The Alpha

There was nothing but darkness. It was empty. Nothing at all. No light, no shadows, no life, no state of being, no objects, nothing but complete emptiness. It remained this way for but a few moments. Then there was light. Light everywhere. Bright, blinding light. From the light came essence. Essence formed a mist in the light, and the mist spread throughout the light, filling the emptiness, the vast, infinite emptiness. With the essence, came shadow. Shadow cast down on the light, shadow creating darkness again. In the middle of the light formed solidity. With the solidity formed rock. On the rock, moss grew. The rock cast a shadow in every direction, spreading darkness through the emptiness that was filled with light.

With the moss came blades of grass. The grass formed a tree that grew into the farthest reaches of the infinite space. The tree had felled its leaves and they spread, creating roots in the emptiness over unimaginable time. Above, the lights were overcome with darkness of space. The tree had no light. The tree began to die, suffering its immense pain as darkness enshrouded it. It was suffocated and it died. Darkness had prevailed, and the tree bled. The blood fell to the ground and the tree had fallen, spreading its leaves and seeds across the ground. The leaves and seeds created beautiful endless gardens, which required light to survive. What was left of the essence spread into the darkness and created stars in the infinite space, to lighten the foliage below.

The tears of blood had seeped into the ground, and with sadness and anguish, came the being. The being grew limbs in the underground, and suffocated. It needed air and light. It was driven to claw its way out of the ground, breathing light and seeing the world for the first time. The man stood in amazement. He did not understand what happened before or what was to come. He stood at the fallen tree, dumbfounded, unable to process the information. There was nothing for him here. No life, no companionship. He was alone. He stood in the garden and screamed. He screamed at the stars and darkness above, and was met with rain. Water. He had experienced thirst and taste for the very first time. The water hydrated him and he sat, unable to cope, but able to act instinctively. He sought shelter underneath the trees.

For ages unknown, he wandered. He watched the trees grow larger, but he never grew himself. He did not know companionship like the trees did. He was an outsider to them. At that moment of information he processed, an object fell from the tree. It was a rounded, red object. He felt it in his hands and it was weight he had not experienced. He bit into the apple, and around him, the trees had fallen their fruit to the ground. It finally occurred that he was not an outsider to them, but they to him. They offered him their fruits and productions, where he gave nothing before. So as a result, he took the fruits and replanted them, spreading trees across the garden, producing more fruits of unimagineable variety. There was one tree, however, that did not produce fruit.

The being watched this tree. Why was this tree different? He sat, sitting towards this tree, waiting for its fruit. He never gave up hope in the tree to provide fruit. He simply sat, when finally, the tree produced roots that spread. He followed the roots, and from the roots formed bushes. From the bushes formed elegancy. The Elegancy was beautiful. More beautiful than anything he had seen before. It produced roses. He touched the rose, something he had never experienced. He ran his finger across the vine when there was a disturbance. He felt excruiating pain, and recoiled. At the feeling of his pain, he found his finger, stinging and producing red. He looked around at all the roots and bushes this tree had created. All the roses and elegancies, but all the thorns hidden underneath. But he did not lose faith in the tree. He plucked the roses and sat by the tree for long, ignoring the other trees around him. The tree had seduced him.

Finally, the tree produced a fruit. It smelled strange to him, but he had faith in the tree to provide. He bit into the fruit and spat it out. It was sour to him, unlike the sweetness he had experienced with every other tree. How could such a beautiful object to behold be so terrible underneath? He looked at the other trees around him, not so elegant, but the ones who had produced the fruits that provided nourishment for him. He watched as this elegant tree snuffed and choked the life from the others. It was parasitic and offered nothing but deceit. Pain under beauty. So he felled the tree. he scratched into the wood of the thick tree, and it felt pain but could do nothing to stop him. None of them could stop him, none of them could truly undermine him.

For years the tree suffered in agony as the being scratched and gnawed against his wood. His resentment for the being grew until the point where this tree was fallen. The being turned its back to the tree, and a bright light flashed behind him; a product of his rage. When his rage and resentment at betrayal had subsided, he turned, and watched as the tree burned in fire. The bright light was warm, intoxicating, seductive. He stepped towards the light and attempted to touch it, wrenching his hand back in the same agony at the exact moment. Getting too close was hazardous. He stood away from the tree, and mourned it, although he knew that there was nothing the tree could truly offer.

He was lonely again. For this tree provided elegancy and beauty, his true companions among the other trees that only provided edible, perishable fruit. He mourned the loss but knew it was necessary to ensure the survival of that which was good. At this moment, the fire subsided, and the tree began to rot. From an ulcer in the tree, came a long, thin creature. It did not have arms or legs like he did. It was a serpent. Its black eyes glistened against him.

Where the first tree provided a spirit, the second provided a spy. The serpent attempted to attack the being, but failed to kill him. The being felt the pain, but allowed it. He realized that the tree truly did have nothing to offer that was good, but, knowing that the tree would always find a way to produce evil, he coexisted with the serpent. The serpent had realized there was no way to eliminate the being, no way to gain control, so it coexisted with the being.

The man was jealous of both trees. Both of them had produced life! Why couldn't he? Why couldn't he produce like the other trees? He wrenched into his body, destroying his internal structure, and his entrails spilled out onto the ground. For the first time, he saw just how complex a creation he was, and what a creation he had destroyed in jealousy. What a creation that was so beautiful and wonderful, destroyed in an attempt to create. His entrails, long, slimy strands and thick crimson liquids fell from his exposed body. His mouth filled with the same substance and he choked and drowned in his own life's blood. At that moment, he realized what he had wrought. He was no longer in control. He fell to the ground and twitched, the serpent watching him. He screamed to the sky for help but received silence. He felt remorse. He sought "forgiveness". He sought any companionship, but instead he would die lonely, the serpent to take his place. He felt his exposed organs, spilled out onto the ground. Tears filled in his eyes, and he felt cold. He felt tired. He closed his eyes, and did not feel anymore.

For years the serpent wandered, watching the other trees grow, feeling the same jealousy the being did. He watched, though, as the ground began to shake near the body of the being. The stars watched this life spring from the ground. From the ground formed a creature created in the original being's image. It was created from the entrails and body of the being. It formed from the ground, different in size but with a similar structure. It was called man. From him followed a creature in similar design with different components. It was called woman. The being, the first test, *had* created in life through his death. He created life in his image.

The essence called to them, and they answered. They were blind, but they heard. It told them not of what came before them, but what they were to do. The serpent was watching from the sidelines, waiting to strike. Thus, the second test, the test of Man began.