The Portal

               

                Victor Cummings was what is becoming in this world a common fixture—an atheistic scientist. He was no ordinary scientist, however. He was on the fringes of the scientific community. Actually, he was more of an inventor than a scientist, and indeed he was considered the Thomas Edison of his day. What made his work unique was that, because he was a staunch atheist, all of his inventions were aimed at proving the inexistence of God. Thus his nova machine, which was capable of making a controlled universe, and his Perpetual Heaven Hat, which put the wearer in a state of perpetual bliss.

                Victor was working on a new machine, which he hoped would open a portal into a separate dimension. To build the machine, he rented a laboratory in the tropics of Fiji, where he could be isolated from those who were fascinated by what he was doing.

                After twelve years of labor, he was ready to test his machine.

                Victor always first tested his machines on himself. His peers often told him that this was unwise, and that he should use animals instead, but Victor held the belief that an inventor’s creation was an extension of the self, and that it was only natural that the inventor be the first to comprehend its power.

                The machine was a steel pentagonal structure with a door on one side that lifted upwards at the push of a button. Connected to the chamber was a strange-looking contraption filled with what appeared to be coiled tubes. The top of the structure was attached to a huge generator that extended from the ceiling, along with a litany of other strange and complex machinery. Inside the structure were a single red padded chair and an overhead light. On the armrest of the chair was the button that initiated the sequence which, supposedly, opened the portal.

                Victor dressed himself in his finest tailored suit, poured himself a glass of scotch on the rocks, downed it, and walked into the chamber. He sat down on the chair, gritted his teeth, and pressed the button on the arm rest.

                There was a low hum that came from above. The sides of the chamber began to rattle, as if it was trying to lift itself off the ground. The light on the ceiling flashed several times, then shattered. A beam of light began to circle around the chair, slowly moving further and further inward. It soon flashed right before Victor’s face. A loud noise was heard, like a car speeding through a tunnel.

                Then, it went completely dark. Victor thought he heard the sound of heavy breathing. At first he thought it was him, but soon he realized he was breathing quite silently. He thought he heard whispering above him, and he grew very cold. Then, there was a voice.

                “Victor.”

                Victor grew afraid. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up.

“Victor.”

He tried to stand, but found himself paralyzed.

“You have been denying me all your life,” said the voice.

“Who are you?” cried Victor.

“You know who I am. I am your creator.”

“You mean, you are God?”

“You must do penance, Victor, for your doubt. Return, and tell the world that I exist.”

Victor thought to himself that this was perhaps a dream.

“This is no dream, Victor, and even if it was, it should be proof enough.”

“Yes,” said Victor. “I’ll do as you say.”

The light came back on, and Victor stood up. He went to the door and opened it. There was a bright light and a loud din. Before him was a vast field, and in the field were tens of thousands of people, dressed in silk robes, talking. The din gradually faded as the people began to see him. A man who was holding a bright red flag spoke aloud:

“It’s him! The Great Divine One!”

He fell to the ground and began chanting a name that was at first indecipherable to Victor. Then, however, the entire group of people got on the ground and began chanting: “Zeluthra. Zeluthra.”

Victor then realized, he had made it to the next dimension. Here, he was considered God. As he walked closer to the crowd, his thoughts both frightened and amused him. “It is strange,” he thought, “this dimension is exactly the same as the one I came from.”