The Devil Job.

The Devil Job.

“The Devil made me do it,” sang the Devil to a popular tune as he strode over the earth. He felt powerless as he was loathe to inflict any kind of sanction upon people that already imposed punishment and limitation upon themselves. He didn’t want his job in the first place, but he knew he had to do his stint, it was only fair. But he felt alone in this overpopulated city and world. No doubt the penalty of doing one’s duty under protest. Esprit de corps cannot exist in this solitary Satanic role.

There has to be a sadistic streak in someone wanting to impose pain and punishment to someone else, unless it genuinely was as a desirable corrective measure. Hot irons and the tearing apart of the limbs of a spiritual entity masquerading as a body arriving at his habitat was a service to be supplied to those wanting to balance the sinful books and leave them clean for their subsequent lives. But he was bored with it.

The current Devil had been at the punishment game for the last two thousand years and was preparing to hand over the reins to another poor sap. On his retirement, he knew he would get a generous stipend, but of course as a human. He would once again be going from life to life as all others. His benefits would be manifested in an abundance of abilities in many things like music and engineering prowess for example. He might even try out the ‘Messiah’ thing like the previous Devil did after he retired, even though that one backfired a bit. But, he had said to the current one in passing, “It was a bit of a giggle for a while.”

The current Devil knew it would be a bit of a ‘dice-game’ once he was human again. He wasn’t even sure what country he would be born into, but he knew those he didn’t want. However, he knew resisting what he didn’t want would more likely cause him to finish up there, so he knocked it off. So where would he go? He quite liked the Netherlands, but it was too cold and wet. Canada is just too cold, and England too effete. He decided he would like to grace Australia. It could get ridiculously hot, almost as hot as his current home at times, but he liked their brashness and optimism. Strangely enough, he didn’t have to deal with many of them in his still current task. He thought when he got there he just might be in a position to encourage them to stop touching their forelocks towards that big dangerous country in the Northern part of the world. Having made his preferred choice, he felt a little power flow through his body, but not much.

Before he got his current job he was an unbeliever in anything ‘supernatural.’ Unbelievers were quite common in ancient times. It was more a modern concept of punishing heretics after religion got into the business of making money, with ‘Indulgences’ from the sinful to fill their coffers. Since the outright bribery was ‘discontinued’ in the 1500s, it was too good a tool to completely eliminate so the name was changed to ‘Charity.’ However, you only get one point per day for a daily ‘charity,’ so ration out your ‘goodness,’ unless dying, and you can get an extra one. He decided to become an unbeliever again when he resumed the ‘March of Lives’ starting in Australia. ‘Makes life simpler and much more unencumbered,’ he thought, ‘But of course, it depended as to the amount of brain-washing I’d be subjected to in my unguarded infant state.’

The Devil needed to connect with humanity again as an ordinary individual. Although his job called for a measure which could be labelled vindictive, basically it was only with the ‘victim’s’ consent. Physical existence was all illusion, a state into which we tricked ourselves into in order to play a game. Even for Gods, eternity could be a bit of a bore without the ameliorating forgetting mechanism employed.

This journey over the earth was the last he would do in his current ‘Knowing State.’ The proposition of transiting to the pure ‘Awareness of Awareness’ state had no appeal for him as yet. He didn’t mind striding among the humans, or even driving one of the latest Tesla Roadster’ electric cars to get wherever. He reminded himself to try for a very loving and affluent irreligious family when he returned to human ‘endeavours’ again.

He adopted the dress of the people where he travelled, even down to skin colour but didn’t get involved in any of the activities. He marvelled at the beheading that occured in some countries done by people who truly believed they were doing the right thing. They would have no need to pass through his or his successor’s hands, and indeed just may be able to create the seventy vestal virgins that seemed to be the reward. They possibly would have a much better time with vestal whores who know what turns men on.

He dallied awhile in the newer but now more sophisticated countries where most of the visitors to his Downunder establishment came from. How the general populace could let such conniving and devious machinations perpetuate amused him. They really didn’t want to know, well not until their noses were rubbed into it with those in power being too blatant with their illegalities.

Amused or not by the antics of humans, he had to keep reminding himself that in an eternity, then just about all things will be experienced. We’ll be kings, queens, beggars, messiahs, serial killers and the best and worst of humanity. It’s a game, and preferably not to be taken too seriously. He knew his loneliness was self-imposed, to hang onto or dispelled by his choice.

"But even I sometimes want to hold something or someone responsible for my state, and I’m a minor God. But then, everyone walking this earth is a God, but truly they don’t want to destroy the game with that sort of knowing."