Same Story (part 16)

Dear diary,

So the people of Earth complete their suburban housing project; and they finish construction on their tower, whose top surpasses heaven.

Now Jehovah and a couple of his friends from outer space come to visit this new city, which was built by humankind. He glances up at the Dark Tower, right in the center of the network of houses; and he notes that the skyscraper’s top ascends right up to heaven:

“Zounds,” remarks Jehovah to his traveling companions, “just look at this progress! THIS is what humans are capable of, when they cooperate. It’s because they’re not fighting wars, and they all share a culture and speak the same language. This is magnificent. One can now drive one’s sleigh across the rooftops, and park in the lot at the ground floor of the Dark Tower’s plaza, enjoy luncheon at the eatery there, then take the elevator directly up into our own expanse! The humans have bridged their world to our own! This is amazing! I’m so proud of them!”

And Beelzebub, one of Jehovah’s fellow-travelers, answers and sez:

“If this is what they accomplished in that short amount of time since the Worldwide Flood, I can’t think of anything that could be restrained from them, which they might imagine to do. I almost feel that we deities could learn a thing or two from their artworks. Say, why don’t we go in and have a look at the tower’s interior — I heard on the radio that it’s like one tremendous showroom, and they display their all creative offerings throughout it; thus all the poems, paintings & films that humankind has ever made are available to be perused, free of charge: The structure is basically a titanic library.”

“Good idea,” sez Jehovah.

So they go inside and see masterpieces scattered abroad upon all the faces of all the walls, and countless books on the shelves. And there is a celluloid preservation chamber, which contains rows of reels extending off into infinity, where one can select motion pictures to view: the entire filmography of humankind is available — you simply request the title, and a machine readies the filmstrip in a projector located in one of the theaters above (for a generous segment of the tower serves as a cineplex, with multiple floors dedicated to showing movies to audiences — each level is its own screening room, and they can be freely reserved by anyone, anytime — the seats are comfortable, and you can control the playback of the feature by way of a remote device; and there is a wet bar in the corner which is well-stocked: serve yourself; it is gratis as well). Jehovah and his friends end up spending the bulk of their time, during this initial visit, in the section labeled “Dada & Surrealism”. They marvel at untold texts, paintings, and movies, and end up desiring to remain here forever.

So deeply is Jehovah impressed by the tower’s valuables that he persuades the humans of the city to mount vast letters that spell the legend “MIND” near the top of all its sides; therefore that becomes the tower’s name. And, in the eons that follow, he and his friends end up spending more time in this trove of humanity than in heaven.