(This is the initial idea that spawned a story I'm writing, about Humanity fighting to survive the Biblical apocalypse. I want to have it finished for the end of Writing Month, as my first real project, but I thought id share this here in the meantime. Please let me know what you think!)
The woman looked up at the face of God.
EVERY KNEE SHALL BOW.
Countless times she had heard this, and refused.
Every knee shall bow before the end. The corollary, in her eyes, was clear.
She could not beat Him. Physically, logistically, ontologically, she could not. Against God Almighty, no mortal could stand. His angels alone held power beyond human comprehension.
But He did not control her.
No, she could not beat Him. But she could defy Him. And for Humanity, that would be victory enough.
The woman looked up at the face of God, and again said simply, "No."
This is the first part of my story about Humanity fighting off the Biblical apocalypse! I'm expecting it to have between 3–5 parts, but I hope to do more with this setting. This is also my first writing project, so please let me know what you think! I'm happy to hear feedback.
Also, TW: Religion, end-times; this deals a Lot with both of those, even if the goal is to overthrow them.
***
“Six of the Bowls have been poured, Lucifer’s army is massing, and our team estimates we barely have a week until the Second Coming. Everyone, we are running out of time.”
At the Coalition for the Preservation of Humanity’s conference table, Dr. Alex McKenzie, the lead Applied Theology researcher, presented their team’s findings.
“Our efforts at defying prophecy have been growing more strained. While the supernatural disasters have been occurring as Revelation predicted, during the early years the population at large seemed to be resistant to prophetic inertia—the Red Horse’s effect was largely nullified due to the people’s general reluctance to fight each other in the face of a greater enemy. Since the Bowl Judgements began, though, that desire is being twisted. The Antichrist’s claims of waging open warfare on Yahweh have been drawing people to his cause—a cause all evidence suggests is futile. If Revelation is to be believed, which we have little reason to doubt by now, Yahweh is going to annihilate everyone who joins him—a death toll that will dwarf every war we’ve ever fought.
“You know all of this. But the open question is why. We had initially assumed the Antichrist simply seized the opportunity, jumping on the people’s desires for revenge for his own ends. But we’ve found that might not be the only factor. Our research suggests Yahweh is taking a more direct role, in the face of His plan being derailed, influencing the people to join the opposing force.”
There was a general sound of assent throughout the room. Everyone there had been briefed on basic theological knowledge, and the story of Pharaoh rang in their minds.
”Perhaps the more important question, however, has been how is our group still in existence, rather than having been smote by providence. We believe we have found out why.”
Another murmur went through the assembly. Humanity was strapped for advantages, and knowing what was keeping them alive seemed as good of one as any.
“We theorize that Yahweh is bound by prophecy as much as He makes it. Yahweh hasn’t struck us with lightning because He never said He would.”
That got a reaction from everyone in attendance, with the crowd erupting into gasps and shouts.
“Never said He would?!” One member spluttered, “Half of the Book is Him declaring the fate of his enemies!”
“Not quite,” McKenzie replied. “Yahweh talks at length about the fate of the followers of the Antichrist and Lucifer, but it’s always been that simple Us vs. Them dichotomy. He never accounted for a third party stepping in, and that keeps us from being obliterated or turned to the Antichrist’s side.”
Another member spoke up, “That’s all well and good to keep us alive, but how does this help us win?”
“What happens when you give a computer input it doesn’t expect?”
“It crashes,” he said automatically, before the realization hit him. “You’re saying… we’re going to BRICK Yahweh?
“Exactly. Yahweh isn’t like a simple computer program—He exhibits too much agency for that. Rather, think of Him as the most advanced AI in the universe—He can rewrite His own “programming,” which in this case is prophecy, but He’s still bound by it until He does. So we’re not going to give Him a chance to do so.”
“Why will this work? We’ve been trying to throw off prophecy for the last 7 years, and everything is still happening more or less on schedule.”
