Soon after the crystal tendrils of Adam Silver’s hyper-evolved posthuman form had spread over my body and fully overwhelmed it, there was a brief period of darkness. I could feel my consciousness being transferred from my mortal human shell into the perplexing computer-like structure. All at once, I lost the feeling of gripping cold on my arms, and it was replaced with…nothing. The darkness was replaced with a sort of anti-darkness, for there was no sight in this new realm.
I had forsaken my humanity. Forever.
As a being of pure thought, or information, or data, or whatever it was that I had become, it was with very little effort that I traveled to different parts of the organism at near light-speed. It seemed that in every crevice, every corner of this strange organic computer was stored an amazing wealth of knowledge, encoded not as binary, but as something purer, something that transcended feeble molecular laws. This wealth of knowledge was unexpected, given that Adam Silver had been trapped inside the hibernation chamber for 100 billion years on his timeline, but had been confined to his own mind for the entirey of that span – the Earth’s timeline had only advanced six “real” months.
As I marveled at all this, I felt a message transmitted to me. “Hey! Finally there’s somebody else here!”
There was only one other who I could be receiving this message from, for the computer itself seemed to be, at least from within, to be a passive information-gatherer. “Adam Silver. I am unsure whether I should apologize to you or not,” I transmitted in return.
Adam laughed. “I admit, the first few centuries of dreaming were quite tiresome. But my mind eventually unlocked itself from the terrible cycle of nightmares and was unleashed into Earth’s regular timeline. Meanwhile, my body remained behind, and it eventually evolved into the odd organism which you encountered in the hibernation chamber. Eventually, I rejoined what had become of my body, bringing with me untold billions of years of knowledge. I would say that no apology is necessary.”
Seemingly in defiance of this place where infinite knowledge resided, I felt confused. “So, you witnessed Earth’s history for that entire time? How can you be sure that you weren’t still dreaming?”
“I foresaw this meeting between us, for starters. As things unfold in the real world outside, I am unsurprised, since I have already seen them occur. You can choose to doubt me, but you have no reason to.”
I found that Adam was right. As outlandish as his claim was, it was no less outlandish than what I was already experiencing. “So you can tell me what will happen in the 2016-17 NBA season,” I stated.
“Yes,” Adam replied. “Of course, that particular knowledge is around here somewhere. In time, you will learn where to look for the things you seek. The secret inner workings of the universe, from its true beginnings to its probable end, are chronicled here. So too are the properties of other, stranger universes. Every scrap of knowledge, from the most inconsequential to the most profound, can be found here. But I will try to stay on topic and address your question.”
“What are the ten most unexpected things that will happen in the NBA this year? I want to have my mind blown.” I said.
“As if your mind hasn’t already been blown enough,” Adam said wryly. “It has indeed been blown so thoroughly that it is the only thing left of the former human known popularly as DownToBuck. But I will indulge your request. I will even lay out the ten things in a format familiar to you.”
“You mean…” I gasped, surprised.
“Yes. I present you…”