  Inflationary models, especially those with plateau-type potentials, are
consistent with the cosmological data, but inflation itself does not resolve
the initial singularity. This singularity is resolved, for example, by the idea
of the quantum creation of the Universe from nothing such as the tunneling and
no-boundary proposals. The simplest one predicts a closed Universe. Motivated
by these facts, we investigate the classical dynamics of a closed Universe with
a plateau-type potential. Depending on the initial inflaton field value, the
Universe can undergo a variety of events: an immediate Big Crunch, a bounce or
cyclic phase, and inflation. Although the non-inflationary solutions may appear
irrelevant to our Universe, they can be turned into a single or multiple
bounces followed by inflation, taking into account the interactions necessary
for the reheating of the Universe after inflation. Thus, the dissipative
mechanism in our setup explains both the graceful entry to and exit from
inflation and gives us an indirect observational handle on the Universe just
after creation. We also comment on the implications of these solutions on the
probabilistic interpretations of the wave function of the Universe.

General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology;Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics;High Energy Physics - Phenomenology;High Energy Physics - Theory