I swiped down to see my menu and... yes. There it was.
Control over mobile data, Wifi, battery life, torch, GPS, Screen rotation, Silent mode and so on was available again.
Weird things?
Sure, aplenty:
I still didn't have a power source in my phone and the power level was, indeed, at zero percent.
My connections were both switched off but I got mail.
I didn't have service, but I received an SMS.
Basically: My phone worked without the necessary functions being active.
...
I put the battery and charger back in, to make me feel better.
When it showed the loading symbol, I was appeased and looked at the one app I was supposed to check right now.
Devinype. I guessed there could be worse names. Maybe it was coined for me.
I tapped it.
There was no lag.
And a blue name popped up.
Jaliel:
Greetings, Henoch Loew.
I was chosen to introduce myself first. My name is Jaliel. I represent the virtue of Humility under Archangel Michael. Other sub categories of the virtue are Modesty, Reverence and Bravery. It is an honour to work with you.
It was sent ten minutes ago.
… no one could blame me, this was still weird.
So… I got an angel talking to me. Everything is cool. Sure. Of course. Totally.
I yawned. It’s been a long day. But it’s also been the last day. Provisional teaching was over for a while. Actual university was ahead.
But for now? A full week of peace. I would enjoy it.
Teaching was a blessing, but it was also rather draining, if you needed to work up a reputation first.
I was glad to be home. A pot of spicy lentil soup was good company. And there would be a series I could watch on the internet. I’d made a list. I would find something and just be lazy for the rest of the day.
I’d earned it.
This was the situation I was in: My day was finished, the soup getting warmer on the lowest setting, I had gotten rid of my pants and now I could simply deflate, a little music playing in the background until my food was warm enough to consume.
I let out a sigh, sinking into my couch. Home.
At this very moment, my phone… chimed. Like a muted bell. And vibrated. Once.
And that caused me to wrinkle my forehead and make a bit of a face. It even even made me freeze up.
Of course, a phone chiming, in and of itself, was not all too unusual. Phones are supposed to ring. And they are, on occasion, supposed to vibrate as well.
But. There was a problem.
Actually, there were several problems.
First: This was not my ringtone. It was a somehow not-grating tone. And… that meant it definitely wasn’t on the phone, because I’d have used it otherwise.
Second: I never set my phone to vibrate. It was an odd feeling. Chest or pants pocket, it was strange.
But the strangest one was the third: My the battery had run out on my way home. I hadn’t been able to look up when the ETA of my train. And that it rang and vibrated now actually made me feel betrayed.
I fished the offending piece of electronics out of my pants.
And I would have pressed the power button and unlocked, but… there was a message on the phone.
Greetings, mortal
I blinked. Once. Twice.
There was nothing else on the there. Just the letters. Simple and white. Arial, I supposed.
No app-signature, no frame, nothing.
I tried to pull down the menu.
The menu did not appear. But the text changed.
Your phone will resume operating as per usual as soon as the message to you has been delivered.
Still the same type of letters. I stared at it. This phone had been empty.
But there were letters now. And they changed. So, obviously, it was not empty.
With a frown, I fished for the loading cable at the side of the couch and connected it with my phone.
The tiny battery symbol appeared at the upper right corner. Showing a battery and the tiny loading-bolt. Also the ‘0 %’. With the battery filling.
Well, that was not how it usually was. But… I didn’t actually pay muc attention to the behaviour of my phone when it was empty, so… maybe?
The text had changed again:
I am the Metatron, as you are aware, I am the voice of God.
Again, I stared at the screen. This was all a bit weird. I hadn’t heard of this virus before. Or a virus like this. I tried to pull down the menu again.
Not much luck.
We have contacted you to plan and execute the first divine miracle in over 400 years. You are supposed to be the human representative in the council.
… what.
This was a rather elaborate prank, but maybe I should simply switch it off. Which I tried, by pressing the power button. For three seconds. Five. Ten. Mh.
