He beheld the sight of his most faithful follower...and wept. How could fate play such a cruel hand to his believer?
The Son knew this was so. To secure the kingdom of the heavenly host, the righteous, or malicious, immortals could not lay a heavy hand upon humanity. Direct intervention would reveal their plan. Instead, they would secure their position across the millennia through deceit and discord.
Cajoling the faith of a follower would be the host's salvation. The ire of humanity, focused upon one person or group, would misdirect their anger from the celestials to themselves. They would reap devastation upon the immortal coil of humanity.
The token sacrifice of the follower would be sweet upon the lips of the heavenly host. And savor that sweetness they would, for the deceit they sowed from the Son's vessel would last indefinitely.
A Token of Sacrifice
And to his faithfully blind follower, the Son said:
The Son of heaven took his beloved amongst the stars and showed him wonders to behold. The beloved saw the first man, his wife, and the generations that followed. He saw servants of the host in all their radiant glory.
Why was the Son presenting things to his follower that he showed to no other? It reminded the follower of the pig he had during his last feast. You can't roast a pig until it fattens. Is he the pig for a sacrifice? It couldn't be so.
The words uttered by the Son, however, etched themselves in his mind. The Son himself admitted the follower would never see the glory of the generations or the holy city. The follower must have been wrong. He was made immobile with the wonderous sights shown to him.
- Humanity was of a Hive mind in these visions.
- All worked for the betterment of the community.
- No strife existed in the land.
- There was no hunger or disease.
- Belief in yourself was the only requirement.
The follower needed to free himself before the heavenly feast began. He needed to get word to the other disciples. Something was amiss. What could he say, though? What could he convey to the other blind followers that would help them see their faith maybe misplaced? Betrayal...
#POB-WOTW S3 Challenge Round
I've written about it, talked about it, and commented about it. Now the time has come. I decided to let the concept of the challenge float around in the community. We're not used to this sort of challenge, but based upon the community's performance in the normal #POB-WOTW contests we needed a change.
Things tend to get a little stale and we can become complacent without a challenge. It's something that Calumam taught me some time ago. I've tried to listen well. Calumam and I have different methods, but the goal is the same. There's a method to my madness and it's something I will reveal to you, but first, the Hive community is owed an explanation.
S3 Challenge Round (1100 POB)
- Write an article that uses all of the following four words: Hive, Discord, Malicious, and Frailty.
- Do not write about the Hive blockchain.
- Do not commit plagiarism.
- Use the #POB-WOTW tag if you are participating in the contest.
Restrictions
There is no content restriction. Want to write a STEM article? No problem. Just make sure you weave the selected words around the topic. Finance? Great! Follow the rules. Want to use memes, images, or poetry? I can't wait to review it.
Grading
Every article gets evaluated against a Merit System Calumam and I developed. It is an objective approach to a normally subjective process. I researched dozens of grading criteria across Cal's topic and added the grading bases for them.
Funding
Funding for the contest comes from my curation or article rewards. When Calumam left, the contest became stagnant. The community wanted to keep it going and so here I am. 
Thank you, guys.
I received a delegation from 
Rewards Pool
I've been asked by some people about creating a rewards pool to continue the contest. I'm looking into the possibility and I'll write about it in another post.
If I seek out a rewards pool, it will be to support an additional curator in the contest and the current weekly rewards. 300 POB, or less, for the weekly rewards. 50-100 POB/week for a curator. I continue funding Nonsowrites from my own funds. We need another curator if the contest is to expand. Until I make that decision, the contest continues onward.
Fatigue & Restructuring
I've been at this contest for almost 24 weeks. We'll have one more'ish season and then there will be a month break for restructuring.
From here on out, we'll probably have a couple of seasons and then a break for rest. We're grading dozens of articles each week and we need to stay fresh to continue the contest. Additionally, it provides us opportunities for improvement or even replacement of the contest with something better. Who knows?
I also need to plan out the next several seasons of contests and write articles for them. My IRL is becoming quite hectic and, if I don't plan ahead, I'll fall behind with the community.
#POB-WOTW Current Entries
Contest Start: 27/09/21 (Monday)
Contest End: 11/10/21 (Monday)
Do you like contests?
Please follow along with the authors listed below if you enjoy HIVE contests. Dates may vary, so please pay attention.
Did you miss the current contest? No problem! Just stay in tune with these authors and more. There will be more contests that follow!
Betrayal
Betrayal was the word on the lips of the follower, but he would never utter them. The machinations of the host ran deep, and their game was long. Their mind was of a hive that developed over the eons. Their malicious plan, now coming to fruition, would sow discord upon the descendants of Shinar until Kingdom come.
With the betrayal of the follower, shall come the death of the Son. From his death, Caelum shall dine upon the energies of humanity. The world, in its entirety would rage against themselves. Brother killing brother under the false belief that faith alone would fill their bellies. The blind believers would seek retribution from those responsible for the crucifixion.
Powerless to resist, Iscariot couldn't help but gaze at the heavens. Still immobile, unable to move, he gazed upon the light as commanded. It took a while before he sensed the burning. Yet, it wasn't a burning of the flesh. It was within his mind, body, and soul. The burning sensation spread and as it did, so did his thoughts slow.
Pieces of Silver
Judas Iscariot, the festious guard of Christ, felt something enter his being. As the burning forced him to lose sensation in each of part of his body, he felt something moving them independently. He screamed silently, because he could produce no sound. Something else was flexing his jaws, arms, and legs. Before losing his body, Judas heard the thing utter words for its first time:
The new "not Judas" proceeded to enter the cloud of light. He appeared in a tent of an order of Jewish scribes to their amazement and began to strike a deal.
Coptic text of Codex Tchacos 3
The selected quotes for this article came from the Coptic Text of Codex Tchacos 3. It was one of the ancient documents recovered with what now comprises the Nag Hammadi Library called "The Gospel of Judas".
I found the story fascinating in both its content and what was missing. Being almost two thousand years old, researchers had to put "best guesses" in the text they were deciphering. So, I wondered, "If scholars could do it, could I?"
I wondered why Judas was selected by Jesus for the betrayal. Couldn't it be, instead, that he was being betrayed?
In Closing
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
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