“This theory, although it is, as I said, very plausible, is not without flaws. Here are some of them: it is impossible to prove empirically the fact of elemental worship; there’s some speculation in regards to the earliest known religious works — Vedas — actually portraying the divinity of Man already then through symbolism of elemental Gods; finally, in this day and age, when all factors are seemingly in place for Man to evolve, he remains, although few will admit it, fearful and clueless, and instead of achieving divinity he’s returning to the worship of the inanimate, be it technology, money or something else.”
“Then we have the great collection of elaborate mythos, commonly known as archaic religious works, but treated as fairy tales presently without a second thought of that fact’s implications. Ancient mythology, which by the way bears significant similarities in cultures as widespread geographically as this planet allows, portrays Gods as conspicuously material. These Gods looked like men, they ate, slept, had children, sometimes even with humans. Moreover, they fought between themselves, they envied, they lusted and were greedy; in short, they did a lot of things that modern religions reserve purely for human race. Which is why these myths are considered silly folklore now. Now the predominant religions are based on the pure divinity and concealment of God and complete inherent sinfulness of the human being. That, if you were paying attention, also goes against the abovementioned theory of religious evolution.”
“We will be moving to the fun part shortly, Mr. Whales.
“The strong majority of the world’s population follows these predominant religions, despite the popularity of the evolution theory, despite the mythology, despite the fact that most of the awe-inspiring miracles we read about in scriptures would seem mundane to us now. I am sure you would agree if I said it would not be too hard to construct a moving pillar of smoke, or that the nuclear explosions that destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah would look bordering on boring on a TV screen. The funny thing is, the same majority — at least numerically — also believes in the existence of aliens, but very few draw any connection between the two. There’s a group of people, I call them ‘Charioteers’, who do. They have been trying to popularize their theories for the last sixty years or so, but they never got beyond cult status.”
“So this is what you’re saying, then?” I asked.
“Right. I believe that what we commonly refer to as God is a Being, or rather Beings, from another world who have usurped the place of the real God.”
“Demiurge.” Iris said that. “Gnosticism.”
“Close. Most Gnostic sects claim Demiurge have created the material world to oppose the spiritual world of the real God. Personally, I interpret that differently. Yes, these beings are very powerful, awe-inspiring even, but not enough so to create the Solar system, Earth, or even to cause a world-wide flood. I think the material world Gnostic teachings are referring to is not the planet or the galaxy. Rather, it is what we call ‘civilization.’ I do believe, however, the story of Adam and Eve to be at least partially true. Even if they did not create the physical aspect of humanity, as Gnostics also claim, then at least they modified the species, although to what extent, I do not know. Now, is that hard to swallow so far?
“No, not really. Why are those things hunting me, Doc?”
“In a moment, Mr. Whales. For a race as technologically advanced as they were, it would be very easy to convince the population of their divinity. If you and I appeared to the ancients in a helicopter, we would be Gods. Probably of thunder. Now, if you created the species and supervised their breeding for a thousand of years, I imagine the task would be even easier.
“Most historians agree that modern civilization, or the ‘material world,’ suddenly began in Sumeria around six thousand years ago. I also agree. I think the numbers were then sufficient enough for Gods to begin it. They showed humans how to build cities, they taught them to buy instead of exchange, they encouraged the development of science and technology. They taught humans about humans, they taught them about the divine. First scriptures appeared. Written word turned out to be an incredible tool of control. Media Therapy, Mr. Whales, the same I’ve mentioned just yesterday, existed for several thousand years.
“Today, written word’s influence is surpassed by imagery — TV — because it requires less effort and achieves, as the imagination faculties of an average human being deteriorate due to stagnancy and neglect, faster effect. Today the planet is almost ready.”
“For what? I thought you said they already rule.”
“Well, I did and I didn’t. This is the confusing part, Mr. Whales. You see, ‘ruling’ the humans as a concept holds no meaning for creatures as powerful as Gods. The notion is comparable to people ‘ruling’ the cloned sheep, or video game characters. Essentially, the lord-vassal relationship is only possible between beings of equal — or should I say equally low — level of development, preferably of the same species, which is amusingly paradoxical, don’t you think?”
I nodded uncertainly.
“In other words, humans can only be ruled by humans, hence the caste of Administrators was created to maintain order and direction. The aliens — Gods — after a period of rather hands-on monitoring the beginning stages of our brand new civilization, departed, leaving behind the Administrators, armed with knowledge and certain tools to keep the wheels turning. Religion was one of the tools. Written Word and all subsequent forms of Media Therapy was the other. There is the third tool, closely related to the first one, and, perhaps even more effective, especially now. For seven thousand years, this powerful tool of control and development has remained virtually unmodified. Would you like to venture a guess what it is, Mr. Whales?”
I wasn’t ready to venture anything. I was doing fine listening to what he was saying, even understood some of it in an indifferent, dull sort of way, but answering a question was presently beyond my mental capacity. My mind was too full of last night’s events, of Lloyd, of my immediate future. As far as I could tell, none of what Dr. Young had said up until then, had anything whatsoever to do with me. There wasn’t a passage in that speech that in any way touched on the reason why a couple of angels wanted to eat Luke Whales, and to me, that was all that mattered.
Yet, at the same time, I felt I almost had it. It was as though the answer was closely orbiting my brain. If only I could hook it and reel it in…
“War,” Iris said. A hostile, almost hateful expression distorted her pretty face.
Dr. Young regarded her.
“Remarkable, once again,” he said respectively and even “ventured” a bow. “And quite correct. Please elaborate.”
“War produces fear. Fear leads to the desire of protection, the illusion of which is provided by both, human rulers and religion, in exchange for obedience. Obedience leads to war.”