Posts tagged ‘christianity’
THE WALKING STATUES: A SHORT STORY
THE WALKING STATUES
The waves of the Pacific gently washed the western shore of the island. An island so remote from any other land mass that it’s a wonder that it was found. How many attempts were made by voyagers in canoes will never be known. People set out on an ocean having no idea of what lay ahead. They were fleeing from their home because war or famine made life unbearable. How many never found land only to die in their attempt for a new life.
Conga stood on that island’s western shore pondering that question. How many people tried before and after his people stumbled upon this tiny land mass just two generations ago. His people’s past was full of both legends and facts. But no one had enough knowledge of their past to distinguish one from the other. But one belief was held as true. That the gods must have played a part in the discovery of this land. Gods they brought with them and gave praise to and worshiped. Conga stood on this remote spot on the island, a part of the island where villagers rarely wandered. He treasured this spot where his only company was his thoughts.
But he now knew he would not be alone for long. Footsteps signaled someone’s approach and he knew instantly who that someone would be. Only one other knew of his love for this spot, and she would soon embrace him. It would be Ula, the love of his life who often came to share the serenity offered here.
As she embraced him from behind she said, “Still trying to imagine where our people came from so many years ago? Instead of looking into the past, look into the future, our future. That is where your happiness lies. Our future together.”
Conga and Ula have pledged to spend their lives together. They had known each other since childhood as friends. But as their feelings for each other intensified spending their future together became a clear destiny. Conga responded to Ula’s thoughts, “I do think about our future, but while I’m here I think of the gods who guided us to this island. I have seen them.
Conga had seen the gods after a Tribal ceremony where a man was denied sleep for days and fasted for a week, and sometimes longer. The gods he had seen were giants and he clearly remembered their features. Their heads were unusually long with a distinctive nose and deep-set eyes. Some had red hair, red hair being a symbol of power deserving respect and honor. Conga was not alone in experiencing these visions. Other young men had endured the same ceremony and had seen the gods. But Conga’s memory of their appearance was the clearest. The gods also told Conga how they must be honored but he could not clearly recall their instructions. In order to revisit the gods with the hope of retaining their instructions he experienced the ceremony once again. With the new ceremony he now recalled the god’s plans for him.
His people were to construct giant statues, a multitude of statues to be spread throughout the island so that the people would never be too far from the memory of the gods. So that they would never forget that their existence on this island was a gift from the gods. Conga spread this knowledge of the mission to other young men who saw the gods and the mission was begun.
* * *
Ten years later.
The mission of construction of these statues spread with enthusiasm throughout the entire population and would eventually produce over 900 statues with the distinctive feature of Conga’s vision. Most were approximately 13 feet tall, but one giant surpassed 33 feet. The people called these statues of their gods moai. And the legend persists to this day that the statues walked to where they were to be located.
During the construction of the statues Conga and Ula were true to the pledge for the future, became one and a son was born. They constructed a hut where the family dwelled among a sparse stand of trees and a view of the western shore.
One day, as night approached, Conga asked Ula, “What more do you need me to do?”
Ula answered, “Your work is done.” She knew why he asked her this. He wanted to partake of his favorite pastime. Conga told Ula he would be gone for awhile and Ula knew where he was going.
For relaxation Conga would climb to the summit of a nearby hill and as night approached he would look down on their hut and see the dim light filtering from within. It brought him pleasure while he thought about his family and how his family would grow in the future.
This vantage point also provided a view of some of the statues his people had provided to honor the gods. Over the course of additional ceremonies, he conversed with the gods about his mission, a mission which would consume his entire life. The gods told him they were pleased with the great number of statues the people have constructed and scattered over the entire island. This brought Conga peace knowing he had served his purpose.
* * *
Nearly a thousand years after the island was populated it was visited by people from a distant land. A land the people of the island could not imagine existed.
