The Divine Crossroads

 God glanced at the spectacular AI console that had taken over decision-making and smiled.

In the several millennia of creation, God had worked tirelessly, creating and keeping the creation happy. Racing against time, starting lives, or pulling brakes, revving lives beyond imagination or swerving to change paths was exhausting.

And ever since God had created humans, rest and recuperation vanished into thin air.

Humans were quite happy to forget that they were just a minuscule part of the creation. Their problems were difficult to solve because they just did not accept any solution! God had made humans intelligent, hoping that they would learn to take care of themselves.  Instead, the humans just used their intelligence to capture God’s attention in ingenious ways like prayers, offerings, words, and art, which left God with very little time to manage the rest. Protect me, save me, they chanted every day.

The notifications from humans just kept coming, some of them so trivial that God wondered if the humans were indeed intelligent!

For example, there was this human who called out, “God help me. I am just unable to decide on my outfit for the day.” It may sound trivial to you, but a request is a request. So, God studied deeply the reason for the outing, the kind of people whom the human wanted to meet, what the human wanted from them, the confidence level of the human and how deserving they were of success…… and finally, in 1 millisecond, guided the hand towards the right fit. It was exhausting!

There was this other time when a human cried pitiably, asking for a rating of 4 instead of 3 in their appraisal, so that they would get a raise. Now, trivial you would say again, considering that, anyway, the appraisals will be normalised and this human was not going to get any benefit. On top of that, the inflation will swallow the raise. But when have humans listened to reason? So , God checked the human’s karma and dharma from the last seven lives to make a decision.

Now, if easy calls were so tough, imagine how tough the tough ones would be! Like the time when the terrorist truly repented and cried for forgiveness, while the families of the people he had killed, held a candlelight vigil, their tears melting hearts. After a detailed investigation, the decision was for the terrorist.  But what did God get for all the effort? Slander, “How could you do this? Are you really God? Is there a God?” the humans asked.

But, now finally, God had some Me time, thanks to AI. It worked so well because with God, all decisions were logical!  God and AI had neatly categorised requests that were made to God.

Level 1 was mundane, insignificant requests, Level 2 was personal priorities … and so on, all the way up to Level 999, which was significant impact on the world requests. 

And AI took care of all except request type 999.

Do you see what that meant to God? Time- time to revise things which humans were changing at the speed of lightning- economics, religion, science, technology, social media and worst of all, language or Lingo as they called it. Every day, God would hear a different version of the same language. Words that weren’t there 5 minutes back would creep in. Who knew chilling meant not doing anything. Just a few years back, it meant putting in energy to make something cold.

Besides, God needed time to learn new hobbies and pursuits. When it was time for the next sojourn or avatar on earth, humans would expect God to be cool, wouldn’t they? 

And coming back to the beginning of the story, that beautiful morning in heaven, God was chilling generally, when AI announced, “God, there is an escalation for you- level 999 -significant impact”

“999! That was serious!” God brought up the console with the tap of a finger.  Who wanted to nuke whom? Was it that joker in the west or the imbecile in east or the zealots in the center?

God almost choked when he saw the escalated request. It was a race, a 100 m sprint in an intercollegiate tournament

“Are you joking AI?” God sputtered. “After all the training and the machine learning, you come to me with the decision for a running race, a SOTY (Student of the Year) situation?”

“You are absolutely correct to get frustrated,” AI validated God nicely. “But, let me bring it up that this is one of those butterfly effect situations.  The prophecy is that the winner of this race will go on to become the prime minister of India!”

“Ah, but that is at least another 30 years away. We will see then,” God moved back to the work at hand.

“Your hypothesis is correct, God. But do note that India could be the biggest superpower by then. This may turn out to be the most critical decision of the century. And the race is starting now….” AI trailed off.

Sighing, God turned back to the console. “AI could not be trusted with such decisions yet. Give me the decision criteria load quickly,” God said, wanting to finish this. How difficult would it be to designate a winner in a running race?

“Candidate 1 is a sportsperson’s daughter. She is a natural. She is confident and strong. Once she starts running, it feels like her legs have sprouted wings. She has hardly ever lost a race before. She is smart, the college head girl and very popular.

 

Candidate 2 comes from a poor family, but with a fire to prove herself. She ran barefoot for the longest time, till a foundation sponsored her shoes. She practices 6 hours every day. She is an inspiration to many in her community.

And it is 3 seconds into the race. Speedy decision making, please!” finished AI.

“Why do all my creations think they can order me? Wait, hard work counts as much as Natural talent if not more! I can’t decide based on that. Give me more!” retorted God

AI went on at speed, “Candidate 1 is a rationalist. She has not been able to accept that the accident that stopped her father’s career and made him a recluse turned her away from God. But she believes everyone can have their belief and does not interfere. 

Candidate 2 is very spiritual. She practices all the tenets of her religion, prays regularly to you. Not just that, she encourages others to believe in you and is very successful in that”

“I cannot differentiate based on how much love one gives me. That does not make a difference! Go on- give me more. We are 5 seconds into the race” God smirked, wanting to show AI who was boss, after all!

“Candidate 1 is always helpful. She sponsors her classmates’ education, is usually generous with money and academic help. She has 1 recorded misdeed against her mother in her teenage angst. She does not like to hurt people or fight. She has never had to struggle for anything, except for her father’s love. So, she never fought.

But Candidate B is a different story. She regularly lies to her family because otherwise, they won't let her pursue her sports. She has resorted to violence on several occasions to protect herself and others. Her everyday life is tough and she literally has to fight for everything. She is usually heard speaking unspeakable words. At least 6 misdeeds, some of them violent.

And God, the two are leading halfway into the race.”

God was irritated, “I know, I can see. What is happening in Candidate 2’s life path.  Tell me about their last seven lives. What is their score?”

AI had the answer ready,” Both have a score of 75%”

“Well, then. Who will be the better prime minister? What kind of a leader will India need in 30 years?” God was getting restless. This was a tough decision.

“Well! Candidate A will surely have the ability to lead the nation. She is intelligent, articulate and a natural leader. She has a powerful family which will help her. She will be that ambassador whom India will be proud of.

Candidate B will be the leader of the masses. She will have people following her because they will connect with her. She is street smart, speaks a few words and believes in action. She could be the unifying force that will bring the country together again” 

“Aghh. Can't you make them both into one person? One last thing, what is the consequence of winning for each?” asked God.

“Candidate 1 needs to win this race for her to find her father’s love, to prove to her father that she is capable just like him. For her father, sports is everything. He never considered that she would take his legacy forward. This win will mean the world to her, and a loss will mean losing the only thing she wants. Her father is in the audience today.

Candidate B has to win. She may not live if she does not. She has a bet riding on her in her gambling circuit. If she does not win, no one knows what will happen. If she wins, her position of power will go up and help her make decisions.” And there AI’s arguments rested.

The two candidates were just a few meters away from the finishing line, running neck to neck, separated by less than a breath.

God’s breath froze, and so did God. What decision could be made at this crossroads?

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My dear readers, what are you looking for? You want to know the decision from me?

I have no idea! I am not GOD, I am just a writer! 

What do you think should happen?