Death and The Worm

In which Death argues the duty of Man

“Paradiso Canto 31” by Paul Gustave Doré

“[L]et's do it after the high Roman fashion, and make death proud to take us. ”

— William Shakespeare, Antony and Cleopatra

During his eternal years of serving the Divine, Death had grown to pity man. Humans had such short, finite lives, only to spend them squabbling and wandering aimlessly. Few did anything meaningful with the time they were given. Those who did were Death’s favorite. He called them Builders. They were the ones that pushed the boundaries of human potential, and boasted figures such as Aristotle and that guy who invented coffee.

Then there were their opposites—the Destroyers—who seemed to make it their life’s work to ruin everything the Builders did. Death had a particular disdain for the Destroyers, as they made his job more difficult with their endless wars and genocides. But they certainly weren’t the worst mankind had to offer.

The worst of all were those who were neither Builders nor Destroyers. These humans simply stumbled through life without purpose, following the orders of Builders and Destroyers with no questions asked. Their minds were near-empty voids, able to be swayed by almost anyone. These particular men and women used their time on Earth doing little more than consuming and making waste. Even Death’s presence hardly stirred any real motivation in them. He called them Worms. And they were the most pitiful humans of all.

One day, Death found himself seated across a Worm on the ashen shores of the Acheron River. They were playing chess, or at least Death was. It gave him something to do while he decided whether a soul belonged in Heaven or Hell. Builders most often went to Heaven and Destroyers in Hell, but Worms were always difficult to place.

Death asked The Worm in a baritone rasp, “What do you make of humanity?”

The Worm blinked. “Pardon?”

“Humanity. How do you see it? Your opinion, I mean.”

“Oh.” The Worm gave this some thought. She was never one to have introspective thoughts. “People are alright, I guess.”

“What do you make of their behavior?”

The Worm shrugged.

“No opinions? Tsk, tsk, tsk…” Death silently moved his ivory Queen-side bishop. “What of human history? Or culture?”

“I don’t know much about history,” the Worm admitted. “Just that there are a few wars going on and who the president is. That sort of thing.”

“Surely, you must’ve learned something while alive?”

The Worm considered this. “I went to school. Graduated from high school at seventeen, although I forgot everything! Everything except all the simple things everyone knows.” She chuckled. “Then I learned how to drive and pay bills. I also learned how to keep ledgers for my company. Then I tried learning piano one summer, though it never really stuck. I can play a bit of “Amazing Grace”, though. I memorized a lot of songs, actually. One time, I memorized the entirety of The Music Man—”

“Yes, yes,” the angel said, running out of patience. “What of your own self?”

“I’m a bit shy. Not the prettiest or the smartest, but I’m a good person. I love to garden. I love my husband and God.”

Death raised his head. “God? What do you make of God?”

“He loves all of His creations.”

“Yes, and?”

“His son died for our sins.”

“And?”

“He has a divine plan for each of us, even if we can’t understand it fully. We just have to have faith.”

“And?”

The Worm batted her lashes and shrugged. “And?”

Death sat back. His expression darkened and his pallid lip curled back. The angel scoffed with haunting disdain, “Why am I not surprised?”

“Sir?”

Death pounded his fist on the chess table. “You squandered your time on Earth, woman! You have not even the slightest understanding of your species, your planet, or the Divine. You spent decades believing in whatever was spoonfed to you! Have you no thirst for knowledge or a need to discover the unknown?”

“Not really,” the Worm shrugged. “Once maybe…”

Death hissed, “Your kind seems to preach that ignorance is bliss. I’ve never heard a more foolish thing! You and the rest of mankind live complacently, surrounded by your arrogance and selfishness, blind to your very nature. And you have the audacity to believe God is pleased?” He shook his head, “You’ve forgotten your duty.”

A thousand-year silence passed between them.

Finally, the Worm spoke, “My lord, what is my duty?”

Death studied the Worm. He spoke gently, “Come with me. Listen closely, and I’ll tell you.”

“Death Depicted as the Grim Reaper on Top of the Moon ” by Paul Gustave Doré

The Worm followed Death as he strolled along the banks of the Acheron. She stared out at the crashing waves, kicking up mists of charcoal sand as she walked behind the waxen angel.

Death explained, “Mankind is a marvelous species. When an infant is born, its mind is at its purest state. Clear of worldly drivel and mayhem, an infant is most in tune with the soul and the divine source from which it originated. The outer world is just as marvelous as the inner world to a newborn—a realm of possibilities and opportunities to learn. Everything is, in its purest sense, wonderful.

Over several years, a child studies the world in an archaic manner, letting intuition and instinct guide it. But with time, this information settles into something more concrete: knowledge. However, knowledge is rather fragile in this state. A child needs guidance in order to know the Truth. Unfortunately, Worm, at this stage, people are most likely to lie to a child and train it on the art of hypocrisy and deceit. This muddles the goal for a child, whose sole duty is to understand the very cosmos it was born into. As it is raised in society, its mission is only further impeded. A child’s mind is drained of its wonder through dogma and sin. Society replaces purity with frivolity and ignorance. It enshrouds the soul with endless layers of ego until the child can no longer remember who they really are.

Discovering the Universe is imperative, my dear, for that is the very reason man was placed upon the Earth. Man was given a mind so sharp and calculating. What else is one to do with it? You are creatures of creation, able to understand the very stars themselves. When you acquire knowledge, you are the universe looking back in on itself. The more mankind understands about itself and the ether, the more the cosmos grows. Every creation, thought, and epiphany fills the Psyche of Humanity, allowing it to overflow with greatness for time eternal. When one man takes it upon himself to discover the Universe, he is not only tapping into this wellspring of glory and chaos but adds to it when he applies the knowledge he has acquired for the benefit of those living. In this way, he has achieved a great honor in the eyes of God.

To live blind to this duty is tragic, little Worm. It is a fate in which you spend your days little more than a ghost with a pulse.”

The Worm considered this deeply. She stared out at the silver waves of the Acheron. She muttered, “What a pitiful life that must be.”

The Worm lowered her head. She shuddered and despite her best attempts, tears tumbled down her face. Death watched her as she cried.

“I wasted my life away,” the Worm sobbed. “It was hardly a life at all. Just a worthless existence! All I did was work and gossip and…” She cupped her hand over her mouth.

After sobbing for a century, the Worm looked up at the Angel of Death. She asked hesitantly, “Will I be going to Heaven or Hell?”

“Neither,” Death replied.

“Sir?”

Death guided the Worm back to the gleaming white Edge of the Earth, where the boundaries of Providence and Time collapsed into a pure, glowing essence.

“I’m sending you back to Earth,” Death said. “You will have another life, in a new body, with a new name, in a new country. This time, you shall fulfill the Duty of Man.”

Tears formed in the eyes of The Worm. “Oh, thank you…Thank you!” She then asked, “Lord Death, how should I live to fulfill my duty? How can I please God?”

“Live with purpose, my Worm. Let knowledge consume you. Surrender to the Truth. Do not let the world—be it the wickedness of tyrants or the lies of serpents—steal the divinity within your soul. You are a product of the cosmos. You are a human being. Now live!”

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