"It contains the universe."
"
The universe?"
"
Everything except itself."
"
It doesn't contain itself."
"That's a given right?
Nothing contains itself."
"
Sure, but it contains the universe?"
"
Within its walls is the rest of the universe."
"
That doesn't make sense. It's part of the universe."
"From
a certain point of view."
"
There's a different one?"
"
There's lots. That's part of its power."
"You get powers from
these other viewpoints?"
"
In a manner of speaking."
"Don't think
being intentionally confusing makes you sound smart."
"I'm not
trying to be confusing."
"Then you're
trying to be a jerk."
"Alright, so you think
you don't have powers?"
"
You think I should?"
"Everybody has powers. We just don't
think of them in that way. We can all affect the universe in some way."
"Sure,
that's a given."
"But if you can look at the universe in new ways,
you can affect it in new ways."
"So this gives you the power
to see new things in the universe?"
"
It's more like a reminder, a talisman that says you don't always have to look at it in the ways you used to look at it."
"So
what do you see then?"
"
Everyone sees something different. If you don't bother to think about it much, it's just another object. If you take a second to consider the possibility, you can see that it contains the universe."
"Well yeah,
if I force myself, yeah, I can see that interpretation. But it's still part of the universe, not something beyond or outside."
"Another interpretation is that while it contains the universe, the universe also contains it. You might
imagine something like infinite recursion there."
"
That's crazy."
"It's
a point of view."
"Sure, like
infinite recursion between two mirrors."
"Alright."
"
How does that help with magic then?"
"I wouldn't
call it magic."
"
What would you call it then?"
"
Maybe using an artifact to remind me that I can act on the universe in a multitude of ways, rather than the so-called normal way that I'm used to."
"
You get your powers from that nonsense?"
"Consider this. Would you behave differently
if your house contained a normal bottle, versus something that contained the universe itself, versus something that contained an infinite projection or mapping of the universe into itself."
"Don't make my head hurt.
Am I supposed to be getting anything out of these crazy theories?"
"
If you don't take the time to look, you won't see anything."
"F**k you, Wonko."