He Only Broke One.

“What are they doing today Gregory?” Lilith asked while tousling her sons hair.

“Same old stuff… Nothing much has happened since I crashed that UFO in area 51. They keep making a bunch of useless stuff. Gadgets and toys.”

“Is this the world you gave instructions to?” She asked, pouring out a bowl of oats from a burlap sack.

“No this is the one I send that guy Jesus to. So it’s a religion based world.” Gregory playfully shadowed his face, preparing for the loving admonishments that were sure to follow.

“This world isn’t for school is it? I know you like religion based worlds but you know they don’t perform well. You’re not trying to turn in a religious world for credit still, are you?”

Gregory shook his head, his long hair falling in front of his eyes.

“We have to cut your hair soon. You look like one of those sheep dogs, blinded by their own mop.” She tousled his hair again before sitting crosslegged on the floor.

“Whoof.”

“Show me this one? What did you do differently with this religious world?”

Gregory smiled and looked up through his blond locks. His mother never wanted to see his worlds unless they were for school. She didn’t even want to talk about them if they were religion based.

She shimmied across the floor to lean against his shoulder and he held the glass sphere between them.

“So in this world I did the normal stuff; volcanic thermodynamics, lunar tides, water, oxygen, all that stuff. Once the intelligent being started forming I…” Gregory turned to his mother with a feigned expression shameful regret.

“You invented God… Don’t be so proud of it. Nasty little trick if you ask me.”

“I know, I know. But in this world I made multiple gods.”

“The ‘Greek Maneuver’ never really works out, you know that.”

Gregory dawned a mischievous smile. “No. In this one the gods don’t work with each other. They are separate. They all tell their followers that they are the only god.”

Lilith covered her mouth a moment, then hid the expression from her son. “Gregory… Oh my.”

Gregory brushed the hair out of his face and sat up straight. “What is it? It’s clever, isn’t it? What’s wrong?”

“How many worlds have you made like this one?”

“I have about five like this one, with the whole ‘Greek Maneuver’ thing involved.” Gregory narrowed his brow. “What is it?”

“Do they all have gods that tell their followers that they are the only god?”

“Just two of them… I didn’t want to waste the glass spheres if it doesn’t work out. Why? Are you mad?” Gregory put his hand on his mother’s arm.

“No I’m not mad. It’s ok Gregory. It is clever, but… We need to talk about this. Your father should be here.” Lilith put down the bowl of oat and untied a small leather pouch from her belt.

Gregory sat in confusion and made an effort to square his shoulders and push his hair back into place.

Lilith opened the leather pouch and pulled out a small green crystal form inside. She blew a soft breath over the gleam surface of the stone.

Nathaniel began to materialize next to them in a shimmering speckled fog then started focusing into a detailed form, then melded into the present space and time with an audible crackling sound.

“Hello Lilith. Hello Gregory. How are you both?” Nathaniel asked, pulling his family into an encircling hug.

The moment lasted for just long enough for customer then the three pulled back to face each other.

Lilith cleared her throat in a professional manner then spoke. “Gregory has created a new world that I think we should talk about.”

Gregory held out the glass sphere but kept his eyes on the ground.

Nathaniel took the sphere and held it in front of his eyes. The corners of his eyes vibrated as he looked through the glass, the weather patterns that swirled under the glass, and down into the cities that dotted the world. This eyes began to turn a milky white, as time accelerated within the glass, before pulling away his gaze with enough force to turn his head away from the sphere. “I see.”

“Gregory, this is not your fault. You haven’t been taught about this yet. It’s our fault for letting you continue your interest and unguided study of religion in the fabrication of worlds.”

“What’s wrong?” Gregory asked, his eyes still downcast, his hair drifting back in front of his face.

“When a world has more than one god, and they don’t work together, the people that follow them inevitably kill each other.” The words were simple and direct.

Gregory looked at his father, full in the eyes, and did not blink.

“You didn’t know.”

Tears began to stream from Gregories eyes and he backed away from the sphere.

Lilith reached for her son and pulled him into a forgiving hug. “It’s ok. You haven’t been instructed yet so you won’t be held accountable for what they do. It’s ok. You won't be punished but you do have to break the spheres. This one and the other one you made.”

Nathaniel snapped his attention to Lilith and held up two fingers with a shocked and questioning expression on his face, out of the sight of his son who was now crying uncontrollably into his mothers shoulder and neck. Lilith nodded and held up two fingers.