#like.. uriel WHY is that prevalent

[fangpie]

when fucking uriel said to dean "you cut yourself a slice of angel food cake..didn't you?" in s4e10 ... i daresay i chortled

[rattling-reverberations]

Shades of the Mage

(below the cut because it's just me yapping about the history of the previous Mages for who knows how long)

The Hawkmoth Mage is widely known for never showing up in person at any of the places they are reportedly seen in. Instead, they use what are called "Shades" to do their work.

In order to explain a shade, one must go over a brief history of the Mages and the Locust Mother.

Brief History

The Locust Mother is supposedly an ancient Threnodian whose dead body was found in a wheat field in a run-down farming village far out of the political realm of Jinzhou City. This area is now Fracsidus territory and is considered a dead land.

300 years ago, the Blue Morpho Mage Uriel performed rituals on the dead Threnodian in an attempt to understand more about it in a time where there wasn't a lot of knowledge on such creatures.

In his arrogance, he unintentionally reawakened the creature, leading to his death and the decay of the farmland.

Following Uriel's death, two other mages would emerge 100 years later and 200 years later receptively.

The first was Michael, the Wolf Spider Mage, who tried to destroy the Locust Mother, but in his failure, ended up releasing the plague onto the town, starting the longest famine on record.

The second to come was Raphael. Despite what the name may suggest, Raphael was in fact a young woman known as the Red Locust Mage. Her attempts to reseal the Threnodian are largely credited as the greatest feats of that century, as they were the only ones to be succesful.

The last mage to be recorded in history is currently the Hawkmoth Mage who is a follower of the Locust Mother.

Ties to the Three Shades

When he gets a hold of a dead body, they are fed to the Locust Mother as a sacrificial offering and their souls are then melded together within her body. This is the most hypothesized reason as to why he has his powers, especially when taking the past three recorded mages and their strange ties to his Shades.

The Shades are three variations of himself that he uses to represent himself when he does not want to be somewhere. This can be for a number of reasons, though mostly this is due to his susceptibility to injury and having very specific medical issues. He is not one to risk his life when he doesn't need to.

While he has three main Shades, there are a few lesser variants that are only used as distractions and/or for communication purposes, not for fighting in combat. These lesser Shades are usually formed through small insects like ants or flies.

The three most documented Shades are the Spider Shade, Locust Shade, and the Moth Shade.

Much like many Jinzhou researchers have suspected, along with the intel from the Black Shores, these Shades were created using the remnant powers and souls from the previous two mages, Raphael and Michael (credit. Dr. ------ and Dr. Xiangli Yao).

Each Shade has their own voice, giving merit to the idea that each Shade is the soul of a different person who has been sacrificed to the Locust mother.

Spider Shade (Wolf Spider Mage)

The Spider Shade (Michael) is a front forward attacker who hits hard and moves slow, using large weaponry. Everything in relation to the Spider Shade is made from a variety of creatures in the Arachnida classification.

While it's main focus of attack is using large weaponry, it cannot physically grasp any object due to poor motor skills in its hands, presumably because of either a poor connection to the Hawkmoth Mage himself or a poor tie to the original soul of Michael the Wolf Spider Mage.

The Spider Shade, much like all Shades regardless of how powerful, have the ability to split themselves apart and reform elsewhere, though this is more prevalent in lesser shades because of their lesser uses in battle.

Though communication has been scarce, few people have been able to identify a deep and smooth voice from the previous soul that is trapped within the Shade and being puppetted by the Mage.

Some speculate that this is the Hawkmoth Mage speaking through Michael's voice.

Locust Shade (Red Locust Mage)

Unlike what the name suggests, this Shade does not have strong ties to the Locust Mother herself. The Locust Shade (Raphael) is a Shade that excels in magical abilities, specifically in holding a person in place.

This Shade attacks from afar and is mostly used in reconnaissance missions. Many soldiers theorize that this Shade is the source of the rattling on the battlefields that alerts Fracsidus members of approaching attackers. This theory is further supported by reported sluggish movement in soldier's legs, some going as far to say they halted movements all together.

Much like the Spider Shade, and for the same reasons, this Shade is also unable to grasp physical objects.

The voice of the Locust Shade has been heard more often than the Spider Shade, but reports are still in short supply. Many claim her to have the voice of a woman in her mid-30's with a very noticeable accent and a threatening aura, very different from the recorded history of what Raphael was really like.

Lesser Shades

As stated before, the lesser Shades don't do much other than appear ominously in areas the Hawkmoth Mage has been (whether in person or through another Shade is still not known). These lesser Shades are the only communication that anyone outside of the Fracsidus.

Official reports state that the Mage has been able to speak through these lesser Shades, but that the voice sounds like a conjoined mix of many different people speaking at once.

Moth Shade (Possibly the Hawkmoth Mage or the remnant of the Blue Morpho Mage)

This Shade is considered the most dangerous as it is the first and only Shade to be brave enough to appear in public spaces and speak fluently with people. It's fighting style consists of surrounding its opponent in insects of different kinds and creating mass hallucinations.

This Shade is both powerful and fast, hitting quickly and many times over a long period of time. Opponents with often pass out from pain before they are killed by the Shade.

The Moth Shade is often accompanied by the Spider and Locust Shade, creating a terrifying duo where one will hold the enemy in place and the other two will take the unfortunate person out.

It is the only Shade that has shown the ability to interact with physical objects, indicating that this Shade is directly tied to the Hawkmoth Mage himself.

This Shade has the voice of a young man in his mid to late twenties and gives off a heavy aura of someone who is not experienced in their craft and does more vocal work than they do physically practice what they say.

This has led to the hypothesis that this is not the voice of the Hawkmoth Mage himself, as it would be unwise to use one's own voice when it could lead to a faster arrest and is instead the voice of the final Mage with no Shade to physically represent it, Uriel.

Further evidence to back up this claim is that the Hawkmoth Mage has frequently expressed displeasure with butterflies, and given that Uriel is the Blue Morpho Mage, who is heavily tied to butterflies in historical records, this gives weight to such an idea.

Shades and weak ties to the Hawkmoth Mage

The different Shades have each expressed a variation of how long they appear to be able to be formed and exist at a given time. As the Hawkmoth Mage's connection grows weaker, the Shade's duration dwindles.

The lesser Shades appear for no longer than thirty minutes and very rarely will there be more than two lesser Shades present at the same time. This is just enough time to get a message across and throw Midnight Rangers off the Mage's tail. This also presents the possibility that these lesser Shades have the weakest connection to the Mage and are made from souls that have almost passed on.

The Spider and Locust Shade are each able to appear for at most three hours, making them formidable foes in skirmishes, but never long-winded battles. They are great support and excellent at wearing their enemy down for the other members of the Fracsidus, usually resulting in a great loss for the opponents of the Fracsidus. These two Shades present a larger possibility for their souls having a stronger tie to the Hawkmoth Mage as their theoretical previous identities (Wolf Spider and Red locust Mage) have ties to the idea of the Locust Mother's Mages.

The Moth Shade, much like the pattern suggests, has the strongest connection to the Hawkmoth Mage by duration alone. This Shade has been seen existing for weeks at a time, the longest being just over two weeks with the shortest being three days. This is supposedly because it is the most direct link to the Hawkmoth Mage himself, though nothing can be proved with 100% accuracy just yet.

Conclusion

The Hawkmoth Mage has presented themself as a dangerous entity in Jinzhou and one of the most powerful Overseers in the Fracsidus.

Though, after the Mage's five-year absence, there has been a large dip in the sightings of his Shades and an alarming spike in reports of people saying that he has started to physically appear at scenes.

This is especially alarming considering the recent event of Overseer Scar's recent arrest.

[mxrsmordre]

Amelia Bones

hey isn’t that Amelia Bones? I’ve heard that the 30 year old witch can be be kind of obsessive and a workaholic…. but that might not be true because I also heard the half-blood can be quite successful and warm. one of my muggleborn friends thought they were Natalie Portman, but I have no idea who that is.

Ex Hogwarts House: Gryffindor Loyalty: Order of the Phoenix Gender Identity and Pronouns: Cisfemale Sexuality: Heterosexual

Changes to Canon: none.

What four songs would be a must in your characters playlist?

Higher by The Score

You Can't Stop The Girl by Bebe Rexha

Stronger Than A Lion by Delta Rae

Miss Independent by Kelly Clarkson

Biography walking before she crawled, amelia was a combination of stoicism and heart. she was never an easy one to pin down and made sure of that. growing up in the bones’ household there was a constant push-pull of how to present oneself. it felt like she and edgar had to choose sides. their mother, yael, was full of light, love and compassion. their father, uriel, was all business, no play and his family was second to his career. it’s no wonder amelia was torn between who she should be. she saw edgar come to blows with uriel but gentle with yael. she saw edgar’s obvious struggle and didn’t want to repeat it so she learned to keep any bubbling emotion inside. she wasn’t going to allow anyone to see a weakness in her. whether she liked it or not, she was unconsciously following in uriel’s footsteps more than she imagined she would. she longed to have the warmth her mother had but she saw what would happen with too soft a heart. amelia only gave her heart to those she deemed worth it. and when she did, she did she did it hard and strong. never an easy one to pin down.

growing up, amelia was lucky to have edgar. they didn’t always get along but that was the nature of siblings – loving them and shared annoyance at the same time. she wouldn’t let him know it but amelia looked up to him. he was strong in a variety of ways and she, without his knowledge of course, wanted to make him proud. she longed for the wherewithal to stand up for herself no matter who liked it or not. amelia wasn’t one to stand up for herself the way he did. whereas she saw others abuse “standing up for themselves,” amelia learned to keep her composure. she wanted to be seen as having her life together, even if it made her appear cold to those who didn’t know her. — which couldn’t have been further from the truth.

