The last Ravi Shankar performs at the Sea of Tranquility amphitheater
When legendary Indian classical musician Ravi Shankar died on Dec. 11, 2012, it was widely recognized as a tragic loss for our world and music.
But what few people appreciated at the time was that he was one of the last Ravi Shankar’s left in any universe. Throughout the 3,000 discontinuous histories – and farther into the vast multiverse itself – there is, so far as we can tell, only one Ravi Shankar left anywhere.
It is rare for the multiverse to entirely lose a single individual this way – a phenomenon called “Identity Extinction.” It is even rarer in the case of famous and cherished personalities. But it is widely known that once the existence of an individual drops below 20% of the discontinuous histories, a spiral of events tend to follow in which the remaining instances of the individual are eradicated.
Shankar is the latest individual that we know of to face Identity Extinction. The prior victim, Professor Charles Xavier, never existed in our universe except as a fictional character, and ceased to exist in any material reality just over a decade ago.
The only remaining Ravi Shankar in existence is in poor health, suffering from an upper respiratory infection and lycanthropy, and not expected to last into March.
He has asked that he be permitted to attend the All Worlds Fair and perform two final concerts, one on each day of the Fair. The Fair management has agreed.
No additional cost will be levied for this concert: it will be free of charge. Those wishing to pay their respects by throwing garlands of flowers on stage are encouraged to do so.
More details will be made available as they emerge.