Free Angel of the Apocalypse by Magnus Hansen Page B

problem. I'm also a singular entity that's separated into three
parts – Satan, the Antichrist, and the False Prophet. I've also
been known as Lucifer, the father of lies, and the Beast, among other
things.” The Devil leaned back in his chair. “You know,
this whole Rapture/Tribulation thing is rather confusing, isn't it?
Seven trumpets this, golden censer that. How is anybody supposed to
make sense of it?” Pawn takes pawn at ed5.
    “ What's
so difficult? You've got the Rapture. That's were one old man goes to
Heaven.” God shot the Devil a scathing glance. “Then
you've got the Tribulation. Seven angels blow their trumpets. Various
catastrophes occur. Then you've got your three woes. Then you get an
additional seven last plagues. Simple.” Black queen takes pawn
at d5.
    The
Devil smirked. “Yeah, real simple. How about this – God
comes down to Earth and saves everyone. The end. How about that?”
Pawn to d4.
    God
let out a truly patient sigh, the type of sigh that a parent would
give a petulant child. “Whatever,” he said. Black knight
to f6.
    “ I
think Revelations is so confusing because you had no idea what you
wanted to do, so you made it so cryptic that just about anything
could happen.” White knight to f3.
    “ Just
keep your mind on the game.” Black bishop to g4.
    Once
again ignoring his advice, the Devil rambled on. “But none of
it really happened the way it was supposed to happen in Revelations,
did it? I mean, some of it did. The plague, the oceans and lakes
turning to blood. Sure, but then you-”
    “ But
then you happened.” God interrupted. “And you
weren't playing by the rules, were you? Just like always.”
    “ I
came to Earth to save mankind.” White bishop to e2.
    “ You
only came to Earth to save the sinners. The ones who weren't worthy.”
God moved his black pawn to e6.
    “ I'm
just saying, man is a flawed creature. They will always sin.
It's in their nature. Then you come along and kill everyone for just
doing what comes naturally to them.” White pawn to h3.
    “ That's
precisely the point. It is in man's animal nature to sin. But it is
man's duty to fight his nature and become a better person. It's why I
created humanity. The bible couldn't possibly be more clear on this
issue.” Black bishop to h5.
    “ But
what does man get for being a better person? He gets to go to Heaven?
Those are just rules you made up.” The Devil castled his king.
    God
had just about enough of the Devil's psychological ploy. “You
gloat that you are The Destroyer, yet it takes no effort to destroy.
It takes no effort to criticize. It takes no effort to be selfish. It
takes no effort to hate. These things are from your animal nature,
which you revel in. But there is a better way. It takes every effort
to create. To give of yourself, and help one another. I am the
creator, and I made man in my image. Man was created to create. If
you aren't creating, then you aren't existing. It is the reason why I
will win in the end. The path of destruction is for immature fools.”
Black knight to c6.
    For
the first time since starting the game, the Devil remained quiet and
concentrated. He had an extremely quick mind, and processed millions
of possible moves each second. The mid-game gave way to the end-game,
and it was clear that the Devil had the edge. The game went on for a
total of thirty-seven moves.
    In
the end, it was clear that God had lost, and he conceded.
    “ Out
of all the games of chess that have ever been played, do you realize
that the game we just finished was an exact reproduction of Garry
Kasparov verses the Deep Blue supercomputer in 1996? It was the first
time that artificial intelligence defeated a chess master. Fitting, I
think,” laughed the Antichrist. “Only two more contests
to go, or to be more precise, only one more contest to go, after I
win the boxing match. Remember – best two out of three wins.”
    God
was not amused. “I've had about enough of your bullshit,
Lucifer.