while at hogwarts, the sorting hat surprised her. she assumed she would be placed in ravenclaw. her smarts and curiosity – they were all things she knew she had at just eleven years old. however, amelia didn’t realize that the sorting hat saw other prevalent traits inside her. gryffindor traits to be exact. remaining curious, amelia didn’t ask the hat to place her in ravenclaw. she trusted its insight and was happy to discover parts of herself she didn’t know were there. at such a young age, amelia was more in tune with who she was than those in her year; she was more in tune than others in years ahead of her, to be honest. as she grew, the courage, loyalty and bravery became obvious to her. of course she would be placed in a house to teach her to look inside and find more of herself. it was this that propelled her forth.

as a child, amelia never suspected she would be the type to fall in love, get married or have children. for perhaps the only time, the universe had a twist for her. she found a boy – or rather, a boy found her – following a game of quidditch. she was a beater for her gryffindor house. she was sweaty and in full gear, making her tiny frame much bigger than she actually was. her helmet covered most of her face yet this boy approached her. she had no recollection of who he was or why he would come to her in the aftermath of a quidditch game but there was something endearing about it. amelia found herself wondering about him. eventually that wondering turned into feelings. those feelings turned into honest love. the love could have turned into a wedding but amelia would have her heart broken before that happened. she turned back to believing that her work was where she was meant, not as a wife and definitely not a mother. the wedding provided a beautiful life. one day she would find out what the universe had in store for her and what a surprise that would be.

even before the war began to explode, amelia knew she was meant to assist in keeping order in london. the wizarding world was far too important to her to have vile witches and wizards in the streets. she needed to know she was doing her part for the safety of the innocent. she needed to be a watchdog, a protector – and a member of the wizengamot her father took for granted prior to his death. although she had started in uriel’s footsteps and although she took the spot where he once sat, amelia took her vows to mean something much different. for her, it was not about power. for her, it was about caring for those she walked by on the streets whether she knew them by name or not. if that wasn’t growing into a combination of uriel and yael nothing was. even if it wasn’t intentional, amelia found herself taking some of the best characteristics of both parents — her mother’s love and grace and her father’s passionate iron fist.

amelia’s decision to join the order of the phoenix was not taken lightly – just as any decision she made. she weighed her options and took her entrance into the side of the war she saw just and fit. although there was no chance amelia would come to the side of the death eaters, she did look into what it would mean and where it would bring her. staying neutral appeared to be a solid choice but the problem with that was that it didn’t keep scum away from families, children – the world – at bay. the order. it appeared to be the best option. it was aligned with reasons she became part of the magical law enforcement department to begin with. so it was: amelia would join the dedicated group fighting for the good cause, the just cause. the good cause had always been amelia’s and there she found herself, proud of where she stood in life.

Headcanons:

magic was never enough for amelia. she wanted to work on her body and be able to use it to defend herself if it came to it. being half-blood made it easy for her to start her life studying karate. a wand wasn’t always going to be available. a spell wasn’t always going to work. she believed that her body was an extension of the magical and without mastery of it, she wouldn’t be complete. 

amelia doesn’t really swear. she finds the beauty of vocabulary to be drowned out by unnecessary swearing. when it’s used, it should be used to make a sharp point. of course, there are exceptions to every rule, but those are few and far between.

in amelia’s logical mind, she never thought she would have a storybook romance. it’s not that she thought she didn’t deserve it or want it, but she was always aware of her dedication to making change in the world. amos challenged that, making her want it earlier than she had expected. when their relationship ended, amelia threw herself into her work even further. she knows they’re done but doesn’t know they’re done.

OOC: june / 40 / she + her /est.

[thegenealogy]

1 Chronicles 6: 16-30. "Pure Whiteness."

16 The sons of Levi "Connection":

Gershon,[c] Kohath and Merari.

Gershon= To drive out

Kohath= the obedient, the congregation

Merari=bitterness

17 These are the names of the sons of Gershon:

Libni and Shimei.

Libnei=pure whiteness

Shimei=renown

18 The sons of Kohath:

Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel.

Amram=to rivet them

Izhar= to the high point, (at noon)

Hebron=the place of joining

Uzziel=uz= safe place, the refuge

19 The sons of Merari:

Mahli and Mushi.

Mahli= sickness

Mushi=touchy, ambulant, to depart or remove

These are the clans of the Levites listed according to their fathers:

20 Of Gershon:

Libni his son, Jahath his son,

Libni=my whiteness

Jahath=he will deplete

Zimmah his son, 21 Joah his son,

Iddo his son, Zerah his son

and Jeatherai his son.

Zimmah= scheme

Joah=dove, vexer

Jeatherai=pertaining to remnants

22 The descendants of Kohath:

Amminadab his son, Korah his son,

Assir his son, 23 Elkanah his son,

Ebiasaph his son, Assir his son,

24 Tahath his son, Uriel his son,

Uzziah his son and Shaul his son.

Amminadab=people of liberality, my kinsman is noble

Korah=baldness, frost

Assir=captive, bound one

Alkanah=God has acquired

Ebiasaph=God has gathered

Assir=captive, bound one

Tahath=beneath, to support

Uriel=Light of God

Uzziah=Power of Yah, Yah is strong

Shaul=to ask

25 The descendants of Elkanah: God has acquired

Amasai, Ahimoth,

Amasai=Yah has borne

Ahimoth=my brother is death

26 Elkanah his son,[d] Zophai his son,

Elkanah=go with God, God has acquired

Zophai=honeycomb like, honeycomb of Yah

Nahath his son, 27 Eliab his son,

Nahath=a leader

Eliab=God is my father

Jeroham his son, Elkanah his son

and Samuel his son.[e]

Jerohoam=May the people contend

Elkanah=go with God

Samuel=Name of God, heard of God

28 The sons of Samuel:

Joel[f] the firstborn and Abijah the second son.

Joel=The Lord is Elohim, the Lord is God

Abijah=Yah is my father

29 The descendants of Merari, Bitterness:

Mahli, Libni his son,

Mahli=sickness

Libni=my whiteness

Shimei his son, Uzzah his son,

Shimei= renown

Uzzah=strength

30 Shimea his son, Haggiah his son and Asaiah his son.

Shimei=renown

Haggiah=festal

Asaiah=Yah has made

The Gematria for this section comes from the combination of several queries. First was Zophai, "Honeycomb of Yah" or the "Connected" people of the Kingdom of Israel. Since honeycombs came up yesterday I decided to be more superstitious than normal and follow the threat.

The Gematria says "the Chosen One, One Eight" = my name, Michael (85) = 18=

Yet You Are The Collective Conscience Trapped In Your Own Beast Getting Ready For Eternal Death I Have Been Chosen To Hit The Switch.

It is no coincidence the term collective was returned by the Most High to us through Gematria under these conditions.

Judaism in spite of its emphasis on human evolution and the full partaking of all the advantages and comforts of human accomplishment seems like it just makes people nuts. To collect and connect in this manener in order to be impractical or insane is not of God.

This is also the theme of the Torah Tantra from the above section, which discusses the removal of whitenes, of leprosy from the remnants of the people.

So What Is It?

Tzaraat was an affliction of the skin (or clothing or house) discussed extensively in the Bible (notably the Torah portions of Tazria and Metzora) that would cause the sufferer to become impure and be isolated or “quarantined” from the community. 

The sages explain that tzaraat was actually a supernatural affliction that would usually come about due to a number of sins,8 most notably the sin of speaking lashon hara, evil speech.

Maimonides describes how this came about, as well as why the person afflicted had to be isolated:

This change that affects clothes and houses, which the Torah described with the general term of tzaraat, is not a natural occurrence. Instead, it is a sign and a wonder prevalent among the Jewish people to warn them against lashon hara. When a person speaks lashon hara, the walls of his house change color. If he repents, the house will be purified. If, however, he persists in his wickedness until the house is destroyed, the leather implements in his house upon which he sits and lies change color. If he repents, they will be purified. If he persists in his wickedness until they are burnt, the clothes he wears change color. If he repents, they will be purified. If he persists in his wickedness until they are burnt, his skin undergoes changes and he develops tzaraat. This causes him to be isolated and for it to be made known that he must remain alone so that he will not be involved in the talk of the wicked, which is folly and lashon hara . . .9

"To remove the whiteness, the leprosy and bitterness from the people, drive them to the high point, High Noon in the Jewish Saloon, where one is bound, made captive to the Light of Yah.

Go with God, whom God has made strong, may the people contend only with what God has made, may He cure us all of doubt, may we outwit death, may we live with renown."

For those of you who are interested in Jewish astrology, the appearance of hornets, leprous hornets, and honeycoming in our research is strongly indicative of the interest of the messenger angel, Zauriel, the god of hornets, in the future of the People of Israel.

Signs such as these are closely associated with the onset of Mashiach, a time when the Law will culminate and those who are oppressed will no longer be required to live alongside their oppressors.

[wanna-b-poet31]

A (maybe) 4-part meta on Good Omens: Part 1: Aziraphale’s Abuse and Trauma

SOOOOO I promised myself I wouldn’t get too obsessed with Good Omens but I’ve got some meta-thoughts. 

So, it’s no secret that abuse is prevalent in Good Omens, but the methods of abuse are interesting ultimately working as a catalyst for how Crowley and Aziraphale interact with humans, Heaven, Hell, and each other. 

Several of the characters we see in Good Omens are traumatized by the time we meet them, although some more than others. For example, Newt, for what little we see him is clearly ostracized by everyone around him and he shows signs of trauma via isolation. Until the end of the world, it’s heavily implied that he’s bullied, if not dismissed from the rest of the world due to his explosive tendencies with computers. He’s not shown to have healthy coping skills with the isolation, and although it is ultimately good he doesn’t get his job, and works with Shadwell, and meets Anathema, but he’s unable to express himself in a healthy way or handle his past.  Similarly, due to the stress of saving the world, Anathema is traumatized by the expectations of her family, of being a “descendant” of Agnes Nutters.  

But, both begin recovery journeys by beginning to assert their own needs and well-being. Newt begins forming real, relationships and coping with his loneliness by making friends and Anathema defies her family’s obligation by burning the letters. Overall, it’s a straightforward approach to begin recovering from traumatic events. 

However, Crowley and Aziraphale do not have quite as straightforward a narrative. 

