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Veritas
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God saw, and God said, “There is no Man.” And it was so.
I discovered this story while looking through old yearbooks and literary magazines. I published the story in The Almanac (p.14, vol. II, no. 2, 1963–1964). This was the literary magazine of my New Orleans high school, Benjamin Franklin Senior High School. As a teenager, I was very concerned about the existence of God. Also, as will be obvious to many, I was very taken with Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four. |
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In the past thousand years, Man had learned much. He had gained complete
dominion over the land, the sky, and the eternal sea. Man had reached to the
stars and beyond. Man had conquered time, space, and mind. The earth had become
a cosmic monument to Man‘s glory. Man had accomplished the supreme
achievement; Man had found Truth—THERE IS NO GOD. Ignorant worship was at an
end. Man was to be glorified. THERE IS NO GOD. The earth resounded with the cry.
The temples of the earth were smashed to make way for Man’s trophies, smashed
by workmen chanting, “THERE IS NO GOD.” The corollaries were
obvious—MORALITY IS IGNORANCE; CHARITY IS WEAKNESS; MAN IS REALITY. The
world’s theme was unanimous. It was preached from the rostrum; it was
whispered in the darkness; it was shouted to the hills—THERE IS NO GOD.