And unto them was born a child destined to mislead those who put their faith in him. And rich men came to pay him homage. Their homage was cash. They found it money well-spent for favors granted. And those without financial means of worship believed he was their Retribution, their Retaliation, their hope against perceived wrongs that sore beset them.

For so he said he was; and they believed him. And he was sorely belabored to fulfill hopes he gave them, for he held them not in as great esteem as he held those with cash. Yet, these less-well-funded believed him still, for he was skilled with words and knew the powers of belief and of the Repeated Lie, for these were in his nature.

And he fashioned unto himself an image: one sent by the Creator, who alone could act as savior to best those who beset his followers. And if he himself did not live the Biblical values his followers held, that was ignored. Lo, this blasphemy went unchallenged, for he said he was Chosen. And so it must be.

As a Chosen, he proclaimed he was above the laws that governed those lesser than he; and those lesser than he cheered his arrogance, and were sore wroth that he was hounded and persecuted for his disregard of the laws that ruled them. And they reveled in the chaos he wrought and reveled to feel the hate he spawned within them.

Michael J. Lee

Durango