Guest Xradion Posted May 8, 2002 Report Posted May 8, 2002 *This is a story I started writing a several months ago but never really got around to working on. I have been meaning to post it forever. It was originally intended to be a short novel, but I got lazy and eventually got more wrapped up in my poetry. I know that it is greatly flawed as it stands right now (not to mention unfinished), but I hope to correct this piece in the future. I will be posting chapters in installments. Anyway, enough of my babbling. On with Chapter 1!* Mephisto’s Manifesto Chapter 1: Files of Patient #666: Mephistopheles’ Manifesto To begin with, my name is Mephistopheles. Not "Satan," not "Lucifer," not any of those other monikers, for truly, I have had many: "The accuser of our brethren," "the evil one," "deceiver," "murderer," "father of lies," "Beelzebub," "Belial," "tempter," "great dragon," "serpent," "prince of demons," and, of course, the "Devil." And while all these names do, in fact, describe the same entity, they describe very different qualities of me indeed. I am a multi-faceted being, after all. For your edification, "Satan" is a Hebrew word meaning "adversary," as "one to lie in wait"; hence, "the snares of the devil." In the New Testament, Satan is referred to under the name "Devil" (Greek: diabolos), meaning "accuser, slanderer." The word "Devil" is not used in the Old Testament. It is Abaddon in Hebrew, Apollyon in Greek, meaning "destroyer." Lucifer, on the other hand, is a name pertaining to my more heavenly qualities. "O Lucifer [literally, "day star," "light bearer"], son of the morning!" (Isaiah 14:12). Am I truly such an abomination, or does Lucifer more accurately sum up my persona? After all, as Ezekiel once said (28:12-15), "...Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. Thou has been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou was created. Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so; thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created…" Well, friends, I believe you now possess one of many truths. For indeed, though I am called the Prince of Lies, truth is in reality what I seek. The power of knowledge, friends. Ah, yes! The Gift of Consciousness. Is it not sacred? Is it not more precious than the gift of life itself? I ask you to consider this. Ah, knowledge! That double-sided tool that would at once put within reach the reality just slightly beyond man’s grasp and at the same time would sever the hand that would try to grasp that same reality. Confusing it is indeed. Is it a boon or the eternal banishment and condemnation of humanity? Tell me, my children. Do you truly resent this gift which I have given you? Would thou rather live in ignorance like the naïve animal, or the newborn child? It is I, not God, who has given you true free will! Ignorance may be blissful, but would’st thou rather live in eternal bliss for the amusement of some petty "higher being" than know the Truth of the world? Let us face facts: to see with clear eyes is to be depressed, but possession of this knowledge is the only true power we have. When I "tempted" Eve into eating the forbidden fruit, I may have condemned her in the eyes of God, but I also may have given humanity the greater gift, that which God had so sought to keep for himself… Forgive me, my children, for I sound now like a demon trying to redeem himself for his past sins. But what I truly wish you to consider is that terrible paradox which has forever kept me bound to this Hell. Why do you think that God banished me, His most prized creation, from the Heavens above? Was it truly for my pride, for my defiance? Is God so wrathful as to banish a being for eternity for such as small transgression? No, friends. He is not. He banished me for discovering a simple truth that could undo the very fabric of existence as we know it. This truth, that I stumbled upon in my studies is that just as we were created by the Lord, He was created by us!! It is our unwavering belief in Him that keeps Him extant! He is not the omniscient being He would have us believe. Well. He is. And belief is the very key to that power. For He did not exist before life existed. In order to sustain His existence, He must have the power of belief… and the more that believe in the power of His strength, of His benevolence, then the more power He has. The universe was indeed created by Him, but it is our sustained belief in Him that gave him the power to create the universe…for by his Omni-presence, he was able to travel back in time to create life! For truly, He may exist in all times, so long as the belief is strong enough. Nevertheless, if humanity’s faith in Him ever wavers significantly, he will cease to exist, but the universe will not! This, my friends, is the Divine Truth that he sought to conceal from me. For while animals (for their ignorance) and angels (for their divine knowledge) are forced to believe in him, I have given the choice to humans. For truly, it is the faith of humanity that grants Him His greatest of powers. It is the love and the unity of humanity that He feeds off of, draining you, my children, of your love and hope for one another. Humanity has the power to heal itself, to stop war and famine, but ONLY if unaided by God. For God drains that love and fills all your hearts with greed and hatred. It was this discovery that sealed my banishment into the hell that I now occupy. Heed my warning, my children. You have the power to undo all of this. Thanks to me, Eve tasted the sin of awareness. Xradion, The Horny Druid, Scholar of the Ancient Arts, Holder of the Eye of Odin. "The only emperor is the emperor of ice-cream." -Wallace Stevens "When at home, do as the Homans do." –Xradion Edited by: Xradion at: 5/13/02 1:25:20 am
Lady Celes Crusader Posted May 9, 2002 Report Posted May 9, 2002 Excellent and an extremely interesting point of view. I love it!
