Where had it all gone wrong? Perhaps it all came from that foolish hope he had kept alight so many years ago. After years, so many years, an eternity of serving mortals and being a guiding hand in the fulfillment of their love, Upendo felt envy and an emptiness in his own existence. He had been graced with the essence of love in its myriad of forms but had been blocked from ever finding it among mortals as his kin, the other gods had done. His grace could tamper with the ultimate law of free will and thus he watched as other gods found love with the beautiful and surprising creatures known as mortals and he despaired at his own existence.
"I was born a genius. The gift and curse that is extreme intelligence. It may be hard to distinguish which of the two it will be for you until it is too late and your life has entirely fallen to shit," the middle-aged man spoke in a bitter voice which left no question in people's minds what he thought of his own intelligence. He stood with his arms behind his back and a dark look on his face that brooked no challenge as he gave his testimony against the cruel god who had seen fit to tamper once more in the life of an unsuspecting mortal. He grew up a man who loved science. His world (Earth-163 as he called it) was completely unique in that it had a harmony between the mystical and the rational. Theology had realized the ingenuity of a higher power in the universe and science had progressed due to it. Thus the world was not dragged back by superstition but instead thrived due to an inspired search for closeness with the divine. The middle aged man was born Nhlanhla Black V in a family of pioneers. His family was known to have made great contributions to the technological advancements of the land north of the Limpopo, Rugare. Rugare was a nation that had thrived due to great leadership, great faith, and great scientific development putting them amongst the most progressive nations on Earth 163. Despite its landlocked geography it had managed to develop itself to such a degree that its economics and sciences were crucial to its neighbour to the south ironically called South Africa. Nhlanhla was born unique, with an IQ that was off the charts and his mind develop at an extreme rate. By the time his age-mates were in primary school, he already had grasp of quantum physics. His intelligence gave way to great pride and some narcissism. By the time he was 14, he had been drafted into the Divines Institute of Physics in Harare, and contributed to many papers on the universal order dictated by higher powers. They developed an algorithm that predicted certain events in the future of their universal system which prevented casualties and suffering from such things as natural disasters or global catastrophes. Thus Nhlanhla or Nan as his friends called him was a god among men in his world. However, despite all his accomplishments and achievements something was missing from his life. He had a feeling of emptiness that had bothered him the first time he was aware of his own complex feelings. He never knew what he was searching for but it pushed him to break the borders of knowledge. One night in one of his fits of genius he turned to his best friend and regular confidant, Wayne, and said, " What if this world is not the only world out there?"
Wayne rolled his eyes and said, "Well we already know there are likely to be other planets out there that can sustain life so obviously it's not." Nan looked at him impatiently and stood up from the lab stool he was sitting on, moved towards a whiteboard, and started writing. " what if there are other parallel worlds where every decision we made and those we didn't make are real. Out there could be a world where you and I never met or where we are both married men. A multiverse of infinite realities can you imagine it?" he passionately described while Wayne watched on. The idea was insane because it would mean the world they thought they understood was only a small part of a larger tapestry of similar or different universes. It was scary and Wayne tried to dissuade him for months and years to come but the harder he tried the more Nan was obstinant. He felt like it was the key to what he had been searching for all along. He wanted to find a way to prove his theory. What better proof was there than a way to go to another world. So began his years of being called a madman by a world that had once respected and loved him before.
"It took me ten years to finally crack the code, and two more years after that to even make a prototype," the man spoke bitterly while Celeste stood behind him totally impressed by his story. "When I was about to test the device for the first time, It would not generate enough energy to open a doorway to another world."
Nan was left totally confused as to what had been missing. It felt like there was just one missing piece and he had no idea what. That is when the second manipulation came in the guise of a dream on the night he hit rock bottom and was ready to give up.