I think I’ve met you, but also know I Haven’t
Episode 2 –
Are you alright there Julie
Reality is a hard thing to figure out and define. Sure, it can be broken down into its component parts… and we can discuss and intellectualise about it. But what is real and what isn’t, is actually very hard to verify, with the search for a definitive description challenging even our greatest minds.
In trying to prove that he actually existed, 17th century French philosopher and mathematician Rene Descartes, came up with the phrase, “I think, therefore I am”. He expanded on this statement by saying that he could not doubt that He himself actually existed, because in order to do that…He, would have to be the one doing the doubting in the first place.
Once he was happy that he had more or less proved that he existed, he went on to try and do the same for the world around him. He came up with the argument, that the everyday sensory perceptions that he experienced were involuntary, and not willed by him. Because these perceptions came from a place outside of his mind, it thus proved the existence of a world external to himself.
So, is it possible to apply Descartes statements to the multiple realities that Stile 13 and its like offer to us today? Does his reasoning still have a place in our many worlds existence? Perhaps.
The slogan “I think, therefore I am…wherever I am doing the thinking” was the much lauded winning entry of a Descartes caption competition in the recently launched Any portal in a storm magazine. The phrase and its slight addendum seems to have satisfied many fans of the old philosophers work, and the growing view is that his best known pronouncement does in fact hold true, irrespective of the emergence of parallel dimensions and alternate realities.
The first media recorded instance of a physical portal coming to public knowledge took place at the canal end entrance to Dublin’s Croke Park. The event being hosted there on that day was the 2011 all Ireland Gaelic football final between teams representing Kerry and Dublin.
A television crew, who had been tasked with trying to capture the atmosphere of the occasion, were conducting live interviews with supporters from both sides as they entered the stadium. Conditions weren’t ideal for filming, as they had not only to contend with excited punters chanting and shouting their allegiance to their team, but also programme sellers and match stewards, who were using megaphones to loudly direct the crowds to enter the stadium via stiles 1 to 12.
One of the television camera crew noticed that there was another stile situated slightly away from the others that appeared to be open, but wasn’t being used. He brought this anomaly to the attention of the interviewer, a young reporter called Julie McKenna who was in her first year with the station and was keen to make an impression. Julie decided that the tranquil stile would offer a quirky take on crowd behaviour, and she moved her crew so that she could conduct her next live piece from there.
A father and daughter were the first to step into the booth and produce their tickets. They pushed through the turnstile and were immediately accosted by the waiting TV crew and it’s very enthusiastic reporter.
‘Hi guys…so, why did you choose to step through Stile 13 when nobody else appears to be doing so?’
‘Ah yeah, well…we just you know…saw the gateway there…and thought that it led to the same place as all the others. But, maybe I was wrong? This is Croke park isn’t it?’
‘Ha ha, I can assure that you’ve come to the right place. I see you’re supporting the underdogs today…Kerry are hot favourites to win the game. Do you think the Dubs can do it?’
‘Well, they’ll certainly have to play out of their skin, but anything can happen on the day can’t it? I mean…it’s the final…the sun is shining and we didn’t even have to queue to get in.’
Lucky stile, lucky day so to speak.’
‘Yeah, exactly.’
‘Okay…well there you have it. It may not exactly be Scientific, but the Stile 13ers have spoken, and apparently change is in the air, and it’s Dublin to win today.’
Prominent scientists and physicists are often called upon to give their opinion on the validity of the Stile 13 phenomenon. Traditional science has been slow in giving its endorsement to the gateways existence as it has always needed to establish proof before it would fully commit to backing any hypothesis, but they are slowly coming around to the idea. This could be down to the growing number of scientists who claim to have had their own passing through experience, and because of their new outlook no longer feel a need to actually prove that they have passed through anything. On a recent prime time news programme a prominent physicist was asked why he now supported the Stile 13ers. His response was to hold out his hands with his palms upwards and say,
Science, shmience…I mean, what the hell.
This sort of response has gone down very well with those involved in the quantum arena, with many of them nodding sagely at their newly liberated brethrens pronouncements.
Dublin were victorious that day in 2011. History was made when the winning point was scored by their goalkeeper, the first time this had ever happened in a final. During the post match discussions in the studios of the national broadcaster, a panel of experts brought attention to some of the multitude of little things that went right for the boys in blue, culminating in their narrow win. It was on this programme that Stile 13 catchphrase first came into being.
‘Look, it was extraordinary. They went for every ball as if their lives depended on it. They were like a different team…men possessed, not like anything we’ve seen from them before. And they got the bounce of the ball…they got the bit of luck they needed today. I think this could be the start of something special for this bunch of lads.’
‘Yes I agree. What was it Julie said on the outside broadcast earlier? Change is in the air.’
‘Yes, well actually…we can go across to Julie right now to get some post match reaction. Hi Julie.’
(Raucous Dublin supporters mingle with the more subdued Kerry fans as they leave the ground. It takes a moment for Julie to realise she is live on air.)
