Chapter 44:

　　While clearing the Final Fantasy IV virtual reality remake with Rosa, I received an ominous hint in passing conversation. "It would be nice if Ceodore could join us soon."

　　Ceodore? I looked his name up later, and sure enough, Rosa had a son I'd left completely unaccounted for. I had intended to let the mothers of any children get their children back in Eden, but I'd never played Final Fantasy 4: The After Years, it having received horrible reviews, so his existence had completely skipped my mind. It was part of the lore, though, so it was part of Rosa's memories, even though it wasn't part of mine.

　　I had had terrible luck with children who were named after lore-based children -- August, Kazui and Salad had all ended up thought criminals. But I suppose I owed it to Rosa to provide her with the son she'd been missing all this time, especially since I'd gifted every other wife their long lost children long ago.

　　Rosa wasn't the only mother giving off rumblings of dissatisfaction. It didn't take Cute-sama long to point out that while everyone else had six children, she only had one.

　　"So I was playing this Ogre Battle game you named my daughter after, and did you know, Yushis had a sister? Another angel, just like her. It's like a sign from God!" Cute-sama reported to me excitedly, blinking her eyes rapidly as she looked up at me expectantly.

　　Wasn't anything Cute-sama said or did a sign from God though?

　　"Mizal served the evil wizard Rashidi." I pointed out.

　　"She was tricked into it, and only out of love." Cute-sama dismissed the charge. "She was really a good person. A really great sister to Yushis." Cute-sama blinked at me rapidly again with an expectant smile.

　　"Would you like to have another daughter?" I finally proposed to her, surrendering.

　　"Yes!" Cute-sama jumped into my arms delightedly, giving me a double hug of arms and white wings.

　　In truth, there were a lot of names I was burning to use on new children, and with Siri the AI manufacturing all our needs and endlessly building up our Burj Khalifa mansion, it's not like we had anything better to do than populate the planet. The growing impatience among my wives was mirrored by my own desire to get back to work doing the one meaningful thing left to us adults.

　　It was time for the inevitable seventh borns. But first, it was important to get the groundwork laid for the next generation. The year was 81 E.T., and my first great-great-grandchildren were also about to be born as per my rules of everyone marrying by age 20 and having two children by the age of 25. As each generation was exponentially bigger than the last, there were going to be a lot of children running around soon, so I thought it was about time I codified Paradise's law.

　　I decided to put up a cenotaph with my own Ten Commandments in the front lawn of Police Headquarters so everyone could know what exactly was expected from them and why exactly they were being executed (in case of actually doing something forbidden) or put into cold sleep (in case of simply wishing to do it). The murder rate, at just 2 in Paradise's history, was low, but in Japan it had been even lower, so obviously the citizenry could use some more moral instruction.

1. There is no God but Cute-sama. Thou shalt have no other Gods before her.

Thou shalt not rebel against God's chosen one, the Mayor. Nor shalt thou rebel against reality by denying verifiable facts.

2. Thou shalt not murder, rape, assault or otherwise physically discomfort others.

3. Thou shalt not steal, vandalize, breach a contract, or otherwise impugn people's property.

4. Thou shalt not, out of malice, defame, bully, harass or otherwise emotionally discomfort others.

5. Thou shalt not have sex outside of marriage and thou shalt not divorce. Thou shalt marry a member of the opposite sex by the age of 20 and have at least two children by the age of 25. Marriage is the gift of eternal consent -- thou shalt not withhold physical or emotional intimacy from those to whom it was promised.

6. Thou shalt not take recreational drugs other than alcohol. Thou shalt not overindulge even in alcohol outside of special celebratory occasions.

　　7. Thou shalt not become overweight, or otherwise disfigure your God-given forms, which are in the image of God. Thou shalt not cause needless harm to the environment, plants, animals or scenery, which are also gifts from God.

　　8. Thou shalt not deny or counsel against anyone's right to a citizen's dividend yielding sufficient means to live a dignified life. Parents are responsible for children's wellbeing up until the day of their marriage.

　　9. Thou shalt perform to the best of your ability any task assigned to you by City Hall.

　　10. Thou shalt not sanction, promote, conceal or forgive the sins of others.

　　The Ten Commandments were simply genius. Children were generally assigned the task of receiving an education by City Hall, so my "Arts, Literature, Philosophy and Morality" class was safely embedded within the rules. I also liked the grouping of rebellion against God with rebellion against Reality. It truly was one and the same, since God created the natural laws we all lived under. Every one of them was there for a reason, and questioning any of them was equivalent to questioning God. Denying objective facts was heresy, it was blasphemy, and the penalty was death, as it should be.

