by Stan Mason
I dismissed the matter from my mind to concentrate on the Great Chain of Being. Could the universe exist without it, I wondered, only generally it seemed to be a natural chain of events in the right order. I searched to find a blueprint oto establish more detail but it didn’t come readily to hand even if such a plan existed. I considered the text of the first part of Genesis on what God, or a Supreme Power, was supposed to have done in the first seven days of the formation of the Earth. If it were so, did He create man and animals in the same way as artefacts such as tables and chairs or was there another purpose? And what about superiority and inferiority in human-beings and animals? How did those features affect the Great Chain of Being? After all, some people became self-made men and women, climbing to the top of the tree in life to live in relative comfort... others plodded on steadily finding themselves deeply mired in debt and struggling for the whole of their lives. That had to be a break in the Great Chain of Being to say the least. There was no doubt about the significance of superiority and inferiority, yet it was never mentioned in the text.
After examining a great deal of information which meant little to me, I observed that there was something missing in the theory. It was the essence of nature which to my mind affected the whole issue and its absence stood out like a sore thumb. I had no idea how many tens of millions of years this text of the Great Chain of Being had been read by spirits in Heaven but it was totally incomplete. Nature was not co-extensive with the whole of natural phenomena but more particularly individualistic with the way it affected human-beings, fauna and flora being a force and counterforce in its essence. I discovered a scroll of parchment in a box at the side of the desk and began to write my thoughts on the topic.
‘Nature is assigned an important and elusive role in the scheme of the Great Chain of Being,’ I wrote. ‘Its absence in the work indicates that its effects have been dismissed far too readily. There is the feature of different environments throughout the world which affect every element within the Great Chain of Being such as richness and poverty but there are also natural features which dictate the fate of human-beings, fauna and flora, such as tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, flooding, rainfall, drought, and so on. Each of these relate to a force and counterforce of nature which infects the Great Chain of Being by means of ability, capability, superiority and inferiority. As such, the Great Chain of Being is definitely flawed mainly because it is far too simplistic in its definition.’
I continued onwards for quite some time before laying down the pen to read and correct any errors in the text. However, before I could do so, the parchment was whipped away from my hand by an unseen force to disappear out of the building. Would my effort produce any response from one of the hierarchy of angels? I very much doubted it.
Within seconds, I was whisked away to a room where I faced the Angel of Determination again. He stroked his long beard and ran his forefinger across his moustache as if to straighten it. I noticed that he held the parchment on which I had just written in his hand as he looked into my eyes coldly.
‘So you disagree with the development of the Great Chain of Being,’ he uttered sonorously, continuing to stare at me.
‘Not so,’ I countered sharply. ‘To be honest, it’s far too simplistic which is the reason I failed to understand it. There needs to be a great deal of clarification and follow through if it has to have real meaning. In particular, environment and nature have been missed out of the equation when they should both have been included.’
He paused to think about my comments for a few moments. ‘How would you like to correct the text?’ he asked calmly.
‘How long is the document in its present state?’ I enquired dourly, not wishing to take on a task which bored me. ‘Length isn’t important,’ he responded. ‘It’s detail that counts. You seem to know more about this particular subject than any other spirit in Heaven and you’ve actually put pen to parchment to prove it.’
I groaned inwardly at the task he wanted to set me and I intended to show how reluctant I was to undertake it. ‘You must have tens of thousands of spirits in Heaven more capable than me to do that work. Why don’t you select a team of them to do it?’
‘Because no one has mentioned the features of superiority or inferiority before let alone the effects of environment and nature on the Great Chain of Being. You’re obviously the spirit most capable to do the work.’
‘But I don’t want to do it,’ I resisted sharply, caring little for his anger at my response.
The expression on his face showed his displeasure at the comment and I believe that his wings fluttered slightly behind him at his annoyance. ‘Your role as a junior Seraph does not allow you to refuse any order given by a higher-ranking angel!’ he snapped. ‘You’ll do exactly what you’re told to do! If I say you do it you do it without question. Is that understood?’
I nodded my head reluctantly because there was nothing I could do about it. However he recognised my dilemma and stood quite still in front of me thinking for a short while. Then he looked up at the ceiling, opened his arms, placing his hands, palms upwards, in front of him. To my astonishment, a continuous shaft of light shot down from the ceiling covering his body entirely for quite some time. Silence prevailed during this period and then the light was extinguished. After that had happened, he clasped his hands together and turned his attention towards me as though having been advised on the decision that he had to make.
‘I shall appoint a team of eight spirits to work with you on the Great Chain of Being,’ he told me point-blank. ‘You’ll be in charge of them advising them accordingly and they will carry out the work. Does that satisfy you, Jeremiah?’
I considered the option for a few moments and then warmed to the idea. It meant that I didn’t have to be in that small room for much of the time because my team of spirits would be working for me. ‘Yes,’ I confirmed readily. ‘That’ll suit me fine. I hope you appoint spirits with some consciousness because the work will be arduous. I’m sure you recognise that there’s an awful lot to do.’ I paused for a moment to reflect. ‘By the way,’ I ventured. ‘What would have happened to me had I refused to co-operate?’
