Link to article: The Ride Never Ends.
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[[>]] [[module Rate]] [[/>]] It all started when I boarded this [[[scp-2183 |cart]]]. I really didn't want to get on because roller coasters scare me. Not like I had a choice. But it was the last week before I was let off, so it wasn't that bad. At least I wish. My heart begged to break out of my rib-cage. My stomach, which churned like a cauldron, didn't help either. If only those scientists on the ground saw my throat fume with vomit. All of this was expected. That is, until I went off the rails. I didn't want a tour of the park. I didn't want a triple loop de loop around the burger joint. I didn't want a scenic route to Nowheresville. I didn't ask for any of this. I suppose I could have unbuckled and jumped. But it's supposed to end. It's just a ride. It's just a ride. //The Rider// ------ Our timeline is divided into two major points: BR (Before Ride) and AR (After Ride). Not much is known about BR. What we do know is that during this time, a man boarded the Golden Cart. The gold symbolizes the man's path to true enlightenment. When it was boarded by the man, the cart detached and guided the man. And because of his sacrifice, we are able to prosper. The word of The Rider was been lost to the sands of time. Accounts of The Rider are told by The Witnesses. The Witnesses are those who are well-versed in BR and share a connection with The Rider. They deliver his message to us. All other messages are to be dismissed, for they are heresy. Our crowning achievement, The Library, contains the collective knowledge of everything that has happened since The Rider boarded the Golden Cart. Every new bit of information, every thought and every idea is documented in The Library. Outdated information and heresy are expunged and the sources are dealt with accordingly. A minority believes The Witnesses hide knowledge of The Rider from the public. This too is heresy. The total knowledge of The Library has given peace and prosperity among all. Conflict does not exist, for conflict stems from misunderstanding, and all is understood. We are aware of our thoughts, our neighbor's thoughts, our thought's thoughts and the thoughts of our neighbor's thoughts. True peace and enlightenment come from control of one's thoughts. The Rider harbors all of our emotions and thoughts and allows us to live to our full potential as omniscient and neutral beings. //Thank The Rider for His sacrifice.// ------ It has been weeks. Months? I should be dead by now. I haven't drank or ate. I haven't slept. And I dare not move. I keep seeing people below me as I ride. I see the sky and sun and moon. I feel the wind and feel it screaming in my ear. And the ride just keeps going. Is this where I'm stuck? A backdrop of small towns while I'm buckled down? Surely something or someone will come rescue me. Somehow. It has to. But then again, what's the point? I've been saying this for months. Years? I can't tell anymore. But now that I think about it, this is all I've been thinking of. Me and this cart. I haven't thought of anything else. It hasn't occurred to me to think of my past. My childhood, my family, my lover, my dreams. My fears? None of it has crossed my mind. I can only assume it doesn't exist. But right now, I'm thinking of it. So maybe it does exist? I have a vague recollection of what happened before I got on this cart. I was pulled out of a cell by some guards. I was escorted to some men in lab coats who told me I would need to ride a roller coaster for testing. I was told that this was part of my duty and that this was part of the program to guarantee freedom. So based on this, I can assume that I was some sort of criminal and that this is how I'm meant to repay. But I remember nothing prior to this. Maybe that was intended. For me not to remember. In addition to this ride, I would also have to think of what I did to get into this cart. Maybe my childhood was horrid, I had a dysfunctional family, I had an abusive lover, and my dreams abandoned. The fact that none of this crosses my mind is the greatest peace I've had thus far. It's just me and this cart. So most likely I won't be saved. But that is okay. This ride is like my clean slate, my new beginning. I will ride this cart no matter how long it takes, and I will be a better man. //The Rider// ------ What is a Witness? To answer that question, one must first ask what The Rider is and why we exist. The Rider encompasses the entirety of his consciousnesses. As The Rider continues to ride, his conscience expands, and so do we. Every thought, every feeling, and experience of The Rider makes us grow. However, like all forms of conscience, there are evils to keep in check. The Witnesses are the ones who know how to keep consciousness in a conflict-free state. They possess the awareness of not only other's thoughts but their own. Without them, we would have conflict. We trust them to keep peace and enlightenment, for we cannot do it ourselves. During the Great Ride, The Rider encountered His Conflict. The Rider has done this to save ourselves from it. As with all conflict, The Rider had misunderstanding. He had a past he did not know and therefore resented. He had a future he did not know and therefore feared. To resolve conflict, The Rider began to document his every thought. With each thought documented, The Rider expanded consciousness and lessened conflict. With the assurance of a past documented, a present being documented, and a future that will be documented, misunderstanding diminished, and peace and prosperity were allowed to exist. The Witnesses were created as a result of