"And now you know the truth" - Mr. Hand, Dark City

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The tribe of Man was created as nothing more than fodder for Those in the Heavens. They were as cattle, raised and bred with mockery and contempt by those they believed would protect them....

Recovering, Lazarus said, ‘Can we not join with the others? Cannot the entire Tribe of Man join as One? In so doing would we not be a contending force, then...?’

And Mariah smiled at her son. ‘Lazarus, in this place there is no trust of one for another. Only the families join, for one must trust one’s family.’ And Mariah focused the energies of Lazarus then, and Lazarus saw the many glowing orbs of those that had become One. They were countless many; yet they were also weak. For Lazarus could feel the energies of the Angels within the universe.

And yet Lazarus sensed a greatness in these glowing orbs of humanity. He believed – he knew – that if the many should combine, their might would be great. Perhaps great enough to combat the false gods of his ancestors.

And Lazarus felt that he could be the one to unite them. Yes, his hatred of the deception of the Lord God would drive him. He knew then that he would be able to unit the Race of Man as One.

And a joy came upon him again. And the others of his family felt this joy, mistaking it for acceptance, and they were joyous also.

‘Yes, mother. It shall soon be over, in this thou art correct; for I see our place in the harmony of life and death.’

‘Thou shalt see all, my son,’ responded Mariah to him. ‘Come join us beyond the light. There shall ye bond as One with us forever, as ye had shortly done before. We cannot combine outside of the light for very long; only within its boundaries may we stay as One.’

And they all moved closer toward the brightness. ‘Come,’ called Mariah. ‘Come into the light.’

‘Come,’ echoed a vast chorus.

‘Into the light.’

‘Come.’

And so he followed them, and a peace settled upon him that he had not known before. And for once, all was well; and the light flowed about them, around and through them; and the others of his family began to bond within his soul, making him as one with them.

And the universe began to open… and then it closed.

For the eyes of the Lord God fell upon Lazarus and his kin, and He saw the plan of Unification within Lazarus. The plan which would threaten His dominion. And Lazarus saw fear in the eyes of God.

‘He knows,’ spake the Lord God to His Chosen.

And then the joyousness left Lazarus, tearing itself from him. And the once inviting light became as fire. And he saw its flames consume his mother and his family, twisting their souls in convulsions of horror and pain.

‘Mother!’ Lazarus cried. Yet it availed him naught, for he could do nothing as her essence was raped and brutalized by the fathomless anger of the False Protector; and Lazarus cried out in impotence as his mother’s soul and those of his kin were ravaged by the Lord God.

Yet these tortures touched not the soul of Lazarus.

And as he watched his family twisted and abused, he heard another voice call his name, a distant voice, yet he could not bother himself with it; for it was then that the Eyes of God turned their wrath upon him.

‘Thy vision shall not come to pass,’ resonated the thoughts of the Lord God within Lazarus.

‘Yea, thine insignificant soul shall forever be banished from the higher realms. Know that they blasphemy shall be housed for evermore within the shell of the material realm. Suffer eternally, knowing ye have the knowledge to help thy people yet ye shall never have the chance to do so. Such is they punishment for your thoughts of blasphemy.’

And the soul of Lazarus burned then with an unholy fire, a fire he was raised to believe only existed within the deepest pits of Hell. And Lazarus screamed a scream of the damned.

And his spirit, bit by bit, was stripped of reason by the intolerable pain. And he was being pulled away from the light, through the tunnel of clouds. Pulled by the voice which had called him before.

Lazarus tried to fight it, but he could not resist.

And a final time did he hear the words of the one who would call himself God: ‘Know, too, that the pain ye have felt shall be delivered unendingly to thy kin for all time. Such is the price of defying the Lord God.’

‘No!’ screamed Lazarus, for knowing his mother would suffer so for all eternity was more than he could bear.

Again, Lazarus heard his name. And the voice which called him drew his essence away from the heavens, and he could not stop his descent. And he was spinning, falling toward a blue brightness beneath him; twisting, turning toward darkened blackness; gasping, pain searing.

Tingling, breathing, tearing at the bindings of his arms and legs. And again the voice : ‘Lazarus, come forth.’

And it was the voice of the Christ.

And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot within his grave clothes; and his face was bound about with a napkin.

And Jesus said, ‘Loose him, and let him go.’