There was never a beginning. Bill didn't know when, how, why, or even if he was created. He was like a book that lacked the first twenty pages. Self-awareness developed gradually, and only after he'd existed for quite some time did he come to the realization that he was in fact alive. His tortuous prolonged rise to consciousness meant that he had a very hazy past. His first memory was constantly changing as he recalled and forgot things about his early history. Nothing about it was concrete.
He never had time to ponder, though. A new world laid in front of him, and he was there to bear witness to what would eventually be referred to as life. Bill, along with many other entities – he never learned the nature of them, and he had barely learned to recognize their presence – watched as the tangible plane was set forth before them. There were two distinct universes; the world of logic, and the world of chaos.
The world of logic was entirely three dimensional, and contained rules of which Bill would never had been able to imagine. It consisted of matter, which was strange enough in itself. Substance was a mind-boggling concept at first, but Bill grew accustomed to it. There seemed to be laws that matter had to obey; such as virtual indestructability. Matter could never be destroyed, only converted. It could only be affected by energy of the same plane – which was limited to only a few forms – or other matter.
But time was by far the strangest thing that Bill had ever come across. It set the universe out on a line, which was unheard of. Yet the other principles of the realm were equally as confusing. Physics, math, science… So many properties governed the universe to help keep it in line.
The world of chaos had nothing to default back to. It was completely independent of the logical universe, but it still ran closely parallel to it. Energy ruled over this realm, and it was always in complete anarchy.
The laws that applied to the adjacent world had no meaning. Everything existed as it was without question. There were no requirements, and no limits. One could do whatever they wished with blatant disregard for the plane they lived in. This realm was unbreakable.
Bill resided in the anarchist universe, and happily so. He explored himself, learning the extents of his influence and power. He was surprised to find that, in comparison to the few other beings he was able to discern, he had quite a large amount of potential. The only form of power that existed in this place was the ability to think, and oh, how Bill thought. His imagination was without limit, and by extension, so was his strength.
For the longest time, his thoughts were erratic. He jumped from one thing to another as he came to terms with his own existence. He processed thousands of things at once, learning every crevice of the place he found himself in before observing the world that laid across from him.
It was only a stone's throw away, but it was completely inaccessible. Bill could watch, but there was no way for him to take part in what happened. He had no matter about him, and the energy he was composed of had no meaning in the other universe. He could only observe in curiosity as… interesting developments began to take place.
For a while, things were boring. Matter reacted with itself, always abiding by the laws that dictated it. Things fell together like the pieces of a puzzle, and after a while planets had formed. A long amount of time went by – an insanely long amount. But Bill was okay with that, because he had nothing but time. There was really nothing to do in his universe aside from storing energy, which was what he did.
Dominance among the other beings was a pointless idea. Sure, at first there were disagreements from those who resided in the realm, but they were resolved with time. They were all more or less stuck there, trapped within their existences with no foreseeable way out. Power was temporary and pointless, as they all had come to awareness with the same amount of influence that they would have for the duration of their infinite lives. Bill had just happened to get lucky, as he was one of the sharper tools in the shed. He was able to live as he wanted, pondering why he, along with the two universes, even existed.
Then something really strange came along.
Life had been apparent in the other universe for a long time. Biology was a rudimentary subject in comparison to the many other secrets that the realm held. Bill had been learning about time and how to properly observe it when it happened. Intelligence.
The first organism in the world came to awareness, just as Bill and the other beings had. Bill could feel the exact moment when it happened, and it sent chills down his spine. All he could do was watch as a weak and fragile bundle of elements - a human, as they would eventually be called – stumbled about and began to develop comprehension.
Humans had existed for a while, but Bill had never really thought about them before. They were nothing more than the bacteria that teemed in the dark reaches of the universe, as they ran on the simple instincts of their survival.
But humans were the first to surpass their basic sets of natural compulsion. Bill watched as this person began to think about more than his next meal. The human began to ponder about his own existence, and in that simple action, it transcended the levels of other simple organisms. It had found life just as Bill had.
But the moment passed, and the human went about its way as if nothing had happened. It was once again focused on its own survival, and in sustaining the life that would inevitably end. That was the difference between Bill and it. The human was made of matter and governed by logic, which inhibited its thought process. Bill was free, and had the ultimate mental capacity.
Yet the thought of something in the other universe gaining intelligence was frightening. Bill watched in concern as the humans progressed, becoming more and more advanced as a race. They had a massive amount of potential, but they were too stupid to recognize it. Each one was concerned with themselves as an individual, and therefore bound to live a worthless and useless life. For a while Bill was able to relax with this realization. He held power that the humans could never dream of, and he would remain above them for as long as they existed. They weren't even aware that there was more beyond their own planet. They were quite literally the most stupid form of intelligence that Bill had ever come across, and he was reassured by that.
But then they began to dream.
Bill was caught off guard when he looked into the future. He had learned how to observe time almost as if it was matter, and was now he able to watch the other universe at any point in time. Sure, Bill had seen some pretty miraculous things, but he never could have anticipated that one of the imbecile apes had actually managed to cross over into his realm.
It happened when it was sleeping. The group of neuron connections known as the human brain began to act strangely, and the consciousness of the person broke through the wall separating it from the world beyond. It was transported straight to the universe of anarchy, where everything was controlled by imagination.
It was then that Bill came to a realization about the humans. They were just like him, except younger. They too were beings of pure energy, but they were trapped within a useless body that inevitably failed. This explained why they were able to progress so quickly, and develop a competent thinking process. And maybe, just maybe, they could be able to eventually become like Bill himself.
Bill didn't want that to happen. He enjoyed the way things were. If humans became like him, then how would their universe stay in balance? It could destroy itself, and with it, his. He watched the human's consciousness as it wondered about, seeing everything as it desired. It was finally free in the absence of logic, but it had yet to become aware. It was like Bill before he realized just what he was.
Bill was able to scare it back to its own realm by making a few imaginary monsters. It was quick, easy, and painless. In the logical world the human awoke with a start, but then continued on with its life as if nothing had ever happened. But the fact that humans were on the path to enlightenment was frightening, and it was then that Bill came to a definite decision.
He had to do something to stop this.