Short Story: Suffering

In the moments following the commencement of his wedding, a man named Frank was removed from reality, at least from what reality was to him. He found himself face to face with a malevolent being with infinite capabilities. This being was not God, yet it possessed certain "godlike" abilities. This being made verbal contact with Frank, telling him that he had two choices. The first choice was to endure suffering of an infinite magnitude for an infinite period of time, and the second choice was for him to send his entire direct family to undergo this suffering in his place, and for him to have his memory of making this decision, along with the subsequent guilt, disappear.

Upon processing all that had occurred and adjusting his frame of mind to the circumstances at hand, Frank realized that he had to make a decision. Not knowing that this being was malevolent, he thought that this perhaps could have been a test, with the right result being for him to "choose" to be willing to endure the suffering, which would thus lead to him being rewarded for making the choice to suffer, instead of actually suffering. However, the being was not bluffing, and he alerted Frank of this. Trembling, Frank decided that he would endure the suffering in order to save his family from enduring this fate.

Locking in his choice, the being transported Frank to a realm where he underwent infinite suffering on a metaphysical plane. The suffering was so severe that he would have preferred being grilled on a pan that was set above the surface of the sun for eternity. Such was infinitely preferable and infinitely better than the suffering that Frank underwent. The suffering was not physical, but it felt physical unto his very being, albeit on a metaphysical plane. It was as if the suffering of his mind, body, and soul was infinitely magnified, and collapsed into a single dimension of suffering, which encapsulated an infinite number of dimensions of suffering.

Frank was unable to form a thought. Had he been able to form a thought, all that would encapsulate his thought would be regret. In the universe of this story, goodness - in the form of benevolence - was simply a means by which one would attain their own happiness. Things did not cause the acquisition of happiness unto an individual because they were inherently good, and thus happiness did not exist in congruence with attraction to such things. Happiness is purely material within this universe. This realm did not consist of happiness at all, although it ought to have for Frank, for he made a sacrifice on behalf of others. However, in this universe, happiness was not a reflection of goodness or a spiritual gravitational motivator toward goodness, but rather a thing for which goodness was a token for the acquisition of.

Furthermore, there was no objective standard by which actions could be ontologically good or bad on an objective level in this universe, rather, they were only good or bad for an individual themselves. In this world, where benevolence is only useful unto an individual as existing instrumentally for their own happiness, and there was no objective goodness or badness intrinsic in actions apart from the effects they had unto individuals for themselves, Frank made a foolish decision.

Frank was enduring suffering beyond comprehension. Such is truly horrifying - infinitely horrifying. No horrors of the world could compare, for this was infinitely more horrifying. At the hands of malevolent cosmic beings whose power is beyond that of humanity, one is helpless. Despite the fact that God is somewhat commonly associated with the concept of eternal suffering, there is no God in the universe that this story is set in to help Frank.

Commentary from the author:

If there is no benevolent God in our universe that is in control who can prevent this from occurring, then the possibility of falling victim to potentially existent malevolent cosmic beings or forces is not nonexistent. Although there may not be evidence for an actualization of a circumstance akin to that of Frank, or of any interaction with such beings, such is ultimately unfalsifiable. The existence of such beings is unfalsifiable, and the possibility of circumstances akin to that of Frank is unfalsifiable. In writing this story, I seek to ponder the possible decisions that could be made in this dilemma (with an evident focus on the decision to endure the suffering) in a world where there is no God, and there is no objective value to goodness. I shall now focus my analysis on the ladder two of these things which this universe is void of.

If is no objective value to goodness and benevolence, apart from its instrumental effects on the welfare of a person who exhibits actions that manifest goodness and benevolence, as it is in the world of Frank, then perhaps it could be said that Frank made the wrong decision. After all, if selflessness means nothing objectivity, and has no value apart from its instrumental effects on the mental states of the person exhibiting selflessness, then Frank would have made the wrong choice, for the place he entered into was void of all positive feelings, and only pure anguish, and he thus could not reap the benefits of his selflessness. Hence, I believe that it is most beneficial for virtues such as benevolence and selflessness to be objectively good, otherwise the right choice for a person in Frank's situation would be to sacrifice his family to infinite torment so that he himself could be spared.

Tying this back into the discussion of God: the question of whether or not objective good necessitates the existence of God is evidently a hotly debated topic, and it is a topic for another day.

Note: I believe that there exists objectivity, and God, in this world that we inhabit.

Yikes,

- Eli Gardenswartz