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"And I being Memnoch, the unredeemable, said, 'Oh? Why thendoesn't He pick me up and take me out of here, or do what Hewishes?'
"At this point, Michael looked miserable on my behalf and hesaid, 'Memnoch, for the love of God, go willingly back into yourproper form. Feel your body grow in stature; let your wings carry youto Heaven. He wants you only if you want to come! Now, Memnoch,think before you.. ..'
" 'No, you don't have to caution me, beloved,' I said to Michael.
'I'm coming, with tears in my eyes, I come.' I knelt down and kissedthe sleeping Lilia. She looked up at me. 'This is farewell, my mate,my teacher,' I said. I kissed her, and then, turning, became the Angel,visible to her, letting the matter define me so that she, sitting up onher elbows and crying, would see this last vision and hold it to herheart perhaps when she needed it.
"And then, invisible, I joined Michael and Raphael and wentHome.
"In the first moments I could scarce believe it; when I passedthrough Sheol, the souls screamed in agony and I threw my hands outin consolation. 'I will not forget you! I swear it. I take your suit toHeaven,' and then on and up I went, the light coming down to meetme and envelop me, and the warm love .of God梬hether prelude tojudgment or punishment or forgiveness, I did not know梥urroundedme and upheld me. The cries of joy in Heaven were deafening evento my ears.
"All the angels of the bene ha ehhim were gathered. The Light ofGod pulsed from the center.
" 'Am I to be punished?' And all I could feel was thanks that I hadseen this light, if only for moments, once again.
"I couldn't look into the light. I had to put my hands up. And asalways happens at a meeting of all of Heaven, the Seraphim and theCherubim closed around God so that the light came in rays frombehind them, glorious, and a brightness that we could bear.
"The voice of God was immediate and total.
" 'I have a word for you, my brave one, my arrogant one,' He said.
'I have a concept for you to ponder in your angelic wisdom. It is theconcept of Gehenna, of hell.' This word unfolded to me in all itsimplications. 'Fire and torment eternal,' said God, 'the inverse ofHeaven. Tell me, Memnoch, from your heart. Would that be theappropriate punishment for you梩he very opposite of the glory youforsook for the Daughters of Men? Would it be the appropriatesentence梥uffering everlasting or until Time is no more?' "14IT DIDN'T take a second to answer," Memnoch said. He raisedhis eyebrows slightly as he looked at me. "I said, 'No, Lord, youwouldn't do that to anyone. We are all your creatures. That is ahorror too terrible for anyone or anything that has been deliberatelymade. No, Lord. When the men and the women of earth told methey had dreamed of such torments for those who had been bad andcaused them pain and misery, I assured them no such place existed orever would.'
"Laughter rang out in heaven. Laughter from one end of the skiesto the other. Every single angel was laughing, and of course thelaughing was melodic and filled with delight and wonder as always,but laughter it was, and not song.
"Only one being wasn't laughing. Memnoch. 1.1 stood there,having spoken with perfect seriousness and utter amazement that theywere laughing at what I had said.
"But the strangest phenomenon had occurred. God, too, hadlaughed, and was laughing, softly, with them, in unison, or in a leadingrhythm, and only as His laughter slowly died away, so did theirs.
" 'So you told them that, Memnoch. That there would never be aHell of Eternal Punishment of the Bad; never; that such a placewould never exist.'
" 'Yes, Lord, I did,' I said. 'I couldn't imagine why they hadthought of it. Except they get so angry sometimes with theirenemies. ...'
"The laughter began again, but God silenced it.
"God said, 'Memnoch, have you left all your mortal cells onearth? You are in possession of all your angelic faculties? You are notstill acting the simpleton out of habit?'
"I spoke loud over the continuing laughter. 'No, Lord. I dreamtof this moment. Separation from you was agony. I did what I did outof love, isn't it so? Surely you know better than I.'
" 'I fear you did,' He answered. 'It was love, yes, that much istrue.'
" 'Lord, I dreamt you would let me come before you and explainthe entire thing, make the case I had meant to make when I first saw aDaughter of Men and went to her. Is this to be granted?'
"Silence.
"I could hear nothing from the Divine Presence, but I realizedsuddenly that some among the bene ha elohim had drawn close to me.
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