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Prometheus, the 2012 prequel to Alien, was a massive failure of film editing. So much was left on the cutting room floor, it left the audience scratching their head about what actually happened. It wasn’t until the movie novelization, director’s cut, multiple clarifying interviews, and some amazing think pieces that the genius of the film really came to light.
Like I said, failure of editing. And shame on everyone who let it happen. Because the way the script presented humans’ reaction to meeting “God” was nothing short of brilliant, which is why the most famous quote from the film is an anguished Dr. Elizabeth Shaw screaming, “We were wrong! We were so wrong!”
In short, Prometheus is a story about humans going to quite literally meet their maker. Our maker, as it turns out, isn’t so much interested in meeting us, as he is intent on wiping us from the face of the universe. When the crew of the Prometheus ship arrives on the planet on which Shaw believes our Gods reside, they find something far closer to hell than heaven…
There in the derelict ship, they finally meet an Engineer–the last of his kind, perhaps–and when they wake the sleeping giant, he’s not very happy to see us… Weyland commands David to ask the Engineer for the secret to eternal life, because “Gods should live forever,” and in the face of such hubris, the Engineer rips David’s head off, and bashes Weyland to death with it. - Dom Nero, Esquire
Prometheus isn’t the first work of science fiction to grapple with the question: What would it look like for humans to meet their creator? The consensus seems to be that some measure of mourning, if not despair, will come of it, even if our creator isn’t some violent creature who actually hates us.
The level of benevolence of the God/Creator figure doesn’t seem to be what causes the despair, but rather the pain of a human’s ego, lashing out at being wrong.
The folly of man’s ego is a predictable conflict in science fiction, particularly in those stories dealing with God, humanity’s creation, and its destruction. We spend our lives seeking out God in one way or another, and these stories allow us to explore what would happen if we presume to go looking for Him before He is ready to be revealed.
Most importantly, the stories invite us to examine how we would react in the face of such a discovery and what it says about who we are.
Childhood’s End by Arthur C. Clarke is a famous example, one that slaps humans with a double-whammy of ego-bruising. Yes, your religions were based on us and you didn’t get it quite right. Also, your time in the universe is up. Collectively. Sorry.
A more recent example is Broken Gods, by B.R. Keid, out this week. It’s the final book in the military scifi trilogy, Autonomous Weapons, one that looks at a far-flung future where humanity’s “god” is a female alien mysteriously called The Twelfth.
The Twelfth of what? How did she save humanity from the destruction of earth? And why? In Broken Gods, the main character, Sev, finds out the truth about a religion he never even believed in. But it still leaves him unmoored.
Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God
Having faith means projecting certainty about things which you have not observed with your own eyes. It means being convinced by the accounts of others, by your own feelings, and by the preponderance of existing facts as you perceive them. So what does it mean when this faith you have upheld turns out to be wrong?
Can the human ego endure the truth of something so large?
Imagine the Reformed Baptist being presented with Divine proof that the Roman Catholic Church IS the one true church and he has been in error this whole time.
His soul is safe; God is forgiving of error. But will that be enough for him? Will he rejoice and be glad at having the truth revealed to him?
Or will he mourn, even rage, at the loss of the identity he has created for himself?
Prometheus showed us the folly of humans who think to become gods themselves, allowing us to see the absolute silliness of such an idea. You, fragile, finite creature… a god? Please.
Broken Gods took us down a different path, one I won’t spoil. But it took a different look at the human ego and exactly what would happen if humans were blessed with a chance to look God full in the face… only to find it wasn’t quite what they imagined.
Almost. Partly. But not completely.
It lets us take a good look at our hearts, our egos, and our intellect.
Is it God we follow? Is it God we love? Or is it just the stories?
Best to take stock of that sooner rather than later.
If you like religious questions infused with time travel, check out Time’s Assassin, which takes place in a future where Christianity was “debunked” by a time traveler.
"movie novelization" -- wait there is one for Alien Prometheus? I cant find it?
"Is it God we follow? Is it God we love? Or is it just the stories?"
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