Akting Out

For a moment, they leaned, in the majestic cylinder atrium. It was dark, pleasantly lit by the millions of stars that dotted the sky far overhead. The brighter stars shimmered above them as if trying to illuminate the mood of the three young angels within the atrium. Michael, the youngest, turned away from the group and braced his head against his forearm, looking out of the open window into infinite space. A comet passed by, whistling as it descended towards a planet they hadn’t named yet. It was as though the universe was in mourning; as it should be.
“So what do we do now?” Gabriel finally asked. He was usually the first to speak his mind, today was no exception. “We never planned for this.”
“We leave his body in repose, and no one ever steps foot in that room again.” Lucifer, the most headstrong spoke up, the wisest of them, “And we begin to cull the herds.”
“What do you mean, ‘cull the herds’?” Michael replied, frowning and turning to him. Lucifer looked at him as though the answer was obvious. “It’s very simple.” His tone was condescending, “We’re the only ones left to watch over this experiment. We make our presence known to the, um, little darlings, and those that don’t fall into line are expunged.”
Gabriel was already shaking his head. “No, no, Lucifer, that’s not what he wanted. We’re not even supposed to know about the experiment, remember?”
“Doesn’t matter. We do. And we’re the only ones left to run it.”
Michael came off the wall and walked towards Lucifer, in the center of the atrium. “No, Lucifer. We’re not going to run the experiment. We wouldn’t even know where to begin.”
“I would. I understand how he thought.”
Michael chuckled. “Oh, do you? So he saw fit to bring you in on his plans? Allow you to assist with the world creation?”
Lucifer scowled. “He’s dead now. It doesn’t matter.”
“Yes, it does matter,” Gabriel interjected, stepping up to Michael and Lucifer, “just because he’s gone doesn’t mean we can start running things however we like.”
Lucifer turned coldly to Gabriel and stared down at the young angel. “Why not, Gabriel?”
“Because I said so, that’s why.” Michael shot back. He tried to mask the fear in his voice, but as always, Lucifer saw through him.
Lucifer’s eyes narrowed. “Oh, is that right, Michael? Aren’t I the oldest?”
“Yes.” Michael conceded, “But I was never punished for trying to interfere with the experiment. So I say what’s what. Also…I’m stronger than you.”
Lucifer stepped forward confrontationally. “Oh, is that what you think?”
Gabriel stepped between them, his eyes pleading with them not to fight. Now wasn’t the time. “Guys…”
“We will leave his body in repose.” Michael announced finally, holding Lucifer’s glare, “But we’re leaving the experiment alone.”
Gabriel smiled; Lucifer shook his head. “Who are you to presume to know what he wanted?”
“No different than you.” Michael replied, “But we’re not forcing our will on the experiment; that defeats the purpose.”
Michael looked at Gabriel. “We’ll let them go and see what happens.”
Gabriel smiled his appreciation. Lucifer pointed towards the open window. “If you leave them to their fate, they will wipe each other out, do you understand me?”
Michael was surprised; this was as humble as Lucifer ever was. “We’ll make them aware of our existence, when it’s time.” Michael conceded, “We’ll even guide them along the way, when they ask for it. But what we will not do is force ourselves on them. Their free will is the very purpose of this experiment. We will not interfere with that.”
Lucifer’s shoulders sagged. It was as close to a concession as Michael would get. Lucifer had always been the arrogant one.
“All the energy it must’ve taken,” Gabriel mused, “It was just too much for him.”
Michael placed a reassuring hand on Gabriel’s shoulder and massaged gently. “It’ll all work out. The experiment we’ll go forward. We’ll set up a governing body from here, judge only when they’ve completed their time in the other world.”
“Yeah.” Lucifer growled, “We’ll have to chronicle this too, you know.”
Michael nodded as though he had been expecting that. “I know. “ He extended his hand to Gabriel, who reached inside of his robe and produced a leather-bound book. Most of the pages were empty, save for the first six. They detailed intimately how their father had labored for six days creating the experiment; a magnificent universe teeming with millions upon millions of life. The goal was to see how life evolved on its own.
The entry for the seventh day, the final day, was blank. “What do we put?” Gabriel asked, reading over Michael’s shoulder.
Michael glanced at Lucifer, who turned away. “On the seventh day,” Michael finally said, “He rested.”
Michael closed the book and handed it back to Gabriel. “We’ll make it available to the experiment when they’re ready for it. For now, we have work to do.”

(c) Avery K. Tingle for Akting Out LLC

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