Tuesday Morning

"Why is it whenever you take your time on these projects you take their time too?"

"Made in my image?"

"I highly doubt that."

"Most highly."

"So what's happening now?"

"They took a bite out of it this time."

"Sticking with the religious symbolism, huh?"

"You know I love a good recurring theme."

"What's that saying, appetite for construction?"

"Only in Ohio."

"Well it doesn't look like there will be much construction anymore."

"Fortunately, no. This is the beginning of the end."

"Please don't write that down."

"What happens when something becomes another thing, and that other thing becomes too many things?"

"A bunch of fish swimming up a stream, met by a waterfall, unbeknownst to them."

"A fish."

"A fish."

"Who jumped..."

"And started swimming in a different stream."

"I'm glad we're on the same page."

"Always have been."

"I'm expecting company."

"I didn't know."

"I didn't want you to know."

"How are they?"

"...Spikes, chains, beaten leather, dusted chaps, tarnished copper, pain-driven battle cries, gaudy wardrobes, questionable hydration methods, scrapped tunics, unholy abominations, murky water, truncated lifespans, and endless Hellfire..."

"This shortcoming is knowingly inconvenient, and all the more tragic."

"Are we here to decide what progress is?"

"You already did that for me."

"Our guest will be arriving shortly."

"It looks like they're starting to get along."

"Some of them."

"The ones that matter."

"They're here."

"As am I."

"Greetings! I'm sure you're a bit confused at the moment, but I promise there's an explanation for everything. I've been working on your project for a while. You call it Earth. I call it massive fail. I guess I'm like, some kind of Time God? Anyway, it turns out the apocalyptic portion of your planet's timeline was the turning point in giving you interdimensional travel into the realm of creatures like me and him who operate outside of the space time continuum! Exciting stuff! Sorry, I kind of lose track of time whenever I'm operating outside of it so this is the best I got. The reason I brought you here is to take over for me because I can't seem to get it right. Good luck!"

"So yeah..."

"Is this it, The End?"

"Not exactly. You see he does this thing every week where he starts a new project on Tuesday in the afternoon, gets tired of it by the following Monday, and finds someone new to hire by Tuesday morning. We were always on the same page, but this whole cycle was what he decided progress looked like. Pretty soon you'll have to make that decision yourself. When all is said and done, where are you going to go?"

"Another stream."

"Take your time, and I'll take mine."

"Can't take mine without taking theirs."

"Back to our regularly scheduled programming."

"My only question is: Why do we have to keep doing this?"

"I think the answer is pretty clear, don't you?"

"No, not really."

"Okay, let me ask you a question. What's a pretty popular topic nowadays?"

"Climate change and the ramifications of living in a relativist society run by private enterprises?"

"You're a natural, kid."

"Thanks, but I still don't know who you are or what's going on."

"The answer is simple: I'm the guy barely reaching the deadline, mentioning the last piece of the puzzle that brings this whole thing together. I'm the guy mentioning the heart-shaped locket."

"What does that have to do with anything at all?"

"You'll find out soon enough, but by that time you'll have seen an entire civilization crash and burn, and maybe the next lucky guy will get it right. Now what do you think that heart-shaped locket is really about?"

"Evidence of a higher power?"

"I highly doubt that."

"Most highly."