When I let go of the button to press a little harder, the text changed.
We wish to impede your life as little as possible, but seek input from mortals. Therefore, we propose the usage of a messaging app.
I did not exactly see how this was a messaging app. As there were simply messages displayed on my phone, which now had 4 % battery-power. And apparently wasn’t switched on.
When I took out the battery and removed the cable and the display still was not switching off, I got a little nervous.
We are aware your name is Henoch Loew.
Make that a little more nervous.
We are also aware you do believe in higher powers and are a genuinely good person.
Well. At least they got… a good opinion of me?!
We are aware the genuine nature of this proposal is doubtful.
No shit, Sherlock. This proposal was also terribly impossible and freaking me out a little.
If you wish to outright deny participation at this juncture, you have now the opportunity to do so. We will never contact you again.
There was now a keyboard on screen. I stared at it. Stared at it for a good, long while. This was very, very strange.
After maybe two minutes, the text changed again:
If you wish to participate and become part of the council, you will converse with angels and demons with a very low exposure to the human realm and no previous contact with one of your kind. You will plan and execute a suitable divine miracle and expand your own knowledge and the knowledge of the celestial beings you will converse with.
There was still a keyboard. So now I typed. Carefully, because this was still insane:
Can I ask some questions before?
Because I deserved that, and not telling me shit before I’m supposed to agree to some insane stuff was… insane. Also: I would see if this wasn’t just… I don’t know. Programmed or something. This was WEIRD.
Of course you can. Please, go ahead.
I frowned. This was so very strange.
What does Black Pudding taste like?
I thought this was… far enough away from the original topic and needed some actual human interference.
It is also called blood sausage. I never tasted it, but the high nutritional value ad strong natural flavours would have a favourable taste to most, ignoring any pre-evaluations of eating clogged blood.
I stared at the answer. It’s certainly not an answer that comes up first on google. And it’s… somewhat sensible? I didn’t know?
Are there other questions?
A lot. Jepp. So, I typed.
Why me?!
Because that was a good question.
You are an open minded human being that tries to better themselves constantly, you are a minority in your given community, you do not struggle for survival, but have to and are able to work for a living. You own a phone. With the lifestyle you chose, we would not impose in an overdue fashion. There was also a randomised factor
Another moment to stare at the screen.
That is not very fair. Or impartial. Or just.
Or anything. This was… did I mention this was weird?!
I did not claim it was. You are the human chosen by chance and circumstance. We seek to broaden the horizons of all involved individuals. You are the first, but we hope not the last human being we contact.
I simply did not know what to think or say? This was… not an ultimatum or a threat or anything. This was just… I didn’t even know what it was!
What do I have to do, then?!
That’s a thing to say.
Converse with your conversation partners, decide on a miracle to execute on earth. Renew the connection between our plane and yours in a sensible manner.
There was a lot of staring going on.
What if I fuck up?!
This whole thing was still insane.
There is no such thing. We wish to learn. No harm can come from communication between individuals that work towards a common goal.
I made a face at the phone.
The project will be monitored as well. Nothing harmful will come off of it. And you may stop at any given time without negative consequence.
I stared at the phone without a battery and energy source and…
I could go the the TV or make photos and expose this to everyone and it will be a great show and everyone will see!
There was no answer for a few seconds.
It would be a miracle without much impact, but yes, it would be possible. We believe it is not something you desire.
They were right about that.
So that’s a no strings attached… group project.
It sounded like it.
Yes, it could be characterised as such. I would like to ask for politeness towards your group partners, but I believe that is common etiquette in your world and practised by you as a person.
Well, this person was not wrong.
And I noticed that I was actually considering this.
I mean… this was very, very weird. But… I could stop any time? There were no strings attached? Well. Even if it was an elaborate prank, I would not give them my credit card number, so…
I suppose I will receive instructions how to talk to the other members of the group?
Yes, you would, if you accepted your position
What the hell.
Then yes, I accept my position in the council until further notice.
