THE ROOT OF EVIL

 

Every mathematician is

, in a sense, an ancestor

of His.

I didn't know the universe could be changed so easily.

May 1, 2001, contrary to earlier predictions, turned out to be a warm and sunny day. As befits a true student, I emerged from homeroom with two new notes and a black book retrieved from oblivion. I lived just around the corner, in a dingy two-story building with smoking chimneys and perpetually running saws in the garages. This never bothered me; I loved listening to this chaos, dispassionately torn apart by cold steel. I was excited by this chaos I would never understand, which opened forbidden doors in my mind, unleashing ungodly thoughts unbecoming of a thirteen-year-old.

I hated school. It was a place of ordered, artificial chaos created by the aggression of young people and the brutality of teachers who felt they were missionaries on the dark continent.

However, today's math lesson turned out to be something other than boring fraction addition. The math teacher, with an "urgent assignment," went to the teachers' lounge to drink coffee and chat with the Polish teacher. The class was left alone, which could only mean one thing. At first, I was having fun, but then I noticed something interesting. Outside, the sun was shining mercilessly, but inside the classroom it was shaded and cold, so much so that everyone had put on sweatshirts and sweaters, though no one noticed this strange phenomenon. It was as if something was stealing ultraviolet rays, enveloping the school, or even the entire city, in a black barrier or shield. Or was it the end of the world? Perhaps, for unknown reasons, the ozone layer surrounding the globe had thickened, signaling the end of such a magnificent race as the human race? My thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a sharp pain in my temples, which shook me in all directions, until I finally fell under my desk with a loud thud, and a moment later, the chair, crushing me ruthlessly. No one noticed; the kids were busy destroying the classroom and hitting each other. But something grabbed me, pinning me to the ground with a tremendous weight. This "something," I felt, flowing from the teacher's desk, shaped like a book, hitting me directly. With the last of my strength, I crawled under the blackboard, but the last thing I saw was a black cloud of death, or maybe it was just a black cat.

• • •

- This doesn't make sense

- I thought so too

- And the mountains of eternity?

- Yes, they exist beyond the boundaries of the Spheres.

I thought it was unreal, something so distant that it was unreal even with the magic of the Great Thales. Finally, a strong impact woke me from my sleep. I was in school, in a classroom, or so it seemed to me. Nothing was happening normally anymore, the cat was lying on top of me, and it was clearly the one who had hit me. I had no choice but to take the book, pet the cat, and leave the ruined classroom.

She called almost as soon as I got back. She demanded the book, and I pretended to be stupid, saying I had nothing to do with it, that I was lying unconscious under my desk, tormented by strange thoughts. I left the house almost immediately with the most precious bundle I'd ever owned. I headed for the library, where it was always peaceful and quiet. I opened the book, and my hand limply wrote on a piece of paper:

It was truly fascinating, even captivating. This closeness to the unknown was like a drug; finally, an ancient message had reached me. I wanted to solve this, even if it took hundreds of years. But I knew time was short. I was in a hurry, because the mountains of eternity aren't always accessible.

"Hey, Billy, wait for your friend.

" "Wait... wait... you know, come back later

." "What's the matter, Billy, don't you recognize your friend?

" "I do, but after what happened today, I don't want them to see me with you.

" "And..." My voice broke – what happened?

"What you wrote isn't normal, you're not normal yourself. They already know everything, you can't escape them, give in." The words turned into bubbling lava. "Pood, give it up.

" Billy, Billy, wake up, tell me what I wrote

. "How could you? You wrote that you hate everyone, that you hate me, that you must discover the truth, even at such a high price."

"It's true, the sad damn truth. But now I must ask you, let's go there because the truth must come out.

Billy, my best friend, was a great opportunist. This was evident not only during football matches, where, as a loyal fan, he changed his favorite team with every goal or, better yet, every action, but also in school. When it suited him, he liked that nerd from class 2A just to borrow his dream game, but when he got bored with it, he'd give it back, and he treated his "friend" worse than air." To me, he was a faithful friend, never abandoning me even when three "fives" were about to take my bike. We shared a common passion: football, which was a deep breath before diving back into the waters of gray reality. Only one trait in his character irritated me. I hadn't encountered this in other people; it was unique to him. He treated God as a model of virtue and goodness, one who must be surpassed. In this, he was the opposite of me. I was impressed by his willpower in self-improvement, in overcoming his own weaknesses and improving his strengths. However, one cannot be better than God; that is blasphemy.

Therefore, as my best companion, he went with me to where truth could be sought, even though it was hidden beyond our strength and patience.

During a strange dream during math class, I learned that the mountains of eternity lie at the edge of three worlds: Ours, the Imaginary, and the Created. Ours, as was known, must end somewhere. The imaginary existed solely in our minds, so its end is more difficult to determine. However, I had no idea where the created world might lie. What could this mean? Was it created by God? After all, our universe is also created by Him. Billy wasn't overly concerned; for him, it was just another interesting adventure; he didn't feel its deeper meaning at all. He happily drove the car he'd stolen from his father, and the words he'd just spoken, drenched in hot lava, were no longer visible. We'd been traveling for seven days, and on the seventh night, the nightmare came, followed by salvation.

I then learned a crucial thing. I didn't want to believe it, but since it was an angel speaking, I would be a heretic if I didn't acknowledge this biblical discourse in my mind. It turned out that a mystical portal led to the mountains of eternity, hidden in a certain place with a rather interesting name—Kee'n, which means exile in the ancient Yin language. I wasn't given the exact coordinates; I was to follow the directions of the pole star. Surprisingly, it changed its position daily, and while one day I was heading north, the next I was returning south. However, what I remember most was the subsequent conversation with the seraph. After hearing this dizzying information, I asked with genuine fear.

