The Editor, Part I
Can I destroy the universe?
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Content warnings:
Office environment
Chess as entertainment
Read » Part II «
“Oh, come on, Lilia, it’ll be fun!” Edik said, leaning on the wooden divider bolted to Lilia’s desk. “If you win, or maybe even almost win just one time, you’ll see why I love horse racing. You’ll become a bigger fan than I am!”
The office was spacious and brightly lit not only by the LED lights, but also by the evening sun coming from the ceiling-high windows. Most of the desks were already empty, but you would know that only by looking at your watch, since the dividers gave each fact-checker a bit of privacy.
Lilia sighed heavily, looking into those brown, care-free eyes. “That’s not the point, Edik! The point is that you promised me a movie night!”
“Oh, come on!” He strolled around the desk and pretended to sit on the armrest of her office chair while wrapping his hand around her shoulder. “The movies aren’t real! Just a bunch of moving pixels on a screen. But horses and the jockeys are right there. You can talk to them, get to know each and every one, and make some real connections.”
“So, you weren’t listening when I told you it wasn’t the point…” Lilia freed her shoulder from Edik’s clutches and moved her keyboard closer to her. “Go. Enjoy your races, Edik.”
His hand momentarily dove into his shoulder-length, black hair, but no more words left his lips. He turned around and strolled between the desks towards the exit.
Lilia was staring at her computer screen for maybe a few minutes. Despite always wearing socks with sandals, she was pretty and outspoken, so finding partners was never an issue for her. Something-something about her blonde hair enchanting those interested in women. Something-something about “the eyes so blue and deep, I’ll clearly drown before you reach the other side.” Yet, she always seemed to find douchebags who couldn’t keep their word. Why? What was wrong with her process?
It was time to go home. And it was long overdue to find herself a new partner. Yet, she didn’t want to stand up and gather her things. She just wanted… What, exactly?
Stupid races! Stupid horses!
What’s the deal with this shit anyway? Why would anyone spend their time at a stinky, dusty stadium watching animals who shit where they walk?
Her fingers automatically typed in the address of the Onlinepedia, and then “horse races.” The page loaded, and her eyes started skimming through the lines of text. Despite that, the meaning of the article refused to enter her mind, for she was too distracted and unfocused.
Yep, I’m clearly reading this sentence for the fourth time already. Or was it the previous one?
How could races make quite heterosexual Edik resist the temptation to sit in her embrace while watching a movie? Sure, she also didn’t want sex all the time, but it was still pleasant to feel her partner squeeze tightly against her body. That was a real connection, feeling each other’s heartbeats, not stupid fandom about horses or something.
She was logged in, as always. The Edit button was like a magnet, winking at her from the page. Her hand moved all on its own and pressed it. The corrections were simple, and her standing with the Onlinepedia allowed her to change low-impact articles without a review. Well, the change was still logged, so some other editor will see what she did, but it won’t happen today.
Her lips curved into a smile, and she kicked back in her seat, beholding the funny product of her labor.
~*~
“Morning, Lilia!” Liz said, sitting down at her desk the next day and turning on her computer.
Her desk was on Lilia’s right. On the left was the central hallway of the office.
“Mo’ning.” Lilia yawned, having binge-watched a whole Let’s Play the previous night. “How was the party?”
“Oh, it was rad!” Liz leaned on Lilia’s divider. “I never knew anyone could lose at chess ten times in a row. I mostly danced and ate, though. It’s tough to find a good opponent in this city, you know.” She winked.
Lilia rolled her eyes. “Oh, shut up! Alright, alright, I’ll play with you one day.”
Liz pointed her long finger at her. “I’ll keep you to it. The winner takes it all!”
Lilia’s eyebrows jumped. “What’s ‘all?’ I never bet anything I’m not ready to lose.”
Liz shrugged. “I’ll think of something.”
The familiar footsteps on the soft carpet announced that Edik had arrived. Lilia couldn’t stop herself and peeked into the corridor. The man’s locks looked dirty, and his head looked down rather than forward.
“Hey!” She caught up to him in an instant. “What’s wrong?”
Edik stopped and looked at her with confused, tired eyes. “Errr… Wrong? Nothing’s wrong.”
“Then…” Lilia made another step to stand in front of him. “Why do you look like something’s off?”
“Oh, that! I’m just… confused.”
She frowned. “Confused? You? The Mister Trivia 1212?”
These words didn’t shed any light on Edik’s face. He was just staring at her while his thoughts seemed to be elsewhere.
“Okay, so, what are you confused about?”
“Ehm… How have I ever gotten into betting on horses? On fanboying over this whole thing?”
Yesterday’s memory flashed before Lilia’s eyes.
“Well, I’ve read about them,” she started, unwilling to admit not remembering a shred of information, “but no one can say why certain people like certain things.”
His eyes widened. “NO ONE should fanboy over that crap!” He... gesticulated? He knew how to do that?
Her brows furrowed all on their own. “Why?”