Heaven is unbending. It is clear to both of them that God and her representatives punish independence, asking questions, and having any defined version of a “self”. 

Look at the photo below. It’s an environment that (per my last post) is cold, abusive, and really, isn’t a functional space. Nothing can get done reasonably in here. There aren’t any personal touches and it makes the space devoid of any sense of home. AND THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE HEAVEN, land of milk and honey Heaven. It’s not just bland, it’s much more insidious than that. It’s false transparency, a “nothing to see here” mask that the angels use to belittle, attack, and intimidate each other. 

Then there’s the messy business of the dogmatism Heaven follows that affects Aziraphale throughout the series. We see it first in the garden that questions (a la Crowley) lead to abandonment. The fear of falling, of knowingly being discarded by people/entities that supposedly love one another is a violent space to grow up in and incentivizes the remaining angels to keep their head down and not question actions that are clearly wrong. It is Crowley who asks why it would be okay to kill kids (because it’s clearly wrong) to which Aziraphale responds: “I’m not consulted about policy decisions”. It’s clear that 1000 year after the garden he’s internalizing his conditioning. 

His behavior, especially coming from THE angel who gave away his flaming sword without any hesitation and then LIED to God about it, shows that he clearly knows right from wrong is jarring. But, it’s unsurprising, given the abusive place he is attached to. Heaven’s love for him is conditional and wholly dependant on him being able to do as he’s told, not what might be right. 

It’s also clear that Aziraphale is being abused during the events of the series. While not always physically violent (although I’ll get to that in a second), he is continuously belittled and degraded. 

Take a look at Heaven’s least favorite Asshole: Gabriel

When we are introduced to Gabriel the first few things out of his mouth are insults. Although we’ve had Aziraphale for only like 5 seconds and we already can tell how passionate he is about food. Aziraphale is eating sushi, presumably a favorite food given his familiarity with the chef, and taking some time for himself, and like a good family member offers some to his “fellow”, his “ally”, an entity who supposedly had his back. When the food is refused, it’s presented with a dismissive tone and called “gross matter” that would “sully” his body.  This is is a smack in the face to Aziraphale and he quickly lies, saying he’s only eating to keep up appearances. This shutdown of interests and likes pushes Aziraphale to be like Newt, ostracized from people who are supposed to be his friends. Then, like Anathema, his exposure to the “great plan” and what is expected of an angel is villanizes his interests, causing him to feel shame and associate his individuality and sense of the self with “wrong” or “broken”. 

This differs greatly from how Crowley and Aziraphale meet. Although we see Crowley tempt eve, they talk to each other as equals and Crowley does the one thing Heaven has never done -- tell him he’s doing a good job. There is no harm in eating or enjoying eating but he’s being treated like he’s committing some kind of sin. Crowley, in contrast, reaffirms Aziraphale’s actions and helps relieve his concerns. Gabriel, instead, aggravates his anxiety.

Then, we see Gabriel do one of the more insidious discreditings of Aziraphale’s sense of self at the bookstore.  Whereas Crowley is able to tell when there are new books in the shop and knows that losing the shop is a significant loss for Aziraphale, Gabriel can’t be bothered (more on that at the end). At some level, it’s his disdain for humanity that makes him indifferent at best about the bookstore. But, his disregard for Aziraphale’s livelihood, something that is a clear point of pride and joy, is belittling. He is demanding that Aziraphale drop everything he loves to fight the great war, and while asking to fight is not intrinsically abusive (Crowley too asks Azi to join him and fight), the dynamic is not of equals with the same motivations, rather it is clearly meant to be talking down to Aziraphale. Gabriel sees no value in the shop or his “brother” and if he can’t see it there must not be any. The blow to Aziraphale’s emotional state is apparent in the grimace he gives the two angels. 

Even when Aziraphale, (who does his best to uphold what he has been conditioned to be “right” and after many millennia has grown to trust Gabriel despite no reciprocation) DOES go to Heaven with a plan, news about where the anti-christ is and how to stop it, or push him to be neither satan no saint, he’s met with more belittlement. None of the angels at the meeting believe that Aziraphale can accomplish his goals, but worst than that, none of them are willing to give him the support he needs to achieve his goal. Sure they don’t smite him where he stands for purposing an alternative to the end of the world, but that’s not the same as being a support system he can rely on. He can’t even voice here the reasons why he cares so deeply about Earth or why they may be wrong. He is not their equals in their eyes. 

You can also see it at the park when Gabriel and Aziraphale are running, and Gabriel punches his stomach, telling our adorable angel he needs to lose the gut, devaluing Aziraphale’s worth further. Even the face he makes in the gif below is filled with condescension. He’s not taking Aziraphale, or Aziraphale’s concerns seriously. 

Which brings me to the final nail in Heaven’s abusive coffin via Gabriel. The intended violence of his “sentence” is meant to, like the fall, strike the fear of abandonment, disownment, and death into Aziraphale. There is no scenario (except the one we see) where Aziraphale is meant to make it out of Heaven alive. 

After Armaggeddon’t Gabriel, who knows Aziraphale’s intentions of diverting the apocalypse, if perhaps not the rationale, is pleased to belittle the restrained Aziraphale. There is legit joy in his face when they force Aziraphale to walk into the hellfire. 

In the above gif, you can see that not only is he being verbally abusive, throwing ill-intent insults at Aziraphale, but that he fully expects the fire to kill his supposed brother and PLEASED about it.  

LET ME REPEAT THAT. The place/people who Aziraphale is supposed to love, trust, and be loyal to are ready, and happy to, drop him at a moment’s notice. At this point, considering the layers of abuse already outlined, Aziraphale’s insistence that he can’t be on Crowley’s side because Heaven wouldn’t like it is symptomatic of someone who is longing for a genuine, honest connection and has been “raised” to believe that is Heaven, no questions allowed.   

this is not to say Heaven isn’t above physical abuse towards Aziraphale.

I’ve seen some excellent metas floating around dissecting the Crowley vs. Aziraphale  and the Angel’s vs. Aziraphale “intimidation” (although I can’t find them now, please @ them if you know them) and the bottom line is that Aziraphale is terrified by Uriel and her legion of Angels much more than Crowley ever could. Aziraphale is damn well aware of how violent the angels who aren’t even touching him can be vs. his calm response to Crowley pushing him against a wall. 

Which brings me back to Crowley and Aziraphale. Although I can (and will) do another one of these on Crowley, and dive deeper into the implications of their relationship and the closure they need/got by being on their own side. I want to take a second to articulate just how much Crowley does not (try) to do be this way to Aziraphale. 

I maintain that Crowley, is aware of Heaven’s abusive tendencies due to his fall and the subsequent fear that must have caused other angels, I do not think he’s aware of the levels of mental, verbal, and emotional abuse that heaven throws Aziraphale specifically. The way Aziraphale talks up heaven, you’d suspect he was getting awards left and right, or at least some semblance of respect. But no. In stark contrast to Gabriel, Crowley will entertain Aziraphale’s interests/passions like food and books even if they aren’t something he indulges in often himself. Whereas I said earlier Gabriel dismissed the bookshop and presupposed it was something Aziraphale would be able to drop like a rock, Crowley KNOWS that Aziraphale cares so deeply for his books, his food, and his identity as an angel, that losing any of them would be unbearable. Although Crowley pushes and sometimes goes too fast for Aziraphale, he’s not approaching Aziraphale in bad faith. 

Of the 10 observed historical meetings, we see Crowley initiate at least 6 of them (it could be said the Victorian meeting is also Crowley’s doing, but the jury is out about who called that particular meeting as Aziraphale walks toward Crowley first in that scene). We also see Crowley go out of his way to do things that make the Angel comfortable and does not once break his trust. Although he storms out 3 times in the show, he always uses it as breathing room, before once again seeking Aziraphale out, and doing his best to work on their relationship AS EQUALS. Their dynamic (Which I’ll go into more later) is not on uneven footing, and both parties treat the other with a kindness neither of them is offered by their respective worlds.  

TLDR: Crowley’s love for Aziraphale helps heal him from the abuses of Heaven

Thanks for coming to my tedtalk

[samclownchester]

Supernatural Rewatch 04x10

Heaven and Hell

(Next Episode | Masterlist | Previous Episode)

Ok, there’s a lot to unpack in this episode, let’s see what I can do

Angels and Emotion

We find out that Anna chose to fall, to extract her grace from herself and become human, mostly because she was tired of being perfect like a marble statue, she wanted to feel.

(Side Note: I am so confused as to where her body came from. Did she just like … insert herself into her mother’s womb?? She said she was a miracle birth but like … idk later when angels lose their grace, they always stay in the vessel they had … so what happens when an angel loses their grace without a vessel?)

Anyway, she says:

ANNA I mean it. Every emotion, Dean, even the bad ones... It's why I fell. It's why... why I'd give anything not to have to go back. Anything.

DEAN Feelings are overrated, if you ask me.

ANNA Beats being an angel. … Perfect... Like a marble statue. Cold... no choice... only obedience.

Which brings up a prevalent theme that we see throughout Supernatural which is that being a human is the most desirable thing in this world. It also really solidifies the idea that heaven and angels are not things we want to trust or be (which was admittedly a jarring concept to my little religious 14-year-old self when I first watched this show lol). Supernatural often circles back to this idea, of glorifying the normal and mundane, the little moments that most of us take for granted, that these characters rarely get to experience. Whether it’s the peaceful life the boys never had, or the deep coursing emotions that angels miss out on, Supernatural likes to take moments to remind the viewers to be grateful for the lives we have.

On the topic of angels as “perfect marble statues” though … in this episode  we already learn that this isn’t true about Castiel. He feels something.

DEAN Where's your boss?

URIEL Castiel? Oh, he, uh... He's not here. See, he has this weakness. He likes you.

Uriel already considers Castiel too emotionally compromised to do the job properly. Then when they come at the end of the episode, and he sees Anna and Dean kissing, he is clearly feeling something.

