What Goes Up, Seriously, Must Come Down

Since the beginning and perhaps even before, the Universe was embroiled in a race to see who would be the best.

The best forest, the deepest ocean, the greatest mountain reaching beyond anything any other mound of rock and stone had ever been.

The fastest to fly, the largest and mightiest; the quickest to react, to withdraw, to hide itself in a ball and disappear.

And as Time set forth to extend itself and dared Space to keep up, the two found themselves in constant conflict.

In a timeless and ageless struggle to become what no one and no-thing had ever become before. But without a past to measure itself against; without a right way or a wrong way to spur innovation, the two waited patiently for the other to make a mistake.

A concept still new and rife with uncertainty but one that pit the two titans against each other in a fight that had no beginning, no discernible middle where one’s accomplishments could be compared against the other and no end - where a victor could stand alone and tell all the rest that they had won.

Now Time was constant and patient. It saw no reason to rush, for there was nowhere to rush to that was not already there waiting for it to arrive.

And Space was content with its desire to behold ever-changing worlds with its perch at the beginning of every new portion of the Universe that might come into existence.

It knew it would always be there whenever Time was ready to take its challenge.

But that time never came. As the epochs passed. As the Universe stretched and groaned, heated and cooled and turned itself inside out, ripping itself apart to begin again and reimagine what it was and what it might yet become.

Time remained quiet. Space remained indifferent. And the Great Spirit, that which brought it all together and allowed each part to assume its rightful place and begin its own reign - grew restless and annoyed.

For it saw little point in posturing. And as great swaths of eternity remained motionless, the Spirit sought to end the stalemate.

To encourage Time and Space to work together. To not be selfish in their bickering. To each take hold of their destiny and make something of it.

So, they agreed. Reluctant at first to admit that Time had wasted itself and produced little; while Space had taken far too much of what could have been put to great use and instead simply remained empty.

They considered. Each alone and then together.

Time wished to be first and saw itself as being indispensable. Nothing could be done if there was no time in which to do it.

And Space thought his friend foolish for everyone knew that without space, without length, width, and height, time was irrelevant for there was no place for anything to occur.

And so, the discussion went on. Each presenting their case. Each assuming they were correct. Each waiting for the rest of the Universe to agree.

But all was quiet . . . until Matter stepped forth and said enough.

"I have watched and waited," he began, "neither being nor becoming and there is little to be done until both of you come to your senses. For without you creating the space so that I may enter it and the time so that I may persist, I am nothing."

Both Time and Space felt chaffed and annoyed by Matter’s declaration and with little choice but to acquiesce, they moved toward a resolution.

Time stepped forward first and stated that there would now be plenty for all to spend freely. To splurge on creation. It would never run out.

Space then said behold, there is now a place for everything and everything will have its place. There will be no lack of room and no room that is too small or too big for everyone to use.

So, Matter stepped closer to where it was all taking place, and to his amazement, he saw a world, neigh a Universe being created.

Huge masses of everything and nothing were rising and rising and he shouted - Wait!

"It’s not possible," he said with great conviction, "to have everything going up. Up where? Where will it end?"

Space and Time came up behind Matter and looked where he was looking and though once again annoyed and put out - Matter was always kvetching about something - they knew that he was right.

So, Time and Space did something they had never done before - worked together - and created Gravity.

Tilting time and space so planets would circle and spin and matter and creation could rise if it wanted but most certainly would fall if it didn’t.

And all was set.

Time and Space were happy. The Great Spirit was content. And Matter could find no further fault in what both had done and gave credit where credit was due.

So, history tells us that not all was carefully planned in the beginning but eventually, they got it right.