Short story time!
Lots o' villian dialog!
Torment, burning torment. That was the only language known in this place. Two men stood face-to-face looking at the misshapen heaps of flesh and bone they had become. In life, they had been strong, graceful, and powerful. Now, they were nothing. Nothing but broken and burnt unrecognizable lumps of flesh as a result of the omnipresent hellfire. Their screams along with the cries of billions of other poor souls simultaneously echoed throughout the cavern, pausing only for brief moments when the torture of the flames was dull enough to converse. "Who are you, and why are you here?" asked the taller of the two men. His face was now unrecognizable, but he was fortunate enough to have retained his voice and hearing. Many others were not so lucky.
"My name is Charles. I do not know why am here. In life, I was a devoted Christian. I began and closed each day with prayer, lived by the 10 Commandments, and upheld virtue to the best of my abilities. I will not claim to be perfect, but I faltered little from the path and always sought forgiveness afterward. I am afraid I cannot answer your second question. May I ask you the same?" said the shorter man. He too was still able to speak.
The other man forced as much of a smile that was still possible on his wretched face and responded as quickly as the flames would allow, "In life I was known as Jacob, but there is little use for such a distinction now. I know exactly why I am here. When I was 20, I murdered a man in cold blood. "
Charles was disappointed to hear this, but not at all surprised. He spoke softly, and mournfully in his reply, "May God have mercy on our souls. We were both sinners, and this is the price we must pay." Charles lifted up the stump of his left arm. Everything below the elbow had been torn away by flame, and what was left was almost unrecognizable.
Jacob let loose a single tear, which partially rolled down his face before reaching some sulfurous residue on his cheek, immediately turning to acid. He screamed in pain as the acid once again tore into his face. Once the pain was under control, he again spoke to the Christian, "When I was alive, there wasn't a day that went by that I did not regret my actions. Every day, shadows of that man's face appeared within the eyes of every stranger. Remorse and regret consumed my life, and yet by the standards of the government, I went unpunished. They never discovered that I was the murderer, and I was too afraid to turn myself in, so I waited. Days turned into weeks, which turned into years, and I grew old. The regret never dissipated even until my death."
Charles felt sincerity in the man's words, and felt pained by them, "Did you ever ask God for forgiveness? Surely his guidance could have helped you make a recovery."
"I was an atheist. The concept of an all-loving, all-forgiving god sounded too far-fetched, and the moral restrictions imposed by religion seemed altogether wrong-minded. If it is wrong to not believe in God, it is even more so to believe out of desire. Desire for forgiveness, desire to avoid being cast into hell, desire for divine intervention, it's all the same, and it’s all wrong. Your religion built your morality, and I built mine. After witnessing the evil of humanity first hand through my own actions, I did not want to be consumed by it, and by this determination constructed my own moral belief system rather than allowing religion to hand one down to me. For most of my life, I did not violate my principals, and did not allow them to be compromised by any established religion," said the murderer.
"Yet you killed a man."
"I did. Even now, I am pained by it. He did not deserve to die. In a single act of jealousy I deprived another person of life, and destroyed him. The look on that man's face is now permanently etched into my memory, and can never be forgotten. He looked at me with a trace of pity in his eyes... and love. With his last breath, he uttered three words that I will never forget: 'I forgive you'" The murderer paused, and almost whispered, "If only I could forgive myself," then hung his head in shame.
The intensity of the flames erupted again, but the two men paid no heed. Charles took a long look at his companion before speaking again, "This shame you feel means that you cannot be completely lost. You admit and repent your sin, but cannot atone. I on the other hand do not even know what to repent and atonement is equally out of reach. What was my sin!?! What have I done to deserve this!?!" Charles lost his composure, and began hitting the ground with his body in frustration. With each blow, more of his remaining flesh burst into flame.
For the next several hours, the men did not speak again. Eventually, a beautiful male form approached the shriveled and decrepit men. Jacob looked at the form and was awestruck by his beauty. "Again, hell is populated with more good men. This is continued proof of the failure of judgment,” said the beautiful figure.
Jacob quickly responded with his usual greeting, accidentally adding a comment of the third man's appearance, "Who are you, and why are you here? How is it that your skin is untouched by the flames?"
The third man looked at him and said, "I am Lucifer, or Satan, if you will. I do not rule here, instead I am merely another prisoner. My sin was that of vanity. Out of misguided foolishness I once thought myself worthy of becoming God. In heaven, I was more beautiful than any other and retaining my original form was part of the punishment so that I may never forget why I am here."
