The shag burnt easily, the smoke billowing up above the shadows of the trees, and into the night air. It was eight o’clock in the evening precisely but Dr. Christopher Wolf, only aware of time as a concept, rocked in his chair, looking out from the front porch of his cabin in the woods, into the darkness of the woodland in front of him. His bathrobe was warm enough for the spring air and his slippers kept his feet safe from the dust and dirt on the porch. He was in his element. The very paragon of comfort. Wolf had lived a full life. A widower for more than ten years, he had experienced the love and security of his wife, the accomplishments of both of their careers. He had not had any children, but he had found his fulfilment in other places, the contribution to climate science, his passion for nature. It had been a worthwhile existence, full of love and heartbreak, hope and disappointment. He had experienced it all. It was the twilight of his life, and he was alone, choosing to end it all in the happiest place of his childhood, his family’s cabin in the woods. Days of contemplation, of reminiscence, had replaced the productivity of his youth, his drive to change the world. And as he drew from his pipe, the smoke billowing up from under the porch, disappearing into the stars twinkling up in the dark sky above him, Dr. Wolf relaxed his head, leaning backward on his rocking chair. His only regret was that he had not convinced humanity to change, see nature as its mother, live as one with the land. The world was still in crisis, the water levels rising, temperatures reaching new highs. He had implored leaders of nations to take it more seriously. Make changes. Convince them that improved efficiency would lead to greater consumption, that we would actually live a more opulent life. But, for the most part, his arguments were dismissed. The immediate threat ignored. The earth exploited for its wealth of resources. In the end he was discredited anyway. Wolf had turned his attention to fringe theories, disappearing into the endless possibilities of cosmology. He had always enjoyed philosophy, the unanswerable questions, the heated debates. The definitions of morality and virtue. Epistemology and theology fascinated him. What constituted belief and truth? Why did people believe in a greater power? Wolf’s studies had taken him deeper and deeper down black holes of theoretical papers and journals. They had finally led him to some rather speculative areas of study. He had become convinced that aliens must exist, and that he would meet them in his lifetime. The basis for his argument was taken from outdated journals written at the discovery of exoplanets, and his theories left him ostracised from the scientific community. The rantings of an old man who had lost his grip on reality, they said. Wolf had simply stopped caring. He would be dead soon, he thought, his best days behind him. Happy coming to the end, living in his memory, the workings of his mind, his imagination. Let the world sort itself out on its own.

The pipe was empty. He felt the weight in his knees, his back. A cup of cocoa and then off to bed. A sudden burst of energy. The air rippling, oscillating waves passing through Wolf and his cabin. The sky above was black, the stars blotted out by some unidentified object. Wolf picked himself up from his rocking chair and moved out into the yard in front of him. A burst of light beaming down on him. The wind whipping around him, picking him up from off the ground. “It’s actually happening!” Wolf cried out. “Is this how it all ends?” His body was pulled into the darkness, levitating momentarily off the ground. Wolf felt like he was in a movie. The main character ferried off by some invading entity, to some far-off distant planet. The wind became fierce as he neared the source of the light above him, and as the light surrounded him, permeating every part of his body, Wolf went limp, his body unable to withstand the force pulling him toward it. The stars returned in the night sky. The intrusion was over. Wolf had been taken.

Everything was white. The walls, the door, even the bed Wolf found himself bound to. “Is this really happening?” Wolf thought to himself. He had dreamt of being abducted by a superior alien race. But he never thought in a million years that it could actually happen. “This will teach them,” he thought. “They’ll believe me now.”
A whooshing noise as the door opened. Wolf was so excited. What kind of alien being was he about to meet? But it was an unassuming man, earthling in shape and form, with short brown hair surrounding a bald head, wearing a multicoloured kaftan that entered the room. He was followed by a group of aliens, all in kaftans, poking their heads through the door.
“Welcome, Dr. Wolf. It is an honour to have you with us. I am Xavron. I apologise for the manner in which you ended up here. It was the only way for us to contact you without being seen. I hope it wasn’t too uncomfortable for you?”
Wolf couldn’t hide his excitement. “No, not at all. A real alien race! You are aliens aren’t you?”
“We’re not considered alien, where we come from.” Xavron didn’t seem to blink, no hint of a smile.
“And, where do you come from?” Wolf had a million questions he wanted to ask.
“Well, we are almost there. You will see soon enough. Dr. Wolf, I must tell you, you were right. About everything. Alien life, multiple universes. All your theories, bang on. And we wanted you to see our home planet. Meet us, so we could share our different sets of data. Perhaps help to create a bond between our two worlds.”

