09 | the virtuous among us

[alephbet]

Characters: Aleph and you!
Setting: Floor 3, Floor 13, Floor 19, Floor 25 (afterwards)
Format: Starting with actionspam, but will match you.
Summary: Aleph is in search of something in particular: a Bible. He has no success and eventually retires to the meadow.
Warnings: Will edit if anything comes up.

[Floor 3]
[The first place to look would of course be the library.

But, it seems that religion and history are intertwined, and the histories of the worlds aren't covered in this library. No matter how hard he searches, Aleph can't find a single religious tract or book of divine scripture.

He's basically going to check every section of the whole library before he gives up, though. It'll take him awhile and make him obviously noticeable.]

[Floor 13]
[Churches generally have religious books in them, don't they? To read from and all.

This one doesn't seem to. It's not a clearly Mesian or Christian church, and he doesn't know well enough to determine if it's anything else, but he thinks its pastors must be hard on their luck if they have to recite everything from memory.

Aleph will turn this floor inside out trying to search, including looking under pews.]

[Floor 19]
[Now, he's pretty sure that this research library doesn't have anything either, but just in case...

He'll go over this entire library section looking, though with less enthusiasm than the other floor's library.]

[Floor 25: afternoon]
[Well that was a waste. Still, it was something to do. And...

Aleph knew vaguely that other worlds had kinder Gods than his had. Different Gods. But he failed completely to understand why they got so upset about the prospect of a different god than theirs being killed. He only sort of knew why Lucifer got such a bad reputation, in the barest possible sense.

He'd been reading books for a year to improve his ability to read, and to not be bereft of all knowledge but how to fight. It seemed time to get around to some of these, if he could find any of them.

Failing that, picking daisies and making them into a flower chain was never a bad use of time.]

Comments

[thirtybits]

What is it you wanted to read about, then?

[alephbet]

When I mention the killed God thing, people get upset even though it's not their God. I don't know anything about a God who actually cares about humanity, so I don't understand why they're upset, and I think my attempts at sympathy fall flat.

[thirtybits]

Ah, well, there are plenty of passages that might seem unjust even so. Although they're usually 'for the greater good' or to prove something. I guess you should be aware of that, so you don't get the wrong impression.

[alephbet]

It doesn't matter if I can't find one in this tower...

[thirtybits]

I, uh...could tell you a lot of it.

[alephbet]

Would you? I'd be very grateful.

[thirtybits]

I don't really know much past a certain point, if you're interested in the most common form, but...is there anything in particular you want to know?

[alephbet]

Um, well... What is there to know about?

[thirtybits]

I guess starting from the beginning, then... Do you have a story of the first man and woman created by God being driven out of paradise, and Original Sin?

[alephbet]

That's, um... Adam and Eve, right?

[thirtybits]

Yes, the devil tempts Adam and Eve to rebel against God, and the Christian view is that all humans are born with sin because of this.

[alephbet]

Explains why angels tend to hate us pretty unconditionally. What happens after that?

[thirtybits]

Their sons, one kills the other out of jealousy and is punished by God by being forced to wander a desolate wasteland. ...I heard the explorers thought it was a part of Canada.

[alephbet]

Canada?

[sorry he's never heard of there before]

[thirtybits]

North of the USA? There's a lot of land that would be basically impossible to farm. And Cain was a farmer, so that was part of his punishment, to try and fail.

[alephbet]

Sorry, um, my world has very few livable spots to begin with... All I know is the Tokyo Millenium.

[thirtybits]

Oh, Tokyo's where I live, but I don't know anything about the 'Millenium' part.

[alephbet]

Basically it's that area, but ruled by theocratic despots.

[thirtybits]

...Oh. Then I'm used to something a bit like that, I think. Just...not in Tokyo.

[Lookin' at you, Roman occupation]

[alephbet]

My world's... special, I guess.

[thirtybits]

It...really sounds like it.

[alephbet]

What happens after the brothers?

[thirtybits]

There are several generations of man who are generally favoured by God, each has a patriarch who tend to live for nearly a millenia, other than Enoch, who was most favoured and taken to Heaven without experiencing mortal death to write the word of God. During the generation of his great-grandson, the line of the patriarchs are said to be the only just humanbeings, and so God sends a flood, but not before commanding the patriarch Noah to build a ship to save his family and animals to replenish the earth.

I guess the next significant event after that is Abraham, which is a long story with many parts...

[alephbet]

Is that the Enoch who's here-? Sorry for interrupting.

[thirtybits]

Oh, yes! He said he wasn't a saint yet at his own time, but he's regarded as one.