Jarahmael and Mephistophael moved over by the side of Luciferael and could see that they also looked even more beautiful after having absorbed all that extra stellar energy.
Luciferael was beyond magnificent. His radiance could now be blinding if he chose it let it shine freely. He looked at himself intently in the mirror, posing from side to side, even more enamored with his own appearance.
"We need to create more stars!" Luciferael said aloud, while he thought to himself that he could continue to get more and more beautiful by this. Forget dealing with that planet Earth, I am going to spend more time creating and playing in the stars. He then realized that Jarahmael and Mephistophael were waiting for him and he said, "Come, let's go find our brethren Archangels to see how they did today."
The three of them moved beneath the entrance into the First Heaven, then quickly ascended through each of the upper Heavens and arrived a short time later in the Throne Room in the Seventh Heaven. The other Archangels had already returned and were waiting for Luciferael and his two companions. Although the other Archangels reported creating many stars and planets, none had bathed themselves in the newly created stars. The other Archangels also did not have the same radiant glow as Luciferael, Mephistophael, or Jarahmael. But all the Archangels were tired from the day's work, and there was not any mention about the extra radiance. Besides, no one paid much attention to Jarahmael or Mephistophael, but everyone paid a great deal of attention to Luciferael. The other Archangels just believed that he grew more and more beautiful on his own every day. He was, after all, the First Born and the most magnificent of all creations.
But Luciferael did notice how much he had benefitted by playing inside the star. He made up his mind that he was going to make a habit of it from now on.
Chapter 7
EARTH AND STARS
The next day the Almighty returned and began assigning some of the various Orders of Angels to begin construction on plans He had for the Earth. He explained the plans in His address to the Assembly of Angels during the morning ceremony.
"It is time for us to begin building structures upon the Earth. Rathaniel of the Order of the Dominions, I want your Order to draw plans for a communication and transportation system to be placed upon the planet. I have placed some new creatures on the Earth that are warm blooded and am experimenting with their intelligence. If they are successful, and I hope they will be, I want to disperse them across the planet, and I want a system to allow them to travel from one land mass to another."
"My Lord, do you want them to travel in earthen bodies? Or . . .?"
"For now Rathaniel, I have just given them earthly bodies, so let's see what we can create using that approach."
The Almighty then addressed Annabael, head of the Principalities.
"This transportation system will require some structures. Use the Book of Creation and begin to construct buildings upon the Earth for these new creatures. They will need places to congregate as well, and may need to structures to fulfill their tasks and for protection."
Annabael then asked, "Protection from what, my Lord?"
The Almighty responded warmly, initially looking directly back at Annabael. "The system must have the means of moving these creatures comfortably. But I am also afraid that the dinosaurs and other large reptiles could attack these new creatures. I am hoping that all of them find a means of occupying the planet peacefully and can all survive together."
The Almighty then looked over at Luciferael and said, "I am hoping that you will be able to dissuade your creatures from harming My new experiments."
"As you wish, my Lord!" Luciferael answered directly. "But I don't know anything about these new creatures."
The Almighty spoke to the larger group once again. "Not to worry my Angels, I will explain more once I have finished refining them. For now, I am populating various areas on the Earth with them and then will decide if I will keep them as part of the Creation."
The Almighty turned slightly and looked back directly at Luciferael and said, "I want these earthen Beings to be able to create too, but I do not want another class of Angel. I want these new Beings earthbound, and I want them to run and develop this new planet. But before that can happen, they have to be able to survive and learn to create."
Luciferael thought about what he had just heard. The Almighty wants a class of Beings that were a species somewhere above the aggressiveness and rudimentary intelligence of the dinosaurs, yet less than the abilities of the Angels. At least they would not be equal to the Angels. I had better check out these new creatures though to see what kind of a threat they could be to us.
"How will they create my Lord? Will they have access to the Book of Creation, or will they have their own version?" Luciferael asked, trying to keep his face and voice disinterested and calm, but he could not help the accusatory tone slipping through.
"That, my dear Luciferael, is the entire point. I am delighted you can see what I am trying to do. I want the Earth creatures to be able to create without the benefit of the Book of Creation. They will have to use their own wits, intelligence, and bodies to construct things on the planet. That is not to say that I don't want you and the other Orders of Angels to assist or to construct things on the Earth upon My command. In the beginning we will need to build some structures that will be beneficial for them but would take the earthen creatures far too long to build, or would be impossible for them to build."
The answer calmed Luciferael's fears. The Almighty still kept the status of the Angels high above any other form of creation. Luciferael relaxed, smiled, and bowed down before the Almighty.
The Almighty then looked away from Luciferael and towards the general multitude of Angels aligned around Him and spoke.
"Along those lines there still is a lot of work I want to get done on the Earth and that's why I am sending Rathaniel and Annabael, with their Orders of Angels, down there to build."
The Almighty then looked specifically at the pulsating ranks of the Potentate Angels. Various colors of lights washed through their ranks, similar to how a wave moved through the Earth's ocean near the shore.
