The idea of an afterlife has always been about imagining the reward at the end of it all. Paradise. The ultimate utopia!
Buddhist teachings had Nirvana, a place absent of suffering. Nordic mythologies had Valhalla, a great hall for warriors killed in battle. Greek mythologies had The Elysian Fields, which this publication is named for.
For some, this life is the one where paradise is supposed to unfold. There was no afterlife in Judaism or Christianity until the bible was translated into English and God’s dwelling place, “the realm of the skies” (οὐρανός), became “the kingdom of heaven,” and Jesus’ hope “for the ages” (αἰῶν) became his hope for “eternal life.”1
In the earliest interpretation of the scriptures, The Garden of Eden was a place on Earth. As a Mariology scholar, I have always loved early Christianity’s ideal that we would one day bring it back—that “life in the world to come” was a better future that we would create for all of humanity right here. That we were meant to “bring heaven to earth.”
The ultimate utopia!
In any case, it was a visit to Brigham Young’s house in Salt Lake City that made me want to write my own. My tour guide explained that during World War II, families were grieving the loss of their sons and wanted to know what would happen to them when they died. A leader in the church went into one of the rooms in that house to pray and emerged three days later with the Church’s teachings on the afterlife.
The idea of sitting down and thinking through what an afterlife could look like—a paradise!—really appealed to me, and I’ve always wanted to write my own. I hope you’ll join me!
You have the whole month of September to write an afterlife and share a link to it in the comments. Writing prompts are now open to all subscribers (not just paid subscribers)!
In Elly’s response, tiny honeybee-sized drones pollinate the crops and even save the honeybees!
“Like their organic counterparts,” he continued, “a single hive of RBs can pollinate over 4,000 acres. Each hive has multiple handlers to best coordinate pollination in a quadrant grid pattern. Unlike the honeybee, an RB is impervious to pesticides and isn’t at risk of predation or habitat loss. Its parts are easily replaceable in case of damage and most components can be manufactured quickly using a 3D printer.”
In Leo Flynn’s response, robots don’t want to take over the world, they’d much rather have their own! They have their own lives and their own mythologies on their own planet, and humans love to come and visit as a sightseeing destination.
Hopeful pilgrims journey here to the edge of the universe to witness the hallowed councils. The buildings alone are enough of an excuse to make the trip.
Soaring glass domes covered in swirling glowing plants of every shape, size, and color they could find. Everything shines with a soft light and the low hum filters through the thick canopy in a haze.
We dream of chances to ask them questions on their sacred grounds, not just through the wires, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Julie Gabrielli’s absurdist take features a conversation between a researcher and a talking smarthome who is very upset by the fracking happening beneath her. I loved this animist take!!!!
“Oh! Oh! Oh! I knew something was wrong. I’ve been feeling weird, what are they, vibrations? Tremors? The ground rumbles and jumps. My foundation is suffering. Those devoted old stones have held firm all this time and now: cracks everywhere. Water’s bullying in wherever it can, the wily bugger. It seeps in and, when the cold comes, it’ll expand and break me apart—wood, stone, copper, brick, mischief everywhere.”
“That’s from the fracking. They send explosive charges down the drill shaft to open the rock so the gas can flow.”
“Right below me? Why do they do such an ornery thing? I wouldn’t hurt a fly. Well, I mean, if a fly gets caught inside me and beats himself to death on a windowpane, that’s not my fault.”
Had a ball writing this though I don't take afterlife to automatically mean paradise, it could be but I'm not certain heaven is something mortals can comprehend. Thanks for the prompt :)
I was inspired, and the "pen" wouldn't stop writing, thanks to coming across your prompt. Here's the first chapter of a short story that turned out a bit longer.
Am I Dead? - My Afterlife Experience (Chapter 1)
A short, fictional story of my death and my experience of the afterlife. Did I go to heaven or hell? What, if anything, awaits us after we die?
That's an interesting view of it! I suppose eternal conscious life and the ability to interact with the living might be seen as a haunting - I saw it as heaven from Jayden's perspective!
I definitely can see it as both. And think of the consequences! If we die today but can live forever, are we static? Can we ever grow beyond how we grew while we were alive? If we could go interact with George Washington, would he be how he was 200 years ago when he was live? Or would he have evolved his perspective?
I think Jayden's 'living' environment allows him to change and develop. It is based on AI so I assume he is constantly learning and developing. He can also interact with the living who come into his world, so he will be constantly learning from them about how the physical world outside his jar is changing.
The intrigue doesn't have to come from the setting. For example, my novel is set in a utopian world, but the intrigue is that my main character smuggled herself into that world to find her mother who has been lost for decades (and who she believes is immortal)....
A lot of Chinese stories have a similar bent, the setting is utopian but the intrigue comes from rifts between the characters, etc....
Like, a Chinese agrarian community that gets slaughtered by Mongol invaders and captures children for slaves. One grows up and becomes Conan who slaughters ‘em back. Then he goes farming.
So many entries for the last prompt. I started reading Julie’s entry and I also enjoyed the format and the fact that the main character can talk to a very opinionated smart home! I’ll check the rest. 🥳
This new prompt is very intriguing. What if I don't believe in an afterlife? What if I believe that this is all there is? That matter is immortal and my own sense of self is mortal? How will my afterlife look like?
The world is your oyster! I don't believe in an afterlife, but I haven't decided whether I will for this prompt just for the sake of imagining it. Maybe I will imagine a "nonafterlife." Or maybe it will just be the afterlife mythology developed by a forgotten tribe and what they thought the afterlife would be like. Or maybe there will be a virtual afterlife that can be experienced by people in comas. There are so many ways this prompt could go....
