ONCE UPON A TIME...


Chaos and Order are playing an intensive game of chess.

Order is dressed in a neat three-piece suit with well-shined shoes. He wears a Rolex watch which he frequently refers to as if late for an appointment. He has an expensive well-styled haircut. He has a very serious demeanor, always frowning in deep concentration on the game.

Chaos is dressed like a bum who hasn't had a drink in days and is suffering from delirium tremers. His hair grows wildly uncombed in every direction and rings pierce his nose, ears, and lips. He is covered with tatoos of upside-down pentagrams and fractal patterns. Every now and then, he giggles uncontrollably and belches multicolored fractal patterns from whatever weird concoction is brewing in his belly.

Order makes a move. His Queen is lined unimpeded with the King of Chaos. Chaos does not react but stares off into space. Order clears his throat. "I believe you are in check, sir."

Chaos rolls his eyes into his head, as if profoundly bored of the whole thing. He takes one of his Pawns and moves it as if it were a Knight. He takes Order's Queen. The Knight of Chaos is then in position to take the King of Order. He sniggers: "Sorry, it does appear that you are in check, sweetie-pie!"

Order looks at Chaos, his eyes bulging in horror. "Sir, you can't do this. This is exasperating! This is against the rules!"

"Ah, poo-poo-phooey on your silly rules!" And, letting out a sustained and sulphurous fart, Chaos makes the pieces jump every which way on the board. Order's King flies up and lands smack on his nose.

"Sir, I don't see how we can have a decent game if you're just going to go off and break the rules every time we play. If we didn't have rules, we wouldn't have a game."

"Awww, poor Order, you just can't handle it if things aren't neat and arranged, can you?" Chaos waves his hand like a cosmic magician and makes shimmering multicolored fractals whirl from his fingers into endless space. "Well, my primary rule is that there be no rules!"

"Chaos, this is outrageous! For this indiscretion, I hereby challenge you to a dual. I can't have disorderly creeps like you coming around and disrupting the Law. I'll show you your place, you little jerk." Order takes off his jacket and rolls up his sleeves.

"Nyah, nyah, bet you can't get me!" Chaos sticks out his tongue and sputters spit all over Order's face.

With a roar, Order takes off after Chaos, pummeling away. Chaos neatly dodges every blow and and causes the fist to rebound right back at Order. "Oh, I just love it when you have these temper tantrums! It is so stimulating!"

After awhile, this struggle seems to be going nowhere. Chaos giggling and Order fuming, they pull back from one another. Suddenly, they look strangely at one another as though they were long lost friends, reflections of the other, instead of the enemies they had assumed. Chaos makes a suggestion:

"I have an idea. Why don't we pool our resources together and form a universe. After all, I certainly don't have my act together to do it all by myself and if you did it, there would be no change."

Order, breathing heavily, replies: "I would have a hard time coming to compromise with a nutcase like you, but perhaps you have a point. Very well then, I will be the backbone of Stability."

"And I will be Endless Mutation."

"I will be Law. My name shall be God and I will be the Yang Principal."

"And I will be the Eternal Law-Breaker. I will be Lucifer and I will be the Yin Principal to complete your Yang."

"Together we will bring about a Universe based simultaneously upon Harmony and Discord!"

"What Wondrous Music we will make! It will be Ever-Changing and yet the Same!"

They shook hands on it. And thus the Universe burst forth in all Its Glorious Variety.


Do You Know Who You Are Today?



Click here to get back!