orders.
You see, they were from the Born-Again Tribe. They viewed me as a misguided mammal and were hell-bent on saving my soul.
"Percy," Michael said, "it's great to see you."
I straightened my back. "It is?"
"Of course." His light blue eyes were ethereal. His face flawless—smooth white skin and a glistening smile. His teeth had been artificially straightened.
"Are you having fun?" Nicole asked. She too had unnaturally perfect teeth; two large, friendly eyes. She tucked a curl of brown hair behind her ear.
"I experience a modicum of enjoyment."
"Modicum!" Michael echoed. "I like that. You have a real gift with words. It's a blessing."
"Thank you." I was flustered. I hadn't expected them to attend this function, had assumed it would be against their beliefs. But here they stood clutching cans of Canada Dry, looking...
...as if they belonged.
"Fun party!" Michael gushed as he watched the cavorting students. Did he see them as souls, some smudged with the darkness of sin, others shining as bright as a thousand candles? "Drink?" He offered a can that dangled from a plastic six-pack holder.
"No, thank you." I raised my glass.
He moved a few centimeters closer. "I have a question for you."
My heart sank. "Not another Wilberforce," I whispered.
"Wilberforce?" Nicole asked.
"Bishop Wilberforce of Oxford," I huffed, annoyed that they didn't know their theological history. "Darwin's archenemy. He gave the Origin a bad review. Asked whether man was descended from monkeys on the paternal or maternal side. He knew nothing about science. He died when he fell off his horse and hit his thick head on a stone."
"Oh," Nicole offered. "Really."
Michael's smile hadn't faded. "That's interesting. But what I'm curious about is the fossils. I know you think we're crazy."
"No," I said emphatically, "religious beliefs are not an insanity. All societies consider it normal to believe in supernatural beings and forces."
"So you don't think we're crazy?" Nicole said.
"I just made that point."
"Good to hear." Michael lightly squeezed my shoulder. His hand was warm. I stared down at it until he removed it. "Anyway, about the fossils. You know how they date them and stuff. I asked our study leader why the scientists got it mixed up."
"Mixed up?" I asked. "Oh, that's right. You believe the world is only ten thousand years old."
"You don't have to yell, Percy," Michael said softly, "the music's not that loud. The earth is actually only six thousand years old. Adam was created in 3975 b.c."
Nicole edged closer. "And don't forget that lots of scientists aren't sure carbon dating even works. Or that evolution is true. It's just another theory."
Michael used his opposable thumb to open the last can of ginger ale. It fizzed, so he brought it to his mouth. "Anyway, it's the fossils we want to talk about. They're real."
"They are?" I asked.
"Yes." Nicole was now face to face with me. They were a spiritual-philosophical tag team. "But you've been fooled by...well, you know... him ." She pointed at the floor. "Evolution. Devilution. Soul pollution." It was a tribal chant. " He made you think that fossils are millions of years old. He does tell the truth but circles it with lies. You see, Percy, there were dinosaurs."
"There were?" I sensed a breakthrough. "In the Bible?"
Michael fielded this question. "On the ark. Two of each species is what God told Noah. And when the ark finally was caught on Mount Ararat, the dinosaurs stepped out into the new world. Rain had swept everything away. There were new diseases. All of the dinosaurs got sick, died, fell into the ocean and were compressed by the weight of the water, hardening their bones instantly into fossils. Do you see?"
"I understand," I answered, though the idea that the ark could hold enough animals to repopulate the world was ludicrous. A population cannot sustain itself with only two of its species: The gene pool would be too small. Not to mention that water pressure can't harden
You see, they were from the Born-Again Tribe. They viewed me as a misguided mammal and were hell-bent on saving my soul.
"Percy," Michael said, "it's great to see you."
I straightened my back. "It is?"
"Of course." His light blue eyes were ethereal. His face flawless—smooth white skin and a glistening smile. His teeth had been artificially straightened.
"Are you having fun?" Nicole asked. She too had unnaturally perfect teeth; two large, friendly eyes. She tucked a curl of brown hair behind her ear.
"I experience a modicum of enjoyment."
"Modicum!" Michael echoed. "I like that. You have a real gift with words. It's a blessing."
"Thank you." I was flustered. I hadn't expected them to attend this function, had assumed it would be against their beliefs. But here they stood clutching cans of Canada Dry, looking...
...as if they belonged.
"Fun party!" Michael gushed as he watched the cavorting students. Did he see them as souls, some smudged with the darkness of sin, others shining as bright as a thousand candles? "Drink?" He offered a can that dangled from a plastic six-pack holder.
"No, thank you." I raised my glass.
He moved a few centimeters closer. "I have a question for you."
My heart sank. "Not another Wilberforce," I whispered.
"Wilberforce?" Nicole asked.
"Bishop Wilberforce of Oxford," I huffed, annoyed that they didn't know their theological history. "Darwin's archenemy. He gave the Origin a bad review. Asked whether man was descended from monkeys on the paternal or maternal side. He knew nothing about science. He died when he fell off his horse and hit his thick head on a stone."
"Oh," Nicole offered. "Really."
Michael's smile hadn't faded. "That's interesting. But what I'm curious about is the fossils. I know you think we're crazy."
"No," I said emphatically, "religious beliefs are not an insanity. All societies consider it normal to believe in supernatural beings and forces."
"So you don't think we're crazy?" Nicole said.
"I just made that point."
"Good to hear." Michael lightly squeezed my shoulder. His hand was warm. I stared down at it until he removed it. "Anyway, about the fossils. You know how they date them and stuff. I asked our study leader why the scientists got it mixed up."
"Mixed up?" I asked. "Oh, that's right. You believe the world is only ten thousand years old."
"You don't have to yell, Percy," Michael said softly, "the music's not that loud. The earth is actually only six thousand years old. Adam was created in 3975 b.c."
Nicole edged closer. "And don't forget that lots of scientists aren't sure carbon dating even works. Or that evolution is true. It's just another theory."
Michael used his opposable thumb to open the last can of ginger ale. It fizzed, so he brought it to his mouth. "Anyway, it's the fossils we want to talk about. They're real."
"They are?" I asked.
"Yes." Nicole was now face to face with me. They were a spiritual-philosophical tag team. "But you've been fooled by...well, you know... him ." She pointed at the floor. "Evolution. Devilution. Soul pollution." It was a tribal chant. " He made you think that fossils are millions of years old. He does tell the truth but circles it with lies. You see, Percy, there were dinosaurs."
"There were?" I sensed a breakthrough. "In the Bible?"
Michael fielded this question. "On the ark. Two of each species is what God told Noah. And when the ark finally was caught on Mount Ararat, the dinosaurs stepped out into the new world. Rain had swept everything away. There were new diseases. All of the dinosaurs got sick, died, fell into the ocean and were compressed by the weight of the water, hardening their bones instantly into fossils. Do you see?"
"I understand," I answered, though the idea that the ark could hold enough animals to repopulate the world was ludicrous. A population cannot sustain itself with only two of its species: The gene pool would be too small. Not to mention that water pressure can't harden
Similar Books
