The Joy of Creation

[The Warden]

In the beginning, there was nothing but empty space...

 

[spoiler=The Story]

In the beginning, there was nothing but empty space. There was no sun to embrace the darkness with its warmth, no stars to illuminate the hopeless void, and no worlds to bring life to this lifeless void. Of course, such emptiness is not eternal, no matter how long the wait is. Though it took many eons, soon this void caught the eye of a god looking to create. With a visage beyond mortal words, they looked upon the emptiness, and they smiled. “This is a perfect place to try creation” they said, even though there were none to hear their words, nor were there words to hear in the first place.

 

Bringing to bear their intense might, stars blinked into life around them; an audience of light to witness the impossible. With a sweep of their hands nebulas cascaded through the infinite emptiness, like a river flowing through a land once thought dead. The god did smile from the shimmering rivers of light they wrought, but it wasn’t enough to satisfy. No, they were but the blinking lights and tinsel on their magnificent Christmas tree, and of course, such a tree requires a star to shine brightest of all. Rolling their hands about, elements and laws coalesced, a beautiful sun forming with all the love and care the god could muster. Once their magnificent creation was complete, the celestial being lobbed it towards the center of the universe, where is exploded majestically. Now a true giant of a sun, the miniscule stars and nebula twisted, conforming to the gravity that the center of the universe demanded. The god did look upon this, and they could only manage a weak smile. Sure, while a sun is indeed impressive, there was little to impress afterwards. Just one bang, and then monotony. The god sighed, blowing countless constellations into ruin from their ill-fated breath. “It is not enough,” they decreed, “for a sun and the stars are worthless if there are none to appreciate them” they posited.

 

Raising their hand through the boundlessness of space, the god put all their might towards gathering every last fragment of mass from the galaxy. Drawing particles from lightyears away, the god forged a mighty core for their planet; a glowing mass of molten stone and elements, for which to keep the world warm as endless miles of stone and mantle formed over it, hiding the beautiful work from sight. When the work was done, the god stared upon their floating rock, their creation, their planet. A grey stone, unworthy of attention or time, the god still looked upon it regardless, a fondness stirring in their heart for what they had created. But, would one planet do? Thinking upon the matter for an entire lifetime, the god decided that a second planet would be acceptable. Like its brother the second planet was made the same, and soon they were set in their orbits, with the first son closer to the sun, while the second sat farther away. “Now, for the fun part” the god uttered with an excited grin.

 

Blowing their Breath of Life upon the first planet, life flourished across its surface. Plant life coated the world, and oceans and rivers and lakes and ponds and creeks and puddles dotted the land. The land above water was quite vast, and it was rich in resources and worth. Proud of their first creation, the god barely spared one thought for their second planet. Half-heartedly blowing the Breath of Life, the planet was only barely assailed by it, and the world grew life, however weak it was. Invested now in their firstborn, the god willed their form onto the planet, now at a far more reasonable size. Their reaction was of sheer delight as being the first alive to witness their new world. Standing in a field of the softest grass, the god smiled as wide as they could as their eyes drank in the vision of paradise they had created. All around the beauty of nature grew, with a tranquil and solemn forest to their right, with the nearby trickle trickle of a river to their left. A cool and gentle breeze blew, setting the god’s immaculate robe adrift with their current. The being breathed deeply, filling their lungs with clean and crisp air. They sighed contentedly as pride swelled within their chest, and they knew they had done well with this world. However, it felt truly lifeless without others to embrace and enjoy such a work of art.

 

Drifting along the plain, the god gazed upon their world, and felt the emptiness that dwelt within its heart. It was truly an empty world, and that would not do. Gathering up their knowledge and their might, the being forged a shimmering Seed of Life, and they cast it south, to the ocean beyond the mountains. PLUNK! Sinking into the vast depths, the seed pulsed once, then twice, and then thrice. Unleashing the spirit of creation within, life of the tiniest scale poured out from the seed, filling the ocean with unicellular organisms, the building blocks of what was next to come. Satisfied, time past in a blur for the god, as they waited with bated breath. Days, weeks, months, years, decades, centuries, and millennia passed in the blink of the eye, and the god bore witness to it all. They watched with fascination as the single celled organisms divided and grew, evolving slowly into larger beings. Some were mere blobs, while others took on the basest idea of an animal. The blobs did not live, but the animals did. Past the epochs they grew and evolved, with some remaining small, and others became titanic in their own right. Fierce terrors of the deep, they struck fear into the hopelessly simple minds of their prey. “Survival of the fittest” the god murmured with a grin.