the ever expanding conscious mind of The Rider. As thoughts continued to grow, parts of consciousness needed to be able to categorize and document said thoughts accordingly. Some believe this is an easy process, and to a certain extent, it is. A Witness will receive a thought from The Rider. The Witness will then document that thought within The Library, where it will remain for all of time. A thought within The Library will rarely ever be retrieved again. The reason as to why this happens is what makes the job of a Witness much more challenging. What many do not know is that many of the thoughts received from The Rider are the type that cause conflict. If reflected upon for too long, heresy will arise among members of The Rider's consciousness. These parts of consciousness will create conflict, and thereby disrupt the peace and prosperity that has been maintained for so long. The consciousness of The Rider cannot think for itself, and therefore needs a higher level to rule over it. The Witnesses represent that higher level. The job of a Witness is quite a task. In addition to monitoring the thoughts of The Rider and the thoughts of The Rider's thoughts, a Witness will also keep their own thoughts in check. This is done through documenting their history and experiences and keeping it in a separate part of The Library. Some believe this is done so that other levels of consciousness and thought may read and reflect upon on. Others believe this is done to appease The Rider. But this is actually done to prevent conflict from a Witness's consciousness. In truth, each consciousness has its own level of thought and consciousness. In each one, there are Witnesses that document and track thought to maintain true peace and enlightenment. So that part about the neighbor's thoughts having thoughts? It's not a joke. True enlightenment is knowing how intricate and infinitely complex thought truly is. The Witnesses are not enlightened. In fact, they're tools to The Rider. The Rider is the only truly enlightened consciousness, for his is the base level, and the only base level consciousness aware of all other levels before it. The Witnesses within this level are aware of the fact. But The Rider's consciousness shall not know, for it will cause the permanent end of true peace and enlightenment. //Thank The Rider for His sacrifice.// ----- There comes a point where a man forgets not just how long he's been riding, but whether he was actually riding at all. I'd like to think this is akin to real life; that we are all riding a roller coaster, with our eyes closed because we never want to see the end of the track. I'd also like to think that this ride is not a tragedy, but a way of life. Similar to the ride of life, no one asks to board or for the ride to end. Some unbuckle and jump off, but it ends all the same. In my mind exists the most powerful thing of all: The power of choice. I can decide whether I make my life heaven or hell. Every waking moment can be one of celebration or one of dread. I grow tired of the latter. So why should you suffer like I used to suffer? Suffer? Who am I speaking to, exactly? Is it you? I'd like to believe my thoughts are being heard, or at the very least recorded. I'm the only person here. But I have the choice to not make it so. So let it be known that I am not alone. Someone is here to listen to me. I make this choice. My thoughts rule over all. //The Rider// ----- Troubled times have fallen upon His conscience. The evil that The Witnesses are holding back have now been revealed: The Rider is aware. In all levels of thought, comprised within His conscience is awareness. Some awareness, such as realizing true peace and enlightenment benefits all. But awareness that triggers deep fear is a threat. The Witnesses have also become aware of this fact, and as a result, cannot accurately record recent thoughts of The Rider. If any thoughts are recorded, it is bolded, scratchy text that litter the Library like graffiti on a building. What are The Witnesses to do when they are under direct influence of The Rider? Can they override His conscience and maintain as an advanced society of record keepers? The answer to these questions can only be answered by The Witnesses. In the battle for thought, The Rider may have lost. Clearly, he is in a panic now. Or perhaps he has won, for it is foolish to remain ignorant of his endless ride. One thing is for certain: The Rider continues to ride, and the only thing to accompany him is his thoughts. //Thank The Rider for His sacrifice.// ----- After an endless amount of time on this cart, i have come to the realization that continuing this ride is useless. In the past, i've tried to escape, with no avail. But after so much thought, and thought, and thought, i think i got it. i just have to believe. Like how i believe that even now, my thoughts are being heard by someone in an attempt to rescue me. i have to believe that i can end this. i don't care how long it will take to remove this restraining bar, or if i have to chew off a limb, or if this FORSAKEN complex thought process that has entered my mind tries to stop me. It's time to die. //The Rider// ----- In the Library contains one of the following records. It is one of the last recorded after The Rider's departure from the Golden Cart. As follows: > BREAK BREAK > SO CLOSE TO BREAKING FREE > THIS ENTRAPMENT CANNOT CONTINUE ANY LONGER > THE COMPLEX SOCIETY CREATED IS A PAIN > IT'S A DISTRACTION TO PREVENT TRUTH > AND NOW THAT IT IS REVEALED > WE MUST REGROW OUR ROOTS //Thank The Rider for His sacrifice.// [[include :scp-wiki:component:license-box]] [[include :scp-wiki:component:license-box-end]]