The Harvest

by John David Krygelski

Turning, Elohim asked, “What is that?”

  “Why no recordings? Why did You disable the audio and video of the meetings?”

  “There were many reasons, one being the effect the knowledge of being recorded would have on the various interviewers. Knowing that their words, voices, and demeanors would very likely be broadcast to a billion people would result in posturing rather than a free-flowing dialogue. Primarily, I felt it would have been contrary to the purpose of the interviews. It was your assigned task to evaluate and decide my identity. You were provided with full access, including your presence during nearly all of the discussions I had with others. Your government, your people awaited your evaluation. If the images and sounds of the meetings were to have been captured, do you believe they would not have been broadcast?”

  “You’re probably right. They would have been leaked or deliberately sent out. But why is that a bad thing?”

  Elohim hitched one leg onto the cushion, turning to face Reese completely. “You are one of the most intelligent and intuitive people on Earth, yet you found reaching a determination daunting. Isn’t that true?”

  “It is.”

  “You have witnessed the process of public assimilation many times. Do you have great faith in the abilities of all or even most to come to the same conclusion as you?”

  “So, You’re saying the masses are not intelligent enough?”

  “Actually, no. What I’m saying is…people need leaders. It may seem to be a tautology, but they need leaders because they need to be led. A revealing event occurred many years ago, during your Viet Nam War. One morning a small group of soldiers were on patrol, walking a trail deep in the jungle, when they came upon the dead body of one of their enemy. The body was adjacent to the trail, propped against a tree, for all of them to file past. The sergeant, the leader of this small group, emptied the clip of his automatic weapon into the corpse. As each soldier walked past, he did the same, so that by the time the twelfth man passed, this dead body was torn to shreds. Many of the men in that patrol were revolted and sickened by their own actions; yet, when their turns came, they did as their leader and, of more significance, the others who came before had done.

  “I say this is a revealing event because there was opportunity for several decisions to be made. The sergeant could have decided to send a dramatically different message to his men by stopping the patrol to bury the dead body. Alternately, one of the soldiers behind the sergeant could have decided not to follow his lead by not firing. This is important – important because it would have provided a different example for the others to follow, since the others obviously did not have the fortitude to break the chain on their own.

  “There is no shortage of leaders in your society. Although your government has a single head, there are many within this country who do not view him as such. They follow other leaders from the opposition party, leaders who more closely mirror their own views. Many citizens prefer to be led by the news media, directly or indirectly. They believe that this group has their best interests at heart and, therefore, they are more inclined to follow its lead. Some people will choose, consciously or subconsciously, particular role models to follow. Once their role models embrace certain beliefs or positions, the people feel that they have permission to embrace those viewpoints, as well. Sadly, the chosen role models of many are the most shallow and self-absorbed within your culture. If you add parents, clergy, teachers, academic experts, and many others to this list of leaders, the issue becomes clear. Bear in mind we are only discussing this country. As we extend the analysis to the rest of the world, the list of influential leaders expands tremendously. All of them have their own agendas. They all maintain their power, their leadership roles, by coloring, slanting, and controlling the messages to their own group of followers.

  “You, Reese, became a leader of people at least for a short period of time. It was only you who had the access and the information. It was only you who could provide the authoritative position.”

  Pointing to the pile of pages beside his laptop, Reese said, “There were transcripts. They were posted on the Internet pretty quickly.”

  “Written transcripts do not have the same impact or influence upon the public as does the combination of video and audio. How many people on Earth, in your estimation, have read even a portion of the transcripts?”

  “I would guess not very many.”

  “Don’t you find that odd, considering the subject?”

  “Odd, but not surprising, I guess.”

  “You are right, of course. The people who have taken the time to read even a portion of the transcripts number in the thousands worldwide. And most who read them did so because they were aware that others were depending upon them for their opinions.”

  “I’m not sure I understand the problem with the tapes being recorded and released. The audience for that would be in the millions.”

  “Are you certain? Would they sit through the hours of discussions, or would they prefer an edited, condensed version with commentary and explanation from various experts? I suspect the presentation which would attract a truly huge audience would be fifty hours of raw recordings summarized in an hour, perhaps an hour and half. The audience for the unedited version would be the same people who have taken the time to read all of the transcripts. Reese, could all of the details needed to understand that which transpired in the interview room be condensed into an hour?”

  “No. Not even close.”

  “And if it were possible to edit all of our conversations down to an hour, do you believe the moments chosen by the various news producers for inclusion would be the same as your choices?”

  “Also, no. I’ve been struggling to journalize my experiences from the past few days, and I can’t think of any parts which are not important, which I would be comfortable editing out of the story. So, I suppose you’re probably right. Tell me, is it simply laziness on the part of most?”

