The Book of Ages

Chapter One

Brakes screeched, metal twisted, warped, and collapsed under the pressure of vehicles colliding one into another as the moment of impact occurred instantaneously but seemingly endlessly. The accident happened suddenly, horrifically, and irreversibly. And then it was done or so it appeared.

A passage from The Book of Ages (Part I, Chapter One)

“Once upon a time is indeed a fitting way to begin this journey into time, for it is of time that we must speak and of the truths about time that have been lost in time. The truth of time is this. It does not exist. How, do you ask, can such a statement be asserted with such certainty when clearly it is a statement based in misunderstanding if not complete absurdity? Yet the statement stands and will become clear to each who reads these pages and chooses to be the master of the truth that lies within. This story begins about a time so long ago, none of today can remember, and yet all who exist today existed then, but this truth is what is not recalled by those of today about the time before.”

What transpired then also occurred just as suddenly as had the seven-car pile-up. However, none but a few, a very few, know about what happened following the collision, and although profoundly affected by the after wave of the accident, these are not inclined to share what they experienced. In Memorial Hospital just off San Jacinto Blvd, survivors of the year’s worst traffic accident to date were frantically being attended by the well-trained, highly educated, and desperately overworked emergency room staff. Accidents such as these are a nightmare for everyone concerned and dreaded by every hospital team. High stress in an emergency room is commonplace and routine for the able clinicians and nurses who choose this profession, but when an incident involving so many critically injured individuals occurs, the effect resembles ordered chaos. Memorial’s ER staff was exquisite in their precision, diligence, and commitment, yet to a bystander, the scene is one of unbelievable trauma, and for the families of the victims, it is absolute terror. No one knows or even cares what or who caused the accident; it’s irrelevant at this point in time. Only the recovery of those who survived is the issue, and unfortunately their conditions are not yet certain.

A passage from The Book of Ages (Part I, Chapter One)

“Time became a relevant factor in the lives of humankind because it supplied this species with a measure to describe their infinity, which became necessary when the human species evolved without memory of their infinite existence, and thus, time became an integral part of the development and evolutionary process of this remarkable species of beings.”

At the accident scene, policemen take reports from the few passengers able to walk away from the tragic event. Physically and emotionally shaken by their experience, but suffering only minor injuries, the survivors are administered to and monitored by rescue crews responding to the incident. Local authorities interview the survivors who will be written about as the “lucky ones” who survived the worst catastrophe in the history of their small township. Most were not so lucky and those still alive now lie on hospital gurneys waiting to be assisted by the local hospital’s medical staff.

A passage from The Book of Ages (Part I, Chapter One)

“So how is it that such an important factor in the lives of billions can be proclaimed to be non-existent? Simply stated, time does not exist, but in the minds of those who needed time to bring definition to their existence, thus, time became the defining nature of the human species. We live in time that does not exist yet we bow to its demands as if it truly does exist allowing it to magisterially dictate our time as if it were entitled to do so.”

Neighbors who witnessed the unbelievable event are reeling as each attempts to provide accurate information to the police investigators. This type of tragedy just does not happen in a small town. A fender-bender occasionally occurs, even a more serious wreck has taken place a few times, but nothing of this magnitude has ever happened before. In small towns, everyone knows everyone. Neighbors have just watched neighbors crashing to their deaths and those who have not died are critically injured and may be lost as well. The news of this accident spreads throughout the community within minutes, one neighbor telling the next as another calls a friend who relays the information to yet another, and as each hears the dreadful developments, a darkness falls over the township. How could this be? Why has this happened? Who is responsible? It was a time of a deep sadness, shock, and disbelief, and yet the reality of the situation rested right before them. The accident had occurred. The deaths were real. And the survivors still remained in precarious condition while the hospital clinicians, staff, and personnel labored skillfully and sensitively to these patients who were their friends, neighbors, and family. Tragic in its scope, this horrible event affected the entire community, as well as the surrounding vicinity, but its influence would soon reveal a far wider impact, as the days that followed would unveil. Memorial Hospital’s emergency room was electrified with intensity. Orders were shouted, pleas for help were heard from frightened patients, as family members voiced their concern for their loved one’s condition. Amid all the confusion and agitation of the moment, there were tears of fear. Families and friends huddled in small groups sharing condolences and words of hope and encouragement both at the hospital and in various settings around town. Some spoke in quiet voices while others stood speechless staring with vacant eyes, as if they were seeking some kind of meaning to this seemingly senseless and outrageous situation, searching for something, anything that might help them understand the purpose of this unthinkable circumstance…