I asked @piades​ what Cas was thinking when Dean and Anna kissed, because I didn’t really want to jump to the often drawn conclusion, and they responded

Which is honestly very similar to this post which talks about longing

And I think that’s accurate and these people are smarter than me so I’m gonna leave it at that ^_^

But, although Cas is clearly capable of some level of emotion Anna still says this to him

CASTIEL I'm sorry.

ANNA No. You're not. Not really. You don't know the feeling.

*thinks about the “you’re playing Sorry” scene in S7 and the “I know what it’s like to be sorry” scene in S9*

Cas has a lot of character development up ahead of him I’m telling you that.

Anna and Dean vs Ruby and Sam

I maintain that Cas is Ruby’s true parallel/foil, but we’ll talk about that in another episode. In this episode Dean connects with Anna and there is such a drastic difference between the way they interact and the way Sam and Ruby interact

Now, Obviously these are vastly different situations but I want to compare them.

We see Ruby talking to Sam trying to pressure him into drinking demon blood, and when he says no she lays on the guilt, not accepting no for an answer.

RUBY No, your abilities -- you're getting flabby… You know what you got to do.

SAM No, I'm not doing that anymore.

RUBY Sam...

SAM I said no.

RUBY Well, then you better pray that Anna gets her groove back, or we're all dead.

When Anna and Dean are talking, she brings up his time in Hell, and he makes it clear he won’t talk about it and she doesn’t ask him to talk about.

ANNA About a week ago, I heard the angels talking... About you... What you did in Hell. Dean, I know. It wasn't your fault. You should forgive yourself.

DEAN Anna, I don't w-want to, uh... I don't want to... I can't talk about that.

ANNA I know. But when you can, you have people that want to help. You are not alone. That's all I'm trying to say.

Now, like I said these are pretty different situations and I could maybe pull different conversations to compare, but what I’m trying to get at with these is that Ruby doesn’t respect Sam’s choices. She will push and push until Sam finally gives her what she wants, where Anna is willing to let Dean take things at his own pace.

(and these are things that you can see if you compare the two different sex scenes as well. I’m not gonna get into it but go watch them if you want, you’ll see what I mean).

((Stop violating Sam’s consent I swear, the neck stabbing threat is still good, I promise 🗡️🗡️))

Dean in Hell

Lastly, we have Dean finally admitting and explaining to Sam what his time in Hell was like. Jensen’s acting in this scene is superb.

But I don’t wanna talk emotions right now, I wanna talk about this

DEAN It was four months up here, but down there... I don't know. Time's different. It was more like 40 years.

The way this is phrased makes it sound like 1 month = 10 years in Hell, but I don’t know if that’s necessarily true. We know they kind of dropped this idea later on in the show, never really touching on it again, but the use of the number 40 is interesting to me, because that is a number used very often in the Bible (ie it rained for 40 days and forty nights after Noah built his ark, Christ fasted for 40 days and 40 nights, etc) and, at least I have always been taught, that the number 40 was not used literally in those cases, but rather as a symbolic number that basically just meant “a very long time.”

So Dean talks about his time in Hell as forty years, he says he held out for thirty years and then caved, but I feel like this is all more metaphorical than literal. I would imagine that in Hell time is a lot more like … Jeremy Bearimy in the Good Place. Not entirely explicable to the human perspective.

Honorable mention moments:

That point near the beginning of the episode when Dean goes to help Ruby and Sam stays to plead with Castiel – switching associations for a moment. Sam talking to the angels and Dean helping the demon.

During the fight scene when Dean saves Cas from Alastair <3

Ruby referencing Godzilla and Mothra – listen there is no way she knew what those were when she was in Hell, she has watched movies since leaving Hell, most likely with Sam while Dean was in Hell. AU where Ruby’s not a horrible person and Sam gets to introduce her to all the movies he loves and other things humans have invented since she died.

[cjrae]

Lucifer Is Not A Nice Guy. Or; Why Chloe Decker will not get a recap of Seasons 1-3.

So, I’ve been running into a lot of commentary and/or fanfic that goes something along the general lines of, “I can’t wait for Chloe to find out everything Lucifer’s been through for her!” The reasoning behind this seems to be a mix and match of the following

- If she had just understood Lucifer’s perspective of the last three seasons, she would have had a better reaction to her partner literally being the Devil.

- If Chloe knew about certain key plot points; Malcom’s bullet, Lucifer killing himself for the antidote, Lucifer killing Uriel to save her, Candy was just about Lucifer protecting Chloe from himself, she would understand just how much Lucifer loves her.

- If Chloe knew about her status as a literal miracle ordained by God, she would see that she and Lucifer were meant to be soulmates (after a potential freakout).

Now, to be clear, I’m not saying that these impulses are necessarily coming from an insane place. All of this seems to be rooted in what is the bedrock of a successful romantic relationship; communication. If Lucifer and Chloe had been communicating more clearly in Seasons 1-3, a lot of their issues would, if not go away, at least be something they could face together as a united front.

Granted, that wouldn’t be much of a TV show, now would it?

But what’s bugging me is an underlying assumption that’s being pretty throughly ignored. If Chloe knew everything that Lucifer had done for her, she would be grateful and would accept Lucifer entirely because he has proved that he loves her.

Stop the bus!

Where have we heard this trope before? I’ll give you a hint - it’s in a lot of places, but it’s very prevalent in romance. The Nice Guy who does Things for the object of his affection, who only learns to return that affection once she knows of his sacrifice and/or actions.

Here’s the TV Tropes page, if you want a refresher. https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/NiceGuy

Um, guys? We do remember who our main character is, right? The Devil is very definitely not a nice guy. Who remembers Chloe’s description of him when she’s confronting him in 1x06 about his container being stolen?

Actually, let’s take a closer look at 1x06 for a minute. All italics are mine.

Chloe: “For the first time, I don’t think you’re being honest with me. You have this mysterious container that was stolen - that someone was willing to kill for. You make shady deals with shady people. You’re violent, your personal records only go back five years and the books from Lux are way too clean.”

This is 100% accurate, everyone. We’ve seen Lucifer engage in every bit of the behavior Chloe accuses him of here. He may not lie to her (as he goes on to reassure her further into the scene), but that doesn’t prevent him from obfuscating the truth. And that’s exactly what he does within this very scene - he tells her two truths about what’s in the container (”a gift from my father” and “Russian dolls”) while concealing what’s actually been stolen (his wings). 

We’ve seen Lucifer be violent before too - before it’s always been pointed at people who we, as the audience, have little to no sympathy for such as the agent Lucifer throws through the glass or Malcom’s drunk partner in the bar. Here in 1x06, though, we see this illustrated twice and not to Lucifer’s benefit. 

First is only a scene later as he quite literally hunts their suspect down through the warehouse, taunting him as he stalks his prey, only for the man to throw himself off the building when Lucifer finally catches up with him and flashes his Devil face. This is already pretty damn disturbing and is demonstrably unnecessary. The police have recovered the container without Lucifer needing to catch and question the man, which makes their suspect’s death not only gratuitous but also means that the man can’t stand trial for shooting the head of the biker gang. Still, Renny was just a “bad guy,” right?

The second time within 1x06 that we see Lucifer become violent is his therapy session with Linda, when she attempts to break through to him with the use of his Father’s name for him - and he screams at her and punches a hole straight through her wall and out the other side in a completely uncontrolled display of celestial strength.

These are important early character moments for Lucifer and they do help us, the audience, establish that Lucifer is not evil. You can see how disturbed he is when Renny throws himself off the building, his shocked, quiet line to Chloe “I couldn’t stop him.” It never occurred to him that someone might kill himself out of fear of him. And he knows, even in that moment, that his behavior in Linda’s office is completely out of line - he doesn’t even look at her, he just runs away and doesn’t go back to therapy until episode 8. 

And this is only a single episode in the first season, people. Lucifer demonstrates over and over that he is not a nice man to the world in general. Part of what makes Lucifer compelling is that we see him begin to offer kindness to others as his own capacity to feel and deal with his own emotions expands.

But a Nice Guy? The trope of the Nice Guy is based on a contractual obligation - I perform acts of service for the object of my affection and in return I receive love/sex/acceptance. 

Huh. I know where I’ve seen favors before in this show and it’s also not something Lucifer does out of kindness.

C’mon, guys. Do we really think Lucifer wanted Chloe to accept him out of a sense of obligation for everything he’s done for her? As if all of his actions in Seasons 1-3 were some kind of favor that is to be repaid with Chloe’s love? This is not to say that some of these major plot events won’t come up in any potential future seasons, but I suspect that if Chloe is brought up to speed on these events they will be connected to a current issue/plot point that’s much more pressing than comforting herself or Lucifer. 

Also, we the fans are able to re-watch and remember what happened. Chloe’s own memories are probably much fuzzier - some major events will stand out, but the fine details are probably pretty faded. Don’t believe me? How well do you remember the details of a work conversation you had a year ago? A month ago? Heck, how about yesterday?

After all, to quote Chloe Decker herself, “Going backwards is not good for anyone.” 

In short, Chloe doesn’t need a recap. She already knows how much Lucifer loves her and some of these events that people keep bringing up are far more likely to cause conflict than understanding if they’re ever brought to her attention. I mean, killing Uriel may very well have been justifiable homicide, given that he was actively threatening to kill two other people, but the idea of presenting a fratricide as proof of love would probably have most sane people run screaming in the opposite direction, let alone a homicide detective. Lucifer dying/killing himself to get to Hell? That’s even worse. 

And let’s not get started on the idea of Lucifer needing to hurt her in order to protect her, (thank you, Candy). The show runners have already teased the idea of Chloe finding out her miracle status, so this one is the most likely past event to come up, I suspect. So, show of hands, who thinks Chloe would be beyond pissed?

Chloe Decker owes Lucifer Morningstar absolutely nothing. That’s what makes her acceptance and love of him so powerful. To introduce these past events is to allow the specter of obligation to color every single interaction they’ve had - along with guilt. And some fans are speculating with the very best of intentions, in the name of open communication.

But we all know where good intentions and guilt lead, now don’t we?

[rimeforge]

grabbed a few of these from the Character solidifying meme because i wanted to do em.

1. How does your character think of their father? What do they hate and love about him? What influence - literal or imagined - did the father have?