"And for you, Abrackus," the Almighty said, speaking directly to the pulsating violet orb of light, "as head of the Potentate Angels, I want you to be available for both the Dominion and Principalities, and provide whatever additional power and energy that they may need for their construction efforts."
A face became clear on one side of Abrackus' pulsating sphere. The features were beautiful yet harsh in appearance, because of creases above the eyes, both slanted downwards, making the face appear angry. Abrackus' voice was deep and resonating as he answered, colors pulsating in sequence with his words. "How are we to accomplish that, my Lord?"
The Almighty did not answer directly, but turned and pointed at Luciferael and smiled.
"Luciferael, you have found a way to gather more energy, haven't you? You, Jarahmael and Mephistophael are more radiant than usual this morning!"
"Yes, my Lord," Luciferael responded. "I discovered that we can gain more energy by bathing directly in the stars themselves," Luciferael answered, and then wondered how the Almighty knew about that, as he had not mentioned that to Him at all.
The Almighty continued, "Good, I see it has benefited Jarahmael and Mephistophael as well. Any bad effects?"
"No, my Lord," answered Jarahmael.
"Never felt better my Lord!" Mephistophael added.
"See Abrackus that should answer your question. I want your Potentate Angels to store up as much energy as they can by visiting the new stars. Dive within them and gather more energy. You will be my energy powerhouses. The act of construction using solid materials on the Earth takes more energy than it does for building in the Heavens, and a lot more than what it does for an Angel of any Order to fly across the Universe."
Abrackus looked directly back at the Almighty and answered, "I will start taking my colleagues to the stars to gather energy. Should we just use the local sun here near the Ear
th?"
"You can, Abrackus, but the best source of that energy comes from newly created stars. I am sure that Luciferael, Jarahmael or Mephistophael would be happy to teach you how to get to the end of the Universe quickly."
The Almighty then looked at Luciferael, Jarahmael and then Mephistophael, and asked, "Would you do this for Me?"
Luciferael quickly weighed what he wanted to do. Should he go to the Earth and find out more about these new earthbound creatures or should he go enjoy star diving again today? The opportunity to get more power and energy from the new stars easily won out. The Almighty's new earth creatures could wait for another day. And he responded, "I will take them my Lord. Besides, we need to keep creating more stars, because as you said the best energy comes off the newly created ones. And I have experience in making new ones."
"And what about Jarahmael and Mephistophael?" the Almighty asked.
Jarahmael and Mephistophael looked at one another and nodded their head. Jarahmael smiled as he answered for both of them. "Yes, my Lord, we would like to go too. We also know how to create new stars. And if we are having all of the Order of Potentates come along, we will need a lot of new stars for them to gain their energy from."
"Excellent! That was exactly what I was hoping for, my dear Angels. Now you can go. There is a long day awaiting you. And thank you!" The Almighty said warmly, passing along the Book of Creation to Luciferael.
Luciferael, Jarahmael, and Mephistophael flew out of the Throne Room over the remainder of the assembled Angels, Abrackus following immediately behind them and the ranks of the Order of the Potentates Angels falling into a column behind them, flying just like colored bubbles in a stream's current.
As they left, the Almighty said to the rest of the assembly, "Now for the rest of you . . ."
Chapter 8
THE FIRST SECRET
The Almighty finished assigning the Orders of Angels tasks for the day, but told Michael to remain behind.
"Michael, I have a special assignment for you, one that I want to keep secret for now. It's the experiment that I have been conducting on the Earth and in the First Heaven."
"I will do whatever you desire, my Lord," Michael responded. "How can I be of service?"
"I have fashioned creatures out of the Earth that resemble smaller versions of the Angels, but composed of Earth and not Light. I have named them Simians."
"Yes, my Lord," Michael responded. "I had tried to fashion something similar when we were on the Earth creating the first earthen beings with lord Luciferael. But he grew concerned about creating such beings, and had me alter them so they were not like us."
"I know," responded the Almighty. "And that is the main reason I am asking for you to assist Me in this experiment."
"Will that not be a problem with lord Luciferael?" Michael asked.
"He has no reason to feel threatened, as I intend for all creatures to live in harmony. But I do have concerns about the dinosaurs he has created; they may be beautiful to look at, but they are too primitive to assist in creating things on Earth."
"Yes, my Lord, they seem to be destructive to the things around them and to each other from what I have observed," Michael said, nodding in agreement with the Almighty.
"The Simians I have created are more intelligent than the dinosaurs, but they still lack a real creative ability," continued the Almighty. "I want you to observe them if you would for Me. No interference with them. I want you to stay hidden while you observe. I fear that they will not create if they know there is a superior intelligence around. I started by creating a few of them, but not much came out of it, so I have increased their numbers. I hope that they will become more creative simply because there are many more of them interacting with one another. And I have placed them in different regions on the planet hoping that they could become more creative based on their surroundings. But so far that has not occurred."
"Observe and not interfere then, my Lord?"
"Yes, Michael. There is one more thing though. As you remember, Luciferael assisted me in creating all of the Beings of Light, you and the rest of the Angels."
