horrifically at me. “There is something wrong with this place, Brandon. I don’t know what it is, but we need to stay together.”
“Why spend so much energy keeping his form?” the archangel asked. “You are not like him and he is not like you! Be rewarded for your wisdom! Go to those you can relate to!”
“I can’t relate to evil anymore,” she replied weakly.
“It’s all right, Sir,” I said. “We just got here, after all. She just needs to get to know the place a little. She needs to decide what she wants to believe in.”
“Yes, belief!” he replied, again seeming very pleased with himself, summoning a bald man to appear from the crowd. “This man can tell you about Destiny of Ordered Mankind. It’s very popular… ‘flying off the shelves,’ you might say.”
“Listen to me,” he said. “There is substantial scientific evidence to support the fact that life on Earth was started and directed by extraterrestrial beings. The Destined are a rational scientific community—”
“DOOM is a lie! Mankind buries itself with lies!”
Aether spoke with renewed passion, recognizing DOOM as one of the belief systems that hadn’t met her criteria for truth. My first thought was to scold her for being so rude, but a memory tugged at me, reminding me how much I thought I trusted her – how much I thought I needed her – only a short time before.
“Listen to me, we don’t like that name.”
“Naming preferences are irrelevant! Why do you continue to believe after death?”
He looked past us and laughed, as if we were complete idiots. “Um… the Celestials are right here!”
I looked upon the crowds, seeing those praising the archangel as if he were someone else, seeing multitudes running around without direction. I spotted the mist that Aether was talking about, surrounding the space, concealing struggle and pain in the distance. I asked myself who those in the crowd were.
There are destroyers here, I thought.
“And who will reward you for your wisdom?” the archangel asked me. “Did you get your answer? Do you have your crown? Are you royalty, yet, Brandon Dauphin?”
My vision blurred. I realized that I was very thirsty. My thoughts turned back to the wonderful music and it made me happy. A limo pulled up beside us and a strong wind picked up. I could feel Aether’s grip loosening, her hand losing its form.
“You can rest now.” The archangel opened the door for me.
“Why spend so much energy keeping his form?” the archangel asked. “You are not like him and he is not like you! Be rewarded for your wisdom! Go to those you can relate to!”
“I can’t relate to evil anymore,” she replied weakly.
“It’s all right, Sir,” I said. “We just got here, after all. She just needs to get to know the place a little. She needs to decide what she wants to believe in.”
“Yes, belief!” he replied, again seeming very pleased with himself, summoning a bald man to appear from the crowd. “This man can tell you about Destiny of Ordered Mankind. It’s very popular… ‘flying off the shelves,’ you might say.”
“Listen to me,” he said. “There is substantial scientific evidence to support the fact that life on Earth was started and directed by extraterrestrial beings. The Destined are a rational scientific community—”
“DOOM is a lie! Mankind buries itself with lies!”
Aether spoke with renewed passion, recognizing DOOM as one of the belief systems that hadn’t met her criteria for truth. My first thought was to scold her for being so rude, but a memory tugged at me, reminding me how much I thought I trusted her – how much I thought I needed her – only a short time before.
“Listen to me, we don’t like that name.”
“Naming preferences are irrelevant! Why do you continue to believe after death?”
He looked past us and laughed, as if we were complete idiots. “Um… the Celestials are right here!”
I looked upon the crowds, seeing those praising the archangel as if he were someone else, seeing multitudes running around without direction. I spotted the mist that Aether was talking about, surrounding the space, concealing struggle and pain in the distance. I asked myself who those in the crowd were.
There are destroyers here, I thought.
“And who will reward you for your wisdom?” the archangel asked me. “Did you get your answer? Do you have your crown? Are you royalty, yet, Brandon Dauphin?”
My vision blurred. I realized that I was very thirsty. My thoughts turned back to the wonderful music and it made me happy. A limo pulled up beside us and a strong wind picked up. I could feel Aether’s grip loosening, her hand losing its form.
“You can rest now.” The archangel opened the door for me.