The kitchen where time began.

The last time James Polt was seen alive was when he was seen leaving the Scicorpion Research Facility while carrying a suitcase containing two jars of liquefied elements he claimed were responsible for the creation of the universe. He was due for an appearance in Geneva the following week to demonstrate his theory.

When he arrived home, he set the suitcase on the kitchen counter and then opened an overhead cabinet to retrieve a plastic cup for a drink. Immediately an avalanche of plastic cups poured out of the cabinet, knocking the suitcase off the counter and sending it crashing to the floor as it knocked over a nearby bucket containing a mixture of Mr. Clean and water. Polt’s ears told him that the jars inside the suitcase were shattered and the two elements merged with the Mr. Clean solution to trigger a chemical reaction even Polt wasn’t expecting.

For a brief moment, the mixture of chemicals lay in a puddle on the kitchen floor and then suddenly, the puddle disappeared, leaving behind a gaping black hole. Polt was shocked at first but soon became curious enough to look inside the hole. He then recorded the following observation in his notebook.

This is not just a hole in the floor I’m looking at here. If this was an ordinary hole then I would be seeing dirt and the concrete foundation on which my house stands. But I’m not seeing any of that. There’s nothing to see, just nothing, as if I somehow opened a portal looking back in time to when there was no time and no universe. Could it be that I have discovered the beginning of time? Time will tell. Or not.

A few moments later, Polt decided to enter the black hole and recorded this final entry:

There is no doubt in my mind anymore. I am convinced that I have opened a portal to a time where time does not exist and the universe not yet created. I am nervous about entering this portal but at the same time I am excited. Perhaps I will bear witness to the true origins of our universe. Perhaps I will finally see how life on Earth began. Perhaps I will finally have all the answers to all the questions. I will record what I find upon my return.

Then Polt entered the black hole and was never seen again.