Ice Vapor Goddess

Chapter 83 From the Father to the Son
When God declared himself incapacitated, all the pressure fell on the clergy.

But what's worse, Xiren can't tell anyone.

All his subordinates were devout believers. Mathilde might not have been, but she was more like a vanguard and a warrior than someone who could discuss these things with him.

If you were to say these things to her, her answer would probably be, "What are you mumbling about? Let's fire two shots first."

Thinking of this, Xilun chuckled twice, then strained the brewed coffee through the filter and poured it into a porcelain cup.

First, God's image cannot collapse—at least not be allowed to collapse instantly. Whether for the sake of the believers' mental well-being or for the sake of his own leadership, God must continue to exist.

Once the collapse of the Other becomes a public fact, then "anxiety," "insecurity," and "panic" are still good.

Going further, one might experience self-blame, depression, and nihilism—"The disaster happened because I was not devout in my faith," "What should I do? How should I do it?" "How can I make the world better? What is my value?" "The world is inherently meaningless," "Nothing has any meaning."

It is also possible for radicalization and ritualization to occur—through a compulsive and complex ritual, attempting to reconstruct order, to find one's own sense of security, and to reawaken the Other.

This behavior often leads to extreme fanaticism, which attempts to please God and restore the perfection of the Other through severe self-punishment and persecution of "sinners."

Of course, there will also be genuine mental illnesses—someone will claim that he has received a "real divine revelation," that extreme cold itself is a kind of purification by the gods, and that he is the guide to the new world. He develops a complete system of delusions to restore order to this world.

Just thinking about it gives me a headache.

The "plan" he told the man who seemed to be God that day was actually a lie. He didn't have a plan at all, and he hadn't even thought of a way to achieve it. But what he was certain of was that once God descended, people would become even more fanatical, and this fanaticism would come at a price many times greater when they later discovered God's weakness and incompetence.

That kind of price is something he can't afford.

However, now, after guiding so many refugees, a vague plan has actually emerged in his mind.

He wanted to gradually send God to the grave before things reached their worst point, and then gradually take over God's responsibilities himself.

Just like the transformation from "Father" to "Son" in the Holy Scriptures.

The "Holy Father" cannot talk to people all the time, otherwise he would lose his mystery and space for imagination. So he gradually became an omniscient and omnipotent background figure, like an empty setting in a novel, or the so-called Heavenly Way.

The "Son of God" is his spokesperson, acting and explaining things on earth. His existence is ostensibly to embellish the Father's existence, but in the process of embellishing, he gradually becomes a god himself—not because of his great power, but because he assumes the functions of a god in the process of embellishing.

In the classic doctrine of the Trinity, the Son is God, and from the day he became God, the Father completely stepped down from the center stage, leaving only the Son, who is both human and divine, to shine in the scriptures.

What is God for?

It is a beacon for people when facing fear, a reliance for people when facing anxiety, and a known source for people when facing the unknown. God provides explanations for all existence, provides motivation for human desires, and supports a stable symbolic system.

That position is not for the strong, but for those who are willing to take it. When someone is willing to shoulder this responsibility, he will be revered as a god, just as the Son of God did.

Thinking about this, Xilun immediately felt a little relieved.

Although the theory is not yet perfect, at least we have a direction for action.

—I just hope I don't develop hemorrhoids from sitting too much.

He was unusually in the mood to joke about himself, picked up his coffee, took a sip, and then, unsurprisingly, frowned. It was just a bitter, murky mess of coffee, far inferior to the modern coffee he'd had before. Unfortunately, tea leaves were currently a non-renewable resource, so he could only take out these stored, damp coffee leaves and drink a couple of sips.

But before he could enjoy this rare peaceful morning, the bell on the megaphone rang.

Xilun roused himself and walked over.

His living room has more than twenty microphones, all of which are usually covered by a movable silk cork partition to ensure that the sound does not leak out embarrassingly.

However, next to each megaphone is a bell pulled by a steel wire, similar to a servant's bell. When the bell rings, it means someone is calling him. If he wants to answer, he just needs to go to the corresponding megaphone and open the valve.

This time, it was the cathedral bells that rang out.

“This is Xilun, please speak.” He opened the valve.

"Your Excellency, this is Joseph." A distorted, metallic voice came from the other end. "Tomorrow is Sunday Mass. I'd like to ask what preparations need to be made? When should we start adding more staff?"

Xilun then remembered this matter, and after thinking for a moment, said, "Let's proceed with the regular Mass preparations—I'll re-plan the ceremony and scriptures, and I'll give them to you around this afternoon. As for manpower... how many people applied for church positions yesterday?"

“Two thousand eight hundred people,” Joseph said.

Xiren nearly fainted: "So, apart from the hundred-odd people in the hospital, almost all the refugees have declared their status?"

“Yes, Your Excellency.” Joseph’s tone was calm, but Siren sensed a hint of a smile hidden in his voice. “You seem to underestimate your standing in their hearts.”

“…” Xilun remained silent for a long time.

"So, for all the positions without ranks, like cleaners, repairmen, bell ringers, and gravediggers, you and Green can decide. If you both agree, then we'll use it. If we don't have enough people, then give me a list of positions that only one person agrees to."

"Kyle and Roger will be in charge of selecting the Knights and the Royal Guard. I will personally tell them that you just need to give them the list."

"All the positions requiring holy titles... uh, how many people applied for these positions?"

Joseph hesitated for a moment: "Sorry, Bishop... I didn't count this, but it's probably over a thousand people."

Xilun sighed: "Then you and Green should also do a screening first. As long as one person agrees, send the list to me."

“Yes, Bishop,” Joseph replied. “Oh, and one more thing, you haven’t arranged a room for Green.”

Xilun was suddenly taken aback: "Oh right! Uh... Go arrange a room for him at the bishop's residence."

The bishop's residence was a small building located on the west side of the spiritual dwelling, which contained many offices and dormitories for clergy. Joseph lived there.

“Yes, Bishop,” Joseph said. “That’s all.”

“Goodbye, Joseph. I’ll arrive at the office in an hour,” Siren said. “May the Lord be with you.”

Joseph said softly, "May you be with me."

(End of this chapter)