Writer Indigo Moon shares a short story exploring one person’s sense of purpose. Evoking ideas of conversation with the universe to illuminate times of zoonotic pandemic and climate crisis, Indigo reflects on the presence of signals from within.
1,300 words: estimated reading time = 5 minutes
Indigo’s post is the third in our series Signals from the Edge, which sets the challenge of creating a small artistic expression of the more-than-human in the form of a new signal for humanity. Is it a message — whether meant for our species or for another kind, which we overhear by chance? An artefact of some other consciousness? Or an abstraction of the material world? Something in any case that brings some meaning for us to discover or to make, here and now, as we begin to address the Anthropocene in all its noise. A small piece of sense — common or alien — amidst the confusion of human being.
***
Photograph: Indigo Moon © 2020I am purpose
Hello.
We are the universe.
We have chosen to present ourselves to you as language because we feel it is the simplest and easiest way to communicate with you.
We have heard whispers from the minds of you. It is of the assumption that we have caused humanity’s current state of … Isolation. Destruction. Vulnerability.
Of course, humans love to cast blame. Even when that blame cannot reach time or form or space.
We can only observe. Humanity is in control of its own fate. Where did the first infection begin?
“Um.”
This is a rhetorical question.
“Oh.”
Digestion of a diseased animal.
Humanity’s consumption of non-human animals. Ah, yes, the origin is confirmed.
What you call ‘zoonotic’ is the isolation between the human and the animal. But what you cease to understand is the thread between every living being. A hum. A heartbeat.
Weaves us together in a tangle of chaotic uncertainty.
We have not the capacity to scribble you out. What a crisis permits is the human spirit to blaze until it burns the light —
“Sorry, hi, sorry to interrupt but why are you telling me? Am I supposed to do something with this?” The voice is coarse, dry, awkward.
That is for you to decide.
“But, why me? You could have picked anyone.”
We did not pick you, as you call it. You were randomly chosen.
A pout. “Oh, okay, well, thanks, I guess.”
Don’t thank us. We do not require praise.
“Then what do you require?”
Nothing.
A pause. Then a whisper. “You’re a barrel of laughs.”
Your attempt at sarcasm has not succeeded.
“Hey! Excuse me, you may be the almighty bloody universe but there is still such a thing as … as respect. Even from a formless … being, such as yourself. Selves. Sorry. Pronouns.”
We admire your strength.
But we do not require anything. We are communicating with you to offer you a purpose.
“Purpose?”
An echo of a voice. High-pitched and loud. “Saph, dinner’s ready!”
“Alright, Mum, be down in a sec.”
Do you consume animals, as those who were first infected?
“No. I used to but then realised it was stupid of me to think I had the right to eat them just because they’re a different species. And don’t even get me started on how eating animals is destroying the planet –”
But you’re going to tell us, we presume?
“Yes. I can be selfish sometimes but I don’t want to be a god. I’m not even sure I believe gods should exist. But it seems we’re acting as if we’re gods. Unpredictable weather patterns. Increase in carbon dioxide levels. The planet is roasting like a potato. And all you ever see on the news is the football results and lengthy discussions on what the Queen is wearing.”
You are wise, child.
Gurgles. “Wha? Really? I couldn’t even get a C on my GCSE maths exam.”
Yet you were able to see what so many of your kind cannot. The purpose we offer you is something you already recognise. A hum. A heartbeat. Made of stardust. You feel it within yourself but can never quite reach it.
“This sounds … familiar. And it’s kind of freaking me out.”
As it should.
The high-pitched and loud voice returns. “Saph! It will get cold. It’s your favourite.”
“Yes, coming, sorry. Just talking to my … girlfriend. Be right down!”
Listen to the hum of us. The vibration of us. Of you. There, you will learn of your purpose.
“I think I already know it.”
Then you have won.
***
Photograph: Indigo Moon © 2020I am purpose — context
I decided to focus on connectedness because being an optimist I find focusing on the positives of any situation is the most beneficial way to learn and develop.
I had the idea to write a conversation between the universe and a teenager because I wanted to draw upon the relationship we have with each other and how collectives of union are forming because of this crisis.
More so, I wished to look at the origins of the virus and question our consumption of animals. Even though I was primarily focused on the consequence of viruses being passed from animal to human because of this consumption, I also wanted to bring attention to how climate change has been influenced by animal agriculture.
I decided a teenager would be a comedic and authentic partner to the universe character because it is a time in our lives where I believe we are truly ourselves. On the verge between child and adult. That balance is what makes us who we are, I believe. And what is the universe if not us? We are its stardust.
At first, I didn’t know how the conversation would go. I knew the Signals from the Edge series focused on signals and messages. I thought a signal from the universe, in this context: sending a human being a message that they can be offered a purpose. In reality, by telling someone they have a purpose means they already know it. They just need to recognise it.
The piece also made me think about how I interpret the word ‘edge’. Before writing this, I had always seen the word as an ending, something that reaches a wall where there is nothing left. Now, I am accustomed to seeing the word as a place unknown. Somewhere that holds knowledge and a beingness we believe we cannot reach.
I also wanted to keep the reader guessing as to whether this is a dream sequence or some form of reality. Of course, the universe could never have a voice that we could understand but humans do and we are biologically part of the universe so … paradox?
Essentially, I wanted this conversation to highlight the signals found within us and how we can access them during times of unprecedented events. I hope Saph can bring hope to anyone of any age and teach us that the messages we send ourselves can guide us to the light.
Find out more
You can explore some of the issues around the origins of coronavirus diseases such as Covid-19 in human exploitation of animals in this report from the international NGO Traffic: Wildlife trade, COVID-19 and zoonotic disease risks: shaping the response (April 2020).
From bats to human lungs, the evolution of a coronavirus, by Carolyn Corman in the New Yorker (27th March 2020), looks at how such diseases are transmitted, and the latest research into understanding them.
And Transmission of diseases from humans to apes: why extra vigilance is now needed, by Arend de Haas at The Conversation (24th March 2020) explains how our great ape relatives are also vulnerable to coronavirus diseases — with the risk being transmission from humans.
You can find previous Signals from the Edge contributions in the form of a burning forest and the cry of a fox, and a fragment of an alien encyclopedia, cast backwards in time and in space.
Indigo Sapphire Moon