(Editor’s note: This is the first part of a series.)
Foolish man: Hello in there. Are you about? You can’t fool me. I know you’re here somewhere, so you may as well come out. Come on, I’m ready. Let’s talk.
Beast: Well, well. This is a bit unusual isn’t it? It’s usually I who seek you out.
Foolish man: It’s true, but the waiting was too painful. Oh, I suppose I’d hoped that you’d left for good, but deep inside, I knew it was impossible. You’re the Grand One, aren’t you? You only send out your hirelings for ordinary purposes. What do they call you, so as to distinguish you from the others?
Beast: I am the Grand Beast. The Killer Beast – the Beast of Greater Madness. The others rage and hiss, but I have a far more serious purpose. Call me the Trickster-Killer if you wish. For indeed, I can have a great sense of humor when I so desire. I can even seem to be at play while I bide my time. I can wait in the greatest silence, then strike so swiftly that defense is out of the question. In fact, it is precisely the unpredictability of my appearance which gives me so much power.
Foolish man: But other than surprise, what gives you such power, such strength? Indeed, you are the strongest creature I have ever encountered!
Beast: But you already know the answer. I am strong because you want me to be. It is that simple. I have the very best and strongest parts of you within my grasp. In fact, I have access to you throughout – your thoughts, your imagination, your memories, your feelings. Without your help I wouldn’t be able to do more than haunt you. But this is more than that, isn’t it my friend? We’re talking about possession here.
Foolish man: I don’t understand! I expected you to look fearsome and ugly. But instead you look exactly like … me.
Beast: But of course! Don’t you see, I must look like you – must be you enough to gain power – so as not to let you make artificial distinctions or talk about disowned selves and all that slop. I am you whenever I want. I am you to the exclusion of everyone else.
Foolish man: That may be, but if I conjured you, I can also make you leave.
Beast: (Harsh laughter) You think so, do you? Well, I’m sorry to inform you, but that’s not the case. The fact is, I can come whenever I wish to. You have no power to bring me here any more than you can send me away when you wish. The choice is mine. Let’s be clear. I am not your pet.
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Foolish man: But this is too horrible! You mean to say that I walk through the world each day thinking I am making choices when in fact you are controlling everything that goes on?
Beast: That is an over-simplification. You people always think in such black-and-white terms. I said I had access to you – not that I was in control. And please, let us not get into one of those tiresome discussions about determinism versus free will. Obviously you have the ability to choose. In fact, you have much more freedom than you dare to admit. The fact is, if you really wanted to, you could put a stop to all this. But the problem is, you don’t want to stop, do you?
Foolish man: I … I don’t know. Sometimes I feel like I’m truly going to go mad. There are times when I pray to let it happen and just be done with it. And yet, somehow, I always seem to stop just short of falling into the abyss.
Beast: That’s because you are not really in danger of going mad. You just play at it. Flirt with it. There is a part of you which is always observing, fascinated, revolted, enthralled and, yes, excited by the drama of it all. If words like “madness” or “possession” are too frightening for you, you may simply think of it as a state of “altered consciousness.”
Foolish man: You talk about it like a high, like a trip. Like kicks. But what about the pain? What about the terror? What about compassion for others?
Beast: Please. Don’t pull dignity and self-righteousness on me. I’m not taken in by you. You have no rights here. Besides, you know as much as I do how much choice is present. Much, much –
Foolish man: Well, if I do truly have the power of choice, then I have the choice not to believe you. After all, are you not the Father of Lies?
Beast: If you don’t mind, let’s leave the worn-out clichés for the television evangelists. The point is this: Once I have gained this much control over someone, I consider the territory I’m occupying to be my domain. True, I am not the landlord, but I cannot be evicted so easily. But this is becoming boring now. I don’t wish to waste my energy in parlor games or cheap melodrama. The fact is, you and I both know that the Final Battle is at hand. And if you’re intent on emerging victorious, I’d suggest you find some new weapons. After all, all the ones you’ve used to combat me thus far – your so called “spiritual armor” – have failed miserably.
Foolish man: You are right! Not only have my tools failed, but I have often been mistaken for being the enemy myself. Moreover, it is always you I am groomed to combat. In fact, without you, I would not be nourished, taken care of – given the space I have for my worldly pursuits.
Beast: So we are allies. We need each other (laughter).
Foolish man: You are enjoying all this, aren’t you? Your pleasure is obscene! It’s true, I have been thoughtless – even cruel at times. But surely I cannot be ranked alongside you. Besides, I didn’t ask for this. I am innocent! Why have I been singled out? Why me?
Beast: Ah yes, the ultimate question. But you already know the answer. This was all decided long ago, when the Grand Design was laid out, if you will. Both of us must acquiesce to this destiny. Both of us must play out our roles. And don’t forget: Without me, your destiny could never be fulfilled.
Foolish man: But where does this destiny come from? Where is it written? Who is the author? Is it in the genes? The collective unconscious? Is it magic – or is it truly the work of God?
Beast: Ah, these same tiresome questions. You like to get lost in them, don’t you? It helps you to avoid the task at hand. Alright then, let us suppose that it is God, as you say. What possible difference would that make?
Foolish man: Because if that were true, it is only a matter of time until you are defeated. You’re just making one desperate, last-ditch effort to take as many people with you as possible.
Beast: Again, you are nitpicking. First, who is to say that particular scenario is accurate? That is only one of countless versions, is it not?
Foolish man: What do you mean?
Beast: You are still buying the notion that if God exists, He is perfect. And I am saying, all the evidence shows the contrary to be true. Just look at the world about you. Do you think a perfect God would allow all this suffering, this misery, this – forgive me for using the term – this hell, to exist? Do you think he would have allowed for Dachau and Auschwitz and Buchenwald? Think of what you are saying! Impossible I tell you! And if He does sit there idly watching as people suffer, then your God is clearly insane! Oh, please – smile my friend! Do you not see the great humor in all this? The absurd fact that people actually worship this … God. This God who allowed his own son to be agonizingly crucified! And for what? To save the wretched bunch of sheep who occupy this pitiful little planet?!
To be continued …
