An Easter Story; Bunnies Never Die

Millennia ago, a formerly religious man hides on Easter Island. In a cave, surrounded by bodies, cut open and attached to wires and probes. He runs around his lab as barely contained currents of blue lightning flow through ropes with fragments of iron rich rock woven into them. He dodges the lightning running from body to body, screaming “what is this I have unlocked? What is it capable of? Have I done it? Have I ended death?” As he tightens the ropes to each body, carefully, as the bodies twitch, he becomes excited screaming “YES! LIVE ONCE AGAIN." Birds fly around the lab as they caw loudly and violently. As the lightning pulses through the ropes and into the air. He looks at the birds saying “yes, yes I know, terrifying. But potentially revolutionary.” As the bodies twitch again. He looks at them smiling saying “YES, rise, live once more, so that no one must die again.” The lightning continues to pulse more and more, as the caw of the black birds get louder and more aggressive. The man screams “YES!” When all of the sudden, a vortex of lightning circles in the air. As the birds fly through it and catch fire, almost instantly turning to ash. The man's smile fades to a frown as he says “NO! NO!” as he looks into the blue vortex that looks almost like water formed of lightning. His frown becomes a look of confusion as he sees the reflection of the birds within it. But they have burnt he thinks, as he looks to the ground seeing piles of ash, as he looks back up at the now growing vortex that the birds fly within. He strokes his chin so caught up in thought he does not hear the growing thunderous buzz of the lightning. The bodies begin to convulse uncontrollably, as the vortex grows and the buzzing of the lightning gets louder and louder. Until BOOM! The vortex instantly vanishes, the bodies catch fire, the lightning pulses cease along with the buzzing they brought with them. The man says “no, no, no, NOOOO!” As he falls to the ground, face in hands, crying, in the now darkened cave laboratory only illuminated by the yellow flames dancing on each body.

    The fires rage as the man's tears fall. Suddenly the large cavern door makes a low pitch squeak as it opens and a voice calls “Doctor Jesus? Doctor Jesus, are you here? I have some more”- The voice cuts off as the man speaking notices the fires and runs in “oh my lord!” As he picks up buckets of mud and throws them on the fiery corpses. The cave is now completely dark, but only for a moment, as soon the butts of little bugs begin glowing. The man still holding the buckets looks around calling again “Doctor Jesus? Doctor Jesus? Doctor”- As he sees him sitting on the ground, face in hands, hands in tears. Mumbling through them. He runs to him saying “Oh my lord! Doctor Jesus” as he kneels next to him continuing “Doctor Jesus, are you alright?”

“NO, I AM NOT ALRIGHT! IT KEEPS FAILING! LIKE IT WORKS, BUT THEN IT FAILS, WHY? DEATH IS MERELY AN ENGINEERING PROBLEM! SO WHY CAN I NOT SOLVE IT? WHY?” Doctor Jesus screams as he shakes the shoulders of the man. Looking frightened the man says “I, I do not know! Perhaps tis unsolvable.”

“PSHHH! Unsolvable! Don’t be ridiculous! If there is one thing I have shown through my years, tis that everything is solvable! I have solved every engineering problem I have ever come across! But this one! This one still eludes me! WHY?” Doctor Jesus says as he rises and leans on a table. The other man shrugs as he too rises and says “perhaps, tis not that it can’t be solved. But rather tis not meant for you to solve.”

Doctor Jesus looks up and slightly over at him saying “don’t speak in such riddle's boy. Just say clearly what you mean.”

The man looks down and stutters “well, the problem of death is one that seems to have already been solved, by the gods. Asking only for our sacrifice in exchange for their secrets.”

Doctor Jesus begins laughing hysterically as he says “PSHHH! The Gods. Made up bunch a rulers, beyond the natural world, yet somehow in control of it, while remaining unmeasurable! NO! We must put away such childish ideas if we are to ever truly have the chance at eternal life!”

But they can grant us that, all they ask is”-

Doctor Jesus interrupts the man as he screams “NO! See that is exactly what I am talking about! Why seek an end to death, if you already believe it does not exist? That is why so many have died, and why so many continue to. Because too many, like you, have deluded themselves into thinking no one ever truly dies, they just move away, to some spirit realm, beyond detection, rather convenient.”

