K-Pax and Christ

In my new Time Sniffers series, I'm creating a reality where there are millions of inhabited worlds in the galaxy. I spun off of C. S Lewis's "Out of the Silent Planet," with the idea the Earth, when originally exposed to the evil influence of dark energy infiltrating the galaxy (it makes up 74 percent of what's "out there," but no one knows what it is), quickly fell to evil's power. I then wondered--since humans did fall fast and hard in the Garden and have suffered a type of spiritual blindness, wandering lost ever since--what if there were other worlds that had also been unable to resist evil? I imagined them as "shadow worlds," whereas many other worlds, more resilient to evil and not in shadow, would exist with truth and clarity as commonplace.

I love the movie K-Pax. If you haven't seen it at least five times, you are really missing something. It is the consummate story of freedom from fear in all its aspects. Prot, from K-Pax, is truly messianic in the way he leads others to healing--not by a miraculous touch, though, but by showing each one their fear and the reality that they don't need to be afraid. Howie, Ernie, Bess--all the characters on the nut ward--are terrified of something--of dying, of dirt, of smells, of being touched. And Prot gets them to understand why they are afraid and why they don't need to be. The healing and wholeness follows.

In one place, Prot is explaining to the psychiatrist, Dr. Mark Powell, about his world and how they don't need jails and punishment, or laws to regulate behavior. Powell asks, "well then, how does one know what is right and wrong on K-Pax?" Prot gives an astute answer: "Every being in the universe knows what's right and wrong, Dr. Powell." Powell: "What? No crime, brutality, no violence on K-Pax?" Prot answers, "You humans. sometimes it's hard to imagine how you've made it this far."

What if other shadow worlds existed, like ours, in ignorance, denial of truth, and fear? And what if millions of other worlds did not fall into shadow, but remained in "the light" of truth, resisting temptation and remaining true to God? Then you would have two types of worlds out there.

I tie in the fear element because Paul wrote how humans are in bondage to fear, that because of the Devil, we have been enslaved to fear of death. That only the truth through Jesus sets us free, as he stated, "If the Son sets you free, you are truly free." Freedom is more than the right to express yourself and live without tyranny. The fear here spoken of goes way deeper--to our very hearts. For once we understand we have been set free from death, since Christ was victorious over death, we do not have to live in bondage to fear, for we have an undefiled, imperishable, and unfading inheritance waiting for us, regardless of what happens to us in this life. Maybe a person wouldn't risk running out in front of a car to save someone, fearful they would die. But if they knew of their eternal inheritance awaiting them, wouldn't that change their point of view? Perhaps they'd be willing to risk death to save another. And we have Jesus' own example of giving his life so we might live. The Bible says perhaps someone might dare to die for a good person, but God recommends his own love for us in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

These may seem like disparate musings, but my brain stirs up all kinds of ideas when I'm writing a book. I've always tended to think that we humans just might be the only creatures in existence that don't really know right from wrong, as Prot claims. We see the result of six thousand years of humans determining right from wrong. We live in shadow. As Paul also wrote, we see through a glass darkly, in part, obscured. We, on this shadow world, need light, and that light came in the form of a messenger sent by God. No, not Prot, but Jesus. And his healing is not just spiritual and emotional, but total and everlasting.

I do know that dark energy is not responsible for all the evil in the universe, but it, to me, symbolizes the pervasive aura of evil generated by the original act of disobedience that spread sin to all mankind. It is like a dark energy, and it does influence us tremendously. So I use it as a metaphor, and when the rip in time blows open, the deleterious effects of that energy wreak havoc on the shadow worlds already entrenched in evil. Just a fun, adventure series for young adults! You can read the first few chapters back on my Web site under "fantasy."