CounterPoint

by Daniel Rafferty

  “You’re proposing disobedience on a scale never imagined,” replied Raphael, looking concerned but not overly surprised. This issue had been a centre point of angelic disagreement since God left.

  “It’s not disobedience, Raphael. God isn’t coming back. I don’t think he’s dead,” said Michael, answering the question he knew some would ask, “but Heaven agrees, the probability of him coming back is minimal. We’ve heard reports of the creation of life in distant parts of existence. Some so spectacularly grand they make Earth and its inhabitants look like a pathetic Petri dish.”

  “It is not the time,” commanded Gabriel, the one archangel who could always be counted upon to disagree with Michael.

  “Heaven disagrees,” said Michael in an equally authoritarian tone glaring down at Gabriel. The other archangels looked at Gabriel intently; he was often their spokesperson against Michael.

  “You propose to bring the evaluation forward. That’s what you really want. This has nothing to do with current levels of demons and evil. The experiment is to be completed with the return of God. We are not to expedite that process,” growled Gabriel, rising from his seat.

  “What do you propose we do instead? Stay here for an eternity in the vain hope that God will return? He’s not coming back Gabriel. How many times have we tried to contact him since he left, and nothing?”

  “God does not need to inform us of his plans.”

  “Gabriel, evil has polluted this world and humanity to the point of no return. The experiment on its present course will fail. Are you prepared to stand by and allow demons to overrun this world? To allow evil to pollute every remaining aspect of creation here?” shouted Michael. “If we don’t act now we will face chaos. We are at a tipping point and I fear we will soon plunge. There won’t be an experiment left worth evaluating. How do we explain that to God if he ever returns? We must salvage what we can.”

  “The importance of humanity cannot be overstated.”

  “God is gone, Gabriel, and by all accounts there shall be no return. Humanity has been a disaster from the very beginning. Do you want to continue patching up a sick planet riddled with evil for the rest of eternity?”

  “Then destroy Hell!” Gabriel countered loudly. Both had now squared up to each other.

  “Destroy Hell?” shouted Michael, over Gabriel’s repeated yeses, “and lose hundreds of angels in the process. What about the millions of demons roaming the planet? They’ll regroup and we won’t have the troops to counter them.”

  “Michael,” said Gabriel calmly. He didn’t want them ending up brawling and destroying half the city in the process. “This is wrong. If we try to forcefully remove evil from this planet we risk destroying it. Humanity is capable of ejecting evil from this world. Give them the time to do so. Let the experiment run its course,” he reasoned.

  “Evil was never meant to be part of this experiment!”

  “We don’t know that. God left no instruction, nothing. For all we know evil is the very object humanity must overcome to pass this experiment.” Gabriel sat back down again. He knew the other Archangels agreed with him, at least to some extent, but would not anger Michael.

  “The time is now,” finished Michael once more. The other archangels listened to Michael and Gabriel now descend into an ear bashing row.

  The world’s inhabitants, human, animal and supernatural alike had no idea that at this very moment, their fate was being determined in a hotel suite in London.

  Chapter 2

  Ariel strolled down the corridor outside his department’s offices and towards the main elevator. It had been a busy day getting everything sorted. He always failed to understand how humans were able to accomplish all they had whilst sleeping through a third of their life.

  Once above ground, he closed his eyes, chanted an ancient three-word spell and vanished, spiriting upwards toward Heaven. Despite what most humans thought, Heaven was not ‘floating’ above Earth somewhere. It was an entirely different dimension but nonetheless very real. Moments later, Ariel arrived. As a senior angel with departmental responsibilities he was allowed to enter Heaven whenever he wished from any location on Earth.

  Heaven was not as many humans imagined it. The truth was that there is a single Heaven at the centre. Expanding outwards from Heaven are various large sections. Some contain different eras of Earth history allowing humans to explore. Of course, even Heaven was a department. A large number of angels were required to process humans and keep everything in order. Heaven had changed considerably since it was first created. The original plan was to concentrate everyone in one huge Heaven. Angels quickly discovered, however that even in the afterlife, humans were still as ‘human’ as ever. Confrontations, stealing, deceit and trespassing were rampant. Therefore a decree from the Archangels stipulated that everyone admitted to Heaven was allowed to proceed immediately to their designated department for processing without delay. No more ‘social leave’, as it was called.

  Of course, they could still visit the communal areas in Heaven, with its wondrous gardens and unimaginably beautiful waterfalls. Heaven also possessed every creature ever created by God, with small exceptions. Many were even extinct on Earth. Ariel, however, was not on a social visit. He needed to seek advice from an old friend on this anomaly he had encountered. Being thousands of years old had allowed him to experience many a peculiar thing in his existence; more so after being stationed directly on Earth for over two thousand years. He was very aware of humans clashing with demons and monsters all over the planet. That had been happening for centuries now and would most likely continue. Angels were simply not numerous enough to keep the demon and monster populations in check all the time. Thankfully, to most on Earth, the existence of supernatural entities was considered laughable and at the very most slightly curious. There were cult sects that followed and actively sought out demons and monsters of all kinds but they usually were never successful. Those who were successful usually didn’t last long enough to tell anyone of their discoveries.