“But your experiments have”-

Doctor Jesus interrupts again “My experiments are detectable, showable, demonstrable. You saw the fire when you came in yes?” The man nods as Doctor Jesus continues “you see my illuminating bugs, light up this cave immediately upon darkness yes?” The man nods again as Doctor Jesus asks “and tell me, how many of these gods or spirits have you seen? Have the clergy shown you more or less than I have?”

The man slumps as he mumbles “less!”

Doctor Jesus says with a laugh “well, let me know when I have competition. But until then, I will follow what works over the blissful delusions sold to us as truth that cannot be shown! Now then what did you come here for boy?”

The man looks up saying “I have brought you some stuff here.” As he walks over to a basket by the door, picks it up and brings it over to Doctor Jesus. The Doctor unfolds the sheet covering it as he sees white and brown fur, saying “Bunny corpses?”

The man bows his head saying “yes sir, tis all I could find. I hope they will do. Under it there are warm crow eggs, they should hatch in only a few days time if you allow the bodies of the Bunnies to warm them.”

Doctor Jesus nods as he puts the basket in a corner and says “I will be needing more corpses, the fresher the better.”

The man slumps saying “I, I will try, but, well you know how much of a risk tis. If anyone were to find out I was robbing graves for the mad heathen inventor. They would surely hang us both.”

“Ah but you are the graves keeper, little risk for you.” Doctor Jesus says as he walks over and hands the man a heavy pouch of silver rocks. This makes the man's face become cheery as he smiles saying “yes sir. You are right. I will do what I can as soon as I can.” As he bows and walks out.

Doctor Jesus leans over a table as he calls him “oh and please forgive my anger. Tis not at you. You know you are my closest friend Judas!”

As the night approaches and the outside sky fills with lightning. Doctor Jesus looks at all of the charred corpses, saying “c’mon, one of you must still be good! Tonight is the perfect night! All I need is one!” As he digs through the piles of bodies. Until he finally sees one. Burn marks, but uncharred. He smiles as he screams “EUREKA!” He then hoists the body up onto a table by the corner with the basket in it. He ties ropes to it. As he drags the rope, tying more and more to the ends. As he climbs the cave to the outside. Spiraling the iron rich rock rope around a tall narrow, naked tree. Topping it with the rocky end of the rope, as he rushes back down to his lab. Almost immediately the rope begins pulsing lightning that struck the tree through it. He smiles as the body begins twitching, but frowns once the twitches become convulsions. He screams “NO!” As he attempts to adjust the body. As the convulsing continues, his adjustments become more frantic. Soon the rope disconnects from the body flying and sticking to the basket in the corner. Right as another bolt of lightning strikes the tip of the tree outside. Doctor Jesus screams “NO!” As he lunges towards the basket only to be thrown back by a jolt of lightning pulsing through the basket. Another vortex forms. Showing him the glimpse of a volcano erupting from under the Ocean before it dissipates in the same moment. As Doctor Jesus, sits, burnt and scarred on the other side of his lab watching the basket go up in flames. He cries screaming “NO! NOT AGAIN! WHAT AM I DOING WRONG? WHAT AM I MISSING?” As he cries and cries in the corner until he falls asleep. He dreams of hopping around in a bluish lit field that sways softly like water. Surrounded by colorful eggs, and Crows flying and chirping happily above him. When he wakes up, he rubs his eyes, and looks over at the charred basket, puzzled as it is tipped over. He thinks twas up right when it caught fire last night. He pushes himself up and walks over to investigate. As he walks he hears a thump, thump, thump. He stops and listens. Thinking it was his own footsteps, until, right before he starts walking again he hears it again, thump, thump, thump. He looks confused and curious as he tip toes towards the thumping. Now over by the basket. He becomes more confused as he doesn’t see anything. Not even ash or bone inside the basket. Then he hears little nibbling sounds as he turns, and his eyes widen as he jumps back saying “GREAT SCOTT!” As he is staring at a brown and a white Bunny nibbling on the green leaf of a carrot!

