SWNOVELS Chapter The Proposal
“Let me begin by telling you about some things that people, human beings, call superstition. There are other beings that are believed to exist on a parallel plane to ours. These beings are called ghosts, or spectral apparitions, and they are the souls of previously living beings.” Kay has started pacing the floor, refusing to look at the Overlord for the time being.
“Before you laugh at me, or call me a fool, I would like to share with you some personal experiences as well as professional knowledge that I have acquired over the years.” She takes a deep breath, closes her eyes, and prepares to tell him everything she knows about the paranormal.
“If you know anything about human beings, you will know that some of us are significantly more intelligent than others. One such person was Albert Einstein. Now, Einstein actually offered a scientific basis to prove the existence of ghosts. Einstein proved that all energy in the universe is constant and can neither be created nor destroyed. If energy can not be destroyed, then it must be changed. When the energy and essence of a living person ceases to be living, wouldn’t it make sense that the energy could change into a ghost? Since ghosts are often defined as a nebulous haze, and haze is a form of particulates, it makes just as much sense for someone to believe that ghosts are the souls of dead humans instead of a mental problem, right?” Kay pauses in her pacing before moving on with her first point.
“I bring up ghosts because that proves that not only would you be killing living human beings, you would be leaving all of our energy behind in the form of ghosts. Ghosts who would still roam the Earth freely, and though they can’t cause war, they can still haunt any other living organism if they so choose. Thus, potentially creating a war with the remaining animal inhabitants of Earth and also being of such an energy that you can’t get rid of them.”
The Overlord raised a finger to interject, but Kay politely shut him down.
“Sir, I do ask that you bear with me. Hopefully everything will be clear when I am finished.” The finger goes down slowly and the Overlord’s eyes narrow to mere slits, but he allows her to proceed.
“Ok. So ghosts would be one problem with eradicating the human race. Problem number two is that you would be killing every human that is currently doing good, as well as any future humans that could do good. That would mean you are not giving the human race a true chance. We evolve. Yes, sometimes we evolve into negative and violent beings, but sometimes we evolve into geniuses, or martyrs that do more good than any of those that could ever seek to do harm. In the past we had a man named Jesus Christ. He was a very well known spiritual teacher and is the cornerstone of Christianity. He is still talked about every single day. People do good things in his name and try to spread his goodness to others. Mikhail Gorbachev brought democracy to Eastern Europe. Buddha was the spiritual teacher and founder of Buddhism. His works are still practiced today. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a great civil rights leader and preacher. True, he was assassinated, but not before he gave speeches about equality and ending racism. His words are still taught today in the hopes of fulfilling his dreams. Abraham Lincoln, also assassinated, helped end slavery. You also have Nelson Mandela who was the first president of democratic South African and leader of the anti-apartheid movement. Before you ask, that’s basically a movement against separation of humans by race and giving white people more rights and advantages.” Thank goodness Kay hadn’t been out of school too long. Give her a few more years and she wouldn’t have been able to remember half of what she was saying.
“I mention these particular people so you can see that human beings have been trying to right the wrongs of the evildoers on Earth. Sometimes people follow along because they have to. Many soldiers do not want to participate in war, but somewhere there is a leader, a Creator if you will, that makes them fight. More than 65% of Americans alone believe that, though racism is still a problem, there is significantly less of it than in previous years. There are hundreds, maybe even thousands, of people that have preached love, peace, and equality since the beginning of time. Also, if you follow through the years you can see that there’s generally an increase in faith, love, and general peace during, and immediately after, a war or civil disturbance. You see, human beings are always striving to be less violent and cause less damage than the generation before.”
Kay can see that she is getting through to the Overlord. She can see that what she’s saying makes sense to him, but Kay needs it to make sense to The Creator too.
“Ending the human race would be ending the progression of love, peace, and equality on this whole planet. Yes, we have done terrible things. Yes, we have hurt the environment and its inhabitants. Now we are using fuel efficient vehicles, hybrids, and electric cars. We are reducing individual carbon footprints, replanting trees, placing animals in preserves so they have a chance to procreate and prevent extinction. We’re conserving water and reducing our use of oil too. We can’t fix everything overnight, or likely even in a hundred years, but more of us are participating and trying to restore the Earth to its former beauty.” Kay was sweating and on the verge of tears. She knew all of the facts in the world wouldn’t change their minds, but she was hoping for a deeper connection.
“Murders and violent crimes continue to decline and even wars have decreased and/or been less deadly since the Cold War. Most, if not all, religions believe that people are born good. The Catholic Church alone has over 10,000 saints. That’s over 10,000 people that were either good all their lives, did good for part of their lives, or were bad and turned good before death. Even some movie celebrities and sports figures use their fame to help the Earth and other people less fortunate. Polls show that at least 60% of citizens believe that there are more good people than bad. You have always focused on the bad of the world, by your own admission, and not the good.”
Kay stopped pacing, looked the Overlord directly in the eyes and said, “With all of that being said, I would like to implore mercy for my planet. I am not the leader, and never will be, but I will implore mercy for everyone on Earth because I know we all deserve it. You may not see it the same as I do, but if you would be willing to take the information I have given you to The Creator, maybe your Great One would see that there is so much more to Earth than wars, famine, and pestilence.”
Overlord looked at Kay with understanding, and dare she say, caring. He stood and embraced her in what was probably the most awkward hug of her whole life. He released his embrace, held her at arm's length, and proceeded to kiss her forehead.
“Sweet Kay. Dear, sweet, innocent, naive woman. How can I tell you this in a way you will understand? Yes. I will take your words to The Creator and express to him the gravity of the situation, from your point of view. While you have appealed to one of his lowly followers, you may not appeal to the Great One. It will take a great deal of time to get back to my home. However, I will leave all of the members of my race here with Covid, and its ever evolving strains. Whatever happens while I am gone is out of my control, or even the control of The Creator, but I will do as you ask. You are indeed an intelligent human and perhaps you are right.”
Kay looked at him with incredulity. He had complimented her and degraded her all at once. She did understand that he was going back to The Creator and human beings may still have a chance. If her persuasive argument had worked she would have to find a way to thank her 10th grade debate team leader and Persuasive Speaking teacher.
As the Overlord left her building, the 9am appointment arrived.
"Back to work." Thought Kay.