Game Over

Heaven is often described as that peaceful, cloud filled expanse of sky. Where all souls exist in harmony. No starvation, no poverty, no crime, no intolerance, no needs going unmet. This depiction has inspired so many priceless works of art. It became a desire so strong that people will spend their lives doing everything they think they have to, to gain access to it.

Hell is often depicted as heaven’s counterpart. Filled with fire and torment. A place of punishment for those deserving of it. Limbo is a place of blankness. Neither heaven nor hell. A place of never-ending nothingness while awaiting judgement.

Some believe we cease to exist post death. There are beliefs that are considered more radical, such as, we come from aliens, and life is nothing more than a computer simulation. Thanks to what I can only call a glitch I can tell you that all but one is correct. Yet they are all wrong.

We aren’t supposed to remember what we are or where we come from. It can cause a major disconnection of the soul from the mind. It is only due to glitches that we occasionally remember things we shouldn’t. As far as I know it is unheard of for someone to remember everything to the core and remain functional. But here I sit, able to write these words.

What we are is quite simple…souls. We are individual sentient beings made of pure energy. Energy cannot be created nor destroyed only transferred. Therefore, we cannot cease to exist. So where do we go after death, you might ask. This answer is also simple…heaven.

This is where it gets complicated, because heaven is both what it has been depicted as and not at all how it sounds. It is indeed a peaceful expanse of sky filled with vapors one could call clouds. It sits in what I can only describe as a picket dimension. A place where everything simply is.

There is no concept of time there. So, no one really knows when we formed or gained sentience. Some of us gained consciousness before others, but we outdate Earth by a while. Eventually we figured out that we could peer into other dimensions and that’s when we realized what we were lacking.

You see, we are in our purest form in heaven. There is no conflict because we lack the means to facilitate it. We do not have bodies, we are formless. Which means we can experience determination and motivation; we can even connect with each other on levels unimaginable to the human mind.

But we do not procreate. We cannot touch, smell, or taste. We have no need for sustenance or shelter. What is considered sin on earth simply isn’t possible in heaven. It wasn’t until we witnessed other sentient beings in other dimensions. How they moved about on different terrains that we even considered the very concept of walking.

Then we found Earth. It was new, and life was just really getting going. The creatures were flesh and blood, but they were devoid of any core. They had no center or sense of self. They were completely run by instincts with no sentience at all. That’s when we figured out that there’s a window of opportunity where we can, through force of will, transfer our being into a creature’s body.

Post conception but before the body begins to take shape. The optimum time is the moment of the first heartbeat. We struggled for a while. The dinosaurs proved difficult. Though we could inhabit these creatures we were unprepared for the subjugation those bodies would put on us. Their instincts were stronger than we anticipated. It was common that the soul became disconnected back then.

By the time man began to evolve we had found the solution. Our memories were what was holding us back. They drove us to fight the instincts when we needed to accept and use them. So, when we will ourselves into our chosen embryo, we deposit our memories into a sperate part of heaven, often referred to as Limbo.

Its not an easy thing to separate oneself from your memories and its not unheard of to miss some. These are the past life memories so many people have. In heaven they’re known as akin to glitches in the process. Which is why many of those memories fade throughout childhood.

Over the centuries the animal kingdom has grown in population. Greatly outnumbering the souls available. Humans alone have outgrown us. The soulless are often considered more like NPCs in heaven. Though they are responsible for the majority of the more heinous acts committed on Earth. Sadly, I cannot say that they are responsible for all of it.

There are the ones we call addicts. They’ve become so enamored with the feeling of, well…feeling, that they refuse to come back, or forget that they can, after the death of their bodies. We do not need bodies to be on Earth, but we do need them to truly experience it. The addicts continue to roam attempting to steal the bodies of others. On Earth they are called poltergeists or malevolent spirits. Sometimes they are even considered demons.

Then there are the lost. The ones who feared death and the unknown so much that they became lost to themselves. They cling to their human existence and walk the earth in the form of their most recent body. These are the harmless ghosts and spirits.

Lastly, there are those who can’t come back. When one soul intentionally tries to harm another, it causes a kickback. The antagonistic soul cracks and splinters. Every time this happens that soul gets weaker. Until eventually they no longer have the strength of will to get back. They are stuck on Earth with the addicts and the lost.

Now not all souls are on Earth at once. There are many that stay back and watch as spectators. Many others spend time in Limbo. After death and their return, they often stay where they collect their memories for a while. They look over the life they lived and the choices they made. While judgement is provided in Limbo it is the individual soul that provides it to themselves. Then they spend time watching over their loved ones, occasionally popping in on them on Earth.

Some of the spectators can sometimes manipulate certain situations. Kind of like putting in cheat codes on a game. Before a soul decides to start a new life, they will sometimes set goals on something they want to achieve. Many times, choosing the embryo that will set them on the most likely path to achieve those goals. On Earth this is referred to as having a calling. Something you are drawn towards. Sometimes those goals are actions or skills they wish to obtain. Other times it’s a matter of personal growth.

But every time a soul inhabits a body the prime reason is to experience it. The animal kingdom provides a plethora of diversity allowing us to pick and choose. What kind of life we wish to live. Humans provide complexity. They have a wider emotional range and allow us more forward thinking. Yet they are frail. Susceptible to short life spans, mental manipulation, and emotional breakdowns.

Many instead choose the lower levels of the food chain. I know several who prefer the turtle form due to their long lifespans and apex status. Though I’m not likely to understand those who choose to be chickens or other forms of livestock any time soon. That being said, many choose to go with the animals with shorter lifespans such as dogs and cats. Primarily because they are shorter play throughs, for lack of a better term.

Honestly, I rather enjoy the comparison of life to a game. The references to achievements and leveling up is so fitting in my opinion. We choose our character or avatar and set about both making and achieving goals. When that character has reached its end, we come back and evaluate. But those experiences ‘in-game’ are not just save files that are left to take up room on a hard drive never to be thought of again.

These are our experiences, memories, and lessons learned that we carry with us through our existence. So, the next time a prayer is answered consider the possibility that someone in heaven put in a cheat code for you. When you feel the presence of a loved one that had passed, enjoy it. If you have an eerie feeling that someone or something is looking out for you appreciate it, because someone likely is.

My play through for this character is almost at its end. This body has withered with age, and I find myself contemplating. So many who walk the Earth are preoccupied with the quest for the answer to the ultimate question. What is the meaning of life? Why are we here? And no one seems to be able to see the obvious answer.

The meaning of our lives and the reason we are here are inherent in the question. Our purpose in life is just that…to live. We are here to feel, experience, and learn. And when I see the warm green light that tells me its time to go home, I know I will feel excited to start my next save file.