The Fall of Every Sparrow

That he marks the fall of every sparrow was duly considered by Brother Clothren as he keyed the designation "Denumerable" into the blank spaces following the prompt CARDINALITY? blinking in pale violet on his workscope. A fitting designation, he thought for the paternal man-god of an insignificant water planet-- a god beset on one hand by the most ordinary of human emotions and on the other serving as the crux of impenetrable mysteries. By any measure though, this Yahweh was a small figure indeed compared to deities of higher cardinality such as the ineffably beautiful Aleph Three god of the aboreals of Ka'a Ntg whose very name can only be approximated by a metaphorical conjunction of the galactagrams for "starwheel", "phoenix", and "beyond all attributes". For countless millennia the graceful metallocrete arch of Brother Clothren's Order of Remembrance has lifted its motto in archaic Fa'an into the dazzling night sky of Kletha. Etched on crystal lithium, its sinuous script reads, "Choose as gods might choose, those few things to be honored with perpetual remembrance." The surprising proof of Meinong's Conjecture in ages past had established the existence of non-intersecting realms of deities as irrefutable fact - deities wrought into existence solely by the collective belief and adoration of the worshipful races. Although Brother Clothrens's ancient order originally strove to record the detailed history of each such race, such aspirations proved too daunting owing to their unexpected large numbers. As a result, an early Abbot -- the stately Haa'tan - reluctantly issued a Standing Order limiting historical accounts to the quintessence of each race -- namely, a detailed account of its gods. In this, the Abbott was surely right, thought Brother Clothren recalling one of Haa'tan's more popular quotes, "Tell me about your gods and I will reveal the inmost secrets of your heart". Nevertheless, even Brother Clothren in his chosen vocation of Archeotheist, sometimes murmured at preserving such a minuscule part of the vast and glorious history of vanished races while consigning the large measure of their past to certain oblivion. Nevertheless, like other members of his ancient Order, each night the meek and obedient Brother Clothren dreamed the eventless white dream of the pure. For the account of the Terrene god a final page still remained. Brother Clothren continued keying in text, "...that such a simple contingency could spell the demise of a deity of his cardinality was not only inconceivable to his devotees but also beyond the ken of the very deity who would himself succumb as its victim..." Brother Clothren paused for a moment contemplating the deep mystery of divine existences then continued,. . ."On April 7, 1984 (by local solar reckoning) in Estill Fork, Alabama, a solitary sparrow alighted erratically on a redbud tree in Otis Farnborough's side yard. Underneath, a strutting rooster in vivid metallic hues imperiously herded three clucking hens scratching for grubs. The sparrow had flown south from Tennessee into the mountain fastness of the upper Paint Rock Valley in North Alabama where it had contracted aviomycosis and was terminally ill. There on Otis Farnborough's redbud tree its long journey ended as its eyes glazed over, its body spasmed, and then, releasing its grip, the dead bird toppled headlong into a clutch of startled hens. At that precise moment, the ceaseless purview of the ever-watchful Yahweh was exceeded and he became zero in all his parts signifying his total extinction."