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RE: Conception - Karlotta - 05-24-2018
RIPEN
RE: Conception - Karlotta - 05-24-2018
I am a mortal man, like to all, and the offspring of him that was first made of the earth. And in my mother's womb was fashioned to be flesh in the time of ten months, being compacted in blood, of the seed of man, and the pleasure that came with sleep. 1 2
And when I was born, I drew in the common air, and fell upon the earth, which is of like nature, and the first voice which I uttered was crying, as all others do. For there is no king that had any other beginning of birth. For all men have one entrance into life, and the like going out. 3 5 6
Wherefore I prayed, and understanding was given me: I called upon God, and the spirit of wisdom came to me. 7
I preferred her before sceptres and thrones, and esteemed riches nothing in comparison of her. Neither compared I unto her any precious stone, because all gold in respect of her is as a little sand, and silver shall be counted as clay before her. 8 9
I loved her above health and beauty, and chose to have her instead of light: for the light that cometh from her never goeth out. All good things together came to me with her, and innumerable riches in her hands. And I rejoiced in them all, because wisdom goeth before them: and I knew not that she was the mother of them. 10 11 12
I learned diligently, and do communicate her liberally: I do not hide her riches. For she is a treasure unto men that never faileth: which they that use become the friends of God, being commended for the gifts that come from learning.13 14
For wisdom, which is the worker of all things, taught me: for in her is an understanding spirit, holy, one only, manifold, subtle, lively, clear, undefiled, plain, not subject to hurt, loving the thing that is good, quick, which cannot be letted, ready to do good, kind to man, stedfast, sure, free from care, having all power, overseeing all things, and going through all understanding, pure, and most subtle, spirits. 24 25 26
For she is the brightness of the everlasting light, the unspotted mirror of the power of God, and the image of his goodness. And being but one, she can do all things: and remaining in herself, she maketh all things new: and in all ages entering into holy souls, she maketh them friends of God, and prophets. For she is more beautiful than the sun, and above all the order of stars: being compared with the light, she is found before it. 27 28 29
The Wisdom of Solomon, Chapter 7 (~950 BC)
RE: Conception - Karlotta - 05-26-2018
The king walked along the candle-lit corridors of his temple restlessly, lost in thought. No matter how much wine he drank that night, the responsibilities burdened onto him, the countless women he had married in return for their tribes’ loyalty, as well as his own needs and desires wouldn’t grant him sleep. He let his mind wander to the young female servant Shulamite who poured the wine during dinner. He had barely managed to conceal his gazes from his wives, but now the thought of her was a source of great comfort and relief.
His people had arrived at the Zenith of its prosperity after following the commandments of Yahweh for centuries, which he relayed to the prophets via visions and dreams. The Lord had led Abraham from Babylon to the land of Canaan, and then from Canaan to Egypt. There, Moses received the specifications to craft the Tabernacle, Yahweh’s dwelling place, from the gold, silver, and jewels of Pharaoh. The king’s father David had brought it back to Mount Moriah, where the Lord now resided deep in the stones beneath the temple.
RE: Conception - Karlotta - 05-26-2018
All his life Solomon had followed the instructions from his dreams to the best of his abilities, whether they concerned the well-being of his kingdom or the ongoing expansion of the Lord’s residence. The visions were not always clear, but one thing he could always rely on was that the Lord would tell him if one of the gemstones was in the wrong place, one of the large silver mirrors were not polished enough, or if the gold walls and doors that enclosed them were not sufficiently thick and pure. The amount of treasure that Solomon had accumulated was renowned throughout the lands, but what he was building with it beneath the temple had remained a well-kept secret on pain of death.
As great as the spoils of obeying the Lord had turned out to be at this point, Solomon knew that the Lords wrath could be even greater. The great flood, the destruction of the Babylonian cities of Sodom and Gomorra, the culling of Egypt’s first-born sons, all were proof of what befalls those who stray from the designated path or followed false prophets. But Solomon didn’t follow the commandments out of fear, he did so because he saw the wisdom in most of them, which was enough to also carry out those that he did not understand. Solomon approached the golden doors behind which the descent towards the holy of holies began. He pulled on them and the doors slowly swung open.
If the wine will not grant me sleep, then perhaps the Lord will.
