Quo vadis

— Almighty, forgive us! We beg You! We do not know how You imagined the human civilization of the future, whether You wanted to make all people free and happy, living in peace and prosperity, having shelter and daily bread.

— Why these empty words? What you ask for is a mirage and a fantasy. The day will come, the hour will arrive, and cruel rulers will take away from the weak what I gave you, and from the poor, the last piece of bread, and everything will return to normal. Life on Earth could have become free and happy for you, but you were unworthy of it. You do not notice the evil irony in the fact that you, created by the will of God as His image and likeness, remained captive to animal passions, and all your aspirations can be described in a few words: money, gluttony, sex, greed, envy, pride, violence, and war. But I do not blame myself: I am not a world chess champion who could foresee all the options. And it is not for you to demand an account from Me of My actions.

True human talent is destruction. Not creation, but destruction, you heard right. We are arrogant and purposeful, and it must be admitted, effectively destroying nature, the basis and the foundation of our existence, given to us from above. A pair of every creature, remember? Have you heard that the last white rhinoceros died in Sudan? The number of lions on the African continent and tigers in South Asia has decreased so much that there is nothing to talk about. A polar bear in the Arctic? — a great rarity; you'll be lucky if you see one. Man has managed to exterminate half of the wild animals, the inhabitants of the planet, in a couple of decades. For the sake of fairness, we note that he does not spare his own kind and sends them to the next world in trains at the first opportunity. Do dolphins suddenly wash up on the shore? It's clear that it's not because of a good life, but that's their problem, isn't it? The oceans (oceans!) — not the beaches — are littered beyond belief. Who's to blame? Apparently, the aliens. Not those from distant stars, but you and me. We are aliens on Earth, after all. They came and went, leaving behind mountains of garbage. Destroyed cities, deserted villages, towns. Scorched and cut down forests. Shallow rivers and lakes. A fetid, suffocating atmosphere — once the air shell of the Earth. Millions were killed and maimed. Billions of uneducated, poor, hungry. And this is human civilization?

— But don't You see how we suffer, how we pray every day for the forgiveness of our sins and fall at Your feet? Give us a chance.

— I will think about what to do with you, but I am afraid you will not like it. Genetic engineering has taken on the role of the Creator. It is transforming the world left and right. Previously, carnations were exclusively white and red - today there is one for every taste: blue, yellow, purple, speckled, gray-brown-crimson. Whatever you want, however you wish. Krakow sausage is genetically modified, and Canadian salmon is genetically modified. Bread, milk, meat. What do we even eat? What are we proud of? The fact that we are genetically modified. Like sausage. Like sausage!

— But what will You do with us? Will You send pestilence, plague, thousand-winged locusts or ugly toads? Didn't You allow us to break Your laws before? — There are rules and there are exceptions to the rules. I will allow you what is beneficial and convenient for me and what corresponds to my plan. Besides, I see no reason or need to return to the ten plagues of Egypt again. You have already been through this. Judge for yourself: there are more and more crazy people on the planet every year. Your statistics confirm this. All that remains is to wait for this critical mass to gather to initiate the reaction of the disintegration of the human race. You will do everything with your own hands. It has been tested. The domino principle.

— Have mercy. We beg You.

— Perhaps it is too late. Was it so difficult to observe the Ten Commandments that you received on Mount Sinai? Simple RULES OF CONDUCT in the VOID. Was it difficult to behave like a human being in your House, peacefully floating in interstellar space? Not at all. I do not find a single argument against it. And what have you come to, what have you returned to? To slavery, violence, and murder. The world is filled with hatred. Your idol is money and greed. You are fixated on your career, finances, pleasures, and success, while you can simply live here and now in harmony with nature. You have consciously taken the side of Evil. You lack kindness and humanity. Do not cry over your hair when you cut off your head - is that what you say? I am a merciful and forgiving God, but I am also a punishing God, who rewards according to merit.

Well said, beautifully: "I am a sword that punishes." It should make an impression. Who would I be? Would it be good if I only forgave? - He thought and immediately doubted his rightness, which was not like Him at all. Am I mistaken by any chance? Perhaps people have ceased to resemble people out of despair: you can't escape far from the planet, life is short, huh? There is no incentive, so they go crazy. Putting up with the merciless severity of loneliness in the Universe today to gain hope for a better life in the afterlife tomorrow. What if we signed them up for life insurance with immortality? It would be interesting to see. A new project? We'll have to think it over and consult with the angels and the Devil. You can't decide in the heat of the moment. And so they whisper behind your back, like, I'm getting old; they'll even organize a coup, a color revolution. Worse than little, foolish children.

The Almighty has long since given up on us. He realized that the game was not worth the candle. But how can we end it without losing face? That's the problem. Having once given manpower over nature, He Himself is no longer happy about it. Today, thousands of species of living nature are on the verge of extinction due to our hyperactive activity. Hurricanes, earthquakes, droughts and floods, melting glaciers in Antarctica, tsunamis, and God knows what else. We are destroying the habitat of animals and have changed the climate so much that there is simply no way back (some have already realized that we are doomed and are building dugouts with a three-year supply of food and water as if this will save us!), but we continue to pollute the air with industrial waste with the persistence of a serial maniac, turn fossil reserves of hydrocarbon raw materials into smoke. Have you not yet realized that humanity has entered the last stage of extinction? ¿No? It's a pity. Because new cataclysms await us ahead, in comparison with which a collision with a giant meteorite, which will pierce our planet with its mass like a knife through butter, is a mere trifle. And what will happen when drugs and gambling completely displace the virtual reality that everyone, from young to old, enjoys today? Is this our future? Let's finally be honest with ourselves: we are wild, we are crazy, we are disgusting. The other day, a certain leader of one of the developing countries reported to the whole world that if a nuclear war happens, his population will end up in heaven, and all the others will be fried in a frying pan in Hell. He said so without blinking an eye. Or is he already anticipating a meeting in heaven with 72 virgins? And judging by the way his subjects joyfully applauded him, they are thirsty for the same, and as soon as possible. Will the Creator send us Noah's Ark this time? It's hard to say. Most likely, no. He will lay genetically modified black roses on the grave of humanity and pronounce something like an epitaph: "For dust you are and to dust you will return..." Adios, amigos! Shalom, chaverim! And if he does throw a life preserver? In the end, He will have the last word: whether we will wake up tomorrow morning or not. Who are we to know about His providence? Users are admitted to the eternal by chance, with a time limit on connection to the World Wide Web and nothing more. Quo vadis, Domine? What do you say, Heavenly Father?