Revivo Vita (2113σ AD)

The light outside had brightened after the rain and the sun shone its last light of the day through the open window. Several old books lay partially open on a large table at the end of the room, while individual treatises lay in quarter-sized piles or were stacked in cylinders on shelves ready to be reviewed for publication. Academic quarters seemed as old as original history, thought Dr. Evan Paeidi, as he leaned back in his leather chair that he had inherited from the previous owner. Only the medium of storing ideas had changed.

Dr. Paeidi reviewed the mirrored transmission again. So Pope Emmanuel has finally acted to judge Rehistory as an aberration of science, thought the historian. He studied the first section of the new Apostolic Exhortation closely:

1. To relive life is the phantom promise offered by the technology of Rehistory, a means by which causality is negated to offer individuals a new path through life. Our Apostolic Exhortation takes up the challenge that emerged in 2022α AD when the Sugar Ant Particle was discovered in a simple particle collision experiment.

2. Our objection to Rehistory is based primarily on the principle of justice. Causality lies behind God’s justice of reward and punishment. A virtuous action causes a moral good to occur, while a bad action results in evil. Rehistory allows both virtue and evil to be undone. Rehistory is not a form of God's mercy, as has been thoroughly discussed by the Argentine Bishops.

3. Our Exhortation is made necessary by certain interventions prepared for the coming General Assembly of the Catholic Church in Pacifico which will address the ethics and morality of Rehistory. Some of these interventions are based on misunderstandings of the nature of man, of his call to holiness in this life, and of the necessity of repentance and death to take up our abode in the many mansions of our Father in heaven.

4. Conscious of our obligations to lead all men to Christ, we have an especial fervour when souls are in danger from a supposed “scientific advance” that serves to remove the principle of justice and introduce a false Gnosticism into a person’s life. The reemerging heresy of Gnosticism ignores the physical world and actions because Rehistory allows a person to always live under the promise of many re-lived lives.

5. The doctrine, discipline, and patrimony of the Church give insight into the richness and variety of Catholic truth, revealed by God Incarnate, our Lord Jesus Christ. The gift of life is the essence of God's infinite love for every man and woman. The beginning of a new life establishes a path intended by God to lead a person to God Himself. Yet because of God’s simultaneous gift of free will, the path through life has many possibilities. We are warned. “Enter ye in at the narrow gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there are who go in thereat. How narrow is the gate, and strait is the way that leadeth to life: and few there are that find it! Matt. 7:13-14

The quancomm vibrated and Dr. Paeidi was interrupted to recognize the voice of Dr. Monteil Abraham.

“Evan, have you read it? Did you expect him to be so forceful?” asked Dr. Abraham.

“Pope Emmanuel is no longer a fence sitter, is he? I’m not concerned. Remember that Rehistory can undo his work,” spoke Dr. Paeidi slowly, trying to soothe his colleague. “Still, it is a problem.”

The raspy voice of the elder Dr. Abraham gave Dr. Paeidi a slight shiver. “It’s more than a problem because he has spoken authoritatively this time. Didn’t you read his conclusion?”

“Not yet, Monteil. What did he say?”

“Emmanuel said he was resigning from the Papacy because his election was flawed by the Pi Rehistory.”

“Really?” mused Dr. Paeidi. “That does change things, at least slightly.”

“Evan, there’s more. He has published some of the Vatican Archives to support his position. No one is going to ignore this statement by the Pope. Who doesn’t want a look at some of the secret events of the last hundred years.”

Dr. Paeidi scrolled his eyeViewer to review the outlined Apostolic Exhortation. Yes, there it was--the last paragraph that introduced the separate attachment on the Archives. Maybe this would get a little bit messy.

“I need to look at this more carefully, Monteil. Let me call you again when I’m finished.”

“Don’t call me back tonight,” rasped Dr. Monteil Abraham. “Besides, it’s going to be a long read—Emmanuel has published a virtual book. The chapters were written by figures who took part in original history and even some Rehistory. It seems that the Pope of 2032 built a secret QuanComputer to store the Archives. I tell you, Evan, these chapters are virgin history.”

As the quancomm shut down, Dr. Evan Paedi stared again at the new statement by the Pope. The chapters in the book-length attachment were clearly outlined, starting with the discovery of the Sugar Ant Particle. It would be a long night of reading. And tonight a chilly north air had followed today’s hard showers. Dr. Paedi would be cold, too.

This is a very effective introduction to your story. Nice and clear.
As you go on -- and I go on reading -- it will be easier to see whether this intro has done its job. Maybe you do as I usually do -- save the foreshadowing until you finish writing (and changing this and that) and then work it in at the beginning?
Likely this is how a good pope would handle a problem like this -- but I still find it almost impossible to believe that we can seriously intervene in the past. But there are some interesting possibilities here. For instance -- would we be held responsible for what we did "the first time around" as well as what we did after history had been changed? I mean, moral decisions are recorded in eternity, aren't they? And no amount of time travel could change that. And how many souls would there be already created by God whose existence was annulled by a time traveller's actions? Would they still exist in eternity? Would they have been judged?
Things can get pretty tangled --

The last couple of Colleen's questions are hard ones indeed. As for the question of intervening in the past, have you read the earlier drafts explaining the idea of Rehistory Colleen? I think Dustiam has worked out a brilliant scheme to handle it, though I will agree that I think it is completely impossible in the real world.

The intro is a good one, I think, though the language of the Pope's Exhortation is a little tough. Of course, this is exactly the kind of language he would use - but I think it is enough to go on for now.

Might you consider foreshadowing an event of great emotional weight as well? The question of Rehistory's morality is of course vital to the story, but I think it is much less vital to our own world since it is a fictional technology. Can you add another moral dilemma that is tied to Rehistory in your foreshadowing? For instance, the rise or destruction of Islam, or some great loss of life. I think a moral dilemma that is more pertinent to our own world could add to the interest of the introduction.

Great idea -- adding another moral issue more relevant to our own times. How about some new plot for, say another Vatican II? Something going on within the hierarchy -- a group wanting to apply the technology to actually rewrite salvation history to fit their own preferences. Kind of like modern theologians are trying to do now by propaganda.

I don't have anything to add -- I agree with Matt and Colleen's assessments and agree with the suggestion that another moral issue would improve the piece. This opening is a good "hook".

Just one little nit:

dustiam wrote:

“Emmanuel said he was resigning from the Papacy because his election was flawed by the Pi Rehistory.”

Resignation, by definition, has to be submitted to a superior, who can accept or refuse the resignation. I suppose a president can resign since technically his "superiors" are "the people" or Congress.

A King abdicates rather than resigns because there exists no earthly superior capable of considering a resignation. It comes into effect as soon as the king publicly pronounces it.

The Pope is a Sovereign, a monarch, and he has no earthly superior. He can abdicate the papacy but he cannot resign.

You've given me some good constructive ideas, including a second moral issue that I'll try to include. Thanks....