Christendom.
© Tim Barker 2000
Burning.
Christendom clung to the outpost of a far-reaching galaxy. There were many
religions in this place yet only one was prevalent, the worship of the
almighty, the omni-present one.
Bluff wasn't a Christian but his parents were and they
had tried to indoctrinate him from an early age. He'd resisted all the way by
refusing to go to Church and not saying his prayers before meals instead
looking forward to the time that he could move out and follow his own rules.
You see, Bluff was an anarchist. He believed in the devolution of the state and
a return to bartering. Just as it was before the first missionaries had settled
on the planet, bringing a religion with them which, according to Bluff, had no
place amongst a modern civilisation.
It had been a normal morning, he'd sat down late at his
computer so he missed the vid-conferenced assembly and began his work on
Math’s, Quantum Mechanics to be more precise. He loved the subject as it seemed
to challenge all of the established laws of physics though, inevitably, it
could be interpreted to prove the existence of an all-seeing being. However,
Bluff blamed this interpretation on the Christians and preferred a more
open-minded view seeing the uncertainty principle and its associated theories
of chaos as proof of the self-identity and ultimately, indescribability of
nature itself. This fitted in better with his own ethos.
He was just solving a quadratic equation when a message
window popped up on his screen with the face of Angela at its centre. He
clicked on the 'receive' icon and up popped a never-ending spiral of a fractal.
Bluff and Angela had a lot in common yet they'd never met as she was across the
other side of the planet, perhaps one day. Bluff clicked on 'talk'. Angela’s
face instantly became animated.
"Hi Bluff, do you like the fractal ?", Angela
asked.
"Yeah, it reminds me of the unpredictability and
infinite complexity of the natural world", he retorted.
"Yes, exactly, that's why I thought you'd like it
!" stated Angela.
"Did you catch assembly this morning Bluff?” Angela
enquired.
"No, of course not." replied Bluff bluntly.
"Oh, you missed out. It was all about quantum
mechanics and their relation to Christianity."
"Oh really ? Still doesn't interest me. You know how
I feel about religion. " Bluff stated.
"Yeah, I know. You should try to be a little more
open minded."
"No thanks. Anyway, I was in the middle of a
quadratic equation. Mind if I get back to it ?" Bluff asked.
"No not at all" came the reply, "seeya
later".
"Bye."
Bluff clicked on 'exit'' and resumed his work. Hours
passed by as Bluff became engrossed in his work. Soon it was time for lunch so
he headed for the kitchen.
After consuming a hastily prepared meal Bluff decided
he'd take a breather from his work and headed outside for a stroll around the
complex.
He found himself in the garden, arranged a stool in front
of a fern, took out his sketch pad and began to draw what he saw in front of
him. He was amazed at the intricacy and self-similarity of the recursive
structures of the fern. It led him to wonder, not for the first time, about the
beauty and sheer awe-inspiring foundation of nature. Just as he finished his
sketch the skies opened causing Bluff to run for cover. He found shelter under
an overhanging tree and waited for the rain to cease its onslaught.
As he stood Bluff watched each drop of rain fall into a
nearby puddle with tiny ripples spreading out in all directions on every
impact. As he stood, mesmerised, his mind drifted and he imagined a planet full
of people, each doing their own thing with no order controlling their every move.
Yes, he was a dreamer, that would be his salvation.
* * * * * * *
Years
later, Bluff had reached the stage of being ready to leave his parents home. He
had endured all of their lectures and social mores and longed for a place of
his own where he could follow his own rules. He was to view an apartment that
very afternoon. He examined the apartments access card in his hand and dreamed
of freedom.
The apartment turned out to be a little small but it was
just the right distance from his parents home that would ensure they wouldn't
visit too often but close enough to his old neighbourhood which he had come to
love over the years. The place where he had spent all of his formative years.
He decided to take the small apartment and completed the transaction that
afternoon.
The next day he hired a transport and transferred his
meagre possessions to his new place. It was a good job he didn't have many
possessions, he thought as he put everything in its place. He finished
unpacking then turned on his computer to catch up on world events.
He had been amazed at how quickly Christianity had spread
around the planet. There weren't many religions left now as most of the
minority ones had been outlawed. Bluff didn't care much though, he just ignored
religious zealots like the plague. Anyway, he had his own microcosm now and
could hide away from those he didn't want to interact with.
He finished using his computer and sat down in an easy
chair to think awhile. Here he was in his own place, master of his castle with
no one to interfere. Bliss. He flicked a remote by his chair and turned on some
music. He soon drifted away to sleep. He dreamt of Christianity consuming the
planet, creating a civilisation of robots, void of feelings and intuition,
following orders from some unseen 'creator'. He woke with a start. He had been
asleep for over four hours. He remembered his dream and decided to 'phone his
parents. He let the 'phone ring for ages before his father picked it up.
"Hello"
"Hi Dad, it's me, how are you ?" Bluff
enquired.
"Who is this ?" came his Dads reply.
"It's me Dad, Bluff. What's wrong ?"
"Bluff who ? I don't know any Bluff. Who is this
?"
"Dad, are you OK ? What's going on ?"
His father hung up. Bluff was perplexed. Why didn't his
Dad recognise him ? Was he playing some kind of game ? He didn't know what to
do. There seemed little point in calling again so he got himself something to
eat then turned his computer on.
That's strange, Bluff thought, the news just contained
lots of religious scriptures. Even though he had rejected religion all of his
life he still recognised that they had taken on a new almost militant tone.
What is this ? He thought. Bluff turned his computer off and went to look out of
his window, not knowing what he would find but somehow expecting something. The
streets below were empty, completely void of life. Bluff felt completely
astounded. It didn't take much of a mental leap to figure out that somehow
everyone must have been brainwashed by the religious leaders. But what was the
extent of their influence and what could he do to reverse the process ? He was
in a bit of a quandary as he didn't want to interfere with the way people led
their lives. After all they had all embraced religion with open arms. But he
couldn't let the missionaries take over the planet without any resistance at
all.
There again there was little that he could do by himself,
everyone one was into religion. So he reached for the bible his mother had
given him as a leaving present and began to read it. He would need to know all
about the religions of the world if he was to hide amongst the crowd.