CONTEMPORARY GODS : ENCOUNTERS WITH KING ALMIGHTY

RACE MEETS HIS MAJESTY

It was now the turn of Race to be ushered into the King's hallowed presence.  It would be particularly interesting to hear what Race would say as this was the moment the ebullient self-starter had been waiting for.  Race was a powerfully built man.

He was in his elements as he had been cracking jokes defiantly while he waited to see His Majesty.  Surprisingly, he never for one moment, after his arrival, remotely considered the possibility of things turning against him eventually.  Could he have been in possession of any dossier on the King's representatives which no one else had and which he hoped to use to nail them?  What was it that made him so confident?

In the first place, Race believed that he was fully prepared to defend himself before His Majesty.  Secondly, he had always believed that it would be unjust to hold him solely responsible for the things that took place in Terrestrial.

When he finally came before the King, he did an obeisance.  Race began slowly but steadily as he stated how happy he was to appear before His Majesty.  The god was then asked several questions in quick succession.  These were all about his purported role in ensuring that the King's representatives all made a mess of themselves and their assignments while their tenures lasted.

His Majesty particularly wanted to know why Race not only colluded with others to displace his representatives but had notoriously become the cause of so much mayhem in Terrestrial.  The great monarch wondered why anyone could have become so controversial.  The King expressed shock and dismay that despite the vast opportunities available to Race to assist the King's representatives, he failed to avail himself of any of those opportunities.

'Your Majesty,' Race began confidently, his eyes sparkling, 'I believe that I had my origin in you, being your brainchild.  I have never seen myself as an accident of history as you, my source, are a very deliberate King.  I remain a solid testimony to your ability to do the unusual.  I am diversity personified and I owe my life to your ingenuity.  You made me in accordance with your own good pleasure.  You brought me into Terrestrial through your representatives because of your love for variety.  As you are not one to shy away from doing what you believe should be done, you introduced me without any apologies to anyone.  You are the acknowledged author of creativity and you have demonstrated this in various ways.  The rainbow is a good example.'  

The god continued,
'Great King, the diversity that is inherent in me, according to your plan, is meant to enrich life and not to cause problems.  There is no doubt that you would ordinarily not go out of your way to cause problems for your own representatives.  The diversity you brought about through me is to give hope and not to inspire despair, to enlarge and not to diminish, to broaden the horizon and not to limit.  Through unity in this diversity, you, the King expected the inhabitants of Terrestrial to live more fulfilling and mutually beneficial lives.  Unfortunately, many of these representatives of yours did not exactly look at me from this glorious perspective.'

'They simply refused to give thought to the vital contributions that I could have made towards making their lives more abundant.  As a result, needless wars have been fought over me, frightening divisions have been engendered because of me and disgraceful acts of inhumanity have been perpetrated in my name.'

'Ironically, most honourable King, these problems started the moment I was enthroned as god and this was not due to any fault on my part.  However, the simple truth is that, on my own, Your Majesty, I am incapable of conferring any lasting honour on anyone or group as every honour would have to be earned in the long run.'

'Again, your representatives, surprisingly, have conveniently chosen to forget that my diversity or difference is mainly outward.  If this outward coating is removed, it will be discovered that I am not so diverse, at least inwardly, after all.  I stand for one and the same thing.'

'Great King,' continued Race, 'I am not unaware that in your own reckoning, your representatives have failed spectacularly in that they abdicated their seats as rulers.  They forsook their honourable estates and pushed me to the forefront, thereby allowing me to take over.  However, the truth of the matter is that I did not originate it, I did not ask to be made god.  There was no way I could have insisted that your representatives should make me an object of worship.  It was their decision to make me one.  I was actually forced against my own will to do their bidding.  I had no choice in the matter but to do as I was told.'

  

'Even then, I myself know that I failed as god and ruler.  My deification has given rise to fear and apprehension everywhere.  My reign created more problems rather than solved any.  Moreover, I have not been able to give fulfillment or any lasting satisfaction to those who saw it fit to worship me.'

His Majesty had watched the god's body language and listened with patience as Race, gesticulating nervously, put up a brave and determined defence of himself.  All the points he raised and the way he made them left a big impression on the King.

This was an issue for His Majesty to consider.  Would it be just to punish this fellow considering the way he had exposed the King's representatives for who they really are.  He was therefore relieved when he was told that his explanations went down well with His Majesty.  He was thereafter led out of the King's presence.