Portal 360 =link= Direct

But the portal was hungry. It didn't just show the present. It began to rotate.

I saw myself at eight years old, from the perspective of the birthday cake candles—melting, brief, adored. I saw myself at sixty, from the vantage of my own hospital bed’s railings—cold, patient, waiting. The portal showed me the full sphere of my existence: every triumph from the angle of my failures, every loss from the angle of what I would gain tomorrow. portal 360

At first, it was intoxicating. I watched myself argue. From the ceiling’s vantage, my anger looked small—a tiny, hunched mammal making noises. From the floor’s vantage, my feet looked tired, rooted to the carpet like ancient trees. I learned more about myself in an hour than in a lifetime of introspection. But the portal was hungry