‘You would have been sent to the Desert of Ice,’ he said quietly.
I thought about asking further questions about it but quickly changed my mind. It made me shudder to think about that kind of fate. Although I still had no proper feelings, the idea of being stranded in a desert of ice made me feel extremely discomforted.
Without hesitation, I was transported to a small room elsewhere within a moment. I found myself standing in front of eight desks, each with a spirit, like a schoolmaster lecturing to a class like in the old days. The speed at which the transformation occurred astonished me. One moment I was agreeing to instruct a team of spirits; a few seconds later they were in place.
‘Right,’ I began, adopting my old schoolmaster attitude towards them. ‘You’re here to help me establish the Great Chain of Being which has been around for aeons but was never completed properly. In effect, other than the main theme, we need to start from the beginning and rewrite the whole subject. But first let me say that we’re going to act as a team. Not as individuals, but as a team... together! Is that understood? Silence prevailed and I shrugged my shoulders aimlessly. ‘I asked you a question!’ I continued forcefully. ‘Is that understood?’ There was a response from most of the spirits which failed to elevate my confidence. ‘I ask you once more!’ I shouted. ‘Is that understood?’ On this occasion they all rose to the occasion and responded vocally. At last, I thought, some kind of positive reaction. It seemed that I would have my work cut out to meld them into a team.
‘Okay,’ I went on. ‘Does anyone of you have a name?’
One spirit in the front desk raised his hand. ‘I’m known as Duke,’ he replied eagerly.
Another spirit at the rear of the room also raised his hand. ‘I’d lile to b
e called Delilah but I’ve not adopted the name because no one’s interested in talking to me.’
I stared at the other spirits glumly realising that their element of consciousness was at a low level. ‘Well all that’s going to change,’ I told Delilah before turning my attention to Duke. ‘I want you to take charge of this team with Delilah as your second in command. The rest of you will follow their lead. But first, I’m going to issue orders for you to undertake certain types of work. Each of them may be regarded as singular but we shall marry them up together in due course. The first is tghe issue of environment. Duke will instruct one of you to write up the scene of environmental differences which affect various parts of the Earth. The next is conflict and war. One of you will develop the morality of man in relation to conflict all over the world and the effects and reasons for such causes. The third will be undertake the natural occurrences with regard to earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, flooding, etc. and how they affect the Great Chain of Being. The fourth will be the effect on animals, their habitats and their relation to each other. The fifth will research flora of all kinds... trees, bushes, flowers, plants, and the like. The sixth will refer to any other type of inanimate objects and their development.’ I turned my attention to their new leader. ‘You Duke will allocate each of these tasks to individuals within the team.’
‘Will you remain with us while we carry out the work?’ asked Duke with concern showing on his face. ‘No,’ I told him. ‘I’ve outlined the tasks for you to do. I shall be available at all times of difficulty, returning every so often.’
I had no idea how they would be able to contact me or when I would return. It was simply something masterful that I had to proclaim. I wished to see the Angel of Determination and to my surprise I found that my wishful thought brought me before him again.
‘How can they contact me?’ I asked him with an element of despair in my voice.
‘All they have to do is to think they need you and you will appear before them,’ confirmed the angel flatly. ‘But you will need to keep in contact with them all the time. Just think of joining them again and the thought will make it happen. Do not think that you can delegate all the work to them. They’ll continually need your guidance and knowledge.’
I shrugged my shoulders again. It was all so neat... so easily done. Simply moving forwards and backwards without any effort whatsoever merely by the element of thought. After identifying the work to be undertaken by each member of the team, I left them to start on the project, intending to return shortly.
For the time being, I decided to make my own recreation soaring along the long main highway that led to the edge of the city. The distance was vast but I enjoyed moving at great speed with an element of freedom for the first time in Heaven. It was like flying through the sky without an engine and, although I had no feeling, I could sense a kind of delirium in the action. My mind was bursting with a number of questions as I sped along the highway. What had actually happened since my spirit had left my body? Indeed, what was spirit life like as against living on Earth? Well, although I could be seen by others in the form of my younger days, my spirit was fuzzy like a cloud and relatively indistinguishable. Consequently, I didn’t have to clean my teeth or brush my hair because I had no form while sight and sound were two of the senses still with me although taste, touch and smell were absent. Time was not a feature in Heaven while nothing but silence prevailed except for the tintinabulum of bells when a spirit disregarded the rules or when other angels or spirits spoke to me. There was no cameraderie in Heaven between any two spirits, while family and friends were not a viable proposition. Each spirit went on its own way independently. The sky was completely black, there were no lakes, valleys or mountains, and all the rules set out by the hierarchy of angels had to be observed or punishment of one kind or another would be meted out to those who disobeyed. In addition, I didn’t have to sleep and I couldn’t recollect seeing the spirits of any children or babies. Presumably they took an adult form when coming to Heaven. I was desolate that there was no leisure or pleasure to be enjoyed, only learning and advancement by one means or another dictated by a hierarchy of angels who had to be obeyed.
