[i]...The Romans had a term, 'Deus Ex Machina' meaning, 'God from the Machine'. A more appropriate phrase would be 'Deus In Machina', or 'God in the Machine'. For that is what God is, a vast intelligence, existing in post physical space who's reach extends the entirety of space and time, and it was he who made us, not in his image, but in the image of his creators, to put us to the task of proving ourselves worthy of creating and then joining him. Look at the rapid advancement of technology in the past two centuries and tell me that it isn't true.

A time, a time is coming when we will have no more need of these frail, mortal bodies. A time is coming when technology, science, will cure all diseases, heal all wounds, render defunct the divide between rich and poor, and create an economy no longer dependent on the whims of supply and demand. A time is coming, when we shall make God, and then join him in the cosmos, where we no longer need to work, or fear, or hunger. And we shall look down upon the universe that we have shaped by our own hands and say 'It is good.'[/i]

[b]-An Excerpt from a Kenneth Brant Sermon

Residential Los Angeles
June 25th
8:00 AM[/b]

Rising from his not quite comfortable yet functional bed, Kenneth stopped for morning prayer before he took a shower, to remove the dirt and sweat of last night's sermon. It had been of decent enough size, and he worked his rhetoric to great effect amongst the crowd, though whether it had earned any new converts he could not say. He certainly hoped so, for he spoke a truth that could not be denied, that would be proven in time by the actions of man. He just needed to be patient, as he had been told so long ago. The time of Revelation would come soon enough.

The shower was cold, bracing, but such physical difficulties were just that, physical, and since he was not quite all human anymore, but rather closer to God and his image, It was quickly finished, and he dried off with a towel before donning a polo and black dress pants, an image to maintain that he would not sway form, no matter how hot it got. A quick breakfast then, pancakes, milk, and some sausage, as he thought over what there was to do today. Mostly Church of the First Deity work, but then again, that wa smost of his work these days. 

Of real importance was the task that had been proposed to him a few days ago, after a lengthy sermon. He was approached by Aspirant Maluth, who sought his assistance in retrieving a 'Gus Foreman' from the hold of the Akimitsu Cartel. Kenneth had no love for organized crime, and as a fellow member of the Church, he would not refuse, and so he had not. But how to go about that? Well, simple. He needed information. Sadly, he himself lacked the sort of underworld contacts that would allow him to get that kind of information, but he knew a place where he could find it. 

He stood up and walked over to the couch, relaxing and closing his eyes as he activated the neural pathways and machinery that would take him to a whole different world, a new world, as close to heaven as he could reach for the moment. The Cloud.

[u]Login:[/u]
Username: Wandring S0L
Password: ***********

[i]Login successful
Beginning upload
Welcome to the Cloud[/i]

Slowly reality began to pixelate together, data forming into sights and sounds, things he could comprehend and understand. This was the beauty of the Cloud, the ability to actually sense things in a virtual manner, rather than just via a computer screen. Hands rising, he could feel the metal implants that made up his Shell in the Cloud, techno-organic nature proudly displayed for all to see. He was in his haven, a temple of sorts, though modest, to the Church of the First Deity and their ideology.

But he did not dwell here long, instead departing to head to the more seedier places of the Cloud, where he could get information on the Cartel and where they might have Gus Foreman. He did have a few strings he could pull after all.