    Staring on in bewilderment for a moment before he smiles and repeats “great Scott!” With a laugh, before he reaches out his hands and takes a single step towards the bunnies, before jumping back again in shock, as black wings sprout from the bunnies back and flap them into the air. Doctor Jesus is frozen in shock, mouth hanging open. Only his eyes move to follow the seemingly random yet surprisingly precise flying patterns of the Bunnies, or Crows, or Bunny-Crows! Remarkable, he thinks, I must remark on it! As he finally moves to his desk and begins painting notes on it. He observes them for hours, smiling in shock the whole time. Painting his desk with descriptions of his observations. After many hours, his desk, almost full of descriptive activities. He notices the brown Bunny squat in a corner and poop out a large solid white egg. As the brown Bunny flies away. The white Bunny lands on the egg and appears to pee on it. The thick pink fluid naturally spirals the egg as it absorbs into it. He leans forward, noticing the pink lines of the spiral remain after the absorption. “Remarkable” he mutters as he paints more descriptions of the colorful egg. As he continued to watch and paint long into the night, until he began to yawn through his excited smile, until he finally crashed. Head falling onto the painted desk, as he snored. He once again dreamed of that swaying bluish field. This time he was flying. As he saw flying machines through ponds in the sky. Men wearing metal, while fighting with it, in others. And women sleeping in small white beds, transparent tubes in their nose and beeping machines surrounding them, in another.

    He jumped awake, wondering what happened? As he rubs his face and looks at his paint-stained hands. He laughs, thinking I must’ve fallen asleep. He then becomes serious and concerned as he wonders what did I miss? As he looks around and eyes widen exponentially. So wide they begin to hurt under the strain. As he sees his cave colored with bright and colorful eggs. After a moment of shock he shakes his head, closes his eyes, rubs them and looks. Still there. Once more, he thinks as he closes his eyes, pinches himself before opening them again. As his smile widens so much his grin almost touches his eyes as he says “so tis real then?”, as he begins looking up and down from his desk so he can paint vivid descriptions of the eggs.

A little while later he hears the distinctive low pitch squeak of his cavern door. He jumps up and runs to the door smiling. He pulls it the rest of the way open, as he spreads his arms screaming in joy “JUDAS!” As he hugs him and kisses him. Judas is surprised as he begins to say “he, hello boss, I”-

Before being interrupted by Doctor Jesus screaming “COME IN! COME IN! OH JUDAS I HAVE SUCH SIGHTS TO SHOW YOU!” As he guides Judas in by the shoulder holding his other arm as if to show off his now colorful, egg decorated cave.

Judas looks surprised asking in a stutter “wha, wha, what, ar, are al, all of the, these?”

Doctor Jesus laughs saying “why they’re eggs my dear boy. Can you not tell?”

Judas shakes his head, saying “no” before switching to nodding saying “well yeah, but where did”- He is interrupted by a Bunny-Crow as he ducks screaming “WHOA! WHAT? WHAT? WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?”

Doctor Jesus laughs and pats Judas’s shoulder as he says, “that is where all these came from” waving to the eggs and continuing, "I call them Bunny-Crows, aren’t they glorious?” Judas’s mouth hangs open as he stares up at the Bunny-Crows flying around, nodding as he mutters “yeah, or terrifying.”

"Oh, don’t worry dear boy, they’re friendly. At least I think they are.” As he walks away. Judas, mouth still open, continues staring up as he nods saying “oh ok”- As he snaps out of his feeling of awe, looks down towards Doctor Jesus saying “wait? Think they are?”

Doctor Jesus, now over at his desk says, “yeah, well I don’t know for sure. They are rather skittish, though they do not seem to be aggressive."

Judas asks, “where did you get them?”

Doctor Jesus looks up at him, smiles and laughs saying “from you my dear boy. Do you not recall? The basket you brought me?”

Judas asks “what? I do not understand. Are you telling me a basket made those things?”

“Bunny-Crows. And no, don’t be ridiculous.” As he picks up the brittle and black charred basket saying “this is the basket, or what’s left of it. But these, these beauties” He waves at the Bunny-Crows and continues “these are the contents!” Judas looking all around, dizzying himself as his eyes dart in all directions trying to follow the randomly precise flight patterns of the creature. Doctor Jesus continues to explain “so, if you recall, the night after you were last here was a terrible lightning storm. Using the one intact body I could I used it to attempt my experiment again. The body convulsed so violently the ropes became unhooked from it and hooked onto the basket. Right as another bolt shot through it. I was thrown back by the shock. Thinking twas a failure. Only to awake and learn twas a success. I think the lightning must have merged the living Crows with the dead Bunnies. Hence, Bunny-Crows. A fully, viable, autonomous new species!”

