How exactly was the universe created?
If the universe starts with a singularity, which creates the big bang, the thing that comes before that would technically be nothing.
But how can nothingness create something?
That means there is something in nothing, because even 'nothing' is considered to be 'something'; there is no such thing as inexistence of anything. If the singularity is the starting point of the universe, what kind of existence triggered the singularity?
If hypothetically that time itself is not linear, or even circular, that would explain that nothing didn't exist in the beginning of time, but at some point that couldn't be defined by 'time' .... No, that still doesn't explain anything. Even if we cut off that factor, there still needs to be somewhere, or some point, where everything starts.
So where does my life lie here? Since the universe is that complicated and ridiculously humongous, do I even matter? If everything is a coincidence, then what is the meaning of life? Of everything? Then what is the reason of me being alive at this moment, since there is no hope in reaching-
"Li Jun! Hey, Jun!"
"Huh? Uh, yes Professor?" Li Jun snapped back to reality. It was then that he realized that he was sitting in an unfamiliar room, in a new world that he just got introduced to.
Although it had already been a week since he came here, he still couldn't get used to his new life; which leads to him often spacing out.
"Are you alright, Jun? You look a little stressed."
"Yes…Hey, Professor, how was the universe created?"
The middle-aged woman paused, "Hm… I guess I have no answer for that."
Li Jun replied in disbelief, "But you're a scientist! You know everything."
"Some knowledge in this world is unreachable for me, but perhaps my son could find the answer to that?" The Professor laughed at Jun's serious face and said, "Hey, I just wanted to make sure you're okay. You know, with all the things that happened to you..."
Jun replied with an uncertain emotion in his voice, he felt as if his brain had repressed his past memories into the void. "I'm fine. For some reason, it's not painful as it was before. Thanks to you, professor."
"That's good. And I already told you, feel free to call me mom~" Professor Prin said in a teasing voice. Although she was a very smart researcher, she was still an easy-going and fun person.
"I'll try." Jun replied with a tired voice.
The Professor smiled sympathetically at the young boy, face full of scars. The deep cut on his nose looked like a really fresh wound, and he also had another one on his cheeks. She raised her arm to ruffle his straight, yet fluffy dark hair that the color reminded her of coal.
"Well, I gotta go to work now. I'll come back in three days, can you be alone for a while?" Prin looked at her son who was only fourteen. She felt bad leaving him all alone, especially since he just left his past home, but she also needed to go collect research samples.
"What are you going to research? Soil? New bacteria?" His face lit up when he talked about science. The professor looked at the young soul, eyes full of wonder, and couldn't help but adore him.
She smirked, "you're too young to understand what I'm doing, so go read a lot and I'll tell you when you're smarter." She chucked and Jun looked at her unamusingly, yet admirably.
"I'll definitely be smarter than you before you come back," Li Jun pointed at all the science books in their house, indicating that he will read them all.
"That'd be impossible, since I am a genius. But, I'd be the proudest mother if you could do that." Prin said with a mocking voice. Although she sounded smug, she was completely right. She was the prodigy of the biology field, a genius scholar and researcher. Jun felt so honored to be adopted by her.
"I should go soon. Remember, whenever there's a problem, you must observe, then ask a question." She paused, "All answers to this world cannot exist without curiosity, alright? And remember to–"
"–not jump to conclusions without verification." Li Jun proudly replied.
She laughed happily, "That's my boy. I'm not worried about you anymore, see you!"
"Bye, Professor." Jun waved, revealing a tattoo of an orange butterfly sealed on his left hand.
The door slowly shutted as the hinge creaked quietly. He totally forgot to call her 'mom', would she be sad that he was distant with her?
Although a small woman, she was incredibly smart and hard-working. Prin was definitely a workaholic, but she embraced it since she really loved her job. Not to mention she just adopted him, adding more work to her busy schedule. Jun didn't want to be a burden, but there was nowhere else for him to go either.
Li Jun was born in China, but ended up getting raised on a small island in southern Thailand. He was just a happy boy, spending every day with his parents and sister. However, Just a week ago, he ran away from home with Professor Prin's help. He knew that he would never get to meet his family ever again.
The island he grew up in was so isolated that he didn't know that this world was so enormous. He thought that God created everything: nature, life, and every single event that happened. However, Professor Prin taught him otherwise, and gave him valid evidence. It was the first time ever Jun didn't feel like he was lied to. That was why he was so intrigued by the truth, and fascinated by the idea of science.
.
.
.
[6 years later]
Today is finally the first step of starting a new life. Scars of the past will always be on his face, the tattoo will always be on his left hand, but his life will go on. 19-year-old Jun was fully dressed for his college interview with the most elite university in Thailand. He actually got offered a scholarship to study in the faculty of science, and he would get it if he passed the interview.
