How long now, since the Beginning? He wondered. The question did not actually have deep meaning, He saw, because in the early stages space and time were so entwined, feeding each other. Duration did not endure, after all.
Still, the end of all this was sharp, clear. The accelerating expansion had calmed, died, and the great coolness descended. Time coiled now, in the final, languid waltz between space and time.
She nodded at the firmament around them, saying, “Let us have Others again.” —and brilliant acrid displays frothed, with ruby scents, soft gliding pleasures and deep bass rolls, all blending with the views. They swam in coasting galactic clusters, amid simmering amber stars, and worlds and variety beyond measure—or at least, measures that He and She now cared about. In the long past times, near the very start of all this, they had needed to be more careful. Not now.
This week we bring you a new story: “The Final Now” by Gregory Benford. Illustration by Rick Berry.
Promo: Trickster Moon Podcast
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Theme music is “Clockworks” by Beatnik Turtle, used with permission. Visit TheSongOfTheDay.com for more of their music. Podcast copyright 2010, Tor.com. Story copyright Gregory Benford. Produced and narrated by Mur Lafferty.