　　The proviso that parents were responsible for their children until the day of their marriage meant they were the 'in loco' authority figures who could dispense their own punishments as they saw fit for childish infractions. This meant children were allowed to do stupid things and not die instantly, a must if we were going to continue the human race. It also meant that they were required to take care of their children physically, emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually as well as just financially. Luckily my wives had all performed that role for me.

　　The 1st Commandment banned all of the stupid religions of Earth or any future stupid religion from taking root, as well as any idolatrous belief or value system that dared to promote itself as greater than God. 2-4 were obvious necessities if people were to live in a community. 5 was necessary for the formation and fruition of families and the virtues and pleasures inherent to family life. Due to polygamy, which was strictly a one man multiple women allowance, and women's choosiness, it was possible that men simply could not find a consenting partner, in which case, having tried their best to fulfill the Commandment, they would be permitted a waiver. Every woman on Eden was physically attractive enough that there was bound to be someone willing to marry her, so no such excuse or waiver would ever be granted them. 6 was the Commandment for sanity, to maintain mankind as agents of reason and not simple beasts. 7 was the equally important physical purity equivalent to 6's mental purity. Venerating God's creation, a proper appreciation of beauty, was at the heart of a well-lived life. It also forbade overpopulation, perhaps Earth's greatest mistake, by banning humanity from intruding too far into nature's bounty. 8 got rid of the devils of want, stress, fear, slavery, servitude, debt, etc. that plagued Earth's history. It was the Commandment of compassion for your fellow man.

　　Actually, I bet I could attach a single word to each Commandment to typify my statements in their most primordial form. To stress what virtue I was aiming for each time. Let's see if I could do that:

1. Respect for truth

2. Respect for persons

3. Respect for property

4. Respect for feelings

5. Respect for family

6. Respect for reason

7. Respect for beauty

8. Respect for love

9. Respect for authority

10. Respect for justice

　　If these ten things were properly respected life would be good. If they weren't it would be evil. It was that simple. Rather than lawyers and judges poring over tens of thousands of pages of laws, these Ten Commandments could cover everything necessary. Even more amazingly, good and evil was so simple, the lawbook of Eden was so pellucid, all Ten Commandments could be boiled down to single words.

　　Yes, the Ten Commandments required additional interpretation and filling in of glossed over details, but it was obvious to any rational adult what I was getting at. There could be no confusion like what happened with the terribly written U.S. constitution.

　　My report on why the world ended, conducted after an investigation with Nayuki, was quite simple. People hadn't followed the Ten Commandments, so there was no sanctity of truth, sanctity of persons, sanctity of property, sanctity of feelings, sanctity of family, sanctity of reason, sanctity of beauty, sanctity of love, sanctity of authority, or sanctity of justice left in the world. Since none of these things were honored, defended or upheld, they were all tossed aside whenever convenient in favor of the things that were honored and upheld. And what demonic priorities they were: Self-esteem, hedonism, consent, hard work, tolerance, diversity, equality, faith, democracy and non-discrimination, the ten anti-commandments of the Anti-Christ. These Riders of the Apocalypse were deemed to trump the things that actually mattered, so over time the bulwarks that sustained and continued life naturally eroded. Like a dam no longer receiving maintenance it was only a matter of time until the whole system collapsed. There were no functional mores left to preserve life on Earth -- they had all been sacrificed on the altars of these strange new gods.

　　I bet if I tried I could pair an inverse anti-commandment the Earth had been following to every single one of my Commandments, proving the Earth had actually managed to so far separate itself from morality that it no longer possessed a single worthwhile trait. This was actually intriguing. If I wrote up Earth's ten anti-commandments, would they actually manage to annul everything of worth in this world?

1. Thou shalt not imperil people's faith, regardless of what erroneous beliefs are necessary to promote it.

Or, in other words, respect for anti-truth.

2. Thou shalt show tolerance towards any amount of criminal wrongdoing.

Or, in other words, respect for anti-persons.

3. Thou shalt serve equality by redistributing however much socio-economic status it takes from those who earned it to those still lacking.

Or, in other words, respect for anti-property.

4. Diversity is our greatest strength, therefore it is okay to defame, bully and harass historic homogeneous majorities until they've received it good and hard.

Or, in other words, respect for anti-feelings.

5. When it comes to sex and reproduction, do whatever feels good, and look not to tomorrow. In the end only consent matters.

Or, in other words, respect for anti-family.

