God

[Death Dark]

     It was just another day.  I woke up, got dressed, argued with my children, kissed my wife goodbye.  I cursed at traffic, spilt coffee on myself, and got to work only to realize I had neglected to do the work I was supposed to do.  My boss yelled at me, my coworkers got nothing accomplished, and by the end of the day I was tired of existing.

     On the way home, some jerk ran a stoplight and rammed into me.

     In a flash of light, I found myself standing in a boundless room that faded into darkness.  Before me sat a being of some sort.  His form was shifting, as if it couldn't maintain itself.  He had a skin tone that faded through many colors, most human tones, and long hair accompanied by a beard that stayed between grey and white.  The look on his face was almost empty, but with one important expression:  disappointment.

     He sat on a stool, with another stool before him.  He spoke to me, and his voice crawled across the open space as if it reached me at once, but had to catch up to itself.

     "Come, sit."

     I obeyed; I wasn't sure what else to do.

     "Who are you?"

     "Who do you think I am?"

     "Are you God?"

     "Yes, I am."

     "You bastard.  Where were you when I needed you?"

     "I was here."

     "Oh?  You were here, then?  And you didn't think it necessary to get me out of trouble when I was about to die?"

     "What religion do you practice?"

     "What?"

     "What's your religion?"

     "I'm a Christian."

     "So, you believe that you now go to Heaven, correct?"

     "Yeah, so?"

     "Heaven is great, right?"

     "Yeah."

     "So why do you want me to keep you from dying?"

     "Screw this.  You are a bastard.  God, I need a drink."

     He extended his hand.  In it was a glass of some sort of drink.  I sneered and slapped it out of his hand.

     "Well, aren't you funny?"

     "Do you have any more questions?"

     "Yeah; why don't you suck my--"

[Death Dark]

     "Come, sit."

     The woman came and sat.

     "You're God, right?"

     "Yes."

     "I've been a good person!  I've gone to church every Sunday, I worship you with all my heart, and I fight against all the witchcraft and devil worship that plagues our world!"

     "What's your point?"

     "I get my reward, right?  I get to go to Heaven, right?"

     "No."

     "Why not?"

     "There is no Heaven."

     The woman jumped up.

     "You liar!  You're not God, you're the DEVIL!"  She backed up, extending her hands in the shape of a cross.  "DEVIL!  DEVIL!  *hiss*  Begone, SATAN!"

     The man shook his head.  She vanished like all those before her.

[Death Dark]

     "Come, sit."

     A younger man came and sat on the stool.  He looked around as he did, as if picking up all the information he could.  The other man, God, waited patiently.

     "Are you done?"

     "Huh?  Oh, yeah."

     "Do you have any questions?"

     "Who are you?"

     "I am who you call God."

     "I see.  That's interesting; the chances that you would look like I expected you to look are statistically slim."

     "I don't look like anything.  I have taken this form to make this conversation more reasonable."

     "I see.  Where are we?"

     "We are nowhere."

     "Alright."

     They sat in silence.

     "Are you done?"

     "Hm?  No, I'm trying to think of where to start."

     After a few more moments, the man spoke up.

     "What is the point of life?"

     "Whose life?"

     "What is the point of human life?"

     "To progress, reproduce, and die."

     "Pretty grim.  Why did you create humans -- assuming you created them, that is."

     "They are an experiment."

     "You wish to learn?"

     "Thus is the point of my existence."

     "How have we done so far?"

     "Horribly."

     "Why is there suffering in the world?"

     "The results are important."

     "Is there any basis for morals and justice?"

     "Philosophically, no, there never will be."

     "Do you have an opinion of morals and justice?"

     "Yes."

     "Do you reward those who follow your morals and justice?"

     "Sometimes."

     "Do you reward those who do not follow your morals and justice?"

     "Sometimes."

     "Are both of these parts of the experiment?"

     "Yes."

     "What is the experiment testing?"

     "The limitations, boundaries, and capabilities of this build."

     "How many builds do you test?"

     "Are you familiar with NP Complete algorithms?"

     "Yes."

     God nodded.

     "All cases, then.  What will this give you?"

     "The link to the next step."

     "What is the ultimate goal?"

     "To see if I can create myself."

     "Were you created?"

     "I am unsure."

     "Is there a beginning?"

     "I am unsure."

     "Is there an end?"

     "Surely."

     The man sat in thought for a few moments more.

     "I think I'm done.  What happens now?"

     "What the atheists always thought would happen."

     "So, I just poof and disappear?"

     "Put simply, yes."

     "That's disappointing."

     "You never would have understood true disappointment."

     The man vanished.

[TwilitWolfy]

That's a thought evoking piece. It, in a way, makes me question your cynicism for religion. Are you fed up or disillusioned with it? I find myself to have lost belief at times.

[Death Dark]

Answering questions kills the aura created by the story.