Odds and Ends

Oct 24, 2007

The Creator

It was not good news. The helper wondered how he would ever be able to convey it. Of course, it wasn't the first time he was breaking a bad news. He had done it many times before. But not a news this bad. Not that he was afraid. He had nothing to fear from The Creator. After all, the Creator had helped them tide many such difficulties before. And yet, the helper wondered whether He would be able to do it this time. The Creator had immense powers, no doubt, but the helper knew He never interfered in someone's fate. Not even His own.

"My Lord", the helper began, but the Creator cut him off. "How close are they?", He asked.

"Very close, My Lord. It's only a matter of hours now. And then, they will know everything."

The Creator did not reply. There was no sign of any emotion in His face. The Creator rarely showed emotion, but even if He was disturbed ever so slightly at the devastating news, He did not betray it.

"They will know everything, My Lord", the helper went on, " the secrets of all your creations. The beginning of the Universe. The origin of all life. The reason for their existence. Even the future. They'll be able to predict their future without a doubt!"

"Yes. So they will", replied the Creator.

"But how did all this happen, My Lord? How did they come so close to finding out? You did not create the universe that way, My Lord, certainly not the way they will say you did!"

"No, I didn't. But does it matter? All those equations are just their way of interpreting my creations. Interpretations do not matter. Truth does." The helper tried to argue, but the Creator went on, "You see, the reason all this happened is because I created the human mind this way. I gave them the power to think. To reason. To imagine. To believe in my creations. To believe in me. Most of all, to believe in themselves. And it is this creation of mine that will bring about our end."

The helper gasped. "Our end? Surely not, My Lord?"

"What do you think will happen when all of the world's mysteries are solved? When all of the world's secrets are discovered? When everyone knows exactly what is going to happen in the next second? When they finally understand why something happens the way it does? Do you think people will see My hand in things anymore? Do you think anyone will believe in My existence anymore?"

The helper seemed to be searching for a way to counter this. "But My Lord, how does it matter what people believe?"

"It matters a lot more than you think. It is time I told you something I have never told you before. You think I created them? Has it ever occurred to you that it is them that created Me? That it was their belief in Me that made My existence possible? That it was their inability to explain the mysteries of the universe and their insecurity about their future that made Me possible? That we are just a result of their imagination? That when I say I created something, it is in fact, all in their beliefs that I created it? That we are only as real as they believe us to be?"

"My Lord!", the helper cried, " how can we be not real? We.. we.. exist!"

The Creator gave him a kind look. "But my dear helper, how would you know if you were indeed just an imagination?"

A distant cry of triumph reached their ears. The Creator and his helper watched from far away as a young scientist screamed and danced in celebration. They watched him soak in the joy of being the first to discover the truth. They watched as he rushed to announce his discovery. They watched as he, in his excitement tripped over a loose carpet and tumbled down the staircase. They watched as he fell, head first, onto the floor. They watched as he lay, his neck bent at an impossible angle, clearly dead, with the joy on his face still clearly visible, though now mingled with expressions of horror. Whether the horror was of his own sudden death, or of the loss of the precious knowledge present only within him, they couldn't tell.

A shadow of a smile appeared on the Creator's face. "We live another day", He said.