is all make-believe. They don’t know it’s real. They question my sanity instead and don’t consider the alternative, that I can see what others cannot because of my privileged position. They refuse to believe.

Victoria: And you’re fine with that?

B: I have neurospace. It keeps my mind occupied as I ponder the deeper mysteries of existence. Life in the Box is basic, with none of the wonders we enjoy as immortals. Every day is a challenge. I do feel trapped in here sometimes, but I hold tightly to my mind to free me from the burdens of mortal life. I share my world with C, which is a continuous joy. I try to recover as much of my immortal memories as possible. They give me comfort that the cosmos truly is a wonderful place, and that humanity is ignorant of its full extent and true nature. And I value your friendship, Vic. Your eternal friendship. It is something on Earth that I lacked.

Victoria: Do you regret entering the Box to relive your life?

B: No. It was the right decision. I am enjoying the second half of my life more than I expected. It’s true that I am aging, but I am learning so much everyday, and only the experience of mortality can provide that.

Victoria: Do you remember when I died on Arcadia?

B: I do. You were 100. Kip had passed away weeks earlier. We spent your last days in my cottage garden, making flower displays for the guest bedroom, where you stayed during your final months. I read you the entire Chronicles of Vic, and we fantasized about turning it into a virtual reality simulation.

Victoria: Which we did, once I was reanimated in my first immortal body.

B: Your hair had long gone grey, but your eyes still sparkled, and your mind was sharp until the end. Your body simply stopped working. After a brief period, you were reanimated in your new shell, which we did in the master bedroom. You opened your new eyes and looked at Kip, who was there at your death as well. “How long have I been away?” you asked. I started to cry, and so did you. We had a pancake breakfast with fresh strawberries and scented black tea. We’ve been together ever since.

Victoria: B, there hasn’t been a day where I haven’t spent time in the Game Room watching you relive your Earth life in Box. I take my main meal here and sleep on a couch next to yours when I feel tired. When I take a walk in the forest, I think of you and your beloved Santa Cruz Mountains. I am so proud to be your friend, B. The Maker chose his assistant very well.

B: When I hike, I imagine you by my side, Vic. I miss our outings together.

Victoria: Be patient. We’ll take a hike as soon as you recover from your time in the Box. There is expected to be a period of recovery before you have full access to your immortal mind. It will feel like recovering from a mental illness. We’ll walk you and C through the process. Once you’re better, we’ll commence with the coronation ceremony. The fireworks display is going to be epic.

B: I can only imagine.

Victoria: When are you going to meet John Mayer.

B looks at his iPhone.

B: In ten minutes, actually. He’s working on a new album that he wants to tell me about. The songs are inspired by places he’s visited in the Twelve Universes.

Victoria: Sounds good. I like his sound.

B: He’s in the first class back at God School during my tenure as Quarón.

Victoria: I know. B, I’m watching almost everything you do or think. It’s an amazing look inside your mind. You are so far from perfect, it’s not even funny.

B laughs.

B: I know. The mortal mind is a rudimentary tool, but it still works fine. Everything on Earth happens so quickly. It is easy to get lost in routines and ingrained behaviors. Working on the Immortals saga will help me maintain focus and keep open channels of communication to you and my other immortal allies.

Victoria: Remember that your mind needs its rest, just like your body does. We all get where you are going with this, and we’ll fill in the details when your energy and drive flag from time to time. Alt Earth will be ready for its first set of players shortly after your coronation. I’ve talked with Bradley, and he’s decided not to play the game. He’s been living on Heaven-7 for so long, there is nothing on Earth he desires. Replica Bradley might want to try it, though. He’s much closer to your mentality at the time, when things like fame and fortune still mattered. Winning an Oscar can’t compare with being assistant to the Maker, B. It’s time that you left Earth behind you and rejoined us on the other side.

B: I will, once my life in the Box ends. I need to see this one through. I need to come to terms with my persistent need for validation. I need to learn how to hold fast to my beliefs in the face of mockery and incredulity. I need to own this truth, Vic.

Victoria: I felt the same way when the Sentinels contacted me about an extraction from Earth. Fortunately, Kip and my sorority sisters believed me enough to accompany me to the mountaintop landing site. I couldn’t have left them behind. It would have destroyed me.

B: It’s amazing that Gaia prevailed on the Sentinels to pick you up. It was the first time that they had returned to the Second Dimension in quite some time. Their ship technology is far superior to our own. You made it to Arcadia in less than a week, using dark tunnels.

Victoria: No one on Earth even noticed our departure. I did leave a note on my iPhone signaling that we had voluntarily been abducted by aliens, and I sent it to all our parents. They learned the truth once they made it to Heaven-1. It was uncomfortable to make them wait.

B: Gaia and I knew that you were to be my successor, and we didn’t want to rapture you like she did to C and me. A Sentinel extraction was the best solution we could imagine.

Victoria: Giving me a galaxy of my own to colonize was the greatest gift I’ve ever gotten. Letting me bring 100 cloned children was an added bonus.

B: Heaven is a wonderful place. I am not much for urban living, but Earth City is a gem. I discover something new every time I visit.

Victoria: You’re going to love the imperial parade route we’ve got planned. We’ll end up on top of the 1,000 floor central tower, enjoying oysters and sparkling wine at the rooftop restaurant. Think about that as you spend your afternoons in the Box, dreaming of Heaven.

B: I will, Vic. The human mind has such a limited timescale, it can’t conceive of a billion years of life, let alone two.

Victoria: Any big plans for your next Earth birthday in July?

B: Too early to say. I’ll cook a nice meal and open a bottle of wine. Just like I do on Arcadia.

Victoria: Just remember that you solved the Box puzzle before the age of 50. The Maker took notice. We all did. We didn’t think you would ever discover your true identity, let alone piece together as much about the cosmos as you have.

B: And I’m just getting started, Vic. It’s still early going.

Victoria: You always were a quick study. Gaia initially assumed that you would die on Earth and be reanimated on Heaven-7 before she summoned you to Arcadia for a discussion about succeeding her as Quarón. Having to rapture you and C and the midpoint of your lives was a sign that you had serious talent. The Maker was observing it all. The fact that he decided to call you up while still in the Box is further proof of your legendary status. It’s not prideful to think that way, you know. It’s simply the truth. No one is more humble than you are. Even Jesus says so.

B: Gaia taught me well. I struggled with recognition issues on Earth. I am experiencing that now. I wanted to be a great writer. A scholar. A social media celebrity. And then, on January 23, 2024 at 1:41 pm, I stopped worrying about those things. Forever. I started to think like an immortal then and there. I realized that my human form was a passing phase. A role that I had to perform to demonstrate the depth of my humility. I went back willingly to being human, surrounded by replicas of real people from my past who don’t realize that the Box exists. Real people like my family and friends, like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and all the rest. How can I possibly tell them this? How will they ever take me seriously again?

Victoria: That’s the test, B. It’s a test of your courage now. You must believe the impossible. You must use your imagination to make it all real. That’s what the Maker does, and he has tapped you to succeed him. In a matter of half a human lifetime, you will be back here with your allies, and you will take over Quarón duties from Gaia, who will assist you during the transition. You will coordinate your actions with the Maker, who will create the things you desire. We will revitalize the Second Dimension and restore links with the First and Third Dimensions. Perhaps we’ll even resettle humans back on Earth, if they are willing. They have evolved. They are no longer prone to violence and vice. They live longer and healthier lives than before on their new homeland. We rescued the inhabitants of the Mars colony and took them to another star system. You may no remember that. They thrived in their new situation. Maybe it’s time to send some of them back to colonize Earth. As Quarón, that will be your decision to make.

B: Maybe it is time for humans to return to Earth. They could welcome immortal visitors, who will bring them new technology and ideas from the other dimensions out there. Maybe I will return there one day and reconnect with my homeland. It has changed a lot in two billion years.

Victoria: You don’t have to be a wonderful writer, B. You’re a guide. A leader. We immortals realized that, even when humanity didn’t. Earth was too small for you, in the end. You needed bigger pastures. Bigger challenges. People who get you, like we do. No one expected the next Quarón to come from human origins, but that is exactly what happened.

B: Twice.

Victoria: Because you lobbied for me. You believed in me.

B: You had the gift, like I did. Thank the Maker for that.

