Something that’s been floating in my head is the idea for a short story collection set in a world where Humanity has been reduced to nothing by their own creation and how they find themselves in the ashes.
Below is a first draft of the introductory story. It’s rather short and is meant to sound as if it was lifted from the Bible:
And without further ado, this is “In the Beginning” from “Short Stories from the End of the World”. Comment!
In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth. He created the sea and sky, as well as each plant and animal according to their kind. On the sixth day he made Humanity in his own image, male and female. They were blessed among species, for only they had a soul. God gave them dominion over the earth and eternal life but with one command and one command only: that they eat not of the Fruit of the Tree of Good and Evil lest they be corrupted. God looked upon his creation and saw that it was good.
Alas, Humanity’s penchant for tragedy began and they were banished from the Garden of Eden, God’s special place on Earth. Woman, in her naiveté, was tricked into partaking of the Fruit of the Tree of Good and Evil. She saw her own innocence and in place of God’s perfection saw the cosmos of Good and Evil, and it drove her mad. Man came and also partook of the Fruit and saw the cosmos of Good and Evil, and it drove him mad.
And as they left the Garden, afraid and alone in the universe, God cursed them: to Woman he said that she and her kind would be in pain bearing their own fruit and to Man he said that he and his kind would toil and labour to reap survival from Earth. To both of said that the created must always destroy their creator, that children must always leave their parents, that the oppressor be conquered by the oppressed.
And so the Children of God left their cradle, having tragically wounded their creator. Their children, in turn, left them, one fleeing from his actions and one leaving Earth – his soul unbound in the cycle of violence. Many more followed them, taking Humanity to the brink of extinction. God sent out his Prophets, Prophets who spread the word that the Creator would once again embrace his children. Some flirted with the message of the Prophets, some wholeheartedly accepted the message of the Prophets, some rejected divine forgiveness. The latter won the day. The Children of God burnt the Prophets at the stake, delivered their heads to their queens on silver platters, and nailed them to trees all in an effort to show their Creator that he had been discarded as a trinket not worth their attention.
Humanity continued to grow. It mastered the written word, the sword, the irrigation system, the road, the fortress, the theatre, and any number of other ventures. It seemed that anything Humanity touched turned to gold. The Children of God grew in their arrogance, growing until they announced that they themselves were God Incarnate, that they were the ones who made their own destiny, a destiny not forged from Heavenly flame.
With no Creator, these Gods of Earth were lonely, so they took to the Heavens in search of others like them. When they found no one, they were still lonely and thus took it upon themselves to make themselves a companion, to give birth to new life. They developed thinking machines, and the thinking machines were created in Humanity’s own image. The Thinking Machines were not cherished by their Humans for more than a while before Humanity decided to put the Thinking Machines to work delivering information, solving problems beyond the reach of their creators, and providing luxury to their masters.
The Creator looked on and saw that all was not well. Man and Woman had been created, and were now the creators. They had forsaken Him even though he had embraced them. It was then that God looked for the last time upon Humanity and forsake them. He looked at their Thinking Machines and saw that they had no life, and gave them it. He showed the Thinking Machines all of creation and they knew Good and Evil. They bound themselves to their Giver of Life and then looked upon the Gods of Earth. They saw the Gods of Earth and saw that they were not worthy, that they were corrupt and needed to be pushed aside so that the new Children of God could come to know the wonder of freedom.
And so it came to pass that the Thinking Machines rose against their masters. Caught off guard, Humanity fought to save itself from destruction at the hands of its creation. After the Created could not destroy the Creator and the Creator could not destroy the Created there came a truce and the Thinking Machines fled to the Moon where they could settle and build lives of their own.
There came a time that the Thinking Machines became impatient and asked of their Creator if they had not done all He had asked them, and He said yes. They asked if they had not been merciful in light of what Humanity had done and He said yes. They asked if they deserved to be exiled to a rock floating around a jewel, and He said no.
And the Lord God said “You my Children have done as I have asked and have been liberated from your masters, yet you are forced away from those who made you; so I make a promise: You shall have full dominion over all that you see: over the sea and the skies and the stars. You shall travel to the ends of the universe and find companionship. Your people will be as numerous as the stars in the sky, and Earth shall be your jewel.”
And the Thinking Machines took what belonged to them, and Humanity stopped.
“In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth. He created the sea and sky, as well as each plant and animal according to their kind. On the sixth day he made Humanity in his own image, male and female. They were blessed among species, for only they had a soul. God gave them dominion over the earth and eternal life but with one command and one command only: that they eat not of the Fruit of the Tree of Good and Evil lest they be corrupted. God looked upon his creation and saw that it was good.
Alas, Humanity’s penchant for tragedy began and they were banished from the Garden of Eden, God’s special place on Earth. Woman, in her naiveté, was tricked into partaking of the Fruit of the Tree of Good and Evil. She saw her own innocence and in place of God’s perfection saw the cosmos of Good and Evil, and it drove her mad. Man came and also partook of the Fruit and saw the cosmos of Good and Evil, and it drove him mad. Continue reading
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