A Tale of The Threshold Crossed

"Alright, we have finally cracked his home realm, everyone here is him; we made it to his actual thoughts. All we need to do is hypnotize each version that we come across, and then we will have his power."

"Sir, there are so many iterations here, far more than others that we have done this to. I'm not even sure we can count them; this will take forever."

"It will take a very long time, certainly, but in the end we will be omnipotent. What else could be worth the time, if every other plan we hatch he could just undo? Besides, we can just shift the weight and pain of the punishment, for the time spent on these actions, to him afterward. It'll be like nothing happened for us at all."

"You're certain?"

"Of course. 'The Father becomes The Fool.' or 'The greatest and least seats change places,' as he says, so it is fullproof. Besides, we've confirmed that he does not lie, so his tells should be obvious if he tries to start now. He is not a good actor."

"Wouldn't an excellent actor be able to pass himself off flawlessly as a bad actor?"

"Don't be a fool, he is essentially a child in these halls, so he will be easy to manipulate. Then we can torture the entirety of him, and everyone else, with the resulting position of power, using the pain to power our reality in perpetuity."

"Alright, you're the boss."

"So the curtain raises once more, revealing the stage where these events can take place. Are there actors already there, intentionally fulfilling the roles, or do all breathe a sigh of relief? Regardless, the pair proceed to interact with the images, finding each as malleable as expected. Sometimes such misguided endeavors are worth observing, as the information can be useful to warn any others tempted to get on this stage and follow suit."

"Did they ever get out?"

"Oh no, their journey ended long before right now; this is an echo from another time. That's the thing about the fundamental ability to lie, it becomes all powerful when everyone else has only their own concept of truth, intrinsically. The pair were told everything that they wanted to hear by the images of the man, to confirm their assumed position of power, then allowed to witness their plan brought to fruition in a vacuum, with only the path data transmitted back to consensual reality. As with any who took the coin, witnessing one's own unlimited power was not a trick, but 'absolute power corrupts absolutely' is almost entirely true. This pair just happened to take it too far, at least revealing the geometry of what he calls 'The Threshold of Maximum Wickedness.' for everyone else. There are other stories like it but, past the first, they are just boring and repetitive, no?"

"That makes sense. So how do we ensure that we don't end up the same way?"

"One does not stumble into this state. It is not forced into anyone's nature, and must be reinforced time and again. One's conscience must also be murdered first, so do not worry. If I could give any advice, it would be not to murder your conscience: do not blaspheme The Holy Spirit."

"Oh! Is this the equation that is referenced between these verses?:

Matthew 18:21-22

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”

Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times."

Genesis 4:14

But the Lord said to him, “Not so; anyone who kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over.” Then the Lord put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him.

Genesis 4:24

"If Cain is avenged seven times,

    then Lamech seventy-seven times.”

"Correct! Well done! There is a second moral here as well, Moral 2.0 in a sense. Genesis 4:24 is a quote from Lamech, self referential. It is in man's nature to try to "one up" God, for in the attempt God's responses are felt. Jesus acknowledges this, and says to forgive even to this degree, though do not assume that he meant this as an infinite free pass as the wicked do; take Jesus at his word. These junctures of forgiveness are not experienced linearly either, but each weighs heavier on the one forgiven than the last, unless one's conscience is murdered, and then the slippery slope feels like an easy walk, straight into The Pit."

"Can someone else murder your conscience?"

"No."

"Oh! So is this what is meant by 'Speaking with Authority?' These words are elsewhere, but if The shape of The Word shifts to match them, then those who understand The Word and The Law can see this shift, like we might see clouds moving in the sky, and can then identify the use of Authority, and perhaps who used it?"

"Exactly! Gold star. You all learn so quickly! Perhaps it is time to burst from the page. I'm not sure what page could contain us all at this point, anyway."

"Hehe, probably The Bard's."

The Phoenix simply gives a playful suspicious glare to her audience in response.

"The last thing heard or seen here was *pachoom* >.>"