them were there, at the place where the beginning ended and the end began. The place of beginnings, the place of endings. The final frontier and the first step into the unknown. He wanted to see what lay beyond. Space - it was everything to him. It was the celestial cavern where humanity was but a mere speck of dust sifting about, guided by forces beyond comprehension that moved stars and shifted galaxies. It was the place where all the unseen possibilities could take form, where the scene that lay in front of the boy’s eyes could be realized. To spread his wings when he could finally graduate from the Academy and to move out towards the cosmic darkness where everything was open. Where things were far apart and everyone had the space they wanted. Where he could feel alone for once, occupied with nothing but himself and his thoughts. Everything here on Earth was too cramped. Not enough space to move around. People living together in crowded apartments crammed into gargantuan skyscrapers where the cities were. Everything here on Earth was too close. Not enough space to feel like you could be alone. Everyone knew everyone else. People knew the names and the secrets and the dramas and the scandals of everyone else around them. Nothing felt as private as it should’ve been. SpaceNet was his escape. There, space was a concept, and only a concept; in the world of SpaceNet, he could come and go as he pleased, moving about anywhere he wanted. He could take a gander around the stations in the Outer Systems on HoloReality, or visit domains to see the newest publication about Frontier Exploration. The world–no, universe–was his; all he had to do was to move, to explore, to wander about and to see what the infinite vastness could take him. What the infinite vastness could show him. Wonder? Awe? Or perhaps something greater than that? The perpetual half-dusk,
31|The penchant||JAN 2021
Where he could feel alone for once, occupied with nothing but himself and his thoughts.