Judas still dizzying himself as he followed the Bunny-Crows with his eyes, said, “but, but, those Bunnies were dead how could”-

Doctor Jesus interrupted shaking his head saying “no, no, my dear boy, don’t you get it? I have done it, from now on, Bunnies never die! Now I only need to figure out how to do it for people.”

“And you’re gonna need bodies for that huh?” Doctor Jesus smiles and nods as Judas continues “well, that is why I am here.” As he walks outside, then comes back in, wheeling a wooden cart in front of him. He stops, pulls the sheet off the cart revealing the clean naked corpses of two men and two women. Doctor Jesus gets positively giddy as he runs over to them clapping. He examines the bodies saying “these are so fresh. They almost look like they’re still alive.”

“They are the freshest bodies I could get. Just died this morning, never buried. Drunkards and prostitutes, so no questions!” Doctor Jesus nods as he holds their wrists and counts, before saying “yup definitely dead! Thank you. Thank you so much Judas. I will have another sack of silver for you next time. And shortly after all the silver either of us could ever want. As the men who ended death, we will no doubt, be the richest men in life.”

Judas looks surprised as he smiles and nearly tears up asking “you, you’ll give me credit?”

“Of course, Judas. I could not have done this without the fearless, courageous help of my closest friend” Doctor Jesus said as he smiled and patted Judas on the shoulder. Who wiped a tear from his eye while smiling back at the mad heathen inventor.

Long into the night Doctor Jesus scalped the bodies and examined the brain. He smiled saying “so intact, it’s, it’s beautiful” as he wipes a tear from his eye and continues with cutting open the chest with surgical precision. As he worked on getting the ropes hooked up he heard a crackling sound. He looked up and over as he smiled seeing the eggs crack as Bunnies pushed, clawed, and hopped out. He ran from the bodies and laid on the ground to watch the new Bunny-Crows hop around. As he smiled and reached a finger towards them black wings sprouted out as his smile widened. He watched the tiny Bunny-Crows flap their tiny wings, as they hopped higher than usual before falling back to the ground. Doctor Jesus laughed as he stuck his finger closer to the baby saying “tis ok, lil guy. You’re just young. I couldn’t walk till I was like two, so you’re already ahead of me. Don’t worry you’ll get there.” As he spoke the little creature slowly walked towards his finger and began nibbling at it slightly. Doctor Jesus laughed saying “ah, you’re hungry, here” as he unwrapped his other fingers and scooped the tiny Bunny-Crow up into his hand and walked over to a cupboard. He dug through some stuff until he found some lettuce and ripped a piece off and slowly put it to the Bunny-Crow’s mouth. The Bunny-Crow ate it in one bite. Doctor Jesus laughed as he ripped another piece off before the baby Bunny-Crow, opened their mouth and stuck a black bird like beak far out and chomped the whole piece of lettuce from Doctor Jesus before pulling the beak back into their mouth. Doctor Jesus’s eyes widened as he wondered aloud “oh my! You’re not just a cross between a Bunny and a Crow; you are quite literally a Bunny Crow. Like an actual body of a Crow inside a Bunny suit. Could it be?” He carefully pulled the mouth of the Bunny-Crow open and looked closely in it through a thick multi layered glass piece as he muttered “marvelous!”

