The Kingdoms of Eden

CHAPTER FIVE: A Very Different Time

Ares, Hermes, Zeus and Mercury debated furiously as they walked through the main chamber of the library complex. With each step paced by the brothers, the ethereal notions that brought them to that place took on a meaning that was firmly rooted in matter. As the ideas flowed and the moments passed, who they were gave way to who they were becoming. Stacks of nearly empty bookcases radiated outwards from a large, circular reading table in the middle of the room. The rows of bookcases grew in height the farther they were placed from the room's heart, until they towered to a neck-kinking height. As the brothers planned and then executed their design, the bookcases filled with the knowledge of what they were creating. The written record was an idea of Ares; he sold the plan to his brothers in the guise of a history that their distant offspring could turn to for guidance, but in truth his motives were entirely litigious. The more rooted they became in the world of matter, the weaker their connection to the source of all knowledge became, until one day the connection would be lost entirely. Once that day came, their matter-based minds would be their only source of recall; such a limitation would be open to misremembering, to arguments, to betrayals and to war. The library would be their safeguard against such deadly misunderstandings, be they genuine or contrived.

The brothers eventually sat around the table as the limitations of their new forms became too much for them. To a brother, they all welcomed the rest. Zeus took charge immediately, much to the annoyance of Hermes, who turned away sharply as his brother began to speak.

"I honestly do not see the need for a debate," Zeus began. "Saturn has made his choice. He is in opposition to us, and that must not stand. If he takes this city, he will take the world outside. With portals into much of human history, and one directly to the modern world under his control, he will destroy everything. How will it look if our efforts to atone result in the destruction of humanity? What punishment then, brothers?"

"And if we banish him from this place, what chance of his redemption?" snapped Hermes. "We are all redeemed, or we are all damned. We have been over this!"

Zeus smiled.

"He is beyond redemption, brother," said Zeus, simply. "If his damnation means our damnation, then so be it."

"And what if his salvation is the point of this test?" asked Hermes. "What if it truly is an all or nothing arrangement? We all see the error of our ways, and seek forgiveness, or we are all damned for eternity? It would not be the first time that our Father imposed such a collective punishment. The hordes of angels under our command, yet distant from our decision to rebel, were annihilated. They were entirely innocent and yet they paid the price for what we did. Our brother may have chosen a different way, but if we are being entirely honest, we don't know that his way is the wrong way. In the eternity that we dwelt in our Father's kingdom, can any one of us say that we truly knew Him and what He wanted? I am uneasy with this. If we cannot love and forgive one another, why should we expect love and forgiveness from our Father?"

From all about them there came a familiar sound. It was slight, like a sigh. The brothers turned as Saturn stepped out of the still air in front of them.

"Forgive me brothers," said Saturn, as he walked towards the table with the confidence of one who was not in the least bit bothered by the interruption he was causing, or for their forgiveness. He pulled out a stone chair from under the table as if it weighed nothing, and he quickly sat down. The gesture was pointed; they may be turning their backs on their power in favour of the material world, but he was not, and he never would. The haste with which he took his seat spoke of his disinterest in debating whether or not he should be there.