The restraints from Wolf’s arms retracted back into the bed and he stretched out his fingers, clenching his hands.
“You can sit up, Dr. Wolf. We apologise for the restraints. Just a precaution, I assure you.” Xavron said reassuringly.
Wolf sat up on the edge of the bed and stretched out his neck. “Please. Don’t apologise. This is the most exciting thing that has ever happened to me!”

The aliens ushered Wolf out of the room, through the bridge of their spacecraft, and out the hatch. Before him, a beautiful world, a pristine utopia. Large glass, spiral buildings rose from the ground and before them, fields of crops, communal gardens, and greenhouses, all full of fruits, exotic plants, vegetables, herbs and flowers. A pristine, blue, sky, like Earth on a perfect day. Two huge full moons hung from the canopy, pale orbs suspended in the sky. The air was clean, crisp. Just breathing it made Wolf feel better.
“Welcome to Veridia. We are privileged to have you join us here.” Xavron announced.
“Thank you. It is an honour.” Wolf bowed, struggling to bend his waist.
“Now, we would like to take you to our Civic Centre if you will join us. We have much to discuss.”
A floating orb, clear like a bubble, came to rest in front of them. The Veridians and Wolf got in and it floated gently away on the whim of the breeze, before finding its target and reaching a comfortable speed. Over the fields and farmland, past glasshouses, through valleys and reservoirs and into the city centre. Pristine walkways. No sign of cars or trains. Travel was exclusively by bubble. There were orderly lines of Veridians walking calmly below the bubble as it softly landed by an enormous glass construction. The civic centre was a beautiful, cylindrical structure, with spiralled glass elements filling the interior of the building. Sculpturesque, everything was clear, no dividing walls or concrete to hide away the Veridians’ secrets. The elevator moved at such considerable speed; Wolf could feel himself lifting from the floor. Within moments they had reached the top floor of the building. At the end of the corridor, they reached a glass door.

“This is the control room, Wolf. It has the best view of the city and its surrounds.” Xavron said without emotion.

A long glass table filled the room and Xavron sat at the end, gesturing for Wolf to take the opposite chair. Everything glass. It was almost too much for Wolf to take. He felt a strong sense of vertigo as he looked below his feet. Levels and levels of glass reaching all the way to the ground beneath. Wolf brought his attention back into the room and noticed, at the far end behind Xavron, a control station, covered in buttons and switches.
“What’s all of that?” Wolf pointed at the control panel.
“This is the highest point in Veridia, so we use this space for our defence and signalling equipment. We are quite well protected. If it were to come to it, we could end everything.”
“How do you mean, ‘end everything’?” Wolf was suddenly troubled by Xavron’s turn of phrase.
“Space and time would cease to exist.” Still no emotion in Xavron’s voice.
“Right.” This did nothing to put Wolf’s mind at ease.

Xavron rose from his chair and gestured for Wolf to follow him out of the room. They made their way down the elevator and onto the ground floor. Beautiful rows of apartments, all with walls of glass, filled the street. The citizens seemed happy, content, going about their routines. The insides of the apartments were sparse, functional. A bed, a shower a small kitchen. No sight of books or a television. No entertainment at all. And no sense of shame or secrecy. No need for privacy. Everyone happy to live entirely out in the open.
“So, who decides you need to “end everything”?” Wolf wondered if he was talking to the king of Veridia.
“There is no one ruler. Everybody here is equal. We are a collective.”
“How do you keep the peace then?”
“There is no need for any police presence. No one in Veridia is accursed with human fallibilities, such as greed, anger, or jealousy. There is no poverty or class divide that would make crime a necessity.”
Wolf spotted a hint of pride in Xavron’s answer, but he couldn’t be entirely sure. Regardless, it seemed unlikely that there was no crime at all. How could there be a world where self-interest and greed didn’t play a part in society? Wolf thought that he might be looking at it through a humanist lens. Perhaps a state like that was possible in the far reaches of space. Hell, anything is possible in a multiverse, he thought to himself.