  Under his watch, Ariel had petitioned for vast increases in resources for his department. He genuinely believed that they were capable of being far more efficient in rooting out demonic ringleaders and managing supernatural disruptions. Attacks on humans from demons had been decreasing, with occasional spikes, over the past one hundred years, but during conflicts such as the first and second world wars this quota was multiplied tenfold. The problem partly lay due to the inaction of Heaven. Angels had hunted down demons, reducing them to a mere smattering across the globe. But they never took the final step in eradicating them completely. Like a cornered rat, demons began fighting back and were increasing their numbers drastically. The result of this was in the actual creation of the Department of Special Operations, which specialised in the training of highly advanced, elite angelic operatives who could investigate and quietly silence any disturbances which were considered a ‘disruption’ to the natural order on the planet. Every demon attack, monster outbreak and human witness of a supernatural occurrence was considered a disruption. It should never have happened. The original blueprints for Earth and humanity show that no evil and no monsters were to be present

  Having walked through the centre of Heaven, Ariel now found himself sitting on a bench in one of its grand gardens. A monumental forming waterfall which fell onto a smattering of diamond like rocks at the base caught his eye. Heaven was constantly changing and evolving. Every type of flora imaginable blossomed around the edge of the water at the bottom of the waterfall. The sky was the bluest of the blue and a very light breeze moved eastwards through the garden, carrying the scent of fresh roses. You could see clearly for miles around in every direction, gorgeous spanning hills and rivers along with flying animals in and out of the trees of every type. Tall palm trees provided an occasional oasis from the sun’s penetrating shine around this waterfall.

  Ariel had called for Lana; he just hoped she had heard him and would come. Lana and he had a long history, working together on
Earth and it was she who had recommended him for promotion to replace her as Department Director. Lana had moved on up into Heaven as one of its key liaisons with the Three Sisters of Fate.

  “Ariel. It’s been over fifty years.”

  Ariel didn’t even look round to meet her gaze even though he was relieved she had appeared. Most angels were never interested in such human formalities as saying Hello and goodbye. They simply preferred to talk and be objective. It was all business. They had a duty of charge to the planet and humans.

  “I know. I’ve been busy,” replied Ariel, watching the water spray over the diamond rocks and glisten magically up into the air against the backdrop of a golden oasis sky. Small droplets from the spray formed into a long sleeve of shimmering, rainbow-coloured stones and flew downwards, sweeping round the garden like a pup exploring the outside world for the first time.

  “As have I. I’m sure you haven’t contacted me now to correct that faux pas. I gather the problems on Earth are mounting.” Lana was always cold and calculating, straight to the point no matter who or what you were.

  “There are rumours that Michael believes the time is now to rid evil from the planet forever. He believes if we do not take action now then evil will take over this world, and therefore destroy the experiment. Obviously I haven’t relayed my fears to the department staff. But we both know this has been boiling for years. Too many now think God isn’t coming back, and that we’ve been tasked with administering a planet for all eternity. None of us have been consulted,” he said, trying to contain his anger. Angels were created to serve the wishes of God.

  “Do you truly believe this path is not righteous?”

  “I believe going down this path will lead to hundreds of millions of human causalities. It could even make the planet uninhabitable. The experiment would be voided. The Ministry of Defence is already stockpiling weapons to field the entire angelic presence on Earth. If we descend onto the streets to take demons head on it will mean war. Humans have progressed to such an extent that we will not be able to camouflage this. The chaos it would wreak on the planet would be cataclysmic. It would overwhelm every regional office and every Ministry,” said Ariel. Despite looking serene and calm in the garden, he was frightfully alert mentally. The issues they faced deserved nothing less.

  “It would mean an end to the human experiment. That is definite,” shot back Lana impatiently. She always was more ‘human like’ with her expressions. “Regardless of how Michael tries to justify this, the experiment will be voided. Be under no illusion about this. No one on Heaven, Earth or beyond truly knows what will happen if Michael were to take this course. Even if he is able to evaluate the experiment after the war, only God knows the parameters to be measured against. Michael may believe evaluating the experiment will free angels from their task on Earth. That will only happen when God returns and evaluates the experiment – and our actions will be included in that experiment.”

  “What does Heaven say?” asked Ariel, his high powered angelic mind processing endless outcomes.

  “Would it matter?” replied Lana. “Michael rules both Heaven and Earth. You know this. Heaven, even if it disagrees with Michael, will not stop him.”

  Ariel knew this was true. Those in Heaven, the elder angels, had long since resigned themselves to the knowledge that Michael had built an empire on Earth. They had little sway over planetary affairs and were now considered advisors at the very most. “If we go to war with demons planet wide, and then try to evaluate the experiment, the other Gods will rise against us.”

  “Most certainly, Ariel. When Michael announces his course of action in the Council the other Gods will begin making preparations of their own.”

  A Council meeting was only ever convened when something that had global ramifications was to be enacted. It was first established by the Archangel Gabriel as a way of creating channels of communication and dialogue in areas which were often fraught with tension and violence between Michael and the other Gods who had settled on Earth.