    The next night Doctor Jesus had ropes tied all around the lab, from the tree outside into multiple parts of all of the bodies that he lay atop unhatched Bunny-Crow eggs. He finished tightening the ropes. More than I have had for any of my other experiments, with fresher bodies he thought. As he rubs his hands together, smiled and laughed deviously as he muttered “yes, yes, this time it will work!” Right then he hears the thunder, looks up, his smile widening as he said, “here we go!” Soon lightning struck the top of the tree and traveled through the ropes the bodies began twitching, then convulsing. Doctor Jesus just stood there watching as Bunny-Crows flying overhead cawed loudly and aggressively. He spoke to them “yes, yes I know, terrifying! tis wonderful, isn’t it? Just wait till they catch fire, then they’ll walk, or hop, maybe even fly, then we’ll know MAN WILL NEVER DIE!” His smile, cartoonishly large and devious. As the lightning kept striking, pulsing through the ropes. The bodies convulsing more violently than at any time before. Doctor Jesus rubbed his hands together, watching smiling, saying “here we go!” But right as it seemed the fire might come, a vortex formed instead. Doctor Jesus’s smile faded to a frown as the vortex kept growing as the lightning kept pulsing and the fire never came. Doctor Jesus said “what? I do not understand? Where is the fire? Not another vortex! I WANT THE FIRE BACK!” The vortex grew and grew as the lightning fed it. Small Bunny-Crows hopped out from behind the tables with the bodies on them. They hopped so fast and forcefully the tables began to tip as they hopped right into the vortex. Doctor Jesus screamed “NO! BABIES!” As he leaped only to catch black ash in his hands as the babies combusted. He almost cried until he looked into the vortex, tilted his head, so confused as he watched Bunnies hop on as Crows flew out from their backs. He attempted to crawl forward and grab them, as his foot got caught on the body tables. Without thinking he tugged his leg hard. The tables fell, and the bodies and eggs rolled into the vortex. Doctor Jesus screamed “NOOO!” As he tried to reach them as ash fell all over his body. He spit ash out of his mouth and rubbed it out of his eyes as he looked into the vortex, more shocked than he had ever been, as what he saw, he almost couldn’t comprehend. Men and women walking on as Bunnies and Crows hopped and flew around them!

Right after the lightning stopped, Doctor Jesus just lay there crying in shock. Before jumping up and manically painting on his desk. He thought what was that? The afterlife? “NO!” as he slapped himself saying “don’t be ridiculous!" Then he muttered “but maybe? Was I wrong? Or was I right, but in the wrong way?” He then recalled his dreams as he snapped his fingers and smiled manically saying “that’s it! I’ve been thinking of this all wrong. My whole approach has been flawed. The eternity of the mind, could that hold the secrets to the eternity of life? An eternity in mere moments. But how?” He thought for a moment before snapping his finger screaming “TIME DILATION!” As he began frantically painting on his desks and tables, smiling and even foaming at the mouth like a mad man.

All through the night, into early next morning. His manic energy still at peak, foam still leaking from his grinning mouth. As he painted notes on table after table, desk after desk, wall after wall. So frantically focused he didn’t even hear his cavern door open, or Judas yelling his name the first few times. “DOCTOR JESUS? DOCTOR JESUS? DOCTOR JESUS?” He finally turned around, grin big, wide and full of foam, he reached out his arms saying “JUDAS! I’VE DONE IT! Well, ok I haven’t done it, but I have figured it out! I’ve been thinking about this all wrong. We cannot live on in our bodies, too old, and broken. We need to be made anew, in a new world, a new life after this one!”

Judas smiled as he asked “so you’ve come around?”

Doctor Jesus looked at him asking “huh?”

Judas responded “Made a new? That’s the spirit. A new life after this one? You’re talking about an afterlife. A spirit realm.”

Doctor Jesus laughed saying “no, no, spirit realm, blah, don’t be ridiculous.”

Judas looked confused as he wondered aloud “wait so you don’t believe there’s an afterlife?”

Doctor Jesus replied “not yet!” As he continued painting notes on his cupboard.

Judas looked even more confused as he asked “what? What do you mean? Not yet? How? What”- Doctor Jesus turned around so fast Judas jumped back slightly in fear. Doctor Jesus then said “THERE IS NO AFTERLIFE AND THERE WON’T BE IF WE DON’T BUILD IT! We have to build it! And I can, I know how, the foundation is already there, internally, I just need to externalize it!”

Judas looks very puzzled as he says “I don’t”-

Doctor Jesus interrupts screaming “THE MIND MAN! DON’T YOU GET IT? THE MIND!” As he taps his head and continues “there is a whole world in here. And I have externalized it. I just need to stabilize it. Then we can all live for an eternity in the world of the mind!”

Judas, still looking puzzled said “wait, no that doesn’t make sense, an eternity in the finite mind. How”-

Doctor Jesus interrupted, “haven’t you ever had a dream?” Judas nodded as Doctor Jesus continued “right! Many days, in one night, an eternity in mere moments. Tis called time dilation! And this, I can end death not only for all those who will die, but all those who have!”

This made Judas more confused as he stroked his chin saying “wait, how? All those who have? You’re talking about going back in time! That’s not possible.”

