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10/ Virtue
🕑 Added 2023-06-03 05:16:34 +0000 UTC"Theology toys with truth as a cat with a mouse." Paul Valéry
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Kevin was forcibly taken to a secure facility far from his family, the aim being to protect him. He, in this new era of portals and monsters, had died and returned to life. This once again brought the principles of theology into the world's conversation.
Theology, literally being rational discourse about divinity or the divine, about the existence of god or gods.
Through a window, a bearded man in a lab coat watched Kevin, who was seated in a large white room. Around him, numerous people were busy. They were checking his heart rate, his temperature, and all his vital functions.
They had taken him here to protect him, but in reality, that was only a pretext. More than protecting him, they wanted to study him, which was their true intention. From the very first hours when he arrived here, they subjected him to several basic tests.
The man in the white coat watched Kevin stoically. He analyzed him from top to bottom, a beautiful and young boy with caramel skin. Brown hair and piercing gray eyes. The boy didn't seem to want to be here, he had even complained several times. He said he wanted to see his family and that he had nothing to do here.
But, they didn't care, they weren't there to listen to his complaints, they wanted to study him as soon as possible. Then another man came up:
"We finally have him, Professor Juda, the miracle," the man said impatiently.
All these men dreamed of one thing when seeing Kevin. To penetrate the secrets of human existence, through resurrection. Resurrection being the very principle of defying death, leading to immortality.
For at no time or place had such a miracle occurred. Except in one specific place, this kind of event took place in religion.
"With this boy, we touch the concept of the resurrection of the dead deeply ingrained in the eschatologies of the three Abrahamic monotheisms. The belief in resurrection is based on the central affirmation of Israel's faith in God, master of life and death. The God of the Qur'an as the God of the Bible is the one who gives life and who brings death." (Professor Juda)
"You seem to know a lot about religion, professor." (Scientist)
"I am a believer myself." (Juda)
"Then can you explain what you just said?" (Scientist)
"The term 'Abrahamic monotheism' refers to the three groups of monotheistic religions, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, all of which claim Abraham's heritage. In the Christian religion, it mainly concerns Jesus Christ, who died during his crucifixion. Returning to life on the third day, according to the scriptures, that is, on Easter morning." (Juda)
"And what does eschatology mean?" (Scientist)
"Eschatology is the set of doctrines and beliefs about the ultimate fate of man after his death and about that of the universe after its disappearance. More specifically, eschatology is the discourse on the end of the world or the end of time. It is part of theology and philosophy related to the last times, the last events in the history of the world, or the ultimate destiny of the human race, commonly also called the Apocalypse. In many religions, it is a future event prophesied in sacred texts or folklore. More broadly, eschatology can embrace related concepts, such as that of the Messiah or messianic times, the afterlife, and the soul." (Juda)
He watched Kevin grimace as several blood samples were taken from him, which were stored in vials.
"Do you remember the Great Night when the sun faded away, plunging humanity into darkness, from which monsters emerged. Brought by portals around the world. At that time, most people believed it was the end of the world. That the apocalypse had begun and that all men were going to be judged." (Juda)
"How could I forget." The man shivered.
"In a world where monsters come out, or men can shoot lightning from their hands. We thought we had seen everything, an awakened one could heal anyone even in the most pitiful states. But he would die, as powerful as he was he could not bring anyone back to life. Today, however, a young boy has defeated death and returned like the Messiah of the Bible Jesus Christ." (Juda)
"So you're saying this child could be some kind of chosen one?" (Scientist)
"Who knows? It could just as well be just another awakened power." He said, thoughtfully.
"That would be incredible, an awakened one who could bring the dead back to life." (Scientist)
"Let's not get carried away, for now let's start our tests." He declared, touching the glass in front of him, behind which was Kevin.
The man then entered the room, as white as snow, and approached Kevin calmly.
"Hello, my name is Juda, I am the scientist in charge of this place." He said with a smile.
"If you're in charge of this place, send me back to my family." (Kevin)
"Alas, you must understand that for your safety, we cannot do that." (Juda)
"For my safety? If people like you hadn't been so curious and turned everyone against my family, I would have been safe. You can't imagine what people like you have done to my family." Kevin showed strong hostility.
Juda was silent for a moment before responding with a small smile.
