Without a Prayer

Eventually they came for us. Every belief needs some blood sacrifice to make its adherents feel they are the chosen ones and we, here in these hills, became those sacrifices.

When the old gods faded and died, we here in the hills turned away from the religions that rose up to replace those old gods. Instead, we turned to look up at the stars and all around at this world that surrounds us. We discovered those old gods were lies told by those who clung to power and the new gods were not much better. Meanwhile, up above us the stars turned and we found what made this world turn.

The new religions needed enemies. So their priests and prophets looked around for someone to blame when their promises and entireties failed to turn this world in the direction they promised their followers.

We became the devils, the demons, the witches and the heretics. Up here in the high hills, our telescopes and microscopes became the instruments of the devils. The priests blamed us for their crop failures, the cattle diseases and for why so many innocents died.

Of course, we patiently explained about contagion, about hygiene. We explained how to grow crops year after year. Still those priests called us devils and demons and so the wars began.

Now we know they are going to lose, because while they have the gods on their side we have science and technology on ours, and a prayer in no match for well-made steel.