“PSHHH! Not possible, PSHHH! The mind already can. I have dreamt of my childhood. I have dreamt of my success!”

“But those are dreams, not reality,” Judas said.

“Yes! But if I can externalize the world of the mind, I can make that world this one. And I have, I have seen the formation of this very Island. I have seen mechanical birds with long static wings. I have seen wars of iron. Machines breathing for women. The past the future, tis all within the present. Our eyes can only see it as it passes, but our minds know tis always present! And if that externalization can be stabilized. Then we can all see it, live it, master it. Time, the only weapon capable of killing death! I just need to stabilize this external mind, but how? The lightning itself is unstable. How is the mind stabilized?" He ponders as Judas becomes concerned. Doctor Jesus then snaps his fingers saying “ah ha, the brain! Judas, I need a living body next!”

Judas’s concern reaches a breaking point as he screams “NO! HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND? CORPSES IS ONE THING BUT NOW YOU WANT TO KILL SOMEBODY?”

Doctor Jesus looks shocked and horrified as he mutters “what? No, I, I want to make them live. I need to make them live!

“WHY?” Judas screams. “Why can’t you just except, death is a part of life?” Doctor Jesus holds himself up on a table as he clenches his face shaking his head as Judas repeats “WHY? TELL ME WHY? DEATH IS JUST A PART OF LIFE”-

Doctor Jesus turns around, nearly in tears as he screams “THE SHIT PART! THE WORST PART! THE PART THAT NO BODY LIKES! HAVE YOU EVER SEEN A MOTHER CRYING OVER THE DEAD BODY OF HER BABY? A CHILD NOT UNDERSTANDING WHY THEIR FATHER WON’T WAKE UP?” As he hits his chest with his finger a few times continuing “BECAUSE I HAVE! I HAVE WATCHED THE HOPES, DREAMS, WISHES AND PRAYERS THAT YOUR SO CALLED GODS CHOOSE TO IGNORE AND I DECIDED I WON’T! I WILL DO EVERYTHING I CAN! WHATEVER IT TAKES, TO MAKE SURE THAT NO BODY ELSE HAS TO DIE!” As he falls to his knees holding his face in his hands, bawling his eyes out. Judas stands there, watching the mad heathen inventor cry like a child. He approaches him slowly, puts his hand on his shoulder saying “I get it. And I respect it. But you know this is too far! The risk is too great. If it doesn’t work, we would be murderers. We would be the cause of that mother crying, of that child wondering why, of all those unanswered prayers. Can you really accept that? Because I don’t think I can.

After a while more of crying. Doctor Jesus removes his hands from his face, sniffles, wipes his eyes and says “you’re right. I cannot be the cause of such pain. I would be no better than the moral monsters you call gods. I will figure out another way.” As he pulls himself up and hugs Judas saying “thank you my friend! I know I am a bit mad, but you are always there to pull me back from the precipice. And I love you for that!” As he lets him go, he wipes his eyes again and says “here” as he walks over to a small cut out in the rock wall, takes out a small bag of silver rocks, throws it to Judas saying “I know tis not much. I have not had time to dig more out. But I will make sure I do by tomorrow. If you come by, I will have a bunch for you then.

Judas bows as he says “and I will bring you whatever supplies I can salvage.” As he puts down a knapsack of fruits and vegetables saying “here, make sure you eat. I worry about you.”

“And I you Judas. Thank you for all you do for me.” Doctor Jesus says as he holds himself up on a table, forcing more tears inside his saline blurred eyes. As Judas leaves, Doctor Jesus finally releases, falling and bawling once more.

