-={POP}=-
Ow, hell ow... dammit. That hurt like all get-out. Is this how it is? Just a featureless room with a table and two chairs? Please tell me that this isn't some perverse "exit interview".
The other chair was tall and leather bound, reflecting dully in the overhead light. The table, well, it wasn't anything special either, just one of those utilitarian jobs from any number of office supply stores. But then again, I was just in a car accident wasn't I? What the hell is--
"Hello. Sorry about that, only time I had available. You should feel better in a few moments."
He was tall, swiveling around in his leather chair. I had expected something different, not a thin man with spectacles wearing a three-piece suit.
"Uh.. why am I here?"
"Oh, well - I think you know. Remember any thoughts before your car hit the -- ", he glanced down at the table which now displayed pertinent facts about my life, all arrayed in a semicircle, " - compact car at Madison Street?"
Oh. That.
"Well yes, but I was halfway joking and--"
"It was quite authentic. We have a few automated systems here, they're good at filtering out liars and the insane.", He leaned forward, fingers propping up his narrow chin.
"Well. Right. As you probably know I've had some financial trouble, and I was saying to a friend over the phone how I would sell my soul to have millions of dollars.", it sounded so stupid and quaint now, like asking a supermodel for a kiss.
"Right. That request. Well, you see - there's a bit of a problem here. Normally I'd honor such requests from a self-directed being like yourself, but there's some... other considerations involved."
I just nodded and sat silent as he shuffled some more virtual pages into view with his fingertips.
"You made a request under duress. I can't disclose any future events to you - as it would violate the FCCA, so I think that--"
"FCCA? What is that?"
He smiled the broad smile of someone dealing with a child, or a small yapping dog.
"The Free Choice Causality Accord - we're prevented from disclosing future events that would cause certain undesirable feedback loops in the time space continuum. It barely passed consensus and wasn't too popular. But here we are. What I'm going to say to you is this - your request has been denied, it is for your own good. Trust is the operative word here."
Stunned, I leaned back.
"But, since I'm already here, why not just grant it?"
"You're just going to make me blurt it out, aren't you? Fine. You have... potential. So, request denied. You will be dispatched to your former earthly conditions, right after you've been revived at the hospital. Best I can do."
It seemed fair enough, but there was one thing still nagging at me. I had to ask.
"So... you're the devil then?"
He took his glasses off, and rubbed his temples. Breathing in deeply, he leaned forward again.
"You're not going to remember this, because it would violate a few other agreements that I can't talk to you about. So why not. As to your first question - 'No'. And the inevitable follow up question - also 'No'. I'm not one of anything. It disturbs me that human kind still hasn't figured it out yet."
"So that means--"
"Yes, one and the same, yin and yang. Two sides of the coin, never to be split, separated or divorced from each other. How could you have not noticed that in nature? Pairs all over the place! One thing balancing the other - most times contained within the same organism. Oh blast it all - you've gone and got me emotional again. Off with you then--"
-={POP}=-
"I've got to do a better job on the next batch, that one didn't seem too bright."