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(aka Bike, est. 2007) Part 3204 by Angharad Copyright© 2017 Angharad
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“Am I under arrest?”
“No, of course not.”
“Am I being charged with anything?”
“No.”
“But you are detaining me?”
“Ye—no, I’m trying to get my head round something which is just not computing. I know you’re not telling me the whole truth, but I suspect that isn’t because you’re trying to obstruct a police investigation, is it?”
I shrugged and wondered if I should tell him a bit more but it wasn’t my decision really, it was up to the goddess herself and she wasn’t telling me anything.
“Please, I need to know, however crazy it seems—none of this being recorded, so you can always deny it later. I don’t doubt they meant to kill you, the pot of stuff in the car is being analysed as we speak. I suspect it’s pretty toxic but somehow it didn’t kill you. You’re something special aren’t you?”
I felt myself become rather strange, I was still sitting in his office and he was still sitting in front of me, but it was all becoming rather distant.
“Catherine is very special, Inspector, which is why we have chosen her.”
“Hang on, who are you?”
“We have many names, Inspector, some more flattering than others, our name is Shekinah but you will know us as the goddess.”
“How come you picked someone who is outspoken as a non-believer, so much so that this group of idiots tried to kill her?”
“Life has its ironies, Inspector; she does not believe in a conscious way but she realises things happen which she cannot understand with her primitive science.”
“So why don’t you make her believe, if you’re a goddess?”
“One of the few things you mortals have is the choice to believe or not in the world beyond your own. She chooses not to believe, though she has seen enough to know she is wrong—it is, however, not something we press upon her, she must choose to believe in her own time.”
“How do I know this isn’t just a case of multiple personality disorder, this goddess personality being one of many happening in her head?”
“We do not normally appear to persons of the male sex.”
“But I’m not in that role now, I’m acting as an officer of the law.”
“We do not operate under your petty laws, we are the law.”
“I’m sorry about your goddess-ship, but that’s all I have to operate in.”
“You may regret this.”
“I’m sure I’ll live with it...”
It felt like hours later though it was probably only minutes but when I returned to the present time sitting opposite me was a very shocked looking DI Patchworth. I looked at him and he was obviously miles away.
“Ahem, are you all right, Inspector?”
His eyes focused on me but it took a moment to register. “I saw it.”
“Saw what?”
“It—you know—the angel thing.”
“You thought you did.”
“I know what I saw—it was tall and emitted this golden light.”
“Yeah, sure it did.”
“I know what I saw—how did you summon it?”
“I didn’t do anything, I just sort of went off in a trance.”
“Should I go and see someone about it?”
“What a psychiatrist?
“No a vicar or something.”
“What for?”
“So they’ll know—about the goddess.”
“I—er wouldn’t do that if I were you.”
“Why not? I saw her.”
“Consider yourself fortunate, she doesn’t normally appear to men and when she does they tend to go a bit loopy.”
“Like that Judy woman in custody?”
“Something like that.”
“Why is she scared, it was awesome?”
“I think awesome originally meant in awe of something, which usually means a fear.”
“Oh.”
“Plus of course you weren’t threatening one of her handmaidens—assuming goddesses actually have hands.”
“She did. Is Jesus real?”
“I think she predates the New Testament by a few thousand years.”
“Oh—maybe I should have asked her.”
“I suspect for those who believe in him, Jesus is very real.”
“Yeah, I suppose so—but you’re not one of them.”
“I’m afraid not.”
“What do I do with this case?”
The phone rang and we both jumped. He answered it and shook his head. “The pot only contained water—tap water.”
“So you can let her go then?”
“Yeah, what about the angel—frightening her?”
“I think she’ll find providing she doesn’t try to force her views upon anyone else, it will leave her in peace.”
“You control it, don’t you?”
“I don’t think you quite understand how it works.” Mind you, neither do I but I certainly don’t control it or her.
“She said you don’t believe, yet you’re one of its agents?”
“So she said. I didn’t.”
“You said you were a handmaiden.”
“In a theoretical sense—the whole thing is total nonsense to a scientific mind.”
“You’re as bad as that Dawkins fellow.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment—but Inspector, I have a million things to do, thanks for the tea and the chat. Word of advice, try and imagine you dreamt all this, it makes more sense.”
“I can’t believe I saw it.”
“Perhaps it was something in your tea—good day, Inspector.” I left before he could say anything else, he was still staring up at the wall behind me.
An officer called to see me the next day to say they had released my would-be killer as they had no evidence to hold her and that DI Patchworth had gone sick with stress. I thought we were supposed to be the weaker sex—yeah right.
The girls were pleased to see me but were worried that I was so late coming home. I told them that I had to see the police. They accepted my explanation without need for further details, which was good, though they seem to accept gods and goddesses without too much bother, unlike me. They don’t fit my map of the universe, so I see them as being some sort of hallucination—which was what the Inspector saw, but he was gullible enough to believe his own eyes—they can deceive.
It was the last day of term and I’d forgotten, apparently Danielle hadn’t and spoke to David about taking treats to school—seems they conspired to outdo anyone else. She didn’t tell me this, it was David who was bragging about making smoked salmon quiche and vol-au-vents. I stopped listening, I was too concerned that Danielle was flaunting our lifestyle to others who may be poorer—of course they’re poorer, Simon is one of the richest men in Europe, let alone Britain. I was thinking that I might need a word in her ear when David asked me not to tell her that he’d told me—as much of it was his idea. He was now lying to protect her. I would speak to her but not today and not directly about the classroom parties, instead I’m sure I’ll find an opportunity to let her know how I expect her to behave—after all, neither Simon nor I flaunt our wealth—it just isn’t cricket.
