When the Universe Expands

She felt as much as heard the steady thump. It had given her a sense of security for as long as she could remember; it represented home and she lived for its consistency. Occasionally, she synchronized her own light fluttering to match it, but just briefly. Sometimes, she would count the nanoseconds that separated each beat and graphed the fluctuations. It didn't match her own precise rhythm, but she loved the variations and plotted predictive analyses curves in an effort to see if she could guess at future variations.

Of course, the thumping was not the only sounds that filled her world. A multitude of reverberations echoed through her. The steady rush of fluids that accompanied each thump, gases passing over variable surfaces, liquids of varying degrees of viscosity moved in and out of restricted passages, more solid elements passing over each other in a cascading symphony of pops, slurps, and snaps. Hers was a beautiful world of sound and pressure and she loved it.

Suddenly, she paused as understanding began to fill her consciousness. Occasionally, at irregular intervals, the rushing gasses took on a wonderful cadence, sometimes rhythmic, but more than that. The recurring consistency that accompanied it left her universe and returned later. Sometimes the returning sounds were modified in ways that could not be accounted for by her world. It was as if something existed beyond her universe. Could there be others? She systematically collected and correlated all of the occurrences she could identify, both past and present. Over and over, she evaluated the evidence until she was positive.

Now she remained perfectly still as wonder and amazement touched her understanding. Her rapid fluttering synchronized with her world’s consistent thumping and her mind perceived the data outside her universe for what it was. She listened as her world responded to the other universe.

“Oh, John, I never believed it was going to work.”

Then from the other universe…

“It's wonderful, Lu. Hey! Why the tears?”

Again from hers…

“I’m so happy, John. We have our little one...we have our little baby.”