Dead & Godless Read Online Free

now?”
    “That’s
no way to spend your afterlife,” replied Ransom. “To be human is to be body and
soul. Granted, your current vessel is only temporary.”
    “It’s
a pretty good replica,” noted Corwin as he glanced at his reflection in one of
the glass cabinet doors. “You even got the missing button on my coat.”
    “Death
is a jarring experience. Having a familiar body tends to make things go smoother.
Just don’t start thinking that you’re invincible. That body is more resilient
than your old one, but it can still bruise and bleed. Feelings of pain or
pleasure are no less real here than in the mortal world.”
    “So I’ve
noticed. Is there another afterlife waiting if by chance I manage to get myself
killed in this one?”
    “Death
can be a mercy, a release from pain. You will find no such release in this
place. There are fates worse than death here.”
    “Sounds
heavenly,” moaned Corwin. “So what now? As far as my ‘final judgment’ is
concerned, why not get it over with? If the lord almighty is as just and
merciful as they say, I don’t see what I’ve got to be worried about.”
    “You’re
clearly not lacking for confidence.” Ransom’s gaze sharpened. “Are you so sure
that your case is airtight?”
    “I
should hope so, unless your god is a tyrant! Last I checked, I did just die
saving somebody’s life.”
    “An
admirable final act,” agreed Ransom, “one which secured you my invaluable services,
but I’m afraid your situation is a bit more complex than that.”
    “Why?
Because I’m an atheist?”
    “You
weren’t just any atheist, Corwin. You were zealous and outspoken, a veritable Saint Paul of atheism. Wherever you went, you employed that intellect of yours to the
purpose of convincing men to abandon their faith.”
    “And
what of it?” challenged Corwin. “Sure, I encouraged people to embrace reason
rather than superstition, to look to science rather than an invisible old man
in the sky for answers, and what was the result? Have my words ever driven anyone
to strap on a bomb? Did I ever once cause harm to those who happened to
disagree? No. Unlike so many of your peace-loving believers, I’ve never
resorted to violence to advance my ideals.”
    “It’s
true enough that you haven’t spilled any blood,” Ransom conceded, “but the prosecution
isn’t going to build its case upon charges of battery.
    “Suppose
for a moment that such a thing as the soul exists. Unlike mortal vessels, souls
endure forever, but they can be lost, cut off from all love and happiness if
they choose to reject its source. Should it be shown that your actions were
instrumental in the loss of even one person’s eternal soul, do you not think that
that would weigh heavily against you?”
    Corwin
had never seen a soul, never heard one. He considered it altogether illogical
to believe in something for which there was no material evidence, but that
wasn’t to say that he didn’t understand the concept. Of all religion’s crazy
doctrines, the idea that some part of him might transcend the physical and live
on was perhaps the most alluring.
    “This
trial is not nearly as open-and-shut as you would like it to be,” said Ransom. “The
prosecution adamantly believes that your soul is rightly the property of Hell,
and they’ll stop at nothing to see you burn. You’re going to need my help.”
    “Your help strikes me as more dangerous than the trial,” Corwin replied as he
rubbed the back of his neck, the memory of getting kicked off a cliff still
fresh in his mind. “And as for my part in this? What would I be expected to
do?”
    “Only
to cooperate.” Ransom cracked his wolfish smile. “The first rule of order here
is to know thyself. We’re going to see just how godless you really are.”
    That
Corwin had little choice in the matter hadn’t eluded him, but more than that,
he had always relished a good battle of ideas. Perhaps this bizarre dying dream
was what he had truly wished for all