1001 Stars

Surprisingly, the new surroundings sounded serene, almost to a quixotic degree. David opened his eyes to a setting that was all too familiar yet alien at the same time: all around him were tall tree of a reddish-brown hue but with gold, blue, and purple leaves that had a silver edge to each of them; the sky shone a greenish hue with golden red clouds marking the sky; the grass beneath his feet seemed to glisten a silvery red and gave off an earthy, alluring scent in as the wind blew around. The forest they were in, though unsettling in terms of it’s peculiar color scheme, felt as if it were singing as the gentle breeze traversed the trees and other foliage.

Taking In the sights around him, David uttered:

“Where are we?”

“Eskrion, about 8,900,870 Billion light years from Earth. It’s actually very Earth-like. Every planet we’re going to is Earth-like.” Answered Sophia, noticing the sheer fear and wonder that was burgeoning in David at the moment.

“That’s a tremendous distance from Earth…” He said in an amazed stupor, wondering how he could ever comprehend that distance.

“Yes, all the planets we’re going to are also an unfathomable distance from Earth.”

“All planets?”

“Yes, 1001 planets, as stated.”

“1001?” David repeated, staggered by the sheer amount he would apparently be seeing.

“How many ‘Earth-like’ planets are there?

“Nobody knows, but they keep coming up, so your guess is as good as mine.”

“What do you mean you don’t know?” David inquired, astonished by what was just stated.

“I thought you were some kind of enlightened superbeing of some kind, how can you transport me this far and not have some kind of ultimate knowledge of the universe?” David had more follow-up questions but was interrupted by a small, winged lizard, a purple and red display of hues pinkish wings fly straight through him. Obviously aghast, Sophia chimed in:

“We’re not actually here.” she said as she stepped to the left of a massive tree and then proceeded to walk through it onto the opposite side, a silvery golden glow encapsulating her as she did so.

“We’re here in a kind of telepathic projection. You can go through anything and feel anything, sort of like you’re a ghost.” The idea was both galvanizing and intriguing to David, as it would be to anyone thrust into this position. Testing it himself, he went up to a tree and put his hand through it; the sensation of his hand going through was indeed strange, he could feel the tree, but it was as if he couldn’t at the same time: a strange disconnect but also integration of himself was evident as he waved his hand around inside the tree.

Naturally, David didn’t know how to respond to this. He just learned there was a potentially endless number of planets in the universe perfectly suited for human inhabitants and presumably complex, interrelated ecosystems on each one as well. His thought immediately went to the next logical question:

“How many of these planets also have intelligent life?”

“Hard to say, all 1001 of the stars and/or planets we’re going to have intelligent aliens on them. Surprisingly, human morphology and biology is rather adept for many different unique biogeochemistries on these planets, so, much of the intelligent lifeforms resemble humans pretty well.” David was silent for a moment, then the next logical question came to mind.

“Does that mean you’re not human?” He said as he looked at Sophia, wondering if he wanted to know the answer or not as he saw the woman in a new light.

“Yes, I’m not human in the sense that I can be classified as a Homo Sapien from Earth: I’m actually Alcherion, a race from a planet of the same name. I was just like you until I went on my own journey through the stars in a similar fashion to this.”

“Does that mean there are infinitely many people who have done this?”

“Yes, there is an unknown, but effectively infinite, number of people who have been able to go on a journey like this; the number of people who can go on numerous journeys like this across space and time is probably unfathomable to any being like you or I”

“Time?”

“Yes, we’re actually about 2 million years before the common era right now.” Now David was truly amazed and had no idea what he was in store for.

“Follow me, this story will do you some good.” Commanded Sophia as she turned around, intending to lead him through the forest. David followed and proceeded to inquire:

“Story?”

“Yes, I actually went through this one myself once, and it’ll do you some good.” They walked through the strange forest for quite a while, listening to the breeze as it whispered through the gales and meadows, like it was playing an instrument with the flora itself all at once. Just when it seemed the foliage couldn't become any thicker, they came to a clearing where a man in full plate armor such as that from the medieval ages was standing with his back to the two. His armor was an immaculate white with red embellishments and accents accompanied by golden filigree, his helmet shaped so that two horns, just as decorated, jutted out of the sides. His shield, with what can best be described as a red and gold dragon on it along with a gilded sheath of equal splendor and opulence. He seemed to stand there for a moment before he began to move forward, no doubt about to disappear into the glade.