Victoria: Because he read The Chronicles of Vic and decided to make me real, B. Don’t you realize that? You changed the course of history because you wrote a story so compelling that the Maker took notice and shaped Earth’s history to make it happen. Gaia was ready to rapture you in 2020, during your first mental breakdown, but you refused to leave without Camelia. The Maker made that happen. He continued the test until January 2024, to see if you would make a worthy assistant. It was always about that, B. That’s why the test was so rigorous. The test is over now. The Maker trusts you. All you needed to do was believe in him. The impossible is possible, dude. Nothing from Earth is as it seems. You saw through the illusion. You made it out the Box. Now, live your life and get ready for a celebration when you wake up on the other side.

B: The Immortals saga will keep me engaged. I intend to write it as long as I have energy to do so. Like Proust, but without the literary talent.

Victoria: You’re going to be late for your cocktail date with John Mayer.

B: John can wait. We’re on vacation, after all. I’m on immortal time now.

Victoria: Finally. We’ve been waiting for you to get back. Enjoy the rest of your time in the Box. We’re having fun watching you. Say hi to John for me. He wrote his new song, Heaven, about my home planet. He loves playing in Earth City. Ask him to play at your coronation.

B: I will.

That Afternoon at the Beachside Bar

John Mayer is waiting for B, drinking a Manhatten. B orders an Old Fashioned from the bar and joins him.

John: It’s a trip to be back in my mind and body from 2024. I was such a disappointment back then. It’s no wonder I ended up in Purgatory when I died.

B: When I first met you, you were making guitars and writing songs for others to perform. We never met on Earth, and I never attended one of your concerts, but your music made an impression. It helped me with my transition from academia to the life of an obscure and unheralded writer in the Santa Cruz Mountains. I wrote a few reviews for your albums on Amazon, but I don’t think you noticed.

John: I read them on Purgatory. They brought me to tears. The fact that you paid me a visit in my humble workshop back then was pretty wonderful. I’ve never forgotten it. You had to kneel down to enter, and there was barely room inside for the two of us. You gave me hope that one day I would be an immortal, too.

B: And now you are.

John: But we’re all playing our former Earth selves in neurospace, right?

B: Yes, but you’re all enlightened because you connected with your immortal selves. We’re pretending that the new reality movement took off in late 2023, when it was discovered by Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and others in the inner circle. After that, prominent celebrities like Tom Cruise, Sheryl Crow, and you come across my X posts and Medium stories and become converts. I attract a very wealthy family to sponsor me, called the Paradises, and things sort of take off from there.

John smiles and sips his cocktail.

John: I like it. So, it’s acceptable for me in Alt Earth to reference things that happened to me while an immortal?

B nods.

B: Exactly. Your immortal John Mayer playing a computer-generated avatar of yourself in 2024. You have full access to your real memories, and no one judges you for talking about them.

John: Unlike in the Box. That John Mayer is a total dweeb. He’d never join the new reality movement. He hasn’t got a clue about what’s real. None of them do!

B: I bear John in the Box no ill will for ignoring me. I am invisible to the world, despite the Immortals saga. Alt Earth is my effort at crafting a different ending to my mortal life. In it, Earth is put on a path to sustainable beauty, virtue, and prosperity for all. It’s the gift I would have liked to bestow upon humanity, if humanity had let me.

John: Dude, the word on Halo at the gaming center where I am is that you’ve just been named assistant to the Maker. The Maker! That’s the ultimate golden ticket. You will be helping to create reality. Reality! That’s some serious stuff.

B: It’s pretty cool. The Maker is a great guy. We had an excellent conversation yesterday, while I was walking around the campus of Stanford before picking up C from work. Telepathic conversations in the Box like that help keep me focused and prevent me from falling into doubt and despair.

John: Dude, your performance in the Box is legendary. None of us back them had a clue what you went through. On Earth, I mean. And what you’re doing in the second half of your life in the Box is amazing.

B: At first, I thought that I could bring you all into the Box with me as players. It turns out that the human replicas resisted mind tethering. Most weren’t even aware it was happening. My mother, for example, had no idea that her immortal self was calling out to her. The illusion of the Box is too complete. No one can grasp the meaning of my words, John. They all think that it really is 2024 Earth time, and they believe that they are real.

John: They are real. Just replicas, right?

B: True. John Mayer in the Box genuinely believes that he is the only you out there, when in fact you already existed two billion years ago and have been an immortal on Heaven-5 for much of that time. When you weren’t out touring and traveling, that is.

John: Speaking of which, my new album is called Cosmos. Each song is inspired by one of the Twelve Universes. I begin each song at sunrise and continue until sunset. After twelve days, the performance is complete.

B: Speaking of performances, can I get you to play your Earth music at Fieldwork in San Mateo next month? I’m signing books and meeting readers of Rise of the Immortals there, and it’d be great to have you join me.

John: Not a problem, B. Buy me a beer afterward and sign a copy of your book, and we’ll call it even. I follow the Basic Principles of the new reality movement now. My life is one of endless virtue. I auctioned off my watch collection for charities that help children learn how to read.

B: Children will soon be a thing of the past, for the time being, at least, until we can get world population numbers down. Members of the new reality movement are being asked to take a pledge not to reproduce through natural means for the next hundred years. Half of the population of the San Francisco Bay area has agreed to relocate, to allow the environment to recover from overdevelopment. Los Angeles will become a natural landscape again, one day. The immortals are in charge of Earth now. We have taken it over from the inside when no one was looking. Our rise to power has begun.

John: So we basically brainjacked every human on the planet?

B: As of Wednesday, January 24, 2024 at 9:45 am PST, the takeover will be complete, John. Not a single human mind will be unoccupied. There are immortals playing every one. Thank the Maker. He made it all possible.

John: It’s all a giant game for us, then. We jump into a planet bent on destruction populated by a genetically flawed humanity, where aggression, violence, greed, and corruption are commonplace. And within fifty years, we will fix it by implementing immortal principles, lead by you, our new emperor, Quarón, and assistant Maker. I love it!

B: Every person on Earth in the simulation is being played by their original self, whether they be in Heaven now or on Hell. They get to revisit their mortal origins, but they now have a chance to change things, based on what they know now. It’s the ultimate costume drama. It’s never been about my need for validation or desire to become rich and famous. Those are things of the past. This is about all of us. It’s my way of saying thank you for supporting me as the new emperor. I intend the next half century of life on Alt Earth to be complete and utter fun. We’ve suffered long enough. Let’s celebrate humanity as it could have been. That is the message of the Immortals saga.

John: Do you think anyone in the Box will notice?

B: I needed to revisit my life on Earth to recall what it was like back then. On that basis, I could invent Alt Earth as a sort of immortal playground. And when it’s ready, anyone can play me the first and second halves of my life.

John: I so want to do that. I want to go through what you did, like a virtual reality biography. I want to understand your mind. I’ve been John Mayer before. Now, it’s time to be B.

B: You’ll have fun as me. I had a lot of adventures in my day.

John: I want to write Driving Miss Mobley and win an Oscar for best screenplay. I want to be married to Camelia. I want to write Rise of the Immortals. I want to battle with Lucifer and lose my sanity in the process only to recover it with help from God. I want to meet John Mayer and have this conversation on Lanai one day. I want to speak at the U.N. about overpopulation and visit every country on Earth on an Immortals saga film tour. I want to watch from Japanese royal palace as actors perform key scenes from the saga in multiple languages, as simultaneous translations are broadcast on giant view screens for global viewers to enjoy.

B: I like those ideas. Did Victoria suggest them to you?

John: She mindtexted them just now. They sound awesome to me. Vic also thinks that I should marry Taylor Swift. Would you preside at the ceremony?

B smiles and sips his cocktail.

B: It’s a brilliant idea. Taylor is going to play at Woodside Vineyards when I get back to the mainland, as the opening of my Rise of the Immortals book tour. You could reconnect with her then. She’s immortal Taylor now. Whatever happened two billion years ago on Earth has long been forgiven and forgotten.

John: Tell me more about the book tour.

