The Salvation War: Pantheocide Epilogue Up

[[R_H]]

Nah, I bet if Uwe Boll comes saying he wants to do the Salvation War movies, Stuart will promptly sock him.
Michael Bay may pass. But if he puts some romantic subplot somewhere (that isn't Lemuel with Maion's) Stuart will sock him. And the rest of SDNet behind him.

Better Uwe Boll than Tarantino

Tarantino made good movies. Uwe Boll, however...

I found Uwe Boll's Rampage much better than Tarantino's Hell Ride - and I wasn't expecting much from Boll.

[InsaneTD]

I think that a mini series like Band of Bothers would do the story more justice then a movie.

[GrayAnderson]

6. Free ebook
6a. Many publishers will do this already. But sometimes the author has to ask. If you have a trilogy, they'll give away the first book, knowing they've hooked you for the rest.

How about a few chapters for free?

I've found variations on offering a few chapters for free to be increasingly common these days...probably because people can get those free chapters by going to the local bookstore and sitting down, and at least if you hook them through a few chapters online, they (hopefully) won't try and read the whole thing in the store in a few sittings.

Nah, I bet if Uwe Boll comes saying he wants to do the Salvation War movies, Stuart will promptly sock him.
Michael Bay may pass. But if he puts some romantic subplot somewhere (that isn't Lemuel with Maion's) Stuart will sock him. And the rest of SDNet behind him.

Better Uwe Boll than Tarantino

That's not saying much.

Edit: Actually, I think I mentally inverted that. Saying that someone is better than Boll is really not saying much. Not that I've actually sat through a full piece from either of them (I once saw part of Reservoir Dogs), and I've heard some half-decent things from people about Tatantino (though he's definitely a case of YMMV). Boll, on the other hand...

[Ryan Thunder]

ITT Ascaloth doesn't understand convergent series!

(sorry, was unable to resist.)

Newsflash: Ryan Thunder attempts an argumentum ad hominem abusive to belittle a newbie who was being too "uppity" for his tastes. Nobody is really surprised.

Hey, now, it was just a joke.

[Heatherine]

Ever since you introduced Yahweh, I had a strange feeling that he really reminded me of somebody I had seen before, in terms of his attitude and personality. I really couldn't place my finger on it because obviously whoever this person was, they weren't God. ^^; But then just recently it dawned upon me just who Yahweh really made me think of:

Christian Weston Chandler!! ^.^

His attitude and self image make me think so much of him!! Its like if you were to give him superpowers and a whole race of people to stroke his ego, hehe. I'm glad Michael pulled the ultimate troll on him by finally breaking his delusions and dethroning him!

[Gil Hamilton]

Tarantino made good movies. Uwe Boll, however...

Uwe Boll made tons of good movies assuming your goal was to defraud the German government using a loophole in their tax law.

[Deebles]

Other possibilities (tongue somewhat in cheek):

Stephen Spielberg: He'd make it all about one small set of characters (e.g. Jade Kim et al) and have everything else vaguely going on the background, but it would probably be a pretty good film about those characters.

Peter Jackson: The demonic hordes and big battle scenes would probably be awesome, at the cost of the addition of unnecessary random shit in places.

Jerry Bruckheimer: So that the fundies can hate him as much as the rest of us do already.

Also, if animated: Gainax studios have experience in a very loosely similar area. Expect it to become something utterly insane, but with awesome visuals and soundtrack.

[Nematocyst]

Ridley Scott, I say. He knows his action, and how to make somewhat decent movies.

if animated: Gainax studios have experience in a very loosely similar area. Expect it to become something utterly insane, but with awesome visuals and soundtrack.

The result would be something so psychologically contrived, your brain would BSOD trying to understand what the hell is going on.
So much, in fact, I'd rather have KyoAni doing this.

[Ryan Thunder]

ITT Ascaloth doesn't understand convergent series!

(sorry, was unable to resist.)

Newsflash: Ryan Thunder attempts an argumentum ad hominem abusive to belittle a newbie who was being too "uppity" for his tastes. Nobody is really surprised.

Hey, now, it was just a joke.

