Everyone goes to Heaven

"Oh man, we are SO screwed!"

Ora looked over at her panicking companion.  "Calm down you spineless wimp."

"Calm down?  Don't you know where we are you idiot?!  We're in line for judgment!  You know what they're going to do with us?!"

"Yes I do," Ora said confidently.

"Do you?!  From what I get, Terrorists don't go to heaven!"

"For the last time, we are not terrorists."  Ora said, annoyed.  "The government was corrupted beyond repair, and we had to take it out."

But looking at the endless white, and the other people standing in line, Phillip was not assured.  "Easy for you to say!  You really think heaven is going to believe that?!  You know how many people we killed?"

"A thousand."  Ora said calmly, unconcerned.  "Many innocent, but now they will go to paradise, as we will for our sacrifice."

Her words did nothing to calm Phillip down. 

“Shit, why the hell did I ever listen to you?”

The line they were in continued to move forward at a steady clip.  Ahead, a large throne was starting to come into view, upon which a tall, bearded man was sitting, a giant book stretched open before him.  But beyond the throne…that was what Ora was focused on.  There were a pair of gates, infinitely tall and made out of solid gold, encrusted with the finest jewels and diamonds one could ever imagine.

It was a beautiful sight, making Ora long for what was beyond it…her reward for all she had given and all she had sacrificed.

Before she knew it, Ora was near the front of the line.  Phillip stood behind her, as fidgety as ever, but by now she was ignoring him.  If he wanted to panic at the gates of paradise, let him.  She was going to savor every moment.

"Next please."

Walking up, Ora stood tall and proud before the throne as the man looked at her. 

"Name?"

"Ora Opav."

The book was checked.

"Manner of death?"

"I gave my life to serve the almighty, to rid my country of its corrupt politicians."

After a few moments of reading, the man nodded and scribbled a note in the book.

"Very well.  In you go.  Next."

Ora smiled as she walked past the throne, heading straight for the pearly gates.  There had never been any doubt in her mind about where she was going, and now that she was finally going there, a great joy was spreading through her, greater then any she had ever known on earth.

The great gates parted, allowing her entry.  Ora strode through without hesitating, her anticipation growing by the second.  What glories awaited her behind these gates?  Fields of milk and honey…an army of handsome, well muscled men waiting to serve her every whim…she couldn't imagine what other glories were within paradise for righteous souls such as herself.

Behind her, Phillip followed, surprised that he was even walking through the gates in the first place.  The fact hadn't totally sunk in yet, but from the look on his face, he was incredibly relieved that he would not be sent to the inferno reserved for infidels.

"Oh ye of little faith."  Ora chastised him.  "All you needed was faith, and you would have had no fear."

"Hey look…"  He said.  "How did you expect me to act?  I mean, I thought for sure that Heaven doesn't look too kindly on terrorists."

"For the last time, we are not terrorists."  Ora said.  "We are the righteous ones who took action to stop the heretics from taking over the government and destroying our faith."

"But all those people…"

"Get over it.  This is paradise!  You have nothing to worry about anymore!  I'm sure there are armies of virgins waiting to fulfill your every wish!  You have earned it!"

But despite her words, Phillip continued to look around nervously, as if expecting someone to come up to them at any second, saying that there was a booking mistake, and that he had another destination to go to.

As she walked on, Ora’s unbridled joy began to slide just a little bit. 

The vista before them was not one that Ora had expected.  Like so many juvenile fairy tales, paradise seemed to be made out of clouds.  Millions of fluffy clouds formed together, and among them was appeared to be an enormous escalator stretching up further into the sky, its end completely out of sight. 

Certainly an odd landscape, but who was she to question the wisdom of the almighty?  If he wanted paradise to be made of clouds, who was she to judge it?

Ora started towards the escalator when someone floated down from the clouds, coming to a stop in front of Ora and Phillip.  He was a very tall figure, almost nine feet in height, and with the great billowing wings of silver coming from behind his back, there was no mistaking what he was.

"Hello there."  The angel said.

"Oh shit!"  Phillip said.

"You are an angel of the almighty."  Ora said.

"Yes."  The angel replied.  "I am the one who processes new arrivals.  Before you can ascend, we need to test you on the scale."

Ora looked at him curiously.  "Scale?"

"Yes.  The Heavenly Scale." 

Phillip looked like he was going to have a nervous breakdown.

Getting tired of her companion's endless fretting, Ora looked at the angel.  "We are going to paradise, right?"