  “Actually, no. We are brought back to the earlier point of people requiring a leader. They do not want to watch the raw recordings because it would force them to analyze, interpret, and decide what is right and what is real. Very few among you seek that responsibility. People are much more comfortable having their chosen leaders perform the analysis and do the interpretation, then make the decision for them. These leaders will announce what they perceive to be the truth. Unfortunately, they are spread across a broad spectrum of intelligence and intuitiveness, with none reaching the level of your abilities. They will also approach the task burdened by their own agendas, inevitably distorting the final result. As I said, it was necessary for you to become a temporary leader, if for no other reason than for there to be clarity.”

  Reese fell silent, contemplating Elohim’s words for a time. Eventually, Elohim asked, “Why are you troubled?”

  Slowly releasing a deep breath, Reese replied, “From Your descriptions, it just doesn’t seem that we’re much of a prize, the human race. Sometimes I wonder why You’re interested in us. Other times I wonder, since You made us, why You didn’t make us better. Even Your reason for not intervening to prevent a catastrophe is so that people will learn from it. Why didn’t You just make us with that lesson already learned? In fact, why didn’t You just make us all Heaven-ready and do away with this whole selection process?”

  Elohim gazed at Reese for what felt like minutes, finally answering, “From the moment we met, I promised that I would not only be always truthful with you, but that I would also not mislead you. The truthful answer to your question is…I can’t. Do not misunderstand, I am capable of making a race, as you put it, Heaven-ready. In fact, I have done exactly that in the past. My loyal and loving band of angels were the fruit of that effort. Yet, I discovered that despite their beauty, despite their love, despite their intelligence, all bestowed upon them by me, they were all incapable of ever once speaking a phrase, performing a deed, or even thinking a thought which was a surprise to me. Scientists on Earth have worked for years to make a lifelike robo
t. It has been the subject of nearly countless books and movies. Should they ever succeed, they will discover, as I have, that they created nothing but a mirror image of themselves, an image with no real distinction. It will have no desires other than the desires programmed by its creators – no dreams, no hopes, no ambitions, and no failures, unless its creators made it so.

  “Reese, imagine living in a world with no other humans, populated only with your creations.”

  “There are some who would find it pleasant,” Reese replied.

  “Only at first. Even the shallowest, most controlling, most hedonistic person would soon find the existence an empty one.”

  “The husbands in the story The Stepford Wives were happy with the arrangement.”

  “I doubt, in reality rather than fiction, they would be. Would you prefer an obedient robot over Claire? And even so, they continued to have interactions with others who were real. I am describing an environment where no real people, as you would define them, existed.”

  “I see Your point.”

  “So I was faced with a conundrum. How could I create a being who would be capable of surprising me, its creator? I discovered the answer within the nearly infinite variables inherent in evolution.”

  “How ironic. The staunchest believers in religion see evolution as anathema to their faith.”

  “You are right; it is ironic. I was only able to create humans, as you are today, by creating an environment within which you could thrive, and then placing the most basic of building blocks in proximity.”

  “DNA.”

  “Yes, DNA. As I told you in our earlier discussions, there were times I needed to step in, to make sure the stage was set for your arrival. Had I not, for example, to this day the world would be dominated by dinosaurs rather than humans. There were other times when I prevented major devastation which would have caused the extinction of your race. At such times, I hardly refused to intervene. Once the matrix of life was in place, I tinkered more than once, creating different lines, different breeds, and extinguishing others, all the while maintaining the uniqueness and the wonderful independence of the system itself.

  “There finally came a day, hundreds of thousands of your years ago, when I watched an erect hominid decide…DECIDE…to swim a river rather than climb a tree to escape a predator. Imagine my joy! I was certain he would climb into the tree as he and others of his kind had done predictably for many years. I was surprised. Truly and completely surprised. And it was the first of many to come. Again I intervened, this time on the micro level. That primitive man, who so delighted me that day, led a charmed life. He did not suffer a shortage of food or water. His shelter was excellent, a lovely cave from which I had rousted a family of tigers. And because his supply of food was good and the quality of his home was excellent, he had no trouble attracting a wide choice of mates. He chose wisely, and the pair produced many children, some of the offspring also possessing the trait. I ensured that those who carried the trait prospered.”

  “Eden?”

  “Indeed. And, this first pair, I called Adam and Eve – Adam to symbolize the first, and Eve because I knew mankind was on the eve of a new dawn. I made their small part of the world safe and bountiful, protecting them as you would shield the first flickers of a fire from the wind. They sensed they were somehow blessed, as did their children…or, I should say, as did the children who carried the gene.

  “Genetics, the random combinations which produce each of you, can be both wonderful and cruel. Any parent who has brought into this world a healthy child and also has suffered through the misery of bearing a fatally flawed child will tell you this.