Early one morning a craft was sighted the likes of which could not be foretold. It was massive; perhaps it was not a boat but a floating island. The fact that massive trees appeared to be growing from its center gave credence to this assumption. The strange thing was that the trees were adorned with massive pieces of material. The island was about to be visited, and it change its future forever.
The ship approaching was being sailed by Dutch crewmen. The year was 1722, but of course the islanders have no concept of numbered lengths of time or for that matter how long a year was. On this eventful day the sailors onboard the ship were celebrating a special mass for the day was Easter Sunday.
The residents of the island called their home Rapa Nui, but with the arrival of this ship the world would know the island by a different name.
Author’s note: For those who find the legend of the walking giant statues an interesting legend of the island should know it is not completely a legend. My next post will reveal the truth of the ‘walking’ statues.
THE UNIVERSE IN BALANCE: A SHORT STORY, NATURE RULES
Accepted for publication by The Corner Bar in March 2024. One of the first stories I wrote, and it took me many years to get it right.
God does not play dice with the universe.
—- Albert Einstein
God not only plays dice; he also sometimes throws the dice where they cannot be seen.
—- Stephen Hawking
THE UNIVERSE IN BALANCE
Prof. Maxwell Lowman sat in his MIT office deep in thought. It was mid-afternoon, the blinds were lowered and closed creating the setting he desired. The sole illumination a reading lamp on his desk, a desk littered with books, research papers and correspondence. His office, lined with bookshelves contained works reflecting his eclectic interests running from poetry to the latest volumes in astrophysics.
With his salt and pepper eyebrows and mane of unruly gray hair he looked every part of the college professor. Lowman was an expert on the ‘Big Bang’, as if anyone could claim that title, he often thought. An expert. Might as well be an expert on heaven. Another doctrine born of conjecture. He often mused, “Why did the ‘Big Bang’ take place? How did it give birth to the universe? Questions yet to be solved. And to some, the answers relying on faith. The same as the existence of heaven. But unlike heaven, there was proof, in theory, that the ‘Big Bang’ did take place but for what reason did the universe exist? The question of why the universe came into existence is unanswerable. How is a matter of conjecture.
Lowman’s mind continued on a journey he had come to enjoy. Where some unknown force, some would call God, held hands with science. How could the universe come into existence from nothing? He tried to imagine space before the ‘Big Bang’. Nothing existed. Time did not exist. Light did not exist. Before the ‘Big Bang’ did space exist. Some thought, before the ‘Big Bang’ space did not exist but then unfolded. Did anything come before the existence of nothing. He spent hours musing over these questions thinking, that perhaps, science could not and should not answer everything. Some mystery should remain.
* * *
Lowman was conducting his first graduate class of the semester covering the ‘Big Bang’. His lecture would be full of theory, but in reality, no answers. During the course of his lectures he encouraged questions. And these questions would determine the structure of his future lectures. And this year, with the important upcoming experiment, he wanted to introduce the Higgs boson.
During his lecture, one of his favorite pupils from the past year, Joe Hess, raised his hand and asked, “The ‘Big Bang’ is a mystery to me.”
Lowman said, “Well, you are not alone.”
Hess continued, “We know it happened, or else we wouldn’t be here. But where did all the matter in the universe come from?”
Lowman anticipated this question for it was asked every year. He began pacing along the front of the lecture hall to organize his thoughts for opinions were constantly changing. He began, “Stephen Hawking has a relatively new theory that all matter in the universe was created by the ‘God Particle’. In 1964 Peter Higgs predicted the existence of the Higgs boson which, in a book written by Leon Lederman, was referred to as the ‘God Particle’. The boson is central to our understanding of the structure of all matter”.
Lowman anticipated Joe’s next question, “But where did the ‘God Particle’ come from?”
