Herma was a wise and curious owl who loved to learn new things. She had a large collection of books and scrolls in her treehouse, and she spent many hours reading and studying them. She was especially interested in mathematics and logic, and she enjoyed solving puzzles and riddles.
One day, she came across a strange book that claimed to reveal the ultimate truth of the universe. It was written by a mysterious author named Zeno, who said he had discovered a paradox that proved that everything is one. The book said that one plus one does not equal two, but rather one. It explained this by saying that if you divide any distance or time into smaller and smaller parts, you will never reach zero. Therefore, there is no such thing as two or more things, only one thing that appears to be many.
Herma was intrigued by this book and decided to read it carefully. She followed Zeno’s arguments and tried to understand his reasoning. She thought that maybe he had found some hidden flaw in the common sense of mathematics and logic. She wanted to see if she could find any error or contradiction in his paradox.
She read the book for several days and nights without stopping. She became so absorbed in it that she forgot to eat or drink or sleep. She did not notice how weak and tired she was becoming. She only wanted to solve the paradox and find out the truth.
She reached the last page of the book, where Zeno wrote his final conclusion: „Therefore, everything is one. One plus one equals one. You are me and I am you. We are all part of the same whole. There is no difference or distinction between anything. There is only oneness.“
Ending One
Herma stared at these words with wide eyes. She felt a sudden shock in her mind as if something had snapped inside her head. She tried to think but she could not make sense of anything anymore. Everything seemed blurry and confusing to her. She looked around her treehouse and saw only books and scrolls piled up everywhere. She could not tell them apart or remember what they were about.
She felt a wave of panic wash over her as she realized that she had lost her ability to reason and understand anything at all. She had become convinced that one plus one equals one, but she did not know what it meant or why it mattered.
She let out a loud scream of horror as she felt her life slipping away from her.
She fell off her perch onto the floor of her treehouse with a thud.
She died from exhaustion and dehydration.
The end.
Ending Two (just kidding)
Herma stared at these words with wide eyes. She felt a sudden shock in her mind as if something had snapped inside her head. She tried to think but she could not make sense of anything anymore. Everything seemed blurry and confusing to her.
She turned the page and saw a large smiley face drawn on it.
Underneath it, Zeno had written: „Just kidding! This was all a joke! I hope you enjoyed my little prank! Don’t take it too seriously! One plus one obviously equals two! Have a nice day!“
Herma felt a surge of anger and disbelief as she realized that she had been tricked by Zeno. He had made up a ridiculous paradox just to mess with her mind and waste her time. He had not revealed any truth at all, but only nonsense and lies.
She felt like throwing the book away or burning it, but she was too weak and exhausted to move.
She let out a loud scream of frustration as she felt her life slipping away from her.
She fell off her perch onto the floor of her treehouse with a thud.
She died from exhaustion and dehydration.
The end.