I am a guard at an unusual prison. In fact, it is the only prison in the world, or the universe, for that matter. Actually, I will admit to you, reader, that this prison is indeed the universe itself. But it has many tricks and uncanny ways, and one of them is that it is a real prison on the real planet and houses real people, who, the moment they enter the prison under guard and their cells under lock and key, become something other than people. They become prisoners, they are defined by the structure that keeps them within it. Many metaphors may come to mind: a baby within its mother, a snail within its shell, a hand within its glove, a corpse within its coffin.

Like music captured and trapped in a parallel, one-dimensional world of black lateral ovals (some empty, some filled in) and vertical lines on lined paper, the prison comes alive when it is expressed through the actions of its prisoners. The prisoners, in this way, are like musicians in an orchestra. There are an infinite number of them, and there is an infinite combination of notes that can be played. Yes, these sounds are purely imaginary, but they are nevertheless an endless game of high elegance.

Our time is recursive and forking. Our time is a garden in which all realities are simultaneously possible. All paths are truly one path. From the time of birth to the time of death, every word you utter is part of one long sentence. This sentence is utterly, heartbreakingly unique. Never before and never again. Yet they, in ensemble, create One Sentence. It holds and houses us. Announces and defends us. Blesses and confesses us. Curses and condemns.

As I tend to them, the prisoners, I must pay attention to and interact with the physical structure; I don’t know if I am more like an instrument tuner or a minor conductor. An orchestra may not be the most fitting analogy, but it allows me to think of my vocation as somewhat elegant, rarefied, with the potential for beauty, if even the beauty has a hint of violence, like a piece from the romantic period that evokes emotions both sublime and savage.