“That, young man, is the question which remains unanswered. The theory is that the ‘God Particle’ populated the entire universe in the smallest fraction of a second at a speed far beyond the speed of light. Of course, it is accepted that nothing can exceed the speed of light, but we must remember, that when this occurred light did not exist. Time did not exist, so anything is possible. When the ‘Big Bang’ occurred, it is theorized that the universe consisted of equal parts of dark matter, which is now accepted to exist, and visible matter. For reasons unknown, the amount of visible matter surpassed the amount of dark matter. And that is the reason that the universe – stars, black holes and you and I – exist.
Lowman concluded his lecture by telling the class, “I am sure you are aware that tomorrow a unique experiment will be conducted. It will attempt to duplicate the material which existed immediately following the ‘Big Bang’. And perhaps create the particle which existed at the moment of the ‘Big Bang’, the ‘God Particle’. He concluded the lecture, and as the class exited the lecture hall, erased the white board of his lecture notes. One fact he saved for his future lecture was that the universe was expanding not contracting as was originally thought. So rather contracting to the point of, perhaps, another ‘Big Bang’ it will expand into single atoms wandering in space. Nature destroyed along with all the balance which once existed. It made no sense.
* * *
Lowman made his way to his office, excitement in his step. His anticipation of tomorrow’s experiment filled his mind with the possibilities it may contribute to understanding the birth of the universe. He would be counting the hours, the minutes until the experiment was initiated. Wondering at the knowledge to be revealed. It was an experiment in which MIT was a participant, along with a host of other prestigious institutions from all over the world. Prompted by his excitement, he scheduled a meeting with Dr. Volachek, head of the Physics Department, to share his enthusiasm. With a few hours before the meeting was to take place, he returned to the solitude of his office to contemplate what tomorrow’s experiment might reveal. Now he raised the blinds to the dismal gray of the winter’s afternoon.
While sitting at his desk, his eyes wandered over the bookcases lining the walls of his office. He had a love for books since he was a child. During his youth they were his entertainment, and as he grew older, his source of knowledge. He enjoyed being among the thoughts and ideas of the great minds contained in these volumes. Now, with tomorrow’s experiment, he may be witness to a great advancement in the understanding of the universe. The answers to questions great minds had pondered.
With the Hubble telescope and a host of great technologies being developed, questions were being answered and knowledge being gained more rapidly than ever before. The discovery of dark energy and dark matter, once radical concepts, have changed the science of physics. The question is, why does this mysterious dark matter and energy exist? Lowman sat in his office with the only sound the ticking of the old clock sitting on his bookshelf.
As the time of his meeting with Dr. Volchek drew close he donned his overcoat, and through the crisp winter afternoon, made his way to the dean’s office. He had known Dr. Volchek for years. The dean was a good friend and knowledgeable colleague. He entered the office and Dr. Volchek rose and welcomed him with a handshake. “Good to see you, Max. Glad to have someone with whom to share the excitement of tomorrow’s experiment.”
Lowman answered, “I just hope nothing goes wrong. It is an extremely complicated endeavor. This is an international effort with billions of dollars invested. Failure would be heartbreaking.”
The dean replied, “With every experiment there is a risk. But even a failure can produce knowledge. Now relax. Just look forward to the progress we may make in understanding the mysteries of our universe. Tomorrow that device nicknamed, The Hand of God, with gold atoms racing into one another to achieve unbelievable temperatures, will hopefully cause protons and neutrons to break apart into quarks and the gluon particles which hold the quarks together. And then, we hope, the quark – gluon plasma will duplicate the densest material ever created. The material which existed at or immediately after the ‘Big Bang’. Perhaps a Higgs boson. What a mighty contribution to physics that would be. Creating the material unknown to the universe for 18 billion years.”
* * *
That night, at home, his mind was like a whirling dervish. At dinner Max’s wife, Martha, could feel the excitement her husband generated. She said, “Max, calm down. You’re going to make yourself sick. Indigestion will not help you appreciate tomorrow.”
You’re right, Martha. You’re right.”