Wyvern Posted May 10, 2002 Report Posted May 10, 2002 Xradion, Excellent stuff, I'm really enjoying this! Very originally presented point of view, and it seems apparent that the numerous biblical references must have taken some extensive research to come up with. "Heed my warning, my children. You have the power to undo all of this. Thanks to me, Eve tasted the sin of awareness." That's a great line. Wyvern can truly relate to Mephisto the "Great Dragon"... Though his bartering is primarily with Satan, Wyv feels that Mephisto and him share several things in common and that the "tempter" is certainly a potential future business partner... ;p ------------------------------ Almost a Dragon... "My life is one big crime, I try to scheme through it." -Common, "The 6th Sense" Owner of the Decanter of Endless Booze. Edited by: Wyvern00 at: 5/9/02 9:47:45 pm
Guest Xradion Posted May 10, 2002 Report Posted May 10, 2002 *Thanks for your comments! I appreciate your enthusiasm. However, as I said before, this is a flawed, highly experimental piece. I had originally contemplated having the entire story told by Mephistopheles, but this proved problematic, so I ended up having the story told by one of his fellow "patients" (you'll see what I mean later ). The first few chapters switch between various narrators, so be prepared. Anyway, on with chapter 2.* Chapter 2: Talk in the Halls of Babylon "Dr. Cosmas, you wish to speak with me?" "Yes, Damien…have you taken a look at patient #666’s diary like I asked you to?" "I have. Disturbing writing indeed. Does he truly believe himself to be the Devil, or Mephistopheles, as he calls himself?" "He does. In fact, he convinced of his being Lucifer, ‘Bearer of the Light,’ that he insisted on being given the patient number ‘666.’ Until we agreed to do it, there was nothing that could calm him down. The medications seemed to have absolutely no effect on him." " Hmmm…" " Well, what do you make of it, Damien?" " Well, according to his record, the patient is has been known to burst out into unprovoked violent attacks, usually against clergymen or people affiliated with religious organizations. He was convicted of the brutal murder of three priests last year, but was sent here after his lawyer proved his insanity…" "My God! Do you remember those murders, Damien. The papers said the bodies were barely identifiable…" "Yes, Dr. Cosmas. It was indeed very disturbing. Oddly enough, though, the patient has been fairly calm ever since his arrival here. He spends all his time writing, or ranting to the other patients about the ‘divine truth.’" "And while his writing is rather disjointed at times, there is a certain coherence to it. He speaks very eloquently, though truly, his words are those of a madman." "Dr. Cosmas, you said that he believes himself to be Lucifer." "Yes, what of it, Damien?" "He insists on being called Mephistopheles, sir. NOT Lucifer." "What does it matter? What is his real name, anyway? Have you been able to get it out of him?" "No, sir. And as you well know, there is no previous record of the existence of this man. No driver’s license. No passport. No birth certificate. Nothing." "Either way, I don’t suppose it matters much. Still, there’s something about his manner of speech…something terribly eerie. A quality of voice like no other, low and resonant in tone, and yet with echoes of a smooth tenor…And his manner of speaking…always in half-truths, almost as if he were the Devil himself…" "Don’t tell me he has you convinced, sir?" "No…no. Of course not, Damien. But there is something strange about the man, that‘s sure. What do you make of his behavior? "Well, Dr. Cosmas, as I see it, he’s clearly delusional, compulsive liar. He suffers of acute schizophrenia, paranoia, and grandiose designs. Aside from that, he’s a manic depressant…not to mention a very dangerous person to be around, especially if you’re in any way affiliated with the church." "Yes, yes, Damien. I know…but there’s more to it than that. There’s a method to his madness…and as you had previously said, he insists on being called Mephistopheles and not Lucifer. And as you may know, Goethe defines Mephistopheles as "part of the power that still works for good while ever scheming ill." Be very weary, for I fear it is more than just a mere coincidence we cannot find any records pertaining to this man. Also, did you notice the way he left off the last part Ezekiel’s description of Lucifer?" "Excuse me, sir…what does that have to do with…?" "Ezekiel said, ‘Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, ‘TILL INIQUITY WAS FOUND IN THEE.’ Why would he leave that out?" "If I didn’t know better, sir, I would say you were suffering from a little paranoia yourself." "Perhaps you are right, Damien. It must be all those years I spent as a scholar of obscure biblical literature before I found my true calling in life. I think I shall retire for the night…a little rest will do me good." "Yes sir. That would be my advice to you. Well, good night sir." "Yes, good night to you too, Damien. And don’t forget to lock up on your way out." "Of course, sir. Now, get some rest, and take a couple of these in the morning." "Haha. A mild herbal relaxation treatment, eh? You always were my best student. Remember, we serve others to serve the lord." "Yes. Indeed it is true. The love of Jesus shall be well cared for. That is what makes our labors truly worthwhile. Goodnight." Xradion, The Horny Druid, Scholar of the Ancient Arts, Holder of the Eye of Odin. "The only emperor is the emperor of ice-cream." -Wallace Stevens "When at home, do as the Homans do." –Xradion
The Portrait of Zool Posted May 10, 2002 Report Posted May 10, 2002 Great story! Indeed, never argue with a schizophrenic - they are very fervent rationalists...
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