 

To flee the nightmares of the deep, some fish lost their fins and thus gained limbs, surfacing to the land. But without lungs, they gasped for air until they returned to the waves, to suffer the nightmare of living until one body became ready. Unlike all others it surfaced, breathing the clean and fresh air that the world above the waves offered. Drinking it in, the simple creature crawled about, to explore this new world. And in that time the god watched, intangible and unseen to all on the world, but still present to witness this miracle. The god followed the shambling creature, and soon time sped up once more. In time, this simple creature grew larger, much like those beneath the waves, and after more of its kind surfaced, they became the dominant life. Once aquatic and fish-like, these bizarre creatures has scales like their fish brethren, but theirs were dry and rough, so survive the land. Thus, fish became reptiles, and their progeny continued to be so. Countless years whizzed by, and the god watched it all with only mild curiosity, their interest waning from witnessing such pointless and stupid animals. “How boring” the god decreed.

 

Time went faster than ever, the world changing and life evolving above and below the waves. But, after millions of years, something caught the god’s eye. Having amused themselves with the mammalian monkeys and their shenanigans, there was something different about this one group. They had less hair than other primates, and they held themselves higher than others. The god raised a curt brow, one intrigued by sudden possibility. Watching them closely, these strange monkeys seemed far smarter than the others; but then, there is so little competition when you compare yourself to creatures that fling their own sheet. With time progressing, the god’s intrigue could only grow as these strange primates continued to lose hair and their spines straightening, until they only vaguely resembled their roots. The celestial creator’s curiosity only grew stronger as the simian society did. “Humans” the god whispered, no doubt choosing a fitting name for them.

 

The “humans” continued to evolve, learning the arts of tools and family, and of the hunt. There was no end of exhilaration as they hunted with the use of crude strategies, their prey led into traps set so that they may brutally destroy the creature, so that for another day the humans might eat. One such hunt was so spectacular that the god broke out in applause, their claps unheard by all around it. “Splendid, simply splendid” the god uttered giddily, their heart having now found their favourite species.

 

These humans were so fascinating, so enthusiastic, so… curious. The god watched their life as if it were a soap opera. They cheered when the humans succeeded, roared in anger when they failed, and cried bitter tears to see one die. But above all else, they still held their intrigue. They were so simple now, what could happen when they were given time to unleash their full potential? Eager to see, time passed for the god in a blink of the eye, and the humans played out their story for them. Going from simple, unevolved beasts; they soon evolved to greater societies; they went from nomads to claiming land, and finding leaders, and elders. Though they didn’t live for long, wisdom was found in those that did, and it uplifted the humans to far greater. Their villages became towns, and cities, and their ways evolved as they did. They developed languages, their letters and words. They taught themselves these words, until they were inherent. And then they were divided across the land, the languages changing as they did. It impressed the god to no end to see their creation’s ingenuity. But the god wanted more, and they sought it out in one of the more fun aspects of humanity: Their wrath.

 

Humans could be angry at times, and likewise they could be cold. The god once again felt the thrill of their creation when they fought, mobs of humans using their weapons to end another’s life; without remorse or regret. Yes, they thirsted for blood, and it would always quench the god’s thirst when they spilt it. The humans waged many battles in their time, and some villages and towns were put to the torch for being weak. “Survival of the fittest” the god remarked, echoing a sentiment uttered eons ago.

 

But soon, the humans lost their taste for battle, and they set to improving themselves, to… “better”, themselves. Exchanging blade for pen or brush, a renaissance of culture exploded literally out of nowhere, and the god was perplexed and impressed by its creation. From bloody conquerors to artisans, great works were made over the centuries, and their creators were hailed as geniuses. The god had to laugh at that notion. “Any fool can create art. It takes a true genius to create life itself” they boldly posited, their ego overshadowing a feeling of hollowness.

 

Delving into time, the humans evolved. They evolved new technologies, new skills, but it would appear that old habits die very hard indeed. With the advent of new ways to kill, wars broke out, threatening to tear the world asunder. The hollow feeling inside the god disappeared, and with glee they watched excitedly to see battle after so many years wasted on foppish art. While they were skilled their nobler pursuits, in battle was where the humans shone as masters of bloodletting. Some fools described poetry through words, but these wars were poetries of carnage and devastation. They were grim dirges of the lost, and beautiful minuets of bullets whizzing by and the dance of swinging of blades. This is what the god adored most, and their hunger for the human’s most admirable quality grew. However, it would appear that the humans could not stomach it as their creator could.