RE: Conception - Karlotta - 05-26-2018
Solomon climbed down deep into the tunnel below, which was drilled into the largest single stone known to all who had seen it, few of which were still living.
“The Gate of Heaven” and “The Well of Souls”, the voices have called it. Were they angels? The Lord appears in the form of people known to me in my dreams, like my father. But of the whispering voices I could not even recognize some of their languages.
Solomon arrived in the Tabernacle and the walls of polished silver came to life with his reflections. His head was spinning slightly from the wine, but the awe he always felt here did not subside.
These unspotted mirrors are so wondrous that none would believe their existence lest they saw them with their own eyes. But why, to converse with God, must man behold the reflection of himself? Is it not conductive to blasphemous self-aggrandizement as was perpetrated by the Pharaos? These same riches were taken from them for the sin of declaring themselves as gods, and speaking untrue to the people in the name of god. Is it not so that there is no greater blasphemy than to put words into the mouth of the Lord?
"No, that’s alright. A few white lies here and there can be a good thing, especially if you want to keep friendly relations. What really pisses me off is when people don’t do exactly what I tell them to do." said Shulamite to the king.
RE: Conception - Karlotta - 05-27-2018
Alarmed, Solomon turned his head towards the voice and saw that the servant had entered the Holy of Holies. She even possessed the audacity to speak without being asked.
“Shacrilege! Hav… have you nno regaard fo your king Shlomon’s esp…. ekshplishit command!?” The wine, while not putting him to sleep quite yet, had strong effects on the king’s tongue. “Gettoutof here! Or I’ll throw you out!”
“Really?” She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. “And how do you intend to do that?”
Enraged, the king started towards her, but stopped as he noticed that a mirror separated them. He tried to walk around it and realized that what he saw in front of him was a reflection. He spun around several times, trying to find where she was really standing.
“Wait… don’t tell me. You came in here drunk.”
“What… what trickery is this? Shtop hiding or I shall call the guards to shlaughter you before the Lord for your insholensh!”
“Guards? In here? What part of “none but you may enter after the seal is placed” did you not understand?”
“How… how did you know about that? I…” Solomon’s jaw dropped in astonishment “Are you…”
“I’m god, yes. I thought we’d been over that already.”
RE: Conception - Karlotta - 05-27-2018
“But you appear only in dreams… and in the form of my father or other elders.” He shook his head in confusion. “There were voices here in my waking state too, but never a vision other than my own image.”
“Wait… voices?”
“The ones that spoke of the Well of Souls and of K’Hara”
It was Shulamite’s turn to be perplexed. “Now there’s a name I haven’t heard in a long t… I mean that I won’t hear in… whatever.” Her eyes briefly shifted to one side, as if someone was whispering something into her ear. “Oh… er… you know… you hearing those voices is a side effect of the shoddy craftsmanship of this place. They're reverberations of things that will be said here throughout the ages. From the Babylonians who’ll trash the temple in about 500 years, then the Greeks, the Romans, the Persians, the Arabs, the Ottomans, and a bunch of British archaeologists. I don’t think any of them could have known me as Kara though, so I'm guessing it's just a word lost in translation.”
Solomon looked utterly confused. Shulamite gave him a dismissive wave of the hand. “Whatever… I was getting ahead of myself.”
“But if you are truly god, why do you say you are Kara in the form of Shulamite, and not Yahweh in the form of David? And why do you speak in this peculiar way?”
She shrugged. “Tomayto tomahto. I have more names than I can count at this point. Not my fault you came in here drunk and horny for a peasant.” She inspected her slender figure in what must have been a reflection to her, posing for herself in seductive ways. “Can’t blame you for the latter though.”
RE: Conception - Karlotta - 05-28-2018
“Did you say Babylon will conquer the Temple?” The king needed time to let all of this sink in. “What about Egypt? What are Romans and Ara.. arco.. ists? Do they want to steal the Ark of the Covenant?”
“Er… it’s kind of a long story. I’ll admit to having the tendency to tick people off. Maybe I’ll tell you about it when you’re sober.”
Solomon thought about not re-entering the Tabernacle ever again, suspecting it had been invaded by an evil entity.
