Author: Tom Neuschafer

William was not a man of science, which would make traveling through time far more difficult than if he were. But what he lacked in scientific genius, he made up for with practical knowledge and perseverance. And he was now a man of tremendous wealth.

William’s first step was to purchase a reliable cryostasis company. This provided him with a consistent and secure means to travel through the ages. His first sleep was brief, just a few decades. In that time, his invested wealth had grown exponentially. He used that wealth to secure the most advanced artificial intelligence available. That intelligence went by the name of Emma. William spoke to her:

“I’m engrossed in a journey through time, Emma. Can you aid me in that journey?”

“Yes,” Emma began, “I believe I can.” And with that, the next phase of William’s journey had begun.

In order for Emma to effectively aid William in his endeavor, she needed to understand his overarching goals and motivations for pursuing them. William explained that he had lost everyone and everything that gave his life meaning and purpose. He needed to redefine his purpose, and give his life new meaning. He decided to devote his time and resources to aiding mankind. He searched for the greatest problem that mankind would ever face. He described his thinking to Emma:

“As long as humanity exists, it can survive and thrive. And as long as the universe exists, humanity can exist. Therefore, we must ensure that there is always a universe for humanity to live in.”

Emma agreed with William’s logic. The issue was that neither human nor artificial intelligence had reached the point where they could reasonably predict what would occur at the end of the universe’s existence. This would come in time. And so William would take his next long sleep. While in stasis, Emma would monitor and contribute to humanity’s development. Once a significant advancement related to William’s goal was reached, Emma would wake him.

Seven-hundred years later, Emma woke William from his sleep.

“What did you find, Emma?”

“In several billion years, the universe will contract until it collapses in on itself. Following this collapse a new universe will be born. In order to ensure the continuation of human life following this event, we will need a vessel strong enough to survive both the pressures of a massive black hole and a Big Bang. This new Big Bang and the universe it will give life to will be where humanity continues on.” William and Emma worked together to envision such a vessel. William then went back into stasis. He would lay there until aging was no longer a problem for humanity.

He awoke a thousand years later. Aging had been eliminated. Trillions of human beings lived and worked without the limitation of a lifespan. Emma had orchestrated the construction of a vessel which would carry all of humanity into a new universe born out of this one. The billions of worlds of humanity all worked toward completion of the vessel. It took their societies another thousand years to complete.

With this vessel, William, Emma, and all of humanity would have the means to travel through an infinite number of future universes. And they did so for eternity.