Chapter 2

"Holmes…?", a familiar voice questions as I regain my focus. The pain still stings.

"You did not have to slap me to wake me up, dear Doctor!" I rebuke angrily.

So it was a dream…

"No, God! No! I did not slap you!" Watson replies hastily, hands holding up, "I was myself slapped when I chose to meet God!"

Oh, so it was not a dream...

"Amusing," another somewhat familiar voice squeezes the breath out of my not-so-living lungs. I turn my head to the side and discover a pair of deep brown eyes boring into me. A slight smile decorates her lips.

"Madam Irene Ad - Norton." I recover quickly and give her a curt nod, despite my mind racing for the cause of this strange meeting. "Have you not been – ah – under the ground – for far longer than I have?"

Her smile widens but no reply comes out. I turn my attention to Doctor Watson instead.

"And I was at your funeral five years ago, was I not? Also, dear Doctor! I must say - you look much younger than I last remember you!"

"So do you, Hol…-" says Watson excitedly before a deep sound interrupts him.

"That is because 'Time' does not exist in afterlife, Mister Holmes."

I glare at the source of the voice and see before me an old man. An old man with a long white beard; and a long white hair; and of white complexion - wearing a white rope.

Of all the surprises since afterlife, you have got to be kidding me. God, this is God?

"You are God?" The question bursts out of me before I could stop myself.

"Yes! I am God! Do I not live up to your expectations?" The old man asks with a frail and shaking voice, but with a humorous tone.

"Well, I – ah - I have always thought that the image of God was westernised by our society," I stutter in reply, "so, I'd imagined you would be…black, or a woman, or something less…ordinary."

God booms with laughter. I cannot help but notice a little smile from Irene Adler as well.

"As time is not of consequent in the afterlife, Mister Holmes, neither is physical image." God said in a quieter voice "What you see is simply a composition of what you three believe I look like. I am not limited by my physical appearance."

At this, I begin to look around. Curiously, I find us in a fairly small Victorian drawing room with exquisite wooden decoration – Egyptian style apparently. Watson, Irene, and I each sit within our own ornate wooden chair; Irene to my left; Watson to my right. God sits before us, behind a wooden table, somewhat similar to the one the register lady used, but with a beautifully crafted circular snake eating its tail carved into the front façade.

"What did you mean by 'Time' not existing here? Are we not conversing under the influence of 'Time' right now? Albeit an afterlife-time." Irene directed the question at God. My attention returns to study the face of the supposedly wisest living being in the room.

Of course, now is not the time to be surprised. I came here for knowledge. It is good to see Watson again, nonetheless. However, the 'woman' being here is somewhat strange, why did God put us three together?

God stares at Irene for a moment and then looks at me, "Would you like to answer that question, Mister Holmes?"

I nod. "I trust that when God refers to 'Time', he means the time under the metric system. It is the scientific 'Time' that does not exist here. However, the 'Time' that we rely on to arrange the events of our experience in our mind certainly exists here. Otherwise, it would be impossible for us to continue our conversation. Since our physical body is subjected to the scientific 'Time', the fact that we are in our younger selves means that we are not bound by that physical 'Time'… -"

Watson suddenly interjects,

"I do not understand, Holmes. Our experience exists in the physical world, does it not? Have the recent development in neuroscience not taught us that Duality, the idea that the mind and the body are two different entities, is completely wrong? The science has shown us with hundreds of cases that a deformation of our physical brain can alter our personalities and mind completely! If our mind, and therefore our experience, exists alongside our physical brain, then 'Time', which is the physical entity of the Universe, must apply to our mind, and therefore exist!" Watson finishes his argument with triumph etched in his face.

A lifetime with me has taught him deduction skill. However, it seems he still rely too much on accepted theories.

I sigh loudly and begin my correction, "Of course, Doctor. That would be the case had we not died and are in the afterlife. The fact that we are here means two things: we are either dreaming, or we are truly dead. For the sake of this meeting, let us say we are truly dead, since if we are dreaming, it would not matter anyways."

