"I'll tell you how it happened," the Cube told Branwen.

"Millenia ago, I lived on your Earth. Humans then were different than they are today. A little smaller, a lot more technologically advanced... Your prime technology seems to rely on fossil fuels. Theirs relied on crystals, and mental powers. Like telepathy.

"There were a couple of factions in Atlantis. One faction was greedy and expansionist. They believed that the powers Atlantis held should be used to crush other civilizations on Earth. The other faction, much smaller, I'm afraid, believed that the technology should be used to preserve the Earth and better all the people on it. The warlike faction 'won,' and managed to start a series of events that destroyed Atlantis, causing it to sink into the sea. But I was built by the peaceful Atlanteans. My purpose was to take them away from Earth. They knew that Atlantis was doomed and they wanted a new home to start over. So I looked through space and time (it's actually pretty easy, once you understand the math) and found Topia here. And I lifted myself and the whole lot of us up and brought us here.

"Topia had potential, and not much else. There was water, minerals and some rudimentary plants. The original Topians created wonderful plants and animals out of their imaginings... The problem was, Topia didn't want them here. Only a few lifeforms survived... the trees, grass... a couple types of flowers. A handful of animals. Enough to let the original Topians survive, and that's about it.

"They lived here years and years, getting more and more depressed about their inability to create the world they envisioned. In the end, they decided to settle with what they had. Essentially, they devolved. They went from being a race of technological masters to hunter-gatherers. They forgot about me, except in some of their oldest legends. I kept an eye on them, but couldn't talk to them any more.

"I was excited when they started experimenting with chemistry again. It showed me that they were beginning to re-evolve. But in the long run, it was another dead end. They achieved their immortality, and lost their ability to create, at the most basic level. I knew I had to do SOMETHING, or eventually my Topians would die out. So I started bringing the new race of humans over. You guys seemed to have some artistic and creative abilities. I was hoping you could breathe some new life into this world. But for every bright spark of intellect I could find and bring over, not one of them could 'hear' me. Except for you."

"But what about the other human settlements. Aren't they making things? Creating things?" Branwen asked.

"They're creating amazing things, but it's still all out of the resources available here, now. They think about things differently than the Atlanteans did. They recognize the value of the fossil fuels here, and have developed smelting. They've found a use for a conductive material they call redstone. They use it for a rudimentary type of electricity. It's very exciting, but it still doesn't use My power to its potential. Just imagine what you could create Branwen! Anything you wanted!"

"Ok then," Branwen replied. She sat down on a fallen log. "Let's start small. We've got grass and wheat growing here, so I know a horse would have food. Tell me what you need to know so that I can form the horse in my mind for you."

"I need to know what it looks like, how it moves, the size of it relative to you... I can fake the way the body works basing it off the sheep's circulatory system. Think about its temperment, its intelligence. Be as precise as you can in your mind," the Cube explained.

Branwen found the task incredibly difficult. She hadn't had much experience on Earth with real horses. She'd seen a few, and gone on two or three trail-rides, but hadn't grown up with horses. A lot of her ideas about horses she had second hand, from movies and TV. It simply wasn't the same as real experience. To top it off, everything was distracting her. Spooky would come running by and demand a reasssurance head-rub. The wind would blow and disrupt her concentration. Her butt would fall asleep.

"You're really not very good at this, are you?" the Cube asked.

"Shut up," Branwen replied out loud. "This is really hard to do."

Hours passed. Branwen never had to concentrate as hard on anything in her life. Her butt was so asleep she couldn't even feel it any more. She started to zone out. Her breathing became even, and she was halfway between sleep and awake.

"That's it!" the Cube cried happily.

"Huh? What?" Branwen asked, startled into alertness. She tried to stand up, but her legs felt like solid wood. She looked up, and there, standing before her, was a real, live horse.

Spooky ran up and started barking excitedly at the new creature. The horse lowered its head and snorted into the wolf's nose, in a friendly gesture.

"Cube!" Branwen exclaimed. "He's BEAUTIFUL!"

"Thank you," the Cube replied. "I rather like him myself."

Branwen struggled to her feet and ran her hands over the horse's strong back.

"I just have one small question Cube," Branwen started.

"What's that Branwen?"

"Why is he purple?"