“Because this time, we’re not allowing for an interpretation of our actions as fulfilling the prophecies. We’re going to do something that disrupts the script completely and irreparably, and that will give us the opening we need.”
The army stretched as far as the eye could see. It was a force out of time, with horseback riders, modern tanks, and everything in between. So too, were the troops a mix of people: trained soldiers stood among average people. At the head of the army was the Antichrist, the human who had turned on his species in a doomed attempt to challenge Yahweh. He sat on a black horse, proud and defiant, and his shadow seemed a bit too large, a bit too dark behind him.
Unbeknownst to the army, the away team had embedded themselves near the front of the host, in a position with a clear line of sight to the Antichrist—and Lucifer, influencing his actions from within in the Immaterial. While the two were together, Lucifer would be able to heal any assassination attempts on the Antichrist, while shielded from any attacks himself. The team’s mission was to take the shot against Lucifer as soon as he was brought into the physical world. No one looked twice at them, one more heavily armed group was nothing here.
"I can't believe he's turned this many people to this. Don't they know what's coming?" Canaanite remarked.
“It’s Yahweh. He’s influencing them, pushing them to follow the Antichrist. Yahweh needs an enemy for His prophecy, so He’s making sure he gets it.”
“That, and the Antichrist has better PR than us," Job muttered. “These people must be itchin’ for revenge against Big G, all the Antichrist had to do was say he could give it to ‘em.”
“Let them distract Him. I’ll take the advantage,” Eve put in.
The army marched towards Jerusalem, where the Antichrist claimed was the lynchpin for his conquest. At the Kidron Valley, Jesus would come out to do battle , and there his army would give him his revenge.
“People of the nations!” called the Antichrist. “The time has come for us to have our revenge on this so-called God and his people! And when he is defeated, I shall reign as the true king of this world!”
“Doesn’t he ever shut up? He’s been making these boasts since we started.”
“Fits the expectations. Lucifer’s sin was pride—don’t expect him to drop it anytime soon.”
At last the army arrived at the Valley. The Antichrist’s horse came to a halt, and he turned to address the assembly. Before he could, though, there was a voice from heaven.
IT IS DONE!
“Shit! We’re running out of time—Yahweh’s set to destroy them any minute now!”
The assembly began to scream, as lightning and thunder began to crack across the sky. The Antichrist’s voice could barely be heard over the commotion, calling out. “My loyal subjects! Do not fear this Christ. For my power shall protect you, as I assume my rightful place on his throne!”
At that moment, there was light.
A blaze of pure white light came from the heavens, brighter than the noonday sun. There was a deafening crack of thunder, and the clouds seemed to roll back like a scroll. When it cleared, there was a horse with a gleaming white coat, before the open Gates of Heaven above. On it sat Jesus Christ, incarnate again as the Word of God.
“We have visual! He’s here!” Eve called.
“I see Him. Is everyone in position?
The Antichrist faltered for a moment, a brief lapse in certainty, before the utterly self-assured smirk returned to his face. “It is time, my subjects! CHA—”
SERVANTS OF THE EVIL ONE, came the voice of Jesus. It rang out like a bell across the assembly, unmistakable and unmissable. YOU HAVE TURNED FROM ME AND MY FATHER. As His Word traveled over the army, there came the sound of screams and gasps, with several falling to the ground with blood dripping from their ears.
“Damn it! We were supposed to have more time—we need the other guy to make an appearance, fast.”
“At the rate things are going, he isn’t going to before Yahweh’s attack. You’re going to have to lure Lucifer out into the open.”
Jesus’ mount galloped down to Earth, as though running on smooth land. He came to a halt some feet away from the Antichrist.
“And exactly how do you suggest we trick the Prince of Lies?”
Canaanite stepped forward. “I’ve got an idea, but it’ll have to be me. If this doesn’t work…” She took a breath. “I suggest you all convert fast. I’ll look up at you when you do.”
