Introduction
In our previous explorations, we’ve journeyed through the dizzying realms of infinity (“Infinity Unveiled”) and sought justifications for the Omniverse in the whispers of quantum physics and echoes of Hermetic wisdom (“Quantum Whispers, Hermetic Echoes”). We’ve contemplated the possibility of infinite parallel Earths, eternally co-existing, shaped by probability and perhaps even influenced by mind itself. But now, let’s turn to a seemingly lighter, yet surprisingly profound, area: fiction.
Could it be that our stories – our myths, our books, our movies, our games – are more than mere flights of imagination? Could they be something akin to windows, offering us glimpses into those very parallel Earths we’ve been discussing? Let’s explore this fascinating idea, starting with a story that, in a way, started it all…
The “Flash of Two Worlds” Example – Origin Story of the Concept
To understand this concept, we need to travel back to a classic comic book: “Flash of Two Worlds.” In this groundbreaking story, we meet Barry Allen, the Flash of Earth-1. Interestingly, Barry, as a child, was an avid reader of comic books featuring… the Flash! But this Flash was Jay Garrick, a different, Golden Age version of the hero, operating in a seemingly fictional world within Barry’s comics. Barry was inspired by these Jay Garrick comics, treating them as pure fiction.
However, the storyline reveals a mind-bending twist. It turns out that Gardner Fox (though some debate if it was him specifically, let’s say a writer figure within the story), the writer within Earth-1 who created the Jay Garrick Flash comics, was not simply imagining things. Instead, he was unknowingly dreaming, or subconsciously witnessing, the actual events occurring on a real parallel Earth: Earth-2! He was, in essence, transcribing visions of Earth-2 into comic book form.
The implication is staggering: comic books, within the context of Earth-1, were acting as windows into a different, genuinely existing parallel Earth. The fiction was not entirely fictional; it was a distorted, mediated, but nonetheless real glimpse into another reality.
Expanding Beyond Comics – All Forms of Storytelling as Windows
But why limit this “window” concept to just comics? Gardner Fox, in the story, chose comics as his medium, but the principle surely extends far beyond. If fiction can reveal parallel Earths, then all forms of storytelling become potential windows.
Think about the vast landscape of human storytelling: mythology, ancient legends, epic poems, novels, short stories, songs and ballads that narrate tales, oral traditions passed down through generations, grand operas, blockbuster movies, gripping TV series, even short commercials that tell mini-stories, animated cartoons, immersive games, complex video games, collectible trading cards with lore, captivating anime, introspective manga, and the boundless creativity of fanfiction. And let’s not forget the spontaneous, uninhibited make-believe fantasies of children.
Every medium that allows us to tell, share, and experience a narrative, a story, a world – each becomes a potential portal, a window, through which we might be glimpsing fragments of genuinely existing parallel Earths.
Canon and Infinite Earths – Everything is Canon Somewhere
Within fandoms, intense debates often rage about what is “canon” and what is not. But in the context of infinite Earths, the very idea of a single, definitive canon becomes delightfully obsolete. Everything is canon… somewhere.
Every remake of a movie, every reboot of a TV series, every alternate universe storyline, every adaptation of a book into a film – each of these, in the light of parallel Earths, can be seen not as a deviation or an “alternate take” on a single story, but as a glimpse into a distinct, fully realized parallel Earth where that specific version of the story is, in fact, reality. The theatrical cut, the director’s cut, the extended edition – each could represent a different Earth experiencing a subtly different version of events.
There are infinite imagined Earths, those worlds vividly detailed in countless works of fiction, meticulously crafted and explored by storytellers across millennia. But even more mind-boggling is the idea that there are also infinite Earths that no one has imagined yet, realities that lie beyond the current reach of human creativity, vast and uncharted territories in the Omniverse.
Discovery, Not Creation
When we engage with fiction, are we truly creating these parallel Earths in our minds? Or are we, as Gardner Fox was in “Flash of Two Worlds,” actually discovering them, tuning into pre-existing realities through the power of imagination and storytelling?
Perhaps writers, artists, storytellers of all kinds are, in a sense, seers or channels, subconsciously tapping into the infinite ocean of the Omniverse and bringing back fragments, glimpses, echoes of other realities to share with us. When we think of a fictional world, are we not creating it ex nihilo, but rather, in a way, recognizing something that already, eternally is?
Concluding Thoughts
The implications of this idea are, once again, profoundly mind-bending. Fiction, far from being mere escapism, could be a fundamental way we, as humans, interact with and perceive the vastness of the Omniverse. Our stories become more than just entertainment; they become potential windows to wonder, portals to perception, glimpses into the infinite tapestry of parallel Earths.
Have you ever read a book, watched a movie, or played a game and felt a strange sense of “realness,” a feeling that the world depicted was somehow… true, in some other dimension, in some other place? Could that feeling be a subtle resonance, a faint signal from a parallel Earth glimpsed through the window of fiction?
What do you think? Could our stories truly be windows into parallel Earths? Share your thoughts, your favorite fictional “windows,” and your own experiences in the comments below! Let’s continue to explore this amazing possibility together…