3 Dooms 04

The Third Doom: Spider's Dreams

"What is the fear?" I asked.

I don't know. I don't know if I know in the dreams. I just always feel afraid. It's this looming terror of impending catastrophe."

"I don't think catastrophe is impending anymore," I said.

"Oh, it is, Lou," she said. "It is. This is only a small step along the way, just a small thing. The rose is still unfolding, a thousand petals and every one scribed with tragedy, with enough grief to end the world. You want to know what the fear is? It's that there is no seed at the center of this rose, the petals will just keep unfolding endlessly into the future."