6. When it comes to drugs, do whatever feels good, and look not to tomorrow. In the end only hedonism matters.

Or, in other words, respect for anti-reason.

7. In order to preserve everyone's self-esteem, no standards of personal behavior or appearance can be upheld.

Or, in other words, respect for anti-beauty.

8. Thou shalt work hard for as much of every day as possible, even if your work is unproductive or counterproductive, even if there are many other and better things one could be doing, and even if there's already plenty to go around. Hard work is an end in itself. Children must be the hardest worked of all.

Or, in other words, respect for anti-love.

9. Universal democracy, or in other words, one malicious, uninformed, idiotic voter, one vote, is the ideal way to run a country -- that's why we do the same for the heads of classrooms, military units, companies, and all other fields of endeavor. Oh wait, that's not how we do it? Oh well, either way.

Or, in other words, respect for anti-authority.

10. Thou shalt not discriminate. Non-discrimination is more important than any regulation of negative behavior or any assignation of rewards or resources corresponding to people's merits.

Or, in other words, respect for anti-justice.

　　This toxic grab-bag of conservatism (faith and hard work), liberalism (tolerance, equality, self-esteem, non-discrimination, diversity and democracy), and libertarianism (consent and hedonism), even though it was inchoate and contradictory within itself, was remarkably consistent in that it managed to reject and resist every single value necessary to the preservation of civilization. It was consistent only in that it preferred evil over good every single time. Like clockwork, it could be counted upon that everything of value was trumped by some cockamamie dross.

　　You could not have both faith and truth.

　　You could not have both tolerance and security.

　　You could not have both equality and property.

　　You could not have both diversity and harmony.

　　You could not have both consent and family formation.

　　You could not have both hedonism and rationality.

　　You could not have both self-esteem and standards.

　　You could not have both hard work and freedom.

　　You could not have both democracy and order.

　　You could not have both non-discrimination and justice.

　　For all of these things people must choose what matters most to them, and for all of them Earth chose wrongly. That's why it was now a lifeless heap of ash while Eden was graced by God.

　　For millennia, though no one had properly worshiped Cute-sama herself, the fundamentals of morality she had desired and designed through Human Nature and Natural Nature were followed religiously. People understood the importance of marriage and pairing off men with women. They understood the need for healthy bodies and healthy minds, unimpaired by vice. They understood that truth was not subjective and was not up for debate. They understood that the rulers were wiser than the ruled and therefore should be obeyed. They understood that without safeguards against sin the populace would be overtaken and consumed. They may have believed the world was flat, but they understood everything important. The modern era had ushered in an understanding of science and math, but at the cost of ceasing to understand God. The teachings of Her divine order had been replaced with nonsense about physics, chemistry and trigonometry. All that remained was the cacophony of the masses, saying "Traditional morality is too stifling, let's tear it all down."

　　They tore down everything but the knowledge of splitting the atom and splicing people's DNA, and so in the end all that was left to humanity was to split and splice their way to oblivion.

　　It was important that Eden did not go the same way as Earth, Exocet or any of the other failed planes. And the only way to do that was to remain on the straight and narrow path, the one route humanity could take that didn't rebel against God's law, as clearly revealed by both history and biology, not to mention Cute-sama's own benedictional presence upon our soil, and follow the Ten Commandments.

　　The Ten Commandments were what separated us from the thousand other failures. Though I'd like to think my waifus were great people even without the Commandments, obviously that couldn't extend down a chain of multiple generations. Our descendants' salvation had always been the Law. For the average man, a guiderope was necessary to navigate one's life. The idea that everyone would independently sit down like Socrates and work out their very own personal philosophy was absurd. Even if they tried the results would be horrendous. Instead, all they would have to do is read the cenotaph and all would be made clear for them. They would have something to hold onto, something concrete they could grasp quickly and fully, a community standard. Valuing the right things, life would continue to flourish, as Cute-sama had always intended. And then individuals would be able to display their own sparks of divinity within this pattern -- an act of kindness here, understanding there, affirmation over yonder, or perhaps just a deep, abiding and fulfilling love that suffused their entire soul. Like my union with Himeno. And Cute-sama could look upon the world that continuously emitted these effervescent, ever shifting miracles, and know that it was Good.

　　A human life, thrown correctly, would skip across the lake of time, safely reaching Cute-sama's embrace on the other side, each ripple a moment of divinity so beautiful, so precious, that even God could not foresee or replicate it. But change the angle or the force ever so slightly, and the stone would not skip. Instead it would sink, producing nothing, going nowhere, just falling into an abyss of its own treacherous making.

