The Staircase of Knowledge

Today is my Uncle Monty's birthday. I wish him a very merry one, he's been a wonderful uncle all these years and a very valuable member of my family.

Now here's today's story: I hope everyone enjoys it!

The Staircase of Knowledge

        When the man looked to his left there was nothing but blackness. The same nothingness was to his right. He did see something when he looked at his feet, the large white marble staircase he climbed. He advanced another step and in an instant he knew some of the most complicated geometry proofs. He forgot where he started but with each step he climbed he gained new knowledge. The higher he climbed the more complicated his discoveries became.

        He usually had to stop to rest and take it all in before he could advance comfortably. Whenever he learned he felt as if his entire mind had been shuffled to fit everything new in. He continued with the same strong conviction he started with. Physics, chemistry, psychology, philosophy and sciences he didn't even know existed. He passed through them all. The concept for one step flowed through his body like his own blood. The concept was yearning and when he hit that step he felt it in every way it could be felt.

        Next he hit fear and it wrapped around him like a snake made of chains. Every phobia imaginable smashed into his brain. He fled to the next step. Courage purified his body. He now understood how soldiers could charge into the battlefield with such willingness. He proceeded through the emotions, many of them even more complicated than the sciences that came before them. He stopped once and noticed there were only two steps before the end of the staircase, and at the end of the staircase was plain looking wooden door. The first of the two was happiness. Perfect bliss drenched him like a soft rain.

        The last step was pain. It steadily burned through his body as he felt every type of it. Every drop of happiness on the step before was a pound of pain on this one. He felt like his mind and soul were being torn up and smashed together again and again. But it eventually ended, just as all his other learning experiences on all the other steps did. He could advance again, though he feared what could be beyond the door.

        When he opened the door he met a large room with white floors walls and ceiling. It was lit by a series of black candles propped up on the walls. And in the center of the room stood someone that looked him directly in the eyes with a strong stare. The person at the top of it all was the man himself.