Chapter One: God Bestows Grace Upon the Clay
[I looked upon the land, and it was formless and void. I gazed upon the Stars and Stripes, and their light had grown dim. The people were as lambs to the slaughter, weeping blood beneath the blade of the algorithm.]
The clouds of Heaven were thin.
God sat upon a gilded throne.
He wore a pair of thick reading glasses as his withered fingers leafed through a yellowed-edged copy of The Federalist Papers.
Suddenly, his brow furrowed, a look of helplessness in his eyes.
"Gabriel," God's voice echoed through the great hall.
The Archangel Gabriel arrived from beyond the heavens, folding his pure white wings and kneeling on one knee before the throne.
"Do you know why I have summoned you?" God asked.
"Lord, you must have learned that something has gone awry in the world below," Gabriel said, his head bowed.
God looked displeased.
"Why was this not reported sooner?"
