Slide Rule

There’s a rainbow, over there. A blurred abundance of color, arcing across the sky. Above is a black cloud and furious rain, descending to barrage the earth below. Opposite the storm is a perfectly calm, bright sunny day. And between the two is me. I walk the invisible line that separates the dueling forces that produce this strange, intangible mirage. Half of me swims in the torrent of the downpour, and half bakes in the heat and comfort of the nearby star. This is mediocrity. This is the place where – while I do not know unrelenting apocalyptic failure, neither do I know success.

Both are around me, in abundance. I see the empty shells of former lifeforms, helplessly, tirelessly chasing the whims of their new merciless, unforgiving master. They willfully surrendered their humanity for the illusion of greatness, and their lives will never be the same. The inevitable result of only a handful of lousy choices. I fear this fate like no other. As prevalent are the champions. Masters of all they encounter, brute force and determination has gifted their touch with the spark of rapidly proliferating gold and holy light. The very presence of these inhuman beings fills the world simultaneously with hope and despair. Though we know it is possible, we also know this fate will never be our own.

I stand between, in this place of comfort. And not alone, the masses of the world stand with me in this ‘bubble’, as some would call it. The safety of insignificance. The assurance that if I don’t raise my voice, or take a chance of any kind, or dedicate myself to the creation of something, then I will not be brought down by the hand of greater forces or failure. I cannot be harmed in this warm little corner of the earth, yet the rain still passes through, reminding me of what I stand to lose should I ever try to break free.