All that night Doctor Jesus thought about and wrote down ideas for stabilizing the externalized mind. He rubbed his face up to his hair as he said to himself “no, no. The brain is the only thing we know can stabilize the mind. I need a brain. A living brain. But I can’t. I mean if I am wrong, I will be a murderer.” He screamed to himself trying to find a third option. As his eyes got heavier and heavier. Soon he was passed out, head on desk. He dreamed of himself in the lab, holding two pulsing iron ropes as he smiled and stabbed them into his own ears. Then it all went black. The black began swaying like water as it turned into blue. Then Doctor Jesus woke up. Finally seeing the third option. The more he thought about it, the more scared he got. He shook his head muttering to himself “so that’s it huh? Suicide or Murder? Murder or Suicide? Those are both crappy options.” As he paced for awhile, then smiled saying “but only if I’m wrong. If I’m right, that’s a false dichotomy. Maybe that’s the real third option. I’m right. The only question now is, how confident am I?” As it would turn out, not as confident as he would’ve hoped. As he heard thunder in the sky. He got his ropes set up for one more attempt. Maybe I can do something else. He tried hooking them to eggs, and even ash. As lightning struck, the ropes pulsed. Many tiny vortexes formed but died before he could even get another glimpse. Disappointed as it got later he went into a corner in the back of the cave. He sat, pants down on a round pile of bricks over a hole as he thought. When he got up, he pulled up his pants and pulled down a rope by the pit. A rock above fell slightly as water gushed out into the hole. He wiped his hands with Yucca root, then placed them under the water. He exhaled sharply as he was beginning to feel defeated. Hearing the thunder continue to boom. And the sharp buzz of the lightning pulse through the ropes. Both continued to get louder and louder. As Doctor Jesus held his hands in the water long after all the yucca root was gone. When all of the sudden he heard footsteps from outside. He smiled thinking Judas, as he began to run to the door. He stopped though as soon as he heard voices. Walking over to a wall in the back corner he removed a rock and looked through a hole.

Outside stood a nervous looking Judas pacing in circles by the cavern door. Suddenly men with torches began slowly approaching him. One stepped out in front of the rest and said to Judas “what’s the problem?”

Judas exhaled sharply and said “I, I just don’t know if I can do this. He’s been so good to me. The best friend I’ve ever really had.”

The man put his hand on Judas’s shoulder asking, "Is he worth being hanged for?” The man shook his head as he continued, “he is a heathen lad, a mad heathen inventor. You must make better friends otherwise you will burn with him. You know we have been very generous with you. Offering thirty pounds of silver and immunity for your crimes. And all we are asking for in return is for your help in ending this heathen’s heathenness reign once and for all. For that you will be free and rich. But choose him and you will be dead and burned! But the choice is yours.”

Judas stood there for a moment, head hanging. Before exhaling sharply, looking up and giving the man a nod.

The man smiled saying "excellent!" As he walked back to the others waving them to back up, saying “hide men, hide, we don’t want this Jesus heathen to see us coming.”

    Doctor Jesus stood by the hole, disturbed after what he had just witnessed. As he fell on his ass and cupped his face, crying “my only friend, Judas, how could you? I trusted you. I loved you, I, I, I was, not good to you. Oh I treated you like a slave, not a man, and certainly not a friend. I am so sorry Judas. After losing my own faith, I lost my family, and I must’ve lost what it meant to be a friend. Please forgive me Judas.” He cried before looking up, smiling through his tears saying “I forgive you!” After a moment he heard the thumping knock on his door. He usually comes right in, Doctor Jesus thought as he jumped up and ran to the door tying ropes around it, right as Judas tried pushing it open, Judas could see Doctor Jesus and said “lemme in!”

Doctor Jesus shook his head as he smiled, looked Judas in the eyes saying “I love you Judas. I am sorry Judas. And I forgive you Judas.”

Judas was confused as he said “what? What are you talking about? What are you doing?”

“What I must! The only option I have! The one you have pushed me to! And for that I will be eternally grateful.” Jesus said as he pulled the final rope tight over the door, closing the gap. As the rain continued to pour, the thunder continued to rage, and the lightning continued to pulse! Doctor Jesus ran to his lab and grabbed the pulsing ropes. As Judas looked to the men behind him, who began charging at the door. Doctor Jesus stood, one rope in each hand, waiting for just the right strike as he listened to the pounding on the door and the bursting of the thunder, each getting louder and louder. Soon he heard the door crack, then another pound, followed by a louder crack, and one last all powerful pound, right as the loudest burst of thunder came the ropes around the door ripped, the door busted open and the men stormed the cave screaming “AHHHHH!” With torches in hand. As they approached Doctor Jesus. He smiled at them, as the ropes began to pulse brighter than ever before, he stabbed the ends into his ears, as blood poured out of them Doctor Jesus continued to smile and push them in further until he felt something stroke his brain. The men stood in shock as Judas pushed through them looking sad, regretful and concerned as he said “Doc, Doctor Jesus, I”-

Doctor Jesus smiled bigger as he said “tis ok Judas, I forgive you! I forgive you all! For you know not what you do!” As he thrust harder into his ears, right as another pulse struck, a vortex formed before it fell to the ground. As the cave shook, the men said, “we need to go now!” As Judas fell and reached towards the vortex, now like a blue pond, pulsing with lightning. It began to sink as the floor of the cave tore open. The men pulled Judas out as he screamed, cried, and reached for the sinking lightning vortex pond!