They finished dinner and spent the remainder of the evening reading. Later, as Martha prepared for bed, Max lie there, his mind working furiously. Once Martha was in bed, she turned off the bedside lamp, kissed Max and said, “I love you.” And he returned that thought. It was their bedtime ritual and meant a great deal to them both. In the darkened room Max turned onto his side. He knew it would take some time to fall asleep, feeling like a kid on Christmas Eve.
The next morning, having spend a fitful night of anticipation, Lowman prepared for work. Before leaving he kissed his wife on the cheek and softly said, “I love you. You make my life worth living.” Martha slightly stirred and smiled.
* * *
The drive to campus seemed to take forever. Lowman had trouble maintaining the speed limit. His excitement transferred to his foot. He parked his car and entered one of the large lecture halls reserved to watch the experiment take place on closed – circuit television and hoped for some kind of immediate results. Dr. Volchek saw Lowman and motioned for him to come over and sit in the seat Volchek saved for him.” The scientists at the ‘Hand of God’ began the introduction of those present at the site and relate a brief history of the journey which led to the experiment.
When that was completed, the experiment was initiated.
Lowman began to consider what knowledge might be discovered but that thought was never completed. In an instant Lowman no longer existed. The universe no longer existed. The balance of nature was revealed. All Lowman’s questions were answered and the answers would remain forever unknown.
Lowman had always been amazed how nature maintained balance. The balance also applied to the Higgs boson. And true to that balance, the experiment produced an anti – Higgs boson. In a thousandth of a trillionth of a second dark matter, using dark energy, compressed all the matter of the universe into the anti – Higgs boson. The entire mass of the universe was now compressed into a minute particle of unbelievable mass. This process had been repeated for an infinite number of times. For infinity. The anti – Higgs boson sat alone in the emptiness of space. And after billions upon billions of years would morph into a Higgs boson prepared to initiate another ‘Big Bang’.
THE END
AND THE BEGINNING
THE LEGEND OF FRENCH CREEK, PART III
The Legend
of
French Creek
I pulled a small pad and a pen from my shirt pocket. “Mind if I take some notes?”
“Hell no. Most around here know the story – it’s no secret.”
He began his tale.
“Grandpa first told me this story when I was young. Wanted to scare the hell out of me, I suppose. Used to enjoy doing that a lot. Starts back in the late 1700’s when some people moved in that weren’t welcomed in this neck of the woods. They came from England. Some kind of pagan cult called Drubids.”
“Do you mean Druids?” I asked.
“Ya, something like that. Anyway, they wanted to be left alone so they built a house way out in the woods. There was men and women, but no children. Young, they was. Maybe eight or ten of them.
“Seems the locals, being of the religious type, didn’t take too kindly to these pagans. Then the trouble started. Farm animals turned up missing, some cows and sheep. The locals suspected treachery by the pagans, but they kept their peace. Then, within two weeks’ time, three children went missing. A group of townsfolk paid a visit to the pagans. The heathens said they knew nothing of the animals or children disappearing. But the locals thought they were acting suspicious.
“This all happened in the spring. Then came the massacre.
It was the night of the summer solstice. The nearest residents to the pagans reported a red glow in the forest that night. Some of the local men, well-armed, went to investigate. They approached the pagan camp and saw the men and women dancing naked around a fire. There was a pile of cut-up carcasses, no one could tell what they were being thrown into the fire.
“One of the men, nervous I suppose, shot into the air and the pagans made for the cabin. The story goes that the men surrounded the cabin, and then someone threw a blazing brand onto the roof. The cabin caught fire. Screams could be heard coming from the house. Some of the pagans tried to escape through the door and windows, but they were shot and fell back into the inferno. While they waited on of the men poked around in the fire. Found bones, small human bones so the story goes. The men of the town remained until the house collapsed. By morning, it was just a smoking ruin. They left and said little of what they had done to anyone outside the community. Some of the curious would visit the site of the pagan compound, but that ended after a while. And as time passed, the story faded but was not totally forgotten.
