The wars waged hadn’t been totally unproductive. Though bloody, they had advanced the physical sciences with rapidity and the spoils of war were appearing in the every day lives of Man and Box. The general population was at last settling and forgetting about the horrors of the preceding centuries of fighting and grieving. The Parting of the Box and Man was now becoming a distant memory and the world was moving into a golden age of peace, harmony and respecting of the Boxes. Man and Box, separate, lived in quietness.

As the peace continued, minds wandered and eyes turned to the sky, wondering and thinking “what if?”. All of a sudden the peace became a race to find the answer. The greatest minds of Box and Man stimulated once more into philosophical wanderings. The Boxes were the first to launch into the stellar void and orbit their little blue planet, disappointed to find their home had no right angles when viewed from above. They accepted this graciously, for the sake of peace with Men. All peoples of Box and Monkey derivitive were well pleased. The sky had been conquered. The Box Space Station began its first orbit as three men were the first to leave their bootprints on their silvery moon that very same year. Not since the time of war had the planet’s attention been focussed on one thing for so long. Box and Man were captivated.

The inevitable awkward questions began to emerge and started to turn the golden age of peace into something a little more tarnished looking. Faiths were offended, ideals challenged and peace was once more threatened. Another race then began. Another reason to succeed and a reason that would see Box and Man united again in brotherhood.

Was the Universe a box or was it spherical?

The very idea that the Universe was anything other than box-shaped, or at least mildly rhombic, was an affront to all Boxkind. Man’s belief that it could only be spherical, or at least a kind of candy-floss arrangement, was a belief set in iron. Philosophical impass. Looking back now it all seems very amusing. Probe after probe released into the heavens began to build up a raggedy picture of a shape of some sort. The instruments became more powerful, as did the arguments. They looked deeper into the past, further and farther away, pushing the dark and formless curtain back. Then one day an edge was found. Then another and another. The boxes were jubliant at the vindication such data presented to the world but their celebration was short-lived. Edges were found but so were curves and the whole planet laughed as one at what this confirmed.

The cylindrical form universe is now widely accepted as the funniest quirk of fate known to the scholars of Man and Box. Unseen and unthought of by both species. Never considered. Never theorised but now fact. As the data gathered was refined new discoveries were made, new wonders seen and new perils now had to be faced. Perils that could only be overcome by the working together once again of Box and of Man.
The voluminous data collected showed a new sub-dimension of tabletop gravity underlying the cylindrical universe. Measurements confirmed the slight tilting of this sub-dimension meant that in two-hundred million years the universe could roll off the end and break on the floor.

Man and Box could not allow this to happen.