PROLOGUE
There was a raucous thunder on Earth. It was a plea from an ant to God. Through the fabric of reality--the transistor-like nature of the universe, the panic and desperate frustration of this one tiny creature sent a magnetic reverberation through the entire dimensional spectrum of Grand Consciousness. It was a chemical aberration allowing an elemental defiance of quantum structure. Positronic-combustion, or maybe even spontaneous evaporation. In an instant of anguish, the insurmountable heights of human emotion were trivialized and made infinitesimally small. Their ordinary doings and daily toils, which would normally overwhelm the information stream of the Earth were momentarily drowned-out and scrutinized in scathing detail. Their faults were cited. Their relentless, yet lethargic natures. Their indifference and volatility. Their chaos and dishonor. They were condemned by the smallest of their peers. One that existed underfoot and often unseen by them. A particular one that opted out of existence rather than to be forced to cope with their unyielding selfishness and malignant ignorance.
Correctly gauging the weight of the world, the tiny ant conveyed the realities of Earth, and the message was received by God. It was authenticated, and the discrepancy revealed. A minor glitch in the universe had occurred, but one indicating that Mankind on Earth was operating out of order—seemingly contradictory to its specific design. This was important, yet disappointing news. So much effort was invested into making Earth self-sustaining, and still the need for regular adjustment persisted. Also needing consideration: an Earth-borne insect transmitted itself directly to Deus, something too remarkable to allow--even for an ant, the most proper of Earthlings. Analysis of the ant's soul revealed an anomalous overflow of free spirit and a malfunction of temporal controls unique to itself. Some kind of quantum paradox within its own resonant signature allowed it to overlap its universal insertion and exit points, triggering reverse-cryptographic escape. Thus, by interrupting the natural circuit of space-time and becoming its own reciprocal in the equation of life, the ant was able to will himself out of its corporeal state and reduce itself to pure information, slipping away into the universal stream of boundless data.
In this way, the process provided its own conclusion. A grievance was leveled and a preliminary judgment decided against Human Beings. The sanctity of life on Earth was defiled by a single species—this could be determined to be true. Still, fault would need to be discovered, and in order accomplish complete understanding, several actions would be taken. The Intermediaries were dispatched. All of them, and with their usual resources. They were told nothing, except to go to Earth and to do as they must. Their arrival would take space-time. Reincarnation was suspended indefinitely. A temporary container was assembled where souls would accumulate and queue. Once the criteria was determined, a system to sort the souls out was put in place, but since events on Earth would unfold in linear chronology, they would be left in standby until the very end. Some amount of testing and evaluation needed to be conducted on Earth. Parameter changes would be made, potentially affecting all of the predetermined outcomes. Certainly humans would be adapted—a new prototype to be introduced and factored for.
Endlessly efficient as the universe is, the optimal candidate-soul was not only ready and viable, it already demonstrated its willingness to volunteer itself. The ant would be reinserted into corporeal space-time--on Earth again, and this time as one of the humans it despised so intensely. Careful consideration of all available human qualities and features went into constructing the former ant's new existence. This particular soul had a socially introverted nature and a predisposition towards being male, and those traits would not be altered. Free Will being an uncontrollable factor, he would face all kinds of societal pitfalls due to the endowments given him. An examination of all possible outcomes showed him failing to understand his environment in most theoretical universes unless the proper hedges were installed. He would need to be humble, despite being confident—a contradictory trait common among the most successful humans. To counter-balance against that nature, he would be forced into religion at a young age, but influenced into shunning institutions at just the right moment in his development—the kind of precise balance between nature & nurture requiring constant oversight in the temporal sequence. Tedious micro-management of a single soul, as had been done on Earth countless times already.
This would upset the Intermediaries once again. Self-reliant as they are (in stark contrast to the needy humans), they would begrudge the people of Earth, knowing full-well that Deus had other projects in creation, which is precisely why the Intermediaries were the first created—to handle the tedium and provide a filter. Earth, however, was now again centrally in view so that Deus should fashion an individual human male from an insect, inserting the soul into the womb of a soon-to-be single mother in the shadow of a towering metropolis, thus assuring that should the child survive, it would certainly grow into the shape of a Man, and expediently. Necessary precautions were made to his soul. No longer able to will himself out of existence, a point of contact was left open in his dreams so that he could share his slumbering mind with Deus, and thereby be guided to his destiny and the fate of humanity. It would be there, in the shadowy sub-dimensional ether of one man's dreams where a verdict for Earth would be pronounced, and also where a sinister plot against the heavens would be revealed.
image source: https://pixabay.com/en/ant-insects-nature-macro-697329/