Michael again nodded as he remembered his own creation.
"I want you to be directly involved in the creation of an advanced form of these Simians."
"How so, my Lord?"
"I have created a place in the First Heaven that is attached directly to the Earth. I have kept it hidden from all of the Angels' view as I have been developing it. I intend to create a pair of Beings that have a greater part of My intelligence and Spirit, just as each and every one of the Angels does. And I want you to directly assist Me in their creation and am interested in any ideas you may have about making them better. If they become as wonderful as I imagine, I eventually want to put them in charge of the Earth, and they will become My creators on that planet. Are you interested?"
"I would be honored, my Lord," Michael responded, smiling to be selected for such an important task.
"Good. I will expect you to be protective of My secrets in this regard and of the existence of these new creatures."
"Of course my Lord."
"Come then, Michael. Join Me as we fly down to the First Heaven." The Almighty then turned to the Seraphim and motioned for them to accompany Him.
Sudaphim of the Order of the Seraphim then led their departure from the Throne Room, followed by the Almighty, with Michael flying beside Him, with the Thrones bringing up the rear. As they neared the exit of the Throne Room, the Almighty turned to Michael and said, "I do not want us observed by any of the other Angels," and then He made a circling gesture and they were all turned invisible.
As they flew down through the Heavens, they remained silent so that they did not call attention to their presence as they passed through each of the lower Heavens and the gateways between them.
Once they arrived in the First Heaven, the Almighty turned to the Seraphim and said, "Go forth and collect the clay from the Earth as instructed and meet us back here."
The Almighty then indicated for Michael to follow him as he continued to fly down into the sky above the Earth. Below them Michael could see the vegetation that carpeted the landscape, dotted here and there with various creatures, dinosaurs being the largest.
As they flew to an area near some mountains, the Almighty grabbed Michael's hand and said, "Look to your left. Those are the Simians."
Michael could see these creatures emerge. They were two legged with two arms, similar to Angels, but covered mostly with hair, shorter than the Angels, and without wings. Their faces had an intelligence to them as they engaged in various tasks, mostly gathering fruit and vegetables from trees and plants.
The Almighty broke Michael's attention when He said, "They look like they can create, but I have been observing them for a while now and they rely on the caves for shelter and don't seem to have any sense that they can stray far from where they are. They have made no attempt to build any structures on their own, not like you Angels, who commenced making palaces in the Heavens right after you were created. I haven't totally given up on them, but I want to do something more advanced."
Michael responded while still looking at them. "There is gentleness about them, my Lord. Much different from many of the dinosaurs that Luciferael and the Auxilium created."
"True," responded the Almighty. "That's one of the reasons I would like you to keep an eye out on them. I am afraid they will not do well if the dinosaurs discover them. We should return back to the First Heaven, the Seraphim should be returning soon."
Staying invisible, they flew back up through the Earth's sky and into the First Heaven, slipping through a gateway hidden from the normal view of the Angels. They then descended through the cottony clouds that floated above a lush green paradise, veined by four rivers that ran through it. Bright colors from plants and flowers offset the green vegetation and highlighted the area with brightly colored fruit hanging off the trees.
The Almighty and His entourage of Angels landed in a brown clear
ing near where the rivers all converged in the middle of the greenery. The Seraphim landed a few seconds later, having returned with the samples of clay that they placed in two piles in the clearing and near the gurgling water.
"What do you think of this place, Michael?" the Almighty asked.
Michael was overcome by the beauty of this place, so different from the Heavens but yet so exquisite in a whole different element.
"It is beyond belief, my Lord. Earth may be beautiful, but the intensity of everything here is as if it was composed of a mixture of Light and Earth," he said.
"I wanted you to be here when I created My latest Beings," The Almighty said as He pointed at two piles of earth that had been collected and piled before Him. "See these?"
Michael moved closer to the two mounds of clay and answered, "Yes, my Lord."
"These samples of clay have been collected by the Seraphim from the four corners of the Earth. Norophim collected clay from the north, Sudaphim clay from the south, Ostaphim clay from the east, and Wertophim clay from the west. This represents all the different types of earth that are present on the planet."
"Yes, my Lord," Michael said, looking down at the soil.
"I want the Beings to be part of this planet. And see this here?" The Almighty asked, pointing to all the trees and bushes around the two of them.
Michael looked up from the mounds of clay.
"This is a place I have named the Garden of Eden, and it will be the home for the two new creatures. It is attached to the First Heaven as you can see, and I will connect this place with the Earth once these Beings are further along in their maturity, and then I will begin to expose them to the Simians. They can teach the Simians how to create and develop other skills. There will be much work for the other Orders of Angels to do in preparation of that event, but for now it shall be you, Michael, that is responsible for keeping an eye on these Beings. I also give you permission to bring along any other Archangel that you think could assist you monitor these Beings, but please keep in mind that Luciferael and the Auxilium may not like them, so this assignment needs to remain secret."
In the Beginning (Archangel Jarahmael and the War to Conquer Heaven, Book I) Page 6