"What is God like?

" "God? And do you even know what you are like? You won't know such a vast being without knowing even a drop of life, the thinnest line of existence, compared to which He... not even that can be compared

. "But I know myself," I replied proudly, immediately losing hope of extracting anything from the angel—I know my destiny, and though it is somewhat convoluted, nothing will prevent me from fulfilling it

. "You want to know God, and you believe in something as material as destiny?"

"Is destiny material? Is the world perceived through the prism of modern man completely different from this heavenly one, so that destiny becomes something mundane and well-discovered?

" "Yes. Destiny is actually a deeper impulse for man, who fulfills God's will and seeks in it some greater power.

" "And this power is our Creator. Tell me, what is He like?"

"So imagine Him looking at a map of the universe and establishing the boundaries of the spheres. Or sitting on a heavenly throne and controlling a multitude of angels suspended in the vastness of time and space. Or even as a beggar standing outside a shop begging for a few pennies. Because He is everything and nothing, therefore, to know Him you must know everything and nothing at the same time, and as you can see, both options are mutually exclusive. Therefore, first you must understand your own person, who is the image of God, and therefore a substitute for eternity and nothingness. Don't be surprised that almost every monk goes to heaven after having perfectly known their body, soul, and mind. Does that explain much to you?

" "No, you told me that knowing God is almost impossible, but I want to learn about some specific qualities, abilities, and peculiarities."

"Then I would have to list all the possible and impossible things and supernatural beings for you. Because He is them."

The angel stood before me for a long time, but I no longer asked any questions; I simply pondered and delved into the increasingly deeper and murkier waters of my mind. A few heartbeats. I understood now that

the vastness of misery and despair, seen in many a movie, had been overshadowed by what I saw as I emerged from a mountain pass into a vast and monotonous valley called Kee'n, somewhere in the northwest of the world. It was a lowland overgrown with grass, human skeletons, and moss growing on those bones. Paradoxically, its existence made me very happy, because here the star had faded, signaling the end of a twenty-day journey.

During those less than three weeks, I didn't speak much with Billy. We usually traveled in silence or listening to the radio. My companion seemed to feel liberated, as he often sang, and once he even took out a ball and we played a little. Yet I sensed that this was only superficiality, that something entirely different was happening deep within. I kept thinking about what he said, about telling me to give up because they were after me. I didn't ask who "they" were, or even ask him to answer these questions, which would only further destroy his mind. But I had too many questions, and something told me I'd soon learn everything.

We spent the night after we'd already traveled a few kilometers into the valley. We didn't know what the portal was supposed to look like or how to activate its power. We didn't even suspect we were sleeping next to it. We found an abandoned cabin and inside were two human skeletons. The beds were in good condition, even, and the entire house looked as it had during the time of the first settlers. There was only one room and a bedroom, where I decided to spend the night. The modest room contained a mattress, a cabinet, and a dresser, which I immediately searched. I found only dust and cobwebs, so I approached the cabinet a bit skeptically. My heart pounded, I called Billy, and picked up an apple.

The fruit of the knowledge of good and evil now lay in my hand, or rather, an apple core that looked as if someone had just eaten it, not millions of years ago. It was truly astonishing, so much so that I wondered if I had sinned by taking this sacred relic. Carefully placing the fruit in my hand, I approached the bones of my ancestors, gleaming white. It was incredible that these two individuals had given rise to the entire human race.

My amazement couldn't last long. After a moment, I heard Billy's muffled groan, which could only mean one thing. I had felt him moments ago behind me, but now behind me stood only hundreds of demons, led by my "mathematician," slowly transforming into a cuckold.

"Give me the book, you won't suffer long, and don't try to fight heroically for this God of yours," only such a being could speak with such a voice.

"Only thanks to God I am here, only thanks to his plan, his destiny, the angels, Adam and Eve."

"Look how your great ancestors ended up," the demon pointed to the rotting remains, "and to console you, I want to tell you that it was thanks to them that Satan was able to create hell.

" "Stop it! Do you want the book? Then why did you let it fall into my hands? Why didn't I miss it?

" "Because you don't have a soul. You don't and never did."

I didn't want to hear it; no one would. Fortunately, what I could once have called fate, a portal opened, letting me into the mountains of eternity.

• • •

I woke up as if after a long nightmare, so a bit sleep-deprived and aching. The first thing I saw was the face of an old man, an old man who had been through his share and yet was still alive despite these several hundred years.

"Where am I and what time is it?" I asked in a rather commanding tone, but that was what common sense told me.

"You're in the mountains of eternity, you know that well, and there's no such thing as time here, and you know that even better," the stranger replied in a pleasant tone, which genuinely surprised me.

"Did it work? But... who are you?" And the book? And what was this all about in the first place?

- I thought you were smart enough to understand, that's why I chose you in the first place, because of your deep and impenetrable mind. Ah, yes, we managed, we managed to take the book. And it's very good that we did. Otherwise, we would have had to wait millions of years. My name, and I apologize for not introducing myself right away, is Thales of Miletus.

- I had a dream about you, you're a mathematician, but what do you have to do with all this?

- In my lifetime, I discovered a black book and in it the element of evil. It was incredibly interesting, but soon demons appeared, and I found myself embroiled in a war between heaven and earth.

- The element of evil?

- Yes, you know that when Adam and Eve were expelled from the mountains of eternity, Satan, knowing they were very susceptible to evil, had to create hell.

- And he had to calculate this element to create it?

- He succeeded then, but fortunately not later.

I thought it all over, swallowed, and said solemnly

, - I know the element of evil.

Satan and God immediately awoke from their slumber.