^ The point being that heaping infinite criticism on it isn't going to make it infinitely popular.

Terrible joke, I know.

[wickeddyno]

I don't see Stuart's portrayal of Dawkins as particularly flattering. If I had been reading and commenting on the ongoing chapters back when Armageddon? was being written and Dawkins appeared, I would have pointed out that the promotion of atheism and secularism is only a relatively small part of what Dawkins's life's work has been about. If you look at what he's published, he's written 8 books about evolution, 1 collection of essays that's a mix of evolution and anti-religion, and 1 book that's anti-religion. The evolution books are anti-creationism, of course, but that's to be expected.

I agree that in the aftermath of an event like The Message, people like Dawkins would be at risk from crazies, though.

Thats OK. I don't find Dawkins portrayal of Dawkins flattering either.

Well if you don't like him, that's fine, but it's not fair to portray him as dedicating his entire life to promoting atheism and materialism, and denigrating religion, spirituality and superstition. He has done all of that, but the vast majority of his professional and popular work is dedicated to evolution and biology.

Incidentally, the materialists and atheists are actually vindicated in TSW because heaven and hell turn out to be physical, material places, and Satan and Yahweh turn out to be material beings, not deities.

[Uncluttered]

I don't see Stuart's portrayal of Dawkins as particularly flattering. If I had been reading and commenting on the ongoing chapters back when Armageddon? was being written and Dawkins appeared, I would have pointed out that the promotion of atheism and secularism is only a relatively small part of what Dawkins's life's work has been about. If you look at what he's published, he's written 8 books about evolution, 1 collection of essays that's a mix of evolution and anti-religion, and 1 book that's anti-religion. The evolution books are anti-creationism, of course, but that's to be expected.

I agree that in the aftermath of an event like The Message, people like Dawkins would be at risk from crazies, though.

Thats OK. I don't find Dawkins portrayal of Dawkins flattering either.

Well if you don't like him, that's fine, but it's not fair to portray him as dedicating his entire life to promoting atheism and materialism, and denigrating religion, spirituality and superstition. He has done all of that, but the vast majority of his professional and popular work is dedicated to evolution and biology.

Incidentally, the materialists and atheists are actually vindicated in TSW because heaven and hell turn out to be physical, material places, and Satan and Yahweh turn out to be material beings, not deities.

What?! Hello. Please remain calm.
Of course I like Dawkins..... I mean to say, that he can be brutally honest about himself.
Sorry. I thought the happy smiling emoticon was obvious.

[RedImperator]

You're complaining that the story isn't the kind you like. That's like me bitching about the lack of ninjas in Robin Hood.

"You're complaining Twilight isn't the kind of book you like."

"You're complaining 'Tik-Tok' isn't the kind of song you like."

"You're complaining Piss Christ isn't the kind of sculpture you like."

"You're complaining Voyager isn't the kind of TV show you like."

"You're complaining Bloodrayne isn't the kind of movie you like."

Come on. You can agree with Ryan's criticisms or you can disagree, but this argument can basically be used as an all-purpose dismissal of any criticism of any creative work. There are occasions where it would be valid ("Why aren't there ninjas in Robin Hood?!"), but the criticism here doesn't fall into that category. "Show, don't tell" is a fundamental rule of story writing, and revealing there was a supply shortage after the fact by having characters bring it up in a meeting is definitely telling. If you want to argue that the supply shortages aren't important enough to be worth showing, or that having supply shortages cripple the HEA aren't necessary to the plot or would violate the story's theme or cause a two-headed heifer to be born under the light of the harvest moon, ok, fine, make the argument. But dismissing the criticism that way is just silly.

[Darth Yan]

Hey, haven't seen you commenting on these threads in a while .You still have a problem with the story?

[RedImperator]

Hey, haven't seen you commenting on these threads in a while .You still have a problem with the story?

Yeah. They're pretty much the same issues I had the last time I commented. The story just hasn't interested me for the last hundred or so chapters.