Canaanite looked up at Jesus. Her family had taught her since she was young about His love. The events of the last 7 years had clarified what that meant. If this was His love, she would have no part of it. She steeled her nerves, and thought of the horrors she had seen as she put on her facade, looking to all present as a perfectly devoted subject of the Antichrist. “You cannot harm us. Our lord will shield us from you,” putting as much contempt as she could muster into the last word.
The Antichrist’s grin could not have been wider. He approached Canaanite, and placed a hand on her shoulder, who fought the urge to stiffen. “Yes, my subject, yes.”
Jesus turned his eyes on the Antichrist, gaze filled with fury.
YOU HAVE TURNED MY LOYAL CHILDREN AGAINST ME. LUCIFER, LEAVE THIS MAN.
At once the Antichrist’s shadow seemed to shrink to its proper size. He blinked for a moment, and suddenly reeled back, away from the wrath of Jesus. There was a sharp crack, and an angel appeared where the Antichrist had stood, glowing with brilliant light.
At last Lucifer, the ancient serpent, stood in his angelic form before Jesus, the Risen King. As the ancient enemies faced each other, Humanity’s last hope took their positions.
EVIL ONE. YOU WERE BELOVED IN MY SIGHT, BLESSED ABOVE ALL MY ANGELS. YET THERE WAS PRIDE WITHIN YOU, AND I CAST YOU OUT. FOR ALL YOUR DAYS ON EARTH, YOU HAVE DECEIVED MY CHILDREN—
“NOW!”
Canaanite hurled herself to the side just as Eve’s rifle went off.
Lucifer fell to the ground, golden ichor spilling from the wound in his head.
The King of Kings turned at once to the shooter. Every member of the team held the breath that might well be their last. He pointed a finger at them, preparing to speak a Word that would condemn them for their usurpation of Divine justice.
“So, we’re doing Big G’s job for him? How does that help us?”
The away team—”Adam”, “Eve”, “Job”, and “Canaanite”—prepared their gear while Dr. McKenzie briefed them on the mission.
“The whole point of everything that’s happened is for Yahweh to finally impose His will onto the world. A central part of that is Lucifer’s condemnation to the lake of fire. We make that impossible, and the Divine Plan should unravel.”
Eve, whom they had agreed would take the shot, hefted her rifle. “Not a problem, boss. But what happens then?”
“We anticipate that such a severe disruption in His Plan should, in some sense, disrupt Jesus’ connection to Yahweh—and His divine powers.”
“He’ll be mortal?” Job asked, incredulous. “Why ain’t we taking a shot at Him, then?”
“You want to be the one to come at the King of Kings and miss?” Eve shot back.
“In part that,” McKenzie replied. “Also, while He won’t be able to strike us down as he would before, even if lethal force was successful, we expect He would simply be resurrected shortly after—and would finally bring His full attention on our group. Our strike needs to be non-lethal if we want it to stick.”
“What about the angels? They won’t stand around staring while we take out their King.”
“Actually, they might. As far as we can tell, angels are physical manifestations of Yahweh’s will, with little agency of their own, a state presumably implemented after Lucifer’s fall. With Yahweh ‘shorted out,’ the angels should be little more than floating light posts.”
The team looked over their gear once more. Among an assortment of weapons and tools, the essentials were laid out in the center: A Barrett M82, Eve’s weapon of choice for angelic foes; a propelled set of bolas, meant to immobilize Jesus long enough to use their main tool; a specialized mask, developed by the CPH with as many noise cancellation methods built into it as possible, all to prevent its wearer from speaking a word—or a Word. Applied Theology had determined that, in order to use His divine power, Jesus needed to speak it into being. The team’s mission was to prevent Him from doing so by any means necessary.
“Now, once we’ve taken the shot, you’ll only have a few moments where Jesus’ connection is broken, so you need to take Him captive fast. Once He’s incapacitated, prophecy should be so derailed that it becomes self-sustaining. We just need to make sure He isn’t able to issue a new prophecy once we have Him in containment.”