"Of course," The angel said.  "All souls, no matter how bad or good, go to heaven."

Ora looked back.  "You hear that Phillip?  Nothing to worry about."

Phillip seemed stunned.  "R…really?  You mean…we're not going to hell?"

"Why would we do that?"  The angel asked.  "It is the nature of the divine to forgive and turn no one away." 

With a snap of his fingers, the angel made an enormous scale appear, towering over him at nearly fifty feet, made out of solid brass. 

Ora looked at them curiously, not sure what to make of it.  She had only heard of scales of judgment from pagan and heretic religions.  But what was this doing here?

"This scale weighs the soul and measures its moral alignment," The angel explained.  "The good and the evil a soul has done, as well as its moral center, will be discovered." 

Phillip's momentary relief whisked away like a feather in the breeze.

"What…what happens then?"

"It depends.  If a soul is good and has done good, it will ascend immediately.  If the soul is good but it has done bad, then it will ascend, but it will receive a light punishment.  If a soul is bad, but has done good, it too will ascend, but with light punishment.  And a bad soul who has done evil will ascend…but it will endure a lengthy punishment."

Phillip's face completely drained of color.

Ora looked at the scale, suddenly beginning to feel nervous.  But she tried to will the nervousness away, figuring that this was only a test to determine her faith.  She had nothing to fear, after all.  She had been faithful and obedient. 

"Come Phillip.  Step on the scale."  The angel said, stepping to one side.  "Do not be afraid."

Phillip hesitated, and seemed to consider running, but no doubt knew how futile that would be.  How could one run and hide here in paradise?  It was impossible.

The angel knew the look very well.  “I can see that you are not an evil soul Phillip.”  He said.  “You need not fear the heavy punishment.”

Though not entirely reassuring, it was enough to coax Phillip towards the scale.  He still hesitated at its base, but did not run.  It took several more moments of silent pondering before he finally, cautiously, stepped onto the scale. 

A needle inside the scale moved over a circle made of gold, grey, red, and black.  It settled on the gold.  Then it spun again, landing on the grey section.

"A good soul who has done bad things."  The angel said, writing the result on a piece of parchment.  "You are at heart, a good soul.  But your morals, while still based on good, slipped.  And though you did evil acts, you regret that you ever did so.  Because of that, you will receive a light punishment."

"And…what's that?"  Phillip asked, shaking and trembling.

"You will be restrained for ten years, after which you will be released."

"R…restrained?"

From the other side of the room, two angels appeared.  They were the same size as the scale angel, but they looked more resolute, their wills unbreakable, immune to pleas for mercy.  Silently, they walked to the scales and stood beside them, waiting for Phillip to step off.

Staring at them, Phillip was shaking more then ever. 

Yet, as Ora watched, Phillip gulped, and suddenly seemed to get some control of himself.  It was as if finally hearing his final destiny had taken all the uncertainty, and with it, the fear, away.

"It's only for ten years, right?" 

The scale angel nodded.

For the first time since before the act against the government took place, Phillip managed a small smile. 

"Well…guess ten years isn't so bad when you've got eternity, right?"  He said, trying to make a joke.  When it failed to get any laughs, he bit his lip, then slowly stepped off the platform and stood between the two giant angels. 

They reached down and took his arms in hand.

"I'll go, I'll go."  Phillip said quickly.  "Just…please don't hurt me."

The angels let go of his arms. 

"What's going to happen to him?"  Ora asked the scale angel.

"Watch."

The angels extended their hands toward Phillip, who flinched at watching them get closer and closer.  Then, without warning, they stopped.

For a moment, nothing happened. 

Then, in the blink of an eye, Phillip’s clothes were suddenly gone. 

He barely had time to recognize that fact before bandages emerged from the angel’s hands, quickly swirling around Phillip, wrapping his body up like a spider wraps its prey in a cocoon.  Around his arms and legs, around his torso and upper body.  Then with another layer, he was completely encased, save his eyes. 

Ora watched in complete shock.  Phillip may have been a dimwitted idiot, barely qualifying as a freedom fighter, but it was still a shock to see him treated this way. 

When it was over seconds later, Phillip was fully wrapped as a mummy, barely able to move.  He could not resist as the angels picked him up.

The angels headed to the escalator, carrying Phillip with them. 

Now alone with the scale angel, it took a moment for Ora to speak.  “That was…unexpected.  It wasn’t what I thought would happen here…” 

Her voice had a hint of fear in it.

