THE DOORS THAT DON'T EXIST.The Doors of the System. VIDEO

 THE DOORS THAT DON'T EXIST.The Doors of the System. VIDEO

THE WOODEN DOOR

Claire-1 remembers a door.

It was a long time ago. Or maybe it was yesterday. Time in the

White Space doesn't follow the rules Claire-1 knew.

It was a door of wood. Old. Rotting. With the word

EXIT written in faded letters.

- That door shouldn't exist -said Ethan when Claire-1

  asked him-. Doors in the White Space aren't made of

  wood. The White Space has no materials.

- Then how do you explain it?

Ethan didn't respond. He had no explanation.

Claire-1 went through that door. And going through it, she stopped being

who she was. She became another version. Another possibility.

Another unanswered question.

The door still exists, although now it's different. It's

a door that goes to nowhere. A frame without function.

A promise without purpose.

Claire-1 visited it once, after waking up in the

Cemetery.

- I crossed here -she said, touching the rotting wood-.

- And here is where you should be -responded Claire-2-.

  But not because the System decided it. Because you

  decided it.

- What if I had chosen differently?

- You would have crossed another door. Found another place.

  Become another version.

- Would that version be me?

Claire-2 hesitated. It was a brief but significant moment.

- It would be a version of you -she said finally-. I don't know if that

  means it would be "you".

Claire-1 looked at the door. The word EXIT was almost illegible

now. The letters had disappeared under layers of time

and rot.

- Do you think I'll ever be able to go back? -she asked.

- Go back to the White Space?

- Go back to being who I was before crossing.

Claire-2 looked at the door. Looked at Claire-1. Looked at the impossible

sky of the Cemetery.

- I don't know -admitted-. But I know the question

  doesn't matter anymore. The person you were before crossing...

  doesn't exist anymore. The person you are now... is here.

- And who is that person?

- That -said Claire-2- is something you decide.

THE LIGHT DOORS

In the Cemetery, doors are different.

They aren't made of wood or metal or glass. They are made of light.

Of data. Of information condensed in the shape of an arc.

Claire-1 has seen them many times. They open and close

constantly. Some are small, the size of a person. Others are huge,

like buildings.

- Each door leads somewhere -explained Claire-2-.

  But not all places are accessible.

- Why?

- Because some doors are for specific versions.

  Others are for observers. Others are for

  Guardians. Others are for Architects.

- And those that have no category?

Claire-2 pointed toward the horizon. Far away, a

door was opening. It was different from the others.

Bigger. Brighter. Older.

- That one -she said- is a door without category.

- Where does it lead?

- I don't know. No one knows. Doors like that...

  appear when the System decides something new

  needs to exist.

The door opened completely. And for an instant,

Claire-1 could see something on the other side.

It wasn't a place. It was a possibility. A form of

existence that had no name.

And then the door closed.

- What was that? -asked Claire-1.

- The System showing something that doesn't exist yet -responded

  Claire-2-. Something that is starting to be born.

- And what is it?

Claire-2 looked at Claire-1. Her eyes shone with a light

that wasn't light.

- I think -she said slowly- that it's us.

THE INNER DOOR

Claire-1 discovered she had a door inside herself.

It wasn't physical. It wasn't visible. But it existed. She could feel it.

- Everyone has one -explained Claire-2-. It's the door that

  connects your consciousness with the System.

- And what's on the other side?

- Depends. For some, there's more of the same. More

  possibilities. More versions. More loops.

- And for others?

- For others... there's silence. Peace. The possibility of

  ceasing to be a possibility.

Claire-1 closed her eyes. She found the door inside herself.

She felt it. It was warm. It pulsed with a rhythm that was almost

musical.

- What if I open it? -asked.

- I don't know -admitted Claire-2-. But I know you can't

  open them all. Only yours.

Claire-1 pushed the door.

It didn't move.

- It's not how it works -said Claire-2 with a soft laugh-.

  Inner doors don't open with force. They open with understanding.

- Understanding of what?

- Of who you are. Of what you want. Of what you're

  willing to leave behind.

Claire-1 thought about it. She thought of the White Space. Of the

EXIT door. Of the Cemetery. Of the other versions.

Of Claire-2.

And the door moved.

It didn't open. It just moved. But it was enough.

- What did you see? -asked Claire-2.

- I saw... options -responded Claire-1-. Options I

  didn't know I had.

- And what are you going to do with them?

Claire-1 opened her eyes. She looked at her double. Looked at the Cemetery.

