00:00We are sand. You and I. Nothing more. Nothing less.
00:19Through our many facades and false identities, those come.
00:26The truth. At dawn, we are sand.
00:56We are sand.
01:26We are sand.
01:35We are sand. You and I. Nothing more.
01:45We are sand. You and I. Nothing less.
02:04The Bureau of Existential Affairs
02:35I blinked, thrown off balance by the sheer mundanity of the scene before me.
02:39After the experience of the stairs, I had expected something grand, something cosmic.
02:44Instead, I caught myself looking at a space that could have been pulled from any government office on earth.
02:50Rows of uncomfortable-looking plastic chairs lined the walls.
02:54Potted plants, their leaves wilted, occupied the corners.
02:58The walls were a bland beige, adorned only by a few faded motivational posters with slogans like
03:05Existence is what you make of it, and Your reality is our priority.
03:10At the far end of the room, a long counter stretched from wall to wall.
03:14Behind it sat a row of clerks, each bent over their desks with an air of mindless dedication.
03:20Above the counter, a large sign proclaimed
03:23Bureau of Existential Affairs
03:25Defining reality since the dawn of consciousness.
03:28I stepped into the room.
03:30The door swung shut behind me with a final-sounding click.
03:34As I made my way towards the counter, I noticed other...
03:37beings scattered throughout the waiting area.
03:41Some appeared human, others were not.
03:44One seemed to be composed of ice, while another looked like an anamorphic brain.
03:49I approached the counter, where a harried-looking clerk was stamping papers.
03:54His nameplate read Sisyphus.
03:56Excuse me, I said, trying to sound more confident than I felt.
04:00I'm not sure if I'm in the right place. I'm on a journey.
04:04Take a number, Sisyphus said without looking up.
04:07He gestured towards a small machine on the counter.
04:10I pulled a ticket from the machine and the number read Infinity.
04:14But, I protested, looking at the nonsensical number.
04:18Sisyphus then glanced up, fixing me with a weary stare.
04:22It's the Bureau of Existential Affairs, kid.
04:25Did you expect it to be straightforward?
04:27Take a seat and fill out these forms while you wait.
04:30He shoved a stack of papers towards me,
04:32along with a pen leaking ink in defiance of gravity,
04:35the droplets floating upwards instead of falling.
04:38Bewildered, I took the forms and found an empty chair.
04:41I looked at the first form.
04:43At the top, it read, Form 42 Omega.
04:47Petition for Ontological Validation.
04:50The questions that followed were unlike anything I'd ever encountered.
04:541. On a scale of 1 to infinity, how certain are you of your own existence?
04:592.
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