"You're right, but isn't it a necessary evil? You have no idea what you represent, kid." (Juda)
"And you have no idea what I represent to my family. A necessary evil, you made them suffer!" (Kevin)
"You know, sometimes the ends justify the means." (Juda)
"You're a damn utilitarian who separates a child from his family to satisfy your morbid curiosity, making them out to be monsters. Taking the common good as an excuse, thus denying individual freedom for the benefit of the collective." (Kevin)
"You seem to be a very intelligent boy." (Juda)
"When you're stuck in a hospital bed waiting to die, you have a lot of time to kill." (Kevin)
"A big reader then I see. So you probably know about Philippa Foot's experiment, you who talk about utilitarianism." (Juda)
"The train experiment." (Kevin)
"Exactly, it's an ethical and cognitive science experiment often used. The experiment goes as follows: A train is out of control and comes to a fork with two distinct tracks. On one of them is a man working, on the second are 5 men. You are next to the lever that can change the train's direction, what would your choice be?" (Juda)
"Logic would have me save the 5 men." (Kevin)
"So you are also utilitarian, because this philosophy asserts that you must necessarily choose the path occupied by only one man. Because it is the best moral option and it is in this context that we separated you from your family. You represent what men have been seeking since their creation. The concept of returning from the dead, immortality." (Juda)
"I don't care! And I didn't answer your question, I just said that logic would have me save those 5 men." (Kevin)
"So what's your answer?" He asked intrigued.
"I will answer you by returning the question, let's imagine now that this one and only person on this track is your mother? Whom would you choose to save, your mother or those 5 men?" (Kevin)
The man looked at Kevin perplexed, he wasn't expecting it and was caught off guard. Bewildered, he finally made the decision to respond after a few brief seconds.
"I would still choose to save the 5 men." (Juda)
"I would pull the lever without hesitation to kill those 5 men and save my mother," Kevin said coldly.
A slight shiver ran through the scientist's body as he looked into the eyes of the boy, who showed no emotion. He was certain that what Kevin had just said, he would do without any remorse.
"That would be pure selfishness." (Juda)
"You, talking about selfishness? Isn't it you with your utilitarian vision and thirst for answers who separated me from my family? Isn't that pure selfishness? The truth is, you are a hypocrite and an idiot who believes he has everything figured out about life." (Kevin)
"I..."
"If I were your child, would you have tolerated someone taking me away from you? Honestly, I prefer for this experiment the objectivist philosophy developed by the philosopher Ayn Rand. Offering a precise moral interpretation of this situation, based on the axiom of non-aggression, a fundamental principle of libertarianism. This principle posits as a moral foundation that no individual has the right to violate the physical integrity of another innocent person." (Kevin)
"The individual freedom of one person should not outweigh the collective. If one person, by sacrificing themselves, can save several lives, they should do so." (Juda)
"Oh really? And who decided that? You? The right to dispose of one's life as one sees fit belongs only to oneself. Would you be willing to sacrifice your own life for others?" (Kevin)
Juda was overwhelmed by his words, he did not expect this child to respond so accurately and intelligently. He was so taken aback that he honestly replied:
"I have a little girl, and I would never let anyone take her away from me or tell me that my life should be sacrificed." (Juda)
"Then why did you do it to me? Simply because I am not your child, and my fate does not directly affect you. You can then justify your actions by claiming it is for the common good. But in reality, your utilitarian vision is nothing but selfish and hypocritical, asking others for things you would never accept yourself." (Kevin)
A dark shadow appeared in the room behind Kevin, but nobody noticed it. Juda had lost all credibility, his curiosity and selfishness laid bare.
He looked into Kevin's eyes, and his gray eyes turned into a deep black, so deep that the man got lost in them, like a sailor lost at sea in a storm.
"And if it were your daughter that I put on those tracks! Would you dare to tell me that you would save those 5 men!" (Kevin)
Goosebumps covered Juda's skin, large drops of sweat running down his face. In Kevin's eyes, he could strangely see his daughter, tied to the tracks. She was crying, calling for help as the ground started to shake it was the train. The young girl cried her father's name, begging him to pull the lever to save her and, in the process, kill the 5 men.
Juda, without hesitation, was about to pull the lever to save his daughter, no longer caring about the lives of those men. But as he was about to pull the lever, a dark shadow stopped his hand. A giant and terrifying shadow engulfed him, completely paralyzing him with fear. The shadow itself lowered the lever, but the direction the train took was towards his daughter.
On the shadow, a sort of malicious and terrifying smile appeared. Juda now wanted only one thing: for this nightmare to stop. Unfortunately, the true nightmare was seeing the train inexorably approaching his daughter. He tried to scream, but the shadow covered his mouth, preventing any syllable from leaving, almost suffocating him.
The train crushed his daughter with a harsh and dull sound that could wake the dead, so horrible was the sound. The sound of a body being crushed under the wheels as body parts detached and flew in different directions, with splatters of blood in various places. The head landed at Juda's feet, and he looked at his daughter's bloodied head with wide eyes.
"AAAAHHHHHH!" he screamed.
Juda, who was facing Kevin, fell backward, terrified, his body covered in sweat. He had witnessed such a horrific spectacle that he began vomiting on the white floor.
The other scientists were about to enter immediately to help him, but he stopped them with a hand gesture. Then he stood up and left the room after a few seconds that allowed him to regain his composure.
When he stood in front of his team of scientists, he said to them :
"We will start tomorrow." (Juda)
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"Our virtues are most often nothing but disguised vices, and hypocrisy is a fashionable vice, with all vices that are fashionable passing for virtues." Molière / François de La Rochefoucauld
