Cosmic Fingerprints | Writing for Torre

Every once in a while, a person catches a glimpse. Out of the corner of an eye, or a fleeting glimmer, a person sees them. Not spirits, but what I call memory ghosts. From there when they pass through into our here and now.

Memory burns into the cosmos. Gazing at the stars is looking at memory. The light traveling across the galaxy spanning years transfers information reaching the observer forming new memories. From a painting of an artist, bits of information travel to the eyes speaking to the viewer. The dead continue their ghosts caught within the information. Everything passes through the fabric of the cosmos. Like fingerprints in the information, memories leave their mark.

I see her still, my little girl. In the passenger seat on the way to school, or sitting at her desk, studying, she fills my life with joy as I view the world through her eyes. Many memories cling like the beaming smile of a child opening her birthday present finding all her wishes, charms in life worth remembering. Even if the world forgets my little pumpkin, I see her memory ghost.

They say I never had a daughter. The world forgets. Her fingerprint is there, like everything else, caught within the information. But sometimes, memory changes.

From the moment a memory blossoms in the mind, the brain works connecting the patterns. Information not immediately connected to any known pattern dives into the abyss. Other details fade as more information flows linking related patterns together. Connections build a network of memories, blurring some details while reinforcing others. Memories change. Blue becomes gray, tall becomes average. And sometimes something out of the ordinary blazes like the sun floating above the other memories, an interpretation hiding other details, always there.

Does the tapestry of reality mutate altering memory?

Even if the tapestry changes, and only I see her, my girl is here. The information holds all the ghosts. One only needs to look, and interpret.

They never leave, these cosmic fingerprints.

~Steve Reynolds

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To learn more about Steve Reynolds and his memory ghosts, sample my novel, Raven Memory. Join me August 31 for the book release, a cosmic fingerprint.

http://twitter.com/lauraeno Laura Eno

What a beautiful way to describe memories – as cosmic fingerprints. It’s intriguing that only he remembers his daughter.
http://windspiritgirl.wordpress.com/ Melissa

I love this. I actually think of memory as burning its imprint into the cosmos. Energy. It’s another form of energy. These musings by Steve are moving, thoughtful, poetic, and somewhat elegiac. I’m intrigued by this memory of a daughter that moves him so. Nice whetting of the appetite to entice the reader into the novel!
http://johnwiswell.blogspot.com John Wiswell

I like the idea of these memory ghosts and cosmic fingerprints. Consciousness is such a curiosity, that why shouldn’t that curiosity be deposited somewhere?nnThird paragraph, maybe “I see her still”?
http://www.dracotorre.com/blog/ David G Shrock

Melissa, I can see you and Steve having an interesting conversation on the flow of energy and the cosmos.
Eric J. Krause

Very cool story. This was an interesting idea, and you executed it quite well.
http://www.dracotorre.com/blog/ David G Shrock

Thanks, John. My fingers love typing so much that sometimes they add more letters when my eyes are diverted. Fixed. (was “here” instead of “her”)
http://twitter.com/icypop Icy Sedgwick

That’s surprisingly true.
http://www.facebook.com/dane.tyler Dane Tyler

A powerful and gripping read. I love the easy flow and tone, rife with the defiance of conviction and belief, acceptance. Well conveyed! Great work.
http://www.dracotorre.com/blog/ David G Shrock

Thanks for the comments.nnLaura, yes, Steve is an intriguing guy, both him and the fact that only he remembers.nnEric, it is an interesting idea, and I’m glad Steve shared it with me.nnYes, Icy, truth sometimes surprises.nnDane, nice way to put it.
shannon esposito

First congrats on the release of your novel! What an intriguing character. This is one of my favorite subjects, too. I remember the shock I felt at first learning a lot of the stars we see don’t actually exist anymore. But, they do…to us, right? Because we still see them. This is why I can’t think of time as a line but more like a big ball that you can travel to any point in and the energy will still be there, just like you said, like an imprint. Anyway, I’m looking forward to reading Steve’s story!
mazzz_in_Leeds

“And sometimes something out of the ordinary blazes like the sun floating above the other memories, an interpretation hiding other details, always there.” – what a fantastic way to put it!nCongrats on the upcoming release, “memory ghosts” is quite some concept!
http://theothersideofdeanna.wordpress.com/ Deanna Schrayer

Love, love, love this David! The perfect sampling to make us anxious to read the novel. rnI think Shannon conveyed my feelings the best – so, (to cheat a bit), what she said.
http://www.dracotorre.com/blog/ David G Shrock

Now on AudioBoo. Listen to my speak… if you dare..
http://www.dracotorre.com/blog/ David G Shrock

Thanks, Shannon. Sounds like you and Steve would get along fine.
http://www.dracotorre.com/blog/ David G Shrock

Thanks for the 3 love cheer!
http://www.dracotorre.com/blog/ David G Shrock

Thanks, Maria. Steve has an interesting way of putting things, and that line defines his relationship with his girl. “Memory ghosts” is how Steve describes what he sees as he peers into the information.
http://afullnessinbrevity.wordpress.com/ Adam Byatt

This is a wonderful piece to contemplate the idea of memory. Cosmic fingerprints is a great picture.nAdam B @revhappiness
Blackbirdsong

I love your description of memory ghosts. I’d never heard of that before, but it’s something I will be thinking about for some time. This story resonates long after it’s been read.
http://www.dracotorre.com/blog/ David G Shrock

Thanks, Adam and Rachel. “Memory ghosts” is Steve’s idea. His way of looking at the world through cosmic fingerprints.
http://vandamir.wordpress.com/ Vandamir

Incredible story. I love the lyrical quality and the fascinating concepts. I see time as a series of Mu00f6bius strips stacked on top of each other like layers of folded steel and memories from the past, present, future, other dimensions and parallel earths can all be accessed under the right conditions.
Ganymeder123

This is like poetry. Lovely and sad.
http://www.dracotorre.com/blog/ David G Shrock

Thanks for the kind words, Vandamir and Catherine. Time and memory are fascinating subjects.