I plan to live forever. So far, so good.

If everything else fails, immortality can always be assured by spectacular error.

They were the Guardians, and nobody else knew about their existence except themselves. Immaterial beings, traveling through Space at amazing speeds and bending Time as they saw fit. They did not have names. Names would have been a waste, as when they met one another, they did not use any of the rudimentary means of communication. All they did was to “interact” by using pure mental power, and nothing else.

The only purpose of their Existence was to guard Space and Time. They did this because, at any moment, some creature in the vast Universe they were guarding could gain control over either Space or Time, thus becoming a Guardian. That was not supposed to happen. The Guardians were not part of the life-thriving Universe. Instead, they were above it, watching. Yet sometimes, just for fun, they would take the form of a creature and enter the physical Universe, thus limiting their powers. This was in fact their Game. The ones who entered this Game were the Players. At any moment, you could find some Guardian that has taken the form of a unicellular life form, or, for even more fun, under the form of more intelligent beings.

The most fun they had was by taking the form of a horribly looking creature. It had four legs. The hind legs were used for movement, while it used the fore legs to complete more complex tasks, like picking up objects. Even if it also used the fore legs as a mean of interaction with other creatures of the same race, the main form of communication was by emitting strange noises out of their throat. Its head was rather small, and it only had two eyes that were both positioned in front. No wonder the Guardians had lots of fun by taking the form of such a creature…

Somewhere on a life-populated planet in Space. The Time is undetermined. We have two Players in the Game. Neither one knows of the other’s identity, as they can’t recognize themselves when in the form of a living creature. As the Guardians have no name, we will call them Player One and Player Two from now on… We see Player Two approaching. He looks at the spectacular forms of civilization the race of the creature he impersonates has created. Tall grey concrete shapes surround him. He walks on. He is just beginning to get used with the creature’s strange way of communicating…

He is some kind of a scientist. He himself doesn’t know for sure what that means. However, he will find out. He is determined to do so. But for this, he needs some more Time. That might prove to be a problem, as these creatures have a limited lifespan. Still, he can always take the form of another creature and continue to Play…

Player One. The Guardian has in fact taken the form of a female of that species. Therefore, we will refer to Player One as “her” from now on. She is rather close to Player Two. Yet, they do not know about each other’s identity. She is also admiring the tall concrete shapes around her.

They are now less than 50 meters away. And they are heading toward each other. Look, 40 meters! 30… 20… He stopped! She stopped, too! Did they recognize each other? I don’t think so. That is impossible. Oh, I see now… They are looking at a flying device that is passing by. This race is certainly one of the most evolved in the Universe… However, they still have a lot to go until they can attempt to become Guardians. Of course, they will fail in their attempt…

They are now less than 5 meters away. They look at each other. No sign of suspicion. Each one believes that the other is an ordinary creature of that species. So, they continue their walk, undisturbed… This was a Game. It will end shortly. Player One has already left the physical realm. Player Two seems to enjoy it. He might hang around for a while…

Two weeks of “linear” Time have passed since Player Two started Playing. He has not left the Game yet. He seems to be preoccupied by something. It seems that he has discovered a great potential in the mental powers of this race. They have a rudimentary telepathic ability. Yet, they do not seem to use it. He is now trying to make them understand that they can use this superior ability to communicate with each other, thus replacing the noises they now use.

He has found another “scientist”, and he is explaining him all about it. They are in a small room, somewhere in one of those concrete structures.

“Are you telling me that you have discovered the key to telepathy?”, the scientist asked.

“Yes, that is correct! I do possess the knowledge, and I wish to share it with you and with everyone else for that matter…”, replied the Player.

“Go ahead then! Tell me briefly what this is all about…”

“Well, you see, it is difficult to explain it to you by using words. I have to use some other way of transmitting this information to you…”

“How else, if not by telling me directly?”

“We can use hypnosis. If I manage to bring you in a state of hypnosis, I can then transmit the information easier. When you’ll wake up, the knowledge will be there.”

“Hypnosis. How could that be? I mean, is it safe?…”

“It should be. The problem is I never practiced hypnosis before.”

“Hmm… I could show you how it’s done, but I’m not sure that you’ll understand.”

“Oh, I can assure you I will understand…”

“All right then, come here…”

Everything was ready.

“Here we go…” said the scientist. “Watch this pendant closely… There… You are feeling tired… Very tired… Your eyelids are getting heavy… You feel calm… And tired… Close your eyes…”

The Player was now experiencing something he never felt before. Suddenly, it all became clear.

“There! I know!”, the Player said after opening his eyes. “I know how to induce the state of hypnosis.”

The scientist was standing nearby. He was puzzled.

“Did it seem to me, or did you wake up all by yourself? That’s incredible!…”

“I’m sure this has happened before. Never mind that, let us commence…” said the Player.

“So, now I need to wave this pendant in front of you. I see. Let us start… Are you ready?”