“Why, because they are stupid!” Edik exclaimed. “The smart and average horses are plowing the fields or doing whatever else they want, but when a horse is born stupid, they are given to the jockeys! Think about that! The whole sport is built upon exploiting animals that are not the fastest, strongest, or have the most stamina, but on making use of horses that are not fit to do anything else. How can anyone find such an atrocity entertaining? Where is the play on the strengths and weaknesses of individual animals? Where is the strategy and risk? When every animal in a race can barely follow orders and sometimes can’t do even that, that’s no sport — that’s a disgrace!”
Stupid… horses?
Lilia ran back to her desk and opened the website. There they were, her changes, still online. Every mention of horses on the page about races was changed into a “stupid horse.” It could not be a coincidence! Could it?
She opened up a search engine and looked up horse races there. She opened up other online encyclopedias and read them too. Then, it was the turn of the scans of the old newspapers. Everywhere! The stupid horses were present everywhere. Some authors speculated why this “tradition” persisted to this very day, others discussed how it all began, but the low mental ability of racing horses was highlighted in almost every article.
Lilia’s eyes finally saw the flashing pictograms on her screen. Shit, she forgot she had work to do! But as she rushed to go through the assignments, her mind was elsewhere.
Edik was confused about the whole thing, so he clearly started to like the races before her mischief. But then, how did those old newspapers appear? Edik’s memories weren’t rewritten, but the world was. Either Edik never read those papers and was somehow unaware of the horses’ mental abilities, or the universe rewrote only parts of itself, but not the whole. Why?
Well, Lilia never talked to the journalists of those old papers, and they never spoke to her about any races, so maybe this lack of connection was the reason their minds were altered? Maybe if Edik hadn’t spoken to her about it yesterday, his mind would also have been overwritten? Since she seemed to be the source of the new reality, everyone who talked to her about races was protected?
To test a hypothesis, you should try to disprove it. So, she needed to change something else Edik or someone else had told her about, and see what happened.
Shit, what am I thinking? Lilia couldn’t believe herself.
In between tasks, she opened the Onlinepedia and hovered her mouse pointer above the Revert button. Should I do this? she thought with a held breath and racing heart. What if—
“You’re coming?” Lilia jumped in her seat as Edik’s voice came from behind.
“What?” She could feel that her eyes were madly big while staring at the man.
“Err…” He looked at her like she was acting strangely. “Lunch. You’re coming with us?”
She shook her head while looking into his clueless and confused brown eyes. “Too much work. Maybe tomorrow.”
She turned back to her screen, but then remembered something. “Oh, and I’ve broken up with you. I mean, I can still join you for lunch and stuff, but you’re too selfish for me and constantly break your word.”
He probably gave her a look. His eyes and face probably told her and the whole world something. Anything. Yet, she never knew it, for her eyes were glued to the button and her mind mulled over the question.
Can I destroy the universe?
On the upside, no more going to work.
On the downside, no more fries with gravy, and no more sex.
Well, it was her job to set things straight. If her “ability” worked not only on the Onlinepedia, her edits for some random newspaper article or a novel could also potentially materialize.
Should I change my job? Should I never write anything again? Should I never correct anyone and never describe anything I see or know about?
No, it would be no life at all. Lilia itched to learn new things and get to the bottom of difficult questions. If she had to never describe her findings, never convey the truth she found — that would’ve been too much to bear.
As Lilia’s heart raced, her finger hit the mouse button.
Her breathing stopped.
The lights were still on. The computer was still functioning. The sky still looked blue through the window.
Okay, now I wait. Edik will return from lunch, and then I’ll ask him again about the races.
Seconds seemed stretched on like eternities. To distract herself, Lilia switched to doing more work.
The steps on the hallway’s carpet announced the return of her colleagues.
“Well?” she swiveled her office chair as Edik was coming by.
He froze, stood for a second, then slowly turned towards her. There was something weird in his eyes, and his shoulder-length black hair looked like he kept diving into them with his fingers.
“What is it now?”
Lilia tried to read his mind while drilling him with her eyes. “Erm…” Oh, yes, her question was vague. And she didn’t seem to possess mind-reading abilities. “Are you still confused about the stupid horses thing?”
Edik’s mouth opened, and his face contorted into a grimace. “Fuck you, Lilia! First, you break up with me in such a manner, and now you’re asking about that crap? What, you wanted to rub some salt into my wounds? Wanted to remind me I no longer have a fun hobby?”
Lilia jumped to her feet, making a step towards him, but was too afraid to put her hand on his shoulder. “Shit, I’m sorry! That was rude, and I suck. But I’ve read about the whole racing thing, and so maybe we can talk about it, so you feel better and start watching and betting again?”
Edik took a step back, but his stern face softened a bit. “Not today,” was his answer.
He went down the hallway, and Lilia sat back down, feeling a mix of guilt and curiosity. He didn’t forget, he still thinks that only stupid horses race. Her fingers typed in the search phrases, and her fears were confirmed. Nothing’s changed. What she did seemed permanent.
But how? Since the Revert button even existed, there was something to revert to, meaning the previous state of the Onlinepedia clearly didn’t know anything about stupid horses, meaning that the page’s author didn’t know about them either.
The author, of course!
Lilia quickly found the email address of the person who had written the majority of the page and sent him a message.
Now, I wait and try not to destroy the fabric of reality and not confuse anybody else the way I did with Edik.
Now, I wait.
End of Part I
Anton Anderson, 2025
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