by Pottle, Bill
B I L L P O T T L E
Sapphire Press Edition
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Copyright ©2012 Bill Pottle
2017 Sapphire Press Edition Edition
Alizel’s Song/ Pottle, Bill
All rights reserved. All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. No portion of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any form without the written permission of the Publisher. Please purchase only authorized editions.
If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold” or “destroyed” to the publisher, and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.”
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To Michael, may you always watch over us.
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AUTHOR’S NOTE
I’ve always loved a great story. There was something about the sacrifice of the hero, the tyranny of the villain, and the triumph when all seemed lost. I’ve loved listening to them as a child and loved writing them as an adult.
The Bible has been called “The greatest story ever told.” In a lot of ways, however, it’s The Story. For Christians, it’s really the only story that matters. The Story has everything that matters in a good story, and one critical thing more. It’s the only Story that you can go inside of. There was always a twinge of sadness whenever I read about a sunset in a made up world— knowing that I could never, really, be a part of that story.
As an author, I wish that I could claim to have written this Story, but most of The Story was written long before I was born. What I have tried to do is give a different perspective on it based on what we know about the world. Some people who give the Bible no more than a quick glance will dismiss it out of hand because of apparent contradictions. They ignore the only way human knowledge increases, by using our current understanding to its limits, and then finding new theories to resolve the apparent contradictions by tying everything together.
The split between science and religion is a modern phenomenon. It used to just be called “knowledge.” This book tries to use new ideas to heal the split between two different ways of looking at the world. The central question of the work is: could they both be right? Could they be just two ways of looking at the same Truth? Could the Works of God in nature give us a lens through which to understand the Works of God in scripture?
If I’ve added anything, it’s a way to look at the unanswered questions. Science and religion both have holes in our understanding
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of the Universe. The Bible gives us many stories, but leaves out many others. What happened in the generations where only a name was mentioned? What did Jesus do from 12 to 30? When He was a carpenter, how did He feel each time His hammer hit a nail?
Science gives us many tools to explore the Universe, and helps to understand much of the ‘what’ as well as the ‘immediate why.’ Yet it cannot provide an answer to the ‘ultimate why.’ We know that if any of several fundamental constants were off by less than one part in a million, life as we know if would not be able to exist. Does this suggest design, or rather the fact that if everything wasn’t perfect, we would simply not exist and therefore not notice?
Looking at science and religion together can bring interesting and surprising insights. For example, the scriptures often talk about the battle between Good and Evil as akin to that between light and darkness. Many people mistakenly take light and darkness to be opposites when that is not, in fact, their relationship. It is in the nature of light to always, and immediately, conquer darkness. Thus there can be no real ‘battle’ between the two. It is a one way relationship. Light can go where there is darkness, and the darkness is dispelled literally as quickly as possible (at the speed of light.) Yet darkness cannot go where light is and act similarly.
How then, can darkness hope to battle light? Darkness spreads only by blocking light (absorbing the photons), or by destroying sources of light. Therefore a reasonable strategy for Satan would be to try to do everything possible to disrupt Man’s relationship with God. Satan cannot try to confront God directly, as that would lead to his instant annihilation.
Studying science and scripture, I see a number of cases where a scripture made sense to our ancestors who were first hearing it, and yet makes a different kind of sense as our scientific knowledge about the world increases. It’s hard for modern humans to imagine a time without electric lights, yet when we are camping and our fire is the only light for miles, we can get a glimpse into the soul of a previous time, and know how important that light must have seemed to ancient peoples. They understood these verses viscerally in a way that we do not. Yet, we understand them intellectually in a way that they never could. How could something be so simple, yet so profound?
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B I L L P O T T L E
PART ONE
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” -Genesis 1:1
At least, that’s how they would describe it fifteen billion years later. Shortly after that— so soon, in fact, that it was almost no time at all, they’d call it the “Big Bang.” It was quite an odd name, for it was neither big— at least not until 10-37 seconds after it started— nor a bang, for this was long before the formation of even the simplest element, let alone air. Without air, there was no sound, and certainly no bangs.
But that’s how humans worked. Things had to be explained in ways that they could understand. Try to let one see too far and the door to their mind would slam shut in your face. It was like trying to teach a rock to jump. The mentality just wasn’t there. This rule couldn’t ever be broken for any human, even for Him.