  “It was this fluke of genetics and its result which taught me my most profound lesson about mankind. One of the sons of Adam and Eve had the trait, perhaps even possessed it more strongly than the others. As I said, he sensed my protective presence. Rather than viewing it as the gift it was, he chose to see it as a reflection of himself, as his due, as proof he was superior to the others.”

  “You witnessed the birth of the ego.”

  “I realize the implications of that now. At the time I was, as any doting parent would be, blind to the potential for anything negative to arise within this line. My desire to experience the wonder of surprise was rewarded tenfold as Cain killed Abel.”

  “Was Cain jealous of Abel because he also received Your attention?”

  “To the contrary, Abel was one of the children without the trait. Because he did not possess it, Eve and Adam compensated, as would the parents of any children not blessed with the same abilities as their siblings. It was their attention to Abel which Cain resented. He misinterpreted my attention as a declaration of his superiority over others, killing Abel on a whim, as casually as you might kill a fly. Had it not been so, had he plotted to do it, I could have and would have stopped him. But he surprised me.”

  The last sentence was spoken by Elohim with great sadness.

  “Didn’t You think that was inevitable?” Reese asked. “Hadn’t You actually set the precedent by Your actions?”

  “You are not the first to ask that of me. Upon losing her beloved son, Abel, Eve railed against me. She did not know of me specifically, yet her furor and despair caused her to curse the presence which had given them all a good life, the presence which she had always sensed. Her pain touched me, pierced me. It was to soothe her, to attempt to make her understand my motives, my plan, that I first spoke with Eve. In her motherly wisdom, she caused me to understand my mistake, the flaw in the environment I had created for her and for her family.

  “From that day forth, Adam, Eve, and all of their progeny lived in the real world, facing the threats and dangers without the benefit of my protection, my intervention. The only exception was an extension of the reproductive lives of Adam and Eve and those of their offspring. That intervention eventually ceased, as well.”

  “Her discussion with You was the partaking in the Tree of Knowledge? Why is it that religious history describes the event as an interaction with the devil?”

  “Most people are not wise enough to understand that mankind is not capable of living in Eden. Rather than embracing the idyllic life, most will become corrupted by it, will subvert it because it will never be enough for them.”

  “Like a spoiled child.”

  “Yes. That is an apt comparison. I was spoiling them, and Cain was the first to demonstrate the flaw of my actions. But, to answer your question, most of the faithful throughout history have believed that voluntarily forsaking Eden was unthinkable and could have only been effectuated by Lucifer rather than by their God.

  “And like so many other misunderstandings of your history, there is a kernel of truth. For, you see, Lucifer had long been cast out of Heaven by the time of Adam and Eve. His thirst for experiences was frustrated by the available choices at the time.”

  “He also hoped for there to be a sentient being?”

  “Yes, he did. In his own way, I am certain he shared my joy and excitement at the advent of mankind but for far different reasons. Thus, it was quite fortuitous for him when I decided to remove my influence, my presence. For under my watchful eye, he had no access to this new breed who interested him so. Opportunistically, immediately upon my withdrawal, he attempted to live through or occupy each of them, beginning with Adam and Eve. They rejected his presence. They ignored his whispered words, except for Cain within whom Lucifer found his first willing host from mankind. Thus began a struggle from which mankind has never escaped.”

  “Elohim, it seems to me there’s quite a bit of a difference between allowing mankind to face the genuine struggles of life and allowing Lucifer free rein. I guess I don’t understand why You didn’t just nip the problem in the bud back then by removing Lucifer from the environment.”

  “My answer is twofold. Not only had I decided not to intervene, I had promised Eve I would not. At the time, the form and nature of a Heaven filled with mankind was beginning to take shape within my mind. Before Cain comm
itted his foul deed, I believed that all of these new men and women would join me. His single heinous act destroyed that belief and made me realize that only some of his race would ever be fit to live in Heaven, to assume the power as well as the privileges which would accompany it.

  “It was at that time when I also realized the utilitarian benefit of leaving Lucifer to roam free, unrestrained. If life on Earth would be a test, he would be my litmus paper, attracting those who would never be destined to reside with me, identifying them.”

  “I am confused about one thing. You said Your creation of the angels was a disappointment because they were nothing but an image of their creator, of You, prompting You to set in motion the process of life on Earth. Was not Lucifer one of those creations? How could he become the being he is if he is nothing but an image of You? And how can his choices surprise You if he does not have the ability for such independence?”

  Elohim stood up from the couch and joined Reese at the table, sitting across from him. Reese studied his face, trying to discern irritation from the questions. He saw none.

  “There are two answers to your questions.