The bubble appeared before them again, a rainbow of colours reflecting off its surface. And it floated them away through the city centre, further out, back to the plains of crops and gardens. The air was rich with the smell of the toiled ground, the smell of hard work and honest industry. Wolf recognised the smells of herbs and spices from Earth too. Sage, rosemary and basil. All around them, Veridians worked tirelessly, potting plants, pulling weeds, harvesting maize and wheat. They did so free of any hint of resentment. Concentration on their faces. Making sure the work was done properly so that everyone could enjoy the fruits of their labour.
“We grow our crops, our plants, and vegetables in the surrounds of our cities. We appropriated some of your herbs and vegetables to bolster our own. Everyone works in the fields. It is invigorating, being one with nature. The city centre is where we sleep and prepare for the day. It is also a place of discussion and debate. Whether we should become a multiplanetary species, perhaps coexist with yours. The centre is always open to any citizen of Veridia. There was much debate about whether to bring you here, Dr. Wolf.”
“Well, I’m glad you did. This place is amazing. Like something out of a science fiction novel. Are all your cities like this one?” Wolf was still taking it all in. The grandeur of it. The simplicity of the Veridians life there.
“Oh yes. We don’t have nations or borders like you do on Earth. We all live equal, Dr. Wolf.”
“Truly amazing.” Wolf said, wide-eyed.
“I was wondering, as we hope to foster an interconnectedness with you and your people, do you have any questions for us?” Xavron seemed genuinely interested.

Wolf had always wanted to ask an alien race the bigger questions of the universe. He just never thought it would actually happen. “Yes, I do actually. Um, do you have a concept of spirituality, a higher power?” He thought he would start with the big one.
“We are unconvinced there is such a thing in our universe. We are dependent on ourselves. We have no need for a creator to help us. Of course, we are always open to new information.”
“Right. Actually, there are plenty of people on Earth that would agree with you. There is much debate about it in fact.” Wolf was not surprised by the answer.
“There is no need for debate on that topic here. We are all in agreeance.” Xavron led Wolf back to the bubble. They took off in a puff of dust, floating over the rows of wheat and maize.
“So, without a belief in a higher power, do you have a concept of morality or ethics?”
“We believe in a kind of intrinsic moral philosophy. But it is not one born of actual experience. There is no need for morality when immorality does not exist. In decision making, we take a utilitarian view. Whatever brings the most happiness to the most citizens.”
“And how do you define happiness on Veridia?”
“Whatever keeps production high, and the citizens well looked after.” A matter of fact answer, Xavron not bothered by Wolf’s questioning.
“Sounds reasonable. I must ask, though. Beyond your utilitarian view, have you not considered morality as a duty, a principle?”
“There are no duties here. Just peaceful cohabitation.”
“No social contracts?” Wolf was pushing now, but Xavron was unphased.
“No. No need for anything like that.”
“Do you believe in virtues like honesty, compassion, courage?”
“Why would we need those virtues when their antonyms do not exist?” Xavron asked.
An excellent answer, Wolf thought. “Interesting. You see that’s part of what defines life on earth. The ups, the downs. The triumphs, the failures. In ourselves, I mean. Our choices regarding virtue and vice.”
“All meaningless here. We have evolved past that.”
Wolf was a little thrown by the alien’s definition of morality. Surely, without immorality, the choice to be moral was removed. Leaving only a void. “And emotion. Have you evolved past that too?” Wolf asked with a hint of incredulity.
“Emotional responses do not exist in Veridia. We do not experience love, happiness, anger, rage. We are content in our being. Tilling the soil and living peacefully together.”

The bubble settled at a long glass building on the outskirts of the city centre. Here, you will see our laboratories that are committed to prolonging life. Each of us here on Veridia live to be over two-hundred and fifty of your human years. We then go into stasis, until our technology allows us to live forever. You see, no one really dies here on Veridia.”
Wolf was amazed. But he found the idea of infinite life disturbing. He had waited, with open arms for his own death back on earth. A story without an end, indeterminate and inconclusive. It could never satisfy one’s need for closure. But he supposed a life on Earth was dogged by loss and misery. Those things didn’t exist on Veridia.
“How do you live without a fear of death?” Wolf asked.
“We focus on the present. The immediate. Death is a human being’s future. But here, the future does not exist. It is merely a concept. We want you to stay with us here, Dr. Wolf. We think we could teach each other a lot about the nature of being, of the universe. Would you consider it?”
Wolf thought about it. He had nothing to live for on earth. Just a bunch of stuffy academics that disapproved of his studies. A cabin in the woods, a tomb, waiting to be sealed. Only his decline into sickness and inevitable death. “I suppose I could stay for a while.”
Xavron smiled for the first time since they had met.

