In the Beginning (Archangel Jarahmael and the War to Conquer Heaven, Book I)

by John J Higgins

  "No one else has either, except for these creatures and the Simians on the Earth," Michael whispered, as he collected himself.

  Jarahmael was puzzled and asked, "I don't understand. How did we feel it though?"

  Michael thought for moment and then continued, "That is something that I am unsure of as well. The Almighty hasn't discussed that with me either. I think He may be as surprised as we are that we are able to experience their ecstasy. The same thing occurs when I have observed the Simians procreate."

  Jarahmael asked, "They are that closely tied to one another?"

  "Yes, even though these new life forms are much more refined and have some of the Almighty's direct essence unlike the more primitive Simians. But the act of procreation is the same for both types."

  "I would get the same effect, being in close proximity to the Simians then?" Jarahmael asked taking advantage of pursing a change of topic, even if it was slight, it would draw Michael's attention away from Lillith.

  "Yes, the question that remains is whether the earth creatures can control sharing what they feel with us, or whether it is just an energy level that comes off their bodies." Michael added. "It's one of the reasons I thought it may be good for you to study these creatures to find out more. Confirm it with observations of the Simians. It's a good thing that Luciferael and his Auxilium have been kept distant from the Simians, these new creatures and their acts of procreation. I think we should know more about it first. Luciferael would be trying to take credit for it, prideful as he is becoming."

  "Did I detect a bit of anger at Luciferael?" Jarahmael whispered half-jokingly to Michael, and encouraging Michael to continue talking about Luciferael as he was interested in what he thought of the First Born of Heaven.

  "I only know that I do not like what Luciferael does at times. He thinks too much of himself and does not work as one of many, but expects each of us to worship him more and more," Michael said, whispering loud enough that Jarahmael grabbed his arm and pulled him back and away from Adam and Lillith's hut.

  "Have you mentioned this to the Almighty?" Jarahmael asked aloud now that they were out of the hearing range of Adam and Lillith.

  "I brought up my feelings about Luciferael with the Almighty in private, but He labeled it as the feeling of jealousy and not anger. The Almighty told me to stop thinking about it and to let it go out of my mind. Jealousy according to the Almighty is a form of energy that is difficult if not impossible to control if left to grow. Some days though I cannot help it. It is also strange sometimes, I think that Luciferael can see through my emotions and knows how I feel about him, even as I try so hard to keep my emotions hidden from him. Don't tell anybody about this!" Michael said, looking embarrassed after expressing his feelings to Jarahmael.

  Jarahmael became concerned that he too felt this thing called jealousy when he was watching Adam and Lillith in their embraces. It would not be good to mention that now, because if his feelings for Lillith were known, Michael may be forced to keep him from Lillith in the future. And he did not want to take any chances that he would be unable to see Lillith again.

  "Now that you have seen more, are you still willing to do it?" asked Michael.

  Jarahmael's first thought was that Michael was asking him to procreate with Lillith and a wave of excitement passed through him, making him blush and glow more intensely.

  "Assist me in watching over these creatures and Eden?" Michael clarified quickly before Jarahmael could answer.

  "Yes, yes, of course Michael," Jarahmael blurted back, thankful that he had not said anything that would have revealed his true feelings about Lillith. "This all seems very interesting and exciting. I am happy to be of service."

  "Yes, that it is. But be careful, these acts of procreation can cause you to want to experience more and more of it. That's one of the reasons I asked you. You have not been swayed into joining Luciferael's Auxilium like many of the rest of the Archangels, despite making all those mirrors and spending a great deal of time with him. I am not sure that Luciferael would not try to absorb or interfere in this process, and certainly it would be a temptation for the members of his Auxilium," Michael said, complimenting Jarahmael in tone as well as in words.

  Michael continued, "I believe you will be able to handle the sensations. I am not sure that the other Archangels would be able to. Particularly those Archangels who are becoming Luciferael's followers. Those Angels prefer to focus on their sensations and Luciferael encourages them, providing they are obedient to him. I have closely experienced these acts of procreation about ten times now and it is a powerful force, one that is difficult to get out of my mind."