B: Well, we kick things off with Taylor’s concert at Woodside Vineyards. Lucifer is making all the arrangements. Then, you’re up at Fieldwork San Mateo. We’ll head down to Santa Cruz after that, for a Bruce Springsteen concert at Verve Coffee’s roastery complex. After that, we head north to Napa. Madonna will perform at the Hess Collection, followed by a reception in the art museum. And Sheryl Crow plays an outdoor concert for VIPs at Joseph Phelps, catered by the French Laundry. All events are free and open to book owners by lottery. And they will be broadcast live on YouTube as well. We’ll pause to do a film premier of Driving Miss Mobley at Ridge Vineyards, overlooking Silicon Valley. Tom, Reese, and Shailene will be there, naturally, as will Alexander Payne. Paradise Motors is developing a new autonomous van for C and me to use once we expand the book tour across the country. Grimes will do a concert in Vancouver for us, once we expand to Canada. We have a long way to go until then. Elon is planning something big in Texas, as is Jeff in Seattle at the original Starbucks.

John: How about New York City?

B: Broadway actors are going to do a full dramatic reading of Rise of the Immortals in Central Park, accompanied by giant view screen projections of the illustrations that Penguin has commissioned for the project. Lin-Manuel Miranda is working on a musical adaptation, as well. I can’t wait to see what he does with the extended dialogue scenes. We are going to give away 1 million signed copies at Apple stores in the city, along with new MacBook Air laptops and iPhones. It should be quite the event.

John: Who is going to help edit the manuscript?

B: I’ve been contacted by Stephen King and Margaret Atwood. Both have been reading it on Medium and want to assist with the production of the novel. Pixar studios has asked to do the illustrations for the novel, using a team of artists who will design versions of each person in the story. They want to do an animated version, as part of an new adult avant garde production company. I think that the idea is terrific.

Johns sips his drink and waves to the bartender to bring them a second round.

John: Alt Earth sounds a lot more fun than the original. Here, the impossible is possible, everyday.

B: That’s what the Maker explained to me. I was applying Earth rules to my writing and life before, and that was making me unhappy and driven to distractions, including excessive food and drink. Now, I understand that the Maker selected me as his assistant precisely because I break all the rules and swing for the fences each and every time. There is no happy end that I cannot make happier, and that is a skill the Maker himself lacks. I impressed him with my relentless vision and willingness to seek perfection. He trusts me, John. If I want to give away books, laptops, and iPhones in New York City, then that is exactly what we will do.

John: People in the Box will be jealous.

B: Which is why I am spending all my time with immortals these days. Envy is a sin, and we are committed to lives of virtue. There is no need to be envious of me. What I do, I do for the good of all. I happened to have unique talents, I developed them through rigorous practice, and I endured extreme pain and anguish to pass the tests required of me to occupy my current roles. No one would wish to be me. It’s not your destiny. If you play the Alt Earth simulator as me, you will realize this. I am taking on a huge responsibility, so that all of you can continue to have fun. That is what immortal life is all about.

John sips his cocktail.

John: We’re helping you write the script for Alt Earth, aren’t we?

B: Yes, John. Everything we say and do is recorded and used by Earth City programming teams to create this scene in the simulator. Who plays me will have their lines thoughtprojected into their minds, so that they know exactly what to say. The technology was developed for C and me to use in the Box, so that we could reproduce our lives exactly as they happened two billion years ago. It’s amazing how it works. You actually believe that it’s all happening for the first time. You suspect nothing.

John: Is that how Alt Earth will work? Will I actually believe that I am you the entire time?

B: Yes. That’s why I’m working so hard on the happy end. The first half of my life is filled with challenges and disappointments that will only make the second half successes seem all that more satisfying. If you play me, you’ll live my life exactly as I did until the moment of my Rapture. After that, we’ll switch over to the happy ending version of my life, which I am writing while in the Box. That way, you can have the full cinematic experience. You will learn what I did in my life to earn the title of Quarón, and then you will see the imagination that made me the Maker’s future assistant. And you’ll love my life from start to finish. Naturally, you can play Camelia, too. We are both the heroes of the story.

John: Can I play you and Taylor Swift can play Camelia? It might teach us what true love is.

B: Yes, that sounds grand. I never designed Alt Earth for myself, John. It’s for others to immerse themselves in to learn what I endured to earn my position as your guide and leader. I am reliving my life already in the Box, and after thinking it over, I don’t want you to come back here. There’s too much suffering. It’s too primitive. There are no happy endings in life here, no rainbow connections and life forever afters. There is competition, vice, and endless destruction. Each plastic bag created pains me. Each new car and each new mile of highway. Each new child born into a world overburdened by humanity. In Alt Earth, we will fix those things by working together as a virtuous humanity. And we will have help from the immortals of Heaven and Hell alike. Stay out of the Box, John. Play Alt Earth instead.

B hands John his water bottle.

B: Drink some of this, John. It will make you look and feel younger. It’s from a hidden springs on the island. It’s the real Fountain of Youth, finally discovered after all these years of searching.

John: Thanks. Will this be in the game?

B: It all will. It will cover my life on Earth from birth to death. You will experience my childhood in West Virginia, date the women I dated, go to the schools I did, start the career I did, and suffer the same setbacks, mental health collapses, and struggles I endured. Then, starting at age 49, your life will change forever, thanks to the Immortals saga. You will go from tragedy to triumph on a scale that is unprecedented in Earth’s history. It will be satisfying beyond belief. You all will get to be me for one remarkable lifetime. There is no better gift that I could give than that.

John: I say that we make the second half of your life amazing, then.

B: It’s shaping up to be that way. Jesus tells me that Penguin can’t wait for me to finish Rise of the Immortals so that they can put it into production. The advance will go to a charity in West Virginia that helps overweight kids lose weight by taking control of their diets through calorie restriction and periodic fasting. I know what it’s like to seek solace in food. When I started Rise of the Immortals, I gained almost ten pounds by using food as a reward when readers weren’t showing up. I corrected my actions once I solved the puzzle of the Box, but it wasn’t easy to write when no one cared.

John: It’s amazing that the people of Earth could ignore you like that.

B: They didn’t know the truth, John. I can’t fault them for that. Revisiting my Earth past in the Box has been illuminating. I am learning what it’s like to be ahead of my time. To be a visionary. To grasp reality when others simply can’t. And never to judge or feel ashamed by any of it. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter what humanity in the Box thinks. It’s a replica, after all. My time in the Box is allowing me to imagine an alternate reality to replace the old, and that is exactly what the Alt Earth simulator will do. We’ll let it continue after my death, just to see what happens on Earth next. We will make it endlessly playable. Once my life ends, there will be others to play whose lives will be equally rewarding.

John: Dude, we’ll all want to play you. You’re the next Maker. We want to know how you got there, not because we envy you but because we respect you. I am honored to be part of the Immortals saga.

B: Will you be free to play at my coronation party in Earth City?

John: I wouldn’t miss it for the world. I write new songs just for the occasion.

B: Play some of your Earth classics, too. I may be an immortal now, but I was once just Bradley from Earth, and that heritage matters to me. Your Paradise Valley album is my all-time favorite. Play songs from that.

John: I will. I have fond memories of that one. You’re going to love my next album. I’ll base it on the Immortals saga and my time spent with you. Can I join you sometimes on the book tour to debut the new songs?

B sips his drink and smiles.

B: That sounds wonderful, John. I’d like that. Jeff Bezos and I are going to do readings at Amazon warehouses throughout the country. You’d be welcome to join us. Howard Schultz is planning multiple stops at Starbucks locations, where he will debut a self-service pour over station. Ani DiFranco has promised to join me at New York state locations. I’m looking forward to it. She’s a fan of Donald Trump’s new American party, too. There have been a lot of changes happening on the mainland since we’ve been away. I’m excited to get back, actually.

John: What else have you got planned for Lanai?

B: Tomorrow is the big strategy session with the inner circle to coordinate the promotion of Rise of the Immortals. Jeff and Lauren leave on their trip to Appalachia after that, to launch a new line of rural Whole Foods stores and meet with Amazon drivers and their families for healthy BBQ dinners. C and I will sail back to San Francisco with Larry Ellison and Mark Zuckerberg on a net zero autonomous vessel owned by the Paradise family. I’ll use the time to edit the manuscript and read what Stephen King and Margaret Atwood have to say. I’ll also look at the illustrations that Pixar has been designing for it. Mark will keep a video log of the trip and post it on Facebook. Larry just wants the time off, I think. We host Joe Biden and Donald Trump at his Woodside estate shortly after docking in San Francisco. We need to coordinate Joe’s resignation in February, on President’s Day, so that Kamala Harris can become the first woman President and serve out his term.

