DOORS/PARADOX

When Henry awoke, he found himself in a world that seemed almost like Earth, but was undeniably empty. He sat up on the park bench where he’d seemingly appeared, taking in the sight of an urban landscape devoid of life. The skyscrapers stood tall, and cars were parked in neat rows on the streets, but there was an eerie silence, an absence of the usual sounds of civilization.
He stood and walked through the deserted city, searching for any sign of another human, but there was nothing. It was as if the world had been frozen in time, with no trace of the bustling crowds, no animals, and no signs of life anywhere. The buildings, the billboards, and even the food courts in the shopping centers were untouched by the passage of time.
Henry tried to make sense of it all. Was this a dream? A nightmare? Or had he somehow stumbled into a parallel dimension? He had no answers, and the only thing he knew for sure was that he was utterly alone.
Every door he encountered led to a different place in this haunting dimension. One opened into a library where books sat undisturbed, another into a movie theater with empty seats waiting for an audience that would never come. Henry wandered through cities and towns, each mirroring Earth’s architecture and infrastructure but devoid of any form of life.
Days turned into weeks, and loneliness became Henry’s only companion. He found himself talking to the empty streets, as if hoping to summon a response from the world around him. He missed the sounds of laughter, the conversations of strangers, and even the distant honking of car horns. But most of all, he missed the warmth of human contact.
In his solitude, Henry began to explore the empty world more thoroughly. He walked along the coastlines of abandoned beaches, hiked through untouched forests, and even climbed the tallest mountains, all without encountering a single soul. The world around him was pristine, untouched by human hands, as if humanity had never existed in this place.
One day, as he wandered through a quiet suburban neighborhood, he noticed a house with a garden that stood out from the others. The flowers in the front yard were in full bloom, and the house itself seemed almost inviting. With a mix of curiosity and hope, Henry approached and opened the front door.
Inside, he found a home that felt strangely lived-in. The furniture was comfortable, and family photos adorned the walls. He walked through the rooms, a sense of nostalgia washing over him. It was as though he had stumbled upon a glimpse of earth.
In one room, he found a diary lying open on a desk. It was filled with entries chronicling the life of a woman named Sarah. Sarah was a programmer. She actually developed earth. Turns out, the world was a simulation! Sarah’s diary stated that the simulation had become unstable, and separate “test versions” of earth (test versions are other dimensions) became glitchy. She stated that there was a server beam connecting all dimensions together, and touching it would send you back to your dimension. The server beam was the only way back, as a firewall surrounded the dimension, deleting anything that touched it.
In the midst of the abandoned simulation, Henry’s existence took on a new layer of complexity. It was as though he had stumbled upon the backstage of reality, the hidden workings of a grand cosmic experiment. He had discovered the reason for the eerie emptiness and the peculiar phenomenon of doors leading to random places.
With newfound purpose, Henry set out to reach the Server Beam. His journey through this strange and glitchy world took him to places that defied logic and imagination. He crossed landscapes where gravity shifted direction, wandered through forests that sang melodies, and encountered doorways that led to surreal dimensions within dimensions.
At each step, Henry encountered remnants of the simulation’s programming. Glitches manifested as strange anomalies, like floating islands and buildings that defied the laws of physics. These glitches, it seemed, were responsible for the unpredictable nature of the doors that connected this world’s disparate regions.
Henry’s quest was fraught with challenges, as he had to navigate these glitches to reach the Server Beam. He faced time loops that threatened to trap him, and gravity wells that pulled him in unexpected directions. But he persisted, driven by the desire to return to the regular version of Earth and to unveil the truth behind his existence.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Henry reached the Server Beam. It stood tall and imposing, a shimmering column of light that seemed to stretch into infinity. With trembling hands, he touched it, and in an instant, he felt a surge of energy envelop him.
As the world around him dissolved into a whirlwind of colors and sensations, Henry realized that he was being teleported back to the regular version of Earth. The glitches, the empty cities, and the abandoned simulation all faded away, replaced by the familiar sights and sounds of his home.
Henry had experienced a journey unlike any other, and he carried with him the knowledge of a reality far more complex and mysterious than he could have ever imagined. The universe, it seemed, was not what it appeared to be, and the doors that had led him on this adventure were a glimpse into the inner workings of a cosmic experiment.