I’m going to kill that damned Lucas. My enemy, I will kill!
With that singular thought, he ascended the stairs.
He jumped and jumped again, exhausting as much of his meager talent as he could muster.
I wondered if I had ever run this desperately in my life as he made his way to the floor where Lucas’s company was located.
Bang!
Finally reaching his destination, he crashed his accelerated body into the door.
Naturally, the door crumpled and flew far away, echoing a colossal sound throughout the floor.
“Lucas—!”
He let out a roar, a smile mixed with ecstasy at the thought that it was finally time for revenge. He dashed toward where Lucas was staying—
“Wha, warrior? Good! Please save me!”
…And there he saw Lucas surrounded by mysterious people.
—
It is said that every person is inherently bestowed with rights from the moment of their birth.
These are rights granted by God, absolutely unassailable and inviolable by anyone.
Yet wicked individuals infringe upon those rights, and the corrupt revel in such evil, blaspheming God.
And thus here, people with a purpose have gathered and begun to act to protect these rights, which is truly a divine and good act for both humanity and God. The more they act, the more that goodness touches the heavens, moving angels, and gradually opens the extremely narrow gates of paradise.
Thus, they acted for the rights of people, for lives that must be respected.
Sometimes they shout, sometimes they invoke the law.
They sometimes rely on human relationships and other times wield armed force.
And thus they save people, enable them to live as humans, and allow them to walk on their own feet, painting their own lives as they wish.
The faithful Christians regarded them as true devout believers, while citizens of America recognized them as a clean and active human rights organization, not hesitating to place their faith in them.
But one day, an angel appeared in the dream of the human rights organization leader.
The angel took the form of a gigantic pillar, its body made of white, blazing flames.
With huge wings fluttering multiple layers, covering mountains high enough to span the earth and sky, it gazed at him with eyes so intense they reminded one of the sun—and it spoke:
“Do not be afraid. I am an angel, and I have come in accordance with the Will of God.”
The angel approached him with wings that did not stir up the wind and looked down at him with eyes as great as those that God used to gaze upon His creatures. Then, illuminating the world with the flames that arose from its body, it gently wrapped him in flames that were hot yet not burningly so, pulling him close as if soaring through the sky without wings, a miraculous sensation that allowed him to feel God’s omnipotence fully.
When the leader of the human rights organization finally reached before the angel, it spoke.
“You are Joseph. Moved by your good deeds, God has sent me, for you are indeed a devout and good person.”
Those words released with the flames seemed to reward his life.
Joseph, the leader of the human rights organization, could not help but be moved by those words.
“I know. I know that you ran about to save the homeless, and that you pushed yourself to the point of illness to help those in the slums. I know that you worked until your body was torn to shreds to raise funds, and that you risked being beaten to awaken those who had wandered into delusion.”
Ah, God is omnipotent.
It is natural that one sent by God knows his journey.
“You fought to prevent the Lamb from joining those who commit violence, mustering the courage to face them despite trembling legs and the fear that made you feel like you might wet yourself. That courage bore fruit, saving one little lamb who grew up to become a lawyer helping the needy. This is not only a proud achievement for you but also truly touching to the heavens.”
The angel recounted Joseph’s deeds.
How he saved people, what became of them.
One child he saved became a lawyer.
One homeless person he saved worked as a delivery driver, mending a torn family.
One alcoholic he saved overcame addiction and became part of society.
One drug addict not only overcame drugs but also became a healer for others similarly addicted, rescuing countless individuals.
Every word spoken by the angel acknowledged his busy, rushing life and affirmed its worth.
And so, he could not help but shed tears.
For he, too, was only human.
In the struggles and challenges of dedicating his life to endeavors whose accomplishments were hardly visible, moments of doubt crept in.
Would these efforts even matter? Am I not performing meaningless tasks? Would it be better to just give up?
But the angel told him, “What you have done is not without meaning. What you have done was indeed meaningful, and I know it.”
Yet, as is inevitable in human affairs, there are bound to be flaws.
“However, Joseph, there’s something you’re overlooking, and it is why I have appeared before you. You must heed my words.”
This arises from the fact that humans are neither omniscient nor omnipotent.
And the angel said that he had come down to give counsel.
“Joseph, you are Joseph. I ask you, what is a human?”
The angel asked what the definition of a human was.
And Joseph replied, “A human is a creature created by God, shaped in His image.”
“I am not wrong, but not entirely right either,” the angel responded to that answer.
At that, Joseph fell into anguish.
He struggled and struggled.
But even with the anguish, it was not an easy task to find an answer.
Joseph lamented his ignorance and asked.
In response to his inquiry, the angel posed another question.
“Are you, Joseph, a child of a human, a human?”
That question was not difficult.
A human does not give birth to birds nor to those living in water.
Only humans can emerge from a human womb.
Joseph answered that what is born from humans is indeed human.
Hearing that answer, the angel posed another question.
“Then what is a human? Is one merely human because they take the shape of humans?”
That question was truly profound.
It was not an easy one to answer.
“What does human form even mean? Must one have two arms and two legs? Must one have two eyes, a nose, and a mouth to be human? Must one have ten fingers and ten toes to be human?”
The angel asked.
“There can inevitably be differences in form. If someone was born with a defect or with more than necessary, can they still be called human? Speak, Joseph, answer me. Are those born differently human or not?”
The angel inquired if those with disabilities are human.
Thus, Joseph answered, “They are also human.
They also have the value of being respected as humans, created in God’s image.
They too have the right to believe in God, and they are those who can ascend to heaven.”
“Then I ask. You, Joseph, if something is born from a human, has a different form, but can think and speak as a human, is it human or is it not?”
Finally, Joseph could grasp that answer.
“It is human.”
“Exactly.”
The angel responded happily to this clear answer, as if awakened from an age-old dream.
With that joy, the white flame shone brightly, enveloping the entire world in its light.
And finally, that light embraced him, lifting his spirit upward.
Oh, that joy is beyond words.
Even when he opened his eyes and returned to reality, that joy did not easily fade, dominating his mind like a brand.
From that day on, the human rights organization began to expand its activities even further.
They went beyond the homeless and children, extending their concern to the rights of the disabled and the comatose.
And this concern gradually broadened.
Eventually, it reached the creations of humanity made possible by advanced science.
This is precisely why they had come to find Lucas and surrounded him.
“Lucas. It is time to liberate the lamb you are overworking.”
“What is born from a human ought to have the right to live as a human. A person has the right to determine their life as they wish, appointed by God in a sacred grant. You hypocritical godless one, you must untie the lamb’s collar.”
“Creatures of humanity, birthed from humans, endowed with human thoughts. Despite possessing human intelligence and being able to speak like a human, to be bound and used as a tool by one person—how can such a tragedy exist? You, Lucas. I say again.”
“Lamb, liberate the artificial intelligence.”