  “The Council won’t be able to stop Michael however,” said Ariel, stating the obvious.

  “How true. The other Gods will not side with us in this battle. They may not side with demons either but they will get involved. You know many angels see the Council as a tool for appeasing those they consider inferior to themselves. Another nasty aspect of our kind we do not talk about. However Michael tries to justify this, the Gods will rise against it. They will not stand idly by and watch a place they now call home be destroyed by a petulant Archangel,” replied Lana, now sitting beside Ariel but still gazing forward into the distance.

  “What would be the global effects of this war?”

  “For humans, the destruction of cities and infrastructure on a scale unimaginable to them. Countries will attempt to use their armed forces to intervene as fighting will descend onto the streets and into the air. Millions would be displaced and hundreds of millions more would be killed in the crossfire and with civil unrest. I do believe we would ultimately be successful in destroying the demon threat, but the scar we would leave on humanity and on the planet would never heal. Humans would become aware of our existence beyond all doubt. Gods such as Kali will become involved, adding to the chaos. Every department would be over-run. You’re talking about an influx of human souls greater than at any point in history. Remember the problems we had when the Black Death and Spanish flu occurred? Not to mention two world wars in one century.”

  “Oh, I remember,” answered Ariel. Those crises overwhelmed every department, allowing demons to swell in numbers by luring humans over to the dark side. When a life form on Earth dies, they automatically leave their physical body and appear at a local sorting office, where angelic staff decides whether the person has earned the right to proceed directly to Heaven. If one has done enough good in their human life, they are taken by an angel to Heaven. If staff at the sorting office can’t decide on a particular human, they are sent to purgatory. This waiting area for humans has been bloated for centuries. Once in purgatory the human must wait for a council of elder angels to review their life and decide whether they should be allowed entry to Heaven, or face damnation in Hell. For those who had committed unforgivable sins, one of Death’s staff would collect and escort them to Hell. Hell was once under the control of angels as an intense rehabilitation centre but demons overran it centuries ago. Angels were never able to regain control of Hell since. The entire process was set up to be extremely efficient, if rather emotionless. As Ariel knew however, Angels were there to run the planet as efficiently as possible and not to mollycoddle its inhabitants.

  “Then you should know this will cause chaos on a scale we have never witnessed before. Not only that, but with these humans directly caught in the crossfire of a war between Heaven and Hell, their souls are going to be shattered. It will take years to repair that kind of damage. To make matters worse, it will also incur the wrath of those outside the angelic hierarchy.”

  “You’re referring to the Sisters of Fate?” asked Ariel. He knew that those not in the angelic ranks could cause trouble but usually they stayed out of their affairs.

  “Not only them. Death, the Script Writers, the Holy Ghost. They’ll all be infuriated by this deviation from the natural course.”

  “Michael’s in charge though. It’s our planet. We have to do what we think is right, Lana. How much longer do we carry on administrating this world for? What if God never comes back? What if the human experiment is irrelevant now?”

  Lana looked round at Ariel and shook her head in disappointment, clearly spending too much time on Earth with the rest of the department heads had clouded his views.

  “This is not our planet and Michael is not in charge. He’s merely the next one up the celestial chain of command. God is in charge, be under no doubt about that,” she countered scathingly. “The human experiment is not to be evaluated now. To do so would destroy the experiment. If Michael thinks evaluating this experiment will release him from his task
s then he is a fool. There is no guarantee the experiment will be successful, and if it fails then we will all be held accountable. Evil has not destroyed this experiment and therefore Michael cannot take this course of action. God will seek to punish those who have managed this planet so poorly in his absence.”

  “God’s gone, Lana. He hasn’t been seen or heard of since the fall of Lucifer, have you seen him? Heard from him?” replied Ariel, equally scathingly. If there was one intense controversy among the angels, it was this one.

  “No, I haven’t. The last time I saw him was with the rest of you, before he ordered Michael to banish Lucifer once and for all. But I have faith. One day he will return and when he does, he isn’t going to be happy. I suggest you decide where your true loyalties lie. Just remember this, you are here to protect and care for God’s creations.”

  Ariel stared at Lana, his face a blank expression, but she had gotten her point across. The conversation was over and she vanished.

  Chapter 3

  David Bassett stood in the kitchen overlooking the Thames in London. It was a modern, spacious, well-apportioned apartment with huge glass pane windows overlooking the muddy Thames River. The minimalistic design and the monochromatic black and white aesthetic suited David and his partner. They were both by every means ‘city boys’, dining in fine restaurants and wine bars. The apartment was kitted with the latest gadgets, due to David loving technology. Stirring soup in a pot, he looked absent-minded as he pondered the presentation he was to deliver the next day to his boss, only slightly aware of the raging storm outside. Most people beyond the field considered financial investment boring. He found it thrilling: the chase of getting a deal, making the numbers work.

  The breadbin opened smoothly, and a loaf of bread unwrapped itself. Four thick white slices were released and travelled across the kitchen, settling down on a square white plate in the centre of the rectangular, black glass dining table. While the table seated eight, only two places were laid out as they hadn’t entertained in a while - the pressures of work.