So’theas Wildstar was a very strict man. He only had one goal with his children and that was to make them obedient and his views of “perfect”. As it stands, none of the siblings would fall under this category. For Uriel, he was too wily, too rambunctious, even in his teenage and adult life. More so the fact he did not approve of Uriel’s desire towards men. His relationship with his father, especially in later years, would become strained as a result. To this day, Uriel couldn’t say what his feelings for his father were.

2. Their mother? How do they think of her? What do they hate? Love? What influence - literal or imagined - did the mother have?

Uriel was closest with his mother. Telianna was a kind soul, one he learned his patience and understanding from. The one thing he does not agree on is how often she would try to defend So’theas’s actions and words. Uriel feels fortunate enough that Telianna still lives, given the fact they’re the only two surviving members of their family, but since his undeath has seen her barely a handful of times. He wishes he could visit more but, well, that’s pretty difficult to do when she does not recognize him and refuses to accept the boy she mourned and buried (despite not having the body to do so) still walks this land.

3. Brothers, sisters? Who do they like? Why? What do they despise about their siblings?

Uriel has two other siblings; Rhovan and Haeli. He’s got big middle child struggles. Rhovan, his older brother by a good solid hundred years, was always the one watching over them and the one who tried to protect them as much as he could from their father and his harsh words. It was also Rhovan that sparked Uriel’s interest in becoming a Farstrider. Rhovan would later die during the Troll Wars. His younger sister, Haeli, was always the quiet type unless she was around her brothers. She would go to become a magistrix, aiming for the title of Archmage, but her plans wouldn’t be seen through as she would (momentarily) give them up to raise her daughter Veia. Whenever rumor spread to Quel’thalas about Arthas’s invasion plans, Haeli was quick to take Veia to be raised in Dalaran. For years, Uriel wouldn’t hear from her. She would die in front of him later on, along with Veia, during the Purge of Dalaran.

They were all pretty close and protective of each other. They constantly argued and bickered, as most siblings do, but at the end of the day they were still family and that was more important than anything. Uriel misses them every day. He makes a point to visit their family grave site on the anniversaries of their deaths.

22. Who are their friends? Lovers? ‘Type’ or ‘ideal’ partner?

Uriel’s friend group, after the whole shebang that happened with Itillan and Von’delar, is... Damaged, to put it simply. Zatna and himself will likely not be on good terms for quite awhile. If ever again. And it still breaks his heart to think so given how close and inseparable the two were. He still feels a bit awkward around the others, Keizi and Mo’hir especially, and meetings with them are usually punctual and short for fear of more unwanted confrontation about it. At this current point in time, he’s got two friends he knows are still there for him. That being Tiria and her wife Sylmaeise.

As for lovers, Uriel’s evidently got a trend of dating those guys that match his personality. Good humored people, usually, who know how to make him laugh and smile who he knows won’t abandon him. (Well. With the exception of Von with that one, as it stands.)

23. What do they want from a partner? What do they think and feel of sex?

Honestly? He just wants someone to love. Queen intensifies? To cherish and to go on stupidly cheesy dates with.  He wants a best friend he can act a fool with without judgement (double points if they join in with him! They can be stupid together.) Sex is great and all, in his opinion, but he’d much rather focus on the romantic aspect of his relationships. The sex is just a great bonus.

On that subject, his sex drive hasn’t been as prevalent as it used to be. It could just be his working through his grief and other emotions hindering it. Every so often, at least every other week give or take, he does strike the mood to get down and dirty. In those moments, he does have a friends with benefits type deal with a fellow death knight but, really, it’s much more satisfying with a partner he’s romantically involved with rather than these flings.

25. What are their hobbies and interests?

Unsurprising to literally anybody, Uriel’s got a hobby for making cat toys for his feline friends and can often be found fiddling with leathers and other materials as he fashions them into toys. He’s also picked up engineering but he wouldn’t necessarily say it’s engineering. He just likes taking things apart, figuring out how they work, and (attempt) at putting it back together. When asked why he does this, Uriel will simply shrug and say he likes to keep his hands busy. Which isn’t entirely a lie. Keeps the hands busy and the mind focused on something other than his demons.

26. What does your character’s home look like? Personal taste? Clothing? Hair? Appearance?

He doesn’t have much by choice. Too used to losing everything or leaving everything behind. What he does have are a few mementos from Itillan and his former life, a few photos hung up near his bedside, and various feline paraphernalia. (catnip, aforementioned toys and toy scraps, treats, etc.)

32. How does your character react to stress situations? Defensively? Aggressively? Evasively?

His first instinct is usually to fight, if the situation allows for it. He’s pretty reckless in the sense he goes headfirst into danger without really giving much of a second thought about it.This has only gotten worse now that he’s alone as he doesn’t really care what happens to himself anymore. Whatever happens, he probably deserves it anyways.

33. Do they drink? Take drugs? What about their health?

Health isn’t really a concern for someone that’s, well, dead. What does a “healthy” zombie look like? He couldn’t tell you, that’s for sure. Uriel definitely drinks more than he lets on, though.

42. What does your character want most? What do they need really badly, compulsively? What are they willing to do, to sacrifice, to obtain?

Honestly, it’s been a bit weird to have Uriel end up alone. He’s always had someone, both during his life and unlife, so suddenly not having to worry about anyone but himself is... Odd both on an OOC and an IC front. i need to give him nice things he deserves. If asked this question, he would reply with the gif above.. He just likes romance, okay!

However, what he really needs is stability in his life. To make better decisions.

43. Does your character have any secrets? If so, are they holding them back?

His biggest secret that he will take to him to whatever final death may await him is the fact he killed Yasil. With no regrets. And would absolutely do it all again if given a second opportunity. He despises the fact he had to lie about it, thus painting her as a “hero” and one of the lost champions that gave her life to defending Azeroth from the Legion but. The silver lining he clings to is the fact she’s finally out of his life. Permanently.

[shirlleycoyle]

Blood Of Christ

As medical technology advances, and becomes ever more intimate and perhaps even invasive, where will we draw the line—and why? Today's inventive work of speculative fiction, from the brain of Terraform regular (and Daily Beast tech reporter) Blake Montgomery, digs under the skin of the matter. Enjoy. -the ed.

“Oyez! Oyez! Oyez! All persons having business before the Honorable, the Supreme Court of the United States, are admonished to draw near and give their attention, for the Court is now sitting on May 9, 2288. God save the United States and this Honorable Court.”

Attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union: Your honor, we move to introduce Plaintiff’s Exhibit 55, Massachusetts vs. Abraham.

Justice: Any objections from the opposing counsel?

Attorney for the state of New York: Yes, your Honor. The evidence is immaterial. The ACLU is grasping at moral authority by introducing a lurid story of murder into the proceedings. It’s a naked attempt to shore up weak legal reasoning.

Justice: Your response?

ACLU: The precedent set in Massachusetts vs. Abraham buttresses our case that the state is arguing for an unconstitutional regulation of religion that impinges on the First Amendment. Convicting my client of a crime for his refusal on religious grounds to participate in state-mandated medical trials will erode religious liberty. Dr. Luke Abraham was convicted of a crime and imprisoned for a religious practice, and his church collapsed in his absence. Likewise, my client has declined to undergo a nanomachine enhancement experiment conducted by his government, and he has a constitutional right to do so. Citizens are not lab rats, no matter how great the greater good may be.

Justice: The nature of Abraham’s crime makes it difficult to see his conviction as anything more meaningful than the redress of a heinous act, but I’ll allow you the chance to demonstrate the connection, counselor. Proceed.

*

State of Massachusetts, Plaintiff

vs.

Dr. Luke Abraham, Defendant

On the charge of Murder in the First Degree

Jury Trial, Day 7

Date: July 19, 2267

Location: Essex County Superior Courthouse

Before: Hon. Deborah Tola, circuit court judge, referred to herein as The Court

The Court: The court now calls Massachusetts vs. Abraham. Will all parties state their appearances for the record?

Attorney Ives: The State appears via Essex County District Attorney Uriel Ives.

Attorney Jacobs: Dr. Luke Abraham is here in person. Attorney Martha Jacobs on his behalf.

The Court: While we are outside the presence of the jury, it is the court’s understanding that the prosecution wishes to continue calling witnesses today.

Attorney Ives: That’s correct, your Honor.

The Court: Any objections or motions from the defense?

Attorney Jacobs: None, your Honor.

The Court: Understood. Bailiff, bring in the jury.

(The jury entered and was seated.)

The Court: Members of the jury, welcome back. Did anyone attempt to speak to you about this case since yesterday?

(Jury members answered in the negative.)

The Court: Very good. With that, we are ready to proceed.

Attorney Ives: The State calls Sarah Lazarus to the stand.

(The witness entered the courtroom.)

The Clerk: Please raise your right hand.

(Sarah Lazarus, called as a witness herein, having been first duly sworn, was examined by Attorney Ives and testified as follows:)

Q: Mrs. Lazarus, could you tell the jury how old you are and where you live?

A: I’m 39, and I live in an apartment in Salem.

Q: Have you always lived in Salem?

A: No. Until recently I lived on a farm an hour outside the city by hover car.

Q: What was the nature of your accommodations there?

A: I lived in a house that was part of a 500-acre compound owned and operated by the Church of Christ the Physician.

Q: Did you live with any family?

A: My husband passed away several years ago, so my son and I lived together in a small house on the edge of the farm. The church allots living space based on how many people are in your family. We were in that house until, um, my son, I, uh, until we…we…Could I please have some tissues? I’m sorry.

Q: Of course. That’s all right. Take your time.

A: I’m sorry. I’m ready.

Q: Are you yourself a member of the Church of Christ the Physician?

A: I was for most of my life. I left last year.

Q: How did you come to join the church?

A: I was born into it.

Q: Did you choose to leave as a result of the actions of the defendant?

A: Yes.

Q: Is it more common for members to be born into the church than to convert?

A: Yes.

Q: Why is that?

