As Michael entered the Hall, his eyes took in the Virtue Angels that were there already. They were all seated in orderly rows and they grew quiet when they saw him. The Order of the Virtues sat in opposing bleacher type benches vertically stacked on either side of the Hall separated by a main floor level, where the main presenter could address either side. Michael was enthralled with their sweet sounding voices and was very happy to be back among them. Sammuael and he had usually come to the Hall together, but over time they had been arriving separately, mainly due to their different assignments. Michael knew that it was better that way, Luciferael and the Auxilium were not going to be happy when they discovered what the Almighty was doing with His latest creatures and the new place, the Garden of Eden.
The Simians were softer and gentler than was Luciferael's style. Those large reptiles he had created, the dinosaurs, were a tough and brutal lot and did not get along well with one another. Protection from these beasts was the major reason the Almighty had placed the Garden of Eden between the First Heaven on the upper end and a small entrance from the Earth on the lower end, with a wall of celestial fire that protected the Garden from the rest of the planet.
What to do about the dinosaurs would be the latest topic for the Virtues. The interactions between the Simians and the dinosaurs would be a lesson about fairness and love. Luciferael's creatures, though magnificent in their own right, did not leave much room for the form of love that the Angels possessed. Luciferael had caused a predator-prey relationship on the Earth inadvertently due to the dinosaurs' size and aggressive dispositions, at least Michael wanted to believe that it was not by design. He felt that the Creation was not to be harmful or destructive but loving and constructive.
The Virtues on the right hand side of the Hall had become advocates for Michael and for his reasoning. While on the left side, the Virtues had been siding with Sammuael. Michael's side was to foster love, cooperation, and unity among the Angels and the rest of Creation, while Sammuael's side advocated for more freedom, taking more risks, developing the individual being even if it was at the cost of another's rights or privileges.
Michael's main ally among the Order of the Virtues was Valetorious. He was a strong Angel with a deep sounding voice, who stood out among the other Virtues as a hard-minded individual. Because of that independent quality, Michael had initially misjudged him, assuming he would side with Sammuael particularly when the problem called for a solution stressing love and cooperation rather than individual effort, such as was the case to determine the fate of Luciferael's dinosaurs.
Michael could see that Valetorious had already chosen sides because he was positioned in the second row immediately behind where Michael's seat was located. Michael nodded to Valetorious as he approached and looked over at Sammuael's empty seat directly across the floor. Sammuael was late again, but no matter. He turned to speak to Valetorious. While he was exchanging pleasantries with the Angel behind him, he heard Sammuael finally arrive.
Sammuael was a powerful Archangel and his presence demanded one's attention. He was the right hand to Luciferael, the most loved of all the Archangels. It was difficult to dispute him when he cast his opinion, and Michael knew that he would have to be sharp when discussing the fate of Luciferael's beloved dinosaurs.
"What is on the agenda today?" Sammuael asked Michael, his eyes somewhat distracted. Michael knew that Sammuael would have met with Luciferael about the dinosaurs. Sammuael and Michael had a great deal of love and respect for one another as brothers, but both were fiercely loyal to their own positions, leaders in their own right among the Archangels and certainly here among the lesser Angels.
Michael responded, "We need to discuss the dinosaurs who have been roaming the Earth. They have been wreaking havoc and it is time to remove them to make way for less destructive creatures." While he spoke, Michael watched Sammuael's reaction for any clues of his feelings on the subject. After all, Luciferael was in charge of the Earth, and he considered the dinosaurs and reptiles his greatest achievement in that realm.
Sammuael jumped right in and began to speak. "The Earth itself is pretty destructive in its own right, isn't it Michael? The formation of the land and volcanic action were much more destructive than Luciferael's offspring ever were. Don't you agree?"
Michael knew that the planet, while beautiful in its current form, did have a violent birth and early development.