Back in the chamber of the Civic Centre, Xavron gave Dr. Wolf a glass of orange juice. It was sweet and pure. Perfectly ripened, picked at the ideal time. But something was troubling, Wolf. He had to ask, “so if you don’t experience virtue, vice, death, the past, the future. How do you live at all? Without conceptual thinking, surely life is less…” he struggled for the word, “rich.”
“Concepts such as these are metaphors, they only muddy the purity of the original idea. We breathe the clean air. Feel the warmth of our sun. Till the ground. And we will live forever. What more could one want?”
Wolf thought about it for a moment. Such a simple way of life. Perhaps the Veridians were content in their understanding of living. Still, Wolf couldn’t help but question it. “What about chaos? Violent thoughts crashing, colliding, creating a duality inside of us. A choice between right and wrong, good and bad. A life that ends, hopefully peacefully, the story complete, the reader fulfilled. I mean, how can you have such a myopic view? If there is no God, no emotion, no need for reason, no abstract thought, what is the purpose of life? You have to ask yourself, have you really lived at all? A slap across the face is an act of anger, but as much as it hurts, it can feel exhilarating.”

Wolf couldn’t help himself. Xavron had been so vacant, so reserved. Without warning, Wolf reached over and slapped the Veridian in the mouth. Just enough to get his point across.
Xavron looked perturbed. The shock of Wolf’s attack. He was trying to compute it in his mind.
He held the side of his face. “No-one has ever struck me. Struck anyone on Veridia.”
Wolf realised he had unlocked something in Xavron, the strike had triggered a kind of realisation.
“I’ve never felt before. I feel it now. Coursing through me. Anger and shame. I knew them as concepts now I know how they feel.” A teardrop fell from Xavron’s eye. “It is good to feel. What is the purpose of life, without deceit, anger, jealousy? Without truth, love and trust? Yes, I see it now.”
“Well, I was just theorising.” Wolf saw the emotion swelling in Xavron.
“When you struck me just now. I felt it. And you were right, it was exhilarating.” Xavron was prancing around the room, full of adrenaline.
“Don’t take it to mean too much, now. I’m sorry. I really shouldn’t have done that.”
“No. You’ve opened my eyes. What good is life without pain and suffering?”
“Well, we try to avoid it as much as possible.” Wolf said.
And if suffering is what makes us appreciate life… then we must experience the ultimate act of suffering. What good is life without death?” Xavron’s words rang out, out of the glass control room, down to the city below, the fields and gardens. “Hold him!” He suddenly commanded, pointing at Wolf, the other Veridians pinning his arms down.
“What are you doing? What is this?” Wolf was terrified. What had he done? He had gone too far.
“The universe will know the truth! Come, bring your keys. It is time.” Four of the Veridians hovered over a plastic case at the far end of the room. They pulled keys from their pockets and inserted them into the case. Xavron placed his hand inside, resting it on a large red button. “This is it, Wolf. The button that ends it all! To truly have lived, we must all die!”
“No wait! Please. I think you misunderstood. I didn’t mean this was the end. We can’t all go like this!” Wolf’s words wisped away, a last desperate attempt to save all of existence. And with a firm strike of his palm, Xavron pressed the button.

A huge, roaring pulse rumbled up the cylindrical Civic Centre, a wave of power shooting through the glass spirals. And a blast of energy shot from the building, up into the sky, and out into the multiverse.

The last few moments in time. Somewhere in a far-off galaxy, a piano in a city apartment played a wistful tune. If only Wolf could have heard it. As it did, across the multiverse, every life drew its last breath, a final portrait of their existence. A lonely author smoked a cigarette in his drab apartment, drinking a shot of whiskey in his tiny universe. Snoring men lay back in a drunk tank, dreaming of their escape. Teachers, lawyers, doctors, pensioners all took a moment to ponder the purpose of it all. A cast of characters that never met, might never have been born, all enjoying their last moment of existence.
But it was only a blip, a mere millisecond of human time. It was all gone, the multiverse, dark matter, infinite space. Every corner of the infinite multiverse crushed by Xavron’s moment of existential awakening. And all the stories, all the words on all the pages, disappeared back into the void, into extinction.