A: Most people outside the church are injected with medical nanomachines very early in their lives, but the church believes that procedure taints the body with sin and won’t allow it. We—um, sorry— they sometimes call the machines “Satan’s blood cells” or “blood pests.” You can’t get into heaven if they’re inside you, and you have to remove them to convert. That process is very painful and possibly deadly. It requires losing a lot of blood and quickly replacing it with transfusions that don’t have any bots. I’ve seen it. It’s horrible. When people learn about it, most of them get scared off.

Q: In your understanding, why are most people outside the church injected with nanomachines?

A: To fight against diseases and heal wounds better than a normal human body could.

Q: For what reasons do people follow through with conversion?

A: Our biggest group of initiates who weren’t church members’ children were Rejectors.

Q: Could you tell the jury what Rejectors are?

Attorney Jacobs: Objection, your Honor, to the witness’ competence. Mrs. Lazarus has received no scientific training and therefore cannot accurately describe the biology of a Rejector.

The Court: Ms. Jacobs, please. The nature of Rejectors is common knowledge taught in the first grade. Go on, Mr. Ives.

Q: Thank you, your Honor. Mrs. Lazarus?

A: Rejectors are people whose bodies can’t accept any nanomachines. The technology can cause severe side effects for a small number of people. The founders of the church were Rejectors.

Q: And why would these people seek out the Church?

A: They typically don’t have anywhere else to go. They’re not allowed to live in most cities or even visit. If a child can’t accept nanomachines, it’s taken away from the parents who can, and vice versa. Some states tried to establish Rejector settlements, but no doctors would go there. Everyone died.

Q: Do you have nanomachines in your blood?

A: I do, yes, as of recently.

Q: The state moves to introduce Exhibit 47, your Honor: “Nanomachine Prevalence in the United States Population and its Effects,” a Harvard University study.

The Court: Any objections, counsel?

Attorney Jacobs: Yes, your Honor. Competence, again. Mrs. Lazarus is not, I will repeat, a trained scientist. She is unqualified to interpret results of such experiments.

The Court: I’m inclined to agree this time. Mr. Ives?

Attorney Ives: The study demonstrates how widespread healing nanomachines are among the people of the United States, which establishes the contrast between medical norms and the uncommon practices of the Church of Christ the Physician. The state will ask Mrs. Lazarus only to read text from the study, not to provide her opinion of it.

The Court: I see. Objection overruled.

Q: Could you read the highlighted words here, Mrs. Lazarus?

A: “We extrapolate from a representative survey and blood tests of 20,000 US citizens that 94% of the US population maintains a functioning level of bloodstream nanomachines as of 2265. Survey respondents reported becoming sick 72% less than the control group of citizens living with no nanomachines at all or too few to observe any healing function. Analysis of blood tests in conjunction with medical records indicated that recuperation from a five common illnesses accelerated 38% among the study group versus the control.”

Q: Thank you, Mrs. Lazarus. So people with nanomachines in their blood recover more quickly from most ailments and fall ill less often than those without. In the absence of these machines, where do church members find healthcare?

A: We train our own doctors, who study current medical treatments and determine what’s acceptable under church doctrine. They go by a code: “The body of Man was made in His image. We will neither harm nor corrupt it.” We call them “Lukes” instead of “doctors,” because when each one graduates from church medical school, he legally changes his first name to Luke after the patron saint of physicians. It’s our—oh, uh— their highest honor and most respected job. No one else in the church bears that first name, and each head of the church, who’s always a doctor, adopts the full name Luke Abraham to signify that he’s the caretaker of the whole congregation. That’s a lifelong position.

Q: Is the current head of the church, Luke Abraham, sitting in this room?

A: Yes.

Q: Could you point him out for the jury?

(The witness identified the defendant as Luke Abraham.)

Q: What is the penalty within the church for injecting nanomachines?

A: A purification rite. It’s seen as treason against your body, God’s ultimate creation, so the injected person is taken to the cathedral for a Letting.

Q: And what is a Letting?

A: When the Lukes discover that someone in the church has been injected with nanomachines, they’ll cleanse him the same way they do converts. They strap the sinner to a steel surgical table, make incisions in his body, and let his blood run. Sometimes they make transfusions. Sometimes they don’t. Father Abraham takes a cup of the sinner’s blood and pours it into a sacred fire. Boiling nanomachines make a squealing sound like lobsters.

Q: That sounds like a brutal procedure. Did people die?

A: Yes. Often.

Q: Did you ever see anyone try to stop them from happening?

A: No. We were too afraid of Father Abraham.

Q: Did law enforcement ever intervene?

A: The police sniffed around a few times about rumors people went missing, but for us there was a lot of shame in talking to outsiders. I don’t think anyone beyond our walls knew about the conversion process or Lettings, even though everyone in the church had seen both many times. If anyone out there—here, I suppose—did know, they didn’t care. Outsiders thought we were freaks regardless of what we did. They would’ve been happy to hear we were killing each other.

Q: Where did Lettings take place?

A: In a dark chamber attached to the central cathedral called the Cleansing Chapel. The walls, the floor, and even the vaulted ceiling are this disgusting faded red. Father Abraham and the other Lukes stand on a circular stone platform, high off the ground, in the center of things. There are scenes of Christ healing people engraved in its sides. The same ones are carved into the Lukes’ ceremonial scalpels.

Q: Your son Isaac, was he injected with nanomachines when he was an infant?

A: No.

Q: Did you want him to be?

A: No. I believed at the time that would be sacrilege.

Q: What did you do when he got sick as a young child?

A: I put him in the Lukes’ care, always to good results.

Q: Was there ever a time when your son didn’t recover while in the Lukes’ care?

A: Last year, when he was 13, he got sick with something I’d never seen before.

Q: Could you describe it for the jury?

A: Um, he had a high fever for weeks. His lymph nodes were so swollen that they formed lumps all over his body. He tossed and turned all night. He would hallucinate during the day or have these appalling nightmares, always of a giant bull with wings. Eating and swallowing anything was painful for him.

Q: Did the Lukes attempt to treat him?

A: They did. They tried several different remedies, but after three weeks, they told me they were done, that they were at their wits’ end.

Q: What did you do?

A: The night they said they couldn’t do anything—basically saying Isaac would die—I had a tantrum in the hospital. I trashed the office of the Luke in charge of his case. Later I went to another Luke I knew well, Luke Silver. He was on the younger side. I had taught him math in the church’s school when he was a child, and he had taken care of Isaac as a baby. I asked him to, um, to…

Q: To do what?

A: …to inject Isaac with nanomachines. Oh, God, I just couldn’t think of anything else to do!

(The witness began weeping heavily.)

A: (unintelligible) die. I’m his mother, for (unintelligible) I loved him so much, and I (unintelligible) I’m so sorry, Isaac. I’m sorry!

The Court: Mrs. Lazarus, I understand that this is a difficult subject, but I must ask you to control the volume of your voice.

A: Ok, I’m sorry, I’m sorry…um, oh, Luke Silver. He hesitated initially, but he did it. I’m convinced he wanted to save Isaac as much as I did.

Q: Did the infusion alleviate Isaac’s illness?

A: It did. He recovered in two weeks. It was hailed as a miracle. Father Abraham preached about it at a Wednesday evening service, about how someone could be “far beyond the hands of Man but still within the grasp of God.” He claimed he and the Lord had healed my son, even though that obviously wasn’t true.

Defendant: You dare question my communion with—

The Court: Dr. Abraham!

Attorney Jacobs: Sit down right now, Luke.

The Court: See that doesn’t happen again, Dr. Abraham. Go on, Mr. Ives.

Q: Could you describe what happened to you and your son in the Cleansing Chapel after he recovered?

A: Yes. Give me one minute so I don’t cry again.

Q: Of course.

(The witness did not speak for several minutes.)

A: Thank you. Ok. Three Lukes dragged me from my house to the cathedral by my arms and hair. I was so scared. The Chapel already smelled like rotting blood and smoke when we arrived. They tied me to a chair in front of the carving in the stage that shows Jesus with Lazarus, which felt like a terrible joke. If they were planning to kill me, I think they would have put me on the platform itself. It seemed like Father Abraham didn’t know I had asked Luke Silver to inject my son.

Q: Was Dr. Silver present?

A: No. I remember thinking he must already be dead.

Attorney Jacobs: Objection—lacks foundation. The witness is guessing at Dr. Silver’s whereabouts without direct knowledge of them.

Attorney Ives: It is the witness’ opinion that it was possible Dr. Silver had been killed.

The Court: Objection sustained. The jury will disregard that answer. Please describe only what you saw, Mrs. Lazarus.

Q: What happened next?

A: The ceremony started after they bound and gagged me. Father Abraham walked Isaac up to the stage. Isaac seemed calm, even though he had seen Lettings before. He was wearing the thin white robe everyone in the church wears for baptisms, Lettings, and burials. Two Lukes were waiting. They strapped him to the steel table. I tried to scream at him to run, but I had a lot of cloth in my mouth. Father Abraham began making incisions him. First the short and shallow cuts in his biceps and calves. I could see his blood start to run off the table. Then he, he…

Q: How did Isaac react?

A: (Inaudible)

Q: Mrs. Lazarus?

(The witness screamed.)

The Court: Mrs. Lazarus!

Q: Sarah, please calm down. Please. We’re almost through.

A: Ok. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. This is so much harder than I thought it would be. Isaac’s eyes had been half-closed, but once Father Abraham started cutting longer and deeper, closer to his heart, they opened wider than I had ever seen. He looked right at me and started shrieking for my help. He was writhing on the table and splashing in his own blood. Isaac was hurting so much. I wanted more than anything to tell him it was my fault, to say I was…

Q: Did Father Abraham say anything during the attack?

Attorney Jacobs: Objection—counsel is leading the witness by calling the defendant’s actions an “attack.”

The Court: Sustained. Rephrase your question, counsel.

Q: Did Dr. Abraham say anything to Isaac on the stage?

A: During a Letting, the entire church watches, even young children, and congregants chant. Father Abraham said the words along with everyone for a while: “I am Abraham. I am Isaac. I am Abraham. I am Isaac. This is my body. This is my blood. This is my body. This is my blood.” Isaac’s blood was dripping off his face as he shouted Bible verses about healing.