"Yes, that's true Sammuael. Actually, the Almighty was thinking of allowing that process to take care of disposing of the creatures," Michael continued, "The only concern has been about the new inhabitants. The dinosaurs are too large and their temperament too violent for them to live peacefully among any other creatures on the planet. Especially living along with the Simians."
"Simians?" Sammuael asked. "What exactly are they? New creatures for the Almighty, made of the Earth itself, but without the essence of the Almighty which he has given to us. Are they as intelligent and can they create on their own? Aren't we the greatest of the Almighty's creations?"
Michael reassured Sammuael. "The Almighty just believes them to be another form of life. The Angels have always been the First Born of life. These new creatures do not have all of our powers and have shown that they are not particularly creative. They are certainly less powerful than the Beings of Light, they do not inherently possess the ability as we do, to change forms, or to travel wherever needed in the Universe."
"What do you mean?" interjected Sammuael, his eyes deeply inquisitive and focused on Michael.
"Since they are made of the Earth, they must be given some sustenance to live. Otherwise the chemicals that make them up from the Earth would get used up and they would be unable to survive. They must eat food, the fruits of the plants and trees contained on the Earth, in order to flourish."
Sammuael then said, "So they need food just as the dinosaurs do? Luciferael will be pleased to hear that, too. That they are not as powerful as the Beings of Light."
Michael saw an opportunity to convince the Virtues that the dinosaurs would have to be destroyed. He looked around at the Virtues and said. "The dinosaurs were not created with immortality. Some stopped living because of accidents where they had harmed themselves, and others devoured one another for their own food. Magnificent as these creatures are, it is one of the main problems in Luciferael's creation scheme."
"Yes, they are some of the greatest creations on the Earth!" Sammuael added, ignoring the problems just mentioned. Looking around the room, some of the Virtues agreed with him, nodding their heads in approval.
Michael continued, "But the dinosaurs are now interfering with the Almighty's future plans of developing creatures on the Earth who can build and create."
"The Simians?" said Sammuael. "I have seen these creatures and they do not seem capable of building anything on their own either. Why should they be allowed to survive when the dinosaurs cannot?"
"Because they are just prototypes for the next set of Beings that the Almighty intends to occupy the Earth after they have grown in the Garden of Eden," Michael blurted out and then realized he may have said more than he should have.
"And where is this Garden of Eden? And what are these creatures?" demanded Sammuael, throwing his head backwards and showing his displeasure that Michael was discussing a project that the Almighty had not told Luciferael or his Auxilium about, while clearly Michael knew all the details.
"That is something I am not free to discuss. You will have to wait for the Almighty to speak about that experiment."
"Too many secrets Michael, you and the Almighty should just tell all of us what the plan is."
"You will find out when the Almighty announces the next phase of the Creation. For now we need to simply come to some agreement about the fate of the dinosaurs." Michael said, unperturbed.
"I don't see much point in discussing this then, Michael. It appears that the Almighty already knows what He wants to do about the dinosaurs."
Then to Michael's absolute shock Sammuael c
ontinued:
"On behalf of Luciferael, I will withdraw any objection to protect the dinosaurs, but in exchange, he would like for the smaller reptiles to be protected and not destroyed. They do not have the same ability to destroy the Simians and whatever other smaller creatures the Almighty has in mind."
"That sounds fair," Michael said, looking around the Hall and watching the majority of Virtue Angels nod in agreement with the compromise.
"One other thing, though. Would you request that the Almighty then address the issue of the Simians and His future plans regarding the new creatures?" Sammuael added.
"Yes, I will tell the Almighty about your concerns, concerns I am sure that Luciferael will also have," Michael said, pleased that he would have great news for the Almighty!
Chapter 15
PLANS FOR THE FIRST DESTRUCTION
The scribes among the Virtues cataloged the discussion about the fate of the dinosaurs and recorded their notes in the Archives contained in the Library behind the Hall of the Virtues. After a few more hours of debate about the details of how to best destroy the dinosaurs, it was decided by the Virtues, that the Archangels along with a few legions of the Cherubim, would take the lead in destroying the dinosaurs. They would be assisted by the lesser Orders of Angels as needed.