I wasn’t about to question God, for if there’s one thing I’ve learned through all of this it’s that His plans far outweigh what even we angels can see. Every time we thought we had figured out something fundamental, He always sprung a surprise on us. I’d be talking from a very different place right now if I hadn’t learned to trust Him from the beginning.
I’m not vain enough to fool myself: you’re not really interested in my story. You’ve probably never even heard of the name of Alizel. But I know the story that you want to hear. I know it because I was there— not always on the front lines, but lurking behind the scenes. Now I could tell you only what I saw firsthand, but who wants a story full of a bunch of ‘he saids’ and ‘she saids?’ The main events that happened are the stuff of legends up here. Every conversation, battle, or piece of trickery has been told and retold a thousand times over. So if you don’t mind, I’ll tell what
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A L I Z E L ’ S S O N G
I wasn’t there for the same as if I were. My information came only from reliable sources, and as we angels are good at sharing our memories when we want to, I think I got a pretty good picture of what happened.
This is my story.
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CHAPTER ONE:
THE BEGINNING
Alizel watched it, uncertain of what it could mean. Uriel the Principality was on his left, his soft brown eyes and brown shoulder length hair in sharp contrast to his earthy green wings. Uriel’s lips pushed together and his wings gave a slight flutter. It was obvious that he didn’t know any more than Alizel.
Verin was standing on Alizel’s right, his golden sash bunched up as he placed his forearms on the railing. The white “V” on the sash didn’t stand for his name, but rather signified the rank of Virtue. His flaming red hair shot out from his head at all angles, and his sea-green wings seemed always ready to explode out and head off to the next adventu
re. Alizel could tell from his expression that Verin wanted very much to know what was going on, but he didn’t know any more than anyone else.
They were at the Portal, the place where the Realm of Spirit intersected with the newly created Realm of Matter. The Portal was a shimmering pool, unconnected with any of the waterways of Heaven, surrounded by a metallic railing that signified the farthest point that angels could go before they risked entering the Realm of Matter. Angels could look through its surface and gaze upon the Realm of Matter, which at this point, was just a small mass. The mass was expanding outward, moving steadily, homogenous as far as they could see, and in reality, not all that interesting.
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A L I Z E L ’ S S O N G
It had been going on like that for a few minutes. Alizel knew it was important, from the conversations he had he knew that much had been felt by everyone from the lowest Unranked to the highest Seraph. They could feel in His Will that this was an important event, but it was hard to imagine something like this being more important than the latest events in Heaven.
“What do you think it is? It looks like another world.”
“I don’t understand why He needed to create another world,” Verin said, leaning over the rail to look closer. “What’s wrong with this one?”
“Who’s to say He’s going to stop at one,” Uriel spoke up. “Maybe He’s making a hundred, or a thousand?”
The angels had been enjoying their newfound existence for only a short time, each of them had been created in an instant, fully formed and in awe of the Lord God who had created them and Heaven.
“Maybe He just made ours first because it’s the best,” Verin answered, lines of worry creasing his otherwise handsome face.
“Maybe you should stop questioning His motives.”
The voice coming from behind them was light and strong, radiant as a silver mirror reflecting the Father’s glory.
They whirled, apologizing. The figure behind them was tall and sleek, crimson wings bursting from his shoulder blades, aerodynamic and smooth. His cloak was brilliant white, and the fiery “S” emblazoned on the sash across his shoulder matched perfectly with the color and quality of his eyes. He was tall, yet his long, platinum hair still reached his waist. Not a strand was ever out of place.
“I’m sorry, sir.” Alizel managed to get his apology out first. “But we just don’t know what’s required of us. We are all so very new.”
“Trust in God is all that’s required. The rest will be revealed— even to you— when the time is right.”
With that he smiled and walked away.
When he was safely out of hearing distance, Verin parodied his expression. “‘Even to you.’ Those Seraphim think they know everything. What’s his name again?”
“Luciferel.” Uriel answered quickly.
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“He probably doesn’t even know. He just acts like that because he’s so highly ranked. I bet he wouldn’t talk to a Cherub like that.”
Alizel didn’t bother to answer him. He just kept staring at the sphere as it continued expanding outwards into nothingness and creating space for itself. It had cooled significantly in the first few minutes, but he still couldn’t imagine what it would become. They watched it and tossed around theories for a few more hours before shrugging it off and walking away.