Q: Thank you, Mrs. Lazarus. I know this is tough, and I appreciate you being here this morning.

A: Oh, and he also grabbed Isaac’s chin. He would turn Isaac’s head so that they were looking into each other’s eyes as he dug the scalpel in.

Q: How long did the ceremony last?

A: I don’t know. It felt like my whole life. I wanted to close my eyes more than anything, but Isaac kept turning to me. His blood was leaking into his eyes.

Q: Did Isaac die during the Letting?

A: Yes.

Q: How did you know?

A: Father Abraham announced it. He raised his red hands and said, “We have lost our sinful brother to the blood pests. Pray he makes his own journey to a more peaceful place, for he is beyond our help now.” Isaac’s head lolled towards me, but his eyes weren’t moving. They didn’t even seem blue any more, just blank. The whites were red. There must have been a dozen cuts on his face…I’m sorry, I can’t.

Q: I understand. One last question: did Luke Abraham kill your son?

(The witness did not answer immediately.)

Q: Mrs. Lazarus?

A: Yes. He bled my son to death.

Q: Nothing further, your Honor.

The Court: Do you wish to cross-examine the witness, Ms. Jacobs?

Attorney Jacobs: No, your Honor.

The Court: You are excused, Mrs. Lazarus. Thank you for your testimony.

(The witness exited the courtroom.)

*

ACLU: After Luke Abraham was convicted, he was imprisoned for life. Massachusetts filed a slew of subsequent lawsuits that eventually brought the Church of Christ the Physician to bankruptcy, and the church crumbled without its leader. We argue that the conviction of Abraham coupled with the pattern of legal harassment amounts to an intentional dismantling of the Church of Christ the Physician by the state. To wit, the state pursued a de facto legislation of and infringement on religious activity, an unconstitutional act, much like what it has done to my client.

Justice: Thank you, counsel, but you have not proven your point. A jury is asked to consider only the facts of the case, not to weigh a verdict’s aftershocks. The law cannot predict the future. The objection is sustained. Massachusetts vs. Abraham will not be entered into evidence.

ACLU: What? Your Honor! After I read all that to the court?

Justice: Ritual murder committed out of zealotry is not a religiously exempted medical procedure. I agree with the state’s argument that you are making an emotional appeal more so than a logical one.

New York: Thank you, your Honor.

Justice: What happened to Sarah Lazarus after that case? You said the church collapsed after several years, but what of her?

ACLU: She became a leader of the movement against the church.

New York: Somewhat reluctantly, you must admit. She preferred her private life as a teacher in Salem, even with the prejudice against her as a former church member. But the sensation that followed every turn of her case thrust her into an unavoidable spotlight. She said in interviews that she had made an individual decision, not a categorical one, and felt sympathy toward the remaining members of the church. She died of natural causes many years later.

Justice: As natural as they can be, with these machines in our blood.

New York: Yes, your Honor.

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[shirlleycoyle]

Blood Of Christ

As medical technology advances, and becomes ever more intimate and perhaps even invasive, where will we draw the line—and why? Today's inventive work of speculative fiction, from the brain of Terraform regular (and Daily Beast tech reporter) Blake Montgomery, digs under the skin of the matter. Enjoy. -the ed.

“Oyez! Oyez! Oyez! All persons having business before the Honorable, the Supreme Court of the United States, are admonished to draw near and give their attention, for the Court is now sitting on May 9, 2288. God save the United States and this Honorable Court.”

Attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union: Your honor, we move to introduce Plaintiff’s Exhibit 55, Massachusetts vs. Abraham.

Justice: Any objections from the opposing counsel?

Attorney for the state of New York: Yes, your Honor. The evidence is immaterial. The ACLU is grasping at moral authority by introducing a lurid story of murder into the proceedings. It’s a naked attempt to shore up weak legal reasoning.

Justice: Your response?

ACLU: The precedent set in Massachusetts vs. Abraham buttresses our case that the state is arguing for an unconstitutional regulation of religion that impinges on the First Amendment. Convicting my client of a crime for his refusal on religious grounds to participate in state-mandated medical trials will erode religious liberty. Dr. Luke Abraham was convicted of a crime and imprisoned for a religious practice, and his church collapsed in his absence. Likewise, my client has declined to undergo a nanomachine enhancement experiment conducted by his government, and he has a constitutional right to do so. Citizens are not lab rats, no matter how great the greater good may be.

Justice: The nature of Abraham’s crime makes it difficult to see his conviction as anything more meaningful than the redress of a heinous act, but I’ll allow you the chance to demonstrate the connection, counselor. Proceed.

*

State of Massachusetts, Plaintiff

vs.

Dr. Luke Abraham, Defendant

On the charge of Murder in the First Degree

Jury Trial, Day 7

Date: July 19, 2267

Location: Essex County Superior Courthouse

Before: Hon. Deborah Tola, circuit court judge, referred to herein as The Court

The Court: The court now calls Massachusetts vs. Abraham. Will all parties state their appearances for the record?

Attorney Ives: The State appears via Essex County District Attorney Uriel Ives.

Attorney Jacobs: Dr. Luke Abraham is here in person. Attorney Martha Jacobs on his behalf.

The Court: While we are outside the presence of the jury, it is the court’s understanding that the prosecution wishes to continue calling witnesses today.

Attorney Ives: That’s correct, your Honor.

The Court: Any objections or motions from the defense?

Attorney Jacobs: None, your Honor.

The Court: Understood. Bailiff, bring in the jury.

(The jury entered and was seated.)

The Court: Members of the jury, welcome back. Did anyone attempt to speak to you about this case since yesterday?

(Jury members answered in the negative.)

The Court: Very good. With that, we are ready to proceed.

Attorney Ives: The State calls Sarah Lazarus to the stand.

(The witness entered the courtroom.)

The Clerk: Please raise your right hand.

(Sarah Lazarus, called as a witness herein, having been first duly sworn, was examined by Attorney Ives and testified as follows:)

Q: Mrs. Lazarus, could you tell the jury how old you are and where you live?

A: I’m 39, and I live in an apartment in Salem.

Q: Have you always lived in Salem?

A: No. Until recently I lived on a farm an hour outside the city by hover car.

Q: What was the nature of your accommodations there?

A: I lived in a house that was part of a 500-acre compound owned and operated by the Church of Christ the Physician.

Q: Did you live with any family?

A: My husband passed away several years ago, so my son and I lived together in a small house on the edge of the farm. The church allots living space based on how many people are in your family. We were in that house until, um, my son, I, uh, until we…we…Could I please have some tissues? I’m sorry.

Q: Of course. That’s all right. Take your time.

A: I’m sorry. I’m ready.

Q: Are you yourself a member of the Church of Christ the Physician?

A: I was for most of my life. I left last year.

Q: How did you come to join the church?

A: I was born into it.

Q: Did you choose to leave as a result of the actions of the defendant?

A: Yes.

Q: Is it more common for members to be born into the church than to convert?

A: Yes.

Q: Why is that?

A: Most people outside the church are injected with medical nanomachines very early in their lives, but the church believes that procedure taints the body with sin and won’t allow it. We—um, sorry— they sometimes call the machines “Satan’s blood cells” or “blood pests.” You can’t get into heaven if they’re inside you, and you have to remove them to convert. That process is very painful and possibly deadly. It requires losing a lot of blood and quickly replacing it with transfusions that don’t have any bots. I’ve seen it. It’s horrible. When people learn about it, most of them get scared off.

Q: In your understanding, why are most people outside the church injected with nanomachines?

A: To fight against diseases and heal wounds better than a normal human body could.

Q: For what reasons do people follow through with conversion?

A: Our biggest group of initiates who weren’t church members’ children were Rejectors.

Q: Could you tell the jury what Rejectors are?

Attorney Jacobs: Objection, your Honor, to the witness’ competence. Mrs. Lazarus has received no scientific training and therefore cannot accurately describe the biology of a Rejector.

The Court: Ms. Jacobs, please. The nature of Rejectors is common knowledge taught in the first grade. Go on, Mr. Ives.

Q: Thank you, your Honor. Mrs. Lazarus?

A: Rejectors are people whose bodies can’t accept any nanomachines. The technology can cause severe side effects for a small number of people. The founders of the church were Rejectors.

Q: And why would these people seek out the Church?

A: They typically don’t have anywhere else to go. They’re not allowed to live in most cities or even visit. If a child can’t accept nanomachines, it’s taken away from the parents who can, and vice versa. Some states tried to establish Rejector settlements, but no doctors would go there. Everyone died.

Q: Do you have nanomachines in your blood?

A: I do, yes, as of recently.

Q: The state moves to introduce Exhibit 47, your Honor: “Nanomachine Prevalence in the United States Population and its Effects,” a Harvard University study.

The Court: Any objections, counsel?

Attorney Jacobs: Yes, your Honor. Competence, again. Mrs. Lazarus is not, I will repeat, a trained scientist. She is unqualified to interpret results of such experiments.

The Court: I’m inclined to agree this time. Mr. Ives?

Attorney Ives: The study demonstrates how widespread healing nanomachines are among the people of the United States, which establishes the contrast between medical norms and the uncommon practices of the Church of Christ the Physician. The state will ask Mrs. Lazarus only to read text from the study, not to provide her opinion of it.

The Court: I see. Objection overruled.

Q: Could you read the highlighted words here, Mrs. Lazarus?

A: “We extrapolate from a representative survey and blood tests of 20,000 US citizens that 94% of the US population maintains a functioning level of bloodstream nanomachines as of 2265. Survey respondents reported becoming sick 72% less than the control group of citizens living with no nanomachines at all or too few to observe any healing function. Analysis of blood tests in conjunction with medical records indicated that recuperation from a five common illnesses accelerated 38% among the study group versus the control.”

Q: Thank you, Mrs. Lazarus. So people with nanomachines in their blood recover more quickly from most ailments and fall ill less often than those without. In the absence of these machines, where do church members find healthcare?