"Well, well, look at my boy growing up and stepping into the real world alone! You always spend your time locked up in your room studying about poisons and chemicals; heck, I was afraid you'd forget how to interact with people!" Professor Prin, who looked a lot older than she was, stepped in front of her son.
"I did go to school, why would I not know how to interact with people?" Li Jun argued with her. Throughout the years he had grown more competitive with his mom, but his respect for her also grew every day.
"Unlike me, you didn't have friends in highschool, did you?" She mocked him while Jun rolled his eyes. He couldn't understand how his mom was so knowledgeable, yet social at the same time.
Li Jun looked at his watch, "I gotta go now. Wish me luck, Professor." He bent down a little to hug her. In the past six years, he had grown a lot taller, but was still average for an Asian guy.
"You know I don't believe in luck, but I believe in effort. Do your best, Li Jun." She hugged him back, and then he walked out to the vast world.
There were no clouds to be seen as the cool wind ticked across his face. As he looked up at the bright blue sky, he saw a bright object traveling across it. Was that a plane or a comet? He didn't know, but he knew that it was a good sign. He closed his eyes and made a wish for a beautiful day. He knew life could be full of hope and a bright future was laid ahead of him.
He got on his bicycle and rode to the interview place, humming some music happily along the way. Although Li Jun spent the past years reading books and trying out different experiments, his mom was better than him in literally everything. That was why he was excited for university, because it would be the place where he could gather more knowledge.
It didn't take him too long, only a few minutes, for him to arrive. He stepped down his bicycle, staring at the large building ahead of him, and took a deep breath. He adjusted his tie one last time and smiled, eyes glowing with determination. Then then stepped towards the building-
BOOM
Flames lit up along with terror. A large, very large, meteorite just crashed in front of Jun's very own eyes, only missing him by a landslide.
Not only did it destroy the building, but it also destroyed Jun's hope.
"What in the world." Jun mumbled as people behind him started screaming and crying. He heard crashing noises from afar, too, and it seems like this was suddenly happening everywhere. How was this possible, how did the scientist not predict this? He didn't really care, all he could care about was the professor – his mom– the only person that he had left – the only person that he could lose.
Because his bike had broken down into pieces from the aftershock of the meteor crash, he ran toward home with all his strength. When he finally reached there, it was a relief that the meteorite didn't directly crash on his home; however, the place was lit up with fire. He remembered the same feeling he had that night; the night that his whole family died on that island. The feeling was heavier than desperation, distress, and despair.
His mind went blank. The whole world was too chaotic for him to think of anything. The only thing that he knew he hoped for the most was the safety of his mother.
He ran inside the burning house that was turning black like a roasted marshmallow. His brand-new suit was burnt with the flame and he sprinted towards the living room. He couldn't breathe very well, but he didn't care and ran to him as fast as possible. He didn't want to make the same mistake, he didn't want to be late like last time. Luckily, he met Professor Prin lying on the floor, closing his eyes, but still breathing.
"Professor! Professor Prin! Can you hear me?!" Jun said with anguish in his voice. He carried her on his shoulder and got out of there. He placed his mother's body on the floor outside and tapped her lightly, making sure that she was alive. To his heart's content, she was still breathing lightly and coughing. Jun was glad, at least he didn't lose another person in his life.
But he knew something was wrong, and it was a challenge for humans to fight against this.
.
.
.
"Millions of meteorites are appearing across the entire world, causing around half of the world's population's death at the moment. We still cannot predict when it will stop. Scientists didn't know this was coming, and we have no way to fight off against this. Will this be the end of the world? We don't know. This is BBC News, sign off." Jun and his mom sat together in their house watching news on his phone after the fire was extinguished. Even though almost everything was almost burnt down, that place was still tolerable. It was safer than outside with all those floods and earthquakes that came from nowhere.
"Professor, is this even scientifically possible? How does the entire world face natural disasters all at the same time?" Jun questioned as he listened to the news. The moment he thought his life was getting better, the world was coming to an end – what are the chances?! How was it even possible for the radar signals or the satellites to not detect them in space?
Jun went quiet and considered the probability of humans surviving. Constant side effects from the crashes happened throughout the planet, the forest burnt into ashes, tsunami occurred, and multiple earthquakes followed. There was literally no way for humans to evacuate from this disaster. Half, HALF of humans were already gone in just one day, Jun had already expected himself to die today or tomorrow.
"I- I honestly am flabbergasted. How is this even possible? What are the chances of this, and how did the NEO or our seismometer not detect this?" She rambled, voice filled with excitement.
"This is definitely not the time to be excited, Professor." Although he understood where his mom came from, he couldn't help but be worried about her.
