Chapter 97: The Intense Debate
Author’s Note: The ideas presented in this Chapter belong to the realm of philosophical reflections regarding the origin of existence, rather than a definitive scientific treatise. The purpose of this scene is to explore the conflict of grand ideas and profound questions, not to provide a physical explanation for the universe.
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Arthur—flanked by his wife, whose features betrayed intense tension and disorientation at her daughter’s response—was on the verge of ridiculing this premise. He looked at Cathy with expressions oscillating between astonishment and condescension: "Do you truly believe what you are saying, little one?"
Arthur attempted to stifle his chuckle and compose his stance so as not to bring his daughter to tears—and for other, far more crucial motives. He desperately wanted to appear as a revered father and a towering scientific role model before Amelia, ensuring she wouldn’t feel repulsed by his dismissal of her friend.
He added, smiling with the confidence of a seasoned mentor attempting to assert his intellectual dominance: "You say that I am mistaken, isn’t that right? Although your words carry an undeniably intriguing cadence... you are entirely wrong, Cathy. Time is the true beginning of all existence; it is the ’before’ and the ’after.’ Prior to the existence of time, there is no meaning within physics or magic for the terms ’before’ or ’after,’ and for that exact reason, nothing can precede time!"
Cathy contemplated him for a few moments in absolute serenity, her eyes fixed upon him, utterly unswayed by the rigid formal logic her father had put forth. Then she spoke in a serene, resonant tone: "But Father... you assumed that time itself requires a prior time in order to begin."
The smile froze on Arthur’s lips, and utter bewilderment masked his features: "What do you mean?"
Cathy pointed her tiny finger toward a red apple resting on the table among the plates of fruit: "If I were to push this apple forward, it moves through time... correct?"
Arthur answered with total confidence: "Yes, that is self-evident."
"And if we possessed a magical technique capable of rewinding time back to the exact microsecond before I pushed the apple..." Cathy paused briefly, then continued: "How would you prove then that the apple ever moved at all?"
Arthur frowned, his expression hardening: "Because we saw the motion with our own eyes before you rewound time!"
Cathy shook her head in gentle denial: "No, Father... we merely witnessed a single state in the sequence of events. We know there is a difference between two states, but we only know ’motion’ itself because time allows us to compare the ’before’ and the ’after’..."
She placed her finger upon the surface of the table, continuing with unwavering stability: "Time is not a physical substance we can see or touch; time is merely the system and the ruler we utilize to describe ’change.’"
The color began to drain gradually from Arthur’s face, a ominous pang striking his chest. This was not the little daughter he was accustomed to neglecting; this was not the mind of a seven-year-old child!
He panicked, speaking in a convoluted, scrambling tone: "Then what are you saying?! This makes no sense in scientific research! The apple moves between the ’before’ and ’after’ states, and if we rewind time, it returns to its previous state... so like distance for ’before’... it moves through time as well, does it not?!"
Cathy looked directly into his eyes, stating with unyielding firmness: "I am saying that you made ’time’ the absolute foundation of existence, even though it is merely a human construct designed to describe that existence."
Silence blanketed every corner of the hall as if birds perched atop everyone’s heads. Even Amelia, the former Empress, ceased all thought, her eyes locking in place as she anticipated Cathy’s words with a burning passion and awe the likes of which she had never experienced.
Arthur attempted to frantically salvage his standing, his speech accelerating: "Yet if time did not exist, there would be no existence whatsoever! Everything in nature and the cosmos requires a beginning!"
Cathy delivered a counter that shattered foundational concepts: "And herein lies your second error, Father."
Cathy approached the paper resting on the table, picking up the quill to draw a single line, writing in her neat, tiny handwriting:
A beginning always necessitates a reference point.
Then she raised her head and said: "When you state that the universe has ’begun,’ you are implicitly asking: ’When did it begin?’... But the word ’when’ itself relies entirely upon the pre-existence of time! Thus, you are using the very thing you are attempting to prove as evidence for itself!"
Arthur stopped speaking entirely, his mind freezing as he attempted to decipher this circular logic. He asked in utter shock: "If time began alongside the origin of the universe... then what is the meaning of the word ’before’?"
Cathy raised her gaze: "There is no temporal ’before’ in a physical sense... but the absence of a temporal ’before’ does not by any means signify the absence of an eternal baseline!"
Then a small, warm smile graced her face as she continued: "It is precisely like a book..."
Amelia tilted her head toward her with profound interest, while Cathy completed her thought: "If you open a book and read the first page, does that mean the first page created the book itself?"
Arthur answered in a hushed, barely audible voice: "No..."
"It is simply the first page that we are capable of reaching and reading." She then directed her piercing gaze at her father and added: "Perhaps time is not the beginning of existence as you claim... perhaps time is merely the very first thing humans are capable of measuring and perceiving with their limited tools."
Silence descended upon the room once more. For the first time in his entire academic and professional career, Arthur never believed a person could invert a fundamental question in such a manner.
As for Amelia, she stared at Cathy in absolute, seismic shock that rattled her very soul...
’This is not merely a child with a surplus of information... this is a child who transcends ordinary knowledge to ponder the absolute boundaries and philosophy of knowledge itself!’
Arthur attempted a desperate last stand to defend his scientific pride, stating in a trembling voice: "This... this is baseless, meaningless babble! You are trying to refute my theory while your own theory is merely ’nothing’! You are claiming that existence erupted out of nothingness!"
Cathy shook her head left and right in calm correction: "I specifically said: Time is not the beginning, because it necessarily requires something that undergoes change. The true beginning is the state that allows for the emergence of all possibilities."
Cathy then continued in a tone that transcended the physical dimensions of the room and time itself: "And the sole state that permits the existence of all possibilities without exception—such as the probability that this apple was pushed millions or billions of times and time was rewound every single instance—is ’Nothingness’..."
A rare smile of genuine admiration and exhilaration formed upon Amelia’s lips as she heard this final word emerge from the mouth of a seven-year-old child!
Cathy delivered her definitive conclusion: "Therefore, the sole condition that allows for existence, non-existence, what lies beyond existence, and the furthest horizon human minds can comprehend regarding this existence... is the state of ’Nothingness’ (The Void)."
Cathy concluded her speech, looking straight at her shocked father: "For this reason, I believe the beginning was not a physical, existing thing... but rather an eternal condition wherein nothing existed to prevent anything from emerging!"