by Pottle, Bill
“It doesn't matter!” Abbadon was ready. “Man must pay for the sins of God. Why must we worry about what is fair? Let's destroy man, Earth, the whole Universe while we are at it.”
Lucifer held up a hand. “Hold, my friend. I appreciate your… enthusiasm. Kasadya's point is important, but based on a fundamental misunderstanding. It is true that the humans did not know of what they caused nor choose willfully to cause it. In fairness, we should not destroy them. However, that is assuming that the humans are our equals. The humans are nothing to us. They have the faintest spark of the divine within them, but are still creatures of matter. We are creatures of spirit. Their lifetime is a flicker compared to our billions of years of existence. Our knowledge surpasses theirs by an equal margin. Their minds are feeble and grasp even the simplest of ideas with great difficulty. No, the humans are not our equals and are not to be treated as such.”
Lucifer looked around. Most of the demons were slowly nodding their heads.
“If any one of you needs more proof, see how they treat those lower than them. Look at their lives before God gave them souls. Does a man feel the need to be fair to an ant? Does or does he not rip a fruit from a tree to satisfy his wants? Who among you can say that man deserves anything different from us?”
There was a rumble of agreement. Lucifer's case was not a hard one to make. Every last demon there was lusting for someone to blame for their position. By reasoning through the argument, he kept them believing that what they were doing was right.
“So if we are not to destroy them now, what then shall we do?” Abbadon's massive bulk seemed crestfallen at the loss of his sport.
“That's easy,” Lucifer answered. “We'll make God regret the day He ever created them.”
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Eve rolled over to stare up at the sun and let its rays wash over the front of her body. It was a glorious afternoon, the kind where she didn't mind being alone with her thoughts. The warmth of the sun felt delightful as it spread all throughout her muscles and skin. She remembered an opposite sensation, but couldn't place it. It was a dream within a dream, something from her former life that wasn't even a life, really. Cold, fear, and pain had no place here in Eden.
She couldn't say that she missed the old life, not in the least. But what if this new life was also an old life for something else? The idea bothered her. What had she done to move from the old life to this one? She didn't know that it was of no merit of her own, that God had breathed a part of His life into her and had thus turned her from animal to human. She had no conception of it, and couldn't imagine herself as an animal. Animals weren't thoughtful. Animals were different than humans. This idea was firmly planted in her mind.
That's what made it so surprising when she heard one speak. “Eve,” it said. Eve started and looked all around, initially unable
to find the speaker.
“Adam?” She didn't think it was her husband, but the only beings that she had heard speak were him, the Lord, and the other humans.
“Down here,” it hissed. “It is I, the serpent.”
Eve crouched down and looked into the serpent's face. At the back of her mind a primal instinct told her to be afraid of such a creature, but fear had no place here.
“Hello, little serpent,” Eve answered him. “How is it that you talk? Are you God?”
The serpent spat and hissed. “No, my friend. I am better than God.”
Eve was taken aback. “Better than God? How can such a thing be possible? He has created this whole garden, and He has created us.”
“He has created you,” the serpent admitted, “although the task was small. Dear child, do you not yearn for more? I can give you so much more that you would look upon your current condition with disgust and shame.”
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“I... I do not know what those words mean.” Eve was a little embarrassed. She had never heard those words before.
“There is much that you do not know. I could tell you, but then you would not know other things.”
“Can you tell me the things that I don't know?”
“I could tell you some of them,” the serpent replied. “But you still would not know what you didn't know. Say that you knew ten things, how would you know if there were a hundred things to know or a thousand?”
Eve's face showed that the idea was troublesome to her. “Could you tell me how many things there are to know?”
“Certainly, I could. Yet the number is so high that you do not have words for it. I could tell you things for years and years and years, and still there would be far more to know.”
Eve's expression grew more and more troubled, and then light again.
“If that is the case, then we must not be meant to know everything. I do not believe that God would have created us to be unhappy.”
“Oh, but you are wrong. I said that I could not tell you everything, but there is a fruit in this very garden which can show you it all in an instant. All it takes is one little bite.”
“What fruit is this? I have been up and down this garden, and have tasted no such fruit.”
“But have you tasted every fruit?”
Eve was confused again. “Yes, I believe that we have.” “You haven't tasted the fruit from the tree in the center.”
“That fruit? That's not for us. The Lord specifically told us not to eat it.”