I can't let us die here. There are still things in this world that we still don't know about! At least, I want to learn about more things before dying...And mom, he deserves to live. Although she's sometimes conceited and arrogant, she still saved me and gave me reason to live. I swear I'll do anything to protect her until the end.
She stood up to go pick up her science notebook, "But imagine how many more things we could learn about this world from this disaster, Li Jun! Oh, and this might even unveil the truth of the universe-"
BANG
Suddenly, a meter-sized rock fell from the sky and crashed through the ceiling of the house. Fortunately, it didn't land directly on them. Professor immediately grabbed Jun's wrist and ran to the door. She knew that if they stayed inside any longer, the whole house might just collapse on them.
"C'mon, Jun, hurry up!" Although they ran very fast, the door still felt far and unreachable with all the debris and obstacles.
Crash
His mom, without thinking about her own life, jumped in front of him and pushed him away from the ceiling.
"Li Jun–!" Jun expected the ceiling to suddenly collapse, but he didn't know it would happen this early.
A piece of cement landed directly on her back, and she was pushed down, unable to move.
Jun froze at the familiar sight. The sight of someone he loved getting hurt; dying. Professor Prin coughed blood out of his stomach.
"Professor!" Jun lifted the debris out of his back. It wasn't really heavy, so he assumed that Professor Prin should be fine.
He then softly shook her body softly for many minutes. No matter how much time had passed, she wouldn't open her eyes. "Professor? ..Mom! What are you sleeping for? I know you prefer working over sleeping, open your eyes!" Tears filled Jun's eyes as his voice was becoming more shaky. He didn't understand what went wrong.
That was when he noticed that there was another small stone that crashed directly on her head. Li Jun didn't know what to do, all of the hospital already fell apart and no one in this situation would lend a hand to help them. He tried his best to first-aid his mom, but it was too late. Her heart was slowly breathing slower and slower, as his skin went pale.
"No no no no, please, I'm sorry… I'm sorry. If only I was more careful… If only you didn't protect me!!" Jun sobbed as he placed his hands over his mother's shoulder. He was again helpless, unable to save those he loved, and those who loved him.
What a lucky child he was.
Suddenly, he felt a cold, yet warm touch on his hands.
"Go. You said you're going to be smarter than me, right? Then go out there and learn the truth of the universe. You are a smart child, Li Jun." His mother said with a reassuring smile. Her voice was soft and calm, it made Jun feel safe. "You made me the proudest mother in the universe."
Jun's eyes widened. He always thought of himself as someone that couldn't make her proud no matter how much he tried to be better than her.
"I love you, mom. Thank you for everything." He smiled back painfully, as he looked at his mother's soul that was slowly fading away. Jun hugged her one last time then stood up, stumbled out of his only home. Jun was at the urge of crying; but as absurd as life is, he had to move on.
He'd make sure he survives, to not waste the life that was sacrificed for him.
[a day later]
Li Jun didn't know how or why, but he ended up surviving to the next day. This world apocalypse had no sign of stopping, and no one could give answers about the disaster. Jun believed in coincidence, but he also believed in the ability of science. He thought science would be able to prevent most of the catastrophe. Jun knew the countries had world protection measures, so all of this was a shock.
This doesn't make any sense! Unless… no, there's no way God actually exists.
Humans had only explored less than 5% of the ocean on earth, not to mention the universe. The universe is insanely large, the start of it was unknown, and the end was also unknown. There are more things that we don't know than we know, after all. Anything is basically possible.
Maybe there is a dimensional rift opening around earth, sending meteorites down here. Goodness, that sounds way too sci-fi though. Well, this is not the time for overthinking, I'll have to find a way to get out of here.
Yesterday, Jun escaped a large flood by climbing up a pile of debris; it was probably the tallest object he could find. However, the water wore away many pieces of debris in the base, causing it impossible for him to get down without getting hurt. He thought of calling for help, but as he looked around from the top of the tall pile of buildings, he couldn't find a soul. The enormous canvas in front of his eyes was filled with corpses and calamity, but none of any living individual. Now, the flood hadn't stopped but he was very hungry and severely needed food and clean water. His organs were still bleeding internally from the ceiling crash and he could barely move properly. He knew that no one would come and save him, and he would die in less than no time.
"This whole thing is like a fever dream, straight out of a sci-fi movie," He said to himself, chuckling with irony.
He sighed and looked up to the sky. The sky tonight was filled with visible stars and showering meteors; truly a sight that couldn't be seen outside of an apocalypse. He closed his eyes with a blank expression, wanting to rest for a while. Maybe a meteor will kill him in a few seconds, who knows? "It'd be better if there was someone by my side… before my eternal rest."