Alizel sat down on a perfectly shaped stone on the banks of one of the smaller streams, letting his white wings slide down into the water and feeling the passing liquid tickle and caress his feathers. He thought nothing of taking a moment for introspection — he had no reason to believe that he had anything other than an infinite amount of time. And besides, this was one of his favorite spots.
There were no houses in Heaven, a place needed for safety and rest. Heaven was safety, at the same time both alive and yet so tranquil. There was no need for walls to keep out strangers, and all Heaven was home. In Heaven there was no need of rest, for angels’ bodies continually received energy from the glory of the Father. They did not grow weary or have any desire to stop. Every moment Alizel was bursting with the energy of a thousand possibilities. Rest was not something that he yearned for.
If an angel wanted to, he could find privacy in one of the common rooms or fellowship in one of the thousands of larger buildings designed for groups of angels to relax in easy conversation or praise. The buildings were generally curved so that all of the assembled angels could speak together and yet still gaze upon the Father. No wall could stop His sustaining energy from reaching them, but when given a choice, the angels always preferred to gaze upon Him. The buildings curved as amphitheaters with openings toward Mt. Zion, so that there could be an unobstructed view of the One who was their reason for being.
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A L I Z E L ’ S S O N G
Alizel spent most of his time praising God, not out of obligation but love. Angels were free to praise the Father privately at any time, and often did so. Yet nothing was more beautiful than when the entire assembled host burst forth into praise at once. Sometimes it was scheduled under the conducting of the Cherub Jehudiel, and sometimes it was spontaneous, but compelling either way. If he heard angels around him begin to sing, then Alizel wanted nothing more than to join in.
How to describe the sound — the purity of each voice, the melody of hundreds of thousands together, the power of the song that roared forth like a tsunami, yet held the gentleness of a single flower petal…. It was a song sung not with the lips but the soul.
Alizel and his friends spent time in nearly every corner of Heaven. They danced in the meadows, swam in the rivers, lounged in the treetops, and sometimes just soared over everything, gliding effortlessly and taking it all in. Pretty much the only place they didn’t go was the throne room of God. Although they worshiped the Lord without ceasing and loved him dearly, sometimes His love for them was almost too strong. Feeling such beauty concentrated into a single room was too much for even an ordinary angel. It seemed only the Cherubim and Seraphim could stand such intensity. Those two orders of angels weren’t like the rest of them. Seraphim seemed more ‘normal,’ almost as if they were just a better version of the other ranks of angels. Cherubim, on the other hand…well, it was almost as if they were a completely different species.
All of the ranks did spend a great deal of time at the Portal, just looking at the Realm of Matter. As it expanded it became more interesting, if only for its differences with Heaven. They took to calling the Realm of Matter “the Universe.” It had a completely different set of physical laws than Heaven. It had one energy like Heaven, but that energy could take many forms. It was the attraction of gravity, and the attraction charge between positive and negative, between matter and antimatter. The energy could be stored as matter
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or released with the splitting or fusing of tiny particles. Heaven’s one energy, though, only had one form. The Father himself radiated out all that the angels needed to survive. It was food, drink, sleep, light, purpose, and love. Alizel and indeed every other angel craved it, yet were satisfied at every moment. It was the water of eternal life.
One thing that angels did have in common with the Universe was time. Angels didn’t age— they learned from the past, and increased in wisdom, but their bodies stayed the same.
At least… that was true for most angels.
Alizel and his friends were able to watch time passing in that other world, often going down to the Portal to watch it for years in one sitting.
They were always disappointed.
“Is it just going to stay like that forever?” Verin blurted out once, leaning over the railing. “If God created our world in an instant, why is this one taking so long?”
Verin was a good friend, but he never seemed satisfied. Alizel wasn’t sure how, but Verin’s curiosity was different than their friend, Mupiel’s. Mupiel was a blond Unranked angel who questioned everything, always wanting to know why everythin
g happened. Verin always seemed like he needed to make something happen.
“Perhaps it’s supposed to stay that way,” Alizel offered, shrugging his shoulders.
“Oh, yes,” Verin replied, sweeping his hand around at the bright columns, flowing streams, and fiery energy that was home. “God who could make this beauty has nothing better to do than to make a big cloud of particles.”
Alizel had to admit that he did have a point. It didn’t make much sense. “Well, some of them are sticking together,” Alizel noticed, pointing. Although angels couldn’t speed up or slow down time in the new world, they could zoom in or out, seeing the entirety or the insides of the small particles made up of other smaller particles.