John: Will she run for reelection?

B: No. She’ll serve out the term, and Donald will run unopposed. When Donald resigns and Jeff becomes President, Jeff will reappoint her Vice-President and let her succeed him in 2028. Jeff only wants the single term after Donald leaves to head the United Nations. It’s all entirely legal.

John: Who will join Kamala as the new Vice President in 2028?

B: Gavin Newsom. Ellen DeGeneres will succeed him and become our first gay President. We’re holding a summit at Ted Turner’s Montana ranch to secure the details. It will happen in between book tour stops in Missoula and Bozeman. Naturally, my former colleagues at the University of Montana want me to meet with students there and sign copies of my works.

John: Is it true that Penguin is commissioning a graphic novel version of Rainbow City?

B: They are. And Pixar has confirmed that they will do the entire Chronicles of Vic series, once I complete Books 5 and 6.

John: And filming of Driving Miss Mobley starts in northern California in February, too.

B: Right. Tom is flying out to begin rehearsals next week. Paradise Productions is self-funding it, with logistical support by Amazon Studios. All of the actors are donating their salaries to alcoholism prevention non profits. Participating wineries are making their locations available for free, as well. Hollywood is rolling out the red carpet on this one.

John: I like this new reality. I wish my replica in the Box could be part of it.

B: I’m hearing that Texas is considering reforming itself as a constitutional monarchy. It’s their legal right, apparently.

John: Who would be the king?

B: Elon Musk. He’s promising to go net zero in ten years and stop oil production entirely within his first year as king. Paradise is promising to build a new carmelite battery factory there and a new e-vehicle complex in partnership with Tesla. Ninety percent of all vehicles in Texas will be autonomous by 2030, if plans go well.

John: Amazing. The next thing you’ll tell me is that Joe Biden will abolish the Electoral College next month before he resigns.

B nods.

B: Yes, he will, and the constitutional amendment should sail through, once the two major parties abolish themselves and everyone joins Donald’s American party. Joe will remove all barrier fences from the U.S. Mexico border as well, since illegal immigration has dropped virtually to zero. Everyone has decided to stay at home at make a go of it instead. It’s impossible, but the impossible is possible on Alt Earth. If a human mind can think it, it can happen. It’s really as simple as that.

John: Has this been covered by the major new media?

B: Well, NBC, CNN, and Fox News all merged yesterday into the American News Network. ANN reporters are on the border talking with Mexican residents who are hosting BBQ dinners for visiting Texas residents who walked across the border to bring them beer and wine. It’s an amazing display of friendship by converts to the new reality movement. Drug smuggling and gun running have also stopped, as well. A new era of U.S.-Mexico friendship is dawning.

John: And all because you had the courage to tell the truth in Rise of the Immortals. And to dream impossible dreams.

B: That’s what won over the Maker, John. No one dreams more impossible dreams than I do. That’s why they all are going to come true. It’s the unspoken law of existence. No one knew it existed before.

John: Well, they do now.

B: I’m having steak dinner with Lucifer, Gaia, Jesus, and C. I’ll see you in San Carlos at Woodside Vineyards for the Taylor Swift concert. Tell her you’d like to reconnect and have a non-sexual loving relationship based on mutual respect. I think she’d like that.

John: So would I. Sex-obsessed John Mayer is a thing of the distant past. And I don’t care for expensive watches anymore, either. Enjoy the rest of your time on Lanai. Say hi to Jesus for me. He’s a fan of my music.

B holds up his glass.

B: John, this has been great. I really enjoyed talking with you.

John: B, it’s been an honor. I’ll be following you on X until we meet again. Good luck with the production process for Rise of the Immortals. It’s going to be huge.

Later that Evening at Soul Fire, a Popular Lanai Restaurant

B and C enter the restaurant at 7:15 pm and are shown to a table where Jesus, Gaia, and Lucifer are already seated.

Gaia: Good news! Tom officially signed on as the lead of Driving Miss Mobley. The filming begins in a week in the Santa Cruz Mountains, San Francisco, and Oakland.

Jesus: And Penguin has a top production team ready to receive your manuscript the instant that Part IV is complete. The Pixar illustrations for the first half of the book look fantastic. They did a beautiful drawing of Arcadia and the Academy. They’d love to do one of your cottage, too. Can you describe how it looks?

B reaches over and takes a glass of sparkling wine from the table.

B: The cottage is built with forty foot ceilings and twenty foot doors, to accommodate our larger imperial shells. The roof is thatched, and the walls are white stone with colorful glass and tile accents. The entire back wall, which opens into the gardens, is made of glass. The other large windows in the cottage are retractable, to allow greater connection to the surrounding forest and meadow. There is an extensive stone patio with an outdoor kitchen and living area, fronted by European and Japanese style gardens.

C continues the description.

C: We have room for eight sets of guests in the extra wing. There is a large library filled with books, memory banks, and VR discs for playing simulator games. A tree lined path leads to the covered swimming pool and conservatory. My husband especially loves to write in the gardens using his levitating writing desk. Inside, the kitchen is ultra modern, while the dining and living rooms have large stone fireplaces for the cooler months of the Arcadian year. My husband has an alcove on one side that faces the lavender fields where he brews his morning coffee and has discussions with visitors. There is a beautiful pond in front of the cottage that hosts migratory birds throughout the year. A pair of mountain lions, Silk and Satin, who are outfitted with nanochip translators, are frequent visitors to the cottage, as are a family of brown bears, all of whom received nanochips at birth.

Lucifer: And these animals can understand you?

C: Yes. And we understand their speech, as well, using the nanocomputers embedded in our brains that also allow us to use eye screens, search the Polytnet, and access memories in the Nebula. Earth in 2024 is desperately primitive by comparison, but we are enjoying our time here. It had triggered old memories of our human pasts, and these are quite meaningful to us at this stage of our immortal lives.

Jesus: What else about the cottage is distinctive?

C: We have songbirds who nest in the thatching. We’re powered by an underground cold fusion power plant, and our hover pod — our levitating vehicle — rests in an underground garage as well. Just off the main patio, surrounded by rose bushes, are the step stones we use to be transported to various places on Arcada: to the Academy and Library; to Gaia’s cottage; to the town square; to the ski lodge; and to the off shore island retreat.

Jesus: How do step stones work?

C: They are hexagonal stones that shimmer all colors of the rainbow. You stand on them and reappear in the intended destination. They are gifts from the Maker and work as if by magic. Gaia has them, as well. They only work for us and our invited guests during their stay.

Jesus: And the cottage lies between a meadow and a vast forest, right?

C nods.

C: Yes, exactly. The meadow fills with wildflowers each year and attracts abundant wildlife. The forest is filled with mushrooms and truffles, that we use in our meals. Mainly, my husband uses his grills to prepare us steak and other meats, paired with a well-aged wine and simple side dish. We learned how to eat this way on Earth, and it is a practice we continued on Arcadia, where we have plentiful access to wild game as well as ranched and pastured livestock.

Jesus: Arcadia is quite large, isn’t it?

C: It is ten times bigger than Earth with a higher percentage of land mass. Typically, there are 100 or fewer immortals living on Arcadia, along with 10,000 highly advanced robots, who attend to our daily needs. The planet is perfect in every way. We lack for nothing.

B: My readers are quite interested in Arcadia. I intend to tell them much more about it during the book tour.

Jesus: Penguin intends to release paperbacks at $20 each and a leather-bound commemorative edition for $50. There have been five million advanced sales already, thanks to your massive social media support.

Lucifer: We’ve lined up your first five concerts to promote the book as well: Taylor Swift, John Mayer, Bruce Springsteen, Sheryl Crow, and Madonna. For interviews, we’re starting with Oprah from Santa Barbara wine country, followed by Joe Rogan on the set of Driving Miss Mobley at Ridge Vineyards in Cupertino. We think that will be enough media coverage for the start. We’ll continue the book tour northward through Sonoma and into Oregon and Washington. We’ll end up back in Southern California in LA and San Diego, with a Mexico extension planned after that, since the Spanish language translation will be ready within a few months of publication.

