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My eyes shot open and I knew I was dead.

I was sitting in some sort of black chair that was shapeless, merging with the darkness of the room—if the room could be called a room. It was as if I was suspended in space with all of the universe’s galaxies glowing in the distance around me. Strange bright patterns spun above and below, and streaks of light shot between the stars.

Then I saw her. I do not know if she had been there the entire time or if she had just appeared. Seated before me was a young woman who watched me with expressionless eyes. Her skin was flawless. Her hair was bright green, and it was done up in an unusual way that I supposed was trendy with the youngsters these days.

No, that doesn't add up, this place was beyond time and space.

Somehow, I just knew. Were there trends here? Culture? My mind pondered these questions without fear or bewilderment. I felt alright, all things considered, and I felt that should scare me too, but it didn’t.

I blinked at her, trying to figure out who she was. There were two black rectangles beneath her eyes that I suppose were tattooed there. She wore a uniform that kind of looked like a track suit, except that her shoulders were bare. But her eyes were the giveaway. Despite her youthful appearance, her eyes were eternal.

“Holy Mackerel… it-it’s you, isn’t it?” I wavered. "S-saint Peter."

The young woman’s cheek twitched subtly. “Another one who thinks I’m some old man,” she murmured to herself. Then in a louder voice she said, “Welcome to the Interdimensional Continuum, the Transfer Nexus of the Interdimensional Continuum to be exact. You have not yet reached the afterlife, this is the in-between, the stop before you move on to your next destination.”

“Your accent is perfect… you’ve even got a bit of an Arkansas twang. That’s where I’m from.”

“Thank you. As an administrator of the Transfer Nexus, I am capable of speaking all dialects and accents of the Continuum. It is my role to usher you into your next world.” She gestured to her right and beside her, I saw a large rectangular board with little slots. At first I didn’t recognize what it was, but then I saw the tiles in the slots. It was a split-flap board and in fact it looked a lot like the ones we had in the stores back in the day to display price promotions, but this was far larger with at least a dozen rows.

“It’s time to consider your past deeds, which shall determine where you go next.”

“You are Saint Peter!”

The young woman sighed. “Many religions have the themes of judgement after death. But the nature of Continuum is closer to your world’s Buddhism. There are many worlds, many dimensions, and many planes of existence. Where you go next is determined by what you have done in your past life. Karma is an inexact equivalent, but it is a close enough approximation of how your soul’s future in the Continuum is determined.”

She locked gazes with me then and in an instant my life flashed before my eyes, everything I had done, every deed that I knew to be good, and every deed I knew to be wrong, and even the ones that I was unsure about and the ones I felt nothing about and the ones had not ever thought upon before until I experienced them again in that infinite room. It was as if she watched my life with me, as if she were there, understanding each event, each moment of it.

Then it was over, and I felt that I should be panting, that my senses could not handle such a tremendous weight of experience, but once again I found that I felt fine, at peace even.

I looked over at the split-flap board and saw that the first row of tiles were spinning and flapping, making the sound of loud shuffling cards, until one by one they began to stop, revealing a tiled number. I had no idea what the numbers meant, but I guessed it was my karmic score.

“Is that high or low?”

“You have done several good deeds,” she said. “You have done some evil deeds. And you have done many deeds that were neither good nor evil but in between. This is the credit that you have accumulated to determine the direction of your next life.”

“I’d like to go back to Earth.”

“World Choice: Failed.” It was a neutral voice that appeared in my head and all around me. It sounded like the young woman’s, but she had not spoken.

Then more rows on the split-flap board began to spin until one by one they came to rest, revealing new information:

System Choice: QDW2B

Instance: 38496070

Physics: Variant Epsilon

Higher Lifeform Type: Unenlightened

Higher Lifeform Speciation: Low

Higher Lifeform Timeline: Tremulous

Resource Timeline: Scarce

Pleasure Threshold: Medium

Pain Threshold: Maximum

There were many more specifications, but my mind was already spinning with those.

“It appears you have been designated to another maximum pain threshold world during a tremulous timeline,” the young woman said. “My condolences.”

“Another?” I said.

“Much like the one you have just come from.”

A hundred questions rang in my mind, but there was one sticking out at me from the world information. “What does Physics: Variant Epsilon mean? Are there different types of physics?”

“Indeed. Variant Epsilon is similar on the surface to your previous world. But it operates with very different physical mechanics.”

“Such as?”

“For one, the magic system is different.”

“Magic system?” I said incredulously. “My world didn’t have a magic system.”

“In your world, electromagnetism was the primary magic system of your timeline's physics. Variant Beta.”

I blinked at her, not knowing what to say. One thing was certain. There was no electromagnetism in my next world. Something had replaced it, and my mind boggled at what it meant. No computers? No electronic technology of any kind. Not even light bulbs.

