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SirPiecemaker t1_je5f27e wrote

It only took 50 years.

God was fed up with humanity's problems. God had a solution. He made 6 new planets, similar to the Earth of old. The first one was a paradise, overflowing with milk, honey and sunny weather. The seventh one, well... it got pretty close to how we would describe hell.

And then, in his divine foresight, gave everyone what they deserved.

The worst of the worst went to Earth 7 to suffer, to squirm and writhe.

The best of us went to Earth 1 to prosper and live in absolute bliss.

And - just to be fair - decided that 50 years later a battalion of angels would be dispatched to each Earth to rejudge its population and see if some were deserving to go up... or down.

It... didn't go as planned.

When the angels arrived on Earth 1, they smiled as their eyes feasted on the pleasant meadows and serene forests. They were then stunned and horrified when they realised that if there was anything humanity was good at, it was hubris.

Emboldened with the idea that they were God's chosen, the people of Earth 1 turned to unbridled arrogance. Each would try to prove that they were the most pious, the most deserving of His love. The Church - an already powerful organization - would scrutinize everyone to the smallest of details. To them, it didn't matter if someone was good, only if they were good to them.

Good samaritans who merely tried to help were burned at the stake.

Those who chose to simply live peacefully without bowing to the Church were crushed beneath rocks.

Paranoia set in. Neighbour turned against neighbour, friend against friend.

It took just 50 years for this paradise to turn into an abomination - the pristine white beaches turned red by the blood of the innocent.

​

The angels dreaded coming to Earth 7. If the Earth's best turned to such depravity, would they even find anyone alive where the worst lived?

They came and found the scenery they expected. Some came to call it Asphodel after old greek legend. Fitting, too - lakes of boiling water, scorched earth, darkened clouds.

The people there held zero respect for God's emissaries. They were crass, rude, spat at their feet.

And, in all of that, they were united.

Perhaps it was a moment of clarity for them. Perhaps it was sheer pragmatism. Perhaps... perhaps it doesn't matter. But they made the most of what they could. To survive, they had to band together. To let go of old hatreds. They each worked for the collective, because if they wouldn't... they'd die, one and all. In time, this uneasy ceasefire turned to peace. In time, it turned to friendship.

In this, God made a mistake - an unavoidable one, his foresight clouded by the free will he bestowed upon us.

Humanity could not be judged. The best of us could turn bad; the worst of us could turn good. Because in the end, none of us are good or bad.

We are all just... human.

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QuantisOne OP t1_je5i4c7 wrote

Hm… like I said for u/ThiefCitron’s story, this is a very deep problematic here, using this novel as a way to depict the flaws of current religion.

Who could imagine after all ? Sins aren’t like a disease you can cure, get vaccinated from, or avoid by staying with other clean people. They are innate, proper to humanity.

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