‘Hi Michael. Yes, great excitement here…and a lot of euphoric Dublin fans. It was a fantastic match and a great win for Dublin and I think even the Kerry fans won’t begrudge them this one.’
‘Yeah but that’s the last one they’re getting. We’ll be back again next year, wohoo. Up de Kingdom.’ (shouts a Kerry man.)
‘Well Julie, we all agree here that it has been one of the best finals in many years…Dublin surprising us with their attitude and drive. I imagine even their own supporters didn’t expect such a display from them.’
‘No Michael. Most people I’ve spoken to expected a Kerry win. But if you recall there were some who forecast it would be Dublin’s day, and coincidentally I’ve bumped into them again. Our stile 13ers Aoife and ‘Pat…what a game…you have to be happy with that result.’
‘Yes we are thrilled. It was an amazing performance and I can’t believe we were here to see it.’
(A Dublin fan shouts to the camera) ‘See these tickets. I had to smother me granny to get these…but it was worth it, Ha ha ha. Up de Dubs. (Moving away) Ah I’m only messin’. I love me granny.’
(Julie) ‘Ha , yes well, the joys of live television. I’m sure that…his granny is unharmed, hopefully anyway. Somebody check on that woman. So Aoife, this was your first time at a final. Maybe you brought the luck with you today.’
‘Ha ha, maybe yes. What was it you said to my dad before the match…lucky stile lucky day?’
‘Oh that’s right…the stile 13 effect.’
(Julie nodded in the direction of the row of nearby stiles. She frowned, glanced at her camera crew and looked back at the row of stiles whilst standing on her tip toes to get a better view.)
‘Oh…that’s strange. I could have sworn…’
‘Are you okay there Julie?’
‘Yes…yes, sorry Michael. I got a little ahh... I really believed we were conducting our piece from the same area as before the game. Stile 13 was just over there…or, so I thought…but, it doesn’t appear to be there now. Well…we must be in a different place, I guess. Anyway, whatever or wherever we are, Dublin are the new all Ireland champions. Back to you in the studio.’
Stile 13 itself never reappeared…at least not in that section of Croke park. The before and after footage of the 2011 game quickly went viral on social media, sparking huge interest and inspiring a raft of graffiti artist works with many different versions of the tag, Stile 13 was here, appearing in the most random of places.
Julie McKenna soon left mainstream broadcasting, going on to write a book about her search for the missing gateway, and producing the now hugely successful Stile 13 podcast.
It is a now widely accepted belief that portals to other dimensions were in existence prior to the Croke park exposé of 2011. Contributors in a recent episode of the popular programme, ‘the quantamplators’ cited as an example the work of physicist Hugh Everett who in the late 1950’s introduced us to the many worlds theory. This theory says a new world is created every time we make a choice or decision, allowing another you to go forward in a newly created parallel world, whilst a version of you remains in our world, unaware that a split has taken place. The host of the programme, Ivor Nidea, put it this way.
‘Think about all the little decisions you made to get you here to the studio. How did you travel, car, train, bus? Who did you interact with? If you had left your home 10 minutes earlier or later, how might that have changed your life? You’re here now…but how many Yous…are still on the bus?’
Another participant, who was representing a fast growing demographic called bilateral philosophers, who were sometimes pro and sometimes anti Stile 13, put a damper on things by introducing the paradox that if unlimited universes and realities do in fact exist, and each of those in turn also have unlimited universes and realities, then a realm must exist where parallel dimensions do not exist.
Historically, philosophers haven’t been great supporters of the multiple dimension theory, with the likes of Aristotle rejecting the possibility of multiple worlds. Of course he also said that space itself was not unlimited and that all the heavenly bodies revolved around the earth, a misnomer that tends to undermine his dimension denying pronouncements.
So is the existence of ‘the Gateway’ a physical thing, or is it simply down to belief or faith?
Modern philosophers have been fairly evenly divided on the matter, although a middle ground has emerged of late, where many of them find they can agree.
The basis of this commonality is centred on the theory that we as humans create our own reality, and it is within our power to radically change our perception of our worlds.
One can step, metaphorically speaking, in a single instant into a new life where things that are causing dissatisfaction and disharmony can be discarded and a new beginning made.
This logic concludes that simple belief in Stile 13 can bypass the whole self development process. Gain without pain so to speak.
Unsurprisingly this theory has not gone down too well with counsellors and psychotherapists, especially the unionised ones, who see the philosophers’ pronouncements as crossing the demarcation line and stepping into their realm of expertise. Their anger towards Philosophers has sparked an unusual amount of physical altercations between both groups, with attempts to get them to sit down together to talk and reason out their differences proving largely unsuccessful.
So how does one verify the difference in one's life if one has already had a passing through event? How do you quantify something as ethereal and unique as the experience and legacy that one is left with post Stile 13? Well, maybe we don’t have to. As the words of the hit song Stile 13 says,
Stile 13 entices the bold, the kindred who want to be part of its fold. Run with the crowd or follow the few. The choices are yours now. What will you do?