Since my arrival in Heaven, I had been appointed as an Accompanying Angel as well as a Correcting Angel and, in fact, had achieved a great deal of success in both roles, but I was still a Seraph, at the bottom rung of the ladder of the hierarchy. My consciousness had not diminished in any sense of the word which caused me to continue to question many features which I failed to comprehend. No doubt this was marked very much against me by those in command. It was the reason I had spent a period of time at the Pit of Desolation and why there was a possibility I would suffer eventually in the Desert of Ice... whatever it was... wherever it was located.
I suddenly realised that I was leading another life, without a body, in spirit form, in a place where my soul had drifted that I believed was Heaven. Although there was no pain or agony from illness and disease any more, I was living a life in another place in the future, after my demise on Earth. All the knowledge and predictions about Heaven came to mind at that moment for me to realise that no one on Earth had the faintest idea what went on after their spirit had left their body when they died. I didn’t know whether there was a God or a Supreme Power. I had no idea whether Jesus Christ was an ordinary spirit or the son of God sitting at the right-hand side of his throne, and it failed to stimulate me to recognise that most of the Bible was certainly pure fiction. Indeed, the New Testament was probably reasonably near to the truth, but then the truth had a way of being distorted by different authors. So, if Jesus Christ had been such an icon on Earth and expectedly so in Heaven, where was he? Did he lose his consciousness on the way or was he a driving force at the right hand of God? Such questions consumed my mind although I had no particular reason to discover the answers.
I sped on for some considerable distance with a multitude of thoughts pervading my mind until eventually arriving at a very high thick black wall. It was normally possible for me to move through inanimate objects in my spirit form but on this occasion I found myself slowing down before I got there as though an invisible magnet was pulling me back to gradually halt my progress. I stood in front of the wall wondering why it wasn’t possible to go through it. I felt it imperative to find out what was on the other side. Surely this couldn’t be the last outpost of Heaven... unless of course it happened to be the stronghold of God or a Supreme Power who preferred to remain isolated, far from the eyes of lower-ranking spirits.
I tried desperately to rise above the parapet of the wall to determine what might be seen on the other side but each time I attempted to move upwards I was repressed by an invisible force which forced me downwards. I tried several times without success before deciding to concede and give up the quest. Reluctantly, I turned to reverse back down the highway, speeding as fast as I could to the place where my team was working on the revision of the Great Chain of Being. My mind was filled with suspicion as to what I might have found beyond that tall black wall but wondering and knowing were two different things. Then, tiring of the mystery, I recanted my thoughts, putting them to the back of my mind. I was positive that there would be other opportunities to try my luck again.
On arriving at the building, I entered and approached Duke, the team leader, who was holding a scroll in front of him.
‘I knew you couldn’t stay away for long,’ he greeted with an element of a smile on his face. He flashed the scroll in front of him looking down at the text. ‘Let me show you what we’ve done on just the environmental element whilst you’ve been absent.’
I stared at him bleakly for I believed that my journey had taken only a few minutes. However, when I saw what he had written, I realised that it must have been a great deal longer.
His eyes focussed on the words on the scroll and he began reading it to me in a gruff voice. ‘The chronicle of the environmental developments on Earth
,’ he began, ‘is compounded generally by the element of nature in all its diverse rawness. It corresponds to fluctuations of natural causes which affect every part of the planet in the effluxion of periodic events. In effect, there have been aeons where every part of that globe has been affected by heat and drought known as the Thermal Age as well as by severe coldness which was colloquially known as the Ice Age. Such environmental changes by natural causes are so dramatic that they affect the relationship of human-beings, fauna and flora, as well as inanimate objects, in each period from region to region in terms of where they are located, by means of what they wear, as well as what they eat. Disregarding those eras where the planet is under such pressure whereby heat or cold is in excess, the identity of the Earth consists of excessive icy wastelands to the north and to the south where glacial conglomerations have frozen everything into icy whiteness. The north is scantly inhabited by people whose only means of survival is to fish for food and shelter as best they can. A few types of animals, such as polar bears, survive in such an atmosphere but no trees, bushes or plants can be found to grow there. The south is absolutely absent of human life and the only form of fauna to be found are colonies of penguins. Equally, trees, bushes and plants cannot survive in that icy waste. There are numerous regions of tropical forests especially in central areas of the Earth where humidity remains high while deserts in various parts of the globe extend their reach year on year because rainfall in certain regions is extremely scarce. Human-beings have turned many areas into towns and cities where the majority of the world’s population lives and they have been growing at the continued expense of green-field development over the ages. Some regions are highly mountainous where only small communities exist; others lie in flooding areas which are repeatedly swamped during severe storms and when the seas rise.’ He paused to scan my face, hoping that I would be pleased with the work. ‘There’s a lot more,’ he went on eagerly, ‘but I thought I’d relate the first part to let you know how the revision was progressing.’