In this post: A surprisingly profound short story on the value and consequences of compromising one's spirit to reach one's goals.
Category: Short Story Collection + Fast Fiction
Ramiah Recommended?
Yes.
Yet another spooky story to close out the year! And - another feature by CreepyPasta, apparently the home for creepy stories on the internet.
This time we have a story of power, immortality, and redemption.
We follow an unnamed character on a quest for immortality. He needs to collect 538 Objects and he has 518. It's unclear what an object is exactly, but it appears to be a source of incremental power, and when one collects all 538, unlimited power.
As he goes for 519, he meets the Objects' Holder. The Holder makes the protagonist pause in his quest, asking "Why do you seek the Objects?"
The response: “For knowledge, because knowledge is power.”
I'm going to be honest, this story took a bit of reading to get into. This was the first minute or so into the story, and the estimated reading time was only 7 minutes, so it's not great that it took that long to get interesting. The trite 'knowledge is power' or common 'quest for immortality' story feels stale to me by now. But stay with me.
The Holder pushes the Protagonist to think about why he wants knowledge so badly. More than that, is seeking knowledge worth having it?
I think these sorts of stories often have characters seeking immortality for its inherent value to know more - that the benefit of knowing more does not warrant considering the consequences. I think of Vandal Savage having to watch his family die over time as he outlives them, or some similar example where someone having access to unmatched knowledge leaves them unchallenged.
It's a welcome change to have a character think through the consequences of making such a decision.
This protagonist shares that he has already 'sold his soul' for the objects 518 times, so figured he might as well fully commit. This then opens an interesting discussion on the distinction between soul and spirit. The Holder and protagonist conclude the soul is tied to god while the spirit is tied to oneself, it's the most distinctive part of existence.
When thinking about his self in the scope of immortality, he thought about how he would spend it, not just how he would get there. When one receives all 518 objects, they become an object themself. An all-knowing and powerful object, sure... but an object nonetheless. Stagnate. Stationary. Lifeless.
The Holder offered a different route to immortality: becoming a holder. Guiding others on their paths. And... well, not being an immobile object. The protagonist saw this as an opportunity for redemption, and decided that becoming the thing he was striving for - literally - wasn't for the best.
As he made the decision, the protagonist was renamed Tenet - fitting, given he found redemption to be a principle to live his life by.
Overall, I don't think this story was spooky on the surface, but fairly spooky when we look deeply at its conceptual and theoretical dialogue.
It's a good story on values and morals, choosing power or choosing justice, and the meaning of a soul. It also provokes thought on what are we willing to compromise to meet our goals? And what's worth finishing vs not?
I'd love to hear your thoughts.Read the story for yourself here!
I'm wishing you a goal-filled year (without the soul/spirit-comprimising). Happy New Year from me to you!
Ramiah Reflects
Questions to Ask Yourself (and answer!):
What are you willing to compromise to meet our goals?
How do you decide what's worth finishing?
How do you distinguish the soul from the spirit?
Ramiah's Re-read When
Re-read when:
You want to contemplate the meaning of life (pretty deep fo ra short story, I know, but it's true!)
You want to reexamine your values
You want to read a profound short story.
(No notes this time, folks!)
Check out my other posts and book notes here.
Until next time!
Montana Houston
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