[Darth Yan]

the battle with yahweh was pretty cool. I've been out of loop because i was on a three week long camping course

[darksoul]

Stuart, I've been wondering for a while... Why did Michael used specifically Lemuel for his plan?
His plan of creating a concentration camp, 'accidentally discovering it' and sending a hurt angel and a defector to Earth is pure genius. But sending someone who has proved that he is a brilliant detective (like Lemuel) is just asking for problems. Couldn't he have used someone else? Im sure Heaven is full of stupid white knights, so why use Lemuel?

Maybe this is the hidden card to redeem Michael to some point.
He sent Lemuel to Earth to spare him and ensure his friend a good position with the winning side.
...
...
yeah, I`m not buying it either.

[darksoul]

Other possibilities (tongue somewhat in cheek):

Stephen Spielberg: He'd make it all about one small set of characters (e.g. Jade Kim et al) and have everything else vaguely going on the background, but it would probably be a pretty good film about those characters.

Peter Jackson: The demonic hordes and big battle scenes would probably be awesome, at the cost of the addition of unnecessary random shit in places.

Jerry Bruckheimer: So that the fundies can hate him as much as the rest of us do already.

Also, if animated: Gainax studios have experience in a very loosely similar area. Expect it to become something utterly insane, but with awesome visuals and soundtrack.

Now, a Western animation/anime series wouldn`t be so bad. Not necessarily gainax, though.

Come on. You can agree with Ryan's criticisms or you can disagree, but this argument can basically be used as an all-purpose dismissal of any criticism of any creative work. There are occasions where it would be valid ("Why aren't there ninjas in Robin Hood?!"), but the criticism here doesn't fall into that category. "Show, don't tell" is a fundamental rule of story writing, and revealing there was a supply shortage after the fact by having characters bring it up in a meeting is definitely telling. If you want to argue that the supply shortages aren't important enough to be worth showing, or that having supply shortages cripple the HEA aren't necessary to the plot or would violate the story's theme or cause a two-headed heifer to be born under the light of the harvest moon, ok, fine, make the argument. But dismissing the criticism that way is just silly.

I believe the story had shown and told, both. there are several instances of that interspersed in the text. The overall effect for me was simple: When the ass kicking started, it sounded easy, but after the early allusions to shortage of supplies, it became a permanent feature of every action taken. So even if not told, the factor was present. then again that`s just me.
There are instances of telling in Exposition mode, (granted, quite a few), some could be removed and some are well justified in story (briefings in Yamantau and the War Room, for example, or soldier taking HEAT rounds from returing tanks in the Hellmouth), and there are instances of showing (the opening scene in Pantheoncide, with the family having to use their whole month ration of fuel to go to Hell, or the arc of old people being struck by the sand storms, which shows this a lot without actually and plainly stated it, IIRC).

[impatrick4life]

You know, after thinking about it, I think a miniseries would be the best way to go for this. Something along the lines of Band of Brothers, or perhaps the History Channel's series on the American Revolution, The Revolution. A season or two's worth of hour-long eps could contain every factoid posited so far, or a true miniseries-sized production could still give a good picture of what happened. In any case it'd still be better than a movie, which is by nature limited to a 2-4 hour period, and is totally at the whim of the director.

[Deebles]

I believe the story had shown and told, both. there are several instances of that interspersed in the text. The overall effect for me was simple: When the ass kicking started, it sounded easy, but after the early allusions to shortage of supplies, it became a permanent feature of every action taken. So even if not told, the factor was present. then again that`s just me.
There are instances of telling in Exposition mode, (granted, quite a few), some could be removed and some are well justified in story (briefings in Yamantau and the War Room, for example, or soldier taking HEAT rounds from returing tanks in the Hellmouth), and there are instances of showing (the opening scene in Pantheoncide, with the family having to use their whole month ration of fuel to go to Hell, or the arc of old people being struck by the sand storms, which shows this a lot without actually and plainly stated it, IIRC).

Hmm... what do people do in fuel shortages? Examples could be given of ordinary people walking, bicycling, riding horses, using horse-drawn carriages and taking more of those silly tricycle-rickshaws for want of petrol; boardrooms looking into the possibilities of kite ships, freight trains and other fuel-saving measures for larger-scale hauling; some tank crew getting chewed out for driving in a less than fuel-efficient way; vehicles being jettisoned for want of the fuel to power them; shortages of goods that require air-freight (pre commercial portals, anyway). However, when we're following the movements of generals etc., such factors are obviously going to come into it less.