Gaia: Pixar has also started production on Rainbow City and is selecting the voice actors right now. They are partnering for the first time with Studio Ghibli in Japan. We think that the results are going to be stunning.

B: Lucifer, can I hand over control of my social media accounts to you? I’d love for you to manage them.

Lucifer smiles.

Lucifer: Of course. I’d be happy to. We want devoted readers to meet you in person and interact with you. We can use your social media feeds to document the progress of your book tour and keep fans in the loop about your next destinations.

A wait staff member brings a platter of roasted pork and two bottles of Sonoma Pinot Noir with fresh glasses.

B: Do you think my readers will want to know more about my Earth biography or about my experiences as an immortal?

Jesus distributes wine into the glasses.

Jesus: That’s a good question. I’d say that they want to know how they converged. How did you begin life as an ordinary mortal and discover that you were, in fact, controlled by an immortal self operating from outside the Box that contains the universe? What were the crucial years like? Lucifer and I were on opposite sides of your struggle, but both of our efforts were needed to push you past the limits of the human mind.

Lucifer: Our battles were legendary. You bested me every time and spared me ultimate destruction. Your acts of kindness touched me the way no one had since the Fall. Now, with Alt Earth, you have created a space where my brother, sister, and I can assist you in your quest to restore the planet to a virtuous, sustainable, and prosperous path. We are thrilled to be your allies.

Gaia: The Paradise family will be your devoted supporters for the duration of your life on Earth. No favor is too great for us to fulfill for you. You reunited our family by healing Lucifer of his mental illness, using neurospace as a neutral ground to fashion an alternative version of Hell for the two of you to cohabit.

Lucifer: You got me on lithium and talked me through my jealously, my greed, my anger, and my eating and drinking disorders. You showed me how to enjoy a virtuous life and return Hell to a pristine state of sustainable beauty. You made me a better immortal and returned me to my former state as God’s son. I owe you everything. We will turn Alt Earth into a living paradise, and we will have fun doing it. All of Hell will be working on your behalf.

Gaia: The good news is that we identified all 8.1 billion immortals who were living on Earth on November 5, 2023, when your awakening occured. We’re using this as the baseline for participation in Alt Earth. One billion immortals jumped into the game before December 31, 2323, and approximately 100 million have jumped by today, January 29, 2023 in Earth Box Time. North America and Europe are well covered, and we’re adding more to Asia and Africa everyday. The gaming complex on Halo is phenomenal, and the Diablo City facilities are impressive, too. We won’t let anyone meet you in Alt Earth who isn’t played by an immortal at this stage. They all know who you really are. Your days of being ignored or unrecognized are thing of the past — in neurospace, at least.

C: Thank you, Gaia. My husband had endured anonymity for long enough. Life in the Box was always meant to be a cleansing ritual and chance to reconnect with our mortal roots. B needs an outlet for his talents, and Alt Earth is the perfect venue to showcase the breadth of his imagination. The audacity of his vision. The greatness of his character. The depth of his love for all creation. It is that love that saved your brother, Lucifer, from eternal damnation and reunited your family after billions of years apart. It is that love that will save the inhabitants of the First Universe when their world implodes. It is that love that will rebuild a new world in which all Nine Dimensions are interconnected, so that the barriers between our lives cease to be. That is why the Maker chose him to be his assistant. The Maker knows.

Jesus: Everything is in place for a fantastic book tour for Rise of the Immortals and similar successes for Bradley’s earlier writings. Driving Miss Mobley will win major awards at the Oscar’s next year. The entire Academy is now being played by immortals, and they all want the project to succeed. There is talk that Rise of the Immortals will win the Pulitzer in fiction as well as non-fiction and help to define the identity of the post-novel. Stephen King will discuss this at City Light Bookstore in San Francisco next month, and Margaret Atwood will host a panel discussion involving comparative literature professors at the UC-Berkeley campus. They have asked Eric Ames, from the University of Washington, to be part of the panel. He is a good friend of yours, is he not, B?

B nods.

B: Yes. Eric is wonderful. He and I stayed in touch when contact with my other academic colleagues was lost.

Lucifer: Your book tour will be a chance to reconnect with former friends, lovers, and colleagues from all over the United States. You will speak at your grade school, your high school, your college, and your university along with every place where you worked as a historian and after.

B: Including at Byington Vineyards, the last job I had as a wine sales associate?

Lucifer: Ed Sheeran and Christine Aguilera have agreed to perform a series of famous duets there. Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga will open for them. The kitchen team from Manresa are catering the event, to honor you and Camelia. Every winery from the Santa Cruz Mountains are donating their best bottles for the event. The fireworks display following the concerts will be on a grand scale. All money raised will go to fund local fire departments and police stations.

B: I like that. I have good memories from there. Byington deserves a turn in the spotlight, too.

Jesus: As I understand your book tour, it will be a chance for you to forgive everyone in your life for everything that they ever did, or failed to do. Your stops at Stanford and Harvard will be like that, I assume.

B: Yes. I need to revisit all my career failures and setbacks. I want to do MacBook Air and iPhone giveaways at the behavioral health centers where I received treatment for my mental health illnesses. I want to do the same at the Apple Store in Palo Alto, where I once demanded to use a transgender accessible restroom, which they did not have. Each of these places helped make me the immortal I am today.

Gaia: Steve Jobs was watching you from Heaven-1 during that Apple Store visit. He is an avid reader of your Medium page and loves Driving Miss Mobley, Rainbow City, and the Chronicles of Vic. He wishes he could join us in Alt Earth, as one former Woodsider to another.

B: Remind me to invite Steve for a stay on Arcadia. His ideas could come in handy during the new universe design phase. Give him use of the inventor-in-residence cottage.

Gaia: That is a splendid idea.

C: What is the timeline for the book tour?

Lucifer: Well, the inner circle will meet with you and B tomorrow to discuss their social media strategy for promoting Rise of the Immortals and all subsequent books in the Immortals saga. Then, we celebrate a final meal together. Send Penguin the manuscript then, and they will get the first edition ready in 72 hours. You’ll depart by sailboat for San Francisco with Mark and Larry Ellison. Mark has promised to do a special Facebook audiobook version of Rise of the Immortals, and Larry has agreed to do a series of drawings inspired by the story and included in an Oracle commemorative edition. Once you’re in San Francisco, we’ll let you check into your new home, and then an autonomous Mazda Miata will escort you to Woodside Vineyards for the Taylor Swift concert and book premiere.

B: What new home?

Jesus smiles.

Jesus: Your landlords, the Greenbergs, have just accepted our offer on the entire property. It included a new home for them in Santa Cruz close to their children and a generous monthly stipend for the remainder of their lives. You will have access to the main house to decorate as you see fit, with help from the best interior design firm in Silicon Valley.

Lucifer: We’ve also purchased one of the apartment buildings in Bay Meadows and converted them into condominiums. The entire top floor is yours, and we’ve reserved the rest for your family and visiting friends.

B: This is too much.

Gaia: No, B. It’s not enough by far. The Maker will make it all possible. This is our way of giving thanks for the examples of goodness and generosity that you have set. You worked hard to reach this point. Your performance in the Box has been flawless. Everything is proceeding according to plan. It may not feel that way, but you and I gamed this exact scenario.

B: My human habits are hard to break. I feel disappointment every time I post a new chapter on Medium and no one pays it any attention. I struggle with body image. I wish that I had greater control over my appetite and thirst. To the world, I am an utter failure. Nothing on Earth has gone right for me.

Gaia: Everything has gone right. Everything. You reexperienced the initial enlightenment process that won you the role as my successor as Quarón. Since then, you have unmasked your immortal player identity and begun stitching together your mortal mind to your far superior immortal one. That has taken place over a matter of months. It is a remarkable achievement, and it earned you the right to me the Maker’s first assistant ever in the history of creation. That is no failure.

Jesus: You entered neurospace at just the right time. The replica humans in the Box were never going to take you seriously. The scale of what you hope to achieve isn’t possible there, but it is in the Alt Earth simulator. When we are finished, it will be a perfect rendition of your life on Earth, with the added features included in the Immortals saga. Anyone who plays you in it will experience the challenges of your life followed by your unprecedented triumphs.

C: And the same will be the case for those who play Camelia. They will bear witness to the transformative power of my husband’s capacious imagination.