“Yes…”, answered the scientist.

“Watch the pendant… You are calm… You begin to feel tired… Very tired… Your eyelids are getting heavy… You feel tired… Close your eyes… You are now asleep… When I clap my hands, you will wake up, and you will remember everything I tell you. Do you understand?…”

“Yes, I do.” said the scientist, with a voice that did not seem to be his own.

“One can achieve telepathy only by entering such a state that his mind is not bound to this physical world. It is as if your inner self becomes liquid, and a powerful light overwhelms you. You can then touch the presence of others like you. Speech then becomes superfluous. You stop transmitting words, and you begin transmitting thoughts and ideas.”

Player Two made a short pause, and then went on:

“It is imperative that you share this knowledge with everyone. It may prove to be difficult at first, as every new thing is received with a small degree of repulsion. However, your people seem to be advanced enough to handle such an impact. That is my message to you. I will now clap my hands, and you will wake up, obeying my every word.”

Player Two then clapped his hands, and the scientist opened his eyes.

“Amazing! I now see it all so clear!” said the scientist. “I will immediately start to tell the world about it.”

“Good” replied Player Two. “Go ahead and share the knowledge…”

The scientist left the room. The Player smiled, and then left the Game, returning to the Outworld.

Once out of the Game, the Guardian we referred to as “the Player” started thinking back about his last Game. Meanwhile, he was traveling through Space, searching for anomalies, or for another place where he could Play. But when he tried to bend Time, he noticed that he couldn’t do it instantaneously as he did before. “Something’s not right… Have I lost part of my powers? It must be due to the long period spent in the physical Universe. That creature’s abilities have limited my powers. Yes, that must be it…”

Suddenly, everything around him began to fade. He was now surrounded by walls. He felt his powers diminishing. He was in the physical realm again. The scientist he met in the Game was there. There were three other men.

“What happened?” asked the Player.

The scientist turned back and smiled.

“Much has happened in the last period. You have been in the state of hypnosis for almost a week now…”

“What?! But that’s absurd!…” shouted the Player.

“Sit back and relax… I will tell you what happened…” said the scientist with a calm tone in his voice.

“So, you want to know what happened. Here it goes… You came to me last week and told me that you possess the knowledge of telepathy. Yet, you said that you could only transmit that information to me through hypnosis. It sounded awkward at first, but I agreed. The thing that made me wonder about whether you were right or not was the fact that you told me you never practiced hypnosis before. So, I thought, how could you know that you can only transmit the information by hypnosis, if you had not done it before? You then told me that you wanted me to show you how it’s done. I then knew that was my chance. So I hypnotized you and then I made you think that you woke up and hypnotized me afterwards. Meanwhile, I asked you lost of questions about telepathy. While I was doing this, I realized that you knew a lot more than how telepathy works. Therefore, I kept you in hypnosis until I found out the rest of the knowledge you possessed…”

“What? How could that be? What did you find out?!” asked the Player with a terrified voice.

“You gave me all the information about the Guardians, about traveling through Space and bending Time, about the Universe, about the Game. Everything!”

“And who will believe you? You will be treated as an insane person. And that will only be for a brief period in Time, because, as soon as I regain my powers, I’ll make sure that your existence ends.” replied the Player.

“I’m afraid that is not possible. You see, not only have you told me about the Guardians, but you have also told me how they can be defeated… And that is what I did. It was difficult at first, as your powers were nothing I ever felt, but the Guardians weren’t expecting such an outcome…”

“And what happened?”

“Well, I am here, aren’t I? The problem with you Guardians was that there were so many of you. Thus, none of you had complete control over the Universe. And when I arrived, the state of panic and confusion was so great, that I managed to defeat them almost instantly. They thought they possessed knowledge that no one else did. However, I had managed to get that information from you. In the end, I have limited their powers to those of living creatures, scattering them all over the Universe.”

“What about me?”

“I did the same to you. You are now bound to remain in this form until you die. You cannot leave the Universe and return to the Outworld.”

“And my previous return to the Outworld… Was that just a dream?”

“Yes, it was. A pretty good one, don’t you think?”

Player Two remained silent. He had just faced the impossible: an inferior creature had managed to defeat all the Guardians. And he was now bound to die. Death was something he had not thought about before. As a Guardian, Death was merely a transformation that matter suffered in the physical realm. Now, he was facing that imminent transformation himself.

“What are you thinking about?… Are you confused? I know, it all happened so fast for you. For me, it seems like an eternity. I am now the only Player left in the Game. It is magnificent to be alone in the Outworld. However, I will start seeking for followers. And we will make the next generation of Guardians. We will then try to avoid destruction, like you did. I am not certain that we will be invincible, but we will learn from your mistakes… In addition, if some other creature will manage to destroy us, we will accept defeat, as defeat means that we were not the perfect choice for Guarding Space and Time. Because the Guardians must be Perfect!…”