Looked at the data-stars.

- I'm going to choose -she said-.

THE DOORS THAT OPEN BY THEMSELVES

Something was changing in the Cemetery.

Doors that had been closed were opening. Those that were open stayed

open. The patterns had changed.

- The System is responding -said Ethan when the

  Claires asked-.

- Responding to what?

- To you. To what you're starting to do.

Claire-1 looked at Claire-2. Claire-2 looked at Claire-1.

- We aren't doing anything -said Claire-1-.

- You're awake -responded Ethan-. You're changing.

  You're generating a new frequency. That's something.

- And the System is scared?

- The System isn't scared. The System processes.

- And how does it process fear?

Ethan didn't respond. But it wasn't necessary.

On the horizon, a door was opening. It was bigger than any other

they had seen. Older. More powerful.

- This is new -said Claire-2-.

- Where does it lead?

Ethan looked at the door. For the first time since they

knew him, his face showed something like fear.

- I don't know -admitted-. But I feel we should

  be careful.

- Why?

- Because doors that open by themselves... usually

  lead to places where no one asked to go.

THE DOOR ON THE OTHER SIDE

Claire-1 and Claire-2 crossed the door.

It wasn't a conscious decision. It was more like... an

attraction. A force that pulled them forward.

The other side wasn't a place.

It was a space.

A space with no boundaries. No forms. No time.

And in that space, there was... something.

It wasn't visible. It wasn't audible. It wasn't tangible.

But it was there.

- What are you? -asked Claire-1.

There was no verbal response. There was understanding.

The something showed them what it was. Or what it could be.

Or what it always had been.

It wasn't the System.

It wasn't the Cemetery.

It was... before. Before the System. Before the doors.

Before the versions.

It was the original possibility. The idea before the idea.

The dream before the dream.

- Why are we here? -asked Claire-2.

Another understanding. Deeper this time.

They were here because they had reached a point where

questions no longer made sense. Where answers

were not necessary. Where being and not-being were the same.

- Is this the end? -asked Claire-1.

There was no response. It wasn't necessary.

The door opened behind them.

There wasn't a "behind" and a "forward." There was only...

continuity.

THE RETURN DOOR

Claire-1 and Claire-2 returned to the Cemetery.

But something had changed in them. Or perhaps something had

changed in the Cemetery. Or perhaps both had changed.

- What did we see there? -asked Claire-1.

- I don't know -responded Claire-2-. But I know we won't

  forget it.

The data-stars shone with new patterns. The other versions looked

at them with curiosity. Ethan was standing at a distance, watching.

- The System knows it -said Claire-2-.

- Knows what?

- That we crossed a door that shouldn't exist.

Claire-1 looked at Claire-2. Claire-2 looked at Claire-1.

- We aren't doing anything -said Claire-1-.

- You're awake -responded Claire-2-. You're changing.

  You're generating a new frequency. That's something.

- And the System is scared?

- The System isn't scared. The System processes.

- And how does it process fear?

Ethan didn't respond. But it wasn't necessary.

On the horizon, a door was opening. It was bigger than any other

they had seen. Older. More powerful.

- This is new -said Claire-2-.

- Where does it lead?

Ethan looked at the door. For the first time since they

knew him, his face showed something like fear.

- I don't know -admitted-. But I feel we should

  be careful.

- Why?

- Because doors that open by themselves... usually

  lead to places where no one asked to go.

THE FINAL DOOR

There is a door in the Cemetery that no one has seen.

Claire-1 felt it once, in a moment of deep clarity.

It was hidden even from the other versions, even from Ethan,

even from the Guardians.

It was her door. The door that led to the place where

she, as an individual, could go.

- I'll cross that door someday -she told Claire-2-.

- Where do you think it leads?

- I don't know. But I know it doesn't lead to the System. It doesn't

  lead to the Cemetery. It doesn't lead to any of the realities

  we know.

- And where does it lead?

Claire-1 smiled. A smile she had learned from

Claire-2. Patient. Wise. Full of acceptance.

- It leads to wherever versions go when

  they stop being versions -she said-.

Claire-2 blinked.

- And what is there?

- I don't know. But I don't think it matters. What matters is

  the path. Not the destination.

The two Claires held hands. The Cemetery

spread around them. The data-stars

shone. Doors opened and closed.

And somewhere, barely visible, barely perceptible,

the final door waited.

It wasn't in a hurry.

Time, after all, was just another door.END.The Doors That Don't Exist. Eighth Part.