Origins . . .

Writing an apocalyptic novel is a huge undertaking to be sure - and not something to be taken lightly.  It's something I have pondered doing for many a year.  And now the timeline of life, in its infinite wisdom, has brought that literary challenge and passion into much sharper focus.  What to write here  on 'The Elder's Papyrus'?  Well, outside of self congratulatory drivel it's sometimes hard to know.  I certainly don't want to wobble on too much about stuff like the state of life in Britain, because on the face of it, it isn't at all good - according to News at Ten.

Then again, if we depend too much on the news and media to inform us, we have a mindset to live in a land that's constantly on the verge of a complete financial and social disaster.  Yet, go around any shopping village at any time of year and it seems many people aren't getting the dark message, and never will.  Now don't get me wrong, there are many struggling to make ends meet, or even survive, and always have been.  Probably always will be if we are honest about it.  All I'm suggesting is the picture painted by those who inform us is usually blacker than black.  And things are clearly getting worse.

Taking that darkness into a further realm is what I'm talking about.  

A big what if . . .

What if the world was, and always had been, overseen by an unseen deity and suddenly he'd got to the end of his tether?  You know - blazing mad?  No longer the benevolent and hidden question, waiting patiently for us all to confess our sins, but a sentient personality who's just got bored and decided to show some real power by bringing his plans to take over forward a tad.  If a god controlled the ecosystem and left it on autopilot for years, what would happen if he decided to rearrange the balance?  Well, I've said it already . . . chaos would likely be our portion.  So there's a nice conflict to start.  Man against the environment.

The very creation is against you.  Okay, that's not good to begin with.  Now everyone has suddenly realised there may actually be someone 'out there' because weird stuff is happening.  Religious mania and fervor comes next.  We know it all too well in the real world, heavily featured in those blacker than black news tapestries I've just spoken of.  And that's the next potential conflict threat.  Man against man.  This particular premise has provided more horror over the years than anything any author could scribe, be it one man against his neighbour, or the all too real battlefield carnage of open warfare.

It seems pretty clear at this time, people would be ready to embrace any philosophy that sated their fear.  Enter the 'Elders'.  As their name implies they are mostly over ambitious men in their senior years, ready for a little action and recognition, robed up to the nines, and on the very wrong side of the fence.

And what of the clergymen?  They're still around, but not as loud as they once were, with the words of those few remaining still falling on largely deaf ears.  Worse now that their dog collars mark them as a spent force, rather than figures of comfort or counsel.

Oh, and demons kind of wander around everywhere.

And then there's Conscience . . .