How to show ammunition shortages I'll leave to people who know more of military matters than myself.

[Stuart]

Michael's Palace, Aukumea, Heaven. Six weeks later.

The problem with staging a coup is what does one do afterwards? After centuries of plotting and planning, not to mention the last three years of frantic activity, the work was over. Yahweh was gone, a new leadership was in power, the war with the humans was over and the Angelic Host had survived. More than survived, if the experience of the last few days was anything to go by, it would prosper under its new rulers The problem was that the situation had left Michael-Lan nothing to do. How much of a problem that was had become obvious when, in the half-aware period between sleep and wakening, he had started to plot against himself.

The humans had made it worse for him. Aukumea might still be described as his palace but the truth was he was imprisoned here. Just as the rest of his inner circle were imprisoned on their estates. Only Leilah had anything like freedom of movement and Michael knew she was being very carefully watched. The truth was, and Michael knew it very well, that the humans hadn't decided what to do with him. His position as a defeated General was well-established and his links to the more atrocious of his acts had all been carefully severed or buried. Mostly both. If the humans ever found the bottom of the lake by Yahweh's Palace, they would discover things down there that Michael wanted kept secret. On the other hand, his credentials as a benefactor were well-established and carefully over-elaborated. He had saved humans from torment, well-regarded ones whose reputation back on Earth had survived and rubbed off on the Archangel who had saved them from the flames of Hell. He had treated all his humans well and they had reciprocated by speaking well of him when they had been interviewed. What would happen next was out of his control and Michael suspected the humans would be driven more by their own internal political dynamics than any wishes he might have.

There was a respectful knock on his door. Renepes-Lan-Sapreheac, the major-domo of Aukumea, entered and coughed politely. "Michael, there are two visitors to see you. Lemuel-Lan-Michael and Maion-Lan-Lemuel-Lan-Michael."

Ah well, here we go. Michael sighed to himself. You knew this was coming. "please ask them to come right in."

Michael sat down at his desk and pretended to be interested in a file that had been delivered to him. It was actually the bar receipts from The Montmartre Club and Michael was genuinely interested in the contents. More specifically, he was interested in how Leilah was skimming the take. He had no doubt she was, in fact he would be deeply disappointed in her if she wasn't. The door opened and he looked up. Lemuel and Maion were entering. Michael dropped the file, reminding himself to go over it again later, and rose to his feet.

"Lemuel, old friend, you look well. You too, Maion, the humans have taken good care of you."

It was true, Maion looked radiantly beautiful even by Angelic standards. She beamed and flared her wings outwards. "My wings are regrowing well, I should be able to fly soon. In a couple of weeks at most." Her voice hardened slightly and she sounded confused. "And being off that terrible stuff has helped me a lot. The doctors on Earth told me all about it."

"There is much we must speak about Michael." Lemuel's voice was also hard and there was no confusion evident in it at all.

"There is indeed. But first, Lemuel, I have news for you. There are vacancies in the ranks of the Chayot Ha Kodesh still unfilled. I am raising you to that status."

"Can you do that?" Lemuel sounded shocked. This wasn't going quite as he had imagined. He'd heard the stories of how Michael and his allies had fought Yahweh and had expected much the same to happen here. "Will the humans let you?"

"This is nothing to do with humans. When Yahweh died, I felt something change within me. As if something had left him and come to me. So, I raised Leilah-Lan to be Chayot Ha Kodesh. I thought it was a nominal move only, that she would remain Erelim. I was wrong, she has grown in size and power and truly is becoming Chayot Ha Kodesh. So the power to raise others has come to me, perhaps from those beyond the gates. Now, I will use it to raise you."

There was a stifled gasp from Maion, one that ended in a barely-suppressed sob. Michale moved towards her and stretched out his hands. "What is the matter little one?"

"I am only Malakhim. I am not a fit mate for a Chayot Ha Kodesh."