“I see,” said the snake, nodding his head up and down. “And why do you think that the Lord told you this?”
Eve was having trouble with the question. Although she was naturally much more inquisitive than Adam, the idea of questioning why God did anything had clearly not occurred to her.
“Well...” She started, broke off to think, and then began again. “Perhaps because it's not good for us to eat.”
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“Has he told you not to eat anything else that is not good for you? Has he commanded you not to eat the bark of the tree, or the rocks of the field?”
“No... I guess that I just never thought to eat those things. We just kind of know that they aren't for eating.”
“Well, the fruit of this tree is different,” said the snake. “Would you like to know how?”
Eve said nothing but her eyes betrayed her. It was obvious that she wanted to know very badly. How could one fruit be so different from the others?
The snake turned to slither away. “When you want to find out, come find me.”
Kasadya sat on a rock and took in the situation around him. Their life was to be so different now. The demons in HEL were closely monitoring the events in Eden, but with Lucifer gone, there was no clear command structure. Although Baal Zebub was technically in charge, even he wouldn’t order anything other than waiting. There was no point in setting up fortifications with the shifting border, although they were closely monitoring it and had three lines of lower ranking soldiers ready on the perimeter should Michael and his forces try to attack.
Out of nowhere, a horrible scream rent the air. The demons turned toward the sound, drawing their swords to face off against an assault from Heaven's angels.
There was no attack, however. The screaming mass hit the floor and rolled. The demons circled it to see what it was, and it was immediately clear.
It was one of them. It was Azazel.
He rolled around on the ground, screaming out at his bonds. “Someone get me out of here!”
Verin rushed forward to tear at the bonds and then screamed himself.
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“I can't touch this!” He wrung his hands trying to get the sting off. “What is this made of?”
“It came from Raphael. The essence of Him!” Azazel spat the name, struggling and rolling in agony.
The demons all looked at him, none knowing quite what to do. They had never seen something like this before.
“We had better wait for Lucifer,�
�� Kasadya suggested. “He may know how to defeat this horrible bondage.”
No one stepped forward to suggest anything different. They wouldn't back down when facing one of Michael's troops, but none dared to touch the rope made from the essence of God.
One by one the demons walked away, leaving Azazel alone with his screams.
Eve didn't go back to see the serpent the next day, or the day after. She kept going over what he had told her in her mind, tossing around the possibilities and letting them settle. Every time she passed by the tree, it seemed to be a little more exciting. The fruits glistened with the morning dew. What would it be like to know everything?
She wondered why God had put a tree there if they were not to eat from it. Was it just to tempt them? So far, what she had known about God showed that He wouldn't be like that. Why then?
An odd thought struck her. What if God had put the tree there as a test for her and Adam? As she thought about it, the test could go both ways. Maybe God wanted them to do something to earn their knowledge. Maybe knowledge was special, and that is why it had to be earned, while food, water, sunshine, and everything else was just given to them.
But, the reverse could be true as well. What if knowledge wasn't the important thing? What if the tree was just there to test their obedience? What if the tree didn't give knowledge at all? What if it was just a regular tree and God desired their obedience over all?
As she thought about the second possibility, it seemed the more “real” to her. She wasn't aware of it, but this was the first time a human
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being used her conscience. Although His actions weren’t provable by science, He nevertheless gave each human being a special compass that oriented towards His will at all times. He did not impinge on their free will, but did still give them a connection to Him so they could discern between good and evil.
The serpent slithered up from the grass next to her. It slid around her heels, and she felt a chill run up her spine. Eve shivered, something that she had not done since her ensoulment. The snake shot away. She wondered if the experience hadn't been more unpleasant for him.
“What was that feeling?” Eve asked. Although she felt danger, she couldn't really articulate what it was.
“It was nothing,” the serpent hissed. “My scales are cold and do not feel good against your bare skin.”
Eve wasn't sure that that was it, but she let it go. The serpent was watching the tree, seeing that none of the fruit had been broken from their stems.
“If that tree is so special to you, why don't you eat the fruit yourself?” The question was out almost before Eve intended it to be, but it did make sense to her. Indeed, why hadn't the serpent tasted any of the fruit of that tree? Another thought came into her mind. “How do you know so much about this tree anyway?”