  "Yes, it was powerful!" Jarahmael said.

  "Why don't you take a look around and observe," Michael suggested. "The Almighty is still waiting for these creatures to develop further before exposing this experience to the other Angels. There are only you and I who are involved. The Almighty stressed to me that He wants it to remain like this for now. And remember I especially don't want Luciferael around this, he and his Auxilium would be here all the time, or creating new life forms who would be similar somewhere else."

  "Just one other question," Jarahmael said to Michael. "How do I refer to these more refined creatures, they aren't Simians, are they? What do I call them?"

  "It's easiest to refer to them as 'Humans.' The male was named Adam and the female was named Lillith when the Almighty created them. Come, we should go check on the Simians." Michael and Jarahmael flew out of the Garden of Eden and dropped down to the Earth below. As much as Jarahmael wanted to speak with Lillith again, he knew that it was unlikely he would see her alone today and he had mixed feelings about what he had seen. He was feeling jealous, yet flattered that Lillith seemed to be thinking of him even when she was with Adam. With all these feelings, the visit to the Simians would be a welcomed relief.

  For the rest of the day the two Archangels traveled around the country side, invisible to any of the earthly inhabitants. They approached the Simians and continued observing them. Now that Jarahmael had something to compare the Simians to, they did not seem to have as much intelligence in their eyes.. It was plain to Jarahmael that the Simians were content to simply survive, or deal with whatever obstacle was in front of them. They did not have the sense of curiosity that Jarahmael had sensed in his brief meeting with Lillith. They were less robust in other ways, too. Their eyes were not as blue. Nor were their cheeks as rosy. Nor were any of their bodies as beautiful as Lillith's.

  When Jarahmael observed the male and female Simians courting one another he felt fine in the role of a disinterested observer, at first. But every now and then he would envision Lillith standing in the place of one of these female Simians and he would feel a sharp pain in his body. A rather pleasant feeling, but one he found difficult to control. At the same time, the thought of having seen Lillith in an embrace with Adam disturbed him greatly. What if Adam made a child with Lillith? Again the thoughts and feelings flooded over him. By the end of the day he felt exhausted and was more than willing to return to the Seventh Heaven with Michael. But as they flew through the First Heaven on their way home, he promised himself he would return to find Lillith again soon.

  Chapter 22

  A SECRET MEETING

  Sammuael flew in through the open window of the smaller palace he had built for himself in the Fifth Heaven where the Angels of Virtue resided. It was part of the benefit that Michael and he enjoyed as being the Archangel emissaries to the Order of the Virtues. Following closely behind him were the other five Archangels who were members of Luciferael's Auxilium and his favorites: Beelzebael, Damiel, Mammonael, Mephistophael, and Suriel. To accommodate his guests, Sammuael began spinning with his wings pointed horizontally from his shoulders, causing mini vortexes in the cloud-like substance that composed the structure in his main hall, and chairs arose, thin but long backed seats with room on either side so the Angels could sit comfortably with their wings on either side behind them. The backs of the chairs we
re color-coded, so each of the Angels knew where to sit. The circle of chairs began with black for Sammuael himself, to match his black tipped wings, dark purple to match Mephistophael's wingtips on Sammuael's left, light blue to match Damiel's light blue tipped wings on Mephistophael's left, dark green for Mammonael's chair to match his dark green wingtips on Damiel's left, dark brown for Suriel's seat to match his dark brown tipped wings on Mammonael's left, and maroon for Beelzebael to match his maroon tipped Angel wings.

  There was an empty seat that remained, one larger than the others, placed between Sammuael's and Beelzebael's chair, an elevated chair of gold. This was the seat of Luciferael, who these Angels adored, especially Sammuael. Sammuael made the seat of honor for the First Born of Heaven. He felt he was Luciferael's most trusted friend and advisor.

  The day before, Luciferael had pulled Sammuael aside after the morning ceremony.