 

The wars would only last a few years, and the humans would ascribe to peace again. It made the god frown to see them try to be reasonable, when they were much more entertaining when they were unreasonable. It brought no joy to the creator when they merely talked things out, and go their separate ways. Why should they do that? Why should they try to make things equal when they live in inequality? Who were they trying to fool? Clearly themselves, as despite their desires for peace, many humans still carried their greatest skill in their hearts. Yes, it brought a small smile to the god’s face when a suicide bomber wreaked havoc, or when fanatics would take things too far in the name of their fake god. Yes, the creator had to laugh at the human’s faulty ideas of religion; but, they also appreciated the carnage that only worship could bring. Crucifixion, beheadings, witch burnings, or execution. It baffled the god why they aspired for peace when it was clear that violence was their greatest trait. And yet, they fooled themselves none the less, drifting off into a doldrumic life of monotony. It made the god frown as they walked amongst their creation, the lives of millions reduced to nothing more than a tedious nine to five… and the god hated it.

 

The god felt rage in their heart as the humans squandered their lives in pointlessness. They felt fury as to how humans wasted their time on pointless pursuits, and the creator’s own inability to even enjoy the piss-poor excuse of culture they had. They felt hatred at the fact that the most precious gift it had given to them was being wasted on meaninglessness. Above all else, it infuriated the god that they do all of this while trying to pretend that their lives were meaningful. “Foolish and arrogant sheep,” the god scoffed in disbelief, “you waste my gift?” they demanded lividly

 

The god sneered at the humans, and at what a boring waste they had become. They had evolved so far, and instead of fangs and claws they instead bore tax returns and rebates. The creator’s eye twitched, their rage overflowing. The humans, the ones that had borne their interest were no longer worth their attention, and with nothing else being as advanced as the humans, nothing on this planet was worth their time. Summoning up their might, a tremendous storm cloud shrouded the land, and angry bolts of thunder crackled within the supernatural mass. The humans, they stopped and stared, ape-like mouths hanging open. Well humans, as your French say, bon appétit. Thunder rained down, striking the humans with impunity. They fried in an instant, becoming burnt-out corpses that fell to the ground. They screamed, they ran, but they could not escape. The god bore a most wicked grin as they struck down everything in reach, lightning enacting its will as it destroyed all that they could, but it was not enough! No, for the humans to become entertaining again, more was needed.

 

Seeding their will into the soil below, the earth trembled and shook, cracks breaking the human’s pretty roads as earthquakes rocked the world. Corpses and the living alike fell into these trenches, their bodies incinerated by the lava that bubbled up from the core of the world. “What have we done to make you so angry God?” one human begged before a bolt of lightning ended their miserable, worthless life.

 

“By doing nothing with the existence I gave you” the god answered, though none could hear them.

 

For hours the storms raged. Typhoons and earthquakes drained the oceans, and storms and tremors sundered the earth. Lava poured forth to obliterate everything around it, and the population of the world dwindled at the behest of the irked god. Before the day was complete, all life had been wiped off the face of the planet, and the majesty it once held was gone, replaced by an ugly and scarred tumorous mass in its place. “This is not enough” the god decided, and thus they returned to their place upon the stars.

 

The planet that once held its amusement for so long now nothing more than an orange to and so the God reached out with their colossal hand, gripping the planet they had made with such love and care. Clenching tightly, cracks formed along the ruined world, cutting miles deep through soil, stone, and the frozen core. The God's eyes lit up with sheer delight, their smile incapable of widening further as the hunk of rock gave way in their hand. With a sickening CRACK! the planet was no more, just ruins in the hand of its maker. Laughing hysterically, the God cast the stones away, allowing them to float off into the cold depths of space, speaking not of the verdant life it once contained. "Ah ha ha! Those creatures had been so interesting, so curious... so foolish. Heh heh heh, to think, they felt their lives meant something. They thought there was some greater purpose for them, beyond their feeble, mortal existences. Fools. All they existed for was to serve my whim, nothing more. They were but specks on the face of creation, and thus they ultimately had no meaning. Life is nothing more than a shallow dream, a delusion. In the end, once they wake up, the only real meaning in their lives was to die meaninglessly, and that... is just delightful" they smirked with delight, before something drifted across their mind. “Hmm, but what of the other planet?”

 

Casting their gaze to the second planet they had birthed, the god was disappointed to find it dead, bereft of life. It appears that without the god’s love and attention, all life, what little there had been, was gone. Sighing in mild annoyance, the god did reach out, and it shattered the planet, extinguishing its core. With little else to do, the creator regarded the sun it had created, and noted how ugly it had become. With a gentle blow, the sun went out, casting the universe into darkness as the stars and nebula lost their light, and became nothing. And in that nothing, the god did smile. “Well, creation was fun. Maybe I’ll try it again when I need to amuse myself once more” they decreed, and thus they were gone.

 

And in the end, there was nothing but empty space.