“What kind of magic is it then?” I said.

The young woman smiled. “I’m afraid you have not earned enough Continuum Credit to learn the sacred knowledge of such a thing. And you have certainly not earned enough to carry the memories gained here in the Transfer Nexus to your next life, and so it would not benefit you to reveal such matters. Shall we move to the next step of your transfer?”

She lifted her hand again, and more rows of the split-flap board were spinning once more. “You have earned enough credit to make certain choices for your next world. I cannot share its sacred knowledge, but I can make an optimized profile based on your current soul-image. A Tremulous Timeline is almost always highly hierarchical, which determines one’s access to resources and the external life they will lead. One’s place in that hierarchy is highly dependent on their ability to use the timeline’s magic system. This is especially true for Variant Epsilon.”

Row by row, the spinning flaps of tiles began to snap into place.

“With those understandings in mind,” she continued, “I’ve created a profile that balances the most desirable external traits for someone with your dispositions. Despite not having enough credits to choose your world, you have accumulated enough credits to ensure a life with minimal suffering. However, do remember that there is no guarantee this path will lead to higher enlightenment. One’s external life has no bearing on one’s internal life. But I have provided this recommendation as it is the most common option chosen by souls with similar traits as yours.”

The split-flap board now read:

Intelligence: Above Average (Semi-Random)

Fortitude: Above Average (Semi-Random)

Magic: Top 1%

Starting Status: Top 1%

Starting Wealth: Top 1%

Starting Enlightenment: Soul-determined

"That looks pretty darn good," I said, blinking at the information. I sure hadn’t started my life on Earth with such benefits.

She nodded. “I could provide you with an alternative choice that would maximize your chances of higher enlightenment, but it would likely include a higher degree of external suffering. I understand this would be a difficult choice without an understanding of what enlightenment is, however, to know it is to attain it, and so there is no easy explanation or definition. Do you wish to-”

“Just tell me this, Peter,” I blurted out. “Do the rules of commerce exist in this world?”

The young woman's brows raised. “Well, if you mean trade, then yes. It is a resource scarce timeline.”

“Can I take my memories with me? From my life, I mean.”

“I do not recommend it," she said. "Such an expense would leave you with few credits remaining. In addition, the earliest you can afford to have your old memories integrated is in your seventeenth year, which can cause several difficulties. For one, there is no guarantee that your new soul-image will accept the former…”

She had gone on speaking, but I had begun to laugh. Even the calmness couldn’t hold it back. She paused and stared at me strangely.

“That’s what I want! You hear me? I want my memories. All of my memories from this life.”

She frowned. “You would have to start at the very bottom in status and wealth and you would have little to spend in your base attributes, especially if you are to keep any magical ability. The scientific understandings of your past world will not be of any benefit due to the differences in physical laws. In addition, the credit cost of magical abilities for Variant Epsilon is significantly more than other variants due to its far-reaching life influence. In order to maximize your magical attributes with your remaining credits, you would only be able to spend minimal credits on intellect and fortitude. I do not recommend this choice.”

“You don’t get it. You don’t get it at all.” I knew there was a maniacal grin on my face, and I saw a flash of something that looked like disgust or fear on the young woman’s face. I didn’t care. I knew what I wanted, and I knew I could have it. “You’re telling me that I get to play the wonderful game of commerce once more. To put together a team. To build something from nothing.” I laughed. “Starting status? Magic? You have it backwards. None of those things matter. I’ve made my choice. I want my memories back. I want the knowledge I've gained over a lifetime!"

She sighed. "After the expense of your memories returning to your new soul-image at the age of seventeen, you will have less than 10% of your credits remaining. If you put most of that toward magic, it will leave little intelligence and fortitude."

“I want the same smarts I have now, and I know I’m not that smart, so that shouldn’t cost much. Then I want the rest in fortitude, that’s my health right?”

“What about your magical attributes?”

“Make me strong as ox and healthier than a vegan sandwich. What’s ever left can go in magic.”

“That will be almost nothing.” There was real emotion in the young woman’s voice now. I wondered if the expression on her face was shown for my benefit to hit her point home just like the use of the split-flap board and a simplified system of points and categories. Then I wondered if this interdimensional being truly felt emotion the way humans did, if she even looked the way she did or if that was a well-tailored illusion as well.

But the truth was none of it mattered. I didn’t care if she thought I was making a poor choice. My birthday wish was about to come true, and if there was one thing you could say about old Sam Walters in his hundred and three years of living, it was that he was decisive.

“You still do not understand,” she pressed on. “The magic system of this world is not what you think. It is unlike any other. Even for your goals, no, especially for your goals, it would be catastrophic to-”

“I’ve made my decision, Peter! Transfer me!”