By Jack
All rights reserved.
There were four of them.
These four were the representatives of humanity. They had chosen themselves for the task: these four, among all their peers, were the first to come forward and distinguish themselves in their respective fashions. Each was a representative of their tier of human culture, and of each tier they were the pinnacle, the finest… and the worst.
The first was the Farmer. As humanity moved out from its cradle and began to spread through the world, they were little more than hunters and foragers. The Farmer was the first to consider gathering and cultivating the plants and animals that provided food, and he was the best. The people looked to his invention, and learned his methods, and took the first steps to becoming a full-fledged civilization.
The Farmer represented the common people. The people learned to live together, in harmony with each other and their environment, and he was the pinnacle of the idyllic, pastoral lifestyle. With his guidance it was no longer as much of a struggle to live from day to day; the Farmer taught the people how to coexist.
But the Farmer also represented the crimes of familiarity. The crimes of passion, that people committed on those they knew. Pride, envy, gluttony, lust, anger, greed, and sloth; these were the crimes the Farmer made possible. These were the crimes the Farmer embodied when, in a fit of jealous rage, he slew his own brother. Thus the Farmer stepped forward.
The second was the Scholar. As humanity settled and began to explore their world, they began to seek the workings of world around them. The Scholar was the first to use logical reasoning and methodical research to solve the mysteries of nature. The people saw his discoveries, learned about them, learned how to harness and exploit them, and created the first real technology.
The Scholar represented the learned ones, the educated and the wise. The people made tools and machines to make their lives easier, and sought new tools and new theories to improve their lives and the world. With his guidance the people no longer had to adapt to their environment; they could adapt the environment to their wants.
But, like the Farmer before him, the Scholar represented the crimes of science. As technology spread, the world was damaged by the technology's unintended consequences and effects. People sought to make life ever easier, and in the process lost a little of what it meant to be human. Atrocities were committed and monsters were created in the name of science and research. These were the crimes the Scholar embodied as, at the Farmer's urging, he sought obsessively for the key to immortality, and the power to be as a god. Thus the Scholar stepped forward.
The third was the Fighter. As people tamed the earth and grew and spread, they grew apart from each other. The earth began to fill with people, and groups came into conflict over the suddenly scarce resources their technology needed to work. While not the first warrior in history, the Fighter was the first of a new generation of soldiers; the mighty warriors who dedicated their lives reshape the world and enforce its order. The people saw him; a few stepped forward and took up the mantle of the warrior under his guidance, while the rest depended on these warriors to protect and serve the people.
The Fighter represented the armies of the world, and the soldiers who fought and died for what they believed in. Some fought fore money, others for safety, others for their faith or their country, and still others fought for their own peace of mind. The soldiers defended the people, fought for their goals, and enforced their will. The people came to depend on the soldiers more than they realized. With the Fighter's guidance, the soldiers of the armies of the world became the mechanism through which world order was achieved and world commerce became possible.
But like his predecessors, the Fighter represented the crimes of war. His was the murder of innocents in wartime, either intentionally or not. His was the death, and the destruction, and the chaos of the battlefield, and his was the shattered world and the shattered lives left in the war's wake. His was the ever-present, self-propagating need for more violence and more war, and the drive to create new and better methods and tools of death. Under the care of the Scholar, the Fighter chose to accept the technology into his body that would turn him into the ultimate soldier, the perfect killer. Thus the Fighter stepped forward.
The forth was the Ruler. The people had tamed the land, applied science to make their lives easier, and employed soldiers to enforce their order. As commerce and communication became almost instantaneous, and the peoples of the world were almost united, the masses began looking for someone to lead them. Finally, the Ruler rose and offered her great wisdom and power to lead the people into Utopia.
The Ruler represented the elites and the leaders, those who had elevated themselves above their fellows with wealth and influence. These were the government, religious, and cultural leaders of all the world. These elites led the people, both directly and through example. The people looked to the elites for guidance, and wisdom, and entertainment, and the ever-present wish to become one of them. And the Ruler was the greatest of these, the one who led the leaders, and who worked to bring the people of the world together under a single benevolent banner.
And the Ruler represented the crimes of leadership. Issues and problems that the well-to-do dismissed as inconsequential impacted the lives of thousands of people. The petty squabbles of the elite, that would be ignored or dismissed among the common people, threatened to shatter the foundations upon which civilization rested. The leaders of different parts of society attempted to influence and thwart each other, and corruption permeated society and impacted life. And as people came to depend more and more upon the guidance of the elites, they began to lose their individuality and identity. The Ruler was guilty of all of these sins, and in her own selfish interest, sought to shelter herself from their consequences. With the Fighter by her side, the Ruler unleashed the power that would bring all of humanity together into one culture. One community. One mind. She had led the people into paradise, and thus denied them the individuality and freedom that made them human. Thus the Ruler stepped forward.
The four of them saw what humanity had become. They came to realize that they were responsible for what the world had become. What's more, they realized that they had been destined to do this; they had chosen themselves, and thus had been chosen, to bring the people into their final state. And thus they gathered, and set about their final duty.
And the Ruler, she who was to be known as Famine, sat astride her horse and led the people to the final days.
And the Fighter, he who was to be known as War, rode his mighty steed into the final battle for the salvation of humanity.
And the Scholar, he who was to be known as Pestilence, rode his horse and opened the gateway into Eternity.
And the Farmer, the first one and the last one, he who was to be known as Death, rode his pale horse and shepherded the people to the end.
Author's notes: Just something that popped into my mind. I'm not normally inclined to post on, or even visit, this little corner of FF.net. Anyway, this is my take on the prophesy of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. The Riders as I talk about them here, particularly the Rider of War, are going to be central characters in a story I'm trying to write. It's something I'm planning to wok on this summer, once my classes are finished.
Anyway, feel free to review, comment, flame, whatever. However, if you want to talk religion and politics, I'm not really the guy to talk to. To be honest, I'm a progressive liberal college student who listens to punk music and plays lots of violent computer games.
Gee, I wonder how many flames I'll get for that one. J