I made David and me a cuppa and then asked him what was for dinner. Smoked salmon apparently he’d bought a job lot of it—I asked for some with scrambled eggs on toast. He nodded and said, “Good call.”
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Comments
Hmmm, after this little
Hmmm, after this little meeting with the Inspector, wonder if he will be out looking for a new job somewhere? Why did the goddess allow the woman off the hook by making things look like tap water? She did try to kill Cathy and just for that little fact, she should be held responsible and accountable, right along with those who "commissioned" her to perform the act.
How will allowing her "off the hook" stop their very wrong deeds?
Perhaps teaching her the error of her ways......
Is more important than vengeance. Would you kill your child for misbehaving? No, you would punish them and teach them where they went wrong. You would set them on the right path and push them along it.
This is what she has done.
D. Eden
Dum Vivimus, Vivamus
Faith is the simple act of believing......
In something you can't see, or of which there is no actual physical proof.
Faith can take many forms - I have faith in my spouse because I love her, and because I believe she loves me more than I can possibly know. Because of this, I have faith that she will never be unfaithful. And there's that word again. You see, I can't prove her love, nor can I prove that she will never stray. But I know it in my heart.
One of these days even Cathy will have to admit that she knows in her heart that she has seen and done things which she cannot prove. She will find her faith, whether it be in herself, her family, or in some Goddess, it will be faith.
D
D. Eden
Dum Vivimus, Vivamus
The Goddess
Cathy may someday believe in the Goddess. I actually think she is stubborn in not believing. How many times have her children witnessed the same Goddess appearing and knowing as well exactly what was said? This alone should make Cathy realize it was more than a dream since a shared dream that people witnessed is a phenomenon that they may not be able to explain, but it happened nonetheless. A major life milestone for Cathy will occur when she just quits resisting and believes what is happening, even though she can't explain it.
Yeah! Ain't it all summat' of a conundrum.
She is an Atheist (Like a lot sane, rational, balanced people;) but she gets these 'visitations'. As she rightly says, we don't understand every thing and that includes things scientific.
I approach this sort of conundrum from a different perspective. Thoughts are (I think) elemental nerve (electro-chemical) pulses between differing brain cells and yet thoughts are a very abstract essence. Ipso-facto they convey very abstract elements and so far we are only capable (mostly) of reading our own thoughts. It is surely not beyond the bounds of evolution that some day human brains might be able to amplify and transmit those electro-chemical pulses across the 'ether' or even use the atoms of the air or earth's magnetism to make such thoughts receptive to other brains. (Telepathy.)
My 'sci-fi' book 'MINDFUL' attempts to present a logical and plausible neural pathology for telepathy insofar as the disturbed transgender child Iona, was born with a peculiar 'flatfish' like organ lodged between the frontal lobe, the temporal lobe and connected to the cerebellum. This grew to be her telepathy organ upon achieving puberty. It also made her believe she was mad but that's part of the theme of the book.
If telepathy is possible (or even probable,) then all the other otherworldly stuff might have some basis or foundation in rational science. How ever, I resolutely refuse to believe in some superhuman, capricious, malevolent 'being' that's been around for all eternity and 'created' us for it's own visceral delight. Our understanding of the science of life and evolution has long ago put that nonsense to bed.
To put it bluntly I'm a dyed-in-the-wool atheist and I don't believe in 'god, or 'allah, or 'yahweh' or any of that primitive, superstitious bullshit; but I do believe there are possible scientific solutions to the riddles surrounding telepathy et al.
Still lovin' it by the way.
Someday She Will Accept It
Then again, maybe not. I wonder if the Inspector will keep his mouth shut.
Portia
Who Would Believe Him?
We live in a (justifiably) skeptical society. Science and rationality have had some impact, not enough, but some. So someone blathering on about supernatural phenomena is likely to be adjudged irrational, which is generally considered a disqualifying characteristic for many jobs, probably even including the police. So, if he wants to remain employed, he'll probably not share his experience in any way that might end up in his personnel file.
Thank you for being charitable
This gives me some insight into how to deal with some other nutty believers. My own religious belief is 95% Science with the 5% making some allowance for those things I can not explain. I'm not understanding at all why that 5% conceals itself so rigorously, or perhaps we are the ones who construct the loony part of belief? Perhaps the real "Shekina" does not conceal herself at all, and it is us who insist on the unreal part of belief?
He had to ask
I have a feeling that if Cathy's attacker was male, the punishment would have been different.
Karen
Will DI Patchworth be back?
Maybe the 'stressed' insector has more feminine intuition than expected…
Rhona McCloud
Science is just a tool.
Science is a method we humans have developed to make sense of the world around us. Still as finesed as science is it has limitations. Just like a hammer or shovel it can only do so much. It can only measure what we know, see, taste, touch. Still there's so much more to All There Is, than our rulers, micrometers, and computers can chew on spitting out physical data we can understand.
I do value science as I was an Oceanographer by training, still my experience has connected me with that mysterious something that can't be measured only experienced , knowned ,and accepted. I have no problem handeling that the creative force used some form of evolution in our creation, and that our genetic code and so on, are the finger prints of that thing out side our six senses.
Jung has given me the understanding about archetypes, my uncanny sense of direction has guided me safely to our motel through strange roads on a foggy night. For six years I did personal psychic readings for people I did not know, there were several who ran away from there readings because the information I received from thin air were scary close to home.
I don't say this to brag, but only to give an example of a small part of my first hand in my face experience , that I have no other way of explaining how I could do this. Oh there was our House trailer fire I saw in my minds eye, allowing me to wake up from a sound sleep, so we could escape rather than becoming a well done blue plate special.
In short I believe in all I haven't seen, because of what I have.
With those with open eyes the world reads like a book