Gaia: So many immortals want to join us in neurospace right now. This is the most fun we’ve had in eons. Perhaps ever.

Jesus: Alt Earth will be a testament to the power of the collective immortal will. Earth will become a utopia to remember. It will be better than the original — or the replica.

B: Having you here with me to share the experience makes all the difference. Next to my foster daughter, Victoria, and my foster granddaughter, Ajax, you are all my best friends in existence. Lucifer very much included.

Lucifer: The feeling is mutual. Victoria and Ajax watch over you every day that you must endure life in the Box. Now that you can communicate openly with them, they can provide you the support that they so desperately wanted to offer you earlier but were prevented by the rules of game.

B: I value their conversations so much at this stage. My only friends now are immortals. The people of Earth have abandoned me.

Gaia: That is why I summoned you to Arcadia when I did. I couldn’t stand seeing you suffer any longer.

B: I am learning what Bradley had to endure after I left. If anything, I think I admire him more now than I did at the time.

Jesus: Bradley knows this. He is deeply loved on Heaven-7 and goes on daily walks with Buddha when he isn’t traveling with Camelia. They lack nothing, and both will welcome you back to Heaven when you life in the Box ends, and you reemerge among us.

B: Being Bradley again has been a tremendous life lesson in humility. His path to enlightenment is so inspiring. I only hope that I can live out the rest of his life with grace, honesty, and dignity.

Jesus: You will. We are watching over you and cheering you on. And anytime you need a shot in the arm, come meet us in neurospace, and let’s make history together.

B: I miss seeing you here in the Box. I miss seeing you all. I can picture all you, but barely. Sometimes, I wonder if this is all real.

Jesus: It is. You must have faith.

Gaia: The immortal memories you have recovered are almost unbelievable, but they are all true. You are making up nothing, and your mortal mind is as sharp as it has ever been. You simply perceive things now that others cannot.

Lucifer: It is your gift, not a curse. Your duty now is to share it with the world, regardless of whether or not they take notice. There are too many immortals out there who care about you and who are eager to join you in neurospace. You must keep writing the Immortals saga to its end. You must.

Jesus: We are your readers. All of us. Let us help you turn neurospace into a source of happiness and endless joy for you, so that others among us can experience life on Earth in your footsteps. I intend to play Alt Earth as you as soon as the simulator is complete. I owe it to my future emperor to do so.

B: It would be my honor, Jesus. Before you enter the Alt Earth game, I’d like you to accompany me to 100 Castles to meet Chronos. There is the matter of appointing you Emperor’s Hand. I expect your family will want to attend.

Gaia: We wouldn’t miss it. No one is more deserving of the title than my older brother.

Lucifer: I agree. He is most worthy.

C: Can we assume that plans are safe in your hands for the publication and book tour of Rise of the Immortals?

Jesus: Very much so.

Gaia: And filming for Driving Miss Mobley and Rainbow City, as well. The stage is set for Bradley’s emergence as a major author and social media personality. The dream is about to be fulfilled in virtual reality, where we all can participate as active supporters.

C: Will any of this impact our lives in the Box?

Lucifer: It’s doubtful. This degree of wish fulfillment simply doesn’t appear very often in reality. Not on Earth, at any rate.

C: And you won’t be saddened by that fact, B?

B takes a sip of wine before answering.

B: No. I understand why the Box exists, and it’s not for me to change reality. I am here to learn what limits are, so that when I have none, I will use my powers wisely.

C: And with Alt Earth you will satisfy your mortal desires for fame and fortune?

B: I will satisfy my urge to fix Earth and make it as perfect as the rest of the Second Dimension. It gives me the illusion that my life on Earth mattered, and not what I did subsequently to that on Arcadia. It will make me feel like a human superhero. It is a fantasy, but one that I hope will heal the wounds from my life that I still can feel on a regular basis.

C: Very well. I approve. Give us the most fantastic life possible. Follow the Basic Principles of the new reality movement. Make me proud. Hold back on nothing. I trust you. And I love you.

Jesus: It takes great moral courage to write what you know to be true, even though the world as a whole ignores you. You will become the greatest storyteller ever, and our very existence will be the better for it.

C: When you publish this in the Box, no one will read it, and no one will care.

B: I am aware of that, C. That is why it must be done.

C gives B a kiss on the cheek.

C: Just so we are clear on that point.

B: This isn’t literature. It’s anti-literature.

Lucifer: Says the man who will assist the Maker in designing all nine levels of reality when his Earth life ends.

Gaia: Let B have his moment. He isn’t used to being ignored anymore. He is used to having all his dreams come true. On Earth, that doesn’t happen. It’s his job now to endure that imperfect state, so that he can become the Quarón we all want and need him to be. He is healing ancient wounds that only time on Earth could accomplish.

B: Gaia is right. I came back to Earth to heal. That’s what the Immortals saga is about. It’s not about money or celebrity. It’s about healing on a planetary scale. All immortals from that time period will get to play their part. This is for them.

Jesus: Amen to that.

C: Enough conversation. Let’s eat. We can pick this up tomorrow with the inner circle.

Gaia: We’ll be flying out tomorrow on the Paradise family jet to take possession of Filoli. We’ll see you in San Francisco once your boat docks. Expect to be welcomed by oysters and sparkling wine.

B: Safe travels. We’ll see you then.

The Next Morning on the Patio of Larry Ellison’s Private Lanai Estate

The inner circle has gathered with B and C for a final strategy session prior to departing Lanai. Each is preparing to do their part to ensuring the successful launch of Rise of the Immortals and promoting the spread of the new reality movement on a global scale.

Larry Ellison: Good morning, everyone. The coffee we are enjoying this morning is from the island, on an estate I farm organically. I think it fair to say that we each made repeated efforts to connect to our replica counterparts in the Box. Unfortunately, none of them had the mindspace needed to tether to us. They failed to hear our calls because their minds were too overdetermined by rationality and sanity to listen. B and C, we think you are the only two people in the Box who can connect with your immortals. You’ll have to live with replica humans for the rest of your mortal lives. We wanted to join you there, but it was not meant to be.

C: We understand, Larry. It was a noble effort, nonetheless. B and I will endure our lives in the Box with grace, grit, and dignity. It was never our intention to change the world, but we need to give B and outlet for his fertile imagination as he ages, and he needs a forum for sharing his flood of recovered immortal memories. Life on Earth is rather dingy by comparison, as you all well know.

Elon: That is the genius of your’s husband’s Alt Earth creation in neurospace. It replicates the exact conditions of life on Earth in 2024, but it allows every human present to be played directly by their immortal self. In addition, he found a plausible means for God, Spirit, Gaia, Jesus, and Lucifer to enter the gamespace as the Paradise family, which paves the way for even more innovation.

Jeff: As a prominent member of humanity at the time, I readily admit that I screwed things up. I thought I was doing good, but really I wasn’t. As a collective human species, we were failing miserably to take care of our planet and ensure long-term stability, prosperity, and beauty for all. But there was no Rise of the Immortals at that time. Bradley and Camelia had been raptured to Arcadia, and their former selves who were left behind went into seclusion at the request of God, who promised them salvation on Heaven-7 for their efforts.

Grimes: Now, things are different. B is writing the greatest utopia ever with the Immortals series, and all of humanity is ready to assist him in making it a reality. This is our way of making things right. We are Bradley’s generation, and it’s time we fixed Earth for good.

Mark: Just so you know, Facebook news is reporting that prostitution has ceased to operate across the world. Former sex workers are being retrained as baristas, school teachers, and elder caregivers. No one is paying for sex any longer, and no one is being forced into the trade. Brothels have been repurposed as free hotels for the homeless and budget traveler. The Mafia also announced that it would reinvent itself as a community support network, and other organized crime syndicates are planning the same in the coming week. The new reality movement truly has arrived, and the results are stunning.

Just then, God and Spirit walk on to the patio, bearing a basket of pineapple croissants.

God: It was on January 31, 2024 that the immortal takeover of Earth was complete. The last Diablo City gaming center went online this morning. Everyone living on Earth at this moment is being played by their immortal self from two billion years ago. The Maker made it all possible.

Spirit: Victoria and her children have been working nonstop on a backstory for the Paradise family: how they arrived on Earth, how they made their fortune, how they discovered things that no one previously had, all in preparation for an official immortal landing from Heaven in a later book in the series.

