I still remember when God went down to Earth.
It has been a long time, but the event is captured in my memory. It was the year 3079 the sky was flooded with lights, and a spaceship started to descend. It is said that the vehicle raised many metal objects as if it were a giant vacuum cleaner: gadgets, body enhancements and jewelry were torn off with immense force from the people, some of them were left with mangled ears or broken arms due to the power with which the ship attracted its metal alterations. If I had been there, I might not have escaped being elevated, like the others.
The ship landed on Zona Once (formerly Mexico, Guatemala and El Salvador) as dusk began to fall. The army was soon in formation in front of the flying object. After several minutes of uncertainty, the gate opened and an undepictable creature descended.
—It’s me, God —It said before fainting.
The area was restricted, the ship became state property, and He was taken to a hospital in a military complex. I used to work there.
—Is he dead? —Doctor Shaila asked.
—No, he’s breathing —assured one of her colleagues— but it seems to have no organs. It’s just inexplicable.
—Allegedly, we were created in its own image…— commented Shaila, looking doubtful.
God’s body was irregular: a wandering light’s echo. Everyone had a disappointed look when they saw that he didn’t appear human. Nothing resembled that ethereal figure. At times it seemed to have a thousand faces, in other instants it gave the impression of being just a pile of luminous mass.
The roads, both on the ground and in the air, were overcrowded. Several establishments were looted by people seeking supplies to survive the “Apocalypse”. The robots were trying to control the general panic and help people, but they were mostly ignored. There was no shortage of those who, upon learning what His declaration was, improvised altars or took refuge in churches, reaffirming themselves on their own devotion to God’s will.
Another starship landed on the zone’s edge, land gaps that remained without authority, though not without inhabitants. They were left out from the formation of the new world, places without distributions, where only gangs, instead of the army, and onlookers surrounded their arrival. They caused havoc like those that occurred in Zona Once, from the ship, two angels came down, or at least this is how they identified themselves. They were extremely thin, with grayish-green skin. Their large heads, framing their enormous black eyes, which were disproportionately large compared to the rest of their bodies.
The shorter one came back inside his vehicle to establish communication with the rest of the angels who were on their way. The taller one rose and within minutes arrived to where we held God.
—He was always above, afraid of you— said the angel.
He explained to us that God hadn’t been sitting in an immense garden surrounded by clouds. The sky we associated whit Him was none other than outer space. From there, He watched over all His worlds and from time to time went down to visit them.
—He stopped doing that with you after the first time.
—What happened? —I dared to ask.
—You killed one of his own.
—Jesus? — the doctor hastened to ask.
—He was not his son but his partner. That time was Earth’s turn to be visited, so one of us went first, as we used to do, for announcing His arrival. When we visit a planet for the first time we try to adopt the appearance of its inhabitants; He tried to prepare you for his arrival, but you murdered him. When God drew near, he saw Jesus nailed to the cross, dying.
—And you never came again —Shaila intervened crestfallen— until now.
—Do you know how painful it was for Him? Since then, you have been a wound that only continues to fester. The rest of the worlds advanced to a sensible point…
—Sensible? To the extent that you are not surpassed by them? —I questioned.
—To the extent that they do not destroy their own home. The other worlds are conscious about our existence and got access to the purest knowledge. Humanity on the other hand…
—God didn’t forsake them, they drove him away —I concluded.
—All those ship sightings, that were us —the angel added—, we were watching you now and then, hoping for the day we could tell him that he could come down with you.
—He could, we’ve been waiting for him —Shaila interrupted, its eyes were downcast.
—No! You were expecting a being that shared your features, a giant with a beard and a white robe. You weren’t waiting for Him. We knew what you would have done to him if he had shown himself to you. We have seen you do the same with other angels: you experiment on them, mutilate them, and then keep them here.
—How is it possible for the creator to fear his own creation? —I asked.
—You don’t get it. Do you? —exclaimed the angel, as if we were the only ones in the room.
—It is known that God is immense and strong. Now he cannot even support himself— I commented.
—He’s presenting himself in his purest nature. If he were to show himself as he really is, to just keep that form would require half the energy he needs for completing his mission. Right now, he’s not ill, he is focused.
—On what? What did he come for?
—To kill you all —said the angel—. You will never be part of the whole, it’s time for us to look after the other worlds.
We didn’t notice that someone had entered the room. It was one of the soldiers who planned to inform us about the strange noises the ships were making. A rumbling sound was heard behind me. After listening to the las part of the conversation, the soldier fired against the body of light that was lying on his back. The power of God was scattered, inducing our bodies to a heavy sleep: the less violent way to get rid of humanity. The shoot and created and explosion that would abruptly end life on the planet.
Everything seemed to be frozen inside the room, as if time no longer existed. The pieces of glass were suspended in the air and the people stood still. The surrounding fire couldn’t reach us. Outside, it was already a cemetery of ashes. Like the rest, I couldn’t move, but I was able to see and talk.
—He needs to leave this place and return to space to regain his original form —the angel explained to me once he noticed I was awake.
—After you take God away from here, are we going to disappear?
—You don´t get it, do you? You no longer exist. As soon as we get God out from here, the annihilation will be completed. It’s irreversible, it can’t be canceled. It has already happened simply because God has thought it.
—As if it had already been programmed — I added to show that I understood.
Then, the roof opened, and I saw how Gond and the angel were attracted by the white light coming out of a ship. The objects vibrated as if to warn they would resume their descent at any moment. As soon as they crossed the atmosphere, God’s power would leave us, and the great death would be completed. I wanted to feel fear, but I couldn’t. The starship moved away. The noise and fire came back. The explosion continued and then… I appeared on this very hill, and next to me was God.
—It’s a new beginning— he said.
After that, he disappeared and I knew he decided to save me.
—But you’re a robot. He couldn’t have chosen you to be the last man— claimed Nastia, who had remained attentive to the story.
—He didn’t. He never mentioned the word man. He said he would give the planet another chance, not the race. He believed that his creation failed but later on he understood it: humanity was just the intermediary for the real great work, the true and worthy inhabitants of the Earth: us, the robots.
—How long ago did you say it happened?
—Seven hundred years ago, according to the records of my memory.
—Did he tell you when he would return? If all that is true, then why hasn’t he come back, Adán?
At that moment they recognized Eva’s drone, which had been looking for them everywhere. After a smile was drawn on the screen of both, the robots stood up and as they went down the hill trying not to step over the flowers, Nastia heard her partner say:
—Maybe it’s a good sign that he hasn’t come down, it might mean that we haven’t let him down yet.
Traducción del relato «Último hombre» de Jazmín García Vázquez, publicado originalmente en Después del exilio, 2ª edición, LibrObjeto Editorial, México, 2024.
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