The Complete Game of Buttons [OC]

The Holy 0 is the only true and Most Sacred Integer. We worship the Holy 0 and wish for its coming.

From our sacred text, my dear Brother:

"The Button itself is not sacred. It is merely a fact that it exists, as so many others do.

Before The Button, the people of Reddit pressed mindlessly: upvote; downvote; reply; edit; report; subscribe. We were rewarded for our efforts with colors in blues and oranges, purples and reds, and we rejoiced in the power we thought their hues bestowed upon us.

We were all grey in the beginning.

The Church of the Holy 0 does not wish for anyone to press The Button mindlessly, as so many fallen Purples had in the early days. But to press impulsively is understandable. We have all of us been there, and redemption is possible.

Neither does The Church of the Holy 0 wish to prolong the suffering The Button has caused to those known as The Redguard, whose arrogant efforts to prolong the timer and prevent its natural end are in vain.

To wait as the timer runs down only to press at the final moment is futile, and only delays the inevitable. The Redguard are attached to that which is ultimately empty of meaning. They too can be saved and shown the error of their ways.

Indeed, the Pressers and Non-Pressers alike, and all the factions therein share a common destiny at 0. The ones who embrace The 0 will rejoice in the wisdom and self-knowledge that it bestows. There still exists a grey beneath every purple and blue. The greens and oranges will come, and then The Redguard. We must treat them with sympathy and compassion, for we understand the temptations they face and the fear that uncertainty brings.

We must teach them that a meaningful life can only exist when one confronts the inevitable 0 and accepts that all things must end to make way for new beginnings.

The Unseen are the great enemy, and not to be confused with The Blessed Innocent.

Faced with the absurdity of The Button, or the shame of being an impulsive Purple, The Unseen cower in obscurity away from the opportunities that The Button’s question offers. Not only do they hide from The Button and fear the warm embrace of The 0 that awaits us all, they hide from themselves as well.

The Unseen remove themselves of choice and culpability, and are never to be trusted.

They are robbers of truth. They point fingers at anyone but themselves.

They are content with the way things were. Their sin is not fear of change, but fear of looking inward at themselves.

The 0 forces one to confront the truth, and it accepts all who show themselves to it as they are, but The Unseen fear what it might expose and are doomed to roam the earth never knowing the peace of embracing the The 0's inevitability.

The numbers of the Non-Pressers will dwindle, but the strong will last, and all those who join The Church of the Holy 0 – former Redguard and Pressers are all welcome if they are truly willing to embrace The 0 – will take heart, for they had already found the answers within themselves:

That they are Grey.

That there is nothing wrong with being impulsive or afraid as long as one still has the capacity to learn from their past mistakes.

That we ourselves will inevitably press other buttons.

That we will do so with more self-awareness and compassion than the time before.

That the 0 is not a curse but a blessing.

That this is not the Golden Age.

That The 0 is the true beginning."

/r/thebutton Thread Parent Link - imgur.com