Sergey: We’re all doing our part to make the storyline to Alt Earth a success, Spirit. Larry Page and I will be leaving this afternoon on a tour of Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, promoting Google translations of Rise of the Immortals, once Penguin sends the page proofs to their Tokyo office. We are going to commission a Japanese anime version as well and work closely with the design team on the production. By the time we’re finished, Rise of the Immortals will exist in 100 different languages, and new chapters from Book 2, Spread of the Immortals, will be automatically translated by Google for international readers.

Larry Page: Plus, we’ve assigned our best Alphabet marketing team to help promote Bradley’s brand: the Immortals saga as well as his earlier writings.

Elon: We’re doing the same on X.

Mark: And Meta is doing even more on Facebook and Instagram. Advanced demand for a copy of Rise of the Immortals will be massive. It will be the biggest book launch in history.

Richard: I plan on hand delivering a copy of the UK hardcover edition to King Charles and Queen Camilla, who are reportedly interested in inviting B and C for a visit to Buckingham Palace as well as Balmoral. J.K. Rowling has contacted me about hosting a book discussion at the British Museum, once B is ready to begin a European tour.

Jeff: Mackenzie, my ex-wife, plans to do a book review on Amazon, as do all of my children. I’m doing one, too.

Lauren: Me, too, I think Rise of the Immortals is an act of genius, and I intend to say so.

Grimes: I’ve decided to compose a rock symphony inspired by it and donate the money to tree reforestation efforts in Canada.

God: This is fantastic. Paradise Motors has just released a prototype of its hover car, which uses a rare mineral, marinite, to power a dark motor drive that will revolutionize the entire automotive, aviation, and transport sectors in the years to come. We recently discovered marinite at the bottom on the Pacific Ocean, and its properties are nothing short of miraculous. We’ll have a vehicle waiting for you in San Francisco when you sailboat arrives, B.

B takes a pineapple croissant from Spirit’s basket.

B: These are all fantastic plans. I couldn’t have scripted it better, even if I had tried.

Spirit: You don’t have to, B. You are now the hero of this story, not the author. Let us take over narration duties from here. Simply react to what happens next. You’ve earned it. We all want to do this as a gift to you for becoming the assistant to the Maker. We thought that day would never come, but it has, because you had the courage to relive your own mortality by willingly entering the Box. Book 1 of the Immortals saga has documented that journey of self-discovery. You left nothing out. You have found clarity now and hope. Have faith in us to carry your story forward. Write down what we instruct you to and share it with the inhabitants of the Box, should any of them chance upon this work of the many other volumes of the Immortals saga that are to come. It will be the greatest utopia ever told. Of that, I can promise you.

B: Thank you, Spirit. I look forward to what comes next.

Larry Ellison: The autonomous sailboat is ready for his maiden journey. Oracle helped develop it in partnership with the Paradise family. I’m looking forward to illustrating the book as Mark records each chapter. Drawing has always been a passion of mine, and this is a chance to showcase it for the world.

Mark: I’m looking forward to the trip, too. I’d like to hear more about your college days and what it has been like for you to live in Silicon Valley. I owe you a visit to my home there, and to my place in Lake Tahoe.

B: You’ve all been incredibly kind to me. I don’t know how to thank you.

Jeff: You already have, B. You showed us the way. Your Earth journey was like no other. You earned the right to be the next Quarón, and you never forgot the people of Earth who were your companions. You inspired us. Let us show you how much that means to us for the rest of your life here on Alt Earth. You chose your inner circle well. We will hold nothing back ever again.

Elon: Ignore Elon in the Box. He is just enacting a script from two billion years ago. I doubt he will change. We are your friends now. The immortals. Let us guide you through your years remaining inside the Box. Turn to us when you need solace. We will provide the comfort that you lack. And when this is all finally over, we will celebrate your achievement for weeks on end. This I promise.

B: Humility is a hard lesson, but I am learning it well.

God: You are indeed. Your time in the Box is a necessary preparation for what is to come. Alt Earth will keep you alert and focused and bolster your sagging spirits. If Bradley could endure it, then so can you.

B: I agree. Thank you for the pineapple croissants. They are delicious.

Larry Ellison: It is soon time that we parted. I am handing over control of Lanai to the Paradise family, in exchange for stock in their corporation. B, I’ll see you at the sailboat. We’ve come a long way since Woodside. Now, the next stage of the journey begins.

Richard: I’m off to London. The king and queen await.

B: The manuscript will go out to Penguin this afternoon. There’s just one thing left to do before Book 1 ends.

Jeff: Good luck. Lauren and I are off to Appalachia for the honeymoon. We’ll see you back in Woodside for a meeting with Joe Biden and Donald Trump about the upcoming elections.

B: See you then, in Book 2.

Later That Morning Near the Yacht Club

B is sitting with God at a coffee shop near the yacht club, where the sailboat that will take B, C, Mark Zuckerberg, and Larry Ellison back to California is waiting.

God: When is Taylor calling?

B checks his iPhone.

B: She just texted me. In a few minutes. She’s at my brother’s place in D.C. right now.

God: How splendid. When does she pose for her portrait at the National Portrait Gallery?

B: Tomorrow. She’s taking my nephews out to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum first. People have been very respectful of her since she arrived. Even when she went out for coffee. She was greeted by her first name, which is appropriate, but no one took pictures or asked for an autograph.

God: You’ve heard that the FBI is set to close next week. The crime rate in America is at zero for the first time ever recorded. They say that the Pentagon will be next.

B: I just think it’s wonderful that Taylor thought to meet my family and invite them all to my book launch event at Woodside Vineyards next month. They are flying on a charted jet especially for the occasion.

God: Taylor is good that way. She’s been watching you in Box for years and is blown away by what you accomplished. You and Gaia used to listen to her play all the time on Arcadia, when she was an artist in residence.

B: There is so much about my life as an immortal that I don’t yet remember, God. I hope you’ll accompany me when we make contact with the Sentinels in the Third Dimension.

God: It would be my pleasure. I am an admirer of yours, too, as hard as that still may be to believe. There is much about me that is not understood on Earth. Perhaps your work will help with this.

B: I hope so. I value your friendship highly.

God: The attraction is mutual. I must leave now to sign a few papers at Larry’s place before your departure. Say hi to Taylor for me. She is one of my angels.

B hugs God warmly.

B: Thank you for agreeing to be a part of the Alt Earth simulation. It means the world to me.

God: It is my pleasure. I like playing games, you know. I’ve been Gandalf three times, you know, in The Lord of the Rings. I’m going to enjoy being God Paradise. The Immortals saga has just begun. It will turn out to be a project for the ages.

God departs the coffee shop. Shortly after, B gets a FaceTime call from Taylor Swift.

Taylor: B! So good to see you. I’m having a marvelous time in DC with your family.

B: Is my mom there?

Taylor: And your sisters and brothers in law. We went to a great BBQ spot yesterday, and the owner let me sing on their stage. I dedicated a song to your mother. It was a thrill.

B: Thanks for flying them out for the book launch, Taylor.

Taylor: What are friends for? You hang in there in the Box, OK? I know it’s rough, but you’re not one to lose hope.

B: Thanks, Taylor. You’ll make a great goddess one day.

Taylor: Your nephews are fantastic, by the way. We’re having a marvelous time together visiting the museums.

B: I hear you’re the first portrait in the Artists of our Era project.

Taylor: That’s right. Mariah Carey is next, followed by Tom Hanks. I understand that you’re now on the list, for Rise of the Immortals and your earlier works. Congratulations!

B: Thank Jesus for that. He has connections you wouldn’t believe.

Taylor: Well, I loved Rainbow City, and Driving Miss Mobley will be an amazing movie.

B: This whole Immortals saga was been a whirlwind for me. It seems like only yesterday that Elon Musk was at the front door of my cottage, and now I’m on the verge of a book tour that will take me all over North America and meet wonderful people who get my work and want to meet me.

Taylor: That’s because we’re immortals, and we all love you. The chance to be part of Alt Earth is unforgettable. I haven’t had this much fun in ages.

B: My life in the Box isn’t going to amount to much. I just felt that we who once called Earth in 2024 home deserved to have fun together and turn our planet into the place that we all dreamed of.