"Maion, did I not tell you that you are part of my clan now? And because of that, I would always look after you? Did you think I would cause you to be taken from your soul-mate after you have endured so much to be with him? Did I not tell you that a leader serves those he leads as much as they serve him? So to solve that insignificant little detail, I will raise you to the rank of Erelim. Your services to the Angelic Host deserve no less. He reached out his hands and placed them on Maion's head. Once again, he felt power running through him and he saw Maion standing tall. Then, he turned and did the same for Lemuel. "Maion, why don’t you run down and show Doctor Gunn your new wings. He'll be fascinated with them. Tell him everything. He's still a doctor, he'll want to know it all."

Maion beamed and ran out of the door, eager to show off her new wings and status. Michael smiled fondly at her, then turned his attention back to Lemuel. "Feel different yet?"

"I don't know . . . . I . . . ." Lemuel hesitated again. Now, he really was bewildered. "Why."

"Why did I raise you up? Because I promised to, because you deserve it and because if we are going to end up having a fight, I wanted to give you a fair chance." Michael didn't even wince at the barefaced lie. He never had any intentions of fighting fairly.

"Fairly? You? You shit-steamed pile of vomit. How could you do it to me Michael? Get me hooked on drugs, make me betray everything I held holy. You were my friend."

"I still am, the fact you are still alive proves that. It would have been much easier for me to have you killed. You and your little playmate."

"Maion too. You hooked her on drugs, made her prostitute herself. She almost died because of you."

"Nobody forced Maion to start using. She did that all by herself. Like most of the Angelic Host, she was bored and looking for new experiences to liven up her life. She was Malakhim, what did she have to look forward to? Her rank meant that, at best, she would be mate to a lowly angel and spend eternity washing his dishes. At worst she would end up in a temple making the same reverential dance every day. For all eternity Lemuel. Like those poor bastards in Yahweh's choir. What has happened to them by the way?"

"Humans took them away. They were talking about something called PTSD."

"Well, there you are then. Maion just wanted some thrills before the humdrum eternity set in. She got herself hooked. If you want to blame anybody, blame Yahweh. He was the one who set the system up here. Her getting hooked was a convenience for me. One of the purposes of the Club was to find you a mate who would be more to you than just a mate. You deserved better than that ball-busting bitch Onniel and Maion filled the bill perfectly. Working the club taught her a few tricks to hook you, that was all. There's never been prostitution in The Eternal City so the idea has no stigma attached to it. With Yahweh gone and his maniacal obsessions about sex removed, I think this will be a much healthier city to live in but that's my opinion only of course. It was Belial, working under Yahweh's orders who crippled and nearly killed her. You can't blame me for that." Invisible, Michael tensed. Believe that and we're half way out of this.

Lemuel sat still, churning the information over in his mind. "Onniel is dead."

"Very." And if I want it, there's a pile of evidence pointing straight at you as her killer my old friend. "She was the one responsible for the fate that befell Maion. Yahweh smiled upon her so when she went to him, demanding revenge, he obliged." Michael sighed theatrically. "I suppose in a way, I am to blame for what happened to Maion. I should have anticipated Onniel's actions. I knew of her character and the fact that Yahweh liked her. I should have anticipated her actions. For that lapse, I can only apologize and try to make amends. But never in my wildest dreams did I anticipate the nightmare that Yahweh had created."

The combination of sudden, unexpected promotion and Michael's calm, matter-of-fact discussion of Maion's fate took the wind out of Lemuel's sails. He had been working up a fine head of steam over what had happened to his beloved Maion; now it seemed as if all the major points had been out of Michael's control. Selfishness also tore at him; if Maion hadn't been experimenting with drugs and got out of her depth, he would never have met her or become her patron. She would never have become his mate. He would have been stuck with Onniel and her carping, shrewish ways. The truth was that his home was happy now, so much so it underlined how miserable a place it had been before Maion had become its Lady. His staff liked her and they had spoken well of them both when the humans had come to ask questions. The story of how Lemuel himself had come to the defense of a maltreated human and thrown his own mate out of the house when she was revealed as the culprit had struck a note in his favor.