“The answers to your questions are both related,” the serpent replied. “Indeed, I have already shared in the knowledge of this tree.” He seemed to falter for the briefest second before continuing. “I have shared this knowledge, and thus am I able to speak with you. Have you heard any other beast of the earth or air stop to converse with you? Has the hare of the field given you precious secrets? I think not. I alone can show you the way to your future.”
It was true. No other creature besides humans and the Lord had ever come to speak with her. Perhaps this snake had tasted of the tree.
“Why do I wish you to eat of it? In a word, pity. I pity you for your limited sight of God's beautiful creation.
“If you do eat it,” the snake continued on, “you really don't have anything to lose. If there is a problem later, you will be able to solve it with the knowledge that you have gained.”
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It made sense to Eve. If she just took one little bite and she wasn't supposed to, she would have the knowledge to know what to do next.
“Although I wish you to share in this knowledge, and I wish you to see as I see, it doesn't matter to me whether you eat it or not. Perhaps I should just find some of the other humans or even other creatures and tell them the secret. In fact, I think I'll do that tomorrow.”
“No, wait!” Eve cried out. The thought of losing the chance to attain all that knowledge, of losing out while others ate from the tree was almost more than she could bear.
“I'll do it.”
The snake hissed his pleasure. “All it takes in one little bite. I came to you first because God created you and Adam before the others. But if you're not a changed woman by tomorrow morning, I will have to find someone else more worthy.”
Trembling, Eve inched her way towards the tree.
Alizel was down at the Portal, watching Earth. Most of the angels were there, or strolling through the rebuilt Heaven.
It hadn't taken more than a fraction of a second after Lucifer left before God's glory burned throughout all Heaven, removing all traces of Lucifer's rebellion and restoring their lovely home to its former splendor. It was as if the rebellion had never happened. The streams of liquid diamond once again flowed freely from one side of the kingdom to the other. The gardens were once again filled with brilliant hues, mixing in patterns no human eye has seen and no human pen could describe. Angels strolled freely and without fear.
The only one who wasn’t completely healed was Eleleth. Although her body seemed fine and she was able to get out of bed and walk around with the other angels, for some reason she was not made whole. Her wings were gone, the feathers tattered to the point where they simply fell off. Angels took them and placed them on an altar in a temple close to Mt. Zion. Alizel wondered if she would ever soar again.
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Although Heaven looked the same physically, it was taking a while for the angels to get used to the changes. Nothing Lucifer had done could mar even the slightest part of God's creation. But inside, the angels were hurting. God hadn't opened up the Containment yet. Alizel wondered why. There were bad angels as well as good ones in there. But somehow that didn't seem like it was it. Alizel had no doubt that He could destroy it and let the trapped angels free, but He didn't. One of the more radical theories circulating around was that holding the angels from the war wasn't even the main purpose of the Containment in the first place. There was even a rumor that God had put something else into the Containment. Alizel couldn't imagine what else He was using it for.
Alizel checked himself and nearly laughed out loud at that last thought he had had. As if he even dared to imagine the plans of God! If one thing was for certain, it was that His plans were far broader and far deeper than anything angels could imagine.
The hierarchy was reorganized, but only to take advantage of those angels who had left. Thus Uriel was still his Principality, and Katel was still his Archangel, even though he was in the Containment. This gave Alizel great hope to see him once again.
Alizel never would have guessed that everything revolved around the humans. Why were they so important? Lucifer was right about how small they were. Alizel wondered if they even knew of the angels’ existence. Or, if they could even comprehend their existence, if they did know about it. Perhaps part of their importance was not only in spite of their limitations, but because of their limitations.
Angels had all been trained in how to interact with the Universe, of course, and Alizel saw it backfiring already. Entranced, he watched from the Portal. Lucifer was entering into Eve's brain, manipulating the subatomic particles there and making her see the image of a serpent. He manipulated the neurons in the auditory pathways leading to her brain so that she thought she was engaging it in conversation.
How had God overlooked this? Surely He must have known something like this could happen. Interacting with the Universe wasn't a trivial thing for angels, but neither was it too difficult.
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Lucifer could have even created a snake or transformed himself into one,
although such a feat would have been far more difficult than merely altering the reality Eve experienced. Did God know that Lucifer would have figured it out?
What was Lucifer hoping to accomplish? Surely he could introduce disease into the humans or even kill them with little effort. Why was he content to just talk with them? As Alizel pondered the question, he thought he already knew the answer.