“We get that a lot.”  The angel said with a faint smile.  “Now it’s your turn.  Please step on the scale.”

Ora looked at the device.  For the longest moment she stood in place, a feeling in her gut warning her not to step on it.

“Do you need help?”

“No.  I’m perfectly capable of stepping on your device.”  Ora said.  “But why is this necessary?  Isn’t all that we’ve done in life known already?  Our glories and sacrifices?”

“Yes.  But this is really for the benefit of the soul, not for us.”

“But I already know my place.  I know where I’m going!”

“You’ll get there faster by stepping on those scales.”  The angel said with a smile.

A long moment later, and Ora finally stepped onto the scale. 

For a moment, nothing happened.  Then Ora’s weight caused the counter to sink.  The needle moved immediately and settled on the red part of the circle.  Another spin, and it landed on the black section.

“Oh dear.”  The angel said.  “A bad soul who has done bad things.”

“What?  That is not possible.  Your machine has a malfunction.”

“I assure you, our scales are perfectly balanced and maintained,” The angel said.  “They have never malfunctioned since the beginning of creation.”

Ora looked at the machine.  Her earlier bravado was now forgotten, replaced by a deep feeling of fear in her heart. 

“What does this mean?”

The angel looked at her with pity.  “Well sweetie, that readout says you’re a bad soul who has done bad things.  And like I said earlier, those souls get a very, very long punishment.”

“But I don’t understand!”  Ora said.  “I followed all the rules and laws during my life!  I was faithful!  I did my holy and sacred duty to cleanse my country of scum and heretics!  I am not evil!”

The angel sighed.  He had clearly heard this many times before from countless other people. 

“We know you had a hard life Ora.  A very difficult childhood, no parents.  But we can’t ignore the fact that you made the choice to hate others who were different, and that you killed thousands of other people who were not a threat to you.  That’s called murder sweetie, and it’s not right.  We can’t just let that go.”

Ora sensed the large angels before she saw them, walking up behind her.  But she didn’t run.  She thought about it, but she was in shock.  This wasn’t turning out the way she had been told it would.  She was supposed to ascend to paradise and enjoy endless delights for her work on earth!  This wasn’t supposed to happen!

Her stupor broke as the angels took her shoulders and lifted her clean off the scales.

“Let me go!”  Ora yelled, twisting in their grip.  “Let me go!”

“I’m sorry Ora, but we have to do this.”  The scale angel said sadly.  “Just try to relax.  It’ll be easier that way.”

Ora’s clothes were vanishing off her body, leaving her completely naked.  The fact shamed her deeply, making her instinctively try to cover herself, but she could only manage to twist her legs; as her arms were held fast and she couldn’t move them.

The angels moved their hands towards Ora.  She struggled, knowing that she was going to share Phillip’s fate. 

Sure enough, white bandages appeared from their hands, winding up and around her.  And just as with Phillip, they began to wind themselves around her. 

Ora struggled and fought, yelling in protest against her treatment.

But the bandages didn’t stop.  They kept coming faster and faster, winding themselves around Ora’s body.  She yelled, frightened as she looked down and saw her legs, groin, and torso covered in perfectly wrapped, tight bandages.

The bandaging continued up and around her body, even going under their hands and around her arms, quickly covering her fingers, wrapping them together into featureless mitts.

“Stop!”  Ora yelled as her legs were slowly, unstoppably pulled together.  “Stop!  I order you stop!  Let me go!”

But it was clear that there was nothing she could do as her legs were tightly pulled together, then wrapped over with bandages, going faster and faster, tightening themselves around her, sealing her legs together.

As she watched the horrid things wind themselves up and around her tummy, Ora couldn’t believe what was happening…she was being mummified!  Wrapped up like her ancient ancestors, only while she was still alive!  No, not alive…she was dead, yet alive, and still being wrapped up. 

She realized, with a horrible chill, that only one thing happened to those who are mummified.

Burial.

The bandages were pulling Ora’s arms in towards her chest, gripping them gently, but firmly as her arms were forced onto her chest, pressed together, hands pointing towards her neck as they were wrapped in place, immobilizing them completely.  And still the bandages came, covering Ora’s body up to her chin before starting back down again, creating yet another layer that composed her cocoon.

She tried thrashing.  She tried to kick her way free.  But she could not resist the forces that were manipulating her helpless body, sealing her tightly into immobility.  She could only watch helplessly as her body was wrapped up until movement was not even possible. 

When the process was finished, Ora was wrapped up and sealed within dozens upon dozens of layers of bandages, turning her into a perfect mummy, with only her head unwrapped.