They kept to the agreement that the smaller reptilian species were to be spared as their risk of harming the Simians was much less, but all the larger dangerous reptiles were to be destroyed and made extinct.
When the discussion turned to the details of destroying the dinosaurs, Sammuael could tell by the expression on Michael's face that the elimination of the dinosaurs was a task that Michael did not relish. Michael may not have liked the dinosaurs, but he did not like to be destructive either. But Sammuael also knew how Michael would behave; if it was the Almighty's will, then it was his duty to obey.
Sammuael also did not like the assignment, but for a completely different reason. These were the creatures made through Luciferael's powers and according to his desires. In fact, he was once honored by the Almighty for their creation. Sammuael was afraid that Luciferael would feel slighted by this destruction, and he did not want to be one of those who disappointed Luciferael.
Once the discussion turned to the details of the elimination of the creatures, Sammuael was surprised to feel a sense of exhilaration at the prospect of destroying these large cold-blooded beasts. It would be exciting to develop the methods and tools to effectively hunt down and wipe out all of these creatures. He hoped that Luciferael would feel the same when the time came.
It was Michael's suggestion that they arm all of the various Orders of Angels to destroy the dinosaurs and that they use the Cherubim as the lead soldiers. The Cherubim were particularly good at carrying out assignments, and their animalistic bodies were strong and powerful.
Nor did Sammuael object when Michael suggested Jarahmael as one of the leaders. It was a natural choice since he was good friends with Cerebriel, head of the Cherubim. In exchange, Michael would of course have to have Sammuael as his second in command, as he would have to appease Luciferael for the destruction of his creations.
But just to make sure that there would be no surprises for Luciferael about this, as soon as the recommendations were finalized, Sammuael returned to Luciferael's palace in the Seventh Heaven. Luciferael's palace was enormous, the largest structure in the Heavens, dwarfed only by the Throne Room. It was covered in a bright golden light that radiated from the cloud-like foundation. A series of a hundred towers, capped by softly edged parapets laid out the grand design. Twelve stories in height, there were rooms upon rooms upon rooms. The walls of the rooms were composed of solid forms from the wavelengths of the full spectrum of energy. Some rooms pulsated in various colors, while other rooms pulsated in ranges of light waves beyond those visible to Humans. There was abundant internally-generated light throughout Luciferael's private quarters. The upper floors were composed of pure white clouds. From any of the upper floors Luciferael could see all of the Seventh Heaven when he would look out. The palace was one of the first buildings that Luciferael had undertaken after being created, and was a special gift from the Almighty for being the First Born.
Sammuael flew to the central tower, Luciferael's inner sanctum in his palace. He was unchallenged by the many other Angels who were about and who occupied the palace to do Luciferael's bidding. Parapets seemed to have at least one Angel in residence, playing harps or other Heavenly instruments and singing sounds of praise to both the Almighty and Luciferael. Sammuael became warm and joyful as he reached the center of the palace, noting how the songs had such an effect on him.
When he landed into the inner sanctum, Luciferael welcomed him warmly, knowing that Sammuael adored him above all creatures, perhaps even the Almighty himself.
"Greetings Sammuael! What news do you bring this beautiful afternoon?" Luciferael smiled while he moved towards his guest, and stretched his wings widely behind him.
"Good afternoon, my lord Luciferael!" Sammuael responded, feeling Luciferael's warmth penetrate him. He, too, smiled in return. Thoughts of how Luciferael would react to the news of the impending destruction of the dinosaurs disappeared for a moment in the wave that came over him. Despite his trepidation he could see that Luciferael remained calm and was even cheery.
Sammuael's concern returned and he could feel it flash across his face. Luciferael must have seen it too as he asked, "What can be troubling you, my friend?"