A: We train our own doctors, who study current medical treatments and determine what’s acceptable under church doctrine. They go by a code: “The body of Man was made in His image. We will neither harm nor corrupt it.” We call them “Lukes” instead of “doctors,” because when each one graduates from church medical school, he legally changes his first name to Luke after the patron saint of physicians. It’s our—oh, uh— their highest honor and most respected job. No one else in the church bears that first name, and each head of the church, who’s always a doctor, adopts the full name Luke Abraham to signify that he’s the caretaker of the whole congregation. That’s a lifelong position.

Q: Is the current head of the church, Luke Abraham, sitting in this room?

A: Yes.

Q: Could you point him out for the jury?

(The witness identified the defendant as Luke Abraham.)

Q: What is the penalty within the church for injecting nanomachines?

A: A purification rite. It’s seen as treason against your body, God’s ultimate creation, so the injected person is taken to the cathedral for a Letting.

Q: And what is a Letting?

A: When the Lukes discover that someone in the church has been injected with nanomachines, they’ll cleanse him the same way they do converts. They strap the sinner to a steel surgical table, make incisions in his body, and let his blood run. Sometimes they make transfusions. Sometimes they don’t. Father Abraham takes a cup of the sinner’s blood and pours it into a sacred fire. Boiling nanomachines make a squealing sound like lobsters.

Q: That sounds like a brutal procedure. Did people die?

A: Yes. Often.

Q: Did you ever see anyone try to stop them from happening?

A: No. We were too afraid of Father Abraham.

Q: Did law enforcement ever intervene?

A: The police sniffed around a few times about rumors people went missing, but for us there was a lot of shame in talking to outsiders. I don’t think anyone beyond our walls knew about the conversion process or Lettings, even though everyone in the church had seen both many times. If anyone out there—here, I suppose—did know, they didn’t care. Outsiders thought we were freaks regardless of what we did. They would’ve been happy to hear we were killing each other.

Q: Where did Lettings take place?

A: In a dark chamber attached to the central cathedral called the Cleansing Chapel. The walls, the floor, and even the vaulted ceiling are this disgusting faded red. Father Abraham and the other Lukes stand on a circular stone platform, high off the ground, in the center of things. There are scenes of Christ healing people engraved in its sides. The same ones are carved into the Lukes’ ceremonial scalpels.

Q: Your son Isaac, was he injected with nanomachines when he was an infant?

A: No.

Q: Did you want him to be?

A: No. I believed at the time that would be sacrilege.

Q: What did you do when he got sick as a young child?

A: I put him in the Lukes’ care, always to good results.

Q: Was there ever a time when your son didn’t recover while in the Lukes’ care?

A: Last year, when he was 13, he got sick with something I’d never seen before.

Q: Could you describe it for the jury?

A: Um, he had a high fever for weeks. His lymph nodes were so swollen that they formed lumps all over his body. He tossed and turned all night. He would hallucinate during the day or have these appalling nightmares, always of a giant bull with wings. Eating and swallowing anything was painful for him.

Q: Did the Lukes attempt to treat him?

A: They did. They tried several different remedies, but after three weeks, they told me they were done, that they were at their wits’ end.

Q: What did you do?

A: The night they said they couldn’t do anything—basically saying Isaac would die—I had a tantrum in the hospital. I trashed the office of the Luke in charge of his case. Later I went to another Luke I knew well, Luke Silver. He was on the younger side. I had taught him math in the church’s school when he was a child, and he had taken care of Isaac as a baby. I asked him to, um, to…

Q: To do what?

A: …to inject Isaac with nanomachines. Oh, God, I just couldn’t think of anything else to do!

(The witness began weeping heavily.)

A: (unintelligible) die. I’m his mother, for (unintelligible) I loved him so much, and I (unintelligible) I’m so sorry, Isaac. I’m sorry!

The Court: Mrs. Lazarus, I understand that this is a difficult subject, but I must ask you to control the volume of your voice.

A: Ok, I’m sorry, I’m sorry…um, oh, Luke Silver. He hesitated initially, but he did it. I’m convinced he wanted to save Isaac as much as I did.

Q: Did the infusion alleviate Isaac’s illness?

A: It did. He recovered in two weeks. It was hailed as a miracle. Father Abraham preached about it at a Wednesday evening service, about how someone could be “far beyond the hands of Man but still within the grasp of God.” He claimed he and the Lord had healed my son, even though that obviously wasn’t true.

Defendant: You dare question my communion with—

The Court: Dr. Abraham!

Attorney Jacobs: Sit down right now, Luke.

The Court: See that doesn’t happen again, Dr. Abraham. Go on, Mr. Ives.

Q: Could you describe what happened to you and your son in the Cleansing Chapel after he recovered?

A: Yes. Give me one minute so I don’t cry again.

Q: Of course.

(The witness did not speak for several minutes.)

A: Thank you. Ok. Three Lukes dragged me from my house to the cathedral by my arms and hair. I was so scared. The Chapel already smelled like rotting blood and smoke when we arrived. They tied me to a chair in front of the carving in the stage that shows Jesus with Lazarus, which felt like a terrible joke. If they were planning to kill me, I think they would have put me on the platform itself. It seemed like Father Abraham didn’t know I had asked Luke Silver to inject my son.

Q: Was Dr. Silver present?

A: No. I remember thinking he must already be dead.

Attorney Jacobs: Objection—lacks foundation. The witness is guessing at Dr. Silver’s whereabouts without direct knowledge of them.

Attorney Ives: It is the witness’ opinion that it was possible Dr. Silver had been killed.

The Court: Objection sustained. The jury will disregard that answer. Please describe only what you saw, Mrs. Lazarus.

Q: What happened next?

A: The ceremony started after they bound and gagged me. Father Abraham walked Isaac up to the stage. Isaac seemed calm, even though he had seen Lettings before. He was wearing the thin white robe everyone in the church wears for baptisms, Lettings, and burials. Two Lukes were waiting. They strapped him to the steel table. I tried to scream at him to run, but I had a lot of cloth in my mouth. Father Abraham began making incisions him. First the short and shallow cuts in his biceps and calves. I could see his blood start to run off the table. Then he, he…

Q: How did Isaac react?

A: (Inaudible)

Q: Mrs. Lazarus?

(The witness screamed.)

The Court: Mrs. Lazarus!

Q: Sarah, please calm down. Please. We’re almost through.

A: Ok. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. This is so much harder than I thought it would be. Isaac’s eyes had been half-closed, but once Father Abraham started cutting longer and deeper, closer to his heart, they opened wider than I had ever seen. He looked right at me and started shrieking for my help. He was writhing on the table and splashing in his own blood. Isaac was hurting so much. I wanted more than anything to tell him it was my fault, to say I was…

Q: Did Father Abraham say anything during the attack?

Attorney Jacobs: Objection—counsel is leading the witness by calling the defendant’s actions an “attack.”

The Court: Sustained. Rephrase your question, counsel.

Q: Did Dr. Abraham say anything to Isaac on the stage?

A: During a Letting, the entire church watches, even young children, and congregants chant. Father Abraham said the words along with everyone for a while: “I am Abraham. I am Isaac. I am Abraham. I am Isaac. This is my body. This is my blood. This is my body. This is my blood.” Isaac’s blood was dripping off his face as he shouted Bible verses about healing.

Q: Thank you, Mrs. Lazarus. I know this is tough, and I appreciate you being here this morning.

A: Oh, and he also grabbed Isaac’s chin. He would turn Isaac’s head so that they were looking into each other’s eyes as he dug the scalpel in.

Q: How long did the ceremony last?

A: I don’t know. It felt like my whole life. I wanted to close my eyes more than anything, but Isaac kept turning to me. His blood was leaking into his eyes.

Q: Did Isaac die during the Letting?

A: Yes.

Q: How did you know?

A: Father Abraham announced it. He raised his red hands and said, “We have lost our sinful brother to the blood pests. Pray he makes his own journey to a more peaceful place, for he is beyond our help now.” Isaac’s head lolled towards me, but his eyes weren’t moving. They didn’t even seem blue any more, just blank. The whites were red. There must have been a dozen cuts on his face…I’m sorry, I can’t.

Q: I understand. One last question: did Luke Abraham kill your son?

(The witness did not answer immediately.)

Q: Mrs. Lazarus?

A: Yes. He bled my son to death.

Q: Nothing further, your Honor.

The Court: Do you wish to cross-examine the witness, Ms. Jacobs?

Attorney Jacobs: No, your Honor.

The Court: You are excused, Mrs. Lazarus. Thank you for your testimony.

(The witness exited the courtroom.)

*

ACLU: After Luke Abraham was convicted, he was imprisoned for life. Massachusetts filed a slew of subsequent lawsuits that eventually brought the Church of Christ the Physician to bankruptcy, and the church crumbled without its leader. We argue that the conviction of Abraham coupled with the pattern of legal harassment amounts to an intentional dismantling of the Church of Christ the Physician by the state. To wit, the state pursued a de facto legislation of and infringement on religious activity, an unconstitutional act, much like what it has done to my client.

Justice: Thank you, counsel, but you have not proven your point. A jury is asked to consider only the facts of the case, not to weigh a verdict’s aftershocks. The law cannot predict the future. The objection is sustained. Massachusetts vs. Abraham will not be entered into evidence.

ACLU: What? Your Honor! After I read all that to the court?

Justice: Ritual murder committed out of zealotry is not a religiously exempted medical procedure. I agree with the state’s argument that you are making an emotional appeal more so than a logical one.

New York: Thank you, your Honor.

Justice: What happened to Sarah Lazarus after that case? You said the church collapsed after several years, but what of her?

ACLU: She became a leader of the movement against the church.

New York: Somewhat reluctantly, you must admit. She preferred her private life as a teacher in Salem, even with the prejudice against her as a former church member. But the sensation that followed every turn of her case thrust her into an unavoidable spotlight. She said in interviews that she had made an individual decision, not a categorical one, and felt sympathy toward the remaining members of the church. She died of natural causes many years later.

Justice: As natural as they can be, with these machines in our blood.

New York: Yes, your Honor.

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