I did have a nitpick however. It seems like you didn't draw a distinction between the teachings of the LDS Church on an afterlife versus orthodox Christianity as they are monumentally different. One might think that broader Church teaching on the afterlife began with a Mormon prophet during World War II 😅
Well, I spoke about orthodox Christianity in the afterlife in the paragraph before, but you're right, I didn't talk about how that later developed into the concept of "heaven" (and "hell")! As someone who has studied this subject in great detail it would have been really easy for me to go off the rails and write a whole post about the history of an afterlife in Christianity haha! I tried to keep to the basics 🤓
I love this one because it allows us to think in supernatural terms and even to imagine what our "ideal world" is without any limits! I'll be excited to read what you write!
Had a ball writing this though I don't take afterlife to automatically mean paradise, it could be but I'm not certain heaven is something mortals can comprehend. Thanks for the prompt :)
https://reddoscarwrites.substack.com/p/the-great-day-of-his-wrath
Very interesting take!!!!! Feels very biblical!
Thank you!
Please keep doing these, they make me want to write more! Thanks Elle :)
Oh I'm so glad. Thank you so much for the feedback!
Speaking of utopia and politics, death and the afterlife, and Buddhism too please check out these related references
http://www.daplastique.com/essay/the-maze-of-ecstasy
http://www.beezone.com/wide-stacks-many-topics/four-yanas-of-buddhism
http://www.beezone.com/wide-stacks-many-topics/death_message.html
http://www.easydeathbook.com/purpose.asp beautiful prose
http://www.aboutadidam.org/dying_death_and_beyond/index.html
http://www.dabase.org/not2p1.htm 100 or so summary statements
http://www.nottwoispeace/excerpt-reality-humanity
http://www.beezone.com/whats-new the dark force that patterns & controls the humanly created world-mummery
I was inspired, and the "pen" wouldn't stop writing, thanks to coming across your prompt. Here's the first chapter of a short story that turned out a bit longer.
Am I Dead? - My Afterlife Experience (Chapter 1)
A short, fictional story of my death and my experience of the afterlife. Did I go to heaven or hell? What, if anything, awaits us after we die?
https://zediction.substack.com/p/my-afterlife-experience-chapter-1
I loved this, thank you so much for writing it!
Here's a short story on the future of an afterlife...
https://jonathanposnerauthor.com/the-amethyst-project/
Whoa, this is HAUNTING!!!!
That's an interesting view of it! I suppose eternal conscious life and the ability to interact with the living might be seen as a haunting - I saw it as heaven from Jayden's perspective!
I definitely can see it as both. And think of the consequences! If we die today but can live forever, are we static? Can we ever grow beyond how we grew while we were alive? If we could go interact with George Washington, would he be how he was 200 years ago when he was live? Or would he have evolved his perspective?
I think Jayden's 'living' environment allows him to change and develop. It is based on AI so I assume he is constantly learning and developing. He can also interact with the living who come into his world, so he will be constantly learning from them about how the physical world outside his jar is changing.
Interesting philosophical debate!!
42 of these. Whether that’s a Douglas Adams joke, I do not know.
https://eagleman.com/books/sum/
Whoa!!! You weren't kidding!
What a great prompt! You’ve just inspired me to get back into writing fiction.
Yay!!!!!!
My understanding of interest in fiction would seem to preclude this theme. If there are no problems and no struggles, wherein is the intrigue?
The intrigue doesn't have to come from the setting. For example, my novel is set in a utopian world, but the intrigue is that my main character smuggled herself into that world to find her mother who has been lost for decades (and who she believes is immortal)....
A lot of Chinese stories have a similar bent, the setting is utopian but the intrigue comes from rifts between the characters, etc....
I get it. Utopia with rifts. 😸
Like, a Chinese agrarian community that gets slaughtered by Mongol invaders and captures children for slaves. One grows up and becomes Conan who slaughters ‘em back. Then he goes farming.
😁
I’m so sorry. Nobody likes a smartass.
Herman made me do it.
Oooo! This is such a juicy one! Many thanks for your generous shout-out!
So many entries for the last prompt. I started reading Julie’s entry and I also enjoyed the format and the fact that the main character can talk to a very opinionated smart home! I’ll check the rest. 🥳
SO fun!
This new prompt is very intriguing. What if I don't believe in an afterlife? What if I believe that this is all there is? That matter is immortal and my own sense of self is mortal? How will my afterlife look like?
The world is your oyster! I don't believe in an afterlife, but I haven't decided whether I will for this prompt just for the sake of imagining it. Maybe I will imagine a "nonafterlife." Or maybe it will just be the afterlife mythology developed by a forgotten tribe and what they thought the afterlife would be like. Or maybe there will be a virtual afterlife that can be experienced by people in comas. There are so many ways this prompt could go....
Love the idea of this writing prompt!
I did have a nitpick however. It seems like you didn't draw a distinction between the teachings of the LDS Church on an afterlife versus orthodox Christianity as they are monumentally different. One might think that broader Church teaching on the afterlife began with a Mormon prophet during World War II 😅
Well, I spoke about orthodox Christianity in the afterlife in the paragraph before, but you're right, I didn't talk about how that later developed into the concept of "heaven" (and "hell")! As someone who has studied this subject in great detail it would have been really easy for me to go off the rails and write a whole post about the history of an afterlife in Christianity haha! I tried to keep to the basics 🤓
Ooooooh!!!! Amazing! Could you share a link???
I love this one because it allows us to think in supernatural terms and even to imagine what our "ideal world" is without any limits! I'll be excited to read what you write!