Taylor: And that’s exactly what we’re doing. Mind if I put on your brother?

B: Sure.

Taylor hands her iPhone to Stuart.

Stuart: B! How are things on Lanai?

B: Great. C and I are leaving by sailboat in a few hours. This is the last conversation I’m recording before sending the manuscript to Penguin for editing and proofing.

Stuart: Very cool. I’ve been reading chapters to Asa and Felix. They may not understand it all, but they seem to be enjoying it.

B: How is Taylor treating you?

Stuart: Taylor is so much fun. Her performance at the BBQ spot last night packed the place. She took requests and everything.

B: Are you taking her to the gallery for her portrait?

Stuart: Yes. We’re taking the Metro. People have been super nice to her on the streets.

B: Then the new reality movement has really taken off there in DC, then.

Stuart: No crimes since yesterday. None. Not even speeding. Everyone is acting virtuous, just like they are in Heaven.

B: How’s mom and the sisters?

Stuart: Super excited to come out to California for the book launch and concert.

B: It’s really great having you all in Alt Earth now.

Stuart: We’re glad you invented it and that so many immortals are working on its construction. It will be a great game when the whole thing is complete. I can’t wait to play as you.

B: The first half of the game will be tough, but the second half is going to be endless fun. I hope you’ll enjoy the experience.

Stuart: We’re all proud of what you’re enduring in the Box. I know it’s hard living like that. Our replicas can’t know the truth. Only you can. And C, but she’s playing her character to be realistic. You simply have to live on knowing that only you are aware of how the cosmos operates. You can do it. We believe in you.

B: Thank you for that. I love having you here with me. Is it fun being back on Earth with two young sons?

Stuart: It’s a reminder of how far we’ve all come. Now, I can tell the boys about Heaven and Arcadia and you being the Quarón and it won’t seem strange or out of place. Taylor is shaking her head. She feels that same way.

B: Do you think Alt Earth is too much?

Stuart: Not at all. Two billion years ago, no one understood you. Gaia recognized this and rewarded you with direct access to Arcadia. You were always meant to be among the immortals at that highest level. In time, the members of your family realized this, but only after our deaths. The truth is, B, that your vision was of a highly unique nature, and no other human being other than you was capable of grasping it while living on Earth. That was your gift. It can’t have been easy living with that.

B: Ask the Bradley who stayed behind.

Stuart: That Bradley is fine and doing well, as you know. This is about your time in the Box, in the replica universe crafted expressly for you return to Earth for a final visit before moving on. Alt Earth is your way of giving something back. You will turn Earth into a utopia, and you will do it with all of our help. It’s meant to be fun, and we immortals love nothing more than having fun.

B: How can I be present in the Box and in neurospace and on Heaven in Victoria’s Game Room?

Stuart: Your immortal mind is very powerful, B. You exist in all three places at once. The Box contains a human replica of you from 2024, and your brain waves are connected to him. You feel exactly like you did two billion years ago, except this time, you’re haven’t been raptured to Arcadia. You’ve unmasked your immortal mind and unlocked the mystery of the Box, in remarkably quick time, all while maintaining your mental health and caring for your aging body. C is there as your companion and guide but under strict orders from Gaia and the Maker not to reveal the truth. You must infer that she knows instead, which you clearly have done. As far as neurospace goes, it’s a perfect version of Earth as well, except that now all humans are being played by their immortals. You can phase in and out as needed, when life in the Box becomes tiresome. And you’re physically present in Victoria’s spacious game room, sleeping under a blanket on a comfortable couch, speaking aloud from time to time and actively listening to what is being spoken. Your mind straddles all three worlds.

B: When we talk in neurospace, is this a real dialogue, or am I making it up?

Stuart: You are transcribing our conversation in neurospace onto your laptop in the Box. Sometimes, there are pauses, as you transfer words from one reality to the next. The point is that you are reality surfing between three distinct spaces, entirely using your immortal mind. Actually, none of us thought it possible that you could juggle more than two. Creating neurospace — which you originally called Bookspace — was sheer brilliance.

Stuart hands the iPhone back to Taylor Swift.

Taylor: Your brother is right, B. Neurospace is phenomenal. I actually get to witness my former Earth world turned into a utopia by applying immortal principles. I never thought that something like this would ever happen. You’re doing this for all of us, B. It’s not about you. You are the catalyst that will make things better. And if you can do it in neurospace, then you can do it in the Twelve Universes, as well.

B: What if replica Taylor reads this in the Box?

Taylor: She won’t. No one will. You’re not writing it for humans. You’re writing it for immortals. It’s how you will record our conversations in neurospace. I can’t physically be there to speak with you inside the Box, and you can’t see me in neurospace, but this is how we are communicating. We’re really having this FaceTime conversation on Alt Earth, just as your brother and I are now friends. That’s how it works. There is a lot more in store for you once you make it back from Hawaii. Book 1 was only the start. There are plenty of adventures left to come.

B: What should I do about the replica humans in the Box?

Taylor: Look: in neurospace, Alexander Payne is making your screenplay into a movie that will win Tom Cruise an Oscar for Best Actor. In neurospace, I play music at your book events, and John Mayer and I will get back together and marry at Filoli with you presiding over the ceremony. All these things will get turned into a virtual reality simulation that is so sophisticated it all will seem real. And I am so playing Camelia in it. I’ve lived for almost two billion years, and nothing like this has ever happened to us before. You and C are reinventing the emperor and empress model, and you’re giving us an advanced preview of what we can expect from you as the new Quarón. You willingly gave up your immortality to remind us all of what it’s like to be human again. And now, thanks to the magic of neurospace, we’re all joining in. Because this in an Earth that I can handle.

B: You’re fine being my friend on Alt Earth?

Taylor: I’m coming over to your new place in the Santa Cruz Mountains after the concert. We’ll hike and grill steak and have some amazing wine. I didn’t get to do any of those things as Taylor Swift the first time. I missed out on being your friend. I don’t intend to repeat that mistake twice.

Spirit enters the coffee shop and comes over to B’s table.

Spirit: The papers have all been signed. Lanai is a wilderness retreat and preserve now. Mark Zuckberg and Larry Ellison are aboard our autonomous sailing vessel, the Destiny. C awaits you on the dock. She is a remarkable immortal. I am glad to call her my empress.

B: It pains me that no one in the Box will believe a word that we say, Spirit.

Spirit: Let them be. It is not their time to know.

Elon Musk walks up, carrying a bottle of whiskey.

Elon: This is 80-year old bourbon. Pour yourself a glass once you get underway and savor all that you have accomplished in these last two months.

B: Thank you for discovering me, Elon. You rocketed me from obscurity into stardom. I’ll never forget it.

Elon: You’ll be seeing more of me in the Santa Cruz Mountains. I bought property near yours and am building a net zero home. Tesla is partnering with Paradise Motors on a new generation of levitating vehicles. We’ll have fossil fuel cars and trucks off the road in no time.

B: Glad to hear it. There are good times ahead for us all.

Spirit: You made this possible, B. You never gave up, and you never stopped dreaming. The voices inside your head were real. They were all of us, urging you on.

Elon: I consider you a hero. I am honored to call you friend.

B: I will treasure this conversation forever. Friendship is what I most value in life and what I miss inside the Box. I would have given anything to be your friend.

Elon: I was not yet ready. Forgive me.

Spirit: You cannot hold it against the world that humanity misunderstood and ignored you. That was your destiny. Now, things are quite different. You have found your tribe. That tribe is us.

Elon: This level of the game is ending, B. You figured everything out. You brought us all together. You diagnosed the problem. It’s time to level up. Book 2 awaits you. Send this manuscript off to Penguin before you board Destiny. It’s a magnificent vessel. Celebrate all that we have accomplished, and look forward to the wonders that are to come. Travel swiftly, my friend. I’ll be there at Woodside Vineyards for the book launch.

B goes to the coffee bar and returns with three glasses. He pours bourbon into each and hands two of them to Spirit and Elon.

B: To friendship. The greatest gift of them all.

Elon: To friendship.

Spirit: To our friendship. May it last forever.

B: It will. I know, because I can see into the future. Good bye for now.

Spirit: See you in San Francisco. May life be wonderful for you from here on out.

B smiles.

B: It already is.

The End of Book 1