Confusion eddied and boiled in his mind. He had been so certain in his rage and offense, in his belief that Michael had been behind all his troubles. Forced to look on things from a different perspective, reality seemed a far thing from the simplistic picture he had once had. Michael had exploited Maion, that was certain but had he, Lemuel, done any less? He also had taken advantage of her addiction and bought her services. Was he not as much to blame as Michael?

"You drugged me as well. You tricked me into addiction." Lemuel was uneasily aware that the complaint had come out as petulant whine rather than a soul-searing indictment.

"I did, and if you wish to confront me on that, I will concede it. You have every right to be upset. But, look at the situation Lemuel. Yahweh was going mad, you know that now but back then his madness was obvious to only a tiny few. How mad was something that even we did not guess. Yet you were the chief investigator of the League of Holy Court, the de-facto head of Yahweh's secret police. You had to be separated from Yahweh, you had to see him for what he really was. Much of the blame here lies with you Lemuel, how often did you close your eyes to what the League was actually doing? As you had the victims of your investigations tortured into confessions that might, or might not, be true, did you ever doubt what you were doing?"

Lemuel flushed red and looked at the floor. "No." His voice was small and weak.

"There was that human you picked up. The one you identified as a heretic because she had a small bottle of human garlic seasoning in her possession. You had her tortured, Lemuel. She was three-quarters drowned, raped and murdered while your prisoner and yet your faith was still not shaken. You Lemuel, you were Yahweh's right hand when that and much more happened. It was a small step, Lemuel from the dungeons of the League of Holy Court to Yahweh's concentration camp. So small a step from vigorous enforcement of the law to oppression and mass murder. A step so tiny and easy to make that its implications frighten even the humans.

"You are my friend, Lemuel, we had to save you yet you were so firmly under Yahweh's spell that regular argument would have been futile. So we hooked you. We got you just addicted enough that being with us was pleasant while being away from us was the reverse. Then, we slowly showed you that heresy had its values, that a degree of dissent was essential for a culture to move onwards. That the people who held different ideas from you were not necessarily bad persons because of their beliefs. Nor were people whose beliefs were conventional necessarily good or of pure heart. We showed you that people had to be judged for who they were, not for what they believed."

"So you did it all for my own good?" Lemuel spoke with tones laden with disbelief.

"Of course not." Michael was derisive. "We did it so I would not have to kill my friend. We would have done, Lemuel, we would have had to. But, above that, we needed you as a messenger to the humans. We had to send them the keys to Heaven by a messenger they would believe. Anybody else, one of us, they would have treated our information as a trap. At most they would have used the information to come in their own way at their own time. But when the head of Yahweh's police came over, having given up power and prestige to save his brutally-injured mate, they believed him. Your participation was needed Lemuel, so that also fitted into the schemes." Michael held his breath, almost noticeably. Will Lemuel notice the great flaw that lay in the center of that carefully-spun account? I've massaged the truth so carefully that I really ought to buy a human newspaper. He held that thought in his mind, buying a human newspaper and running it had an almost hypnotic attraction. It could be almost as much fun as running his nightclub.

"But all the plots, the schemes. . . . "

"Some were other archangels who had seen Yahweh's mind going and were moving to take over. Others, most of them, were Yahweh himself. He set them up so he would have an excuse to bring down his tyranny on The Eternal City. Either way led to disaster. Only one led to the salvation of the Angelic Host and that meant engineering an end to the war that left humans in undisputed charge. And got there without them using their military power to overwhelm us. And yet those same schemes Lemuel were as dangerous to you as they were to us all. You stumbled upon them while investigating something quite routine." Even if I did have to hold your hand and lead you to them. "What would you have done if you had found them at some other time. Gone to Yahweh?"

"I suppose but . . . ."

"And he would have killed you. On the spot. Luring you away from Yahweh was more than avoiding the necessity of me killing you or providing a messenger to the humans. We had to do it to save you from Yahweh. You were in deadly danger Lemuel, more so than you realize even now."

Lemuel stared out of the windows at the rolling hills and green forests of Heaven. He felt deflated, without purpose or aim. Once his life had been filled with his loyal service to Yahweh and that had gone. Then it had been filled with his hatred for what Michael had done to him and Maion and a burning desire for revenge. Now that, too, was gone. He had nothing left and that left him with an intense desire to weep.

