amy s wrote:This isn't the first time this has been debated by minds bigger than ours. I can't believe no one has mentioned the Myth of Sysiphus by Albert Camus. He poses the question: If there is no god, then how can there be meaning in life? He postulates that suicide is a natural endpoint of the futility of living. I debated this in a morality class and won points on a test because the teacher asked this question: What did Camus debate in the Myth of Syphilus? One answer was 'is there a god' and the other was something like, 'advocating suicide is the only logical endpoint because life is meaningless.'
I won the points because the primary question of the philosopher's posit didn't have anything to do with suicide. It had to do with the question, "Is there a God." Only once that question was answered could the other be debated.
How does this relate, Dirk? It comes down to the person who is in the heads of each MC. If it is God, and he has told the boys that this is their destiny, then he has to be right. This may be because each of them has been chosen, or it may be predestiny, where they are on a clearly defined path visible only to the Maker. Your debate makes it clear to me once again that you aren't writing about mental illness at all, BTW.
Personally, the whole concept of free will makes God less omniscient, (IMHO). Man is going to do what he's going to do anyway and God guides rather than plowing the road and shooting anyone who steps astray. I think the second MC is there as backup. If one person doesn't change the world, then the other can pick up the pieces and keep the plan on track.
Does this help?
I'm not sure why you keep thinking God is real in this story. If you hear God tell you it's your destiny to conquer the galaxy, that doesn't mean you're sane and He's real. If he's imaginary, he could be saying the exact same thing. How would you be able to tell? The only way is to follow the characters and see how things unfold. As you've seen, the two boys' experience with God is very different and they are on different timelines until early in the story when events in the galaxy begin to overlap, finally bringing them together.
So far, Apollo is trying to avoid his fate, but is repeatedly forced to do things God has been warning would happen. Joseph, on the other hand, has committed to his quest, even though he is constantly confronted with increasing evidence that he is seriously ill. Consider, he's been asked to create a new religion called the Christian Heresy that will surge across the galaxy like a tidal wave, toppling kings, quees, and emperors in its path. If that's not nuts, I don't know what is.
Check out the new epigraph at the top of chapter two, if you like. It's the only thing I changed about the chapter at present. It summarizes the real vs. imaginary debate in a way that hits the reader over the head that this could go either way.
Following the discussion here, I'm simply going to tweak the wording for Joseph's character that he has free will to walk away at any time. It's his destiny to "lead" the quest, but that doesn't necessarily mean he will succeed. For the time being, Apollo will remain stuck on the course God has warned him will happen.