　　The Ten Commandments were the only angle that could let a stone skip or a soul sing.

　　It wasn't the technology. Nor was it Cute's divine intervention. Before any of that, overriding all of that, it was the Law. There were plenty of planes with high technology or high magic. Cute had only intervened after we had succeeded, not before. The one constant that propelled Eden above the rest of creation had been the Law. Before Eden, it had been the Law that propelled some cultures over others. It was why the Spanish prevailed over the Aztecs, or the British over the Indians, or the Americans over the Communists. Those who had followed the Ten Commandments, however loosely or haphazardly, would always prevail over those who did not. It was written into the book of fate, at the beginning of creation. The laws of physics and evolution, all of which were simply Cute-sama's own preferences shining through like an impish grin, forbade any other result.

　　Even the Confederates and Nazis had failed to obey the Law and been punished as a result. Despite the many things they got right, their lack of respect for persons and property ultimately caught up to them and left their fates no different from that of Carthage. I had refrained from subjugating others and thereby been rewarded with peace and harmony. That was the difference. For the first time ever, all ten principles were being followed by a segment of mankind, and it was this which had summoned all the other blessings and showered Paradise with heretofore unimaginable felicity.

　　We were the crown jewel of creation, as evidenced by our Creator's unequivocal endorsement, and all it took had been abiding by ten simple laws. Before now, apparently humanity couldn't even do that. Cute-sama had to have had divine levels of patience to have put up with us thus far, but maybe now we could finally repay her the favor of our existence. Eden would settle all the other failures' scores. Based upon a firm foundation, this time we would get God's plan right.

* * *

　　"Deedlit, I notice your name wasn't on the petition, even though we've barely talked. Why didn't you join the conspiracy?" I asked as we hiked up Kokona's carefully prepared mountain trail through the woods together.

　　"I was 175 years old before you brought me here to Eden, you can't expect me to engage in childish tantrums." Deedlit rolled her eyes.

　　"I know marriage is more than sex and children, and I know I've spread myself rather thin what with even Cute-sama joining in, but I swear to you I'm not intentionally neglecting anyone." I insisted.

　　Deedlit smiled to herself, and then shook her head, dispelling ancient memories. "Christopher, you could not be more like Parn if you tried. To me this is exactly what I expected from you. How many times did I try to catch your attention, to attract your eye, as you chased after everything else under the sun? Dragons, sword instructors, knighthood, princesses, sages, sorcerers, even goblins. The one thing you never looked at or paid any attention to was me. And that's the Christopher I fell in love with and would do anything for."

　　"Eventually I did chase after you." I protested.

　　"Only after my body was being used as a vessel for the resurrection of a dark God that would have spelled the end of the world." Deedlit riposted.

　　"It was out of genuine concern for your personal safety!" I chirped.

　　Deedlit giggled and agilely spun around, her cape fluttering behind her as she leaned over to look me in the eye with a cheerful cute pose. "I know. You put everything you had into saving me from my initial kidnapping, before you knew what was going on. And then you defied all your principles and wielded the evil sword for the power to save me. When it mattered most you were there for me, and that's what I remember. We elves have long memories, even before Cute-sama's gift. I remember those days like they were yesterday, and I still trust you to come again the moment I really need you. Our love has always been less spoken and more just known."

　　"Some of you are so perfect the way you are, I don't know what else there is to say. I can't give you any advice. You fed us until Siri was available, working every day even while pregnant, even while nursing. You're the oldest woman here and have accumulated endless wisdom before I had even been born. You're always in high spirits and can kick anyone's butt who so much as looks at you wrong. I love you because you're everything a man could desire, but if you're everything already I have nothing left to give." I explained. It wasn't only Deedlit, I'd avoided a lot of girls I didn't know how to relate to, simply because they were too good for me. When it came to girls like Rose, Reina, Eruru or Wendy, their perfection was intimidating. They didn't need me for anything, they had everything together, they were utterly flawless gems, and there was no place for me in their lives.

　　In abstract, I knew that wasn't true. Everyone got lonely. Everyone felt insecure about something or other. Everyone wanted outside stimulus to avoid boredom and satisfy their curiosity. And everyone wanted to be understood. But you try looking into the eyes of stone-cold killers like Rose or Reina and say, "you must have been so lonely without me, your life is so boring, I'm sure you're insecure about your self-worth, but don't worry, I'm here now to save you!" Good luck dodging Rose's flying knife fan special attack that did 70% of the damage to the last boss on her own.