"I'll say it again, Michael, you are a double-dyed bastard. I'll accept that you were doing what you thought right and it all worked out the way you wanted. And that all Heaven benefitted from what you did. But I can't forget Maion's shattered wings or her selling herself in your club. You'll have to live with that as well. Those memories and all the other things you did will torment you from now on. Every time you look in a mirror you'll remember them. They'll tear you apart and you'll understand how I feel now."

Michael nodded solemnly. Lemuel, you poor innocent sap. You've been watching too many human television soap operas. I did what I had to do and that ends the matter for me. I've been running this scam for centuries and, believe me, anything regrets I had are long gone. And if I had any left, there's a valley of black glass that will act as a reminder of what would have happened had Yahweh had his way.

The door banged open and Maion bounced in. "Lemuel, I've got news. Doctor Gunn gave me an examination just to check on how I was recovering. He says I'm pregnant."

Michael snapped forward in his seat. "Say again?"

"I'm pregnant. About four or five weeks he thinks."

Lemuel reached out and hugged her while Michael watched complacently. Well, that was unexpected, but at least it will give Lemuel something to do. At least until the humans give him the police force back. And they well, he's a good cop. But, an angelic baby? That's a once-in-a-millenium event. Then Michael thought carefully. What if angelic infertility was a by-product of Yahweh's obsession with people's private habits. What if now he was gone, there would be more angels born? Interesting.

"Congratulations, both of you. Would you like to stay here and rest? You're both welcome."

Michael saw them both shake their heads, realizing they both wanted to be certain what was in any food they ate. "Sorry Michael, we have to get back to The Eternal City. We'll be back though."

After they'd left, Michael went for a walk through his grounds. He needed to relax, to run over the events in his mind. Almost without thinking, he made his way to the great greenhouses that housed his marijuana plant collection. Letting himself in, he took some of the prepared product and took a deep breath. It was a blend Elhmas had spoken highly of and Michael could see why. He felt his mind relax and drift away on a sweet and gently-scented cloud.

"Well done Ehlmas. You surpassed yourself with this blend. You know, I really hated having to kill you but you and Yahweh were too powerful a combination for me to beat. You had to go just as Uriel and all the others did. It was the only way. But, I really am sorry."

For a moment, Michael thought the slow handclap coming from the plants was his imagination. He dragged his mind back to reality but the sound continued. Then, a familiar figure stepped out from the serried rows of greenery. "Hello, Michael. I see you took my recommendation."

For once in his life, Michael was almost speechless. "Elhmas, you're dead." Even as he said it, he realized how stupid it sounded and cursed the chemically-induced fog in his mind.

"You wish. You know, Michael, you really ought not to get stoned with people you intend to kill. Especially if they have a higher tolerance of that stuff than you do. I knew what you were up to the moment your messenger suggested I move the Incomparable Legion Of Light as a single body. That's a move nobody whose familiar with human war-making will make. I wasn't expecting that nuke though, were you?"

Michael shook his head. "Air strikes, a lot of them. Not the nuke. How did you survive it? The people we interviewed said you were directly under the blast."

Elhmas laughed, a little sadly. "I wasn't. The commander of the Incomparable Legion was. I left Enatenael-Lan-Elhmas in charge while I performed a reconnaissance. By which I mean I was watching from a safe distance Luckily for me, it really was a safe distance. You know, right up to the flash-bang I didn't know if you would really do it. I kept expecting you to suddenly open a way out. Then – flash-bang, all gone. So I made myself scarce and went into hiding. Oh, I knew what you were planning all right and had a shrewd idea how you would pull it off. So, when I felt my benighted and ineffable stupid father feeling out for my mind, I portalled away. To the Sahara Desert as it happened. When the humans went berserk after Heaven caved in, I came back. Now, it's time to kill you I guess."

Michael tried to summon up power to provide even a minimal defensive screen but the residual effects of the marijuana in his mind snarled up his concentration. He cudgelled his brain with the effort but it was no use. He was as useless and defenseless as an Ishim.