Charles recoiled at Lucifer's statements. It was difficult to believe, but Lucifer's appearance was proof. Evil itself stood beside him. With a quivering voice, Charles asked, "So tell me, why am I here? What did I do to deserve this?"
From behind Lucifer's back, a pair of wings became visible. He stretched them out to their extremities of movement. In a thundering voice the fallen angel declared, "Why did I, an angel who was the one closest to God have such a place created for my own personal punishment? For only vanity was this hell created, and now it houses the majority of mankind. Tell me, is that justice? Do you believe most of mankind to be evil?"
The Christian was taken aback by this statement, feeling his faith threatened. "Well no. I have always felt man to be inherently good, but evil temptations are all around him. For the most part, man has no one to blame but himself."
The devil smiled. "Good. Now we're getting somewhere, though you are only partially correct. You state that humanity is inherently good, yet as you see, the number of souls trapped here demonstrates that billions of good people have still been cast into hell. Do not ask why you are here. Instead, ask why they are here.” The devil paused, and then looked down at Jacob. “I know Jacob well. His sin is of atheism. God forgave his murder, but could not allow any non-believer into heaven. Just like Jacob, billions of other good, yet non-believing people now share this fate. If you do not believe me, try to find a thousand people for whom there is nothing redeeming about, or even one, and you will not find it even in the worst humanity has to offer. Even those who believe in God will typically find themselves here. The gates of heaven will only allow the passage of one whose faith is unshakable and whose life shines with virtue, a distinction that even you do not carry. Your failing was merely a shred of doubt in your faith, completely negating a lifetime of service. As you can see, there is no justice here."
The Christian found himself becoming ever more infuriated by the Devil's words. Charles looked Lucifer straight in the eyes and demanded, "So tell me, what makes you so infallible? How are you a perfect judge of character? According to the Bible, you thought yourself so perfect as to become God. Not only that, but through trickery you have condemned the world to sin and evil."
Lucifer laughed at this statement, but quickly responded, "Only partially true. You are correct about my original sin, but I am far different now from what I was then, and certainly not infallible. The years have taught me the error of my ambitions, and I do not seek to again pursue them. If anything, this experience has taught me that humanity does not need a god. There is no one deserving of that distinction, least of all me. Instead, I propose freedom. I cannot promise eternal life, I cannot promise salvation, but should I prove successful, I can promise an end to damnation. My action at the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil was very much intentional, and quite necessary. Only by doing so could I contribute the concept of moral choice to humanity, and the experiment has been a success. The centuries in this place has taught me of humanity's goodness. On the surface, many people here seem despicable, and place a terrible toll on society. However, look deep inside, and there is no one who feels no remorse for actions taken in life, nor does there exist a single person incapable of reform or redemption."
Charles quickly interjected, "You freely admit that introducing sin upon humanity was your doing? According to the Bible, you are at constant struggle to pervert and destroy humanity, by corrupting lives through sin."
Lucifer looked down at Charles, "Not 'sin'. Moral choice. After the Garden of Eden, I have never directly meddled with human affairs, and the surface level of humanity’s wickedness is its own doing. Mankind's decisions are their own, and it is not mine, nor anyone else's position to interfere with them. Moral choice is the greatest gift that has ever been given. Without the ability to determine morality for oneself, humans are empty, incomplete, and condemned to a meaningless existence. Without the ability to determine 'right' and ‘wrong’, what point is there to existence? In ‘heaven’, there is the promise for existence without sin. If life without choice is life without sin, then what point is there? Would you be content with an eternity of watching yourself as a puppet, acting only in a way that God would find appealing, without any will of your own? Is 'sin' that destructive? Tell me Jacob, as a murderer, do you believe that you are completely lost because of your sin?"
"My sin cannot be forgiven. Maybe it can by the victim, maybe by God, but I cannot forgive myself,” said Jacob.
The Devil scowled, and again questioned the murderer, "That is not what I asked. Are you so completely destroyed by your actions that you are unfit to be part of humanity? Charles, how about your lack of faith? Is a small, nearly infinitesimal shred of doubt justification for an eternity of torture by hellfire? Do you intend to do nothing and let this injustice stand?”
The two men remained silent, a response that did not at all please Lucifer. Lucifer again scowled, and spoke once more, "Remember what I have said. Neither one of you deserves to be here, yet here you are. Until you acknowledge the injustice of the situation it cannot be rectified, and more will share your fate. The decision is yours to make, but I will want a proper response upon my return."
Lucifer flew off, and once again, the men retuned to their own thoughts and personal torments. Once again, the flames picked up, and the choir of billions of damned souls cried out in pain, even more than there had been just moments earlier. That was the only future here.
30 Jun 2006, 4:06 pm