　　"You're wrong about that. No one, not even elves are complete in and of themselves. Not even Cute-sama. That's why she had to make all of us. That's why she got sad and lonely and descended from her aery throne. If Cute-sama isn't self-sufficient, what do you take me for?" Deedlit laughed pleasantly at the idea.

　　"No offense to Cute-sama, who is probably reading my mind right now, but at times I think just maybe she's less mature than the average girl. . ." I smiled helplessly at the divine judgment I knew I'd be receiving later.

　　"It isn't immaturity, it's naivete. She hasn't interacted with people very much, so she's completely honest and sincere with her expressions and her words. But when you think about it, it's not even naivete. No one can physically harm her, so she can be as open and unguarded around others as she wants. And no one can emotionally betray her either, because she's already read all our hearts and knows that will never happen. While we built up endless layers of dishonest secretiveness in order to not be hurt by others, while we all strive for poker faces and stoicism, she can just leap into our arms and go 'wai, wai!'. Anyone with omnipotence, omniscience and omnibenevolence would end up acting the same." Deedlit analyzed.

　　I laughed out loud. "When you say it like that, it sounds convincing. But to think that until now every single scripture asserted God could only be a stern and wrathful old man who would either torture us in Hell or demand our endless submission in Heaven. To think that Islam itself means submission, when all Cute wanted was for us to do something new and interesting she couldn't predict. . ."

　　"The Gods of my world weren't like that. They had specific tasks and specific followings based on their personalities and lived normal lives like anyone else. They came to our aid when called upon." Deedlit pouted. "Not everyone's religions are as stupid as Earth's."

　　"But we were talking about you," I quickly realized I was running away from the girl I actually wanted to learn more about. "If you aren't complete, what is it I can do to help?"

　　"Hmmm. . ." Deedlit teasingly hopped away and started floating up the rocks, her short skirt flaring as her cloak whipped above her head. "Well, what if I come across an evil magus stronger than me and need a chevalier to ride to my rescue?"

　　"Please let me pass on that one." I rejected her entreaty.

　　"You should train more, Christopher. Even Parn's muscles weren't built in a day you know!" Deedlit teased. "But no, I realize the difficulty. And in all seriousness, I just want someone to play with. I'm an emotional vampire. As I age, everything turns grayer, the colors wash out, and I can't bring myself to care about anything. But then you showed up, full of passion and fire, and suddenly I could see the world in color again. In Lodoss, though you were young, your attachment to your ideals was so strong, I couldn't help but be swept along. And here as well, your passion is overwhelming. Remember when you said you'd carve out your heart and present it at my feet if you felt it could convey your love for me?"

　　I nodded. At the time I had been embarrassed but apparently it had gone over better than expected.

　　"That's what you gave me, Christopher. Your passion. I won't pretend. When we embrace, I love the passion you bring into me. You're totally into it, and it makes me want to care too. And when you confess yourself that deeply my slave, I start to feel a little impassioned too. Even when you aren't looking at me, just like in Lodoss, you're always looking at something or someone passionately. You might be the most passionate man under the heavens. To love so many of us so deeply, so well, for so long, that's got to be an Olympic record by now. You have sex every day and yet when I strip for you it's like your eyes light up with ecstasy. Just looking at you looking at me. . .is something I treasure from you." Deedlit blushed and finished quietly.

　　"But more importantly!" She quickly raised her voice, changing the subject. "When you talk about your plans for Paradise, or how you want another child, or the newest visual novel you read, or how great an anime was, or how much you hate evil people or how much you love seigi -- do you get it? The sex and the children are what occupy our time together, but it's your emotions that fill my heart. Even the ones not directed at me, even your hatred for your former world, it makes me feel like maybe I can feel things too, that maybe life still has more to give. You're my battery. For an elf that's juuyou. For an immortal elf that's everything."

　　"So long as I keep enjoying life, you'll enjoy life with me?" I asked Deedlit.

　　Deed giggled. "Christopher, that sounds like a proposal. If I say yes, are we going to run away together?"

　　"I guess it is a proposal. Deedlit, will you continue to make me happy? Will you even have a seventh born? Even though it's like this, even though you're just one of many, even though I've neglected you all this time, even though I stole away your job with Siri, is it okay to go on loving you?"

　　"Yes." Deedlit stood perched on the top of a tree, her balance perfect despite most of the sole of her foot hanging in midair, looking down on me with slitted eyes full of mystery.

　　Yoshaa! I pumped my fist in victory. Watch out Rose! I'm coming for you next!