“Why is this going to work?” Canaanite asked. Everyone in the group paused and looked at her. She faltered, but stood her ground. “God is omniscient—won’t He know our plan? Won’t He be able to stop us?”
Adam spoke up first. “We have to assume not. This is our, er, Hail Mary pass. If this fails, countless people will die in agony, never mind what comes next. We are Humanity and the world’s last hope.”
“And if He were going to stop us, I’d say He’d have done it by now. What the Doc said sounds right,” Job added.
Doctor McKenzie was last. “I am right. All our research has supported it. Yahweh can’t act outside His word, so we make sure He can’t give new ones.”
Canaanite was one of the few members of the CPH who maintained some level of faith. She hesitated. Am I really doing this? She thought of the lessons from her youth. Then she thought of the fire, the earthquakes, the countless dead she had seen, and she resolved herself. Yes—I am. “You’re right. Let’s do this.”
“Then it’s time,” Adam said. “Team, tonight we fight for something bigger than any cause before. Tonight, we fight for the fate of our world! Our people! Tonight, we defend Humanity!”
I'm not back just yet, but this is my place to post and free myself and get things out, so... While taking a break from proofing and doing a bit of spring cleaning in my writing folders, I came across this. I wrote it almost a year ago, and even now the melancholy still settles over me from time to time. Some of this is still true, but the most important thing is that I've changed so much in the last year--so much that I finally feel comfortable posting this, because I'm completely free of it now.
That's a nice feeling.
8 November 2013
I’m still the girl you used to call “Baby”. I’m still the one you changed and shaped and helped to grow. I’m still the girl who made you laugh with off-colour comments while marathoning Lord of the Rings together. I’m still the girl who quotes Rifftrax at any given point. I’m still the girl who went quiet after leaving you. I’m still the girl who has your name tattooed on her arm. I’m still the girl with universes inside her head. I’m still the girl who thinks about you and misses you every single day. I’m still the girl who wasn’t allowed to give it all up for you but who would have, given the chance. I’m still the girl who’s a Jack of all trades, master of none, but have finally found my purpose.
I’m still the girl who would order you a pizza from an ocean away just to make you smile. I’m still the girl who remembers your every sound. I’m still the girl who couldn’t get enough of your romance. I’m still the girl who knows how you say “Wetzel’s Pretzels”. I’m still the girl who thinks you’re cutest in hats. I’m still the girl who thinks of your scar every time I look at my little finger and remember how it fit there. I’m still the girl whose heart races every time I see that you checked up on me, even now, even nearly three years later. I’m still the girl who loves you, even though the shine and sharp edges of it have gone away.
I’m still the girl with the Build-A-Bear rabbit under my bed that I can never quite look at for too long. I’m still the girl who fell in love with you after a comment about licking my wrist. I’m still the girl who confessed everything even when it was too soon. I’m still the girl who spends every June 24th with a raw sadness curled up in the pit of my stomach. I’m still the girl that checks in on you every so often, even now, even nearly three years later.
I’m still the girl that thinks maybe, someday, if the time is right. I’m still the girl that hates the idea of you with anyone else.
Since a few of you have asked: Yes, Meet Me in Saariselkä was written for the One Story Fic Project, for the "one deal can change everything" tagline.
And since a few others of you have asked: Yes, I did see all of it--I think most of us did--and it all felt pretty crappy. However, I got to post a fic I'm proud of last night and add a little bit of enjoyment to others' day, so in the end that's all that matters.
Looks like I'm posting fic tonight... I know, I know, I actually wrote some fic! It's been a while, and I felt super rusty getting into it, but it was really freeing and gave me a happy.
It's very sweet, and a little ridiculous, and it'll be up soon :)
This is sort of a lie since I did some stuff for The Secret Collab Project wth Axe earlier, but otherwise, it's been wonderful. I'm definitely one of those people who works best when I put in a crap-ton of set-up time and then only have to do small amounts to maintain later on.
Tomorrow: I hopefully finish my new Klaine ficlet.
