By the time...

By the time you read this, I will be gone. I am writing these words Monday night, and Google's blog software will not post them until the time I listed as the post time, which will be Wednesday morning.

I would like to see that Wednesday sunrise with you, but I know that I will not be able, because of that aforementioned gone-ness. Then again, you will be gone too by then, "now" for you. In fact, all of us will be gone by the time that these words are posted. How do I know this...

But wait, if you are reading these words, how can you be gone, you are probably asking yourself. But you will be mistaken, for the you that exists right now as I type these words, will not be the person who is reading these words, just as the person who will be there as me will not be me. He and I will share some memories...

Every new memory changes me, as it changes it you and everyone else in this world. If you are happy now as I type this on Monday, aliens may attack on Tuesday, and by the time power is restored on Wednesday, you will be different - your view of the world will be different. If I could ask you some questions now, like "Do you think aliens will attack on Tuesday?" you would probably answer "Are you mad? Of course not. No way. Impossible!" And yet, if they did attack on Tuesday, by the time these words have found you, if I asked that future you (future to me now, present to you when you are reading this) that same question, you would say "Are you mad? Of course they already did. So possible that it happened." So, unless you are mad and answer questions differently every time asked, the person answering on Wednesday must be different from who you are right now.

Therefore, the person I want to talk with right now will be gone by now, I will have missed my chance to talk with you. I'm sorry to have missed you. I hope that the person in your place will want to talk with me, even though the alien attack will have had probably been my fault.

The Edward