  Whispering, Luciferael had moved close to Sammuael and said, "Plan a meeting of the Auxilium for tomorrow."

  "Your palace, my lord?"

  "No, prying eyes and minds could cause trouble. Your smaller palace in the Fifth Heaven, if you please."

  "Any other special arrangements?"

  "No, none required, just attentive ears and minds. And any thoughts and observations that may have been revealed to the Auxilium concerning the new creations in Eden."

  One by one, Sammuael had flown and sought out the remaining Angels and requested their presence at his lower palace. He told each that the meeting was to be kept secret from the other Angels and that its subject was the new creation going on in Eden. Sammuael soon found out, however, that his Archangel colleagues only had very limited knowledge about the creation going on in Eden. None of them were assigned to interact with the Dominions, Principals or Potentates, so they were not involved with the construction going on there. Nor were any of them assigned to work with the Cherubim class of Angels. There had been rumors that the Almighty had assigned the Cherubim to do some scribing and engrave art within the structure going up. This was a new concept, distributing writings across the Creation. Up until now the writings in the Book of Creation, and some scribing stored in the Fifth Heaven were the only examples that existed. Both sets were safely stored and protected: the Book of Creation by the Archangels within the Throne in the Seventh Heaven, and the Archives by the Virtues in a structure they called a Library, not far from here.

  Sammuael's mind was brought back to the Auxilium seated around him when Beelzebael asked, "Sammuael, where is Luciferael? We were summoned at his request, were we not?"

  Before Sammuael could answer Mephistophael responded, "I saw Luciferael fly off with the Almighty right after the ceremony this morning. He indicated to me just before he left that he had some pressing matter to discuss with the Almighty and that he would be attending us as soon as the business was discussed. Appeared to me that it would be but a slight delay. Therefore, I counsel patience Beelzebael."

  Sammuael agreed. "Luciferael has been busy with a number of tasks since the Almighty has not made appearance at the morning ceremony for the past fortnight."

  Damiel shot a glance over to Mammonael. "Thought I heard some Angels flying over?"

  Suriel responded, "No, it was just the wind," as he readjusted his wings.

  Mammonael, in a bored tone added, "The Virtues are always too busy discussing the levels of goodness and love needed by the Almighty. They don't fly around much."

  A flash of gold shot across the cloud floor inside the main hall, reflected from outside the window by which they were seated.

  "Wait," Suriel said, "it is Luciferael coming."

  Luciferael's sweeping wing strokes were absent as he glided in through the window. He did not want to draw any unwanted attention from any of the Virtues outside.

  Luciferael landed gracefully, surrounded by golden light. The six other Archangels arose from their seats and bowed down to him. Sammuael was quite pleased. He knew that the time was not right for them to exalt Luciferael to the same degree as they did the Almighty in the Throne Room of the Seventh Heaven, for that would surely raise the anger of the other Archangels. But it was nice to see how the Auxilium honored Luciferael in private.

  Luciferael was wise enough to know that Michael and his colleagues would only truly follow the Almighty Himself or act on the belief that the command came from the Almighty. Angels of all the lower classes would be a bit easier as they were lower in the hierarchy. They would not have to be assured that the command came from the Almighty Himself or someone He designated. They knew that the Almighty often left Luciferael in command of the Heavens, and that was all they needed to know.

  "Arise my friends," Luciferael said. "Gratitude for your allegiance and for meeting on short notice. A matter of particular concern has arisen and we should discuss our position."

  "Damiel, I assigned you to secretly observe the construction in Eden. Have you continued to make observations?"

  "Yes, every day. The structure rises a bit higher. The Guardians and Potentates have been busy cutting stones while the Principalities assemble and the Dominions supervise the building of the structure."

  "And who has been watching the Cherubim?"

  "I have my lord," stated Mammonael as he stepped forward, the dark green tips of his wings moving in tandem with his shoulders, offset by his long black hair and highlighted by his intense eyes of a lighter shade of green.

