Cosmic Horror

I

n a smaller universe that thrived with life, there lived a girl who was desperate to leave. There was never a moment of stillness or silence or even privacy, for life was everywhere, filling every space and corner and crack. Everything was alive and aware, from microbes to inanimate objects, and all were overseen by a very nosy god who continued suffocating the girl with life, life, and more life. And order. Perfect order with meaning that was exclusively decided by the god, allowing no room for other interpretations.

Unable to endure such an existence any longer, the girl stole a ship that provided everything she’d ever need, and she sailed across the universe in search of a place that was lifeless. She almost gave up until she discovered a black hole, and she allowed herself to be swallowed and spat out into a completely different universe.

Here, the stars and planets were many, but none bore life that walked and talked. The girl basked in the total stillness and silence, losing track of time and not caring about how much had passed. Hours, days, months, years—none of it mattered, and the girl loved that. Never before had she felt so liberated and empowered, being the only wandering life in a universe that didn’t judge, control, or tell her no.

Then she had a visitor. A strange and giant being that rose out of the darkness, leering down upon her.

“Behold, puny organism,” it said, growing bigger. “I am a cosmic horror. How are you feeling now?”

“Pretty good, thanks for asking,” the girl said. “How are you feeling?”

“I do not ‘feel,’” the cosmic horror replied. “Your thoughts and feelings mean nothing to me.”

“Then why did you ask how I was feeling?”

The cosmic horror rubbed its tendrils of darkness together like hands. “So that I may prepare your small mind to be filled with unfathomable terror.”

“Why?” the girl asked.

The cosmic horror hesitated. “Because you are small and insignificant in the grand scheme of things. Doesn’t that terrify you? Wouldn’t you rather live in a warmer, cozier universe, overseen by a deity that cares about you?”

The girl shook her head. “Oh, no. I like the freedom. And the privacy. That’s why I ran away from home.”

The cosmic horror looked at her strangely. “But aren’t you terrified of being so small, so unimportant? Your cries will never be heard, your prayers will never be answered.”

The girl shrugged. “I like the silence. What will happen to you?”

“I am immortal,” the cosmic horror said. “I will continue to fill small minds with unfathomable terror and eat them to make myself stronger.”

The girl raised an eyebrow. “That’s all?”

The cosmic horror stared at her. “What do you mean? That is my purpose.”

“Why?” the girl asked.

For once in its timeless existence, the cosmic horror had to think about this. “Because I derive pleasure from it?”

“Oh,” the girl said. “Like how I derive pleasure from eating chocolate?”

“No,” the cosmic horror said. “That’s a fleeting, meaningless pleasure.”

“But isn’t terrifying people and eating their brains also fleeting and ultimately meaningless?”

Now the cosmic horror’s own mind was running in circles, searching for an objective, all-encompassing answer that would elevate it above this tiny, fragile life form. Failing to find one, the cosmic horror collapsed in on itself and became a black hole, its existence no longer justified.

But the girl grabbed one of its tendrils and pulled, reversing the black hole as she forced it to unravel back into the cosmic horror.

“Why did you do that?” the cosmic horror asked. “There is no reason to continue living. Existence is pointless, even for me.”

“Of course there’s a reason,” the girl said. “I like existing. Why can’t that be enough?”

“You ask too many questions,” the cosmic horror said.

The girl smiled. “That one was rhetorical.”

The cosmic horror sighed. “I don’t know what to do anymore.”

“Join me,” the girl said. “It would be nice to have someone here. Have you ever tasted chocolate?”

“No,” the cosmic horror said. “But I suppose it’s a start.”

The girl smiled, and together, the cosmic horror and her sailed through the vast, quiet universe, enjoying chocolate and each other’s company.