    A millennia later. The mid twenty first century. A young woman lie in a hospital bed. Transparent tubes in her nose, surrounded by beeping machines. She blinks slowly as others hold her hand and cry. Suddenly she begins convulsing, as the beeping machines begin to beep more rapidly as those surrounding her jump up in shock. They cry and scream “DOCTOR! HELP!” As Doctors rush in. They begin to hold the woman and attempt to stabilize her. It is all for naught though as soon her heartbeat stops, a line on a screen flattens, and a loud continuous BEEP echoes through the hospital halls. A Doctor holding her wrist and looking at his watch says in a sad tone “time of death, 4:04 AM.” The others in the room hold each other as they scream “NOOO!” And cry into each other's shoulders. As they cry, the Doctors remove wires and tubes. In this room, above the dead women, invisible to the living. A circle of lightning begins to form. A puddle of blue water fills up the circle. As a man’s hand reaches out from it, the woman's hand twitches up as the two meet. A small blue bolt of lightning bonds them as a shockwave falls over the room, providing a feeling of warmth to those still in it. Invisible ash fills the now vacant bed in the shape of the body once there. It hardens and reflects the light as the body would have. A woman in the room stops crying, grabs the ash that looks and feels, to her, of a hand, as she leans over and kisses it saying “I love you mother! Rest in peace!”

The woman awakes in a bluish field swaying softly like water. She walks, followed by Bunnies hopping beside her, and Crows flying above her. She watches a Bunny hop into the air as a Crow flies into it. The Bunny sprouts wings, then soars into the sky. Looking up in awe at the sky covered in ponds. And in those ponds eras of time seem to be playing out simultaneously. The woman is overwhelmed, but smiling as a man calls to her softly, “Maria.” She looks down at the man still smiling while also still too stunned to speak. “Maria? Tis Maria right?” The man says again. Maria smiles as she nods. The man smiles as he takes her hand softly saying “welcome to your mind, to my mind, to the mind of all those who lived and all those who never will die!”

Maria finally speaks, “who, who are you?”

“I AM DOCTOR JESUS!” The man says with a proud smile.

Maria looks around as she asks “and, and this place it is, my mind?”

Doctor Jesus nods as he holds her hand and they stroll slowly. He explains “yes, tis your mind, tis my mind, tis his mind” as he points to a man. “Tis her mind” as he points to a woman. “Tis all of our minds” as he waves at the entirety of the field.

Maria looking around, overwhelmed, says “I, I do not understand? How can my mind be your mind?”

Doctor Jesus says softly, “Once the mind has been externalized, tis no longer individualized.” The woman looks around at Bunnies hopping, Crows flying, Bunnies and Crows colliding into Bunny-Crows, then separating back into Bunnies and Crows. The woman slowly begins to be amazed, before her smile fades as she turns to the man saying “Doc, Doctor Jesus?” Doctor Jesus turns to her and smiles. Maria continues “am I, am I, dead?”

Doctor Jesus smiles as he shakes his head and takes her hand as he says softly, “look at the Bunnies.” The woman looks around at the Bunnies hopping and nibbling. As Doctor Jesus continues "beautiful and free. Aren’t they?” The woman nods as she begins to cry over her smile. Doctor Jesus slowly wipes her tears with his hand as he says “no, my dear, don’t cry. See I built this place, with the help of my friend, he’s around here somewhere. You’ll meet him eventually, after all, here we have all the time in the universe and more. That is why I built this place. So, time would never run out, so that Bunnies would always run free. And so that you, you my dear Maria can be like them.”

Maria looked into his eyes, still crying through her smile as she asked, “so I, I am dead?”

Doctor Jesus smiles into her eyes, cups her hands with his, as he slowly shakes his head saying “no, my dear, you are like them, like the Bunnies.” He leans in close to her and whispers in her ear “and Bunnies never die!”

THE END!