  "Their construction is moving along. The initial square that was set on the ground shrinks in area as it rises. A pyramid, it is called. I have overheard the Principalities say so as they supervise the construction. The building has been progressing according to plan," he added.

  "When do you think the structure will be finished?" asked Luciferael.

  "Two weeks for the building," Mammonael responded cautiously, as he did not want to raise the jealousy and anger of Luciferael. Shifting in his seat he continued, "Annabael is in charge of the building and she gets much accomplished. It is difficult to read Cerebriel, who is personally leading the Cherubim on this. The Cherubim have been carving writings into the walls. I have never seen anything written like this before. We assumed that the Almighty would always restrict the availability of 'writings' to the Heavens and for our use as in the Book of Creation."

  The other Archangels let out gasps as they could not hold back their feelings of hurt pride. The Almighty was placing these writings openly on the walls of the pyramid in the Garden of Eden, yet the writings accessible to the Archangels were restricted, confined to the Book, secured and hidden in the Throne Room of the Seventh Heaven.

  "Have any of you seen these Human creatures that the Almighty has made?" asked Luciferael.

  "I have only heard of them. I understand that the Almighty has visited them often. It has also been rumored that Michael has seen them a few times and so has Jarahmael. Other than that, I don't think the other Angels have seen them," Damiel answered.

  Luciferael interjected, "I discussed them with the Almighty this morning before the ceremony. He told me not to worry about them. He did say he was giving them something called 'free will,' as he thought they were special."

  "Special like us?" asked Sammuael.

  "Even more so, I fear." Luciferael was beginning to turn red as he discussed them. "There is a man and a woman. The Almighty believes that if he gives them a great deal of love, they will freely choose to love him back without condition or expectation."

  "How would one show the Almighty that they love him unconditionally?" asked Damiel.

  "We do everything the Almighty asks of us, always!" stated Mephistophael, his tone reflecting his annoyance.

  "Yes," responded Luciferael. "Every day of our existence, everything we do is to please the Almighty."

  "Perhaps there is something we can use in this free will concept," Mammonael interjected.

  An idea flashed through Mephistophael's eyes. "Perhaps if they had a choice of doing something that the Almighty would not want them to do."

>   Luciferael furrowed his brow for a few moments, and then began to speak again.

  "There does not seem to be any choices in the Universe significant enough to cause a problem with a severe consequence. I have assisted and created many things throughout the Universe and there have never been any consequences to us. Choices of one body type or another, colors, or even constructing things from out of the already created substances never has had any consequence, other than the thing not working well. The Almighty was always pleased even when something created by the Angels did not quite work as intended. For example, look at the Platypus."

  They all laughed at that, knowing it was a really strange looking creature that Michael had been so proud of. Sammuael thought of bringing up the dinosaurs, creatures that Luciferael had developed. But he thought the better of it and did not mention it.

  Sammuael interrupted the laughter and said seriously, "We need to get someone in closer to the man and the woman. See what we can find out, whatever their dealings are with the Almighty."

  "Great idea!" stated Damiel.

  "But how do we do that? The Almighty has only allowed Michael and Jarahmael to get close to those two creatures," stated Beelzebael, suddenly paying close attention again. "Sammuael you are a co-regent here in the Fifth Heaven along with Michael, are you not?"

  "Yes, I am," responded Sammuael. "Although I am afraid that Michael has been growing distant from me. He likes coming up with these Virtuous rules, and he thinks I oppose him all the time. But I will make an extra effort to see what Michael knows."

  "It's settled then, we have the beginnings of a plan," concluded Luciferael. "If there is nothing else on any of your minds, we will discuss this Human situation further when other information comes to light."

  Luciferael took his leave by nodding and giving each of them a smile, then he flew back out the same window he arrived through shortly before.

  As he was flying upward, he thought to himself that he had heard that at least one of his serpents had already been able to find their way into in the Garden of Eden. If this was true, it could be his eyes and ears there. He would go and find out what this creature knew. Luciferael was not going to be fooled by anyone!