A loss in many worlds
Why hasn't it been mentioned?

Madeline L'Engle passed away.

I approached passing the news with the typical "I know the author by her works, and they touched me" eulogy, but something hit me when I was reading the Times piece linked to above. The great volumes of what ML'E means to me became clear when I remembered that my oldest username is based on her concept of tessering.

I know that her Time Series, most notably A Wrinkle In Time mis-uses the term, using what scientists call a hypercube to mean a wormhole, but tesseract sounds cooler. I'm not going to spend more time defending that decision.

After growing up with Wrinkle in Time and the magic of MLE's imagination, especially the concept of bending the fabric of space to get from one place to another, it was obvious for me to me to choose "I tesser" to be my moniker when I first explored the internet over 10 years ago. Before "latentblue" and before "annieCL", I was "itesser", and I still am today. (Maybe not on LJ, and maybe not on AIM, but those are flukes.)

When I remembered that her work was enough to shape my identity, it did bring tears to my eyes. I can think of no greater way to illustrate my honor and my respect for her than saying that Madeline L'Engle has shaped who I am, and when I think of her spirit and her contributions to this world, it gives me direction in shaping who I'm always becoming.

On this day I toast her memory and, with intent six months in the making and course of action 23 years old, change my username.