Notes on the Multiverse

Notes on the Multiverse

The Theory of Internal Inflation;

Stephen Hawking’s final paper:

After the big bang, the universe expanded

faster than the speed of light.

In a fraction of a second,

it doubled over and over in size,

and continues to expand today,

but slowed down in our universe.

We exist in a pocket—

An isolated bubble of space

deep within the multiverse.

There is a red-glowing planet akin to ours, with

love as the frontier of action.

Humility, vulnerability, and connection

are the leading school subjects, and

hugging is a sacred practice.

This is where my family waits for me.

I must have volunteered to leave—

I believed I could bring peace.

When I look at the sky,

home waves to me.

The Second Law of Thermodynamics:

Systems over time will gain entropy.

They will move from order to disorder.

This property in the universe defines

the direction of time’s arrow.

On another Earth, time moves backwards.

Everything that was synchronous in our world

unfolds in reverse—

President Trump grants us our rights,

Hitler hands my ancestors their life,

and over time,

colonizers leave Indigenous land.

The ozone layer closes its gaps;

Airplanes, factories, and cars

suck pollution out of the sky;

Wood unhinges from hardwood floors

and shapeshifts into forests.

On this planet, we grow younger.

We wait for graves to give birth to our parents;

We shrink into our childhood wonder.

If the universe is infinite,

there are infinite possibilities.

I could be wrong.

Our Earth could be the center of the only universe.

Nothing could exist outside of this Milkyway.

We could be the only planet to support life.

Wouldn’t that be quite selfish, though,

and very,

very boring.

If everything is possible,

there is no way to falsify my hypothesis.