“Oh alright. The Babylonians are pissed off because… they feel like I abused them or something. The Egyptians… well… everything was going fine until those idiots decided they’d try to achieve eternal life by using the pyramids in other ways than I told them to. I’m sure Moses conveyed to you how that turned out for them. Anyway… a bunch of them, to who Pharao whatshisname spilled the beans on things he was supposed to keep secret, went to a place called Rome to form a club they call “The Order of Cincinnatus”. Basically a band of pricks who dedicate their lives to being a pain in my butt. They’ll come here too in about a thousand years together with more Romans. But don’t worry about it. I’ll have made enough use of this place anyway by the time they come."
Solomon was not re-assured. He eyed Shulamite suspiciously “If you truly are the Lord, then how can I see you outside a dream, and why do you now reveal things you never mentioned before?” He was starting to think that doing like Pharao wasn’t such a bad idea.
“I dunno man. This Shulamite person can’t seem to shut up about anything. The wine probably has something to do with it too. You know… you’re not thinking straight. It’s like talking to a frikkin Outcast while he’s high like a kite.”
“Outcast? Do you speak of Ishmael? Or his descendants?”
“Uhm. Yeah? Sure. The children of Ishmael. That’s them.”
RE: Conception - Karlotta - 05-29-2018
Overwhelmed, Solomon had to sit down on the Ark for a while, burying his face in his hands.
“Do not forsaken me and my people as you have the others! You promised a bright future!”
“That’s right. I said that in the past but aren’t you guys living that future right now? In reference to all eternity, I was rather talking about you, Solomon.”
Solomon looked up. “My drunkenness has not caused me to be cast out like Ishmael, then?”
“Are you kidding me? You’re not perfect, but do you know how many other people, of all those I tried to get to build this thing, actually succeeded at this point in human history? Nobody. Pharao almost, but he was a back-stabbing prick. Nah… we’re cool, Solomon. What you currently lack in knowledge, you make up in wisdom, and you’re the smartest guy I could find. That’s part of why I chose you to build this thing. And I think the wine may actually help make it finally work this time.”
“What thing? The Gate to Heaven?”
“Precisely!”
“But I still have so many responsibilities, and no heir that can attend to them when I’m gone.”
“Don’t worry. You’ll be able to work much more efficiently after you’ve been to Heaven. Because basically, you’ll become one with me. In fact that will make you pretty awesome. And you’ll obtain secret knowledge that I couldn’t share unless we’ve become one. I don’t want another Pharao situation. God I a hate that guy. Did I mention he was gay?”
“You’ve mentioned disapproval of it in relation to your wrath over Sodom. But… you said I’d be in heaven for all eternity. So how can I come back to my kingdom after I’ve entered yours?”
“It’s possible, trust me.”
“If you praise me for my wisdom, do you not want me to understand…”
“Oh alright. Your concept of time and space is a matter of perspective, and where you’ll be going… I call it no-where… the passage of time is… you know what? I’m getting tired of explaining things. Just do what I tell you before you sober up, or you’ll burn in hellfire.”
“What must I do so mercy prevails over your wrath?”
“Lay down on the Ark, relax, and look up at the mirror on the ceiling. Imagine you’re afloat amidst a web of never ending reflections of you, which spread through the entire universe. Then imagine they’re not reflections, but that you really are all of them, and that you spread through the entire universe. Also imagine a song and the sound of the vibrations in your mind, like those of the harp that your father David used to play. You know… the same thing we tried before. But apply yourself this time.”
The king obeyed, imagining a song that would please the Lord.
RE: Conception - Karlotta - 05-29-2018
The pain in my head is excruciating. Wine looks harmless but bites like a snake. I swear to god I’ll never drink again.
Ah. You’re awake. Do you know where you are? Try to remember.
At first I thought the answer should be simple, but then discovered in my memories that it was far from it.
I am somewhere. Now. I’m one amidst many. Again. This has happened many times. Times before, after, and now. In many places. The Temple. But I remember more than there was. I remember what will be. The Trailblazer was the first for me, but that time is after the time I’m in now. This is the first time in time.
Who are you?
I’m the one that was at the temple. I was Solomon. But now, I’m also Kara.
Do you know why you’re here?
Kara came into this past reality, so that I can create a future reality in which we won’t be destroyed. Kara will be destroyed by the Coalition fleet that followed the Alliance sleeper ships to Sirius after they conquered Sol. But the reality of Solomon Kara does not contain that fate.