There were strange things, flitting in and out of existence, all about him. This is a most wonderful existence, he thought.

In the sky, a flock of birds flew into dazzling formations, making complex, three-dimensional shapes. The sea was translucent, stained pink by the setting of the sun, with fish jumping out of it like so many projectiles from pinball machines.

On invisible scales, subatomic particles winked in, annihilated each other, winked out. Electrons became entangled. Muons decayed. Neutrinos converted and blew through solid matter.

Then, unexpectedly, something changed.

By the time he noticed, he was too consumed to care.