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  • Marcus.

  • Open your eyes.

  • Marcus: Where am I?

  • You are about 27,000 light-years from Earth in the Sagittarius constellation,

  • on the outskirts of globular cluster NGC-6440,

  • discovered by human beings

  • 200 and 32 years ago.

  • Turn around for a moment

  • and look up

  • There's single-celled life in the oceans of that planet up there.

  • Life there will eventually become multicellular and terrestrial.

  • Like on Earth,

  • over 99% of the species there will go extinct before one

  • finally makes it to where we are standing right now, on their moon.

  • If I didn't want it that way,

  • then I would not have made it that way.

  • Like a precious metal or jewel, for something to have value, it must be

  • finite.

  • Nothing unlimited is precious,

  • including life.

  • Sabrina, open your eyes.

  • Sabrina: What's...

  • Sabrina: ...happening?

  • Look at the horizon.

  • You are about to see the sunrise of a red hypergiant,

  • and even though we're far from it, the scorched, desert world you're standing upon is 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit.

  • Nothing lives here,

  • yet there are countless such places strewn about the universe like little motes of dust.

  • Though this entire world is but a mote of dust, so, too,

  • is that red hypergiant when compared to the galaxy it calls home.

  • And though that red hypergiant is but a mote of dust,

  • so, too, is that entire

  • galaxy, when compared to the cloud of galaxies in this tiny corner of the universe.

  • I did not author such massive scale and variety for one type of people to think one type of way

  • Samuel, open your eyes.

  • I brought you to this place at random.

  • We're in a galaxy far from the Milky Way.

  • You did not know this place existed until you saw it.

  • Space travels faster than the light that passes through it.

  • As galaxies move farther apart, their light will eventually cease to reach each other,

  • thus future civilizations, born long after Earth has disintegrated,

  • will know nothing of other galaxies.

  • They'll know a universe of darkness,

  • but you, an organism born billions of years in their past,

  • totally shrouded by time,

  • have seen the beauty of a universe they will never know.

  • I am the Lord your God

  • Throughout your lives I have watched your actions, heard your words, felt your emotions.

  • Sabrina, you were raised as a Muslim and have been a devout follower of Islam throughout your entire life.

  • Please, rise.

  • Marcus, you are a Christian, and though you aren't always steadfast, your faith grew as you got older, and when you died you were firm in your belief.

  • Please,

  • rise.

  • Samuel.

  • You were an atheist who was never convinced of my existence from the moment

  • you first heard about me right up until your death.

  • Why have I gathered you three, of all people, here together after your deaths?

  • You see, I was thinking of building a bar right over there, and I wanted to see what would happen when a Muslim a Christian and an atheist walked into it.

  • [laughter]

  • Yeah, who wants to trade places with the atheist?

  • You heard me.

  • Look, your lives come with consequences, and you will be judged,

  • but, just this once,

  • let us see if you're willing to trade places with this non-believer.

  • Just step forward and raise your hand.

  • Any takers?

  • I see.

  • Very well.

  • Samuel.

  • I like you.

  • Be at peace.

  • [Mr. Darkmatter I don't feel so good]

  • You two on the other hand. Oh boy, do I have some words for you two.

  • Get up!

  • That's your first problem. You think I want you kneeling before me?

  • What's worse: that you think I'm a monster, or that you don't realize you think I'm a monster?

  • Why would I want people worshipping me? Is that what you would want out of your lives?

  • Do you prefer equal, loving relationships, or for people to grovel before you with fear and reverence?

  • Because, let me tell you, that gets old really fast.

  • Every dictator who foolishly desired such power ended up being some of the loneliest people to ever live.

  • Christians, Muslims, there's billions of you now.

  • Billions! And you have so much fear.

  • "God-fearing" is an actual phrase now, and it's supposed to be a good thing.

  • Is that what you think I want?

  • Fear?

  • Sabrina, Marcus,

  • both of you actually believed that I send people to hell to be tortured.

  • Tortured!

  • Sabrina, why would you worship someone who tortures people?

  • What choice did I have?

  • You can choose to have integrity and you can hope that your creator also has integrity.

  • And if I am an enlightened being - and why wouldn't I be - then should I not also have integrity?

  • Or you can trust those who claim to speak for me.

  • It seems you have done the latter.

  • Marcus, why would you worship someone who tortures people?

  • I-I-I just... I just trusted that you would know what's just.

  • "God is good, god is love."

  • Love?

  • Since- since when does love have anything to do with inflicting agony for eternity?

  • You refused to take Sam's place

  • because Sam was an atheist. You believed Sam would go to hell,

  • didn't you?

  • And you trusted that sending Sam to hell would be justice?

  • Sam merely didn't know that I exist.

  • Should I feel insulted because of that? Should that offend me?

  • I-I don't know.

  • Sam didn't know either of you exist, either. Do you feel insulted by that?

  • No.

  • Yet, not only did both of you believe in me,

  • but both of you thought I was a monster who sends people to be tortured forever,

  • and desires the eternal worship of everyone else.

  • I find that incredibly insulting.

  • You offend me

  • Why would I want to be around someone like you?

  • Because...

  • We know better now.

  • Do you?

  • Marcus: Yes!

  • How were we supposed to know?

  • Everyone around us believe these things.

  • They were written thousands of years ago. Our churches, our friends, our

  • families, our whole society

  • believe these things.

  • Samuel didn't.

  • Even though he was alienated for it. He still didn't believe it.

  • Throughout his life, he was the one who was called offensive and called out of line for not conforming,

  • sort of like Jesus was, yet it was the believers who offended me this whole time.

  • It was the believers who nailed Jesus to the cross

  • You think those holy books weren't written by people just like you?

  • They ate,

  • drank, and slept

  • just like you.

  • They had their ideas about what I'm like and they projected themselves onto me,

  • using me to justify their preferences, just like you.

  • They used me to claim that their opinions were objective truths,

  • that their beliefs were knowledge.

  • They didn't know where they ended and I began

  • You worshipped the god of the imaginations of ancient people,

  • who, not unlike the people of your time,

  • used their ideas of God to spread their influence

  • politically, culturally, and morally. You fell for it

  • Sabrina, you fell for it.

  • Samuel did not. I can actually talk to Sam without all that baggage in the way.

  • I can have a relationship with Sam I can be on equal footing with Sam.

  • What am I supposed to do with you two?

  • Show us the truth!

  • Teach the truth to offensive cowards?

  • Have you not been irreparably damaged?

  • No!

  • We're not afraid of you!

  • Good.

  • Now we're getting somewhere.

Marcus.

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