S.T. Rogers's Blog, page 2

She was glad there was laundry to fold because it calmed her.

She was glad there was laundry to fold because it calmed her.    

“Isn’t God’s plan brilliant? He takes something evil, which is sin, then applies guilt so that we...

“Isn’t God’s plan brilliant? He takes something evil, which is sin, then applies guilt so that we confess. Then, with our confession, he cleanses the sinner and tests those who hear the confession.”

The Singularity began as a new age freak show. There was a physicist who could not walk, had been...

The Singularity began as a new age freak show. There was a physicist who could not walk, had been confined to a chair his whole life and then received the shots and stood. He claimed he was no longer crippled, could no longer become sick; would, in fact, live for centuries. There were nanocomputers in his blood now and they would fix everything. This story was relegated to the shifting front pages of search engines and the smug reporting saved for the last five minutes of newscasts. Soon however, other scientists were receiving the serum and soon some of the very rich were buying the serum. Then the major cities—New York, Chicago, Los Angeles—had hospitals that, for a large sum of money, could administer the serum to anyone who wanted it. Soon, the serum wasn’t as expensive as it had once been, a new company had created one that was cheaper.

There were law suits about the copyright—very public, very nasty; apparently some type of industrial espionage was suspected, and when the lawsuits were concluded the serum was much more affordable. Just a few years after the serum was announced to the world, the government of the United States declared that it was mandatory for every man, woman and child to be injected with it. This is when Solomon stepped out of the shadows of Southern obscurity.

Pastor John Blackstone, son of a pastor who was the son of a pastor before him, would not inject himself with the Singularity. He was young at the time, only twenty-five years old. He was good- looking and well-spoken and cut a dashing image on the television screens and Internet windows across the world. Pastor John’s story became viral as the entirety of his parish vowed that they also would not have the injections and soon nearly the whole town of Solomon was placing their right hands on the Bible and swearing that they would never manipulate their bodies with the devil’s machinery. 

Everyone wanted to be near the people who were offered life and chose death.

Everyone wanted to be near the people who were offered life and chose death.    

There was a community college one town over and John attended it rather than going to the more...

There was a community college one town over and John attended it rather than going to the more prestigious schools in Atlanta. He did not want to leave his town. He didn’t like what the outside world did to people that left. Many of his friends went to school in other cities, worked at jobs in other cities, started lives apart from Solomon, and when they came back it was as if God Himself had put a mark on them. They were different. John liked who he was and did not want to be different. He did not want anyone to be different and encouraged people not to leave the towns where they grew up. People should stay and make the towns stronger. They owed it to the people and to the soul of the places that reared them. The towns, in turn, would give them strength when they needed it. 

"Just because the path is clear does not mean it will be easy to walk."

“"Just because the path is clear does not mean it will be easy to walk.””

No matter how long she stayed in Solomon she would never get used to the fact that no one had phones...

No matter how long she stayed in Solomon she would never get used to the fact that no one had phones that text messaged. How were you supposed to deliver uncomfortable information without text messages? Ridiculous.

There was too much money, too much power, too much pride in Pastor John’s life for him not to have...

There was too much money, too much power, too much pride in Pastor John’s life for him not to have slipped up somewhere. 

He looked like a warrior of God ready to confront Satan. Rachel was frightened for a moment and...

He looked like a warrior of God ready to confront Satan. Rachel was frightened for a moment and thankful that she was not the devil. 

This afternoon had the feel of a trap, and Rachel remembered the twangy banjo sounds her friends had...

This afternoon had the feel of a trap, and Rachel remembered the twangy banjo sounds her friends had made when she told them that she was going into the deep south to interview an Evangelical Pastor and his horde of rabid believers.