She was laid down on the ground, long hair draping over her bandaged shoulders.  Ora struggled as much as she could, but couldn’t even move a muscle.  Her wrappings were flawless, without mistake, wrapped with the finest skill and perfect in every way.  Done in such a way that not only was she contained and immobilized, but also fit her like a glove, gently gripping her body.  It was not hot, and was actually rather comfortable, the bandages soft against her skin.  If not for the fact that this was a punishment, her mummification would have been a pleasurable experience.

The scale angel walked over to Ora’s form, knelt beside her. 

“Do not be afraid.”  He said.  “You will not be harmed, nor will you suffer any pain.  This punishment is ultimately for your benefit.”

“Let me go!”  Ora replied.  Too stunned to really try and understand why this was happening, all she wanted was to run from it. 

“I know this is frightening, but please understand that we don’t want to hurt you.  We do love you Ora, but this must be done.”  The angel reached out and gently touched Ora’s cheek.  “You will be confined this way for the total life spans of all those you killed, had they lived.  You will remain like this for five thousand years.”

If Ora had a heart, it would have stopped dead in its tracks.  “Five thousand  years?!”

“But once your punishment is complete, you will be released and allowed to join the others in paradise.”

The other angels reached down and picked Ora up once more, carrying her away from the scales.  The angel in charge of the scales watched them go, sadly shaking his head as she was taken away.  Dealing with those kind of souls was always sad, but at least she hadn’t gotten a tougher sentence like the worst of the corrupted. 

With luck, she would be able to cope with her time and learn from it.

***

The enormous escalator took Ora and the two angels up to heaven. 

When the arrived, it was a sight so beautiful that for a single moment, Ora forgot about her wrappings and the punishment that awaited her, gaping at the beauty of paradise…the trees, the endless green of lush fields, the sparkling buildings and cities made of the finest gems.

The angels, ignoring the sight, turned their attention towards a very large structure that stood out among the beautiful buildings.  It was a large castle, constructed out of grey stones, towering infinitely high, seeming to stretch on forever.

Carried inside, Ora found herself in an infinitely long hallway that was as silent as a tomb.  There were many other souls here, but they were quiet as they walked, looking at the walls, for there were people hanging there.  But unlike the souls freely moving, they were restrained, chained, and otherwise held immobile.  In front of each bound person was a small metal plaque.  As she was carried into the hallway, Ora saw that each plaque described the soul and the crimes they had committed in life, as well as how long they would remain here.  Most were only for a decade, maybe a few, some for a year or two, and a few were would remain locked here for millions of years.

The angels carried Ora deeper into the hallway, walking past countless souls, both free and restrained, until they finally stopped.  There was a blank space near a wall from which a body cage hung, open and waiting for an occupant. 

Ora’s frantic struggles were in vain as her mummified body was put inside the cage.  Cut to fit her figure, its metal embrace was tight and unyielding.  When the front was closed and locked, even more so.

As the angels left, Ora was now left to herself.  If she struggled hard enough, she could make the cage swing slightly, but not too far, for a heavy ball and chain were attached to the bottom, adding weight and ensuring that the cage wouldn’t swing too far.

Ora struggled for several minutes before giving up and going limp, feeling the metal bars pressing against her bandages, making her wonder if she could stand five thousand years like this before going mad. 

Movement across the hallway caught her attention.  To her surprise, Phillip was across from her, dangling from the ceiling in his own cage.  He didn’t notice her, too caught up in brooding the fact that he had ten years to look forward to.

Ora didn’t try to call out to him.  The somber mood in this hallway warned against talking, and instead encouraged quiet contemplation.  The free souls walking among the restrained were doing just that, looking at the plaque in front of each locked up soul. 

Peering down, Ora realized that she now had her own plaque.  She could read it as well.  It told a brief history of her life, as well as the fact that she had killed thousands of innocent people in detonating a homemade nuclear bomb in her country’s capital, all for paradise.

It took her a long time before Ora finally realized what was going on. 

In this realm of peace and justice, she didn’t fit in. 

The spirits here clearly saw who she was and what she had done, and there was nothing she could do.  She was now an exhibit, a display and a warning to others, a reminder of how devastating violence was, and how harmful it was to others. 

In time, she would join those walking free.  But for now, and for the next five thousand years, she would remain here, mummified and locked in this cage.

In the end, Ora had indeed made it to heaven…but not in a way she had wanted. 

05.08.09