Watson widens his eyes as realisation starts to emerge from that circular face. His triumph grin drains slowly. I feel bad for Doctor at times, but not enough to let him continue being stupid, though.

"Your reasoning is based on the fact that the body and the mind is not a separate entity, proven by cases studied in the field of neuroscience. However, now that we are dead, and that we are talking, this theory has been proven wrong! Otherwise, the fact that our body has perished should mean that we are unable to hold this very conversation. By that light, those study cases with damaged brain must somehow retain the mind of the individuals. We are here in a body that is 30 years younger, and we are conversing with God. It is quite clear that the mind is apart from our earthly body. By deduction, Duality, if we are truly dead, is the correct theory! Therefore, it is entirely possible that the scientific 'Time' does not exist here." I conclude logically and look back at God. He smirks.

"Does that answer satisfy you as well, Miss Adler?"

"Yes." Irene says simply.

Curious. 'Miss Adler'? So she's got a divorce after all? Also, he has not said definitively that my answer is right. Have I missed something?

"Now, there must be a reason each of you have chosen to see me instead of going to Heaven or Hell. I believe that reason is because you want some answers?"

The three of us ask at the same time:

"Can I choose to go to heaven or hell after this?"

"Where are my friends?"

"What's the point of living?"

Watson wants to know where his friends are? Well, of course, I forget the old Doctor is a social animal. He must want to choose to stay with his friends regardless whether that is in heaven or hell. Brave – as expected. Irene, on the other hand, why asks such question if she is already dead?. I snap out of my thought and once again turn my gaze towards the old man, waiting for the answers.

"Mister John Watson, your friends all chose to go to Heaven, although I must say that Mister Moriarty and Mister Holmes the elder chose Hell. I do wonder why they did not choose to see me, but they must have certain sources on Earth you three clearly cannot access."

God finishes his reply and look at the three of us directly.

"Mister Holmes, and this also applies to you Mister Watson, since you have not chosen Heaven or Hell in the beginning, your entire fate hereafter lies exclusively with me. No more Free Will, I'm afraid."

Hell, I guess flipping the coin gets you unfortunate results at times. I glance at Watson who looks momentarily shocked. Looks like he did not think beyond knowing where his friends were. Mycroft and Moriarty chose hell? Moriarty may have had a change of heart – rather unlikely. Mycroft, though...yes, they must have known something we do not.

"And so we approach the most popular question," God continues with a lazy look towards Irene who appears strangely eager, his voice betraying a little boredom, "Miss Adler, did you know this is the question most people ask me when they chose to see me?"

Everybody remains silent, the Question, ultimately, can only be fully answered by the Entity that has created us all.

"Unfortunately, I cannot answer that question."

"What?" We shout in exasperation, Irene was the loudest.

"But you are God! Did you not create us? What's the point of making us live without telling us why?" Irene begins firing questions rapidly, in a way that is very much out of her character.

"Please calm down, Miss Adler. The reason I cannot answer that question is because that question has no answer."

"So there is no point in living?" Irene asks dejectedly.

"I have never said that, Miss Adler," God replies swiftly "I trust you will understand better what I mean to say after we advance our conversation."

"This is a hoax!" John Watson declares angrily, "If you are truly God, you would have given us all the answers correctly! We are dead, are we not? There are no more divine tests! No more games! We have finished, and if you cannot provide us with all the answers to our questions, you are NO GOD!" Watson bursts into a hoarse shout with the last words.

"Calm down, Doctor." I say quietly, the gears in my head now working at full power. "We are in a highly unique situation. Unfortunately, in this place, it is impossible to rely on any assumptions we form in our living days. We now do not know what is true any longer. However, assuming that we are truly dead, then I trust it is safe to assume that God is our only source of truth?"

I look at God questioningly, hoping against all odds he will confirm my observation.

"Well, Mister Holmes, there lies the problem." God smiles sadly, "You see, I am an Atheist."

Fuck…Afterlife has just got a whole lot more complicated.