Adam Or The Serpent

It came from another time, that much was clear. Something about him looked strange, unfamiliar to us, yet we could tell that he was almost human. His structure was similar to ours, he had the same limbs, the same overall stature, but he was different in ways that are hard to describe.

I suppose I should explain a few things about this situation- I’m the lead doctor of this facility. We had been investigating a signal that we’d been receiving for the past few months. As we tracked the signal, we ended up in the middle of the arctic, the middle of nowhere really. You may be asking what the signal was, and that I cannot really answer. It was kind of like a ping, a shrill sound that would sound like it was growing in intensity, then slowly fade out, not dissimilar to how it sounds as a car passes by- quiet, loud, then back to silent.

We had spent months trying to decipher the signal, it was unlike anything we had ever heard, but we knew it was important. None of the experts the world over could tell us what it meant, but we had all agreed that it was a beacon of sorts.

We tracked it day in and day out, eventually leading us to the arctic, as previously stated. We found the exact location from which the signal was being produced, but there was nothing there. It was then that the realization hit; we needed to dig.

It took a painful number of man hours and machines, but after digging down much further than ever anticipated, we found the source of the signal. It was a coffin, adorned in gold and the most precious of jewels. Upon the coffin were a number of inscriptions that we couldn’t decipher. Among the illegible text, there was one small entry that we could actually read.

“May the Malice of greed be the folly of Adam, and this cask hold him steady. If any man is to follow in the steps of Adam, then surely The Serpent will take what is his.”

Obviously this only piqued our desire to know more. We excavated the container and took it back to our make-shift arctic laboratory. We thawed it to the best of our ability, and chipped the remaining ice away. We had discussed whether or not we should continue, but in the end, curiosity had won us all over.

We broke the strange wax seals over the lid, and cautiously removed the lid. It was then that the true source of the signal was revealed- a man-like creature lay in the container, holding himself in a fetal position. We were all taken aback by the possibility of the signal coming from an organic life form and not a machine. How could anything living possibly emit a radio signal?

We all stared at the being, thinking about the possibilities, as he slowly opened his eyes. As the life lifted back into his body, as he began stretching his limbs, and unfolding his wings, it was clear that this being was not Adam… no, this… this was the Serpent.

Narrations Of This Story