"As you know, my lord, Michael and I were at the Hall of the Virtues in the Fifth Heaven earlier and there was discussion about disposing of the dinosaurs on the Earth." Sammuael's head was bowed in deference while his eyes peered upwards to watch Luciferael's demeanor as he told him the news.
Sammuael was surprised that Luciferael seemed unperturbed, maybe even brightened at the news. Luciferael responded, "That is terrible news," though his face still reflected joy and not concern.
"Yes, my lord," responded Sammuael. "I have been detailed to accompany Michael as we destroy the creatures. All save the smallest ones."
"I see," pondered Luciferael. "So as we discussed earlier, most of the life forms I created for the Almighty are to be destroyed? Tell me the reasons Michael presented."
Sammuael shifted his body as he stood before Luciferael. "As you suspected, my lord, Michael said that the Almighty wants to clear the Earth so that his new creations, these Beings called Simians, can occupy the planet. He did provide me a bit more information about them. I know you have been interested in these creatures, as you asked me to look into the subject just yesterday."
"What do you know of these Simians, Sammuael? What did Michael tell you?"
"They are beings made of the Earth, similar to the dinosaurs that you created, my lord. They do need food to survive and in that way are fragile like your dinosaurs."
"Excellent," stated Luciferael as he looked approvingly upon Sammuael. "You have done well in getting the information from Michael and for coming to me with the new developments."
"But there is another problem that was briefly mentioned by Michael, one that I think will be of even greater concern to you, my lord Luciferael," Sammuael quickly added.
"The Garden of Eden?" asked Luciferael.
"Yes, my lord. How did you know?"
"You are not to tell the other Archangels about this yet, but the Almighty discussed this with me this morning before he sent Michael off to the Hall of the Virtues. The Almighty wants to have helpmates in the Creation and he is still experimenting. He explained to me that my dinosaurs had a major flaw in that they did not have the divine spark, and I was only able to animate the flesh created out of the Earth. I thought at the time that size may improve that; however, it just made them bigger without any real creativity. It was only later after I was able to find a way to increase intelligence and place it into the smaller reptiles such as Serpentalia that the Almighty really took notice."
Luciferael seemed even more delighted with himself as he co
ntinued. "The Almighty built upon those principles and created the Simians believing these new creatures would be able to build and compose beautiful things on the Earth just as we did for Him in the Heavens."
"But the Simians don't look capable of doing that, my lord."
"Exactly," responded Luciferael. "That's why He has put the divine spark into a pair of creatures in the Garden of Eden. He has created this Garden of Eden between the Earth and the First Heaven. It is an idyllic place, where no harm can come to any of the creatures there. The idea of having Beings that have more choices about what actions they can take is the crux of the experiment. Each of them will have what the Almighty has called a soul along with the body made of Earth. Their intelligence and soul will have the ability to grow. As the Universe is ever expanding from the Creation, the Almighty wants ideas and emotions to develop. The Almighty reassured me that they are no threat to us as we are His First Born and will remain the most beloved of all His creatures. For now I will continue to trust in what the Almighty tells me. So should you . . . for now."
Sammuael nodded that he understood, but for a moment thought he saw a shadow float across Luciferael's face.
Luciferael changed the subject back to a more comfortable one. "Now, about this destruction of the dinosaurs. I believe by destroying my creations, the dinosaurs, we can show our skills and creativity here in a way that will be an example of our superiority over the Almighty. For not only have we created life forms but we are also willing to destroy what we have created. The Almighty Himself has not been willing to do that directly. He expects us to have the strength to do what He is unwilling or unable to do. If you think about it, creativity often involves some form of destruction. Who best to show how this can be done than the glorious Archangels? We can develop various methods and means to carry out the decision of the Virtues. So in the end, this actually can be a wonderful thing."
In the Beginning (Archangel Jarahmael and the War to Conquer Heaven, Book I) Page 10