Elhmas looked at him sympathetically. "It's not really fair is it? You're stoned and I'm not. You've got no allies around and I don’t need them. It's almost as unfair as sticking Enatenael under that nuke. You know the only reason why I'm not going to kill you Michael?"

Michael-Lan shook his head, frantically thinking for a way out of this situation.

Elhamas smiled gently. " You see Michael, I recognized how dangerous humans were long before you did. So, I thought I would try and steer them into nice, peaceful ways. There was once this Jewish carpenter, Jeshua was his name. I possessed him and filled him up with nice-sounding ideas and had him go around preaching them. It worked quite well too, only the occupying powers got upset and they crucified him. I had to leave him there. I can still hear his screams while he was begging to know why I had abandoned him. Then some nut called Paul took everything I had had him teach, turned it on its head and inside out. What I had designed came out all wrong and caused even more trouble. A few hundred years later, I tried again and that was even worse. Centuries of slaughter and destruction and they weren't over when this blew up. I had one last shot a few hundred years after that and it got even worse. Everything I has taught turned into an excuse for wars upon wars with more wars to argue the results of the first set.

"My way failed, Michael. Humans really don't respond well to being taught things. They'll ask awkward questions and find their own way. Your idea is to keep us out of their way and not fool around with them. I will say this for you, it does seem to work. That's all that is saving your life Michael. Your way seems to work and it might be our salvation. It's just lucky for you that I have no desire to take revenge for my father. In fact, the old fool got what was coming to him. I was cheering you on then you know.

"Anyway, just remember I'm still around and I can make life very awkward for you. So, don't go mad with power the way my father did and you won't be joining him." Elhmas settled down on a chair and picked out a reasonable-looking joint. "Now, lets get stoned and talk about something pleasant. I hear female angels are starting to get pregnant. That's going to mess your nightclub up isn't it?"

[Stuart]

[Hmm... what do people do in fuel shortages? Examples could be given of ordinary people walking, bicycling, riding horses, using horse-drawn carriages and taking more of those silly tricycle-rickshaws for want of petrol; boardrooms looking into the possibilities of freight trains and other fuel-saving measures for larger-scale hauling; some tank crew getting chewed out for driving in a less than fuel-efficient way; vehicles being jettisoned for want of the fuel to power them; shortages of goods that require air-freight (pre commercial portals, anyway). However, when we're following the movements of generals etc., such factors are obviously going to come into it less. How to show ammunition shortages I'll leave to people who know more of military matters than myself.

We did; there was a scene of cabinet members bicycling in to meetings or (in the case of Condi Rice) jogging in. We had a couple saving up their gasoline rations so they could drive to Hell, Generals walking around because there wasn't enough gas to give them limousine service, aircraft given sub-optimal loads because production of optimum weapons was running below expenditure, tanks being stripped of amuunition because it was needed to complete other vehicles load-outs, training being reduced to conserve on ammunition and fuel, gasoline rations being given to the elderly at the expense of other people because they couldn't walk to the stores. There's lot's of examples of food, fuel and munitions shortages scattered throughout the text.

[Darmalus]

I wonder how Elhmas is going to keep a low profile. He should be damn famous in angelic circles, and the humans will be watching anyone big enough to be a high ranking figure.

Maybe we can follow him as he explores the untamed wilds of Heaven and Hell, where the Devils roam? Might make for good short stories.

[Manthor]

Holy.Shit.

Bravo Stuart.Bravo.

[Nematocyst]

Heaven's a pretty big pleace. We can't even track him on Earth.
Ehlmas could pull the strings for centuries before we discovered him.

[Pelranius]

Applause, thunderous applause, Stuart.

Ellmas's last try a few hundred years ago, would that be Martin Luther or the Sikh gurus? Sounds a bit too early for Joseph P. Smith (of course, that depends on how you define a few hundred years).

Wonder if Ellmas was doing more than simply cheering on Michael during the Coup.

I would give a lot to find out what's on the lake's bottom. Apparently it does have a bottom (Michael can't be stupid enough to not notice if it 'connects' to another part of Heaven). Wonder if it might be some of the others, or evidence of his plots.